After one typhoon passed and another approached Huanzhou, the tutoring sessions ended. During the six-day gap before school officially started, the first three days were scorching, followed by two days of heavy rain. On the sixth day, the sun reappeared, bright and fresh, as if heralding another summer. Seeing that the rain had stopped, Qiao Qingyu stood up from her small desk where she had been sitting for days, grabbed her keys, and left.
This time, she was genuinely heading to the bookstore.
She first stopped by the shop to inform Qiao Lusheng of her plans. At 2:30 PM, the quietest time for the store, her appearance surprised and delighted Qiao Huan, who was leaning against the cash register. “Qingqing!” she exclaimed, rushing out to greet her. “What brings you here?”
Qingyu explained she was going to buy study guides and wanted to let her father know.
“Your dad just left to buy groceries. He said we’re low on beef,” Qiao Huan said, pulling Qingyu to sit at a random table. “Go ahead if you need to. I’ll tell your dad later.”
Since Qiao Huan had found her place, Qingyu had only exchanged brief, polite greetings with her over the past several months. Now, with no one else in the store, Qiao Huan’s words contradicted her actions as she held onto Qingyu’s hand, so Qingyu decided to stay seated.
“Sister Qiao Huan, you’ve lost weight. You look good.”
Qiao Huan laughed heartily. “Your parents probably haven’t told you, but I’m seeing someone.”
“Oh?”
“He lives in Chaoyang New Village too, two years older than me, from Shunyun – we’re from the same hometown,” Qiao Huan said with a shy smile, her eyes sparkling. “He’s a plumber, not much to look at, but honest.”
Her genuine joy was contagious.
“That’s great,” Qingyu couldn’t help but smile, sharing in Qiao Huan’s contentment. “Great.”
“We met when he came to eat at the shop a few times,” Qiao Huan said cheerfully. “We started dating in March, so it’s been almost half a year. We’re planning to get married. I just moved in with him a couple of days ago.”
“That’s wonderful.”
“He wanted to get married during the National Day holiday, but I said no,” Qiao Huan shook her head. “I told him your family is going through a tough time, and it’s not easy to find reliable help for the shop. I said I need to help you all first, and we’ll talk about marriage after your mom returns.”
Qingyu felt guilty. “Won’t that delay your plans?”
“Not at all,” Qiao Huan winked. “Your mom said the same thing. She said it’s okay to date longer and marry later, but we can’t make a mistake. It takes time to judge someone’s character.”
“I see.”
“Your mom also said there are things we must discuss before marriage, especially about having children – whether we must have a son, how many children we want,” Qiao Huan continued, smiling. “She said we must talk to his parents about having children because his agreement alone isn’t enough. Your mom said she was too naive back then, thinking your dad’s stable job meant he wouldn’t dare violate family planning policies. Who knew your grandparents would be so stubborn about having a grandson? I think your mom is right. She has experience.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Ah it’s too early to talk about this with you. You’re still young,” Qiao Huan laughed. “Plus, you’re pretty and smart. You’ll have plenty of choices when the time comes. Not like me – I’m lucky to find someone compatible… You should go buy your books now. If you go too late, the bus ride back will be crowded.”
Qingyu hadn’t thought about such distant matters. However, she wasn’t ready to leave yet.
“Sister Qiao Huan,” she said, “can you tell me about my sister?”
“Your sister?” Qiao Huan was surprised, then smiled. “You’re her sister. You must know her better than I do.”
“Well,” Qingyu smiled, touching her forehead, “I just want to talk about her with someone…”
“Ah you miss her,” Qiao Huan nodded understandingly. “Of course you do! She was so beautiful like she stepped out of a painting. When she lived in the village, it was lively. Boys from neighboring villages always came to play… But she was sensible and didn’t mess around. She was timid, always sticking close to Jinrui when going out. I’ve mentioned it before, right? When Jinrui took Little Bai out, her dress and shoes never got dirty.”
She suddenly stopped, looking apologetically at Qingyu. “Ah my big mouth, mentioning him again… It’s just that I wasn’t close to your sister before. In the village, I mostly saw her with Jinrui. I knew Jinrui better… Let’s not talk about that.”
“You went to the same middle school as my sister, right?” Qingyu asked. “Was she happy at school?”
“I was two grades above her. When she was in seventh grade, I was already in ninth,” Qiao Huan said, recalling. “I didn’t know her well… I’m not sure if she was happy, but she was famous. Boys from other schools came to see her…”
“Was there anything memorable that happened?”
“I can’t remember,” Qiao Huan tried to recall. “I think she had stomach problems, often had stomachaches, and didn’t participate much in PE classes. Oh, right, I heard – you know she transferred to Shunyun in eighth grade, right? I heard that when she was in eighth grade, there was a male student teacher, and they seemed to…”
She looked at Qingyu cautiously. “They seemed to have some trouble. Student teachers don’t stay long, and your sister transferred soon after.”
“Was the male teacher gentle?”
“I heard he was nice,” Qiao Huan confirmed.
An older male figure. Although Qiao Huan was vague, Qingyu didn’t want to inquire further.
“Sister Qiao Huan, do you think,” she hesitated, “what I did was too much?”
“Well, how to put this,” Qiao Huan shook her head, troubled. “You sisters were close. You were young, so your actions were understandable.”
“Would my sister blame me for causing so much trouble for Brother Jinrui?”
“It’s a pity about Jinrui,” Qiao Huan sighed, looking up. “But at least he’s okay. He can find another job. It’s fate, I suppose. It’s more of a pity about your sister, passing away so young.”
Seeing Qingyu’s tense, silent expression, she raised her hand to pat the back of Qingyu’s head, offering comfort with a smile. “Life goes on. Don’t dwell on the past. You’re in your final year of high school now. Focus on your studies. Go buy your study guides.”
Qingyu left the bookstore at 4 PM, walking under the scorching sun to the bus stop, carrying a bag of study guides. Her palms quickly became sweaty. While waiting to cross the street, a deep red convertible suddenly approached the sidewalk, its low engine rumble startling Qingyu, causing her to step back several times. The car disappeared around the corner, accelerating, but Qingyu caught a clear glimpse – in the passenger seat, facing away and looking to the side, his hair tousled by the wind and sunlight, was Mingsheng.
She had seen him earlier while browsing books. Wearing a white T-shirt, he suddenly appeared from behind a pillar, startling Qingyu, who nearly cried out. He seemed not to notice her, crouching down to look for books, blocking the exit. Qingyu had to tiptoe silently behind him to pass.
Later, at checkout, she saw him again with another slightly shorter, older-looking boy, queuing in another line to her right rear. She overheard their conversation, soft voices alternating between Chinese and English, mainly discussing American universities. The boy seemed to be his cousin, accompanying him to buy books. Their line moved slightly faster, and they placed their books on the counter at the same time as Qingyu. The boy faced Mingsheng, resting his arm on the counter between them, stepping back slightly and accidentally bumping into Qingyu’s shoulder.
“Oh, sorry,” the boy turned to look at Qingyu. Mingsheng remained impassive, not even raising an eyelid.
Qingyu hastily shook her head, quickly saying “It’s okay” twice. The checkout continued and ended swiftly. As she left the bookstore, Qingyu felt she had acted nervously, which led to self-dissatisfaction.
She had thought she’d moved on, but seeing him suddenly made her heart flutter again. After two months apart, he seemed noticeably different. He appeared more confident in his height, cool and distant, yet without the childish arrogance – now a proud young man.
He seemed unattainable.
That night, Qingyu packed her organized test papers and books into her schoolbag, preparing for the official start of her senior year the next day. During these days without Li Fanghao at home, she had been acting mechanically, her routine as precise as clockwork. As she inserted the last new light green soft-cover notebook, she hesitated, then opened it and carefully wrote on the blank title page: “There will come a time to ride the wind and break the waves, to set sail and cross the vast sea.”
As she wrote, her pen paused, remembering the calligraphy Qiao Baiyu had written at twelve. She suddenly realized – back then, Baiyu’s words were meant for Qiao Jinrui, who was about to take the college entrance exam.
Ah.
This notebook would be for recording mistakes. Qingyu thought as she tucked the light green book into her bag.
Mingsheng was right; she was indeed a dull person. Every day, she moved between just three points: classroom, cafeteria, and home. Silent and withdrawn, she read too many profound world classics, her mind filled with heavy thoughts. This was her, Qiao Qingyu, an uninteresting girl – not light-hearted, not at ease, not beautiful.
The sound of a key in the lock indicated Qiao Lusheng’s return from the shop.
Lately, he had been coming home an hour or so later than usual. With Li Fanghao away, he had more to do. He no longer watched TV after returning, usually just showering and going straight to bed. Today, unusually, he didn’t shower but knocked on Qingyu’s plywood door.
“Qingqing asleep?”
“No,” Qingyu got up to unlatch the door. “Dad.”
“Mm, sit,” Qiao Lusheng entered, settling on the bed corner. “School starts tomorrow. You’re officially a senior now.”
“Yes.”
“Is studying difficult?”
“Not really.”
Qiao Lusheng looked at her, tilting his head slightly, his tired, drooping eyes full of love.
“You’ll have evening self-study too, right?”
“It’s optional,” Qingyu replied, “but the study atmosphere at school is good, so I’ll come home after evening sessions.”
“Better study at home. Mom and I will buy you an air conditioner. Not hot in summer, not cold in winter,” Qiao Lusheng said, stretching his hunched back and yawning widely. “It gets dark early now. Better to come home earlier.”
“Okay.”
Father and daughter fell silent. Qiao Lusheng closed his tired eyes, tears from his yawn filling the creases at the corners, glistening.
“Dad.”
Qiao Lusheng opened his eyes.
“Is it hard for you?”
“Not hard,” he shook his head, standing up. “We’ve weathered so many storms. Now it’s just about supporting your college education. No other thoughts. Not hard… Get to bed early.”
He left, closing the door. The fan under the window hummed, cicadas desperately trying to hold onto summer’s heat, just like every year before. Qingyu sat quietly for a while, then instead of going to bed, she turned on her computer.
“I love you too.”
Centered, enlarged, then enter, enter again. The title’s four words were pure gold, typing line after line felt like weaving a basket, just to catch their constantly dripping fragments. What drove her was the sincerity in her heart. In the quiet of the night, Qingyu stopped typing, turned off the computer, set her alarm, went to bed, and fell into a deep sleep.
The next day, she spent two hours first reading and revising the article she had written in one go the night before, then carefully copying it onto clean letter paper. On the third day, after returning home, she cut out the New Concept Writing Competition entry form from “Sprout” magazine, filled in her school and name information, leaving the photo and phone number fields blank, and folded it together with the copied article into an envelope. On the fourth day, after finishing the senior year preliminary exams, she stamped the envelope, wrote the address on Julu Road in Shanghai, and dropped it into a mailbox.
September had arrived, yet the sun remained scorching, melting stones and flowing gold.
Qingyu still walked without an umbrella. She didn’t know if the sunlight had darkened her skin a bit, but she hoped it had, as a mark of her existence this summer.
In this sweltering summer, apart from the sea of exam papers, the world felt empty.