Time flies, and before we knew it, May reached its end.
The popularity of crayfish surged with the World Cup fever, with a new peak every night. The mix of crayfish and beer, along with the noise of the crowd, was ceaseless, as the passionate World Cup anthems resonated through the streets and alleys.
Speaking of which, the World Cup theme song that left the deepest impression on Xu Qingfan was the one from 2010.
When Waka Waka played, it was as if youth returned.
Even though the National Football Team, labeled the "Galaxy Battleship," lost their first match 0-2 to the obscure Godzilla, the newspapers and television were full of invective. However, the enthusiasm of Huaxia fans was not affected in the slightest.
It's just that many people's expectations had shifted from advancing to the next round to at least winning one match, and a few days later, this expectation turned into scoring at least one goal.
[Turn off the corridor lights, backpack in hand]
[Walk to the room, look out the window]
[Thinking of the book I just bought]
[Titled Peninsula Iron Box]
[Placed by the bed, piling up more]
[First page, sixth page, seventh page, preface]
[I could never have predicted]
[That you, who read this book with me, would have to go]
On the stage, all the senior class A students of Sunshine Kindergarten were singing Jay Chou's Peninsula Iron Box in unison, with teachers and parents filling the seats below.
The photographer set up the camera in the front row to capture these precious memories and turn them into DVDs.
Xia Xiaoxiao, because of her loud voice, was placed in the center by the teacher to lead the song, in contrast to Xu Qingfan, who sneakily slacked off in the crowd.
About to start elementary school, he wondered what would be different this time...
After coming off the stage, Xu Qingfan immediately wiped off the rouge on his face with a tissue.
Who knows what people of this era were thinking, painting a red circle on each cheek, makeup worthy of Ma Building!
"Why are you wiping it off? The teacher said we have to take a graduation photo later," Xia Xiaoxiao snatched Xu Qingfan's tissue away and lectured like a little adult.
"Monkey butts are red, how ugly that is. Wipe yours off too!" Xu Qingfan pulled out another wad of tissue from his pocket, moistened it, and started to clean Xia Xiaoxiao's face first.
Xia Xiaoxiao blinked and felt that the little rascal made sense. Who on earth would paint their own face red? They're not clowns from a circus!
Lin Jing, who came to watch the graduation ceremony, saw this endearing scene and her mouth curled slightly into a knowing smile.
She chose a good angle and pressed the camera button.
Xu Qingfan's parents, both busy tapping into the crayfish market, were not present.
In his previous life, they did not miss his graduation ceremony, but having to do it all over again, their presence or absence seemed inconsequential to Xu Qingfan.
Xu Qingfan's gaze turned towards the parents' seats, and just then, Lin Wanning's mother also looked over. Lin Qiaoshan and Wen Wanqing enthusiastically waved at him, and Xu Qingfan reflexively waved back both hands.
[I really envy Lin Wanning's family.] He couldn't help but reflect inwardly.
It wasn't that their family was particularly well-off; a harmonious and loving home is apparent in many details.
For instance, the couple always stood in the most visible spot when picking up Lin Wanning from school, and just this simple act was something many parents couldn't manage to do.
He had seen too many parents driving small cars to pick up their kids from school, nine out of ten sitting in the car with the air conditioning on like landlords, waiting for their children to finish school, find the car, and get in.
Fatherly silence and motherly tranquility bring peace to the child, when the child is at peace, the family is harmonious, and when the family thrives, everything prospers; yet many only know the last part of this saying.
"Now, all the children, please come to the stage, and let's sing the graduation song The Flying Insect together!"
As the prelude sounded, Xu Qingfan found himself unconsciously humming along.
"The dark sky hangs low,♪"
"Bright stars accompany,♪"
"The flying insect, the flying insect,♪"
"Whom are you yearning for?♪"
Even though their voices were not in perfect harmony and the singing was all about shouting, the children's tender voices made The Flying Insect sound very pleasant.
Children should sing nursery rhymes, not mess around!
As the music ended, thunderous applause filled the studio, and all the children's faces beamed with pride.
"And now, I'll announce that the best act of this graduation evening is...
Flight of the Bumblebee!
The winners are every child from the senior class at Sunshine Kindergarten! Let's give ourselves the warmest round of applause!
All the students of the class of 1999 from Sunshine Kindergarten are graduating today!"
The crowd below burst into a lively uproar.
"Ahhh~"
"I'm graduating, I'm a big kid now!"
"Mom, Dad, I'm graduating!"
Somehow, the originally cheerful atmosphere turned into crying and commotion because of one sentence, "Does graduating mean we can't come to kindergarten anymore and never see Teacher Xiao Yu again?"
"Wuuuu~ I don't want to graduate, I want to stay with everyone."
He, who was sitting and fiddling with his fingers, always felt out of sync with his surroundings.
"Why aren't you crying or laughing?" Xu Qingfan leaned back, his whole body resting on Xia Xiaoxiao's thighs, looking directly into her eyes.
"It's not like we won't see each other again." Always having her face pinched by Xu Qingfan, Xia Xiaoxiao sought her revenge, rubbing her little hands all over his slightly chubby cheeks.
[Because we'll be in the same class in elementary school too! It would be even better if Lin Wanning doesn't come.] Xia Xiaoxiao added in her mind.
Lin Jing smiled cheerfully, snapping another photo.
The latest Canon digital camera already had a preview function. She pulled up the picture she had just taken and nodded in satisfaction, her face beaming with an auntie's smile.
It took the head teacher more than ten minutes to calm her class of little ones before the four classes took turns coming to the school gate to take a graduation photo.
The photographer gave an OK gesture and shouted, "Three, two, one, say cheese!"
"Cheese!"
Xia Xiaoxiao was standing in front of Xu Qingfan, and seizing the last moment, he reached out his hands to pinch Xia Xiaoxiao's face.
Xiao Xiao was taken aback with embarrassment and turned around to hit him.
"Click, click, click!"
The camera clicked three times, and the photographer gave another OK gesture, "Great, next class!"
"Xu Qingfan!!!" Xia Xiaoxiao clenched her fists, glaring at him furiously.
The little girl seemed really angry, sitting back in her seat with her head down, silent.
Xu Qingfan regretted his impulsive action a bit; they were all over twenty years old now, and not everyone cared less about the graduation photo like he did.
"I'm sorry, please don't be mad, okay?" He poked Xia Xiaoxiao's arm.
Xia Xiaoxiao's body trembled, a choked sob emanating from her throat.
[It's over, Xia Xiaoxiao is crying!]
Xu Qingfan hurriedly came around to Xia Xiaoxiao, crouching down to look at her.
"Forgive me, okay? I was wrong."
The tears had been at bay, but upon seeing Xu Qingfan's annoying face, Xiao Xiao couldn't control herself anymore, and the tears fell like kites with broken strings.
"You meanie, I'm never sticking to you again!" Xia Xiaoxiao sobbed.
"No, it's all my fault, I'll pretend to be a pig for the big class photo later, okay? I'm Zhu Bajie!" Xu Qingfan poked his nose with a finger, mimicking a pig's nostrils.
"Heh cough cough..." Xia Xiaoxiao's sobs turned into laughter at the sight of Xu Qingfan's silly antics.
"No more crying, no more crying, it's all my fault. Whatever you want me to do this week, I'll agree, okay?" He grabbed Xia Xiaoxiao's hand, letting her poke his nose in return.
"Then this week you have to take me for bubble tea!" After thinking for a bit, she added, "And you can't bring Lin Wanning!"
"Won't bring her, won't bring her, just you!"
"Hmph!" Watching his goofy face, Xiao Xiao finally broke into laughter, wiping away her tears.
"Crybaby cat, we have to take a big class photo later, wipe your face off." Xu Qingfan lifted his school uniform to help Xia Xiaoxiao wipe the tear streaks from the corners of her eyes.
For the class of '99 big group photo, over a hundred children stood upright, but Xu Qingfan was the only one with his index finger pressed against his nose.
This photo later became Xia Xiaoxiao's favorite.