Chapter 226: Memories of the Old School

The rundown middle school in the town.

It was summer break, empty and deserted.

Xu Chen and Xie Bingran slipped in from the staff dormitory, passing by the student dorms, bike shed, and boiler hot water room along the way.

Having left this place over three years ago, they glanced around with a mix of nostalgia and surprise.

Memories always come with a filter, blurring and idealizing things, hiding the decay and wear.

Now, revisiting it refreshed their mental images.

Xu Chen couldn’t resist pulling out his mobile phone and snapping several photos with a click.

Xie Bingran walked slowly, gazing around in silence, clearly recalling many people and events.

Before they knew it, they had wandered to the teaching building.

Walking through the long hallway on the first floor, looking at the rows of classrooms, brought back waves of memories.

…

At one classroom door, Xu Chen and Xie Bingran peered through the window inside.

They had both attended classes in this room during seventh and eighth grade.

Their time as desk mates had happened right here.

Xu Chen pointed. “There.”

“Mm.”

The third row from the back, toward the middle.

Xu Chen tried the window—it was locked from the inside. The front and back doors were secured with old iron locks too.

Xie Bingran said, “Follow me.”

She stuffed her hands in her pockets and turned toward the hallway.

Xu Chen, puzzled, hurried after her.

They circled around to the other side of the same classroom, near the bike shed.

Xie Bingran stopped at a window, seemed to search for a moment, then gave a firm push to one in the back row.

Surprisingly, it creaked open with a squeak.

Xu Chen looked on, speechless. What kind of clever trick was this?

Xie Bingran pulled the window fully open and glanced around.

She flashed Xu Chen a mischievous grin, placed her hands on the windowsill, and vaulted gracefully inside.

Agile and quick.

…

Bing Ge crouched on the windowsill, turned back, and extended a hand to Xu Chen.

Xu Chen felt like they were up to no good, but he grabbed Bing Ge’s hand anyway, used his other hand on the sill, and climbed in after her.

…

“These desks and chairs seem so much smaller than I remember…”

“And the podium looks tiny too,” Xie Bingran added.

Xu Chen chuckled. “That’s because you’ve grown taller!”

In perfect sync, they headed to that cramped seat in the third row from the back and sat down side by side.

A flood of memories rushed back into their minds.

Xie Bingran on the left, Xu Chen on the right.

She glanced over and saw his handsome profile again.

She remembered how, during classes back then, she’d often steal glances at his side like this…

Under the desk, Xu Chen gently took Xie Bingran’s hand.

No words needed.

…

Suddenly, sounds echoed from the hallway.

Heavy footsteps reverberated, accompanied by the jingle of keys at someone’s waist.

Probably the security guard on patrol during the break…

Xu Chen looked at Xie Bingran, and they shared a quick glance.

They hadn’t done anything wrong, but climbing in through the window and being caught in the classroom would be a hassle to explain.

Xu Chen pulled Xie Bingran along, crouching low as they quietly moved to the back door and huddled against the wall.

He glanced up—the window they’d used was now loosely shut, thankfully.

…

The security guard’s steps grew closer in the hallway, whistling as he went.

He reached the wall outside and paused, seemingly peering into the classroom.

Xu Chen and Xie Bingran huddled in the corner, holding their breath.

They exchanged another look.

They probably wouldn’t get caught…

After a moment, the footsteps and whistle resumed, and the guard moved on.

Still, they didn’t stand up right away, squatting there and sharing a smile.

Inside and outside the classroom, silence settled once more.

Their faces were close, close enough to hear each other’s soft breaths.

Xie Bingran bit her lip, her face lit with a playful smile.

Xu Chen eyed her soft lips and suddenly felt the urge to kiss her…

But as he hesitated, Xie Bingran stood up. She bent slightly and peeked out the back window.

“All clear,” she whispered.

Xu Chen got to his feet.

Ignoring the outside, he wrapped his arms around Xie Bingran from behind.

She stiffened for a second, then turned and happily nestled into his embrace.

…

The old classroom, the familiar desk mates.

Xie Bingran rested her head on Xu Chen’s shoulder, gently holding his back:

“It’s so quiet… like we’re the only two people in the world.”

“Do you like it?”

“I do.”

…

They held each other for what felt like forever, reluctant to let go.

With a bit of hesitation, they made their way to the window and climbed out, one after the other.

Xu Chen noticed the window’s latch seemed faulty—that’s why Xie Bingran had opened it so easily…

Once out of the teaching building, they strolled around the campus again.

They stayed cautious, not wanting to run into that security guard—explaining themselves would be a pain.

Luckily, everything remained quiet as they went.

On the outer wall of the bike shed, a blackboard displayed a childish and outdated bulletin board drawn with colorful chalk.

Xie Bingran stopped to look and said:

“I remember back then, you were always assigned to draw the bulletin boards, and a few times you even asked me to help.”

Xu Chen laughed and replied:

“And I used to hide complaints about the teachers in the text—only you and I knew about it.”

Xie Bingran: “Even after we stopped talking, whenever I saw the school’s bulletin boards, I could tell right away which ones you drew.”

…

Under a large locust tree, a faint breeze offered some relief.

Xie Bingran sat on the cement bench, stretching her long legs out and tilting her head in thought.

Xu Chen approached from a distance, holding two bottles of water:

“Surprisingly, the little shop is still open—quite a rarity.”

Xie Bingran took a bottle, twisted it open, and gulped down several big mouthfuls.

Xu Chen sat beside her, watching the swaying tree shadows, and suddenly recalled some things:

“In ninth grade, I had a run-in with those two guys from the sports team, and then out of nowhere, they came back to apologize…”

Xie Bingran thought for a moment and casually said:

“Oh… I handled those two for you.”

“…”

“In the second half of eighth grade, that biology teacher was always picking on me, but one day he suddenly became all polite—and I think he had a bruise on his face…”

“That teacher was a real jerk. I dealt with him, and not just because of you,” Bing Ge said coolly.

“…”

Xu Chen took a few swigs of water and continued:

“In tenth grade, I moved into the dorm and ran into some trouble…”

Xie Bingran turned to him with a cold tone:

“I went to study at First High School in the city—not just because I got in, but also to make sure you didn’t get bullied there.”

Xu Chen chugged the rest of his bottle.

Alright then.

What a bossy lead.

…”