This year, the Gregorian and lunar calendars were close together; Lunar New Year's Eve fell on January 21.
New Year's Day passed, and before they knew it, finals had arrived.
The night before the exams, sleet suddenly began to fall.
If they held out their hands to catch it, they could vaguely make out snowflakes before they melted into water within a second or two.
The students were thrilled. Countless students in the boys' and girls' dormitories and apartment buildings shouted, "It's snowing!" They cheered and ran outside, hopping around in the drizzle. The sight would have northern Chinese laughing themselves to death.
Even during the exams the next day, they were still talking about the snow from the night before.
After four exams, Chen Guiliang felt that he had clearly improved.
Especially in math. Even though the questions were harder than the monthly test, he was confident he could score over eighty.
Once the final humanities exam was over, everyone hurried home by bus, without even having time for a farewell meal.
The first semester of senior year ended just like that, quietly and without a sound.
Chen Guiliang stayed one more night in the dorm. The next day, he was going to buy cats with Bian Guanyue.
The county's flower-and-bird market ten years later was, at this time, still part of the KTV strip.
Commonly known as "Struggle Street."
Struggle, as in struggling desperately and howling before death.
In 2004, Fushi County seemingly did not yet have any shops specializing in flowers, birds, or pets.
After packing his luggage, Chen Guiliang took a bus to West Lake.
The so-called West Lake was actually just a stinking pond. It was especially beautiful in summer when the lotuses bloomed, but in winter it was full of muddy filth, dead