Chapter 42: Where the lights grew dim
The list of City Model Students had been finalized, and the flag-raising ceremony doubled as an awards assembly. The field, normally empty and covered in withered grass, was now filled with students lined up by class, a shifting sea of dark heads. Numerous thin openings appeared in the thick clouds. Sunlight streamed straight down through them, forming intersecting pillars of light against the distant mountains, like a palace in Western fantasy with the sky for its dome and the earth for its foundation.
A small number of students formed a long line beside the field's reviewing stand. In all his years as a student, Su Can had never come to this spot during a Monday flag-raising ceremony, looking down at the densely packed students from this angle.
His homeroom teacher had called on Sunday to remind him that he would be taking part in the ceremony in a few days. He had to admit that he was quite excited. Being named a "City Model Student" was an unprecedented first for him, whether in his later life or now.
Tang Wu stood right beside him, wearing only a white shirt with a small dark brown tie at the collar and jeans below. Her hair was tied back in a glossy black ponytail. She was a little nervous. With the breaths passing through her nostrils and the warmth radiating from her body came wafts of a warm fragrance that belonged to her alone.
"Cold?" Su Can leaned over to ask, drawing envious looks from the outstanding student leaders, outstanding Youth League members, and outstanding Youth League leaders around them.
Tang Wu nodded. The weather was still rather chilly at the start of spring, and the quality of the school's standardized uniforms was hardly impressive. The