After two and a half days of rain, the skies finally began to clear at noon on Friday.
This delighted the first-year students, whose break happened to begin that day. As soon as afternoon classes ended, a bustling line of students formed at the school gates.
Chen Shi'an turned to look at the line.
"Don't the first-years have extra classes tomorrow?"
"Nope. First-years get both days off in the first semester. Extra classes only start in the second semester. Taoist, where should we play?"
The one answering was Wen Zhixia, holding the Badminton Racket. They had originally agreed to play badminton after school that afternoon before heading to the cafeteria, but two or three days of rain had delayed their game until today.
"You choose."
"Hmph."
The girl gave a quiet huff and said pointedly, "I picked a court that day, but someone refused to go."
Dragging up old grievances, were we!
Chen Shi'an smiled. "The court I picked last time really did have better feng shui."
"Not necessarily. I think that court jinxes me."
"I meant it had better feng shui for me."
Chen Shi'an wasn't lying. Whether he had chosen Wen Zhixia's court or Lin Meng Qiu's that day, he felt neither would have ended well for him.
"Watch me beat you until you cry today-"
Wen Zhixia took out the rackets and handed one to Chen Shi'an.
"Your racket feels great."
Chen Shi'an held the racket and played around with it. It was quite light, yet neither its flexibility nor its strength suffered in the slightest. "How much did it cost?"
"Not too bad. It wasn't that expensive. Twelve hundred."
"For one or a pair?"
"One."
"What about this shuttlecock?"
"Eight yuan each."
Chen Shi'an couldn't help giving voice to his poverty. "Playing badminton costs that much?"