309 Dark Room

Author: Zheng Yuanjie
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-02-01
Features: These days, as soon as the dismissal bell rings, the students rush to the reception office to see who has received the most Christmas cards. On the eve of Christmas, the classmates exchange Christmas cards with each other. Christmas cards are quite strange—though not very valuable, they can bring priceless spiritual enjoyment. The person who invented Christmas cards must have been incredibly smart. Luxi has already received 10 cards and feels happy. On this planet, if 10 people think of you during the holiday, you can truly appreciate the beauty of life and feel a warm sensation in your heart. Some cards are unsigned, and Luxi guesses who sent them based on the handwriting. The more she can’t figure it out, the warmer she feels, as if it’s the entire human race sending them to her. The dismissal bell rings again, and the students swarm toward the letterboxes in the reception office. Luxi has run halfway when she suddenly remembers she forgot to take a book she should return to a classmate. She turns back to the classroom. There’s only one other girl left in the classroom, her face wet with tears. "Meng, what’s wrong?" Luxi ignores the book and rushes to Meng’s side first. Meng doesn’t speak, but her tears flow even faster. "Did someone bully you?" Luxi asks. Meng shakes her head. "Did the teacher call your dad?" Luxi can’t think of any other reason why Meng would be alone in the classroom crying during the break. No one sent me a card. Not a single one! I sent one to every classmate, but not a single one sent me one. Meng decides to lie face down on the desk and cry out loud. Luxi freezes. Meng is a very unattractive girl, and no one in the class pays attention to her. No boys show her any affection, the girls don’t want to play with her, and even the teachers rarely acknowledge her. It’s all because she’s so unattractive. Luxi stands frozen beside Meng. She suddenly feels quite ugly, far worse than Meng. Of her 10 cards, one was from Meng, but she never even thought about sending one to her!