July.
Palm trees stretched their emerald leaves under the crystal-clear blue sky, contrasting with Southern University’s orange teaching building. Everywhere one looked was full of vibrant life.
Xie Huai stood before the teaching building, thoughtfully staring at the black loudspeakers mounted on its side.
Over the past two weeks, Yi Meixian had dragged Xie Huai to her office eight times for frequent misconduct.
Three times for skipping the strictest professor’s class.
Two times for deliberately wasting food in the cafeteria.
Once for missing a grade-level meeting.
Once for defying new school rules by selling candied hawthorns on Chunhe Road.
And once for staying out past curfew, attempting to climb the iron gate of the male dormitory’s back garden after the doors were locked. He couldn’t even climb properly, making the gate clang loudly.
The dormitory manager initially didn’t want to bother him, but after half an hour of Xie Huai’s failed attempts and noise that prevented sleep, any mercy was replaced by sleep-deprived irritation.
When the manager went out to catch him, Xie Huai wasn’t even climbing anymore – he was just leaning against the iron gate, kicking it rhythmically.
Unlike high school with its weekly flag-raising ceremonies, the university rarely held all-school assemblies – maybe once in four years. Besides using the broadcasting station’s speakers, Xie Huai had no other chance to make Xia Xia happy in front of the entire faculty and student body.
He deliberately caused trouble, racking his brains just to get a chance at punishment, but Yi Meixian wouldn’t give him what he wanted.
Given Southern University’s culture, even public criticism was only posted on bulletin boards outside dormitories. Broadcasting public self-criticism that would hurt students’ self-esteem wouldn’t be approved by school leadership, even if Yi Meixian agreed.
During exam week, Xie Huai’s mischief not only failed to achieve his goal but earned him three public criticisms.
Two squirrels jumped between the palm tree branches, playing in the foliage.
The blazing sunlight stung Xie Huai’s eyes. He raised his hand to block it. When the pre-class bell rang, he abandoned his plan to climb the tree and catch a squirrel to scare people in the principal’s office and obediently entered the building.
This was the final exam for the Sociology major before the summer break.
Xie Huai hadn’t asked anyone to save him a seat. When he entered the classroom, only the front row was empty.
Xia Xia had already taken her finals at Ocean University and didn’t need to take Southern University’s exams anymore. She was idly leaning against the corridor wall playing with her phone. Seeing Xie Huai’s approach, she straightened up.
She wore simple jeans and a white T-shirt, with a black baseball cap and a heavy-looking backpack.
“Did you study well?”
“No.”
“What have you been doing all this time if you haven’t studied?”
Xie Huai thought about how he’d been wracking his brains trying to fulfill his promise to her, but he didn’t say it. Instead, he lazily messed up his already disheveled hair, looking annoyed.
Xia Xia: “Will you fail?”
“Hard to say.”
Xia Xia twisted his ear: “Say that again!”
“Ow ow ow, it hurts—” Xie Huai grimaced. “Are you trying to murder your future husband?”
“Lower grades are fine, but you’re dead if you fail,” Xia Xia threatened. “If you fail one course, our agreement gets delayed by a year, got it?”
Xie Huai: “…”
Girls could be ruthless when they wanted to be, Xie Huai thought. Xia Xia had finally realized it.
—The power in their relationship had never actually been in Xie Huai’s hands, but in hers.
Comparatively, the one more afraid of being rejected was Xie Huai.
“It’s just failing one course, not like I haven’t failed before.”
“No,” Xia Xia’s voice rose. “I’m top of my major, you understand? Top of my major at Ocean University too. You’re my man – if you fail, it reflects badly on me.”
Xie Huai: “…”
“Got it,” he reached out to pinch her cheek. “I’ll try my best.”
The official exam bell rang, and he let go: “I’m going in.”
Xia Xia’s eyes were clear as she looked at him tenderly: “Good luck on your exam.”
Xie Huai waved, his mind full of Xia Xia’s threat and thoughts about how to get a chance to use the broadcast system.
The exam was two hours long. Xie Huai spent one hour filling half the test paper.
Some students had already started turning in their papers, but he wasn’t rushing to complete the remaining questions. Instead, he stared intently at the proctor.
His phone was in his pocket. If he took it out, the teacher at the podium would notice – that should count as cheating.
Would cheating get him a chance to make a school-wide self-criticism broadcast?
Probably not, but worth a try. If the circumstances were particularly egregious, like if he ignored the serious exam environment and brazenly played a game of Whack-a-Mole in front of the proctor, it would provoke the teacher.
As Xie Huai thought this, his hand unconsciously moved toward his pocket.
Just as he was about to take out his phone, he glanced up to see Xia Xia watching him from the classroom door.
An hour had passed, and she hadn’t left.
She raised an eyebrow, mouthing: “What are you trying to do?”
Xie Huai had to withdraw his hand, abandoning his Whack-a-Mole plan.
Xia Xia watched him for a moment, then mouthed: “I’m leaving.”
Xie Huai thought she was heading back to the dormitory and waved goodbye to her.
After finishing his last exam, Xie Huai sat by the flower bed in front of the teaching building, messaging Xia Xia to ask if she wanted to have lunch together.
Xia Xia didn’t reply.
The school’s broadcast speakers crackled.
After a sharp mechanical sound, a deep male voice began announcing Southern University’s summer vacation and return dates, followed by information about student volunteer programs and summer teaching projects in mountain regions, encouraging students to participate actively.
The broadcasting voice was familiar to Xie Huai – it was Jiang Jingzhou’s friend from the broadcasting station. Jiang Jingzhou had previously asked this friend about the keys, but without the teacher’s approval, his friend couldn’t help.
Listening to the broadcast, Xie Huai felt mischievous.
He checked his watch – it was almost peak lunch hour at the cafeteria. If he waited until after the broadcast finished to eat, he’d be pushed out by the crowd.
With this in mind, Xie Huai strolled toward the cafeteria.
The male student turned off the broadcasting equipment and was about to leave the studio when he saw Xie Huai standing at the door, holding two boxes of fried rice.
“Have you eaten?” Xie Huai smiled brightly, showing clean white teeth. “I brought you lunch.”
The student was startled. Xie Huai put the bag in front of him: “Eat while it’s hot.”
“Even if you bring me food, I won’t lend you the key,” the student took the food but felt Xie Huai had ulterior motives and worried, “The school leaders would kill me.”
“Don’t worry, don’t worry.” Xie Huai casually put his arm around the student’s shoulders. “I’m not here to borrow the key, just purely bringing food. You’re Jingzhou’s friend, I’m Jingzhou’s friend, friend’s friend is a good friend. Brother, it’s just sharing a meal, don’t be nervous.”
The student opened the lunch box.
Xie Huai had been especially generous, adding double portions of beef and a braised egg.
He chatted with Xie Huai while eating: “Actually, there are many ways to pursue a girl, you don’t have to limit yourself to this one. A broadcast confession sounds romantic, but the aftermath is troublesome. Once school leaders come after you, you’ll suffer.”
Xie Huai responded with vague sounds of agreement while focusing on his rice.
After eating half a bowl, he suddenly glanced outside: “I heard Jiang Jingzhou calling you.”
The student’s ears twitched: “No, I didn’t hear anything.”
“He did.” Xie Huai pointed to the corridor outside. “Over there.”
As the student stepped out to look, Xie Huai shut the broadcasting room door and quickly locked it with a click.
The student: “…”
“The school leaders won’t kill you,” Xie Huai sat at the broadcasting equipment, saying coolly. “You didn’t lend me the key – I forced you out. If they want to kill someone, let them come for me.”
Xie Huai turned on the broadcast button and tested the microphone with a few “hello”s. Hearing the echo from various corners of campus, he wasn’t satisfied and turned up the volume.
He cleared his throat several times, hand slowly reaching for his pants pocket.
“Xia Xia,” he raised his arrogant eyebrows in the empty broadcasting room, his expression imperious, his voice both cocky and clear, “Listen up—”
Halfway through his grand statement, he froze.
His pocket was empty – the two-thousand-word love letter he’d spent several nights writing—
—He forgot to bring it!!!
The broadcasting room and office were in the same building. Teachers who heard the commotion came running, knocking on the door: “Xie Huai, turn off the equipment and come out immediately.”
Xie Huai ignored them, continuing to turn up the volume to drown out the sounds from outside.
He’d never passed a Chinese composition test since childhood, and now that he’d finally written something good but forgot to bring it, he’d have to improvise.
“Xia Xia…”
The noon breeze carried sunlight and heat waves through the window.
The sun was scorching and bright, burning away all moisture and gloom in the air. Dust particles danced in the sunbeams, glinting with faint silver light.
The young man had a half-eaten box of beef fried rice beside him, rice grains still stuck to the corners of his mouth.
He looked somewhat nervous, and in the empty room, his handsome face couldn’t help but turn slightly red.
He wiped away the rice grains and unlocked his phone.
His lock screen was a photo of Xia Xia from that snowy Valentine’s Day when he couldn’t resist visiting her in Chang City. Late at night, the girl was covered in brilliant snow light, sleeping peacefully on a KFC sofa.
Looking at the girl’s photo, Xie Huai murmured: “Xia Xia.”
His face grew redder.
Xia Xia struggled to lift her luggage onto the bus, finding the aisle blocked by someone’s extended foot.
She turned to see Cai Yun’s face.
“Excuse me, please.”
Cai Yun glanced at her casually and withdrew her foot.
Jiang Jingzhou sat in the last row and looked surprised to see Xia Xia’s board: “Why are you here?”
Xia Xia took off her cap and smiled at him: “I applied at the last minute. There wasn’t a spot originally, but yesterday a girl was hospitalized with acute appendicitis, so the professor let me substitute.”
Jiang Jingzhou checked his phone and asked again: “You’re not at school?”
Xia Xia twirled in front of him: “Aren’t I standing right in front of you? What’s wrong with Senior today? You’re talking so strangely.”
Jiang Jingzhou’s expression was complicated: “Then who is Xie Huai confessing to?”
Xia Xia didn’t hear clearly: “What?”
Jiang Jingzhou handed her his phone, showing an audio clip sent by a friend.
Xia Xia took it puzzled and pressed play.
Xie Huai’s voice, amplified several times through the microphone, came through:
“Xia Xia, you better listen up.”
Xia Xia was so startled she almost dropped the phone.
The audio was silent for a long time, and just when Xia Xia thought there was nothing more, Xie Huai’s voice rang out again. There was no tender confession she’d imagined, no gentle profession of love.
Xie Huai spoke without logic or structure, his voice fierce and domineering.
“I’ve told you a million times, I’ve never liked anyone else, never liked others, but you won’t believe me. Now I’m telling you in front of the whole school, will you believe it?”
“Brother Huai has only ever liked you, liked you so much I’m going crazy. When you ignore me, I can’t eat or sleep well. Every night I have nightmares about you running off with someone else. I cursed the man who took you away all night in my sleep and disturbed Xin Pu’s rest, and you’re still being dramatic with me. You’re going to be the death of me.”
“Come to the broadcasting room immediately after you hear this. I can’t wait a year anymore, don’t want to wait even one day.”
“Brother Huai loves you, really loves you, loves you to death, you hear me?”
Xie Huai’s voice was full of defeat: “The vice dean and counselor are blocking the door, they’re definitely going to drag me to the office for thought education. I can’t even leave the broadcasting room. Come find me, I need to talk to you properly.”
Xia Xia covered her mouth, half disbelieving, half too shocked to speak.
Her emotions were completely mixed, leaving her momentarily speechless, standing there unable to utter a word.
Soon after Xie Huai finished speaking, she heard a slightly lower but exasperated voice in the recording.
“Xie Huai, are you an idiot?”
Yi Meixian was so angry she cursed: “Xia Xia already left with the project team for rural research. What talk? What the hell are you talking about!”