Volume 15
Chapter 12: Your Past, and Mine (Part 3)
Zou Yameng’s eyes flickered, her gaze fixed on the screen, unable to move for a moment. In the picture, after setting up the camera, little Lu Li ran away with his back to the lens. In the center of the screen, twenty-odd children were pushing and shoving each other. The woman called Teacher Xie was anxiously shouting, “Everyone, stop fighting!”
“Lizi, where did you get this?” Of course, Zou Yameng remembered when this was filmed. This was the graduation video that their head teacher, Teacher Xie, had filmed for them with her own phone when they graduated from elementary school. Teacher Xie was a good teacher. It was said that she had come to the Low-Rent District to support education. After teaching for two years, she was transferred back to the city, but not long after, she fell ill and passed away.
Lu Li scratched his head. Compared to finding this video disc, it was even harder to find an old-fashioned DVD player. “When Baili and I went back to Chuanhai before, I stopped by to visit Teacher Xie’s parents and got this disc from them.”
He hung his dusty jacket on the back of the chair and then jumped onto the bed, sitting beside Zou Yameng. “Teacher Xie’s parents are doing very well. The rumors back then were true. Her family was very well-off. She came to the Low-Rent District to teach purely out of a sincere heart. It’s a pity, Teacher Xie had a genetic disease…”
As they were talking, another figure appeared on the screen. At that time, Zou Yameng had already graduated from elementary school for a year and had been promoted to junior high, but she had still been dragged over by little Lu Li to film the graduation video. Zou Yameng’s height in the picture was particularly striking, standing out like a crane among a flock of chickens in the group of small children.
“Three, two, one, cheese!” The graduation photo was not taken well. It was chaotic, and some of the children weren’t even looking at the camera. But Zou Yameng could feel a sense of happiness from this comical photo. At that time, they hadn’t yet deeply realized the disparities of the world and still had hope for the future. Everything was not yet out of reach, and Teacher Xie, the only one who could understand the fate of the children in the Low-Rent District, was also smiling with incomparable warmth. She was like a matriarch, taking care of the chaotic children in the elementary school.
Zou Yameng remembered very clearly that in the two years Teacher Xie had taught, she would give the children supplies every New Year and on holidays. Sometimes it was cured meat, sometimes it was a big gift package of snacks, and sometimes it was some small trinkets that weren’t very useful.
“She was so nice,” Zou Yameng said in a small voice. “I remember that time Zhou Haiming stole her bag at school. When she found out, she wasn’t angry, but gave the bag to Zhou Haiming. But for the next few days, she had to trudge to school holding a thick pile of teaching materials herself. And because of that, Zhou Haiming never dared to steal anything again and was very obedient in Teacher Xie’s class from then on…”
“It’s a pity Zhou Haiming still let Teacher Xie down in the end,” Lu Li added.
The screen suddenly went black. Just as Zou Yameng thought the video was over, a voice came from the black screen. “Aiya, Linlin, just say a few words.” It was Teacher Xie’s voice, young and full of vitality.
The screen lit up again. This was clearly someone holding a phone and filming. The subject of the filming was a shy girl who was covering her face with a book. “I’m too shy!”
Lu Li said, “Do you remember? Cai Linlin, the most timid girl in elementary school at that time, who was most afraid of bugs.”
Zou Yameng nodded slightly, her eyes hazy, lost in memories.
“Linlin, what do you want to be in the future?”
“What do I want to be? I want to be… a professor in the future!” Cai Linlin said.
Lu Li’s pupils moved slightly. It was a pity. Cai Linlin had died in a car accident a year later.
Teacher Xie turned the camera to the next person, who was Zhou Haiming. “Haiming, you say a few words too. What do you plan to be in the future?” The Zhou Haiming in the picture had a disdainful look, with a roguish air. “I want to be a gangster! When the time comes, I’ll make that kid Lu Li my lackey!” “No, no. Being a gangster isn’t good. Choose another profession, okay?” Zhou Haiming grumbled and said, “Then I want to be a secret agent in the future.”
Lu Li’s heart was filled with mixed feelings. Zhou Haiming had not become a secret agent in the end. He had finally sunk into the depths of the Low-Rent District.
The screen changed, showing little Zou Yameng. “Little Meng, you’ve grown so much taller since you started junior high! You’re almost as tall as me! You say a few words too!”
Little Zou Yameng shook her head like a rattle drum. “I’m not a graduate. I’m not saying anything.”
“Say something, say something~”
“No…” Little Zou Yameng turned her head away, as if looking at someone off-screen. Teacher Xie, as if sensing something, turned the camera and found that little Zou Yameng’s gaze was on the eagerly standing little Lu Li.
Teacher Xie let out a long “oh.” “Little Meng, you like Lu Li! Right!”
Little Zou Yameng cried out in a panic, “No! Teacher Xie, don’t talk nonsense!”
Lu Li laughed out loud watching this. He looked back at Yameng and saw that she also had a smile on her face, with tears in her eyes. She wiped away the tears and leaned a little closer to Lu Li. “If I had been more frank back then, would there have been no other girls?” “Who knows.” “You bad seed…” “An older sister who had a puppy love has no right to call me a bad seed.” Zou Yameng went to grab the flesh of Lu Li’s waist, but Lu Li dodged her, and the two of them started to fool around on the bed.
At the same time, the interview on the screen was still going on. It was finally Lu Li’s turn.
Teacher Xie: “Lu Li, what do you want to be in the future?”
Little Lu Li, without thinking, said, “I want to make money. Any profession that makes money is fine!”
“Then you can be a star in the future, Lu Li. Teacher thinks you’ll definitely have a lot of fans.”
“Do stars make a lot of money?”
“Yes. And only good-looking people can be stars. Teacher thinks you have a lot of potential!”
“Then I’ll be a star in the future!” Little Lu Li was extremely proud.
…
Zou Yameng was now being pinned to the bed by Lu Li. Hearing the voice from the TV, she giggled. “You’ve even said such things?” Lu Li was a little embarrassed. “I don’t even remember it myself.”
“Then why didn’t you become a star later?”
“I found that making games makes more money…”
“Do you regret it now?”
“A little.”
Zou Yameng smiled, clamping his waist with her athletic thighs. “You’re not allowed to be a star. Showing your face in public, I’d be depressed to death.” Lu Li was amused by her words and laughingly agreed. “Yes, being a star has no male virtue, it’s not proper. I’m a good family boy.” Zou Yameng laughed until her stomach hurt. “Aren’t you disgusting~”
As she laughed, she suddenly couldn’t laugh anymore. The man’s gaze was calm and gentle. His breath hit Zou Yameng’s neck, and the airflow slid from her neck to her chest, cool and refreshing, as if she had been stripped naked.
The disc played to the end. The screen went black again. Little Lu Li asked curiously, “Teacher Xie, can we see what you’ve filmed?”
Teacher Xie answered gently, “Of course you can. When it’s the New Year this year, I’ll edit it and send it to you.”
“Okay~”
It was a pity that in the end, the twenty-two children never received the package from this teacher.
…
“Lizi, why don’t you call me sister anymore?” Zou Yameng and Lu Li looked at each other, the temperature in the air quietly rising. “Calling me Yameng, Yameng, sounds so distant.”
