On the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, the third-year high school students officially started their winter break. Wu Qiuxuan was also on break that day, so Wang Lianhua had to go to Dongzhou to pick her up. Sheng Xia happened to have some unfinished business to take care of: her car and dress.

She had charged her car fully in advance, planning to take the dress home and hide it away. When the dismissal bell rang in the afternoon, cheers erupted everywhere. They were temporarily liberated.

Sheng Xia followed Xin Xiaohe back to the dormitory to retrieve the dress. The school’s student dormitories were quite nice – riverside view rooms across eight buildings, practically a small community. The basement housed the cafeteria, the first floor had a supermarket (what Zhang Shu and others called the “small shop”), and the corridors featured claw machines and whack-a-mole games. She heard the boys’ side even had basketball machines.

Each dorm room housed six people, with beds above and desks below. The balconies were spacious, directly facing the school’s artificial lake where rippling waters reflected willows swaying in the breeze, and peacocks occasionally displayed their magnificent tail feathers. Further away was Riverside Park, where the evening sun cast its glow on the river surface, creating a picturesque scene.

If Sheng Xia had come to this school in her first year, she definitely would have chosen to live in the dorms.

Other students in the dorm were also packing up to go home. As Sheng Xia picked up the gift box and prepared to leave, she heard a familiar voice at the door – well, somewhat familiar.

“Xuanxuan, are you ready?”

“Yes, yes!” Zhou Xuanxuan responded, awkwardly skirting around Sheng Xia as she dragged her suitcase out.

Chen Mengyao, however, came back and pushed open the door to take another look. “Sheng Xia?”

Sheng Xia nodded to her as a greeting.

Xin Xiaohe looked curiously between the two of them. What was this situation?

Chen Mengyao seemed merely surprised, raising her eyebrows after the greeting and leaving without further words.

“You two… know each other?” Xin Xiaohe asked.

Sheng Xia: “Sort of.”

“Let’s go.”

“Mm.”

Sheng Xia and Xin Xiaohe walked behind Chen Mengyao and Zhou Xuanxuan, less than a flight of stairs apart.

Upon reaching the first floor, they heard: “A-Shu?”

Both Sheng Xia and Xin Xiaohe instinctively looked over.

It was Chen Mengyao, calling out to Zhang Shu at the entrance.

Why was Zhang Shu at the girls’ dormitory?

He stood there casually, one hand in his pocket, the other scrolling through his phone, occasionally glancing up at the girls’ dormitory entrance.

He was waiting for someone.

At this time, almost all the students passing by were dragging suitcases, and they couldn’t help but turn their heads curiously.

Then they saw the rumored school beauty running towards Zhang Shu.

Chen Mengyao smiled and asked, “Why are you here?”

After speaking, she felt the scene was familiar – exactly like at the sports meet command center.

Suddenly she had a bad feeling.

The next second, her premonition came true. Zhang Shu lifted his chin to gesture behind her: “Waiting for someone.”

She followed Zhang Shu’s line of sight and turned around to see Sheng Xia and Xin Xiaohe approaching.

As Sheng Xia and Xin Xiaohe drew near, they heard Chen Mengyao say, “You’re going back to Lianli for New Year’s?”

“Mm,” Zhang Shu answered.

“When are you going back?”

“Not sure.”

Lianli-Sheng Xia knew this place, an ancient town in the suburbs of Nanli, with beautiful scenery, now incorporated into the development zone.

Only then did she grasp this concept: Zhang Shu and Chen Mengyao were from the same place.

A place with a name as romantic as could be.

Sheng Xia walked very slowly, almost taking tiny steps.

Xin Xiaohe seemed to understand and also slowed down, not wanting to create a dramatic scene.

Chen Mengyao hadn’t missed Zhang Shu’s gaze. She waved casually, “Well, I’m heading back first. See you at New Year’s!”

Zhou Xuanxuan followed behind Chen Mengyao, watching her expression change from composed to dejected.

Zhou Xuanxuan had heard and seen plenty in class.

She knew how wrong their previous understanding had been.

When Zhang Shu liked someone, he neither played hard to get nor ran hot and cold. Now his eyes held nothing but studies and Sheng Xia, completely undisguised.

The earlier talk about Zhang Shu not confessing to Mengyao because of economic differences, about not being able to afford dating – that was even more impossible now.

Because compared to someone like Sheng Xia’s circumstances, Mengyao really… wasn’t much.

Chen Mengyao suddenly stopped and asked Zhou Xuanxuan, “Are they together?”

“I’m not sure…” Zhou Xuanxuan hesitated, then added, “They are quite close though.”

Chen Mengyao: “Why did Sheng Xia go to your dorm?”

Zhou Xuanxuan: “To get her dress that she left with Xin Xiaohe…”

“What dress?”

“The one she wore at the sports meet.”

“Huh? Why was it in your dorm?”

“Don’t know…”

Chen Mengyao’s mind turned: “Wait, the dress she wore at the sports meet was her own?”

Zhou Xuanxuan nodded hesitantly: “Mm, her family bought it.”

Chen Mengyao frowned: “What does her family do?”

Zhou Xuanxuan answered honestly: “Don’t know, heard they’re pretty powerful. Some say they’re officials, others say they’re in business. Nothing definite.”

Chen Mengyao froze, lost in thought.

Zhou Xuanxuan couldn’t gauge Mengyao’s mood and stayed quiet to avoid making things worse.

…

Sheng Xia watched Zhang Shu take the gift box from her, feeling a bit dazed.

Zhang Shu first held the large box, squatting slightly, and said to Xin Xiaohe, “Put them up here.”

Xin Xiaohe grinned broadly, piling the small boxes on top. “Great, great, having a strong helper makes things easier for me.”

Zhang Shu turned around and called to the still-dazed Sheng Xia, “Coming?”

“Oh.”

Sheng Xia caught up to his pace, turning back to wave at Xin Xiaohe: “I’m off then, Happy New Year!”

Xin Xiaohe waved back: “Happy New Year! See you next year!”

Sheng Xia: “Mm!”

Zhang Shu let out a cold snort, turning his head slightly: “You’re quite ceremonious with others?”

Hm?

What did he mean…

Sheng Xia didn’t quite understand, taking quick small steps to catch up, looking up at him slightly.

Behind them, Xin Xiaohe watched, remembering how at the beginning of the semester during seat changes, Yang Linyu had said they looked good together.

The scene was similar now.

The young man carrying a pile of things, slightly tilted his head to talk to the girl jogging beside him, both with flawless profiles.

Something had changed for Xin Xiaohe, but maybe, it should have been this way from the start.

How lovely.

Xin Xiaohe smiled and turned back to the dorm to pack.

Zhang Shu’s lips twitched as he walked straight ahead without looking at Sheng Xia anymore, muttering: “If I hadn’t come, would you have just gone home like this?”

Sheng Xia slowed her steps, falling one body length behind him.

Eh?

So he came over to say goodbye?

She thought he would just see her to the bike shed, but he rode slowly beside her.

Her small wheels weren’t as fast as a mountain bike even at full speed, and with things on her back, she didn’t dare go fast.

He also slowed to an awkward pace, wobbling along with difficulty.

He seemed unhappy, so Sheng Xia broke the silence: “Does your hometown have any special New Year customs?”

“No.”

“Oh, right, it’s all still in the Nanli area.”

“Mm.”

Sheng Xia: …

At the intersection near Feicui Lanting, Sheng Xia stopped her bike.

“Just see me off to here?”

Zhang Shu also stopped, “Isn’t there still some way to go?”

Sheng Xia carefully considered her words before explaining, “The community security and my mom are quite familiar…”

Zhang Shu understood, a fleeting emotion passing through his eyes, too quick for others to catch.

“Is there anything you don’t understand that you want to figure out right now?” he asked abruptly, the question coming out of nowhere.

Sheng Xia: “Hm?”

“No? Well, I have something.”

Sheng Xia: …?

“Imagery in classical texts…” he pondered slightly, long leg touching the ground to maintain balance as he sat up straight, clearly not planning to leave, “Water.”

Sheng Xia answered instinctively: “Water usually symbolizes sorrow.”

“What about the moon?”

“Homesickness, longing for someone…”

Zhang Shu’s eyes moved as he looked at the sky, “What about clouds?”

Sheng Xia: …

“Usually symbolizes wandering.”

He seemed to run out of ideas, looking around, “What about tree leaves?”

She seemed to understand what he was doing now, feeling warmth in her heart mixed with a hint of bittersweetness.

She smiled slightly, playing along: “It depends on which tree leaves. Willow represents reluctance to part; plants and trees, rise and fall; fragrant grass, separation, and regret; banana leaves, loneliness…”

Zhang Shu gave a thumbs up, suddenly changing his tone to something deep and slow: “Then, what about Nanli’s camphor trees?”

Sheng Xia looked up but didn’t answer, silence spreading.

“Nanli’s camphor trees…” Sheng Xia looked at him and said, “Are A-Shu being sneaky.”

He was stunned for a moment, then broke into an unrestrained, brilliant smile.

Sheng Xia’s cheeks grew warm in the winter air. She started her bike, leaving behind the words: “Happy New Year!”

And fled in a hurry.

His laughter echoed down the entire camphor-lined avenue.

By the time Zhang Shu came to his senses, the white rear end of her bike was already dozens of meters away.

Only then did he realize belatedly – this was the first time she had called him “A-Shu.” Fragments of his dream flashed through his mind, his palms burning as he called out, “What did you call me? Say it again!”

Of course, he received no answer.

Sheng Xia slowed her pace, each word of the young man’s shout piercing her ears, striking her heart one by one.

She looked up. Even in winter, Nanli’s camphor trees were lush and dense, like a thermal blanket covering the entire city.

Nanli’s camphor trees symbolize: I want to stay with you a little longer – did you know that?

…

Sheng Xia’s Spring Festival arrangements were nothing special.

New Year’s Eve dinner was at home, and on the first day of the lunar new year, they would take her two sisters to have lunch with Sheng Mingfeng.

She would receive appropriate red envelopes and gifts while being wary of those trying to curry favor with Sheng Mingfeng through gift-giving. Nothing more than that.

Third-year students couldn’t possibly have a relaxed Spring Festival. The only topic at the dinner table was academics. The training institution’s classes were scheduled to begin on the second day of the new year, with teachers working overtime during the holiday – truly dedicated.

Most courses were online, but Sheng Xia still had to visit the institution to meet with the teachers.

She ran into Lu Youze.

Neither was surprised.

They had different teachers. After getting off the elevator, they exchanged glances and both said “How miserable” about having online classes during the New Year.

Sheng Xia’s academic advisor recommended several schools, particularly favoring UPenn as it suited her circumstances well. The requirements weren’t easy though – a TOEFL score of 100 and SAT above 1300.

Since Sheng Xia wasn’t set on going there, she had no particular opinions and asked the teacher to schedule the SAT-related courses later, focusing more on language classes instead.

Studying for TOEFL would at least help with English scores, so she’d start with that. As for other courses, she could only have reason to decline them once the independent recruitment situation became clearer.

When she finished and came out, she was slightly surprised to see Lu Youze sitting in the lobby waiting for her.

Naturally, they headed back together.

“I heard you’re also preparing for the University of Pennsylvania – that’s great!” Lu Youze said. “I don’t mean anything else, just happy to have someone familiar going together.”

Sheng Xia could understand this feeling. She didn’t want to discourage him by saying she didn’t want to go. Moreover, since Lu Youze’s father had a good relationship with Sheng Mingfeng, she could only be more guarded and didn’t say much.

“You too?” she asked, knowing the answer.

Lu Youze said, “Yes, I’m studying business.”

Sheng Xia nodded.

Right, UPenn’s business school was very famous.

“Let’s work hard together!” he said.

“Mm…” Sheng Xia responded listlessly.

Back home, Sheng Xia didn’t have a moment’s rest. She revised some articles she’d written over the past few days, and after dinner, prepared to work through a set of Mathematics Level 5 exercises.

Her phone started buzzing frantically – it wasn’t an alarm or a call. She picked it up to look.

[Song Jiang is inviting you to a video call…]

Sheng Xia was startled – no one had ever video-called her before, not even Tao Zhizhi.

And right now, she was wearing her pajamas.

She hung up.

[Song Jiang is inviting you to a voice call…]

Voice calls… seemed acceptable.

After hesitating for a while, when he called the second time, Sheng Xia finally answered.

“Hello?”

He chuckled from the other end, “Why so nervous? Doing something bad?”

Sheng Xia: “No such thing.”

Zhang Shu: “Then why did it take so long to answer?”

“Working on practice papers.”

“Oh?” The sound of flipping pages came through, “What are you working on?”

“Level 5 exercises.”

“Which subject?”

“Math.”

“Which set?”

“Number seventeen.”

The sound of page-turning continued as he said regretfully, “I’ve already done that set. Want to switch to another one?”

Sheng Xia was puzzled: “Hm?”

Zhang Shu: “Let’s do it together.”

Sheng Xia: “You’re doing practice papers too?”

Zhang Shu: “Wasn’t planning to, but now I want to.”

Sheng Xia: …

After looking through various sets, Sheng Xia realized he had done almost all of them.

Sheng Xia: “When did you do all these? You’ve finished everything while I still have so many left!”

“Sometimes when I still have energy after getting back at night, I’ll work through a set,” he answered naturally.

He left the classroom close to midnight, “Then what time do you sleep?”

“Two or three.”

Huh…?

She had thought he went straight to sleep after returning home.

“I don’t wake up early, so I can only be a night owl,” Zhang Shu continued flipping through the papers, “Did you think I was just naturally gifted?”

“Um…” she had thought that.

“Let’s do the comprehensive science paper together, we’ll check answers after finishing each subject,” he suggested.

“Together?” Sheng Xia was confused – how would that work?

Zhang Shu said: “Keep the phone next to you, don’t hang up.”

Sheng Xia: …

Zhang Shu: “Let’s do a video?”

Sheng Xia looked down at her fluffy pajamas, “But I’m not convenient-“

“But I want to see you…”

Their voices overlapped, then both froze and then Sheng Xia hung up the call.

Zhang Shu stared at the “call ended” notification, dumbfounded – how could she still be so shy?

Shy to the point of anger?

Ah, cute.

So cute.

Just as he was holding his phone, pondering how best to coax her, his phone vibrated, displaying: [Jasmine is inviting you to a video call…]

Zhang Shu raised his eyebrows, looking at his phone in disbelief, hurriedly clicking to accept – almost clicking wrong in his haste.

The image shook, revealing a fair, clean face with loose hair.

Under the pretense of adjusting the camera angle, she avoided looking directly at the camera.

The phone was finally placed under the desk lamp, the light creating a soft glow, making her look like she was in a painting.

Zhang Shu: “Why did you hang up just now?”

“Changed clothes…”

“You didn’t need to be so formal?” Zhang Shu sat down too, putting his phone on a stand, “Should I change? How about formal wear?”

The girl seemed to glare at him, her voice slightly reproachful: “Just now, just now I was wearing pajamas…”

And wasn’t wearing a bra…

Zhang Shu coughed awkwardly, nodding unnaturally: “Oh, well, let’s begin then. I’ll time it.”

“Mm.”

Sheng Xia lowered her head but found it hard to concentrate. Unconsciously, she slowly lifted her eyes, unexpectedly meeting an intense, direct gaze from the other end of the video –

Had he been watching her this whole time?

She quickly looked down again, muttering: “Hurry up and do your work!”

“I’m faster than you, you start first, let me watch for a bit…”

Watch what? How could anyone concentrate with someone watching like this?

“Then I’m turning it off!” she got angry.

“Okay, okay, I’ll work, don’t turn it off.”

The timer started again, and Sheng Xia calmed down, gradually getting into the zone. Occasionally looking up after finishing major questions, she saw him focused in thought too, which reassured her to look back down.

Just as she was about to finish the biology section, there was a gentle knock on Sheng Xia’s door, followed by the doorknob turning, “Sis, I’m coming in!”

As soon as the words were spoken, the door was opened.

Sheng Xia quickly slapped her phone face-down on the desk with a “bang” and stood up with a “swoosh.”

Wu Qiuxuan looked suspicious: “Sis, what are you doing?”

Sheng Xia tucked her hair behind her ear, “Doing practice papers, what’s up?”

“Oh forget it, I don’t want to study anymore either, I’m going crazy!”

Wu Qiuxuan threw herself onto Sheng Xia’s bed, glaring fiercely at her phone, “Sis, I’m so annoyed.”

“What’s wrong?”

“My roommate said in the group chat that people who chase celebrities have no substance. She’s taking a dig at me! This idiot, does she want another beating…”

Sheng Xia: … why are young people so aggressive?

“A gentleman uses words not fists. You can reply to her,” Sheng Xia said calmly, “It’s not surprising you would think that way.”

Wu Qiuxuan pondered for a moment: “That’s so passive-aggressive!”

“But I want something more satisfying, to anger her!”

More satisfying?

Sheng Xia thought briefly: “How old are you, sister? What books have you read? What medicine are you taking now?”

Wu Qiuxuan looked confused: “What’s this?”

Sheng Xia: “Lines from Dream of the Red Chamber.”

Wu Qiuxuan understood again, “Hahahahaha is it saying she’s sick? Hahahahaha perfect, this will make her furious!”

Sheng Xia: … young people find joy in such simple things.

Wu Qiuxuan instantly cheered up, her troubles forgotten. She rolled around on the bed and looked curiously at her sister: “Hey, Sis, about that Zhang Shu brother you mentioned last time, have you gotten him yet… mmph mmph mmph…”

Sheng Xia couldn’t have anticipated her dear sister’s shocking words, nor did she expect the person on the video call to pipe up: “What’s this about?”

Wu Qiuxuan, mouth covered, eyes wide as saucers.

Sheng Xia shooed her out.

But Wu Qiuxuan, shocked, glanced at the phone on the desk, muttering under her breath: “I just heard a man’s voice! I’m not hallucinating, right? Sis! Hey?”

“Bang!” Wu Qiuxuan found herself pushed outside by her usually gentle sister – Oh my God!

Sheng Xia fanned her face, unable to calm down. After much consideration, she finally picked up the face-down phone.

“Sheng…”

Just as Zhang Shu was about to speak, Sheng Xia hung up.

Ahh!

What else was there to say?

Why did he have to speak ahh!

Within seconds, he called back, Sheng Xia hung up again, he called again, and she hung up again.

Video calls were impossible now, impossible for this lifetime!

Sheng Xia threw herself onto the bed, pulled up the covers, and wrapped herself in them, letting the phone ring outside.

Wuwuwu!

What did Wu Qiuxuan say wuwuwu!

He heard it all!

She couldn’t face him anymore wuwuwu!

Everything eventually quieted down, but she still had to face it all.

Maybe, just maybe, the signal was bad and he hadn’t heard.

Sheng Xia picked up her phone, resignedly opening the chat window.

He hadn’t bombarded her with messages like last time.

But just two messages and an emoji were devastating enough.

Song Jiang: “That’s quite passive-aggressive.”

Song Jiang: [scared.jpg]

Song Jiang: “I want something more satisfying too – I’m coming back the day after tomorrow, want to go on a date?”