Chapter 16: 16

During winter vacation, we had a class reunion. Many of our classmates knew about the third master and me being together. No matter what they thought at that moment, according to the usual routine, someone would always pop up to say, “I knew there was something between you two at that time!”

Being teased so many times, I was a little embarrassed, so I went to another table to eat. The people at that table kept toasting me, and as a result, I ended up being a drunken mess.

After having lunch, and seeing as it was still too early, the group planned to go to a nearby KTV bar to spend the whole afternoon singing. 

I went to the restroom. When I came out, I found the third master standing there with my coat in his arms, waiting for me at the sink. The rest of our classmates had already left.

The third master waited for me to finish washing my hands as I also inexplicably splashed water onto my face. After which, he helped me put on my coat and wiped the residual water off my face with his shirt sleeve.  

“Why have you been avoiding me all day?” he asked while completing his set of actions.

“I was shy,” I giggled, too drunk to think properly. 

The third master only hummed in response.

I did not know what came to me at that time, but I suddenly stood on my tiptoes, put my arms around his neck, pulled him down to face-level, and kissed him. 

After doing such, I bolted out of there, leaving him alone in a daze.

That was our first kiss, but I sadly drank too much that day and screwed it up…

  

I genuinely did not remember kissing the third master after getting that drunk. It took quite a while before the third master jumped to his feet and walked me through how I flirted with him that night to help jog my memory.

He himself didn’t remember much after that either, though, saying that his mind went completely blank at that time.

In short, I always had the sense that the third master kept glancing at me with a strange look in his eyes when we met the next day after the reunion. I had no clue what was going on with that.

The two of us went shopping and ate hot pot, both of us mulling over our own respective thoughts.

That day, I had on a fluffy hat. It looked cute, warm, and was quite… absorbent.

So, on our way home, the noticeable smell of hot pot lingered on the top of my head.

By the time we reached the fountain that had long stopped running water near my house, the third master suddenly pulled me and asked me to squat down with him.

“What’s going on?” I asked in confusion. 

The third master looked at a figure not far away from us. 

“Someone’s coming over,” he said.

Hearing this, I grew even more puzzled. “Yeah, I guess someone is heading over here.” 

Third Master seemed to be muttering to himself. “It wouldn’t be good for other people to see.”

Just as I was about to muse over the thing that would have apparently been bad if other people were to witness it, the third master, without warning, swooped his head down and… kissed me.

I have regretted countless times that our first clear-headed and sober kiss had happened under such circumstances: next to a broken neighborhood fountain surrounded by bare trees and dim street lighting. The two of us were like two frogs kissing in the night.

Maybe the gods above could not stand such an unromantic display of affection themselves. Before I went through the door of our house that evening, the third master gave me a bear hug. 

His chin was resting on my head when, out of nowhere, a loud bang reverberated from behind. I turned around. The sight of fireworks illuminated the night sky.

We were in each other’s arms as we watched the fireworks display for another five minutes. There were endless fireworks of various colors and shapes, all of which were breathtaking.

“You didn’t do this, right?” I asked the third master.

The third master grew silent for a few seconds, then smiled. 

“Let’s just say I did.”

  

After school started, I began to really miss the third master. 

Finally, one day, I went to Xiamen to find him without my family knowing. At the time, I was too ignorant and did not save money, so the two of us ended up spending all of our living expenses. Soon, after returning to school, we couldn’t make ends meet.

It was a month before summer vacation, and I converted our last one hundred into a pile of pennies and calculated each meal cost in a notebook. The supermarket had this rice cake called “Four Circles,” which cost two yuan a piece. It had a huge chocolate bar in it and would have no problem filling an empty stomach.

I rang up the third master.

“I ate a Four Circle and a steamed bun at noon today. It was really good.” 

The third master had just gone back to his dormitory after having a hearty meal of his own. However, after listening to what I had to say on the call, the latter was no longer in a good mood.

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“Don’t be like this – you have to eat a proper meal. If you don’t have enough money to buy one, try and think of another way.”

“‘Try and think of another way’? I can’t exactly ask my family for money.” 

My lips lightly curled upwards.

“Go leech off something to eat from your classmates! They’ll have no problem giving you their bones whenever they eat meat. It’s better than being hungry and miserable,” he said after thinking about it for a while. 

I was speechless. 

“Why do I think your solution sounds way more miserable… It’s okay, really – I’m eating less to lose weight.”

“But eating sorbet will only make you fatter, right?” the third master asked.

I wanted to cry, but no tears would come out. 

“Go away…  Just leave me alone. Go eat to your heart’s content and live well.”

The third master was wise and understood my intent. 

“You’re trying to tell me you’re miserable and don’t want me to have a good time… I’ll go to the cafeteria and drink the free porridge there for dinner later…”

“Poor, unfortunate us…” I sighed.

We discussed various methods of rationing our food and drinks while also relying on the school’s free porridge to get by.

A few days later, the third master came to me. 

“My throat feels sore, and it seems like I have a cold. I probably caught the flu.” 

“Your immunity is probably low because you haven’t been eating properly. Go see a doctor,” I advised, distressed.

“I can’t afford to go to one.”

“Don’t you have a medical insurance card? That card doesn’t exactly cost money, does it?” I asked.

The third master thought for a moment. 

“…Yes.”

Just as I thought I was being clever, I heard muttering.

“Okay, I’ll just put this card on the bedside table. The doctor will come take care of me in no time.”

“Did the fever fry your brain?” I asked with a cry.

A few days later.

“My mother gave me money to buy tickets back home! We don’t have to live a hard life anymore!” I happily told him.

The third master was delighted to hear this.

“Really? That’s great news! Then, that means I don’t have to stay here for another half a month to cheat my mom!”

“Cheat, huh… Now that you mention it, I paid all the rent for this trip to Xiamen! Shouldn’t you pay half of it since you live here, too!” I said.

In reality, although I did pay for the rent, the money to go out to eat, drink, and get entertainment was all taken care of by the third master. 

In the end, these were not what he used to refute me.

“But every day since we came here, I’ve been solely responsible for cleaning the place, getting up early just to buy you meals, and also doing the laundry for you…”

Hearing this, I remembered my great-aunt’s visit after finding a jarring stain on my dress.

With a blushing face, I interrupted him, “All right! Stop making excuses! We’re talking about the room fee here!” 

The third master was silent for a while. 

“I’ll owe you in the meantime. I’ll give you all my salary later, deal?”

“What’s this numb yet happy feeling I’m having right now?” I smiled cheekily.

The lack of proper meals during that trip left us with painful memories and a lesson. 

Later on, we learned to set a date to meet for the next outing and desperately began saving money. 

When we weren’t together, we were either saving money for when we met or simply making do with the little money left after such outings. Whenever the two of us would meet, those were the days when we would enjoy the best out of eating, living, and having fun. 

Now, when I think back on my college days, the times when I was with the third master were always the happiest.

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