Whispers of Youth: The 19th Year When the Angel Left

Author: Li Keyi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-01
Features: Once she truly began the work of text editing, Tong Miaoxue couldn’t afford to waste any more time. She had to focus, either writing or compiling, to complete all the articles for the school newspaper. There was so much content—just reading through it would take days, let alone editing, placing it in the right sections, and crafting catchy titles to boost click-through rates.，the aesthetics teacher announced a short quiz, though not particularly difficult, it still consumed Tong Miaoxue’s time and energy. Class, library, and the editorial office—she spent more than a week running back and forth between them. Finally, the exam was over, and the text for the school newspaper was completely ready, though the main title and the opening remarks still needed finalizing. According to the plan, all the text and photos were systematically uploaded to the campus network server. Although the announcement stated the school newspaper website would officially open on Monday, by Friday afternoon, the issue could already be featured on the dedicated campus website. However, a small problem arose near midday on Friday—the campus network computers were attacked by a virus, forcing an internet connection shutdown for antivirus measures. Fearing the loss of data due to server deletion, they had to pause uploading the school newspaper content and made a full backup. At half past noon, when all the students were eating in the cafeteria, the members of the editorial team finally arrived one by one. Tong Miaoxue wondered if all the text content was backed up and took only one dish to sit down. Then she started thinking about what the opening remarks should be and which main title would be most suitable for the homepage. Lost in thought, Li Liang sat down beside her with a tray of food.
“Miss, it’s time to eat.” Li Liang said, scooping some rice from his own plate into Tong Miaoxue’s and handing her the spoon. “Eat. You have classes in the afternoon.” Startled, Tong Miaoxue said, “Thank you.” She took the spoon. “You go first. I’ll get some soup.” Li Liang said and stood up. Tong Miaoxue looked at the rice in her plate—she had been so focused on the school newspaper that she’d forgotten to serve herself rice or get utensils. But how did Li Liang notice? Tong Miaoxue took a bite of rice and looked up, suddenly realizing many people were looking her way. Good heavens, she was eating with Li Liang again—this would only make things more complicated.
“What’s the matter? Why are you sighing while eating?” Li Liang placed a bowl of soup in front of Tong Miaoxue.
“Oh. Thank you.” Tong Miaoxue quickly smiled, though a bit awkwardly. “Why aren’t you drinking soup?” She noticed Li Liang had only brought one bowl of soup.
“I don’t eat spinach.” He smiled. Tong Miaoxue looked at the soup in the bowl—rich kids really were picky eaters. The gazes of her classmates made her feel unable to swallow, but Li Liang ate his meal with great generosity, as if he didn’t care at all.
“Li Liang,” Tong Miaoxue decided to clarify the situation to avoid further misunderstandings.
“What is it?” Li Liang’s eyes sparkled with a childlike smile as he looked at her.
“What time should we go upload the school newspaper in the afternoon?” Unable to ask this question openly, Tong Miaoxue changed the subject.
“Three o’clock, the server will be connected to the internet. We’ll go to the editorial office after class, and start at four.”
“Four o’clock? How long will it take to upload?”
“Most of it’s already uploaded. Only a small part remains, and your opening remarks. If everything goes smoothly, it should take about half an hour.”
“After that, can I talk to you for a bit? There’s something I want to tell you.”
“Of course. I’ve already made arrangements with Luo Wei. Tonight, the entire editorial team will have a dinner together, and the cost will be covered by the school newspaper’s expenses, reimbursed by the student union.” Li Liang gave a mischievous smile.
“My intention was to talk to you alone.” Tong Miaoxue looked at Li Liang seriously.
“Alone?” Li Liang was a bit surprised.
“See you this afternoon.” Tong Miaoxue picked up her barely touched plate and left. Li Liang watched her retreating figure as she walked out of the cafeteria. She’s not going to confess, is she? Too fast. Li Liang thought.
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