“When I was little, I was specially admitted to the Normal University’s affiliated elementary school. My household registration isn’t here, so when it was time for middle school, I had to go back to the west side of the city. Also,” Fiona James kept smiling, “I guess this time the affiliated middle school won’t specially admit me.”

Zoe Young gripped the iron bar of the horizontal bar tightly, so tightly, but didn’t know how to respond to this kind of “misery loves company.” “I remember the adults at the TV station used to always praise me, saying I was smart and pretty, and that I could become a big star in the future.” “They’re all big liars.”

Fiona James said with a smile, and Zoe Young suddenly looked up. “Adults are all big liars.” Little Swallow leaned against the horizontal bar, head down, still smiling. Zoe Young took off her gloves and poked the dimple on her left cheek with her finger. “You’d better stop smiling.” Zoe Young sighed. The heavy snow was filled with a sadness that couldn’t be dispelled.

The class bell rang, but Zoe Young and Fiona James were still leaning against the horizontal bar, lost in thought. Andrew Lane ran past them, constantly looking back, and finally, awkwardly, walked over.

“Class is starting, your classmates have all gone back.” Zoe Young looked at Andrew Lane: “You should go to class.” “Then why aren’t you two leaving?”

Zoe Young looked up at the sky, then turned her gaze to Fiona James, and suddenly a mischievous smile appeared at the corner of her mouth. “Hey, let’s skip class.”

Fiona James was shocked: “How could we?” “Why not?” Zoe Young flipped herself up and sat steadily on the horizontal bar, looking down with an imposing air, “If the teacher asks, we’ll say the Young Pioneers counselor called us. If the counselor says she didn’t, we’ll say someone told us so. If she asks who that ‘someone’ is, we’ll say we don’t know, maybe it was a prank. Anyway—whatever, it’s not our fault!”

Andrew Lane stared in amazement, mouth agape: “Zoe Young, you’re really good at lying.” A wild, reckless arrogance spread in Zoe Young’s heart. Since things were already like this, who was she supposed to act meek for? After all, there was no way to please this world. She grinned and pointed at Andrew Lane, “Now, let’s silence him.”

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10. The Pause Button on the Timeline

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Andrew Lane was startled by her. Zoe Young’s mood changed so quickly, he couldn’t quite keep up. The snowman who had just sat on the horizontal bar, eyes empty and voice calm, seemed to be suddenly ignited by some unknown passion. But he was happy. He didn’t like it when Zoe Young patted his head and said strange things—those words were like barriers, keeping him far from her. “Hurry up!” Zoe Young urged Fiona James, but she just looked at Andrew Lane awkwardly. “Why do you have to silence me?” Andrew Lane puffed up his cheeks and looked up at the fierce Zoe Young on the horizontal bar. Zoe Young paused, then imitated the gloomy voice of some uncle on TV: “Because only the dead can keep secrets.”

Andrew Lane shouted, “Nonsense! Is silencing people the only way you know?” Fiona James asked earnestly from the side, “Then what should we do?” Andrew Lane suddenly stepped forward, grabbed Zoe Young’s sleeve, and dragged her off the horizontal bar into the snow. As the snow flew, he broke into a bright, radiant smile—a smile he thought had long withered away. “You can drag me down with you!” Zoe Young was stunned. The lively Andrew Lane didn’t need to be dragged at all; he was already splashing around in the ditch on his own. Fiona James, who had just been timid and confused, also burst out laughing: “Squad leader, you’ve really gone bad.” As soon as Andrew Lane defected, he took over as the absolute leader. He grabbed Zoe Young’s hand and looked excitedly around the playground: “We have to get out of here, or the other students will see us. It’s the third period in the afternoon, we can skip two classes, then go back to the classroom to get our bags. If anyone asks, we’ll say the Young Pioneers counselor sent us to the copy room across the street to get the school paper, but after waiting forever, there was nothing, so we got tricked. The gate’s not locked, let’s go, let’s go, let’s go out and play!”

Zoe Young was completely shocked. “Andrew Lane, is this your first time skipping class…” Fiona James was focused on something else. “Squad leader, you’re so excited…”

Only then did Andrew Lane realize he’d just blurted out a whole string of words in a rush. Embarrassed, he scratched the back of his head and, after a long pause, said, “I skipped an art class once… to go home and watch a soccer game…”

At this point, Zoe Young started to worry that in the end, the one who’d need to be silenced might be herself. She let out a long sigh, her breath like a little airplane circling in the air. “So,” she reached out her left hand to grab Fiona James, and her right hand… was being tightly held by Andrew Lane. She took a deep breath and shouted, “Now—let’s run away!!!”

Running in the soft, deep snow wasn’t easy, but Zoe Young dashed forward with abandon, and the two on either side, a step behind because they hadn’t reacted in time, were like reins, barely holding her back. Zoe Young suddenly remembered the planes she used to see in the sky as a child, always flying in groups of three, forming an equilateral triangle—just like the three of them now.

After running out the big iron gate, she finally slowed down, bent over, panting, and let go of Fiona James’s hand. Fiona James tilted her head and smiled: “Squad leader, why are you still holding onto 周周?” Only then did Andrew Lane jerk his hand away from Zoe Young as if he’d been burned. Zoe Young also froze, lowered her head, and blushed unconsciously. Little Swallow was covered in snow, two small dimples appearing on her chubby cheeks. Looking at the two embarrassed people in front of her, she smiled with a hint of meaning. Andrew Lane quickly changed the subject: “There’s an unfinished building nearby. Last time my dad drove by the back road and told me about it. Let’s go have a snowball fight there.” Zoe Young shook her head, holding a grudge: “I can’t beat you.” But Fiona James nodded in agreement: “Let’s go, the two of us can team up, two against one!”

That unfinished building was practically a natural playground. Andrew Lane somehow dragged over a big tire and struggled to push it to the top of a pile of dirt. The pile, covered in thick snow, became a little snow mountain. He stood at the top and waved at Zoe Young: “Come up, I’ll push you down.”

Zoe Young looked gloomy. Sure enough, he was going to finish her off. And he even wanted her to go willingly.

The cautious, fearful look on her face made Andrew Lane laugh and cry at the same time: “I mean, you sit in the tire, and I’ll push you down the slope. It’s really fun. If you don’t believe me—Fiona JamesFiona James, you go first!” Fiona James backed away: “Squad leader, you’re so biased. Just because she’s scared, you’re using me as a test subject?” Andrew Lane blushed a little, pointed at them in exasperation: “Look at how little courage you have. Watch me!” As soon as he finished, he jumped up and plopped into the tire. The momentum sent the tire spinning rapidly down the high snow pile, and with Zoe Young and Fiona James screaming, he safely slid to the bottom. That stretch was icy, so he gradually slowed down and finally slid to a stop at their feet.

“How was it? Fun, right?” Andrew Lane looked up at Zoe Young with a proud, eager-to-please expression. Zoe Young kept a straight face, stepped on the edge of the tire with her right foot, and gave it a hard kick forward—Andrew Lane, still sitting in the tire, shot across the ice toward a concrete pipe and crashed, tumbling over. “It is pretty fun.” she said with a grin. The next minute, Andrew Lane dragged her up the snow pile like hauling a corpse.

Andrew Lane threw her into the tire, put his right foot on the edge to keep it teetering, and looked at the pale-faced Zoe Young with an evil grin.

“Let me have a turn too.” As soon as he finished, he kicked her down the slope.

By the time even Fiona James was no longer afraid of this tire version of a snow “log ride,” they were finally tired out, lying crookedly in the snow, letting the swirling flakes bury them.

“If only time could stop here.” Fiona James’s voice was as sweet and gentle as when she was little. Zoe Young suddenly remembered the first time she met her, unable to see her face through the crowd, only hearing that gentle, beautiful voice, like a hand stroking her heart. She rubbed and held tightly onto Fiona James’s hand. But Andrew Lane just laughed: “But I want to grow up. Growing up is great. What about you, 周周?” Fiona James giggled gossipy on the side: “周周, 周周, 周周, 周周… Squad leader, do you like 周周?” She didn’t hear the denial she expected—like usual, when boys and girls are teased by others, they blush and loudly deny it, listing the other’s faults to prove “there’s no way I’d like someone like that,” which brings on a second round of teasing and laughter… But there was nothing. The two people beside her seemed to even stop breathing, as if afraid to disturb the sound of falling snow. The whole world was quiet and pale, soft and beautiful. Fiona James held her breath for a long time, so long she almost forgot what she’d just said. “…Mm.” “Huh?” She was stunned, unconsciously letting out a monosyllabic question. “…Mm.” Once again.