SAYE [Run Freely]

Chapter 13

He turned back to give the small motel a final look, "Zhou's Family Motel", and mentally took note. The next time he wrote his memory logs he could come back and relish.

After buying breakfast from a small shop below the motel, he didn't have the time to eat it before he stuffed it in his bag and furiously ran toward the direction of the school.

The distance between Si Zhong and this side of the town wasn't too far - two stops away, and they were small stops too. If one was to use the time to wait for the bus and then squeeze on, you could have walked to your destination already. But to say that it was close, it still just about killed him running the full way and also, it was difficult to spot a taxi so early in the morning.

As he ran towards the school gate, Jiang Cheng heard the warning bell rang. The people around him approached the gate as if they were filtered in a slow-motion shot, without a single sign of a reaction, they continued to eat and chat away while slowly moving forward. In accordance with the rhythm of the warning bell, they stepped onto the school campus looking like they were strolling into their own backyard.

He slowed his own steps, not wanting to seem like a fast-paced nerd in front of this large audience.

Considering his current conditions, if he was in his previous school, the teachers on duty would have already started a swearing campaign. Yet the teacher standing on duty at the gate of Si Zhong - whether they were good-tempered or already accustomed to such nonsense - was gently screaming: "Hurry! Speed up your pace! Whoever climbs the gate after it closes will receive penalty marks!"

Climb the gate? Jiang Cheng turned around to look at the school gate.

The gate to Si Zhong was actually quite imposing: double layered, one layer was a half-person tall mechanized door, and on the inside was a two-framed metal door with spikes on the tip.

He suddenly remembered that Gu Fei was late yesterday - he climbed inside?

Tsk. Just thinking about that row of pointy spikes, he could feel a swish of cold wind blowing past his crotch.

As he climbed up the stairs someone called his name from behind: "Jiang Cheng!"

He turned around to see Wang Xu holding an extra large-sized pancake, gnawing and running toward him at the same time.

"Geez, it's really you." Wang Xu looked at him from top to bottom, "I thought it was Da Fei just now, but then realized the hat isn't right...why are you wearing his clothes? These are his clothes, right?"

"En," Jiang Cheng continued up the stairs.

"Did something happen?" Wang Xu looked at his hand. "The fuck, what happened to your hand? Was it Hou Zi? You went to hide at Da Fei's?"

"No, it wasn't. No," Jiang Cheng replied.

"You don't have to hide it from me." Wang Xu gave his shoulder a pat in a very loyal manner, "This happened because of me. If anything else occurs, I'll take responsibility, just tell me the truth..."

"Don't," Jiang Cheng turned around to look at him. "Pat my shoulder."

Wang Xu lifted his hand.

"Also, don't pat my back," Jiang Cheng added.

"Fuck," Wang Xu quite uncomfortably contracted his hand back into his pocket, taking a few large strides as he passed Jiang Cheng and walked upstairs. "So many problems."

∞

Gu Fei didn't show up to the morning self-study period, not sure if he was late or just skipped altogether.