Shot One

Me and Sue is a novel that emerged as a result of the times， focusing on real life against the Covid-19 epidemic. It is full of emotions， with distinctive character personalities， authentic details， and a graphic plot. By illustrating the personal life of a teenage girl， the novel presents to readers the whole colorful and textured social life of the city of Wuhan during the epidemic.

Me and Su

Huang Chunhua

Anhui Children’s Publishing House

May 2020

28.00 (CNY)

Huang Chunhua

Huang Chunhua is a famous writer of children’s literature， a member of the China Writers Association， a member of the Hubei Writers Association， and the vice chairman of the Wuhan Writers Association. He has published over thirty works， including Red Bayberry， Tear， The Cat King， Diary of Youth， etc. He has been awarded the Bingxin Children’s Literature Award for New Works and the Children’s Literature Magazine Annual Award and was named one of the Top Ten Golden Writers by Children’s Literature.

There are always omens before everything really happens， but they just don’t seem so tangible at the very beginning， so no one pays much attention.

The bell has already rung， but our Class One， Grade Nine classroom is still full of noise. The examinations just finished， and we all feel excited， worrying about our scores and guessing which high school to apply for. Everyone is talking nonstop， like bees buzzing. More importantly， we should have a math class right now， but Mr. Li， our math teacher with the build of an ox and the strength of Samson， fell ill and was admitted to the hospital. He caught a cold.

We got this news from Li Chen， our Chinese teacher， also the teacher in charge of our class. At the time， I was in the teacher’s office to hand in the composition workbooks of the class， which was my duty as her assistant on the Chinese subject. Then Ms. Chen asked me to bring back this news and tell everyone to study independently in class. When I returned to our classroom， I did not take the open road shaded by trees but took a shortcut， bringing the news through the grapevine.

When I announced this news in the classroom， Xiao Rundong was the most surprised to hear it. “Sir Donnie can actually get sick!” he shouted.

Sir Donnie is Mr. Li’s nickname， given by Rundong. Rundong always had the tendency to seek the limelight and steal the show. Still， his shows never worked on Mr. Li， who， instead of being impressed， sometimes just rolled his eyes. Nobody likes to be treated with the whites of other people’s eyes， so of course， Rundong was restive. He played chicken with Mr. Li in front of others repeatedly， intending to duke it out. And Mr. Li rose to the challenges head-on and calmly.

The match between two men was a competition of strength. They started with arm wrestling. One desk， two stools， the two sat opposite each other with the whole class gathering around them， all expecting to enjoy a big game. Yet the game lasted for only second， for Rundong was no match for Mr. Li

But Rundong refused to concede defeat. He said that there was a gap between their ages， so to make it a fair game， they should not compete relatively. Therefore， in the next competition， they would do push-ups， respectively， and whoever did more would be the winner.

Mr. Li said Rundong first. Rundong said no， insisting that Mr. Li go first. Without argument or other words， Mr. Li got down on the floor of the classroom aisle. He immediately started doing push-ups， one， two， and three. It looked like he could do it all day. Like elementary school students learning to count， the whole class counted in unison. Rundong’s complexion turned gradually from white to red， then from red to purple. In the end， he declared to give up.

“Dear goodness， you tell me he is a math teacher? I tell you he is a martial arts master!” Afterward， Rundong has always wondered why Mr. Li should earn a living with his brain when he could make a fortune with his body. There is a master hiding among ordinary teachers! How admirable! So， Mr. Li is basically a replica of Donnie Yen. How about giving him the nickname “Sir Donnie”? It took only a blink of an eye for this brilliant nickname to spread around the class.

That’s why it surprises us all that Sir Donnie， with his steel-like body， should be conquered by a cold.

But when you think about it， it’s not so odd as it seems. It’s the high season for the flu now. I heard my mom talking about it the other day， saying that there had been a surge in the number of people going to the hospital with colds and fevers. She also cautioned me again and again that I should be more careful. The January examination was imminent then， and we could not afford to get sick or even the tiniest bit uncomfortable.

I knew better than anyone how important the January examination was. Every year in January， all ninth-grade students in Wuhan take a unified exam. Meanwhile， all key high schools in the city get prepared to poach talented students as soon as the results come out. Students will also go to their desired high school with their parents to meet with teachers for an in-depth chat to confirm their final application. This two-way selection process is very essential because only one school from the same level can be filled in the application form. You can only apply to one school from each level. Each school sets its entry score so that the application could be risky: once you are not admitted to the school you choose at this level， your next hope will be the school from a lower level.

Sue has been my desk mate during all three years of junior high. Besides， she is also my childhood friend. One word to describe our relationship is “besties.” We went to the same elementary school and were enrolled in this experimental middle school with pretty good academic records back then.

In junior high， the academic stress became much greater than before， and my performance declined tremendously in the first semester. I almost gave up， but I gritted my teeth and held on. When I got used to it and regained my strength， my grades began to go up and eventually returned to a relatively satisfactory level.

But Sue was not as lucky. One major reason was that her body condition was poor. The academic stress was too much for her frail body to cope with， and she often fell ill. Sometimes it was a cold or fever， sometimes it was a stomachache or dizziness. So much so that it is not an exaggeration to say that since she started junior high， her career has been fighting illness， and studying became her part-time job. In the long run， her grades naturally slipped to the bottom.

Fortunately， there is one hobby she has never given up on， which is painting. We have been attending extracurricular painting classes together since elementary school， taking classes once every weekend and never skipping one class over the years. With the stress in ninth grade so great， we have quit almost all extracurricular classes， but painting is one thing we hold on to. And painting suits Sue most perfectly， for she possesses a very tranquil nature， never making any fuss， always murmuring as if she is afraid of disturbing something. Just like now， the classroom is in such chaos. However， she is holding a math textbook and reading absorbedly， completely in her own world.

Well， I can’t. My brain can never settle down when the outside world is in turmoil. I also have a math textbook in front of me， but I can’t fix my mind on it. Also， I’m somehow a rubberneck. Watching Rundong bickering with other boys is pretty interesting for me. More interestingly， I can feel something in Rundong’s manners: this guy， while delivering his harangue， always glances in our direction. They seem unintentional and are in a flash， these glances， but I’m not fooled. What is brewing in this guy’s mind is an open secret.

Since I can’t keep a cool head anyway， I may as well talk about something serious， so I nudge Sue and say， “Let’s take some time and look around No. 4 Senior High School!”

She raises her head and turns her face to me. After taking a while to understand what I am talking about， she smiles and says， “I’ve thought about it， it’s okay for you to accompany me for a look there， but you can’t apply for No. 4 Senior High.”

As soon as Sue raises her head， Rundong reacts， speaking louder and throwing his limbs wider. But I’m in no mood to pay attention to him because Sue’s words alert me. Frowning and staring at her， I ask， “Why?”

“I can’t ruin your future because of me.” She said before turning back to the textbook.

“Hey， haven’t we talked about this already? How is that ruining my future?” In a hurry， I reach out to cover up her book， “Becoming a painter is your dream as well as my pursuit， we can enroll in the No. 4 together and continue our learning， isn’t that good?”

“But， you can get admitted to a better school.”

“I don’t care about a better school. I’m happy to be with you， don’t you understand?” I can’t help raising my voice.

“I do!” She ducks her head uneasily.

Turning around， I catch Rundong looking straight at us， so I shoot him a fierce glare.