As the bus started and stopped, Qingyu’s thoughts swayed. The few minutes wasted at the newsstand weren’t entirely meaningless. At least she vaguely understood why her parents had uprooted the family to move to Huan Zhou—to hide in plain sight. In Chaoyang New Village, they were just ordinary, nameless people bustling about like many other outsiders.
How remarkable that her parents’ method of escaping rumors was to settle in the very place where rumors were born. Like rushing into the calm eye of a typhoon to avoid the storm, it was both wise and tragic.
Looking out the bus window, Qingyu thought Huan Zhou must be a turbulent city. Baiyu’s past was just a small wave in this city; their family’s arrival was as silent as leaves falling on the sea. She liked the city’s power to engulf everything.
The bus stopped at Qing Lake North Road, and Qingyu got off. The scorching sun had scared away many tourists. She walked alone by the lake, without a hat or umbrella, not seeking shade, her empty hands swinging as she strolled. Several passersby turned to look at her.
After walking for half an hour under the blazing sun, Qingyu came to a pavilion on the south shore. Seeing a small shop with air conditioning behind it, she went in.
The shopkeeper greeted her in the Huan Zhou dialect, smiling and commenting on her flushed face, likely mistaking her for a local student buying water.
Qingyu took a bottle of mineral water from the cooler, handed the shopkeeper five yuan, and smiled shyly.
“Cool your face, cool your face,” the shopkeeper gestured, pointing at the water bottle in her hand. “Don’t you care about your pretty face?”
Her face did feel hot and a bit painful. Qingyu first took a big gulp, then followed the shopkeeper’s suggestion, pressing the half-empty bottle of ice-cold water against her face.
As she took the change, the automatic door behind her chimed, and a group of laughing young men and women poured in.
“Qiao Qingyu?”
Turning around, Qingyu was startled to see a familiar, pure smile from the past.
“Senior He Kai?”
“What a surprise,” He Kai’s eyes lit up. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to see Qing Lake,” Qingyu murmured with a smile. The others with He Kai all turned their gazes to her, making her feel a bit self-conscious.
“Are you alone?” He Kai asked.
Qingyu nodded.
“I heard you transferred to Huan Second Middle School?”
“Yes.”
Qingyu’s apparent coldness wasn’t intentional. On the contrary, she was excited and nervous. At Shun Yun No. 1 High School, He Kai had excellent grades and was good-looking. Like many girls, Qingyu had harbored innocent admiration and vague affection for him. She was a year behind He Kai and had never spoken to him, yet he knew her name.
“It was so sudden.”
The hint of regret in He Kai’s voice made his companions hoot and holler. Qingyu felt her face grow even redder. He Kai helplessly gestured for them to stop, then turned to ask Qingyu if she wanted to join them for dinner.
Qingyu was flustered: “No, thank you. I need to go home.”
“Where do you live?” a curious person behind He Kai asked.
“Chaoyang New Village.”
“That’s on our way!” The curious one excitedly put his hand on He Kai’s shoulder, winking at him. “We’re going to Canal Food Street, right across from Chaoyang New Village. Let’s give her a ride.”
“Come with us,” He Kai said, trying to appear calm as he looked at Qingyu.
Qingyu didn’t refuse. She brazenly got into their van, ending up in the back row with He Kai, awkwardly chatting with him the whole way. To avoid being seen by Shopkeeper Feng, Qingyu asked to be dropped off at the arch bridge, planning to sneak into the community through the back gate by the canal.
Unexpectedly, He Kai got off with her.
“I like walking by the water too,” He Kai said casually. “Let me walk you to your building.”
They strolled along the narrow path by the canal. Qingyu’s thoughts were in disarray, unable to focus on He Kai’s gentle words. It was past 4:30; Li Fanghao could return to Chaoyang New Village at any moment with the newly bought phone. Qingyu didn’t want Li Fanghao to catch her saying a lingering goodbye to He Kai downstairs. She had to get He Kai to leave, without delay.
“…But I’ve noticed you’re different from other girls,” He Kai had been saying, “You never use an umbrella in summer, you don’t fear the sun at all.”
The phrase “fear the sun” made Qingyu turn her head towards He Kai.
“Aren’t you afraid of getting tanned?” He Kai asked, then quickly added, “I’m not saying you’re dark, don’t misunderstand… Your skin is very fair, I guess I’m asking how you don’t get tanned… That’s a stupid question, haha. What I mean is that you’re special, unlike some girls who are overly conscious of their appearance just because they’re a bit pretty, you’re different from them…”
Qingyu noticed a large camphor tree not far away by the river, with lush branches and an imposing presence. The thick shade under the tree could be a good place to say goodbye to He Kai.
“Girls like you…”
“I’m afraid of the sun too,” Qingyu interrupted He Kai somewhat rudely—she immediately regretted her clumsy response, “I just don’t go out much, so I often forget to bring an umbrella.”
“I think you’re so cool.”
Qingyu felt a bit dizzy, unsure if it was from the dazzling sunlight or He Kai’s smile. She took a quiet breath, quickened her pace, and led He Kai to the shade under the camphor tree. She was about to find an excuse to say goodbye to He Kai, but he was intently examining a notice board inside the railing, seemingly trying to prolong their time together.
“Strictly forbidden to enter,” He Kai read aloud, “Consequences are terrifying.”
Qingyu glanced disinterestedly at the warning, but her gaze was suddenly fixed on the characters: an extraordinary, unparalleled example of Liu-style calligraphy.
Truly good calligraphy has life and soul. These characters, like the “Ride the wind and break the waves, set sail and cross the sea” written by Baiyu at twelve years old hanging on her wall, were full of unique, fresh vitality.
Baiyu’s strokes were light and lively like a radiant young girl, while these strokes were vigorous and unrestrained like a bright young man, even more carefree.
In comparison, the stack of rice paper Qingyu had used up during her summer vacation seemed like clumsy wooden puppets with uncoordinated limbs.
Sighing softly, Qingyu stepped closer and saw that the warning was written with a brush on white paper, pasted over the original official notice board, covering the engraved words. The official board seemed serious, leading Qingyu to deduce that this old tree was a protected famous tree.
“How terrifying could it be?” He Kai also realized this was someone’s prank and chuckled lightly, “I’d like to see.”
With that, he decisively stepped over the low railing surrounding the tree trunk.
This mischievous act effectively shattered He Kai’s distant and rigid image in Qingyu’s mind. Her gaze followed him as he silently circled the rough trunk, touching it with his hand. Then he jumped back over the railing, turned his back to Qingyu, and crouched down by the river, tilting his head slightly to look at the water.
A wooden cargo ship loaded with sand glided silently in front of He Kai’s silhouette, stirring ripples in Qingyu’s heart.
Imperfection is beauty. Leaving quietly, without saying goodbye, would make today’s little adventure endlessly memorable, and—Qingyu forcefully convinced herself to lift her foot—greeting Li Fanghao at home would be more considerate than letting an excited mother return home to find an empty house.
Having made up her mind, Qingyu stared intently at He Kai’s back, trying to etch this perfect scene in her mind. The ancient camphor tree was lush, the grayish-green water waves were velvety soft, and the boy by the river stood motionless, harboring thoughts more heated than the summer day.
Suddenly, He Kai turned his head, and Qingyu quickly averted her gaze to the warning sign under the tree.
“There are fish in the water,” He Kai smiled, “Do you want to come and see?”
Qingyu shifted her gaze from the “Strictly forbidden to enter, consequences are terrifying” sign to see He Kai stand up, step back inside the railing, and move to the side of the sign, examining it with his head tilted.
“This handwriting is very similar to yours,” He Kai remarked with a smile, “Like the school motto hanging on the back wall of your classroom, everyone says you wrote it…”
It was indeed hers, and Qingyu nodded. Just like being called by name, she was surprised that He Kai knew about the school motto she had written. However, since she was just staring at the sign, her reaction seemed a bit flat.
“Yours is more beautiful,” He Kai added.
Qingyu looked up and shook her head firmly: “No, mine is the worst.”
He Kai smiled, a bit confused, but didn’t pursue the matter. Qingyu fell silent again, allowing her gaze to linger on the warning sign.
It was evident that the person who wrote this calligraphy, like Baiyu, had a pair of heaven-blessed hands, writing with ease and grace. Baiyu’s style was clear and playful, while this person’s was bold and unrestrained. A proud person, Qingyu concluded.
A boy. She concluded again.
The longer she looked, the more menacing the characters for “terrifying” became. Qingyu wondered: someone capable of such calligraphy couldn’t be an immature child, yet why would a mature person engage in such childish acts of intimidating passersby?
“Want to see the fish?” He Kai asked.
Qingyu remembered her plan to leave without saying goodbye. She looked at He Kai, opened her mouth but swallowed the “no” on the tip of her tongue. He Kai had invited her twice, and she couldn’t bear to refuse. The clock in her heart ticked louder, growing more anxious.
“You won’t be going back to Shun Yun No. 1 High School anymore, right?” He Kai smiled somewhat shyly, “I thought I’d never see you again, today was such a surprise… By the way, which class are you in at Huan Second Middle School? Can I write to you?”
Qingyu bit her lip lightly, hesitating before speaking: “I’m in Class 5, Grade 10.”
For a moment, both were silent. Suddenly, He Kai seemed to remember something and frantically searched his pants pockets to no avail. He looked up and asked Qingyu if she had a pen.
Qingyu shook her head.
He Kai looked around, picked up a stone at his feet, and forcefully scratched it on the paper that read “Strictly forbidden to enter, consequences are terrifying.” Seeing a faint mark, he happily winked at Qingyu.
Then, he used the stone to scratch out a string of numbers below those characters and carefully tore off the lower right corner of the paper, handing it to Qingyu.
“My phone number.”
For some reason, Qingyu felt an urge to flee. But she still reached out her hand.
She didn’t get He Kai’s phone number.
A pair of large feet descended from above, stomping on the paper in He Kai’s hand with a “thud.”