FYN Chapter 107 Power Outage
Chapter 107 Power Outage
The atmosphere in the class has been a bit subtle these past few days.
It wasn't the subtle tension of a tense standoff; it was the kind where everyone was quietly putting in their best effort.
The teachers noticed this but didn't say anything.
Xiao Yunqing has been the one who has been working the hardest during this period.
There were two stacks of books on her desk, one on physics and chemistry on the left, and one on history and politics on the right.
While others were chatting during the break, she was working on a physics problem.
While others were sleeping on their desks during lunch break, she flipped through her history textbook.
She studied science because Song Huan wanted to study science.
She studied humanities because she wanted to get high scores.
Only by getting high scores can you sit behind Song Huan.
This logic spun around in her mind several times, and each time it held true, each time it made her even more tired.
During evening self-study, Xiao Yunqing lay slumped over her desk, her eyelids feeling as heavy as lead.
The physics exam paper was spread out in front of me. I wrote three lines on the big question about electric fields but couldn't write any more. My brain felt like it was stuffed with cotton, both swollen and stuffy.
Feng Nian walked over from the front, holding a bottle of water, and stood by her table.
"Class monitor, want to go to the convenience store to buy a bottle of water? I've seen you studying all day."
Xiao Yunqing looked up, her eyes a little sore. She rubbed them and said, "I'm not thirsty, you can go."
Feng Nian glanced at her, then looked down at the physics test paper in front of her.
The corners of the test paper were rolled up, and several lines of writing on the draft paper were crossed out, leaving a dark mess.
She glanced at the first row again.
Song Huan was turning her head to talk to Zhao Qihang. The two were discussing a recently released game. Zhao Qihang was talking animatedly, and Song Huan nodded from time to time with a smile on her face.
Feng Nian withdrew her gaze, turned around, and left.
Xiao Yunqing lowered her head and continued looking at the question.
Force analysis...
The words seemed to dance on the paper. She stared at them for more than ten seconds, then closed her eyes again.
A voice drifted over from the front row. Zhao Qihang had a loud voice, loud enough to be heard clearly even from the corridor, "I'm telling you, you have to use fire attacks on that boss, ice attacks won't work. I tried several times before I finally beat it."
Song Huan's voice was softer and more halting, "Oh, then I'll try it later."
Xiao Yunqing opened her eyes and looked at that figure from behind.
He leaned back in his chair, legs stretched out long, hands in his pockets, always looking lazy.
His head was tilted slightly, as if he was listening to Zhao Qihang speak, or as if he was looking somewhere else.
She lowered her head, turned to the next page of the physics test, and began working on the multiple-choice questions.
For the first question, choose B. For the second question, choose C.
The third question: I read the question twice, but I still didn't understand it.
"Zhao Qihang, keep your voice down, you're disturbing others."
It was Song Huan who spoke; her voice wasn't loud, but it was very clear.
Zhao Qihang's voice immediately became softer, turning into a breathy, buzzing sound, making it impossible to hear what he was saying.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yunqing's lips curled up slightly.
……
"Ding ding ding".
The bell rang for the second evening self-study session, the sound coming from the loudspeaker at the end of the corridor and echoing throughout the entire building.
The classroom was quiet for about five seconds.
Then the speaker made another sound, not a ringtone, but a short buzzing sound from the electrical current, and then it stopped.
Quiet.
Suddenly, the lights went out.
The entire classroom went from a bright white expanse to a pitch-black mess. The words on the textbooks became illegible, the writing on the blackboard became illegible, and even the back of the student's head in front of you was just a blurry outline.
Someone paused for a moment, then shouted, "The power's out!"
That voice was like water thrown into a frying pan; the whole classroom erupted in chaos.
The sound of chairs scraping the floor, textbooks slamming on the table, people standing up, running outside, and shouting "Don't push! Don't push!"
Some people laughed, some shouted, and it was complete chaos.
The corridor was already packed with people, from the next class, the class after that, they all poured out.
Some people banged on the railing, some whistled, and some even sang a couple of lines at the top of their lungs, singing off-key, but nobody cared.
The entire school building was filled with ghostly screams.
Xiao Yunqing remained seated, still not having reacted.
It was pitch black in front of me, and I couldn't see anything.
The noise in the corridor grew louder and louder. Some people were shouting "Holiday!" and others were shouting "Holiday! Holiday!" They shouted a few times, then laughed, and then continued shouting.
Xiao Yunqing subconsciously looked up, but Song Huan and Zhao Qihang were nowhere to be seen.
Feeling inexplicably uneasy, she stood up and walked towards the door, wanting to see if Song Huan was in the hallway.
Xiao Yunqing stood at the door, watching the people jostling in the corridor.
She stood there, looking at all this, feeling a little excited and a little bewildered.
Then someone took her hand.
It wasn't a light touch; it was a direct grasp, palm against the back of my hand, fingers interlocking with hers.
Her heart tightened, and she instinctively wanted to pull away, but the hand was holding her tightly, preventing her from doing so.
"Let's go, we can't miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
A voice came from the front, tinged with laughter and a little breathless—it was Song Huan!
Xiao Yunqing's heart skipped a beat, then began to race, so fast it felt like it was about to jump out of her throat.
She didn't say anything, and he pulled her forward.
The corridor was full of people. Someone squeezed in from the left, and he turned sideways to pull her towards the wall.
His hand never loosened its grip.
When I got to the stairwell, there were even more people.
People were crammed together going up and down the stairs, making it impossible to tell who was going where.
Someone shouted, "Don't push! Don't push!" The voice came from the crowd, muffled.
Song Huan stopped and glanced back at her.
The stairwell was dark, and she couldn't see his expression, but she could sense that he was smiling.
"Stay close to me," he said.
Then he pulled her downstairs.
People on the stairs were running down, their footsteps echoing in the hallway.
He walked ahead, making sure each step was firm before taking the next.
He held her hand, and she followed his rhythm as they walked down the path.
Third floor, second floor, first floor.
As I rushed out of the teaching building, a cool night breeze swept in, carrying the scent of the playground grass.
There were already quite a few people standing on the playground.
In twos and threes, some people squatted on the lawn, some sat on the steps, and some stood looking up at the sky.
The sky is filled with stars.
There were no streetlights, no classroom lights, and no corridor lights.
The entire sky was as black as a piece of velvet, with stars embedded in it, densely packed.
Xiao Yunqing stood at the edge of the playground, looked up at the starry sky, and paused for a moment.
She had lived in Jiangcheng for fifteen years and had never seen so many stars before.
Or perhaps, she never looked up or made a conscious effort to look at the stars.
More and more people are gathering on the playground.
Someone ran out of the teaching building, laughing and shouting, and rushed to lie down on the lawn.
Some people walked slowly, looking up at the sky as they went.
People were holding hands, openly and blatantly, under the dark night sky, right in the middle of the playground.
Xiao Yunqing saw it; there was more than one pair.
The couple on the left are leaning against each other; the girl is resting her head on the boy's shoulder, and the boy is looking down and talking to her.
The couple on the right is even more obvious; they are holding hands and walking slowly on the lawn, their steps in unison.
Didn't they say there were no puppy love students at No. 1 High School?
Why is the entire playground filled with young couples dating?!
Her heart skipped a beat, then she looked down at her hands.
Song Huan was still holding her hand, not letting go.
She stared at the two hands for two seconds, her fingers curled slightly, but she didn't pull them out.
"Come on, let's sit over there," Song Huan said.
He pulled her towards the middle of the playground and found a grassy slope to sit down.
The grass was a little damp, and it felt cool to sit on.
Xiao Yunqing sat next to him, the two of them about a fist's distance apart.
Song Huan let go, leaned back, supported herself with her hands behind her, and looked up at the sky. "I never expected that No. 1 Middle School would have a power outage."
Xiao Yunqing withdrew her hand and placed it on her knee.
The warmth of his palm still lingered on my fingers.
"Yes," she replied.
Then she took out the MP3 player from her pocket. It was silver-blue, and the screen protector was still on. The little flower sticker on the corner was not very clear in the starlight.
She untied the earphone cord, wrapped it around three times, removed the rubber band, and put it on her wrist.
Insert the earphones into your ears, left and right. Then pull out the left one and hand it over.
Song Huan turned to look at her in surprise.
"Want to listen to some music?" she asked softly, as if afraid of being overheard.
Song Huan took it and put it in her ear.
The MP3 player's screen lit up briefly with a blue light, and the playlist started changing.
She pressed the play button.
When the intro started, the sounds on the playground seemed to be separated by a layer.
Some people were laughing, some were running, some were shouting, but those sounds all seemed to fade into the distance, muffled, as if separated by a layer of water.
The sound of a guitar flowed from the headphones, light and gentle, swirling around my ears.
"The little yellow flower of the story has been drifting since the year it was born..."
Xiao Yunqing listened to the melody and turned to look at Song Huan.
He looked up at the stars in the sky, his expression serene, with a slight upturn at the corners of his mouth.
A gust of wind blew, lifting his bangs slightly and revealing his forehead.
She looked away and looked up at the sky.
The stars twinkled in the sky, one by one, some shining brightly, others flashing and dimming intermittently, like they were blinking.
There were many people on the playground, and the noise was quite mixed, but the song in my headphones was very clear.
Guitar, piano, drums, and his voice, gently beside my ear.
Once upon a time, there was someone who loved you for a very long time...