The sun gradually set, and the daylight grew weak. Long shadows of trees stretched throughout the basketball court, and the fresh winter breeze of Beijing washed the empty classroom with a dissolving coolness.
"Are you going to go to Lemon after school?" a group asked, walking past their classroom.
"I can't," he groaned, waving the mop around. "I'll be too tired."
"Alright, alright. Have fun."
Some left for club activities, some hung around the library to study, and some were waiting for the evening study class to open so that they could study. Because what else would they do in evening study class? Sleep?
Gu Xiao wasn't a part of these currently relaxing groups, for he was standing in this empty classroom cluttered with fallen books, leaves, and dirt, holding a cleaning tool.
He let out a sigh and leaned his chin on the mop's stick, swaying from left and right. The room was silent, and the chatters gradually died out.
The supposedly exuberant day had once again become dead.
Looking around the empty classroom, the events of those months crept with strangling bloodstained feet into his conscience had reconstructed themselves there with terrible distinctness.
He drowned himself with those memories of all that he had treaded through, and for a moment, the same images and scenes of those people crawled over him.
The wind swept the leaves into the classroom, and he brought his senses back before him. To dwell on such matters of the past after so long, Gu Xiao shook those thoughts out of his head and peered at the sudden burst of leaves with eyes burning in rage.
"You leaves are a menace to my life," Gu Xiao mumbled.
The door slid open, and a familiar figure stood at the entrance. A puff of wind drew across the classroom once again, drawing the orange leaves across the wooden planks and to the foot of that boy.
"Student President? What are you doing here?" he smiled brightly.
"Cleaning," Lan Yuning said with the same soft tone and walked in.
Although he always had an apathetic expression, his voice was somewhat soothing to listen to. Perhaps it was because it was quiet and didn't pierce people's ears, unlike a certain someone.
The dried leaves from before caught his attention, and he glanced back, asking, "Did you mop without cleaning the leaves?"
"These leaves just flew in just now. I was going to brush them away, but you just happened to walk in before I found the effort to move."
"You should have closed the windows."
"Yeah, yeah, my bad."
Gu Xiao skipped to the window and shut it tightly before heading to the door where the scattered leaves travelled.
Smiling and humming like always, he quickly brushed the floor clean with the broom before taking back his mop. All the candours of youth returned, and he grinned with false purity and liveliness.
"Are you on cleaning duty as well? Did Mr. Shen ask you to clean with me? Is this what he meant by making you watch me? Will you not attend evening classes?"
"No. You can check the cleaning schedule," Lan Yuning said while organising the cluttered shelves.
"Alright, alright. I believe you, don't worry."
By taking one glance at Lan Yuning, Gu Xiao remembered that earlier today he was dumped by his girlfriend, and something lit in his head.
Since only the two of them were in the room, a sudden desire to take action ignited within him to help his dear deskmate.
"Wait here. I'll quickly go get something," Gu Xiao beamed, and, wasting no more time, he dashed out of the classroom.
Lan Yuning watched the back disappear in a flash and continued to clean the classroom by himself silently.
After a short while, Gu Xiao ran back into the classroom and wore the largest smile.
Lan Yuning jolted when he suddenly popped back in, though Gu Xiao just laughed with the same foolish grin. All this racket and noise always followed everywhere he went.
Peace and quietness never once existed when Gu Xiao was around, maybe only for a few seconds, but he was never fond of silence. Perhaps the only time he didn't cause such a ruckus was when he was sleeping, but the teachers disliked him sleeping.
So, he needed the student president to get accustomed to his noisiness if they were going to sit together for the following months.
"Student President, here."
Gu Xiao handed him a small pink drink branded with a cow logo. Seeing that Lan Yuning was just staring at the drink like he was looking at a poisonous antidote bought from some illegal drug dealer, Gu Xiao slung his arm over his shoulder, waving the beverage around proudly.
"I'm giving this strawberry milk to you because I consider you to be a good classmate to me. I guarantee it will make you feel better since you look so bitter right now."
Only this tinge of bewilderment spread across Lan Yuning's face, but his confused expression was simply slightly separating his lips.
At the same time, Lan Yuning's bitter hazel eyes remained the same, unwavering and unmoving. Yet, he was still listening to Gu Xiao ramble on.
When Gu Xiao turned to meet Lan Yuning's eyes, he didn't realise that Lan Yuning had been looking straight into his. With that same look of ambiguity, Gu Xiao's expression faltered, forcing him to avert his gaze.
Luckily, it appeared so natural as he continued laughing. How strange. To think he would ever feel unnerved by another's stare was unusual.
"Don't be too upset about it, alright? I know you might not like me, but I'm not inhumane. After I leave this classroom, my mouth will be completely shut, so don't worry. In seventy years, you won't even remember her face because you will have Arhaizimo's[1] and be too busy trying to remember other things!"
Lan Yuning blinked twice. "I will have what?"
"Do you not know? Ar—hai—zi—mo."
"...You mean Alzheimer's?"
"Oh, English, English, English. Sounds the same."
Lan Yuning peered the smiling boy up and down before landing his gaze on the drink. Staring at the drink silently, he was probably unaware of how distant his gaze had become as his mind drowned in his own train of thoughts.
Gu Xiao examined his defined face of intelligence that always produced the impression that he had many thoughts and feelings within, but they always failed to make it past the first layer of his skin, let alone his heart.
Yet Gu Xiao pretended he knew nothing.
"...I don't like strawberries..." Lan Yuning said.
"Well, if you don't want it, then I will drink it. It's your loss, alright?"
Without waiting for Lan Yuning to say anything, he laughed to himself and quickly devoured the entire drink in seconds, not leaving a single drop in the bottle.
"What a good dinner," he muttered and burped, patting his stomach twice.
"Keep cleaning so we can both go home."
"How stiff."
"Don't you want to go home faster?"
"That's true."
Gu Xiao grabbed the mop and aggressively ran in circles. He mopped the floor so cleanly that it was probably brighter than his future.
When Gu Xiao came back from the vending machine, Lan Yuning had already finished cleaning his area, even tidying the shelves so neatly that the books were all in alphabetical order. So, Gu Xiao expected him to leave, yet strangely, he kept mopping the same area.
Over and over again.