After praying to Buddha and making their wishes, Li Zhi led the three of them on a tour around the mountain. It wasn’t until past lunchtime that the driver came to pick them up and take them down the mountain.

The return trip wasn’t as crowded as the way there. Mountain wind whistled through the window gaps, and in the distance, mountain ranges overlapped while sunlight spread across the peaks.

Half an hour later, the car stopped at the morning’s location. Li Zhi rubbed his shoulder and was the first to get out of the car, his jacket hanging open. He turned back to ask Ruan Mian, “Let’s eat together.”

It was indeed time to be hungry.

Ruan Mian nodded. “Okay.”

On the way back, Li Zhi and Ruan Jun had bonded over games, successfully establishing a friendship that belonged only to guys. Now, Li Zhi hooked his arm around the young boy’s shoulder in a brotherly manner. “What do you want to eat? Brother Zhi is treating.”

“Grilled fish!” Ruan Jun had lived here year-round and knew all the good places to eat. “It’s on the east side of the bridge. My dad often takes me there.”

“Alright, let’s go eat grilled fish then.” Li Zhi turned back to ask the other two, “We’re eating that then?”

Neither of them had any objections. Three big kids were led by one small kid toward the east side of the bridge. It was already past business hours at this time, so there weren’t many people on the street, and the roadside vendors had all packed up their stalls.

The grilled fish place Ruan Jun mentioned was called Xishan Grilled Fish. Past mealtime, only the boss and assistant were in the shop. A server came over with menus and tea.

After ordering, Li Zhi picked up his cup and took a sip of tea, then looked up at Ruan Mian. “Your grandmother’s house is in southern Xiping?”

“Yes.” Ruan Mian also asked, “Is your house in the north?”

Li Zhi nodded. “The innermost house on the west side of the bridge is it.”

If residents of the two parts of Xiping, north and south, weren’t related by blood or marriage, they usually didn’t interact much. Moreover, Ruan Mian and Li Zhi didn’t come here often. If they hadn’t happened to run into each other at the market that day, who knows when they would have discovered this.

It was all fate when you thought about it.

Li Zhi was sociable, Ruan Jun wasn’t shy and talked a lot—the meal was quite lively.

By the time they finished eating, it was close to three in the afternoon. After running around all morning, the four were somewhat tired, so they didn’t instigate any other activities and parted ways at the bridge head, each returning to their own homes.

During the days Chen Yi stayed in Xiping after that, Li Zhi would basically call Ruan Mian out to play—fishing, roller skating, watching movies at the small cinema workshop. As long as he could play it, he basically wouldn’t miss out.

The days flew by, and before they knew it, Spring Festival was right before their eyes. On the morning of January 24th, after the three of them ate breakfast together, Chen Yi took his luggage and got on the bus back to Pingcheng.

Ruan Mian and Li Zhi saw him off at the platform. Cars came and went on the road, and the harsh winter wind swept through, rolling up withered fallen leaves by the roadside.

Li Zhi and Chen Yi stood to the side chatting casually. Ruan Mian fell back a step, standing behind the two of them. These past few days Xiping had cleared up and the temperature had risen somewhat. Bright sunlight fell down.

She raised her hand to shade her eyes, her gaze passing through her fingers to land on the boy.

He lowered his head slightly, listening to Li Zhi speak, a faint smile hanging at the corners of his lips, his expression casual. Occasionally hearing something interesting, he smiled with his eyes slightly narrowed.

Unrestrained and vibrant.

Every moment became something Ruan Mian would never forget.

Soon the bus arrived. Chen Yi gripped the handle of his luggage, patted Li Zhi’s shoulder, then turned back to look at Ruan Mian, his tone gentle. “See you at school.”

Ruan Mian suppressed the joy in her heart. “Okay, be safe on the road.”

“Mm.”

The boy carried his suitcase onto the bus. The bus stopped and went, the noise only temporary. The bus turned a corner down the road and quickly disappeared from view.

Li Zhi clapped his hands. “Let’s go, we should head back too.”

Ruan Mian walked out of the platform and walked side by side with him along the lakeside. The winter lake’s water rippled and shimmered in the sunlight.

Li Zhi, whether intentionally or not, turned his head to look over. “Chen Yi is pretty popular at your school, right?”

Ruan Mian nodded.

“Then there must be a lot of girls sending him love letters and confessing to him?”

Ruan Mian hummed in acknowledgment. “I guess, seems like quite a few.”

Li Zhi asked again, “Have you seen it happen?”

Ruan Mian inevitably thought of Sheng Huan, her eyes lowering slightly. “I’ve seen one. She publicly said at our school’s New Year’s Eve party that she wanted to pursue Chen Yi.”

“That’s cool.” Li Zhi’s gaze looked ahead, his words meaningful. “People need to let loose like that once to truly live up to their youth.”

Ruan Mian blinked, feeling like he was hinting at something.

Seeing she wasn’t responding, Li Zhi turned his head to look over again. “Don’t you think so?”

Ruan Mian suddenly felt her throat itch. She lowered her head and coughed lightly, saying, “Maybe. Not everyone can do that.”

Li Zhi smiled. “That’s true. After all, no one can say for sure about the future.”

Ruan Mian’s heart skipped a beat. She always felt there was more to his words, but Li Zhi didn’t dwell on this topic and quickly moved on to talk about other things.

Ruan Mian spent New Year’s Eve especially lively. Early in the morning, she was called up by Ruan Jun to paste spring couplets. The siblings busied themselves all morning.

At noon, they casually ate at Ruan Jun’s house. Zhou Xiujun and her aunt busied themselves preparing the evening’s New Year’s Eve dinner. Ruan Mian accompanied Ruan Jun to play slot machines at a nearby small shop.

Ruan Jun wasn’t great at studying, but he was skilled at playing games. In just over half an hour, he won a big pile of coins, making the shop owner somewhat unhappy.

Afterward, Ruan Mian bought a big bag of snacks at his house and had Ruan Jun carry it back. The two of them sat on the doorstep, one on the left and one on the right, and started eating.

Ruan Jun had a lollipop stuffed in his mouth. “Sis, does anyone chase you at your school?”

Ruan Mian propped up her head and looked at him. “Why are you suddenly asking this?”

“Just asking casually. Can’t a brother care about his sister?” Ruan Jun evaded the question. “So is there or isn’t there?”

“No.”

“Not even one?”

“…”

Ruan Jun scratched his head. “That shouldn’t be right. My sister is so pretty.”

Ruan Mian was amused by him. “What about you? Do any girls at your school like you?”

This probably touched on Ruan Jun’s sensitive topic. The young boy exploded like a cat with its fur standing on end. “No, how could there be? No, absolutely not.”

This clearly meant there was something going on.

Ruan Mian chewed her candy and casually asked, “How many points did you get on your final exam this time?”

“Two hundred and ten. Didn’t you see my report card last time?”

“Oh, I forgot.” Ruan Mian asked again, “What about her?”

“Over a hundred, not as much as me—” Ruan Jun suddenly pressed his lips together, his whole person turning red from neck to face in an instant.

Ruan Mian laughed heartily, tilting her head to look at him. “I didn’t say who ‘she’ was.”

“…” Ruan Jun was terribly embarrassed, but since things had come to this and there was no hiding it, he could only bury his head between his legs and say in a muffled voice, “If I tell you, don’t tell my parents.”

“Okay.”

“She chased me first. She’s from the class next to ours and likes to come to our class to find me. At first, I found her quite annoying, and her grades aren’t good either. Although my grades are bad, I’m not as bad as her. But she just kept chasing and chasing, and even said she would study hard for me. Over time, I started to feel like she wasn’t so annoying after all.” Ruan Jun drew circles on the ground with his finger, his exposed ears turning completely red. “But I haven’t agreed to be with her yet, otherwise she definitely won’t study hard. With her grades, whether she can even go to the same high school as me is still a question…”

Ruan Jun was still rambling on, but Ruan Mian seemed to think of something, her gaze fixed on a certain spot in a daze, looking thoughtful.

The young boy, not hearing a response for a long time, stopped talking and looked up. “Sis?”

Ruan Mian came back to her senses and laughed. “If that’s the case, then shouldn’t you study hard? What if she improves and you’re still like this—what then?”

“Then wouldn’t I be…” Ruan Jun muttered something incomprehensible under his breath. After a long while, he finally spoke up. “Sis, after Spring Festival is over, let’s officially start tutoring.”

“Sure.”

Ruan Jun was about to say something else when his aunt called him from inside. He responded and stood up, patting the dust off his pants before walking in.

Ruan Mian sat there thinking for a long time. A draft blew through, making her eyes sting. She raised her hand to rub them twice, then let out a long sigh when she lowered her hand.

On New Year’s Eve night, the Ruan family’s dinner was very sumptuous. After eating, Ruan Mian first received a call from Fang Ruqing, then received a call from Ruan Mingke.

Ruan Mingke had been in the west for several months now. This was the first time he’d contacted her. After asking a few concerned questions, Ruan Mian handed the phone to Zhou Xiujun.

The old lady was smiling throughout, but as soon as she hung up the phone, she turned her head away to wipe her eyes. Ruan Mian couldn’t bear to see this scene and forced back her tears as she walked out of the house.

There was no fireworks ban in the countryside. Fireworks one after another illuminated the deep night sky.

Ruan Mian didn’t go far. After composing her emotions, she returned along the same path. When she got home, the post-dinner mess had already been cleaned up, and the whole family sat in the main hall around the charcoal fire, chatting and keeping vigil.

She moved a stool to sit beside Zhou Xiujun. The old lady held her granddaughter’s hand, her calloused fingertips rubbing the back of her hand.

The Spring Festival Gala was playing on TV. Ruan Mian took out her phone and, at the moment the New Year’s bell rang, posted a new QQ update.

Ruan Mian: Happy New Year.

This update quickly received likes and comments from others—classmates from both Eighth High and Sixth High.

Only not from him.

Ruan Mian held her phone and hesitated for a moment. Remembering Li Zhi’s words and also Ruan Jun’s words, she finally made up her mind, clicked on Chen Yi’s profile picture, and sent him a message.

[Ruan Mian]: Happy New Year.

She quickly received a reply.

[Chen Yi]: Happy New Year.

Ruan Mian held her phone and smiled for a long time. All the anxiety and nervousness of that day were soothed and smoothed away by these four words.

After Spring Festival, Jiang Rang found Ruan Mian on QQ and asked her some things about math. He was tactful and measured, and Ruan Mian couldn’t find a reason to refuse.

Jiang Rang had previously learned English from Chen Yi and compiled a notebook. Every day he would explain two pages of content to Ruan Mian.

Two people who didn’t have much contact at school became the most frequently in touch during the holiday.

The remaining days, Ruan Mian spent alternating between studying and tutoring Ruan Jun. The holiday lasted until before the Lantern Festival.

On the day she returned, Ruan Mian didn’t let Fang Ruqing come pick her up. Instead, she took the bus back to Pingcheng together with Li Zhi.

Though Zhou Xiujun was very reluctant, there was nothing she could do. She accompanied her all the way to the bus station, constantly instructing, “Be safe on the road. If anything happens, call Grandma.”

Ruan Mian smiled. “Okay, I know.”

After getting on the bus, Ruan Mian opened the window and saw Grandma following behind the bus. She held back the sadness that suddenly surged up. “Grandma, you should go back now.”

Only then did Zhou Xiujun stop and wave at her from where she stood.

Ruan Mian closed the window and leaned back into her seat. Li Zhi, wearing an eye mask beside her, fumbled in his pocket and handed her an orange-flavored lollipop.

“Sleep for a bit,” he said.

Ruan Mian hummed in acknowledgment, took the candy and put it in her pocket, pulled up her hood and put it on her head. Her vision became dim, and the surrounding sounds faded away.

After more than two hours of travel, when they got off the bus, Fang Ruqing was waiting outside the station barrier. Seeing Ruan Mian from afar, she made her way through the crowd to the exit.

“Mianmian.”

Ruan Mian looked up and saw her, quickly walking over. She introduced them, “Mom, this is my friend Li Zhi. His hometown is also in Xiping. We happened to be going the same way.”

Li Zhi nodded slightly. “Hello, Auntie.”

“Yes, hello.” Fang Ruqing took Ruan Mian’s suitcase. Zhao Yingwei, who had just finished a phone call nearby, found them. Seeing Li Zhi, he laughed. “Little Zhi.”

Li Zhi smiled back. “Hello, Uncle Zhao.”

Fang Ruqing didn’t recognize Li Zhi and was puzzled. Zhao Yingwei explained, “Old Li’s family—the Li Family Supermarket near our area. This is their kid.”

Fang Ruqing suddenly understood and also smiled. “No wonder. I thought he looked familiar just now.”

They all turned out to be from the same area. After getting in the car, Fang Ruqing asked Ruan Mian a few questions about the old lady’s situation and said that in a while, when the weather warmed up, they’d bring her over for a physical examination.

In previous years at this time, Fang Ruqing had always arranged the old lady’s physical examination. This year the situation was somewhat different. Ruan Mian didn’t say anything and only said, “Let’s call Grandma about it then.”

“That works.” Fang Ruqing said.

Along the way, Zhao Yingwei took several phone calls. Halfway through, Fang Ruqing had to take over driving. From his phone conversations, Ruan Mian gathered he seemed to be discussing investment matters.

She didn’t pay much attention and turned her head to look at Li Zhi. He was leaning against the seat back, apparently asleep.

It was currently the transition between February and March. Pingcheng’s temperature was rising. The sunlight outside the window was bright and warm, making people drowsy.

Ruan Mian lowered her head and yawned several times.

After more than half an hour, the car stopped at an intersection. Zhao Yingwei went to park nearby while Fang Ruqing carried Ruan Mian’s suitcase and walked ahead.

Ruan Mian and Li Zhi were left walking behind.

“When does your school start?” Ruan Mian was puzzled. Li Zhi was a senior year student—it was one thing that his winter break started earlier than theirs, but school also started this late? He didn’t have any sense of senior year tension at all.

Li Zhi swung his arms. “School started a while ago. I just haven’t gone.”

“…”

His gaze fell ahead as he said in a low voice, “Your mom seems to have misunderstood the relationship between you and me. The way she looked at me just now wasn’t right.”

“Huh?” Ruan Mian scratched her face. “I didn’t notice.”

“If you don’t believe me, watch when you go back. She’ll definitely ask you about it.” As they spoke, they had already reached Li Zhi’s front door. He said goodbye to Fang Ruqing, then raised an eyebrow at Ruan Mian. “See you.”

After he went inside, Ruan Mian quickly caught up with Fang Ruqing and asked, “How is Zhao Shutang?”

“Not bad. She just can’t walk around yet, and with her arm also injured, I don’t know if she’ll be able to keep up with classes this semester.” Fang Ruqing wore flat shoes today and looked about the same height as Ruan Mian.

“I see.”

Fang Ruqing glanced at her sideways and hesitantly spoke up. “Did you know Li Zhi before, or did you only meet after going back?”

He’d actually guessed right.

Ruan Mian pressed her lips together. “I knew him before. I met him when we first moved here. That time last summer when I got lost at night, he was the one who brought me back.”

That was all last year. Fang Ruqing didn’t have much recollection of it. She gave indirect advice. “You’re still young now. Your main task should still be to focus on studying. Other things can wait until after the college entrance exam.”

Ruan Mian wrinkled her nose and responded halfheartedly. “I know.”

When they got home, Fang Ruqing pushed Ruan Mian to go check on Zhao Shutang in her room. Counting it up, this should be the first time she’d entered Zhao Shutang’s bedroom. Unlike her own small and simple room, this one obviously looked more like a girl’s room.

Zhao Shutang was half-reclined on the bed. Both her left leg and left arm were covered in thick plaster casts. The bruising near her cheekbone on the right side of her face hadn’t completely faded yet, looking somewhat shocking.

With adults present, the two didn’t start bickering. One made perfunctory inquiries, the other gave false responses.

Neither was any nobler than the other.

After consoling Zhao Shutang, Ruan Mian returned to her room to unpack, rested for a while, then went downstairs for lunch. The time after that passed quickly.

The next day was the first day of school. With Zhao Shutang unable to move her hands and feet freely, Zhao Yingwei and Fang Ruqing went to school together with Ruan Mian. The three of them went to Director Zhou’s office together.

After requesting leave for Zhao Shutang, Zhou Hai brought up the matter of the competition class. Ruan Mian’s heart skipped a beat as she realized she’d forgotten to tell Fang Ruqing about this.

From Fang Ruqing’s expression, Zhou Hai could tell Ruan Mian hadn’t mentioned it. He smiled and smoothed things over. “It’s just a math, physics, and chemistry competition class organized by the school. Since Ruan Mian transferred to Eighth High, she’s gotten perfect scores on math in several monthly exams. Teacher Yan, who’s in charge of the math group, wants her to join the competition class to see if she can take the competition recommendation route. After all, Ruan Mian is still somewhat unbalanced in her subjects overall. The competition would just give her another option. However, this mainly depends on Ruan Mian’s and your parents’ opinions. If she goes to the competition class, she might not be able to focus as much on other areas as before, but once she places well, she’s guaranteed recommendation to Tsinghua or Peking University.”

This decision came rather suddenly. Fang Ruqing and Zhao Yingwei exchanged glances, then looked up at Ruan Mian before speaking. “Let’s see what she chooses. We have no objections. If she wants to go, as parents, we couldn’t possibly stop her and say no. We’ll definitely support her.”

That was all that was said. The rest was left to Ruan Mian. Fang Ruqing and Zhao Yingwei still had to go to the company later, so after exchanging a few pleasantries with Zhou Hai, they left the school.

Zhou Hai stood up to pour himself a cup of water and looked at the person standing beside him in silence. He asked gently, “Such a big thing—why didn’t you tell your family?”

“I forgot.”

“Did you forget, or did you not want to say?” Zhou Hai sat back in his chair and spoke earnestly. “In a person’s lifetime, whether in family or life, you’ll always encounter some setbacks. Sometimes you just need to push through and it’ll pass. Don’t overthink it. You’re still young now. There are some things you don’t understand, but when you’re older, you’ll naturally figure them out.”

“Teacher Zhou, I understand everything you’re saying.” Ruan Mian smiled. “But this time I really forgot to mention it. As soon as the holiday started, my mind went wild. I only focused on relaxing.”

“…” Zhou Hai was too lazy to lecture further. He skimmed the tea foam with the cup lid and asked, “So how have you considered the competition class matter?”

“Teacher Zhou, I—”

Objectively speaking, Ruan Mian had never considered taking the competition recommendation route before. She actually preferred the step-by-step process more.

Seeing her hesitant appearance, Zhou Hai had already guessed what she was thinking. He tried to persuade her. “You should know that there are many unexpected situations in the college entrance exam. Your current grades aren’t stable. Although you could certainly get into a very good school, if you take the competition route, you might be able to go somewhere even better. But either way, the choice is still yours to make. I won’t force you. Go back and think it over carefully, okay?”

Ruan Mian pressed her lips together and took a light breath. “Okay, I understand. Thank you, Teacher Zhou.”

Ruan Mian returned to the classroom. Quite a few people had already arrived. The seats were still the same as last semester. The brief separation had made everyone seem overly excited.

Those collecting homework collected homework, those making up homework made up homework. Talking and laughing—that was youth.

As soon as Ruan Mian sat down, people from all around immediately gathered over, asking about Zhao Shutang’s situation in a cacophony of voices. “Is she really not coming to class this semester?”

Ruan Mian: “No, she’s just taking a month’s leave.”

“That long? What happened to her?”

“She was hit by a car.”

“That serious?! Did they find the driver who hit her?”

Ruan Mian pressed her lips together. “They found them.”

These people had both concern and gossip. Whatever they asked, Ruan Mian answered what she knew. She said nothing more about the rest.

Later, the late-arriving Meng Xinglan pushed through the crowd and pulled Ruan Mian out. “Are you stupid? If Zhao Shutang finds out you’re talking about her at school, she’ll start fighting with you again.”

Ruan Mian leaned half her body against the corridor railing. “What can I do? They asked normal questions. I can’t just say I don’t know to everything.”

After chatting for a bit, Ruan Mian saw several figures walking below. She slowly straightened up and turned around to lean back against the railing.

Meng Xinglan had spent a rich and colorful winter break, but if you listened carefully, the key content boiled down to just three words: Liang Yiran.

Ruan Mian listened while moving her gaze toward the stairway entrance. When she saw the figures approaching, she pretended to look casual and unaffected.

…

Jiang Rang had spotted the girl standing on the third floor from downstairs early on. When he came upstairs, he had his arm around Shen Yu’s shoulder, his steps light and quick.

Chen Yi fell back a few steps behind. During the first month of the year, one shouldn’t cut their hair. His previously cropped short hair had grown quite a bit—fluffy and messy.

The group stood in the corridor chatting for a while. Shen Yu went back to the classroom first. Jiang Rang gripped the railing with his hand and asked Ruan Mian, “Did you finish reading all the notes I gave you before?”

Ruan Mian hadn’t expected him to suddenly bring this up. At this moment, she somehow felt guilty, as if she’d done something behind Chen Yi’s back. Her eyes darted away. “I finished them.”

“Good. I’ll get you two more test papers later.”

Ruan Mian said politely, “Thank you for the trouble.”

Jiang Rang smiled. “No problem. After all, you’re also helping me with math.”

Meng Xinglan sensed something was off and bumped Ruan Mian’s shoulder with her own. Although she didn’t say anything, her gossipy eyes had already exposed what she was thinking.

Ruan Mian rubbed her face. Out of the corner of her eye, she glimpsed Chen Yi entering the classroom through the back door. Her heartbeat stuttered once. Even though she knew he wouldn’t care, she would forever be nervous over his every move.

—

**Author’s Note:** Tomorrow will be a normal nine o’clock update.

Thank you for liking this. I wish you all get everything you wish for in life. See you tomorrow.