The TV is playing in the room, playing the local news from S City News. The female anchor is listing out all of the local news headlines.
“Today is the day before the first day of our annual gaokao (National Higher Education Entrance Examinations). Let’s see how our students are preparing for the examinations, here’s our students from S City High.” The TV shows the students burying their heads in books; the familiar school, the familiar cla.s.srooms, the familiar school uniforms. Shu Yaw.a.n.g stops drinking the soup and stares at the screen, her heart clenching as her nose p.r.i.c.kles.
“It’s almost the day of the examinations…” Xia Mu turns his head around to look at the screen, his eyes showing a gloomy expression. He nods his head lightly and murmurs back a “yes.” She bites her lips, the feeling of self-blame and guilt pressing against her chest, making it hard for her to breathe. She feels she’s going to go crazy whenever she thinks of Xia Mu’s future. Yes, Xia Mu is a high school senior. Xia Mu should be taking the entrance examinations. But now, he’s hiding in a motel! If it’s not because of me, Xia Mu will definitely be in the cla.s.sroom studying, taking the examination, receiving acceptance letters from brand name universities, his future looking bright and beautiful. But, he’s now a wanted murderer! What’s waiting for him in the future, maybe it’s only prison…Yaw.a.n.g shuts her eyes, not daring to ask, not daring to ask Xia Mu what’s going to become of them, will he regret this, will he hate her. She does not dare to ask, even if he don’t hate her now, don’t regret this now, what about in the future? How is she going to compensate him, compensate his future, his life, his youth?
“Yaw.a.n.g?” Xia Mu asks softly from near the bed. “Why are you crying again?” She lowers her head and shakes it violently.
“No, I’m not crying.” He extends his hand and wipes away the tears on her face gently, watching her in silence. Yaw.a.n.g wants to lift her head up and smile at him, but she can’t do it.
“Yaw.a.n.g, don’t cry. I can’t stand it when you cry. When you cry, I want to kill.” She quickly raises her head and looks at him with widen eyes. He looks back at her, his clear eyes showing sincerity and, and the feelings for Yaw.a.n.g, very pure, very deep, carrying the pa.s.sion of youth. Yaw.a.n.g is silent for awhile, then suddenly speaks up to ask him,
“Do you really like me that much?”
“Yes, really like you.”
“Even if I…even if I got married, you still like me?”
“Yes, still like.” She holds onto her hands together tightly and turns silent. Suddenly, it looks like she have made a decision when she said,
“Alright.”
“Alright what?” Xia Mu asks, looking at her suspiciously. She shakes her head, not answering back. She takes out the kissing fishes necklace around her neck and removes one of the fishes, using a red string lying on top of the bed to make a necklace for it and tying it around Xia Mu’s neck.
“It’s for you.” Xia Mu touches the silver kissing fish and looks at her in confusion.
“For me? Why?” Didn’t he give this to her? That time, he told her to keep wearing it, to never remove it. Now, why is she giving it to him? She wears the necklace back around her neck and lifts up her head.
“Birthday present.”
“Birthday present?”
“It’s for your eighteenth birthday, I’m giving it to you six days in advance, you like it?” Xia Mu gives a small pout.
“You’s so stingy.” How can she gives me half of what I had given to her?
“I’m stingy? Then give it back to me!” She acts like she’s trying to grab the fish back. Xia Mu twists his body to avoid her, and continues to pout. Yaw.a.n.g withdraws her hand and hugs the thermal food container. Her heart is like a clear lake, it’s not having raging waves or struggling. A flash of lightning can be seen from the window, followed by a loud clap of thunder. Shu Yaw.a.n.g looks at the chicken broth inside the container, Xia Mu, I finally found something I can do to compensate you. If…if you go to prison, no matter how long, I will wait for you. If at that time, you still like me, I will compensate myself to you.