Seasons always rush toward their next phase, and youth eventually comes to an end. The encounter that began in summer finally concluded in the scorching heat of another summer day.
Zhu Yangqi went to Beijing a month early to scout the area. He found work at an art studio, constantly boasting to the young girls there. His most frequent subject of bragging was his supposedly impressive brother, though naturally, no one believed him. Occasionally, he even posed as a free life model, but the girls complained about his poor physique, constantly demanding a different model. The teacher, however, was quite satisfied, stating that this would allow them to focus on their art. Feeling indignant, Zhu Yangqi started going to a nearby gym after class. Two weeks later, he successfully got himself fired.
Jiang Cheng ultimately decided against repeating a year. When the results came out, he was surprised to find he had done quite well. He went to Sichuan to study advertising design, reportedly in the same university town as Hang Sui. Feng Jin headed to Jilin to study animation and photography, saying that of all the places he’d been, only Jilin gave him the desire to stay. Da Zhuang and Da Jun went to the China Academy of Art and the Central Academy of Fine Arts, respectively.
Cai Yingying chose to repeat a year. She had no intention of applying to Zhai Xiao’s school, nor did she aim to improve herself to make Zhai Xiao regret his actions, as she felt he wasn’t worthy of such effort. Old Cai was about to be transferred to another province. The day Cai Yingying went to his office, she realized her father had his struggles. While his colleagues’ children who didn’t get into top universities at least made it into other prestigious ones, only his daughter, the dean’s child, barely scraped by to reach the undergraduate line.
When others asked about his child’s university placement, perhaps without malice but with a hint of comparison, Old Cai could only mumble that they were still considering options. People would then say, “It’s alright for girls; the most important thing is to marry well in the future.” Old Cai’s face would darken immediately. “How is it not important for girls? Besides, it’s my fault for being too busy with work to take care of her properly. She’s no less intelligent than other children. Whether she marries well is secondary; I just want her to be happy. Even if she only gets into a vocational college, I’m willing to support her for life.”
Regardless, everyone seemed to be moving forward. Some walked together, while others journeyed alone. The future for these young people was like an endless road, full of countless possibilities.
They met again later.
It happened when the lease on the rental apartment expired. Lian Hui had bought Chen Luzhou a house in Jianghan District and asked him to move there. Chen Luzhou didn’t want to return to the villa, so he went back to pick up a package and pack up his things. Just as he unlocked the door with his fingerprint and heard the “ding-dong” sound, perhaps mixed with the faint chirping of cicadas outside, he heard the soft sound of a door closing upstairs, followed by unhurried footsteps coming down. Some intuition told him it was Xu Zhi.
He knew that Tan Xu had decided to repeat a year and had renewed the lease on the upstairs apartment for another year. When he went to terminate his lease, the landlord mentioned that only his room on the entire third floor hadn’t been vacated.
The molten gold of the setting sun shone desolately in the corridor. Before the person appeared at the second-floor staircase corner, their shadow fell on the first-floor steps. Chen Luzhou knew it was Xu Zhi. When Xu Zhi saw him, she was also startled. The sunset was as intense as the day they first met, carrying the last warmth of late summer. The sky seemed to roll with burning clouds, making the entire scene appear passionate and vibrant.
The atmosphere between them, however, was as cold as ice. Seeing his strange expression, Xu Zhi walked down two steps and explained, “I came to leave the high school books for him.”
Chen Luzhou made a sound of acknowledgment. “I came back to pack up my things.”
It had been a while since they’d seen each other. Xu Zhi noticed he had lost some weight, and his hair was cut even neater, with almost no bangs, accentuating his handsome features and full forehead. It was strange; Chen Luzhou was quite slim, which was more noticeable when clothed, but he still had a layer of well-defined muscle. He did have abs. That night in the bedroom when they were passionately kissing, after Xu Zhi’s persistent coaxing, Chen Luzhou, his willpower somewhat eroded by the kisses, leaned against the headboard but still stingily and quickly lifted the hem of his shirt, giving her a brief glimpse of his abs.
Xu Zhi had complained, “You lift your shirt longer when you wipe sweat during basketball. Others can see, why can’t I?” To which Chen Luzhou had replied with a casual smile, “That’s why I wear two layers when playing basketball, a T-shirt and a jersey. You can’t see anything. There are many spectators at our school games, so I have to be careful. It’s not a big deal to show a bit, but some people might take photos. I’m afraid that when I’m married in the future, other people’s phones will be full of such photos of me, and my wife will be very jealous.” Xu Zhi had clicked her tongue twice, thinking, “As expected of the school’s most popular guy.” Indeed, no one treasured his body more than he did.
…
The sun was setting in the west, painting the corridor in brilliant hues. Xu Zhi came down the stairs, discreetly walking past him. “Alright, I’ll be going then.”
“Xu Zhi,” he called out to her.
“Yes?” She turned back.
Chen Luzhou didn’t turn around. His tall figure blocked the corridor. Although he was slim, he always seemed to have broader shoulders and a narrower waist than most boys, typical of an athletic build.
Chen Luzhou’s hand was still on the doorknob. A lot had happened in his family recently, but he didn’t know how to tell her. He was afraid of giving her false hope if he said anything, only to end up not going. He thought it might be better to wait until he was certain before telling her. He gripped the doorknob tightly, his knuckles turning white. After a moment of restraint, his throat felt dry and itchy. He swallowed hard, his clean-cut Adam’s apple moving visibly, but he could no longer hold back the cough in his chest. Finally, he said faintly, “Your shoelace is untied.”
With that, he opened the door and went in. A few seconds later, several violent coughs could be heard from inside.
After that, it seemed as if Chen Luzhou’s family had been cursed. Lian Hui, apparently shocked by recent events, couldn’t sleep after returning from abroad and would vomit upon waking. Chen Xingqi started running a fever the night he returned to the country, with recurring fevers, especially at night. Chen Luzhou spent that period running back and forth to the hospital, making countless trips to register for appointments. Chen Jishen, being superstitious, first sought out a fortune teller to check if there were any feng shui problems when his wife and child fell ill with fever.
In fact, by that time, Lian Hui had already agreed to let Chen Luzhou stay in the country. The shooting incident abroad had frightened her considerably. After returning to China, every time she closed her eyes, she saw that bloody, gore-covered head. However, Chen Luzhou never once used this opportunity to tell Lian Hui, “I won’t go abroad.” If it had been the old Chen Luzhou, he would have seized this chance, using his silver tongue to wheedle and cajole until he achieved his goal.
But Chen Luzhou’s obedience now made Lian Hui uneasy. She had a vague feeling that if she didn’t do something soon, she might lose this son forever. In the past, Chen Luzhou would joke around with her and speak sarcastically to Chen Xingqi, but he was still close to them. Now he was obedient and no longer spoke rudely, but there was a sense of distance and perfunctoriness in everything he did.
Even Chen Xingqi said, “Mom, I feel like my brother isn’t close to me anymore.” Only then did Lian Hui realize what Chen Luzhou was trying to do. What could he do? What was an eighteen or nineteen-year-old boy capable of doing? Especially in their family, where countless eyes were watching his every move, waiting to criticize him. How could Chen Jishen’s sycophantic relatives and friends easily let him off?
Chen Luzhou was obedient because he wanted to completely end this adoption relationship, just as he had said before, “I will take care of you in your old age and attend your funerals, to repay you for raising me these past dozen years.”
So, Lian Hui tried to convince Chen Jishen to let Chen Luzhou stay in the country, but Chen Jishen disagreed. He insisted on sending Chen Luzhou abroad. Chen Jishen was just like that – suspicious by nature, sensitive, and stubborn. Once he made up his mind about something, it had to be carried out, or it would become a thorn in his side. Only by going abroad would Chen Jishen believe that Chen Luzhou was truly obedient. If anything happened in the company or at home in the future, he would suspect Chen Luzhou. This was also why Lian Hui insisted on sending Chen Luzhou abroad; she knew Chen Jishen too well. He was always a nice guy on the surface, but inside, he was full of suspicion and calculation. She had always been the one to play the villain.
That night, they had a huge argument, quarreling until they were red in the face. Chen Jishen was already at his wit’s end and finally dropped a harsh ultimatum: “If you mention keeping him here again, we’ll get a divorce.”
Chen Luzhou had rushed back after receiving a call from Chen Xingqi saying that their parents were arguing fiercely. Just as he reached the door, he heard Lian Hui say calmly: “If you want a divorce, then let’s divorce.”
Chen Jishen suddenly grabbed the teapot from the table and hurled it violently against the wall. The scalding tea grazed Lian Hui’s cheek. With a loud “bang,” the celadon teapot shattered instantly. The heart-wrenching sound of breaking porcelain was terrifying. Just as Chen Luzhou was about to rush in to intervene, he heard Lian Hui, after a two-second silence, sitting amidst the shattered glass on the floor, her feet cut and bleeding slightly, say to Chen Jishen with eyes as dead as still water—
“I’ve already abandoned him once. I can’t abandon him a second time.”
Author’s Note: I could make this story gut-wrenchingly sad if I wanted to, but I didn’t write it in that direction because I feel these two young people are too beautiful. It’s a campus story, after all, and I want to keep it simple. So there won’t be any messy stuff in the later parts. The future content will probably be about them dating sweetly and peacefully.