The bell for class rang.
Jiang Yueming returned to the classroom holding the bottle of oolong tea Xia He had given him.
Dong Ziyang had one arm draped over the back of his chair. He twisted his body around and looked at Jiang Yueming with a meaningful, mischievous grin.
“What?”
Jiang Yueming felt a little creeped out by his stare.
“Nothing,” Dong Ziyang said as he watched Jiang Yueming place the bottle of oolong tea on the desk.
“Just thinking this bottle of water looks pretty nice.”
“What’s so nice about a bottle of water?”
“It just looks nice, that’s all,” Dong Ziyang leaned over dramatically.
“What brand is it? Oh, isn’t this the one my big bro Jiang always drinks? Xia He really pays attention to you, huh.”
“Are you done yet?”
“Nope.”
Dong Ziyang stuck his neck out defiantly.
“My best son is getting stolen away. As his dad, I have to do some quality control, don’t I?”
Jiang Yueming grabbed his textbook and swung it at Dong Ziyang’s head.
Dong Ziyang had been prepared.
He ducked aside and kept shouting, “Murdering your own father!”
“Say that one more time and see what happens.”
“Oh, you think I’m scared of you? Listen up, my s—”
This time Jiang Yueming directly picked up the bottle of oolong tea.
It felt heavy and solid in his hand like a miniature weapon.
Dong Ziyang’s bold words died in his throat the moment his eyes landed on the bottom of the bottle.
“Bro, good brother,” he raised his hands in surrender.
“I was just curious, that’s all. Calm down.”
Jiang Yueming put the bottle down with an expressionless face.
Seeing that the killing intent had subsided, Dong Ziyang grinned again.
“But seriously though, weren’t you reviewing with Wen Xiaoyu last night? How did you end up with Xia He today? I never knew you were this popular before.”
“We’re not together.”
“You held hands and you’re still not together?” Dong Ziyang’s eyes widened.
Jiang Yueming really couldn’t be bothered to deal with him and shot him a sideways glance.
“Does holding hands automatically mean we’re together?”
Dong Ziyang gave him a look that said What else would it mean? and stared at him blankly for two seconds.
“You really sound like a scumbag when you say that,” Dong Ziyang said.
“When have you ever seen Xia He hold hands with any random guy?”
He paused, then added, “Plus, look—you two just held hands and the forum already exploded.”
Jiang Yueming thought back to the moment outside the classroom earlier when Xia He had held up her phone to show him the poll.
He stared at the bottle of oolong tea on his desk, pressed his lips together, and didn’t reply.
The classroom was noisy as everyone took advantage of the time before the teacher arrived to chat.
It only quieted down when Mr. Zhou’s figure appeared at the door and class finally began in earnest.
“What are you all making so much noise for? I’m only three minutes late and you’re already this rowdy,” Mr. Zhou said as he walked in carrying a stack of test papers.
“Our class is the noisiest in the entire building. I could hear you from the first floor.”
Dong Ziyang still hadn’t finished asking his questions, but seeing the homeroom teacher arrive, he had no choice but to turn back around.
Mr. Zhou slammed the test papers onto the lectern, sending a cloud of chalk dust into the air.
“Today we’re going over the monthly exam papers. Take them out.”
The sound of papers rustling filled the classroom.
Jiang Yueming pulled out his own crumpled test paper from his desk drawer and spread it open on the desk.
As Mr. Zhou began the lesson, Jiang Yueming rested his chin on his hand and listened with little interest.
Wen Xiaoyu had already gone over most of this test paper with him last night.
He planned to zone out until Mr. Zhou reached the second half, then listen to the parts she hadn’t had time to cover.
“First multiple-choice question, the answer is C. This one shouldn’t be missed—it’s free points…” Mr. Zhou’s voice drifted over from the lectern.
“Next question…”
As he listened, Jiang Yueming felt his eyelids growing heavier and heavier.
He had barely slept last night.
Xia He’s kiss had kept him burning until morning; he simply couldn’t fall asleep.
Gradually, his vision began to blur, and the sounds around him faded into the distance.
Mr. Zhou waved the blackboard eraser across the board, and Jiang Yueming’s consciousness was wiped away bit by bit.
***
Dusk. The teaching building was empty of students.
The setting sun slanted in through the corridor windows.
After receiving their results, the students had all left.
The school had never felt this quiet before. It even carried a faint sense of loneliness.
The boy stood alone in the corridor, clutching a report card in his hand. His fingertips trembled slightly.
He had never imagined in his entire life that he could score this high.
Even after leaving Mr. Zhou’s office, he still felt like he was floating.
“Did you check it?”
A gentle, familiar voice came from behind him.
The boy turned around, unable to suppress the smile on his face.
“Yeah. 632 points. I never thought I could do this well.”
The girl in front of him looked pleasantly surprised and happy for him.
“I knew it. As long as you studied hard, you’d definitely do well.”
“It’s all thanks to you,” the boy said.
“Without you, there’s no way my Chinese score would be this high.”
At long last, he could finally get into the school he had been dreaming of all this time.
And all of it was because of the person standing in front of him.
“What about you?” the boy asked.
“How much did you score?”
The girl’s bright smile faltered slightly.
“I… scored 587.”
“587… 587…” the boy repeated the numbers, his eyes growing wider and wider.
“That’s great! You made it past Linxiang’s cutoff score too!”
The boy cheered inside the empty classroom while the girl quietly watched him, a faint smile on her lips.
“Tomorrow is the day we fill out our college applications,” the girl said softly.
“Have you decided which university you want to apply to?”
The boy’s excitement cooled at her words. He looked at her face with confusion.
“Linxiang University, of course. Haven’t I been working toward that this whole time?”
For the past six months, he had gone from average grades to ranking near the top of his year.
Only he knew how much bitterness and exhaustion that had cost him.
He slept at one in the morning and woke up at six to memorize vocabulary.
He solved practice questions while eating.
He had completely given up gaming and hadn’t been to the net cafe once.
There had been only one thought keeping him going—to get into the same university as her.
The girl looked at him. Her lips moved, but in the end she said nothing and lowered her eyes.
“What’s wrong?” the boy noticed something was off.
“Your score is enough. 587. Last year Linxiang’s admission cutoff was 570. You exceeded it by 17 points.”
“I know.”
“Then why aren’t you happy?”
The girl lifted her head and looked at him. The sad look in her eyes made the boy’s heart tighten.
“Jiang Yueming,” she called his name. “Have you ever thought about applying to a different school?”
Jiang Yueming was stunned. “What other school?”
“Like… Qingyuan University.”
Qingyuan University.
“Why would I apply to Qingyuan?” he asked immediately.
“Because your score is good enough.” The girl’s voice was calm.
“632 points. That’s over last year’s Qingyuan admission line. If they expand enrollment this year, you should be able to get in.”
“I’m not going to Qingyuan.”
“Why not?”
“Because you’re going to Linxiang.”
The corridor suddenly fell silent. Even the wind stopped blowing.
The girl’s eyelashes trembled violently.
“You can’t… because of me…” She paused, as if steeling herself. “You can’t give up a better option just because of me.”
Jiang Yueming suddenly felt something blocking his throat, making it hard to speak.
“I’m not going to Qingyuan,” he said. “Linxiang is my best choice.”
The girl’s gaze was soft and sorrowful, like water.
“Qingyuan is better than Linxiang,” she said. “You have to think about your future.”
Future. Jiang Yueming felt like his heart had been struck hard.
Was she telling him to choose his future over her?
Objectively speaking, Qingyuan University was indeed much, much better than Linxiang.
Mr. Zhou had just called him into the office earlier, excitedly saying that he had actually managed to teach a student who could get into Qingyuan University. He was proud of it.
But…
Without you, I wouldn’t have been able to score this well at all…
Jiang Yueming wanted to say more, but the girl spoke first and stopped him in the most heartbreaking, most incomprehensible, and most infuriating way possible.
She knew how stubborn Jiang Yueming could be once he set his mind on something.
He had been ruthless with himself for half a year to study this hard. Ordinary persuasion wouldn’t work on him.
Since he could be so ruthless for her sake, she couldn’t be selfish.
“Jiang Yueming,” she said.
Jiang Yueming’s pupils dilated. He stared at the girl in disbelief.
Even many years later, he would still be unable to forget that look in her eyes—wronged, yet cruel.
“Let’s break up.”