章节八

方茴成为宣传委员了，是陈寻执意推荐的。

Fang Hui became the propaganda committee member, a role strongly recommended by Chen Xun.

那天是每周一的例行班会，因为黑板报评比班只得了第六，啊对，全年级只有六个班……所以班主任侯佳特别进行了一番训话。

That day was the regular class meeting held every Monday. Since our class only placed sixth in the blackboard report competition—oh right, there are only six classes in the entire grade...—the homeroom teacher, Hou Jia, gave a special talk.

侯佳是刚毕业的师大研究生，第一次带班特别有干劲，总是希望班级能有些突出的表现。

Hou Jia had just graduated from a teacher's college and was particularly energetic in her first time leading a class, always hoping for some standout performance from her students.

当然“突出”和“表现”这两个词是结合起来出效果的，如果没有表现，也就不要突出。

Of course, the terms "outstanding" and "performance" work together to create effect; without performance, there’s no room for being outstanding.

可是这次呢，没什么表现，但是突出了，倒数第一的位置让侯佳很挫败。

But this time, there wasn't much performance, yet they stood out in the worst way—a position that left Hou Jia feeling quite defeated.

尤其是年级办公室里，那群有点资历的老师还半咸不淡的说：“侯老师，不应该呀，学生们是挺喜欢这种活动的嘛，下次要多做工作啊。”

Especially with the somewhat experienced teachers in the grade office who, with a half-hearted attitude, said, "Teacher Hou, it shouldn't be this way; the students do enjoy these activities. You need to engage them more next time."

她更是有苦说不出。

She had a lot of unvoiced frustrations.

“大家来自四面八方，既然组成一个新的班级，就要事事想到自己是班集体的一员。”侯佳板着脸说：“这次的板报我不能说是某一个同学不认真，是全班同学都没有重视起来。

"Everyone comes from different places. Now that we are forming a new class, we must think of ourselves as members of the class collective in everything we do," Hou Jia said sternly. "I can't say this poor showing in the blackboard report is solely due to one student; the entire class has not taken it seriously.

板报虽然只是一张纸，但是它也代表了班级的形象。我想你们谁也不希望让其他班的同学笑话对吧。

The blackboard report may just be a piece of paper, but it also represents our class's image. I believe nobody wants to be laughed at by students from other classes, right?

月底就是中秋节了，还要出一期板报，现在我想征求一下大家的意见，看有没有什么好的创意。

The Mid-Autumn Festival is at the end of the month; we still have a report to prepare. Now, I want to ask everyone for ideas to see if there are any good concepts.

或者那位同学在初中时出过板报学过画画，也可以一起帮忙出。”

Or if someone has previously made a blackboard report or studied art in middle school, you could help out."

同学们全都低着头，一声不吭。

Everyone just lowered their heads, not making a sound.

那时的教育虽然也提倡个性和独立，但往往更注重形式而不在乎实质。

At that time, education emphasized individuality and independence, but often placed more importance on form rather than substance.

全都个性了独立了，老师们还怎么管？

With everyone being independent and assertive, how could the teachers keep control?

从手背后排路队，到举手发言向右看齐，我们都是貌似被放养，实则被圈养。

From forming lines behind their hands to raising hands to speak in unison, we seemed to be free-range, though in reality, we were more like being kept in a pen.

私底下无论玩得怎样热闹，在老师们面前也都成了沉默的羔羊。

Privately, no matter how lively things were, in front of the teachers, everyone became silent lambs.

像板报这样的事，任你老师说得再慷慨激昂，底下的学生也不见得有多大反应。

For something like the blackboard report, no matter how passionately the teacher spoke, the students typically didn’t show much reaction.

所以班会和德育课，基本上大家都在装鸵鸟。

So, during class meetings and moral education lessons, everyone essentially played ostrich.

就在全班都安静异常的时候，陈寻举手站了起来。

Just when the entire class was unusually quiet, Chen Xun raised his hand and stood up.

“这件事呢，首先我作为班长、何莎作为宣委，都是有一定责任的。

"Regarding this matter, I, as class president, and He Sha, as the propaganda committee member, both bear some responsibility.

但是我想大家也不想这样，何莎虽然是宣委，可是以前从来没出过板报。我觉得还是应该找一个画画好的同学协助她做这个事，才能得心应手。

But I don't think everyone wants it to be this way. Although He Sha is the committee member, she has never made a blackboard report before. I think we should find a student who is good at drawing to assist her so that it can be managed well.

所以，我想推荐一个同学来和何莎一起负责出板报。”

Therefore, I would like to recommend a student to work together with He Sha on the report."

侯佳满意的看着自己的班长说：“你想推荐谁呢？”

Hou Jia looked at her class president with satisfaction and asked, "Who do you want to recommend?"

陈寻仿佛胸有成竹，清晰响亮的说：“方茴。”

Chen Xun seemed confident and replied loud and clear, "Fang Hui."

一直在鸵鸟状态的方茴猛地抬起头，她根本没想到陈寻会说出她的名字，只觉得脑袋一下子蒙了。

Fang Hui, who had been in an ostrich state, abruptly lifted her head. She never expected Chen Xun to say her name, and her mind went blank.

“方茴以前学过画画，她出板报肯定没问题！”陈寻接着说。

"Fang Hui has studied drawing before, she will definitely be fine with the blackboard report!" Chen Xun continued.

侯佳点点头，望向方茴说：“我也有些印象，你入学表里填着学过美术吧。”

Hou Jia nodded, looking at Fang Hui as she said, "I have some impression of you; you mentioned in your enrollment papers that you studied fine arts, right?"

方茴站起来，全班同学都望向她，她很久没接受过这样的注视了，异样的紧张感让她很不安，脸不自觉就红到了耳根。

Fang Hui stood up, and all the classmates turned to look at her. She hadn’t faced such attention in a long time, and the strange sense of nervousness made her uneasy, her face unintentionally reddening to the roots of her ears.

她小声说：“我是学过……可是……可是。”

She spoke softly, "I have studied... but..."

“那么下期板报就由你和何莎一起出吧，其他同学没意见吧？”侯佳询问。

"Then the next blackboard report will be produced by you and He Sha together, right? Any objections from the rest of the class?" Hou Jia inquired.

“没意见！没意见！”赵烨故意大声说。

"No objections! No objections!" Zhao Ye deliberately replied loudly.

方茴恨恨的回头瞪了他一眼，目光扫过陈寻，他却一脸淡然。

Fang Hui glared back at him, filled with annoyance, and her gaze swept past Chen Xun, but he remained unfazed.

下课之后，方茴走到陈寻的座位前，这是她第一次和陈寻面对面的讲话，却仍旧半低着头。

After class, Fang Hui walked to Chen Xun's desk. This was her first time speaking to him face to face, yet she still kept her head half down.

“为什么让我做啊，我……”。

"Why did you have to choose me?"

“上次吃饭听小草说你学过画画，不是还得了区里二等奖么。” 陈寻打断她说。

"Last time at lunch, I heard Xiaocao say you studied drawing and even won second prize in the district," Chen Xun interrupted her.

“可是，我没画过板报……”方茴没想到他会记得这样的事，上次聊天不过是插科打诨的一带而过。

"But I've never made a blackboard report..." Fang Hui was surprised that he remembered such a detail; their previous conversation had only been casual banter.

“会画就行，你看上次何莎画的那个树，不知道的还以为是捆芹菜呢！”陈寻努力去看她的眼睛，却只看到细细的刘海，她的眼睛在下面一闪一闪的飘忽着，让人有想把她头发拨开的冲动。

"Being able to draw is enough. You saw that tree He Sha drew last time—if you didn't know better, you'd think it was a bundle of celery!" Chen Xun was trying to look into her eyes but only saw the thin bangs covering her face; her eyes flickered below, making him want to push her hair aside.

“可是……”

"But..."

“没关系，到时候我帮你。”

"It's okay; I'll help you with it."

乔燃抱着一摞作业本走过来说，“我不会画画，但涂个颜色什么的总还行。”

Qiao Ran walked by with a stack of homework and said, "I can't draw, but I can color or something."

方茴感激的看了他一眼，点了点头，默默走回座位。

Fang Hui glanced at him gratefully, nodded, and silently returned to her seat.

那一刻，陈寻终于看见她的眼睛，可是那个眼波却并没有在他这里停留。

At that moment, Chen Xun finally saw her eyes, but that glimpse didn’t linger in his memory for long.

陈寻是故意的。

Chen Xun was being intentional.

因为他突然发现，在这个女生面前，他落后了两个好朋友一大截。

He suddenly realized that, in front of this girl, he lagged significantly behind his two good friends.

好比说吃饭的时候，赵烨说喜欢吃土豆，每次盒饭里有土豆，方茴就会把自己的菜分给他一点。

For instance, at lunch, Zhao Ye mentioned he liked potatoes, and every time there were potatoes in the lunch boxes, Fang Hui would share some of her food with him.

而陈寻也说过自己喜欢吃白菜，方茴却一次也没给他拨过。

And although Chen Xun had also said he liked cabbage, Fang Hui had never shared anything with him.

再好比说，方茴有不会的作业题总是问乔燃，其实他物理学得比乔燃好多了，但方茴从来不找他。

Furthermore, Fang Hui would always ask Qiao Ran for help with her homework questions, even though Chen Xun was actually better at physics than Qiao Ran; however, Fang Hui never sought him out.

就算两个人琢磨半天也想不出来答案，陈寻主动去给他们讲题。

Even when the two of them struggled to figure out an answer for a long time, Chen Xun would take the initiative to explain the problems to them.

也会最终演变成陈寻讲给乔燃，乔燃再转述方茴的情景。

This would ultimately play out as Chen Xun explaining it to Qiao Ran, who would then relay it to Fang Hui.

最过分的是，有一次英语测验前的课间，方茴和乔燃聊天：“也不知道是什么样的卷子。难不难？”

To make matters worse, there was a time before an English quiz when Fang Hui was chatting with Qiao Ran, saying, "I wonder what the test will be like. Is it difficult?"

陈寻正好从旁边走过，于是停下来说：“刚才二班考完了，特难，正反四面的卷子，两节课根本做不完！”

Chen Xun happened to be passing by and stopped to say, "The second class just finished, and it was really hard. It was a four-section paper; you can't finish in two lessons!"

他本来是冲着方茴说的，可方茴却转过了身，只剩下乔燃一阵长吁短叹。

He had directed that at Fang Hui, yet she simply turned away, leaving Qiao Ran sighing deeply.

一会她回过头，陈寻以为她要说点什么，哪知道人家拿出一个本递给乔燃说：“今天留的作业，放学别忘记还我。”然后就又转了回去，理都没理他。

After a while, when she turned back, Chen Xun thought she was going to say something, but instead, she pulled out a notebook and handed it to Qiao Ran saying, "This is today's homework. Don’t forget to return it to me after school," and then turned back again, not even acknowledging him.

那种憋屈的感觉，真是……一江怨水向东流啊……

That feeling of suffocation was truly... a river of resentment flowing eastward...

因此他就决定，不管怎么样，好歹要让方茴正正经经的面向他一次。

Thus, he decided that no matter what, he had to make sure Fang Hui faced him properly at least once.

其实当时陈寻这么做，仅仅是因为实在不能容忍方茴对他忽视的态度，没什么太多的含义。

Actually, at that time, Chen Xun's actions were simply because he couldn't tolerate Fang Hui’s dismissive attitude towards him; it didn't carry too much meaning.

我很理解他，那个时候我们还小，还可以仅仅的因为心里的一时的想法就去努力的做，还可以随意的喜欢、厌恶、不服气，还可以独断专行不去想日后会发生什么改变什么。

I understand him; back then, we were young and could put our thoughts into action simply because we felt that way at the moment. We could freely like, dislike, feel offended, and act independently without thinking about future changes or repercussions.

也许有人会说这是任性和自私，但是，我觉得现在已经长大的我们，已经学会圆滑与世故的我们，已经在社会各个角落默默工作的我们，并不会后悔曾经用那么鲜明的态度去诠释自己的青春。

Some might call it willfulness and selfishness, but I believe, for those of us who have grown up, who have learned to be smoother and more worldly, who are silently working in various corners of society, we would not regret having portrayed our youth with such distinct attitudes.

比如陈寻，对于他那时的这个决定，我想他从未后悔。

For example, for Chen Xun, I think he has never regretted this decision he made back then.