Chapter 7 six (1)

When Xu Qijun and the others arrived in Luzhou, the normal school was busy preparing for the opening ceremony.All the teachers have been recruited long ago, but Ms. Mei has achieved her goal and added Xu Qijun.This is because the young and new-thinking principal Lu saw a talent like Ms. Mei, so he had to "try something" no matter what, so he divided the third grade and first grade with more than 60 students in the affiliated elementary school into two classes, and placed Mei After the lady, there was a teacher who couldn't be found in a hurry, so I had to force Xu Qijun to "work hard" for two weeks or a month.

The night before the opening ceremony, which was the third day after Ms. Mei and the others arrived, Principal Lu specially held a tea party to introduce the new teachers of the school to each other. The tea party is held in the living room. The large white porcelain cover of the "safety lamp" sheds some pale yellow light waves.Because of the wind, the flames trembled from time to time, and the room became uncertain of light and dark.The mottled lights fell on the dark yellow board walls, resembling some ancient patterns.In such a hysterical atmosphere, Madam Mei listened dazedly to the polite exchange of incoherent sentences among the dozen or so male teachers and five or six female teachers.On the opposite side was a woman, about seventeen or eighteen years old, wearing an apricot-yellow shirt, with a slightly pointed chin, and a pair of dark eyes, who glanced towards Ms. Mei from time to time.This sharp gaze aroused the impression of Huang Yinming from Ms. Mei's consciousness.The sticky longing for that wild cat-like girl entangled Ms. Mei and pulled her away from reality, unexpectedly not noticing what Principal Lu said:

"In primary schools, starting from the freshmen this semester, we plan to experiment with new educational theories; it just so happens that we have found this important work by Misi Mei Xingsu." The audience suddenly became strangely silent, and the screams of a few mosquitoes could also be heard.Many eyes turned to Ms. Mei.Xu Qijun gently pushed her bewildered companion with her elbow, but a round voice came out from the group of male teachers over there: "I invite Ms. Mei to express her insights on new education." The unfriendly smell of these words immediately aroused Ms. Mei's disgust; she calmly glanced at the crowd, and only gave a casual answer:

"Don't laugh at me, everyone. This is my first time as a teacher, so I can't say I have any great opinions—" The woman on the opposite side suddenly lowered her head to hide an uncontrollable smile, but Ms. Mei had already seen her; she suddenly became hot all over, and her nerves became electrified, and she became active. She didn't hear Principal Lu's words very clearly just now. A few words suddenly popped up from her subconscious mind, teasing her to suspect that words like "just found it" are also ironic.This lightning-like unpleasant thought made her verbal pause, but only for a moment, and then quickly continued, her voice getting louder and louder:

"All gentlemen are well-educated and experienced people with a sacred mission. I am ashamed to pretend to be a colleague who is inexperienced and uneducated like me. I dare not take the praise of the principal. I think you have already understood Why did I come here and break into this school. But I don’t want to just treat it as a job, and I am perfunctory. I believe in two maxims: knowledge is the accumulation of experience, and talent is the patience of hard work. Patience, I can ;Experience, I am going to find it. This is my goal. You are all people with new ideas, who want to break the hypocritical old ethics, and of course do not approve of hypocritical politeness, so I have to express my "extraordinary opinion", To be honest, I am very moved! Tonight is the tea party of Mr. Principal. The school will start tomorrow, and everyone will stand in their own positions. I hope to have a clear understanding of everyone. Let me introduce myself first. Let it go. I, Mei Xingsu, graduated from Yizhou Girls’ High School in Chengdu, and this is my first time working as a primary school teacher because I don’t want to be a young mistress at home.”

The audience was silent for a few seconds.I don't know who it is, but suddenly they clapped their hands, and then there was a burst of applause; there was also a dumb laugh in the middle.Principal Lu's voice came out in the aftermath of applause: "I agree with Misimei's proposal. Let me also introduce myself: Lu Keli, graduated from the Department of Education of Nanjing University, this is the first time to run education." Ms. Mei suddenly giggled at the girl in the apricot-yellow shirt.She said something in the ear of a female teacher sitting next to her, and her dark eyes quickly glanced at Mrs. Mei again.At this time, someone was already following the principal and introduced himself first.Madam Mei watched and listened attentively.Some only said their names, while others were joking.It won't be long.Only then did Ms. Mei know that the eye-catching woman opposite her was surnamed Zhang.

Now began an irregular and rambunctious conversation.Xu Qijun and a chubby-faced male teacher recognized a distant relative and had a very warm conversation.Sitting on the other side of Ms. Mei is also a female teacher, with a flat face, always bowing her head to knock sunflower seeds.Ms. Zhang in the apricot-yellow shirt often glanced at Ms. Mei's face, but when Ms. Mei stared at her, she turned her head away again.Diagonally opposite, there was a male teacher with shaggy hair, a cigarette stuck in the corner of his mouth, and he was looking at Ms. Mei without blinking.Ms. Mei remembered that she was the Chinese teacher of the normal department who claimed to be "advanced reptile" and surnamed Li.But the distance is too far, and it is inconvenient for both sides to greet each other.

The mosquitoes under the table seemed more active.The fans of all of you here from time to time get below to swing the racket.Occasionally one is inattentive.Ms. Mei dropped the fan on the ground.When she stooped to pick it up, in the thin darkness, she saw a high-heeled leather shoe in white stockings that seemed to come out from the opposite side, cleverly resting on the leg of the white dress stretched out from the left.Ms. Mei couldn't help her heart beating, and quickly raised her head, just in time to receive a stare full of disgust from Ms. Zhang.The strange feeling of desolation spread again in Ms. Mei's chest.

Finally the tea party came to an end.After returning to the bedroom together, Ms. Mei said to Xu Qijun with a slight sigh: "I think the air here is very stuffy. If you really want to leave in two weeks, I will die of loneliness!" The second day was the opening ceremony, which was extremely lively.Ms. Mei was assigned as a receptionist and happened to be in the same group as Ms. Zhang.The young girl dressed up more gracefully and cutely today, but her often sarcastic eyes aroused Ms. Mei's uneasiness even more.Around 2:00 p.m., guests and students from the school had already filled the auditorium, but the bell was never ringing for a meeting.The smell of sweat, the loud voices, and the strange unhappiness made Ms. Mei feel dizzy from time to time.She escaped from the auditorium, and stood beside the wooden railing in front of the corridor for a while, mechanically wiping the sweat off her face with a handkerchief.Ms. Zhang came from the opposite side with her waist twisted.She glanced at Ms. Mei with a smile, and got into the temporary lounge next to the auditorium.

"Mismei, is it hard work? Why don't you drink a cup of herbal tea in the lounge?" The shaggy-haired Chinese teacher Li Wuji suddenly appeared in front of Ms. Mei and said softly. Ms. Mei's eyelids twitched, and she replied with a smile.She was temporarily speechless for the surprise feeling like meeting her dear friend on the poor road.She avoided Li Wuji's characteristic scorching eyes, and looked at the chaotic figures at the entrance of the auditorium. Li Wuji also turned his head to the side for a glance, and continued in a friendly manner: "The guests are almost here. Now there is only one important person waiting. The headmaster will entertain you. So, Mismei, you might as well go and have a rest. You see, the ushers are all in the lounge."

Someone is calling over there.Li Wuji glanced at Ms. Mei again, then turned and walked into the auditorium.Ms. Mei also instinctively left the railing and approached the door of the lounge. The door is very lively.Ms. Zhang was sitting in a big rattan chair with her legs raised high. It seemed that she had just finished speaking and was chewing on a piece of watermelon.Three or four female teachers were giggling.But when Ms. Mei's face flashed in front of the door, all the smiles were suddenly closed; a kind of unexpected surprise, which was too late to hide, was shown on everyone's face, which obviously did not welcome a stranger Intruded into their little comfortable surroundings.Ms. Mei also stopped abruptly, swallowed a cold breath, and pretended to look for someone, slipped a glance into the room, turned around and left, but she was only ten paces away from the door when suddenly the loud laughter broke out again. There was an explosion in the room, piercing her ear like a sharp sword.And there was half a sentence of Ms. Zhang sandwiched in that laughter. "Look, she—" Ms. Mei's heart skipped a beat, her face suddenly flushed; turning around quickly, she quickly ran into the lounge, with a brave and disdainful sneer on her lips. "Aren't you going to stand there to entertain Master Hui, Mi Simi?" After a short suffocating silence, Ms. Zhang said with eyes wide open. "It seems that there were four or five ushers!" This is a tit for tat answer.At the same time, such a question flashed across Ms. Mei's mind: what teacher?Is this the information they secretly made fun of others? There was another half hour of silence.The noise in the auditorium was like the crowing of frogs in the distance, undulating like waves.The flat-faced female teacher surnamed Zhao who had never dealt with Ms. Mei suddenly spoke up: "We are country people, and we don't know how to entertain rich elders. Master Hui is a new general, a unique new general, and he must be a beautiful new character, who has struggled and left his family, so it suits his taste!" One or both gave a patronizing laugh of glee.Ms. Zhang didn't seem to take it seriously; she looked at Ms. Zhao's fat horizontal oval face and said coldly: "The general of the new sect! I hate him! What is the new sect, does he understand? To be honest, I despise him! But, Pei Shan, you have forgotten that Mr. Hui always likes people with weird looks, so you are also qualified to entertain. Haha ,what!" Immediately, Zhao Peishan's face turned red, and she looked around anxiously, with an air of daring to be angry but not daring to speak.Ms. Mei pursed her lips and smiled, knowing the tricks of these narrow-minded girls. "It's almost three o'clock, and he still hasn't come; it's unreasonable to have to wait until he arrives to start the meeting!" Ms. Zhou, who was often with Ms. Zhang, jumped in and tried to change the atmosphere of the conversation.Another one or two made impatient hissing sounds as if they were agreeing.Ms. Zhang smiled and turned to look at Ms. Mei, seeming to have something to say; but suddenly Xu Qijun's voice came from the door: "So you are all here. There is a meeting, please go." The melodious military music began with the ensemble of loudspeakers and drums, and suddenly filled the lounge, as if the military band was right outside the door.Instinctively the ladies rose to their feet.When Ms. Mei walked to the door, she suddenly turned her head and smiled at Ms. Zhang, who snatched her out with loud high-heeled shoes, and said softly: "Miss Zhang, I also want to love your pair of white legs that are always raised high!" Not allowing Ms. Zhang to answer, Ms. Mei jumped out the door with a long smile, caught up with Xu Qijun, and pulled her through a corridor; at this time, in the suddenly silent auditorium behind them, the bell rang loudly. . Now Mrs. May sees clearly that something strange and complicated awaits the future of her faculty life.I don't know when, or why, the five or six female teachers held hostility toward her as if they had a secret pact—a hostility mixed with jealousy, contempt, suspicion, and other complex emotions.Ms. Zai Xianmei thought that this was just a narrow "exclusiveism" because they were all graduates of the Chongqing Second Women's Teacher; but seeing that they were friendly with Xu Qijun, she had to guess something else. .A powerful boredom gradually accumulated in Ms. Mei's heart.She once told Xu Qijun her feelings, but Ms. Xu said she was "nervous".Are you nervous?Ms. Mei absolutely does not admit it.She saw that others were trying to squeeze her out.And she is not to be outdone!Why show weakness?If someone opposes her, there must be someone who supports her; only ordinary people are invincible!From the day of the opening ceremony, her boredom turned into anger; She is ready to deal toughly with her enemies, even at the risk of confrontation. But after school started, everyone was busy with their homework, and this tense situation gradually eased down.Ms. Mei's main homework is first-grade freshmen; there are girls of seventeen or eighteen, and children of eight or nine.During class, either the big girls dozed off, or the children made noise.She has no way to make every sentence of hers fit the appetite of all the students.She felt that if a student didn't watch her words come out with wide eyes, it was a major teaching failure.She stood on the podium in annoyance, looking out of the classroom from time to time, as if she was doing something illegal and scandalous, lest others would find out.Her determination not to show weakness to her colleagues has gradually wavered, "At least in terms of teaching, can I not be as strong as others?" She couldn't help thinking in this way. When there is no class, Ms. Mei quietly observes how her colleagues teach.It's not as bad!She went to visit the work of the teachers in the Teachers Department.What surprised her was that some of the students in the back row were playing "poker" there.When she was a middle school student, the past of stealing knitted woolen clothes in the classroom jumped out of Ms. Mei's memory. "It's still the same disobedience!" She gently excused the normal students.But when I thought about it, I was only knitting yarn or peeking at other books in the class of the old Dong Hong, and I was very grateful. I felt that this normal school, which is called a thorough reform and has all the new teachers, is really not flattering. . All these discoveries eliminated Ms. Mei's illusions about her career, but at the same time increased her courage; she looked down on those male and female colleagues, and also looked down on the new principal, Lu Keli. At the same time, all this "underestimation" also requires Ms. Mei to pay a huge price: depression and loneliness.Only Xu Qijun is her friend, and the rest of her male and female colleagues have become imaginary—and not only imaginary enemies.Although Li Wuji, a Chinese language teacher, has repeatedly expressed her friendship, her answer is always incongruous. However, Xu Qijun is about to leave.On September 12th, these two good friends went to visit Longmatan.Sitting in a small boat in the clear autumn water, the feeling of parting weighed on their hearts, and neither of them spoke for a long time.The small island in the middle of the water with a cluster of temples is still green in midsummer, and a few maple trees on the side have turned blue; the sun shines on the white walls of the temple, shining brightly, It seems to be flowing water drops: this makes the scenery of the whole continent, viewed from a distance, more like a dying lotus leaf.From time to time, golden carp jumped up from the side of the ship and sprinkled some water into the boat.From the reeds near the beach over there, two or three white gulls fluttered up, hovered in the water for a while, then slanted across the bow of the ship, and plunged into the light waves in the east that were being shone into silver by the sun. It's gone.Behind that is the mountain peak standing quietly, slowly exhaling purple smoke. Ms. Mei stared blankly, her heart suddenly darkened; the beautiful scenery only gave her a suffocating sadness.She breathed a sigh of relief, turned her head away, and suddenly felt her eyes light up.A group of undulating peaks in the west is holding a fireball-like setting sun, dyeing the mountains in this area orange. "Beautiful mountains and rivers, but only gray life!" Yiyang uttered these words tragically, and she felt that the space between her chest and diaphragm seemed more open.It was as if something hit her heart, and she had to say something, to confide in something.A blush rose to her cheeks, clearly excited.But in a hurry, I couldn't make up my mind.She only squeezed Xu Qijun's palm tightly, as if it was a silent speech. "Mei, you've been a little strange lately, isn't it? It's not quite the same if you say you're depressed; it's not quite accurate to say you're depressed. Really, you're not as lively as you used to be. How do you feel about yourself? " Instead, it was Xu Qijun who spoke first, looking at Ms. Mei's face without blinking, seeing her watery eyes.Ms. Mei smiled faintly, but did not answer immediately.At this time, their boat was swinging to the edge of the island, passing a clump of water plants.Ms. Mei stretched out her hand to grab a stalk of rush, bit it lightly in her mouth, then spit it out again, looked sideways at Xu Qijun, and said in a low voice: "How? I know what it is, but I can't say it. Sometimes I wonder why I am not as crisp and unrestrained as before, but it is always sticky and sticky; sometimes I feel that I am still me, and there is no difference at all. .Sometimes I feel empty inside, like a piece of white paper; but sometimes I feel in a trance that it is actually a piece of crumpled paper, and it is not white. It seems like a seven-color plate has been turned upside down. Nothing is right, it is all frenzy! Complaints , bored, irritated, a little bit of both. All in all, lately I have come to realize more clearly that all the colors are wrongly matched in the picture of my life! As far as the matter before me is concerned, I can't help admitting that I have made another mistake. Door, I have fallen into an unsuitable environment again!" "You still think that way. Hey!" "Is it my nervousness?" Ms. Mei immediately came up to ask back, pursing her lips and smiling. "Why not! It's your new nervousness that made you change recently. You're not as relaxed as before, but always sticky and sticky." Ms. Mei lowered her head and remained silent, she put her left hand on the side of the boat, letting the water splash and splash her, her air seemed to have been wronged very much, and she couldn't tell.Xu Qijun immediately felt that her tone just now was too blunt; she shook Ms. Mei's hand vigorously, and continued politely: "It's not because I helped you find the position here, I have to say yes; it's just that the society hasn't prepared an ideal place for us. You said that the teachers here hate you, but you should also know that people and The ideal relationship between people can’t be found in this world. You say that the Second Female Teacher School is xenophobic, but they also say that you are too proud and harsh! Of course I understand that you are not such a person, but because of you Too sharp, for example, what you said at the tea party that night, of course people will have that kind of impression. I have to leave tomorrow, and it will take another half a month to write a letter. I am very dissatisfied with your situation. Don't worry; we are old friends, almost like sisters, I advise you to be easy-going in everything, after half a year, we will think again." At this moment, the hull of the boat suddenly turned sideways, and a big splash of water jumped up, which wet Ms. Mei's sleeves.The boatman propped his oars on the root of a slanted old tree on the left, avoided the boat coming from the opposite side, and said a foul word, and a neat stone step appeared in front of him, which was the pier to the temple on the island. .A pair of people are walking in the middle of the stone steps.Ms. Mei looked up at them, smiled slightly, and then turned to answer Xu Qijun: "It's definitely up to you! I don't want to be convinced, but, sister Qi, I'm going to be easy-going with you, okay? Just don't worry. I believe I can still stand in the crowd; but, Sister Qi, after you leave, I'm afraid I will change even more and become a different me!" Suddenly her face was covered with clouds, and Ms. Mei threw herself into Xu Qijun's arms, pressed her face against her chest, and hugged her tightly.Xu Qijun seemed to be taken aback, but she also deeply felt her friend's unspeakable sorrow.She stroked Ms. Mei's hair tenderly, searching for words of comfort; but Ms. Mei raised her head early, smiled innocently and said: "I think my modernism is an invincible philosophy of life. All right, let's find pleasure in the present. Let's go to the temple to have fun!" Ms. Mei seemed to be a different person and became lively again; holding Xu Qijun's hand, she rushed in when she saw the door.After running around in circles, both of them were sweating, and their gauze shirts were sticking to their backs.Finally, I sat down in a small pavilion near the water. This is a row of four or five concave-shaped bungalows, all separated by board walls; in spring and March, tourists bring food and wine to "seek victory", and this is a temporary elegant seat, but now there is only the sound of waterfowl brushing their feathers. It came intermittently.The monks of this monastery brought tea.Madam Mei suddenly asked: "Did the two tourists come here often?" "The two of you just now? Mr. Xiao Sitao and the ladies are still busy." It was a treacherous answer with a flattering smile.Ms. Mei cast a sharp glance at the monk's face, then sat in a chair by the window, looking out at the scenery outside.She seemed to be thinking about something, but she just casually chatted about Xu Qijun's usual scene in front of her.But when Xu Qijun gradually mentioned the school and Chengdu, Ms. Mei cut it off and said: "Sister Qi, you really care about me like a mother. I have long forgotten everything about Chengdu." "But people don't want to forget. You've got to finish it." Madam May smiled.She looked at Xu Qijun for a while, and then lazily said: "It's the senior officials resigning, so we have to finish it? Sister Qi, you are really like a mother. Well, I'll write a letter tomorrow. Just say that I like teaching for the time being, so please don't worry about it." "You didn't explain it, and you did it without telling me?" "No. Speaking of it is unclear and confusing." "You're always procrastinating, procrastinating; always refusing to think things through!" Madam May laughed again.A room diagonally opposite to the left wing of the water pavilion suddenly attracted her attention.She leaned out to look.Behind the low bamboo curtain over there, there seemed to be a turbulent figure.Suddenly, a white and beautiful hand stretched out from under the curtain. Ms. Mei hurriedly retracted her body as if in surprise, her brows furrowed. "You don't bother to think about the future!" Xu Qijun forced another sentence. Ms. Mei shook her head in bewilderment, then her face became solemn, and she replied with a little excitement: "It's not that I don't want to think about it, but it's because some unexpected things often come up and make you think it's useless to think about it. I once thought very far, planning to get Wei Yu's wife and children out; to plan a life for them Lu, to find a school for the children. But, sister Qi, do you think my wishful thinking can work out? Or do you think my longing is too far-fetched? This is related to the future life of several people. I thought it was more important than Liu Yuchun or my father. However, even if I had calculated, it was not in vain! What will happen tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, who knows! Apart from this one, I don't see anything else to worry about. " "What about yourself? Your marriage?" "This, the key is not with me, but with others; I really want to do something, but is it useful? It's not just thinking in vain, just asking for trouble." Xu Qijun couldn't help but sighed sullenly, and said nothing more.She still didn't agree with Ms. Mei's idea, and seemed to have seen that Ms. Mei's future was negative and decadent; then she suddenly remembered what Ms. Mei said just now: "However, sister Qi, after you leave, I'm afraid I will change even more. I have become someone who is not the original me." Change!Is she consciously going to the path of change?Are you forced to leave?Xu Qijun's face was very dark.The past is brought back.She thought of what Ms. Mei's expression and what she said when she was hiding in her home and couldn't find a job, she couldn't raise her eyes to look at Ms. Mei. However, Ms. Mei was still leaning on the window; her pensive eyes shot at the bamboo curtain over there.The cool wind blows gently, and the mountain peaks surrounding Longmatan are now covered with a gauze-like net. The purple ones are clouds, and the white ones are cooking smoke.It looked like it was about to get dark. The breeze blew a few charming soft smiles.It was so clear, as if it was just outside the window, waking Xu Qijun out of contemplation.She cast a questioning glance at Mrs May.But the laughter came again.This time, Xu Qijun heard it very accurately, and couldn't help asking for permission in surprise: "Looks like Zhang—?" "The other one is Lu. When I was in the boat, I saw them standing on the stone steps." When she said this, Ms. Mei was still looking there; but it seemed that the other party was also spying on her, so Ms. Mei suddenly dodged her body, avoided the window, and walked lightly to Xu Qijun's side.The two looked at each other for a few seconds before leaving the water pavilion. On the way home, Ms. Mei talked and smiled easily; Xu Qijun was a little distracted.Her charming soft smile was still ringing in her ears, and she added some explanations and deduced some assumptions. She felt that Ms. Mei's original character and current state of mind, unfortunately, were in such an environment. It's very worrying. When they arrived at school, it was already brightly lit dusk.The general staff in the school are looking for Principal Lu everywhere, saying that they have important business affairs. After Xu Qijun left, Ms. Mei's bedroom changed places, and she had to pass by a small wing room outside Ms. Zhang's room that was not well lit.Ms. Mei is also satisfied because she lives alone, but it seems that she has to get in touch with Ms. Zhang too much, and she feels very bored.Ms. Zhang's attitude is more friendly than before.Borrowing a book, sharpening a pencil, or showing some newly purchased small objects, these trivial things that happen every day, all become excuses for her to run to Ms. Mei's room.These visits are very short, often just a smile, a nod, at most exchanged a sentence or two of the usual politeness, but her sideways glances when she left were charming, deep, and sharp, which seemed to imply The endless thoughts often make Ms. Mei feel disappointed, and she really wants to pull this weird little girl back to kiss her a few times, or bite her. "She is lovely, yet hateful—such a monster!" Looking at the petite and lively figure, Ms. Mei couldn't help but often think so.Therefore, the legs under the table that I glimpsed at the tea party on the eve of the opening ceremony, and the laughter in the water pavilion in the Longmatan Temple all turned up Ms. Mei's memory, so I felt that Ms. Zhang's strange eyes were mostly hidden in such a background , is a mixture of fear, suspicion, and the meaning of not being able to trust.At these times, Ms. Mei felt that Ms. Zhang was also pitiful, and wanted to say to her: "I'm not that friendless. Please trust me, just rest assured; let's be good friends." But there was never a chance to confess her love. Such a mind.Ms. Zhang's flickering expression has repeatedly caught up with Ms. Mei's deliberate and generous friendship. In any case, on the surface, they were getting closer.Only a week later, Ms. Zhang automatically used the affectionate address "Mei", then giggled and said, "Oh, why are you so polite? You are always Misi, Misi; just call me Yifang." It's simpler, just the word 'Yi'. 'Fang' is common among our sisters, and my sister is called 'Shu Fang'. I plan not to use this word." Ms. Mei pursed her lips and smiled, her mind turned to those words that had been hidden for a long time.But Ms. Zhang stood up and said: "I'll show you her picture tomorrow. She's beautiful, comparable to you." With a hint of joking, Zhang Yifang suddenly took Ms. Mei's hand and touched it to his lips, then left with a giggly smile.An intoxicating fragrance wafted from her light blue dress. The flat-faced Zhao Peishan lives next door to Ms. Mei.The windows of the two rooms face the same direction, facing a small patio; the two of them can talk by leaning against the window.But whoever wants to go to someone's room has to make a big detour.This Ms. Zhao is about twenty-six or seventeen years old, and she can be seen at a glance as a mediocre person.On her swollen flat face, there were two deep lines of flesh from the nostrils to the corners of her mouth, so she had a mournful expression, which was unpleasant to watch.Zhu Jie, who shared the room with her, is a married woman with a family in the city. Although she is called a boarder, she actually goes home every night to spend the night.When people are quiet at night, Ms. Mei can always hear Zhao Peishan rustling like a mouse making a nest alone in the room, and it doesn't stop until after eleven o'clock; this is exactly the same as the silent Zhao Peishan in front of the public. on the contrary. Mrs May had little interest in the flat-faced lady.So although they are close neighbors who can be heard, they seldom talk to each other.She thinks that the closest person is Zhou Pingquan, who often stays with Zhang Yifang. Now he lives in the same room as Ms. Mei and Xu Qijun. The classroom of the second grade of elementary school.In the few days when the room was just changed, Ms. Mei often went to Ms. Zhou's by mistake after class, so she had several long conversations.Ms. Zhou is only twenty-three or twenty-four years old, neat and smart, just like her temperament.Because she is the de facto director of the elementary school, Ms. Mei's contact with her is of course more frequent. In addition, there is a female teacher who does not live on campus and two male teachers who have just graduated from the teacher's department. Ms. Mei still has not seen each other four weeks after the start of school. In this way, she gradually got acquainted with the small environment around her, and muddled through the usual greetings and smiles when meeting each other. Although Ms. Mei felt a little lonely and bored, she was not embarrassed.It was almost another month, and in Chengdu, the old doctor Mei sent a letter of reprimand, but the conclusion was "don't blame the past, after this semester is over, you must resign and come back." Liu Yuchun also sent someone to bring clothes and money .Ms. Mei immediately returned the money in full. After doing this, the colleagues in the school openly asked Ms. Mei about the past.Ms. Mei just pursed her lips and smiled without answering. Clouds of speculation and discussion gradually gathered around Ms. Mei.She became a character of interest to the whole school.From time to time, the male teachers in the teacher's department came to chat with her with a little excuse.Li Wuji, who had shown much friendship from the beginning, was especially surrounded closely.The whole school is busy preparing for the Double Ten Festival Lantern Festival.Li Wuji's job was to edit the "Double Ten Temporary Magazine", but on the evening of the ninth, he hadn't started reading those manuscripts.Wearing the bleak moonlight, he wandered alone in the porch in front of the elementary school classrooms, wondering why no female teacher was seen. The undulating laughter faintly touched his eardrums.It must have come from the big playground, Li Wuji's bewildered heart vaguely felt this way.He straightened his neck, which was the only way for him to push back the fluffy hair that fell to his eyebrows, and moved his steps instinctively. Hundreds of red lanterns shone in the dark square, and the high-pitched whistle sounded very regularly.The physical education teacher Qian Mazi is directing the students of the whole school here, practicing the new trick he "created".This has been prepared for more than two weeks; according to a certain password, those four or five hundred students who carried the red lanterns can be arranged into six big characters "Long Live the Republic of China". Late became the central figure, attracting the whole school to watch it here. A wry smile appeared on Li Wuji's lips, and he widened his thin eyes to swipe across the field.On the diving platform beside the swing frame over there, a group of people gathered in a vast expanse of whiteness. Under the clear light of the first quarter moon, it seems that some round breasts and thin waists can be recognized.Li Wuji heaved a sigh of relief, rushed through the ranks of lanterns recklessly, and came to the audience. "There is no place for you!" From the wooden steps in the middle of the platform, there was a loud shout.Li Wuji recognized the accent of Wu Xingchuan, a physics and chemistry teacher.It's not really packed!The highest flat roof of the platform is occupied by five or six ladies; almost all of them, including Mrs. Zhu Jie, who is already Mrs. Fan.On all the levels below there were male teachers standing, only the two lowest levels remained vacant; but that was too low to look into. "You didn't even say hello to me, but you ran here and sat down firmly, you should be punished! Give me a seat!" Li Wuji raised his head and said. "I wanted to greet you. But I'm afraid it will delay your work on editing the 'Temporary Issue'!" This time it was the voice of Chen Juyin, a history and geography teacher.He shared the dormitory with Li Wuji, so he knew that Li Wuji hadn't even looked at the stack of manuscripts yet. "That's right! If I don't let me see Qian Mazi's new trick tonight, I won't be able to describe it." The answer was laughter.Li Wuji was already standing on the lowest level of the platform, thinking about how to squeeze up.Principal Lu Keli, who was squatting in the middle, also spoke at this time: "Forget it. I'll let you come up in exchange for this." "No, if you add another person, everyone will lose sight of it!" A voice said hurriedly. "He's that tall again." said another voice. "Should there be an empty seat on the flat roof?" Chen Juyin slowly put forward this mediation opinion.It seems that everyone didn't hear clearly, and there was no reaction, but maybe it was because everyone was busy watching; the lanterns in the field had just changed from a long snake to a square formation, and a good trick was about to come.Li Wuji took this opportunity to squeeze in.But when he got to the last level, Zhang Yifang's voice stopped him as if jumping out: "What? Are you coming to our place?" "If you don't come to this spacious place like yours, don't you stand on top of people? Men and women socialize openly!" There was laughter among the male teachers; Li Wuji straightened his shoulders and stood tall in front of Ms. Zhang.As usual, he used the method of straightening his neck to push back the messy hair that fell beside his eyebrows, and added with a smile: "It's not easy to climb to your holy place!" "Then please squat down. You are too tall for us to see." This is Ms. Mei's voice.She happened to be standing side by side with Ms. Zhou on the right back, because she changed into a dark dress unexpectedly, so Li Wuji didn't see it when she came up. 现在那红闪闪的方阵形，又在动荡了。从整整齐齐的六列的红星中，猛然开了门似的冲出三条红光来，大约喷射到两丈多远，便滚成了一堆，像是庞大的炭火盆，是活的火盆，每一个红分子霍霍地移动，组织成若干纵横的条纹，又在这盆形的上端吐出个火焰似的尖儿来；同时原来那方阵的残存的三条边儿也飞快地旋转着，直到成功了火柱样匀称地排列着的三直。 “川南！” 不知从谁的嘴里爆出来的这两个字，立刻响应在全操场了。正是这两个字。提灯的人儿正排成了这个！李无忌听得头顶上嘈杂地发出啧啧地赞美的声音了。他发怒似的扭转身子仰起头往右后侧看，却见梅女士的脸上也浮漾着愉快的笑影。他忍不住从齿缝里迸出个小小的声音来： “咄！今晚上是钱麻子的世界！” 不外是惊喜的短句子从各方面传到李无忍的耳朵了。但李无忌只是不转眼地紧瞅着梅女士的俏脸。忽然两道明彻的眼波像清泉一般泻注下来，刚好和李无忌的灼热的目光相遇，李无忌不禁心跳了，他努力说出一句话来： “你看，钱麻子构造一个光明的川南，却是那样容易的！” 梅女士常有的极妩媚的抿着嘴笑，在薄暗中分明地看得出。仿佛认为这便是无声的回答，李无忌又接着说： “可是那边黑森森古庙一般的，还是现实的真的川南！” “又来了？你的牢骚！” 不是梅女士的回答，却是张逸芳横插进来的讥诮。李无忌淡笑了一下，突然站起，面对着梅女士，更用劲地看着她，轻声说： “密司梅，你的意见？” 梅女士只是温柔地笑；嘴唇微微翕动，有什么话语就要出来了罢，但是哨子的震耳的长鸣倒抢先着破空飞来。排成两个字的红灯笼像波纹一样颤动起来，又倏地散开了。李无忌几乎不敢自信地听得的曼声的回答是： “请你仍旧蹲下去好么？你挡住了我们的眼光。” 现在那些灯笼又走成长蛇形了。哨子声清越地响着。点点的红光渐又密集拢来，成了金字塔了；蓦地抖散了似的，金字塔化为六组复边的斜线，接着便是叫人眼花缭乱的迅速的穿插，远看去宛然是六条红色的毛虫在蠕蠕地蠢动。然后，在匆促而有节奏的哨子声中，这六组灯光像后浪击前浪似的顺次波动过去，到最后一组，便全体静定了。 李无忌的眼睛是向前瞪视着，然而什么也没有看见。只有一个感想在他脑子里缭绕：“她也这么浅薄，喜欢这些把戏么？” 惊雷样的鼓掌声随即切断了他的惘念。那六组灯光不知怎地往下一矮，就分明显出六个大字来：“中华民国万岁！” 演习是完了。在嘈杂的赞美声中，李无忌抱了头，紧缩着身体，高高地蹲在跳台的平顶上。迷惘中他听得一个声音说： “不要叫他。让他静静儿回想一下，好描写出来给我们看呀！” 李无忌心里冷笑，还是一动不动地蹲着，沉浸在不可言说的怅惘中。终于人声消失尽了，秋虫的悲鸣断断续续来了，一阵凉风吹得人毛戴，李无忌这才踉踉跄跄地走下跳台，很不愿意地拖动他的一对重腿。 他是本能地走上向他卧室去的路。半个人影也没碰到。真不料在师范部新班教室的大天井前，猛看见梅女士倚在那大花坛旁向空中凝视着。李无忌脚下略一迟疑，便悄悄地坚决地走近梅女士的身后。相距不满二尺的时候，梅女士突旋转身来，掷过一个微笑，仿佛说：知道你要来的呵！ 暂时都没有话。梅女士是在等待，李无忌忖量着怎样开始第一句。月光洒在他们身上，爬进了梅女士的绸单衣，似乎在掀弄着她的胸部，那绸衫子微有些颤动。她的眼光和平常一样澄静，只不过更晶莹。李无忌到底想好了他的第一句了： “你看这不是很像古庙么？” “唔——可是，李先生，你不喜欢古庙？” “这是须得分别讲，”李无忌用出上讲堂时的口吻来了，“最初是不喜欢，十二分的厌恶，我想我走错了门路了。什么都是灰色。正像本来这是书院改挂了学校招牌，这里的一切都不过是旧材料上披了新衣服。嘴巴上的新思潮比真正老牌古董先生还要可恶。但现在，我觉得这座古庙里射进一道光明来了。只要光明肯照着我，古庙也就成了新建筑。” 梅女士低下头去；少停，她慢慢地说： “恐怕只不过是萤火虫的微光罢了。” “如果她停在我的眼皮上，那就成了太阳！” 没有回答了。从学生宿舍方面传来了闹声，似乎全个学校还在活动着。可是这里，只有冷冷的月光和各人的心跳也可以听得的那样静寂。李无忌紧瞅着梅女士，微张开两片嘴唇，似乎是等待回答，又似乎还有话，大约经过了二三分钟，梅女士忽然抬起头来，温柔而又严肃地说： “李先生，我希望靠你的力量来照耀这座古庙！时间不早，恐怕你还没编起明天的临时刊罢？我很想早早的拜读呢！再会罢。” 她冉冉地竟自走了。只留一个温和的微笑安慰着惘然失神的李无忌。 到自己宿舍的走廊前时，梅女士看见张女士，周女士和朱女士在那里谈论着钱麻子的新把戏。朱女士大声说： “明晚上的提灯会，该是我们顶出风头了！” “可惜三牌坊那里太仄，恐怕不能表演。”