电车狼

Su Yixiao complained at the front, "I hope they don't change their minds. If they do when I reach the school gate, I'll throw my suitcase away and run out anyway."

Jiang Yan and Lu Beibei were whispering to each other. "Once we're out, I want to eat ice cream," Jiang Yan said.

Lu Beibei replied, "I want to buy milk tea, jasmine milk green tea with taro paste. I also want to eat street-side jianbing with green onions, chili, chicken strips, and sausage..."

Jiang Yan interrupted, "Stop it! The feeling is too real. I feel like I'm already outside the school gates."

As the morning reading ended, everyone gathered in front of the building, lining up by class. Each class had to recite their pledge before they could leave.

Jiang Yan stood at the back of her class line, pulling her suitcase. The student council was maintaining order. Song Li'an ran over to tell her, "Wait for me at the gate. I'll go buy ice cream first."

Jiang Yan nodded. Since they were leaving in order, Song Li'an's class would be the first to go.

...

As expected, the gate was crowded with parents. Jiang Yan spotted Song Li'an's grey suitcase near a stone stool by the school gate and waited there for him to return.

Every holiday, the school entrance would become congested. Some parents came to pick up their children by car, while other students squeezed onto public buses with their luggage.

But Jiang Yan and Song Li'an lived really close to the school. They could walk home in less than ten minutes.

They strolled leisurely towards home, eating ice cream. When they passed the bus stop, Jiang Yan put down her suitcase and ran to say hello to a classmate.

Song Li'an waited for her, eating his ice cream and pulling his suitcase closer to himself.

The classmate, unsurprisingly, noticed Song Li'an and exclaimed, "How nice! You two are going home together again."

Jiang Yan patted her shoulder generously and said, "See you tomorrow!" before running back.

"See you tomorrow" really meant tomorrow. For first-year high school students, they had a break every two weeks, leaving on Saturday morning and returning Sunday afternoon.

They walked straight along the street by the school, crossed an intersection, and were almost at their neighborhood. By the time they reached the intersection, the green light had been on for a while.

Feeling the countdown was about to start, Jiang Yan grabbed her suitcase and shouted to Song Li'an, "Run!"

The sun was rising, its light spreading across the street, as the young ones awakened the city.

Jiang Yan hadn't finished her ice cream, so she could only pull her suitcase with one hand. Song Li'an tapped her hand and took over pulling her suitcase as they ran.

The wheels of the suitcases made peculiar sounds on the road, and their unzipped school uniforms fluttered in the wind.

...

Song Li'an's parents were still busy on Saturday, so as usual, he stayed at Jiang Yan's house for meals. Having watched the children grow up, Lu Yuliang would even make a special dish that Song Li'an liked.

When Zhou Sisi finally returned, she would buy a large amount of snacks within Lu Yuliang's acceptable limits.

Song Li'an was lying on the sofa, holding a book. His loose white T-shirt slightly revealed his sharp, distinct shoulder blades, vaguely outlining the youthful and energetic body of the teenage boy.

Zhou Sisi put the snacks on the table and asked Song Li'an to take them over.

The grown-up Song Li'an wasn't as obedient anymore. He was no longer the little boy who would do whatever he was told.

He propped himself up on the sofa with one hand, reached for the bag, deftly untied the knot, took out a box of barley cakes, and frowned as he studied the ingredient list.

"They're all things Yan Yan can eat. Why are you siding with your Aunt Lu? Always controlling this and that," Zhou Sisi said, exasperated.

"She doesn't listen. Her teeth are almost ruined," Song Li'an replied without looking up, impartially inspecting all the items.

Zhou Sisi knew her son's ways and laughed, "I dare you to say that in front of Yan Yan. Always acting tough behind her back, but when you see her, you act like her little brother."

"I wouldn't dare," Song Li'an replied coolly, not at all embarrassed. He analyzed, "She's timid. If I try to control her, she won't play with me anymore."

The children's feelings were truly a mystery. Zhou Sisi pondered silently. They had never worried about puppy love, mainly because both children were sensible, and after so many years of being like real siblings, no one had ever considered it.

But it had to be said that Song Li'an's judgment was very accurate. His understanding of Jiang Yan might even be deeper than her own.

After his inspection, he kept two boxes of raw chocolate.

Zhou Sisi noticed and quickly said, "Why are you keeping these? Yan Yan loves these the most..."

Song Li'an answered without hiding anything, "I'm keeping them so she'll have to ask me for them. Otherwise, how will she remember me at school? We're not even in the same class."

He went out to deliver the snacks, leaving Zhou Sisi shocked by her son's multitude of little schemes.

What had she given birth to? A black-hearted sesame tangyuan?