The sky was clear, with white clouds drifting lazily. Zhuang Zi'ang and his new friend, Su Yudiel, had filled their stomachs with snacks, which served as their lunch. They sat on a bench in the shopping mall, basking in the afternoon sun.
The gentle breeze played with Su Yudiel's navy blue pleated skirt, revealing her slender, fair calves. Her feet swayed back and forth, a sign of her restless energy.
"Zhuang Zi'ang, are you going back to school this afternoon?" Su Yudiel asked, gazing up at the sky.
"No," Zhuang Zi'ang replied decisively. The rebellious spirit within him had been awakened, and he planned to skip the rest of the afternoon classes. After being a good kid for over a decade, he could finally indulge himself.
Being with a good friend was much more fun than being in school. For the first time in his life, he experienced this kind of joy, and it felt incredibly exhilarating.
"Then where shall we go this afternoon?" Su Yudiel leaned closer to Zhuang Zi'ang. Her faint, sweet fragrance wafted towards him.
Without realizing it, the two had gone from strangers to using "we."
Zhuang Zi'ang thought for a moment and then asked, "Do you like fishing?"
Su Yudiel wrinkled her brow and shook her head repeatedly. "No, I've never caught a single fish."
"Then I'll take you to the river to fish. I'm an expert," Zhuang Zi'ang boasted. Every summer vacation, he would stay in the countryside for a while and go fishing with his grandfather. It was a leisurely and enjoyable pastime.
In truth, he was far from an expert. The number of fish he had caught in his entire life could be counted on one hand.
"Alright then, you have to catch a big, fat fish for me," Su Yudiel said, a charming smile curving her lips.
Without further ado, Zhuang Zi'ang went to a fishing tackle shop and spent over a hundred yuan on a cheap fishing rod. In the past, he might have balked at the price, but now, if he didn't spend it, he wouldn't have another chance.
Passing by a convenience store, Su Yudiel tugged at Zhuang Zi'ang's sleeve. "Let's buy some more snacks. We can eat them by the river."
"Are you a reincarnated hungry ghost?" Zhuang Zi'ang asked, exasperated.
Su Yudiel looked at the convenience store's glass window with a pitiful expression. "Just a few snacks, please? Pretty please?"
Zhuang Zi'ang surrendered. "Fine, fine, whatever you want."
"Yay, go buy them quickly!" Su Yudiel exclaimed, as happy as a child.
Zhuang Zi'ang entered the store and randomly grabbed some nuts, beef jerky, cookies, and other snacks from the shelves. Since they had just met, he had no idea what this girl liked to eat.
There was a small bookstore next to the convenience store. When Zhuang Zi'ang came out, he found Su Yudiel scrolling through her phone, reading silly jokes, and laughing uncontrollably to herself.
"Wow, you're into some deep stuff," Zhuang Zi'ang teased.
Su Yudiel could tell he was being sarcastic but didn't mind. "Life is about being happy. Why does it have to be so deep?"
"You're right. The more knowledge you have doesn't necessarily make you happier," Zhuang Zi'ang agreed.
"Exactly. Scientists, thinkers, philosophers – they all die in the end," Su Yudiel said casually. As a young person, she seemed to have no taboo about the word "death."
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Zhuang Zi'ang was taken aback at first, then said to himself, "Yeah, I'm going to die too."
The school was built on a hill, and at the foot of the hill was a river that flowed through the city. The green water flowed gently, its surface rippling.
The afternoon sun shone down, reflecting off the river in shimmering golden sparkles.
Zhuang Zi'ang baited his hook, cast the line with a flourish, and then sat cross-legged on the cobblestones by the river, like Jiang Taigong fishing by the Wei River, calm and composed.
Suddenly, a burst of silvery laughter broke his concentration.
"Keep your voice down. You'll scare away my fish," he complained.
"Sorry, this joke is too funny. Come look," Su Yudiel said, holding her phone out to Zhuang Zi'ang.
"Me, a person of such depth, reading these childish jokes with you?" Zhuang Zi'ang said with feigned disdain.
"Just take a look!" Su Yudiel pleaded with a pout.
Zhuang Zi'ang glanced at the phone perfunctorily. But those two glances led him down a path of no return.
"Hahahahaha..."
Before they knew it, their heads were close together, reading silly jokes and laughing like fools.
Su Yudiel had a very low threshold for humor. Even the most ordinary jokes could make her laugh until her stomach hurt.
Zhuang Zi'ang usually considered himself to have a high threshold for humor, but he couldn't help but be infected by the girl's laughter.
Afraid that laughing too loudly would disturb the fish in the water, he tried to stifle his laughter, which was quite a struggle.
"Zhuang Zi'ang, take out your snacks. I want to eat," Su Yudiel requested.
Zhuang Zi'ang took out the plastic bag. "There are nuts, cookies, and beef jerky. What do you want?"
"You choose for me. I like them all."
Foodies are not picky eaters.
Zhuang Zi'ang randomly grabbed a pack of cookies and handed it to her.
Su Yudiel tore open the package and eagerly took a bite. "So crispy! You should have one too."
"I'm so full, I can't eat anymore," Zhuang Zi'ang drawled.
Su Yudiel directly shoved a cookie into his mouth and said, "So fussy."
The cookie was crispy and sweet, but it wasn't as sweet as the girl's smile.
Zhuang Zi'ang completely forgot about his self-proclaimed status as a fishing expert and ended up reading jokes with Su Yudiel the whole time.
They even went back and read them a second time after finishing, like two fools seeking the purest form of joy. Only when their necks became too stiff to continue did he finally stop and stretch.
Suddenly remembering his original purpose, he lifted the fishing rod, only to find that the bait had long since been eaten clean.
Time flowed like petals falling from a flower, and the shadows on the ground grew longer and longer.
In the past, Zhuang Zi'ang found the afternoon hours in class to be particularly grueling. But today, from noon until sunset, it felt like the blink of an eye.
The setting sun cast a golden glow on the faces of the young man and woman.
"I need to catch the 6:10 bus home," Su Yudiel said, stretching.
"I haven't even caught a fish yet," Zhuang Zi'ang mumbled.
"You look like a big, fat fish yourself, all silly," Su Yudiel teased.
They left the riverbank and walked up the long stone steps back to the snack street.
Passing by a dessert shop, Su Yudiel stopped again, staring at the beautiful cakes in the window.
"Don't tell me you're hungry again?" Zhuang Zi'ang asked, surprised.
"No, no. You said your relationship with your family isn't good. Why not buy them a cake? Eating sweets brings happiness," Su Yudiel said, her eyes filled with sincerity.
If someone else had made this suggestion, Zhuang Zi'ang would have rejected it outright. Over a decade of emotional estrangement couldn't be mended with a small cake.
But when he met Su Yudiel's gaze, he couldn't bring himself to say no. This girl genuinely wanted to help him repair his relationship with his family. She believed that the warmth of human nature could overcome the coldness of the world.
In the end, at Su Yudiel's suggestion, Zhuang Zi'ang bought a strawberry cake. It was a bit pricey, and he felt a pang of regret as he paid for it.
They walked to the bus stop at the school gate, and the No. 19 bus arrived just in time.
"Goodbye, Zhuang Zi'ang," Su Yudiel said, waving. Then she hopped onto the bus.
"Goodbye, my friend," Zhuang Zi'ang said, waving back. But his voice was so soft that only he could hear it.
What an interesting girl.
Oh, crap, I forgot to get her phone number.
The bus gradually moved away, eventually disappearing into the flow of traffic.