Autumn Outing (2)

Qin Yuan did not say anything. Only after a long time did he sigh softly. “That’s fine.”

The class officers of the honor class were all full and Fu Songhua was expected to be the sports representative, so if Ruan Qingmu came over, he would indeed be an ordinary student.

After mulling it over in his head, he would prefer to see his Ruan Ruan leading those sand sculpture* classmates in Class 9, overcoming hardships and being proud on the sports field.

*T/N: Sand sculpture: an Internet buzzword, originally a homonym for the indecent phrase “stupid dick.” It is now used to refer to interesting and funny people.

Ruan Qingmu entered the classroom and saw Tang Tiantian standing up. “Classmates, after the constant protests from all grades students in the school forum, the school finally yielded.”

The classroom erupted in cheers.

“Spring trips were not possible in senior year, but now they were replaced by autumn trips, so the protests had worked! The missing summer trip will be made up in September.”

“Where will we go for the autumn trip?”

Tang Tiantian pursed her lips and smiled. “Anyway, it’s only for one day. Each class can choose for themselves. The school said they could help everyone hire a car if several classes have the same destination.”

“I want to go to Mt. Dali in the suburbs. I haven’t climbed a mountain after so long.” Niu Xiaoqing spoke first.

Some girls immediately objected. “Why don’t we go to the newly-opened Li Jing Park? There are several iconic places to take pictures, which will be very beautiful.”

Huang Ya raised his hand. “How about we go to the newly-opened movie park? I heard the attractions are super awesome. They have several rides there that are the same as Disney’s!”

“The entrance ticket is too expensive, almost 280 yuan. Adding the trip ticket and food, it will cost three hundred yuan…”

Tang Tiantian constantly jotted down in her small notebook. “Mm. Mm. We’ll vote on it later.”

Ruan Qingmu looked down at his phone and quietly beckoned at Tang Tiantian.

Tang Tiantian ran over with a red face. “What is it?”

Ruan Qingmu whispered, “The people in Class 1 say their destination is the same as ours.”

Tang Tiantian was stunned. “Ah? But we haven’t decided yet.”

Ruan Qingmu coughed guiltily. “Yes. Their class monitor and sports representative have decided to go wherever we go.”

***

The weather in mid-September still had a bit of autumn’s hot spell and it felt slightly hot even in short sleeves. On the bus, the girls had all changed into colorful dresses and looked extra pretty, wanting to make up for having to wear uniforms all day.

The school helped to contact two buses, one for each class. Early on Sunday morning, the students of Classes 1 and 9 grandiosely drove off to the scenic spot.

In Class 9’s carriage, a chorus of chatter sounded, “Wuwuwu, I’m so touched. The movie park is so expensive. I thought I could only have the experience after the college entrance exam.”

“Thank you, Boss Qin and sports representative. Classes 1 and 9’s friendship will last forever. Boss Qin and Ruan-ge’s love is more solid than gold*.”

*T/N: Love is more solid than gold: Describes the relationship is very strong, often used in the love of men and women.

In the original vote, it was true that the movie park did not receive a high percentage of votes. The students were slightly hesitant to pay for such an expensive activity as their monthly living expenses were only a few hundred dollars.

However, Class 1 Boss Qin Yuan silently looked for connections and contacted the park directly, offering a special student price for a full set of tickets plus lunch in the park for only 160 yuan. With this, who wouldn’t feel touched?

Ruan Qingmu sat in the last row of the bus, wearing a simple white T-shirt and slim-fitting aqua blue jeans underneath, with his long legs stretched out and his eyes squinting lazily.

After concentrating on a full set of physics mistake questions last night and staying up until twelve with a small desk lamp on, he was now slightly drowsy.

His phone faintly vibrated. He yawned and fished it out to take a look. When he saw the caller ID, he had a smile on his face.

“You must be sleepy. Have a good sleep in the car. Remember to wait for me after getting off.”

Ruan Qingmu typed.“Don’t you need to take care of the people in your class?”

“They aren’t kindergarten children and will play with those they’re close with. No need to be organized.”

“Oh, let’s get together after getting off then.”

It took an hour to drive on the road, with a chorus of singing and giggling in Ruan Qingmu’s ears. The bus stopped after a while when it passed the service station on its way out of town and many went down for a bathroom break.

In a daze, Ruan Qingmu heard cheering on the bus, and then it was silent again, but he didn’t care and continued to doze off.

Qin Yuan and Fu Songhua carried a box of snacks they had just bought from the service station and quietly handed them out one by one to the Class 9 students in the car.

When they got to the back seat, Fu Songhua sat on his butt in the empty seat next to Fang Li while Qin Yuan gestured to the boy next to Ruan Qingmu to switch seats.

The boy immediately stood up obediently and Qin Yuan gently sat down.

The sunshine was bright and sunny on the road. Although the curtains were drawn, September’s sun shone through the car’s window, making it slightly blinding.

Ruan Qingmu grunted unconsciously, his porcelain-white face shining like it was transparent from the sunlight, and his eyebrows knitted up slightly.

Qin Yuan turned his head sideways, quietly looked at his face for a few seconds, and casually took off his short-sleeved shirt. He got up and hung it on the car window, carefully blocking the gap that leaked light, just like he did every night at 106.

Then, he gently pulled Ruan Qingmu’s head over, rested it on his shoulder, closed his eyes, and began to listen to the song in his headphones quietly.

Bai Jing, holding a bag of french fries, turned around and was about to speak to Huang Ya behind him when he caught a glimpse of the situation in the back seat and froze at a glance.

The only thing left on top student Qin’s body was an extremely tight short vest. His bare shoulders were broad and straight, and his armpits were smooth, with several muscles in his belly faintly discernible underneath the vest.

It was completely different from the usual ascetic style with tight collars and cuffs and had a sense of hormonal explosion that made even boys’ faces warm when they looked at it.

And their Ruan-ge’s head was resting on his shoulder, sleeping soundly.