Jiang Qiaoxi sat absentmindedly in the auditorium of the winter camp’s school, barely listening to the lecture.
The principal, leaders, and experts had been taking turns speaking for nearly an hour. Over 300 students selected from provinces and cities across the country sat in the audience. Jiang Qiaoxi heard someone whisper from the corridor, “Senior! Senior Jiang Qiaoxi!”
It was the son of the provincial team leader, surnamed Qi. He was also Jiang Qiaoxi’s junior from the competition class at the experimental high school, here to experience the winter camp atmosphere with his father.
He made his way over and sat down next to Jiang Qiaoxi, whispering, “Senior Jiang, we didn’t pick you up yesterday. What time did you arrive?”
The lecture ended. Junior Qi quickly started applauding, his youthful nature compelling him to show enthusiasm for the adults.
The cultural performance began immediately after.
Dance, skits, poetry recitals, followed by more dance – rounds of ethnic and modern dances. Jiang Qiaoxi sat in the audience, watching groups of girls take the stage, their skirts swirling. Girls were indeed different from boys, whether in their curves, their smiles, or even the way they glanced back.
For some reason, Jiang Qiaoxi thought of Lin Yingtao.
When Lin Yingtao was young, she was short with large cherry-like eyes that always drew attention, as did her soft hair tips. Whether giggling or crying loudly, what left the deepest impression on Jiang Qiaoxi was always Lin Yingtao’s carefree expression.
But when they met again, Lin Yingtao had grown up. Her body was like a delicate stamen emerging from a flower bud, growing taller under the protection of petals.
Standing behind her, Jiang Qiaoxi couldn’t help but observe her, noticing her newly formed waistline, and the full curve of her chest beneath her blouse. Her legs had grown longer, her ankles slender, and whenever they appeared beneath her skirt, it was impossible to focus solely on her eyes and expressions anymore. This seemed to be a change that no mathematical model could fully replicate.
“Senior Jiang,” his junior whispered, covering his mouth, “that pretty sister dancing the peacock dance keeps looking at you!”
Jiang Qiaoxi stood up from his seat, appearing quite oblivious to the romantic atmosphere. As the performance ended, the math prodigies from various provinces began to exit in turn. Classmates from his provincial team waved to him at the exit: “Math God Jiang, let’s go eat together after checking out the exam venue!”
Junior Qi squeezed in beside him and asked, “Senior, are you nervous?”
Jiang Qiaoxi didn’t respond, lowering his head to eat. The team leader came over and smacked his son on the back of the head: “Qiaoxi has his exam tomorrow, let him have some peace.”
Around 8 PM, Lin Yingtao went downstairs alone, wearing a jacket. She walked along the street outside the headquarters’ residential area, under the streetlights, finally stopping in front of a small shop.
Lin Yingtao waited there. The night was a bit cold, and she hunched her shoulders. Just then, her phone in her pocket vibrated.
A new message from Jiang Qiaoxi:
[What are you doing?]
For many days now, since they started texting, it seemed that whenever Jiang Qiaoxi messaged Lin Yingtao, his first question was always this.
Lin Yingtao found it peculiar. When they were young, she was always the one clinging to Jiang Qiaoxi. From morning to night, he would just be doing math problems, not particularly concerned about her.
“The light in my room went out, so I came out to buy a bulb. I’ll have my dad change it when I get back,” she said.
“What does your room look like now?” Jiang Qiaoxi suddenly asked.
Lin Yingtao thought for a moment.
“It’s a bit bigger than before. There’s a bed, a desk, a bookshelf, and a wardrobe. And a window.”
“Sounds pretty similar to before,” Jiang Qiaoxi said.
Lin Yingtao asked, “Do you want to come over and play?”
Jiang Qiaoxi said, “Can I?”
Lin Yingtao said, “It’s a bit messy though.”
Jiang Qiaoxi said, “That’s okay, it was messy before too.”
Lin Yingtao asked, “Was it messy before?”
Jiang Qiaoxi said, “Before, we used to sit on the floor, snacks everywhere, along with your comics and toys.”
Uncle Qin limped out of the residential area. He had closed his shop early today, only opening it after receiving Lin Yingtao’s call. “What are you doing, Yingtao, standing here alone grinning like a fool?” he said.
Lin Yingtao was still smiling. She tucked her phone into her coat pocket, took out some change, and bounced along behind Uncle Qin into the small shop.
On the third day after Jiang Qiaoxi left, Friday evening.
Lin Yingtao returned home from school and was helping her mother carry dishes out from the kitchen when suddenly her phone rang in her school bag.
“Yingtao, I’m heading to the station now,” Jiang Qiaoxi’s voice sounded muffled as if he had just woken up. “Can you come to the station to pick me up tomorrow morning?”
Lin Yingtao was stunned. “Tomorrow?”
She looked back at the calendar. Tomorrow was Saturday.
“What time tomorrow?” she asked.
Jiang Qiaoxi, carrying his backpack, walked down from the train with the attendant and onto the platform.
It was mid-November, the temperature had suddenly dropped, and it was early morning. He stood still for a moment, looking towards the platform exit.
Lin Yingtao, wearing a red sweater knitted by her mother and a pair of jeans, was smiling and waving at him from among the crowd.
Behind Jiang Qiaoxi, the other students from the provincial team were also getting off the train one by one. They saw Jiang Qiaoxi standing still and followed his gaze to see that spot of red in the grey, dusty station.
Junior Qi, standing nearby, also looked for a while before suddenly asking, “Her nickname… is it Rongrong?”
Jiang Qiaoxi called out loudly, “Yingtao!”
Lin Yingtao also shouted back, “Have you all had breakfast?”
Near the train station, there were many small eateries. One selling soy milk and fried dough sticks was packed with people. They also sold meat buns, the aroma wafting enticingly from the roadside. Lin Yingtao lingered at the entrance, craning her neck to look inside. Jiang Qiaoxi pushed open the door and went in.
He found a table in the corner, sat down, and casually placed his backpack beside him.
Junior Qi also squeezed in, exclaiming excitedly, “Lucky I came with you guys, otherwise my dad definitely wouldn’t have let me come in.”
Lin Yingtao sat down opposite Jiang Qiaoxi. She was in high spirits, picking up the menu and ordering the buns she was curious to try. Hearing Junior Qi approach, she took the initiative to introduce herself: “Hello, Junior Lin. I’m from the Experimental High School, Class 13, Grade 1. You know, I have quite a connection with you!”
Lin Yingtao looked up at him.
She had seen this junior with Jiang Qiaoxi several times before, only knowing that he was in his first year of high school, quite studious, and often asked Jiang Qiaoxi questions. His personality must be good too, for Jiang Qiaoxi not to dislike him.
“My surname is Qi,” Junior Qi smiled, looking very much like Xia Yu, “My name is Qi Le!”
Lin Qile was shocked: “Ah??”
Jiang Qiaoxi, sitting across from them, saw Lin Qile’s expression and suddenly laughed.
Lin Yingtao looked at him. Jiang Qiaoxi seemed to be in a very good mood today, his whole demeanor was relaxed and at ease.
Before breakfast arrived, Qi Le pulled out a half-read novel from his backpack and continued reading. Lin Yingtao, resting her chin on her hand across the table, asked, “What’s that?”
“‘Journey to the West’!” Qi Le immediately replied, looking up.
Jiang Qiaoxi, who had been sitting idly beside them, now took the book from Qi Le’s hands. He glanced at the cover and casually flipped through a couple of pages.
Lin Yingtao told Qi Le, “This senior of yours loved reading ‘Journey to the West’ when he was little!”
Qi Le’s eyes lit up, and he asked, “Senior Lin, did you know Senior Jiang when you were kids?”
“I’ve read this book,” Jiang Qiaoxi said softly, “I think it was in middle school.”
“Maybe you’ve read it, it’s so famous!” Qi Le said, and began to recite:
“I want this sky to no longer hide my eyes,
This earth no longer buries my heart,
These mortals to understand my will,
And all Buddhas to vanish like smoke and clouds!”
When it was time to pay after finishing their meal, Jiang Qiaoxi reached into his pocket for money and pulled out a blue card with a lanyard.
He casually placed the card on the table as he continued to search for his wallet.
Lin Yingtao picked up the card from across the table and examined it closely.
It was a participant card for the China Mathematical Olympiad Winter Camp. “Jiang Qiaoxi” was wearing the blue and white uniform of the Experimental High School in the photo, looking directly at the camera with a cold gaze and no expression. There was a faint scar visible on his forehead through the gaps in his bangs.
“After this exam, do you have more to take?” Lin Yingtao looked up and asked.
Qi Le finished his last sip of soy milk and put down the bowl: “Some do and some don’t, but someone like Senior Jiang, he’s going to be selected for the national training team. He might even go to the international competition!”
“There’s an international competition too?” Lin Yingtao asked.
Qi Le nodded and gestured with his hand: “Six people are chosen from the training team to form the national team!”
Jiang Qiaoxi opened his wallet and paid for breakfast. Qi Le stood up, shouldering his backpack, and told Lin Yingtao: “If you make it to the training team, you’re directly admitted to Peking University or Tsinghua University. You might not even need to finish your third year of high school, you’d be a college student right away.”
Lin Yingtao handed the participant card back to Jiang Qiaoxi as they were about to leave.
However, Jiang Qiaoxi casually tore the card in half and threw it into the trash bin where the waitress was clearing the table of leftovers.
He walked towards the exit. Lin Yingtao stood still, staring at his back, dumbfounded.
New customers were about to sit at their table. Lin Yingtao lowered her head, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and quickly said to the waitress, “Auntie… we accidentally dropped some cards in there. Could you please take them out for me?”
Jiang Qiaoxi walked out of the breakfast shop. The pedestrian light was red, so he stopped at the corner of the street and looked around.
Vehicles from different directions constantly sped past him, leaving only blurred shadows in front of his eyes. Jiang Qiaoxi couldn’t see where these roads came from or where they led, nor did he know which direction to go.
He tilted his head back. A snow-white trail stretched across the high sky above him.
The headquarters of the Electric Power Construction Group’s residential area was not quiet this weekend.
First, after the winter camp ended, the Chinese Mathematical Society announced the list of 60 members for this year’s China Mathematical Olympiad National Training Team. The name of Jiang Qiaoxi, a second-year student from Class 18 of the Provincial Experimental High School, was prominently featured on the list. This also meant that the Electric Power Construction Group finally had its first child directly admitted to Tsinghua or Peking University.
Then came the argument from the 23rd floor of the cadre building.
Cai Fangyuan was downstairs, originally planning to go to Yu Qiao’s house for a hotpot. He heard the commotion from above, seemingly coming from the direction of Jiang Qiaoxi’s home.
Just then, a neighbor living opposite Jiang’s family came downstairs. Cai Fangyuan went over to ask, “Auntie, what’s going on?”
The residential area was full of Electric Power Construction employees, and everyone gathered around. The neighbor was reticent, looking troubled: “Something’s wrong with Manager Jiang’s child. Tsinghua University called, but he’s not going!”
“What’s the matter? He’s not going to Tsinghua?”
“I don’t know what this child is thinking. He’s been studying for the Math Olympiad since first grade. We’ve watched him all these years, and now that he’s finally achieved results, he says he doesn’t want it. Hongfei is furious!” The neighbor said, “I could hear it from upstairs and it made me anxious, so I came down.”
※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※
—
Our Generation – Chapter Notes:
Xia Yu: A Chinese mainland actor, known for his role in “In the Heat of the Sun.”
“Journey to the West”: A novel first published by writer Jin Hezai in 2001, telling the story of the tragic hero Sun Wukong and others like Tang Seng fighting against fate.