The summer of 2003 was spent in a panic, filled with things like disinfectant, thermometers, white vinegar, masks, and isatis root.
For the children protected by their parents, it was a quiet summer. Apart from the empty streets and the smell of disinfectant, there was "Deep Love in the Rain" playing on TV, Jay Chou's songs always playing on the tapes in their Walkman, and the boys would play computer games together.
The difficulty of the high school entrance examination in some areas has also been reduced. The listening part of the English test has been cancelled, the difficulty of math questions has been reduced, the weight of physics and chemistry scores has been lowered, and some schools have even cancelled the physical education scores... Mi Yang's school has retained all the questions except math and Chinese, and only lowered the scores of physics and chemistry. Compared with previous years, the difficulty has been reduced a lot.
He and Bai Luochuan had been carefully taught by Wei Xian in the past few months, and their grades were stable, and they got high scores without any surprises. Bai Luochuan got the first place in the whole school, and Mi Yang was the fifth.
Young Master Bai was unhappy about this for several days. The second place students had extra points for being outstanding students at the city level. If not, their scores would be similar to Mi Yang's, and their names would be next to each other.
Mi Yang participated in most of the competitions out of interest, and won awards to reduce tuition fees and get some scholarships, which were all school awards and had little to do with scores. However, he was quite satisfied with this ranking. He had never done so well in an exam. He used to study casually in Shanhai Town, and then went to the city for high school. He was quite satisfied with being admitted to a key university after three years of hard work. How could he compare to now? He planned the future step by step, and felt very down-to-earth.
Mi Yang persuaded him in return: "I think it's pretty good. Fifth place is not bad either. It's higher than my previous estimate."
Bai Luochuan frowned and said, "The second place gets too many points. After removing them, you are still 0.5 points higher than him."
Mi Yang packed his schoolbag, took some unwanted books back, and said to him, "It's okay, try harder next time."
Bai Luochuan glanced at him and said, "Why do you still want these broken books? Zhou Tong and the others threw them away."
Mi Yang said: "Oh, I'll take it back to Xiaoxue. My mother said that maybe I can show it to Xiaoxue in the future. It would be nice to have an extra set of textbooks."
Bai Luochuan said, "It will definitely be changed in a few years. Don't take them back. So many books are too heavy. I'll buy her a set of whatever she wants to read."
Mi Yang's books were confiscated, so he could only pick up a math and Chinese book at random, and said to him: "Then I will take these two books back. Xiaoxue will cry again without one."
Bai Luochuan sighed and said, "It's really troublesome. OK."
As usual, several summer homework books were distributed during the last summer vacation. After Zhou Tong and the others received them, they came to Bai Luochuan again, mainly to ask him about his summer vacation plans and whether he was going anywhere to play. They were planning to go abroad to attend a summer camp.
Bai Luochuan shook his head and said, "No, let's go back to the mountains."
Zhou Tong admired and said, "Mr. Bai is really conscious and cultivates his character." He glanced at the side and asked, "Mi Yang, are you going too?"
Mi Yang nodded and said, "Yes."
Bai Luochuan returns to Shanhai Town every winter and summer vacation. Mr. Bai has retired and settled there to enjoy his retirement. His parents are very busy at work, so he goes there every year to spend some vacation time with the elderly, just as a way of fulfilling his filial piety on their behalf.
Mi Yang went back with him. His family situation was similar, with his grandparents living there. Every year when he went back, Mi Hong not only taught him how to repair books, but also taught his grandson some miscellaneous little skills he knew. His personality had become more and more eccentric in the past two years, but despite his silence, he was still very good to his grandson.
Speaking of Shanhai Town, Mi Yang still misses it quite a bit. After all, that is where he grew up. Apart from the border town, Shanhai Town is the place he is most familiar with, and he feels particularly relaxed every time he goes back.
This summer vacation, Luo Jiangjing also had someone send them back.
The car this time was a Buick business car, which was bigger than before and convenient for carrying more things. Bai Luochuan brought several boxes of his own luggage, but he kept looking at Mi Yang, frowning, and finally lowered his voice and said, "Why did you bring her?"
Mi Yang was holding a little girl in his arms. The road was slightly bumpy, and the child was sleeping soundly, lying obediently in her brother's arms.
Mi Yang looked down at her and whispered, "Shh, don't wake her up, she just fell asleep."
Bai Luochuan said: "There is a lot of space in the back, you can put her in the back to sleep."
Mi Yang said: "No, it will roll down."
Bai Luochuan said impatiently: "She is so big and too heavy!"
Mi Yang said: "It's not sinking, it's OK..."
The two men argued in a low voice for a while, and the little girl in his arms moved a little, and they both fell silent. Bai Luochuan looked at the child Tuan who was sleeping soundly in Mi Yang's arms again, and he pursed his lips for a long time without saying a word.
The journey was quite long, so they stopped at a small coastal town to have lunch at noon.
The specialty here is seafood, and there is no menu. Whatever is caught that day is placed in a transparent water tank at the door for everyone to choose. Simply tell the customer how you want it cooked, and they will make it for you. All you can enjoy is the fresh taste.
Bai Luochuan and Mi Yang went to order food. Master Bai picked out food he had never seen before, just for the sake of novelty. Mi Yang was completely the opposite. He held his sister's hand and the two of them discussed ordering some of the food they usually eat at home, just to be safe.
Bai Luochuan nudged Mi Yang with his elbow and asked him, "Two more desserts for your sister."
Mi Yang looked at him with a smile, and Master Bai didn't blush at all, so he nodded and said, "Okay, Xiaoxue, did you hear that? Thank Brother Bai quickly."
He lowered his head and spoke naturally, but Bai Luochuan's ears moved, and he suddenly looked at Mi Yang, his eyes lit up.
Without her parents around, Michelle was still a little timid. She held Mi Yang's legs and hid behind him, and only said one sentence in a low voice.
Bai Luochuan immediately said: "She is too young to hear. Teach her again."
Mi Yang squatted down, hugged the little girl and said, "Xiaoxue, be polite and say thank you Brother Bai."
Mi Xue whispered it again, and Bai Luochuan no longer disliked the little girl. It was as if he had discovered a new world. From the time they had dinner to the time they set off again, he took good care of the little girl. If he saw any new things on the roadside, no matter whether they were cheap or expensive, he would buy them for her and put them in the little girl's arms, and then as a matter of course, he asked Mi Yang to teach her to thank him again.
After this happened so many times, Mi Yang also noticed it. He looked up at Bai Luochuan without saying a word.
The brother and sister opposite remained silent. Bai Luochuan couldn't help but touch the tip of his nose and coughed, "I just thought it was interesting. I bought some for your sister to play with."
Mi Xue had learned along the way, and was not as wary of Bai Luochuan as before. She said, "Thank you, Brother Bai." Then she looked up at Mi Yang, waiting for her brother to nod before she dared to touch the toy.
Mi Yang nodded slightly, and the little girl took the little red ball and played with it by herself, her eyes still looking back. Bai Luochuan bought her too many toys and placed them all on the back seat. The colorful toys were very attractive to children.
Mi Yang touched her little head and said, "Go, be careful and don't fall down."
The little girl nodded and went to play by herself obediently.
Bai Luochuan sat aside and pretended to look out the window. He chuckled to himself, lowered the armrest between him and Mi Yang, moved closer, and said to him, "Hey, why don't you call me too?"
Mi Yang asked, "Haven't you heard enough along the way?"
Bai Luochuan snorted, "You didn't even look at me and yell, I still bought you..." Before he could even utter the word "toy", the boy opposite him pulled down his hat brim, covering his smug face. Bai Luochuan laughed under his hat, "Why are you still shy?"
Mi Yang stuffed a headset into his hand and said calmly, "Stop making trouble and listen to music."