An impromptu verse on returning home, online uproar, sitting steady on the fishing platform

Cheng Che and Guo Xin walked out of Hongyu Driving School's registration office, one behind the other.

The mid-June sun was scorching, and even the asphalt reflected its glare.

Holding his registration receipt, Guo Xin's face glowed with excitement:

"Once I get my license, I'll borrow my uncle's secondhand Santana. I'm telling you, I'm definitely getting my license before you this time!"

Cheng Che shot him a sideways glance:

"You haven't even practiced the theory questions, and you can't tell fog lights from high beams in the lighting simulation. How exactly are you getting yours first?"

"Don't underestimate me." Guo Xin folded the receipt and stuffed it into his pocket. "Do I look like the kind of guy whose chain slips at the crucial moment?"

"You are."

"Cheng Che, you fucking-"

Cheng Che laughed and took a couple of steps forward, then suddenly said, "Guo Xin, I'm going back to my hometown in a couple of days. Want to come?"

Guo Xin blinked. "Your hometown? Pond Village?"

"Yeah. My parents are going too. There's a river where we can fish, and we can practice driving in my dad's car. You'd just be memorizing questions in the city anyway. Come back with us and study between having fun. Better than gaming at home."

Guo Xin's eyes lit up in a flash, but he grew a little bashful:

"Wouldn't it be... awkward for me to go? Will your family think I'm freeloading?"

"It's not like you've never met my family." Cheng Che rolled his eyes at him. "My mom even asked why you haven't come over for dinner. Just tell me, are you coming or not?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Guo Xin agreed repeatedly, his earlier bashfulness vanishing instantly.

Two days later, Guo Xin climbed into Cheng Jianguo's old BYD with a bulging backpack.

Cheng Jianguo drove, with Jiang Xue in the passenger seat.

Cheng Che and Guo Xin sat in the back. The moment Guo Xin got in, he started sweet-talking:

"Hello, Uncle, Auntie. Sorry for the trouble."

Jiang Xue turned around with a smile:

"What trouble? Cheche gets bored back home too. It's perfect having you along. You two can keep each other company."

Cheng Jianguo glanced into the rearview mirror. "Know how to fish?"

Guo Xin puffed out his chest. "No! But I learn fast!"

Cheng Jianguo burst out laughing. "Good thing you don't. If you did, my Cheng Che would lose so much face."

Cheng Che said, "...Dad, why's your elbow bending outward?"

"Guo Xin's our guest. What's wrong with giving him a little leeway?"

They chatted and laughed along the way. Two hours later, the car turned into Pond Village.

Grandpa and Grandma were already waiting in the courtyard.

Guo Xin had a sweet tongue, calling out "Grandpa" and "Grandma" loud and clear. He charmed Zhou Lan so thoroughly that she couldn't stop smiling and kept stuffing freshly picked cucumbers into his hands.

That night, Guo Xin shared a room with Cheng Che.

Guo Xin tossed his bag onto the bed, then suddenly turned around with a solemn expression. "Tonight, I'm entrusting my first sleep to you."

A shudder of revulsion ran through Cheng Che, and he kicked Guo Xin in the backside. "Speak fucking human."

"I mean, this is my first time sharing a bed and pillow with a bro-" The kick sent Guo Xin lurching forward, so he simply flopped onto the bed. "This bed's so small. How are we both supposed to sleep here?"

"You sleep on the floor. I'll take the bed," Cheng Che said.

"Bullshit! I'm the guest! I get the bed!"

"You're here to freeload, not as a guest."

The two argued over who got the bed for three minutes, ending with Guo Xin obediently making himself a bed on the floor.

Lying in his own bed, Cheng Che listened to Guo Xin tossing and turning below until he finally couldn't stand it anymore. "Are you going to sleep or not?"

Guo Xin answered honestly, "I'm a little excited. Can't sleep."

"Close your eyes. Count sheep."

"I did. Got to three hundred, but your grandpa was snoring downstairs, and I lost count."

Cheng Che said, "..."

Early the next morning, the two went fishing by the river.

The river lay east of the village. It wasn't wide, but its water was clear.

A few old willows grew along the bank, their branches trailing into the water. Sunlight filtered through gaps in the leaves, breaking into scattered fragments.

Cheng Che dug two old fishing rods out of Grandpa's tool shed, then dug up half a jar of earthworms by the corner of the wall.

Guo Xin had never fished before, so he copied Cheng Che and cast his line.

The first time, his hook caught in the willow behind him.

The second time, he used too much force. The line whipped back and almost snagged the hat on his head.

The third time, he finally got the hook into the water. The two sat side by side on folding stools, staring at the floats on the surface, neither daring to speak.

Ten minutes passed without either float moving.

Guo Xin whispered, "Are there really fish in this river?"

"Yes," Cheng Che said.

"Then why does it feel like I'm fishing for air?"

"Don't rush. This is what fishing's like."

Another half hour passed. Guo Xin's arm had gone numb, and mosquitoes had left four bites on Cheng Che's legs. The floats still showed no movement.

Guo Xin started yawning. "This is way too boring. I'd rather go back and practice theory questions."

He had just stood up when Cheng Che suddenly thrust out a hand. "Don't move! Your float moved!"

Guo Xin whipped his head around. Sure enough, his red-and-white float was bobbing violently up and down on the surface.

"Pull! Quick, pull!" Cheng Che shouted.

Guo Xin fumbled for his rod and jerked it backward.

With a splash, a fish flew out of the water, tracing a silvery arc through the air before landing with a smack in the grass by the bank.

It was a palm-sized crucian carp, its tail still slapping forcefully against the ground.

Guo Xin froze for two seconds, then let out a howl:

"I caught one! I caught one! Cheng Che, did you see that? I caught a fish!"

Cheng Che crouched down, removed the fish from the hook, and put it in the bucket:

"I saw. You've only got one more than me. I've caught a grand total of zero."

"Hahahaha! My very first fishing trip, and I've already landed one! I'm a genius!" Hands on his hips, Guo Xin stood by the river laughing like an idiot.

Later, Cheng Che caught one too.

An even smaller one.

The two sat by the river all afternoon, and in the end, there were only two fish in the bucket: Guo Xin's and Cheng Che's.

Even put together, the two weren't as long as an adult's hand.

"Our haul would be embarrassing to tell anyone about." Guo Xin rubbed his nose as he looked at the two little crucian carp in the bucket.

"If you don't tell and I don't tell, who'll know?" Cheng Che said.

"Good point."

They took the fish home. Grandma Zhou Lan's eyes crinkled with her smile. "Oh, you really caught some? Good, good. Grandma will make you soup tonight."

Two fish weren't enough, so Zhou Lan added a few chunks of tofu and made a pot of crucian carp and tofu soup. The two little fish only lent it some fresh flavor. The broth was milky white, with a few pieces of chopped scallion floating on top.

Guo Xin ladled himself a bowl and sipped it.

At the first mouthful, he stopped short. Then he took another large gulp, set down his bowl, and said with a serious expression, "Cheng Che."

"What?"

"This is the best fish soup I've ever had in my life."

Cheng Che smiled:

"Because you caught the fish yourself."

Guo Xin thought about it, then nodded. "That's true."

Two days later, the two holed up in their room studying the driving theory question bank.

The questions left Guo Xin's head swimming. While Cheng Che wasn't paying attention, he opened a short-video app to slack off for a while.

As he scrolled, he suddenly let out a puzzled sound.

"Cheng Che, I think you've... gone viral again."

He handed his phone over.

An interview clip was playing on the screen.

In the video, Cheng Che wore a white T-shirt and stood outside the college entrance exam venue, telling the camera, "Tsinghua or Peking shouldn't be much of a problem."

But a clickbait account had already repackaged the video with the title:

[Exam candidate declares "Tsinghua or Peking is in the bag" outside exam venue: confidence or publicity stunt?]

Sure enough, the comments were a poisonous miasma.

"Even students want to be influencers these days."

"No shame at all when it comes to going viral. Tsinghua or Peking? You should burn incense in thanks if you even get into a second-tier university."

"He looks presentable enough. Too bad everything out of his mouth is hot air."

"Let's see how he gets out of this when the results come out."

The more Guo Xin read, the angrier he became:

"What's wrong with these people? Do they know you scored 690 on your last monthly exam before the entrance exam? Bunch of keyboard warriors!"

Cheng Che pushed the phone back, his face betraying little expression. "I'm not worried. Why are you?"

"They're trashing you like this, and you're not angry?"

"What good would getting angry do? Once the results come out, we'll know who's right and who's wrong." Cheng Che leaned back in his chair and said unhurriedly, "I'm not a celebrity. I don't need PR. My score is the best response."

Guo Xin thought about it and found that reasonable, but he still couldn't swallow his anger. He scrolled a little more, then made another surprised sound.

"Holy shit, people in your supertopic are speaking up for you!"

Cheng Che leaned over to look.

Sure enough, a group of fans in his supertopic had already sprung into action.

"Our boy isn't like that! On his last mock exam before the entrance exam, he ranked second in the whole school and got a perfect score in math!"

"Unbelievable. A bunch of clickbait accounts that can't even spell his name right are stirring up nonsense."

"Just wait. On results day, I'll be waiting for these people to line up and apologize."

"Girls, don't argue with the trolls. It's beneath us. Just wait for our boy to face-slap them with his score."

Reading these comments, Cheng Che didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

He actually had "fans" now.

Although these fans might only have gathered temporarily because he was good-looking, their willingness to stand up and speak for him still warmed his heart a little.

He turned off the phone, walked to the window, and stretched.

The breeze blew in through the window, carrying the scent of the bamboo grove and the faint cries of cicadas in the distance.

"Three more days," he said softly.

In three days, the college entrance exam results would be released.

When that time came, all the clamor would have an answer.