The night of the last exam, the campus king’s unrequited love thread on No. 10 High School’s bulletin board forum got another major update.
【I am the Lemon Incarnate: Duang Duang Duang!!! The campus king and his deskmate Lin’s relationship is CONFIRMED!!! The campus king publicly acknowledges the relationship!!!
I am the Lemon Incarnate: This term’s final exams had me and Deskmate Lin in the same exam room. At the end of the last English exam today, the boy sitting in front of Deskmate Lin (sources confirm it was a Liu somebody from Class 10) (you know, the one Blackie caught this year with that outrageous non-mainstream dye job) (okay I can’t say too much — there are way too many discipline committee members on this thread and I can’t expose real names!!) anyway this boy apparently had a death wish and wanted Deskmate Lin’s contact info, and on top of that said something about falling for her at first sight and wanting to help her study physics (I genuinely wonder if this guy’s brain is fully operational — who goes around offering to tutor a top student? You think a top student saying she’s bad at something means she actually is??) Zero situational awareness!!!
I am the Lemon Incarnate: And not only did this guy have zero situational awareness, he was also completely out of the loop. Not recognizing Deskmate Lin is one thing, but he didn’t even know who the campus king was (honestly I can’t tell if he was pretending!!). Anyway — after this guy more or less confessed to Deskmate Lin, the campus king appeared out of nowhere!! (A TOTAL SHOWDOWN!!!!!)
I am the Lemon Incarnate: The campus king very calmly told him he didn’t need to teach her. Then this incredibly brave soul asked who are you (……I can’t even begin to comment) (but that’s not the point anyway!!). THE POINT IS!!! The campus king grabbed his own school uniform and told him — matching couple uniforms!! Can’t you tell!!!
I am the Lemon Incarnate: ……………………I was standing right there eating lemon [Indifferent Face.jpg] [I’m Fine.jpg]】
The moment this update went live, the comments flooded in as they always did:
Have you been sour today? Yes I have.
Love is the drink that gets everyone drunk.
Other people look back on high school and it’s full of color. I look back and see nothing but blank.
……
Much like other apps, the forum had message notifications and alerts. That night, Lin Tao’s phone was nearly paralyzed by the constant flood of notifications.
She cleared one wave of ninety-nine-plus unread messages, and within minutes another wave arrived. Lin Tao gave up and turned off notifications for the app in her settings.
The world finally went quiet.
Lin Tao collapsed onto the sofa, utterly drained.
Two days of high-intensity exams had already cost her considerable energy. Then, as if on cue, some unexpected character had shown up and gotten Jiang Yan worked into a small fit of jealousy — and then she’d had to spend effort coaxing him out of it.
That night, Lin Tao updated her Moments feed. No caption — just a single reaction image:
I’m exhausted.jpg.
She hadn’t posted since six months ago, and her Moments was normally set to visible for three days only. This sudden reappearance drew a number of people out:
Hu Hanghang: Lin Tao! What happened! Is it my Brother Yan hehe [Scheming.jpg]
Song Yuan: Is my brother actually done being human today?
Xu Yichuan: Switching to parental controls mode.
Meng Xin: What am I seeing!!!
Xu Huanhuan: There, there.
Guan Che: Road speed too fast 🙂
……
Lin Tao: Everyone get OFF this vehicle!! This is the bus to kindergarten!!
The same post was also seen by Fang Yisong, who — rather than commenting — called Lin Tao directly.
They talked for over half an hour. Near the end, Fang Yisong mentioned, “This New Year, do you want to bring Jiang Yan home with you?”
Lin Tao hadn’t expected that and paused for a few seconds before answering, “I’d love to bring him, but I don’t know yet whether he has plans for the New Year.”
“Then ask him later.” Fang Yisong smiled warmly. “Alright, I still have a few things to take care of here. Get some rest.”
“Okay.”
After hanging up, Lin Tao turned the thought over in her mind for a while, then got up, slipped into her house shoes, and padded across the hall to the room opposite.
Jiang Yan’s door was never locked.
Lin Tao used to at least knock before going in, waiting for his response or for him to come open the door. But over time, such formalities had been abandoned entirely. She simply opened the door and walked straight in.
This time was no different.
“Jiang Yan!” Lin Tao had her hand on the door handle and pressed it down. Her voice came in through the door as it swung open. “You—”
The words cut off.
A young man stood at the foot of the bed wearing nothing but a pair of black boxer briefs.
He was bent over pulling on his trousers, his long, straight legs unobstructed, fair skin exposed to the open air. The line of his spine was clear and fluid, and his waist and abdomen had everything they were supposed to have.
Not expecting anyone to suddenly barge in, when Jiang Yan heard the door, he glanced up toward the entrance at that same moment.
Damp black hair clung to the sides of his face. His jawline was sharp and defined, his gaze dark and deep.
Truly a striking picture: beauty fresh from the bath.
After being together and sharing closeness for so long, it wasn’t as though Lin Tao was unaware that her boyfriend had a good figure. But this was the first time she had seen it quite so directly and up close. For a moment she didn’t know what expression to put on her face, though her better judgment told her that standing there as though it were perfectly natural was not the right move.
Three seconds of silence.
Then a shriek rang out from inside the room.
“Ahhhhhhh!!” She worked to make her voice sound appropriately flustered. “Why aren’t you wearing any clothes!!”
Jiang Yan came back to himself, finished pulling on his trousers without hurry, then leaned over to scoop up the white long-sleeved shirt from the bed. His tone was entirely calm. “If you were genuinely embarrassed, you might want to cover your eyes while you’re yelling.”
“……” The way he said it actually made her feel slightly self-conscious for real. She quietly shifted her gaze and sat down on the sofa.
The faint sounds of the young man moving around were unusually clear in the quiet room.
Lin Tao tucked her legs beneath her, leaned forward, found the remote control, and turned on the television. The chattering noise from the screen covered the sounds that had been making things awkward.
But even after five full minutes of advertisements, Jiang Yan still hadn’t made any other noise. She called out tentatively, “Jiang Yan, are you dressed?”
Silence from behind her.
“……”
Lin Tao tapped her knees lightly with her fingers. In the end, embarrassment couldn’t quite outlast curiosity, and she started to turn her head — but the moment she did, a figure was standing right in front of her.
Like a hunter who had positioned himself early, lying in wait for his quarry to walk into the trap.
Jiang Yan had crossed to her at some unknown point. When her head turned, he leaned in slightly — and landed a kiss, just at the corner of her lips.
The sudden closing of the distance. The unexpected eye contact.
Something fell softly into place.
Lin Tao reached up and touched the side of her face where she felt something damp. Then, very much killing the mood, she said, “Water from your hair dripped onto my face.”
“……”
Jiang Yan looked down with a quiet laugh, straightened up, leaned against the back of the sofa, planted his long legs forward to support his weight, picked up a towel, and rubbed his hair dry. He said softly, “What did you come over for?”
“Oh!” Lin Tao remembered the phone call. “My mom just called me. She asked if I wanted to bring you home for New Year, so I wanted to ask — do you have any plans this year?”
Jiang Yan paused in the middle of toweling his hair. He turned to meet Lin Tao’s slightly expectant gaze, and suddenly found it difficult to say what he had to say. “This year, I……”
He pressed his lips together briefly. “I’ll probably be going back to the Jiang family for New Year.”
“?”
For a moment, Lin Tao thought her hearing had malfunctioned. She had imagined Jiang Yan turning her down because he thought it was too soon to meet her parents. She had imagined him agreeing without hesitation. But she had never imagined he would say he was going back to the Jiang family.
“But you—” Lin Tao didn’t quite know how to put it.
Jiang Yan cupped her face gently and explained quietly, “Some things have been unresolved for too long. I have to go back and deal with them. Once it’s done, I’ll definitely come home with you. Alright?”
Lin Tao looked up at him and ventured, “What is it you need to go back and take care of?”
“Some old business.” The soft light made his expression seem gentle. “Nothing serious — just going back to settle things with the Jiang family once and for all.”
Lin Tao remembered what he had once told her about the Jiang family. She was still a little worried, but whatever it was, it was a decision he had to make.
She let out a quiet breath and asked no more questions. “Then take care of yourself.”
Jiang Yan answered, “I will.”
Outside, it had begun to snow again at some point, the flakes falling in a soft, quiet drift.
On the television, the news was reporting on the unusual series of heavy snowfalls hitting Xicheng in the lead-up to the new year.
“According to measurements by the meteorological station, this year’s snowfall in Xicheng is expected to reach a record high peak. It has been reported that several days ago, heavy snow caused a five-hour traffic standstill in the Xicheng city center. Additionally, this evening, a bus shelter on Xiyun Road collapsed under excessive snow accumulation, resulting in one fatality and five injuries. Relevant department officials are currently under investigation……”
Lin Tao and Jiang Yan both looked toward the television at the same time.
Xicheng received snowfall every year, but the amounts were always modest. The highest snowfall on record had been over twenty years ago. This year was unusually different — heavy snowfall arrived one after another. According to experts’ projections, if it continued at this rate, there was a real possibility of snowstorm-level disaster.
Jiang Yan looked out at the snowflakes drifting past the window and let out an almost imperceptible sigh.
This winter was going to be unsettled.
Lin Tao went home the day after the exams ended. That same evening, Jiang Sui-yuan sent someone to the café to take Jiang Yan back to the Jiang family estate.
Jiang Yan hadn’t expected Yu Fengyan to come along as well.
They met at the café entrance. Yu Fengyan’s eyes were bright with barely concealed warmth. “Your father had planned to come himself, but something came up just as he was heading out.”
Jiang Yan gave a soft sound of acknowledgment and said without much concern, “Let’s go then. It’s getting late.”
“Of course.” Yu Fengyan’s gaze rested on him. Noticing he was carrying only a single backpack, she asked casually, “Where’s the rest of your luggage? Is it still in the shop? I can have the driver come get it.”
“There isn’t any.” Jiang Yan looked at her. “There’s nothing else. Anyway, it’s not like I’ll be staying—”
“That doesn’t matter.” Yu Fengyan seemed afraid of where those words were heading and cut him off abruptly. “The house has everything. Your room — your father’s had someone go in and clean it every day. Nothing inside has been touched.”
Jiang Yan looked as though he had more to say, but in the end all of it dissolved into a single quiet sigh.
On the way back, Yu Fengyan kept up a steady stream of conversation — school, daily life, relationships. Everything, big and small. Jiang Yan was, unusually for him, patient. Whatever she said or asked, he answered.
The Jiang family’s ancestral estate sat in a villa district along the Linjiang riverbank — the kind of neighborhood where only the wealthy and powerful resided.
Jiang Yan had stayed here briefly once. He had even spotted a female celebrity on one occasion — one who publicly claimed to be single — getting cozy with a man in a car. Not that he was the gossiping type. If he had been, he could have snapped a few photos and sold them to paparazzi for a decent sum at the time.
It was a long drive, and the heavy snow had slowed the roads. By the time they reached the Jiang estate, the sky was fully dark.
After a year away, returning to this place — Jiang Yan would be lying if he said it left no trace in his heart. Back when he left, he had never imagined there would come a day he would return here of his own accord.
The Jiang estate’s villa was not decorated with the ostentatious grandeur common among the wealthy. The old patriarch and matriarch of the Jiang family had an apparent preference for understated elegance: the villa’s design was open and clean, the exterior leaning Western, while the interior held more to a Chinese aesthetic.
Near the entrance was a small lotus pond. In the below-zero temperatures of winter, the water had not frozen over; a faint mist drifted lightly across its surface.
Jiang Sui-yuan had waited at the door, a few household staff standing at his side. The veranda lights glowed soft and warm around him, making his expression appear approachable.
When the car stopped, a staff member came forward to open the door. Jiang Yan stepped out. Jiang Sui-yuan walked quickly down the steps, a staff member scrambling to follow with an umbrella.
“You’re back.” Jiang Sui-yuan placed a hand on Jiang Yan’s shoulder and said again, “Good that you’re back.”
Jiang Yan gave a quiet sound of acknowledgment, nothing more.
Yu Fengyan stepped forward. Jiang Sui-yuan reached out to rest a hand loosely around her shoulder. “Let’s go inside. It’s cold out.”
“Mm.”
In the living room, all of the Jiang family’s older and younger members had gathered.
Seated at the center were the family patriarch and matriarch. Pressed close to the matriarch’s side was a young man — the son of Jiang Sui-yuan’s first wife, Jiang Mulan. Next to him was Jiang Sui-yuan’s younger brother, Jiang Sui-feng.
Beyond these, there were various cousins and extended family members from the Jiang family.
When Jiang Yan had first been brought back, the ones who had objected most fiercely were precisely these so-called members of the Jiang family. The two elders had never said a single word either way from beginning to end — only Jiang Sui-feng had, from time to time, directed pointed remarks at Jiang Yan.
This time, whatever Jiang Sui-yuan had said to them, the two elders — though still as few of words as ever — came across as noticeably more approachable compared to their previous silence.
After going around and acknowledging everyone, the old patriarch spoke first: “The child has come a long way and must be tired. Sui-yuan, take him upstairs to rest for a bit. The meal will be ready soon.”
“Of course.”
Jiang Yan followed Jiang Sui-yuan and Yu Fengyan up to the second-floor bedroom. Jiang Sui-yuan walked ahead to open the door and turn on the lights. “Since you moved out, I’ve had someone come in to clean on schedule. Nothing inside has been changed. Stay here for now — if there’s anything you need, just say the word.”
That said, Jiang Sui-yuan turned to Yu Fengyan. “You stay here with the child for now. I’ll go check on things downstairs.”
“Alright.” Yu Fengyan nodded, then reached up to smooth out a wrinkle in his collar, smiling warmly. “A grown man and you still can’t be bothered to keep your clothes properly tidy.”
The man who was ordinarily decisive and commanding in the business world was, in this moment, very much like an ordinary husband. “I’ll be more careful in the future.”
“Go on.” Yu Fengyan smiled.
After Jiang Sui-yuan left, Jiang Yan looked at Yu Fengyan and asked quietly, “Have you two gotten married?”
Yu Fengyan paused, then shook her head, her expression tinged with a quiet sadness.
Her position was a difficult one.
Over these years, Jiang Sui-yuan had gradually consolidated full control of the Jiang family’s economic affairs. Though the family’s elders could not be defied, and a formal marriage to Yu Fengyan was out of the question, there were certain occasions where he always brought her by his side.
To everyone outside the Jiang family — the people in Jiang Sui-yuan’s business circle — Yu Fengyan was already the accepted Jiang matriarch. Even the household staff privately referred to her as the Madam.
But the Jiang family and the Zhou family went back generations as close friends. Even though Zhou Lan had been gone for many years, regardless of everything else, the two elders refused to allow Yu Fengyan a place in the Jiang family’s genealogical record.
The greatest concession the two elders had made was allowing Jiang Yan to be acknowledged as Jiang Sui-yuan’s second son — though in truth, Jiang Yan was a year older than Jiang Mulan.
“Whether or not we’re married — at this point, it no longer matters to me.” Yu Fengyan looked at Jiang Yan, her smile quiet and tender. “As long as they acknowledge you, that’s enough.”
For Yu Fengyan, who had been so utterly alone and without recourse more than a decade ago, the life she had now was something she could only have dreamed of then. It had come at such a price — and even now, it was not without its regrets. But it was not entirely without its blessings, either.
Life is like the moon — sometimes full, sometimes wanting. Fullness is good; the wanting too has its place. A life, after all, spans only a few dozen years: arrivals and departures, like morning dew that the passing days hold all too briefly.