Xu Su swallowed a mouthful of rice and shook her head. "I went to middle school at Kang County First High School, but I only met Huang Feng when we went to register for class on the third."
Huang Feng, sitting to Xu Su's right, slung her free left arm around Xu Su's shoulders. She leaned her head in with a smile and said, "We may not have known each other long, but we hit it off right away. We're going to be best friends for life."
Qiu Dandan swallowed a mouthful of fried rice and said, "We're going to be classmates for the next three years. We'll be good classmates for life, too."
The five of them all smiled.
After they finished eating and left the cafeteria, the second and third-year students were just getting out of class. A massive crowd swarmed toward the cafeteria, and the thought that they would soon be one of them made the girls' expressions turn a little solemn.
Back in the dorm room, their other three roommates had arrived. Huang Feng took out the snacks she had brought that morning and gave some to everyone.
Xu Su received two pull-apart bread rolls. She didn't have anything nice to give in return, so she locked the bread in her cabinet. 'I should treat Huang Feng to something sometime, too,' she thought.
Huang Feng's family seemed well-off, and she was clearly willing to be good friends with Xu Su, but that didn't mean Xu Su should just take advantage of her kindness.
They chatted for a while longer before the dorm room gradually quieted down as everyone settled in for an afternoon nap.
Xu Su wasn't in the habit of taking afternoon naps. Besides, it was brutally hot. The dorm only had a single ceiling fan, and very little of the breeze reached the lower bunks. The sweltering heat made it even harder to sleep. So as not to disturb the others, she simply closed her eyes to rest and began silently reciting texts from her lessons.
She didn't know how long she had been reciting when she heard noises from other dorms in the hallway. Xu Su sat up, and as soon as she did, she saw Huang Feng on the opposite bunk, her eyes wide and darting as she stared at the bed board above her. It seemed she hadn't been able to sleep either.
"Let's go. Didn't you say you wanted to get a haircut?" Xu Su said, keeping her voice low.
Huang Feng's eyes lit up, and she quietly got up as well. Xu Su then went to wake Qian Jia, only to find—what do you know—she was also wide awake.
The three of them tiptoed out of the dorm and walked across campus under the blazing sun.
Huang Feng pulled out a Nokia, an old phone her father had replaced and passed down to her. She glanced at the time: two in the afternoon.
Very few students had cell phones back then; they weren't nearly as common as they would be a decade later. The school didn't have any explicit rules against bringing phones, either. As long as you didn't secretly play with them in class, the teachers wouldn't bother you.
The shops next to First High School were all new. Not far from the school gate, the three of them spotted a hair salon. It was much better decorated than the one where Xu Su had gotten her hair cut in the industrial district.
At this hour, most students were still napping. There were only two other girls in the salon who had arrived early. They were probably freshmen from other classes. Their haircuts were almost finished, and they were sitting in their chairs with red-rimmed eyes, staring at their reflections in the mirror.
Qian Jia was flipping through a lookbook, trying to find a short hairstyle she liked.
Huang Feng, on the other hand, pointed at Xu Su and bluntly told the young stylist, "Just cut mine exactly like hers."
The stylist looked Xu Su over, then said confidently, "That's easy. I'll cut it exactly the same for you."
Qian Jia flipped through two lookbooks and hesitated for a long time. After asking for Huang Feng and Xu Su's opinions, she finally decided on a bob cut.
Xu Su sat on the salon's sofa, bored stiff, and watched as Huang Feng's hair got shorter and shorter until it was a boyish pixie cut.
The girl who had been all smiles since they'd met had no trace of a smile on her face now. She wasn't taking the new hairstyle well. Xu Su offered a few words of comfort and finally managed to console her.
Unexpectedly, when Qian Jia's bob cut was finished, her reaction was even stronger. Tears streamed down her face, and she looked utterly heartbroken. Seeing her made the newly-calmed Huang Feng's eyes turn red again.
Xu Su awkwardly tried to comfort them. "Don't cry, your hair will grow back. And having short hair is more convenient, right? You can just towel-dry it after a wash. Think of all the time you'll save."
"Your hair will grow back. Once you get into college, you can grow it as long as you want, dye it any color you want, and get big curls or small curls—whatever you like."
Her coaxing made Huang Feng start to laugh, but then her shoulders slumped again. "This is too depressing. I need something sweet. Let's go get some bubble tea, okay? There's a shop near First High School that has really good bubble tea."
Qian Jia stopped crying and asked, "Is it expensive?"
"One yuan a cup. It's a great deal. When I was in middle school, I'd buy one on my way home every day after school in the summer."
One yuan a cup wasn't cheap for students on a two-yuan-per-meal budget, but it was still affordable as an occasional treat. And on such a hot day, a cold cup of bubble tea would feel amazing. Qian Jia readily agreed to the suggestion.
The bubble tea of that era was all made from powder, a far cry from the fresh ingredients used in later years. Xu Su didn't really want any, but not wanting to be a killjoy, she went along with them.
It was a little after three in the afternoon, and the bubble tea shop near First High School was filled with several groups of freshmen enjoying their free period.
The three of them ordered their drinks. Xu Su had been wanting to treat Huang Feng to something anyway, and she couldn't just leave Qian Jia out, so she took out three yuan and paid for Qian Jia's drink as well.
They sat on a long bench by the window. The shop had no air conditioning, only a few wall-mounted fans WHIRRING away.
Xu Su picked up her pearl milk tea from the table, put the straw in her mouth, and took a big sip. Perhaps because it had been so long since she'd had anything sweet, for a moment, she thought the powdered milk tea tasted surprisingly good.
With one sip of bubble tea, Qian Jia's eyes squeezed shut in bliss. She was already over the sadness of her short haircut. "Are we going to the classroom to study tonight?" she asked.
Huang Feng said, "Sure. We'd just be sitting around in the dorm anyway."
Xu Su nodded too. She was completely focused on her studies right now. But having been reborn, she had already forgotten most of her high school knowledge. Even though she had gotten into First High School as the county's top scorer, her actual foundation might now be weaker than that of her classmates.
She would have to work harder than everyone else just to stay in the rocket class.
The three of them drank their bubble tea and chatted. Students' topics were always the same: teachers, classmates, and grades.
Qian Jia remarked, "Teacher Wu is so young! When we registered, I didn't even realize he was our homeroom teacher. He looks so fierce, though. He never smiles."
At the mention of this topic, Huang Feng perked up. "Teacher Wu is a living legend at our school. I heard he even helped write questions for this year's college entrance exam for math. They call him 'Iron-Faced Wu' because he's impartial and incredibly strict. He's taught three consecutive rocket classes, and we're his fourth. Don't think you can rest easy just because you got into the rocket class. If your grades slip, you'll be packing your bags for a regular class."
Qian Jia's face paled. "That can happen? The class assignments can change after we've been placed? What kind of grades do you need to stay in the rocket class? Wouldn't it be so embarrassing to get moved out?"
Xu 'That-Stings-a-Little' Su: "...It's not that embarrassing, I guess."
Just then, a male voice called out from the shop's entrance, "Fengfeng?"