The residential building was constructed in 1990—a very precise year.
That was the year Lin Wanxing’s grandfather retired. Her grandparents used their lifelong savings to buy this five-story public housing unit.
Due to the abundance of schools and cultural centers nearby, the ground floor housed after-school tutoring programs and a small convenience store. The upper four floors were residential, with a massive rooftop terrace on the top level.
Lin Wanxing still remembered her childhood days—swindling bubble gum from the convenience store downstairs, then dashing up to the rooftop to compete with other kids over who could blow the biggest bubbles.
Those scenes had grown hazy over time, yet they felt vivid whenever she recalled them.
As for what happened later, she could only piece together fragments from her parents’ occasional conversations.
Her father had resigned from the school where her grandfather had secured him a position, insisting on working in another city. Her grandfather was furious, feeling he had lost face, and their relationship remained strained for over a decade.
Some years, her mother would bring her back to visit her grandfather, but most of the time, she couldn’t return.
Later, she went to university and would come back during winter and summer breaks for a few days. On summer evenings, she, along with her grandparents, would eat watermelon on the rooftop terrace.
Mosquito coil smoke would curl around their feet, and scattered stars dotted the sky.
The story ended with her grandparents passing away.
The elderly couple had donated their bodies to science, so there was no funeral for family to attend.
In the end, she chose to return to her hometown and entrusted a bookmaker with renting out the property, but she never set foot in front of that building again.
Now, on an ordinary night.
She found herself strolling with a boy she wasn’t particularly familiar with, arriving at the foot of her childhood home. The scent of large camphor trees drifted in the evening breeze, like a deep green, surreal dream.
After what felt like a long time, Lin Wanxing turned to the young man and slowly asked, “Do you live here?”
“Top floor. Just moved in.”
It seemed like many unrelated clues were loosely connected, yet they felt insignificant.
Lin Wanxing recalled how the young man had acted somewhat familiar yet distant during their first meeting. According to rental agreement regulations, tenants were supposed to check the landlord’s identification, so had he known who she was all along?
And what about herself… Lin Wanxing thought of the rental contract signed by the bookmaker on her behalf and could only pretend to have a sudden realization: “Oh, you’re…”
She drew out her tone, waiting for the young man to pick up the thread.
Instead, there was a long stretch of silence. Apart from the fragrance of osmanthus trees in the old residential area, there was also the young man’s slightly amused gaze.
Lin Wanxing’s voice trailed off for what felt like an eternity. Just as she could no longer prolong it and awkwardness was about to set in, the young man finally reached out as if seizing the right moment: “Wang Fa, your tenant.”
That’s what he said.
—
Later, Lin Wanxing walked back to school alone.
The night was deep and quiet, with few pedestrians. Calming down, Lin Wanxing reflected on her reaction at the time. After the initial shock, she had let out a stunned monosyllable.
The young man seemed accustomed to people’s reactions upon hearing his name and explained that “Wang Fa” meant “national laws and decrees”—his parents had hoped he would abide by the law.
Though his words were gentle, Lin Wanxing felt there was another layer of meaning to the name. After mulling it over twice, she simply said, “Pretty cool.”
Later, she bid farewell to her new tenant.
Under the night breeze, Lin Wanxing found it all unbelievable.
She had no idea why the young man—oh, rather, why Comrade Wang Fa—had ended up renting her place. She also didn’t understand how they had such a bizarre encounter on that soccer field.
No matter how she thought about it, aside from a few calculated meetings, most human encounters were naturally occurring coincidences.
But Lin Wanxing also remembered the cigarette box Qin Ao had slapped onto her desk. Perhaps she had encountered too many deliberate coincidences lately, leaving her with all sorts of inexplicable thoughts.
In the darkness, Lin Wanxing looked back at her grandparents’ building. The old billboard was now just a steel skeleton in the night. What words had been written on it in her memories were no longer clear.
—
The preliminary round results were announced at noon the next day.
The entire morning and lunch period were packed with the school’s physical education classes.
By noon, the equipment room was filled with sit-up mats and unorganized jump ropes returned by students after their PE classes.
Lin Wanxing bought half a pre-cut watermelon from the fruit shop outside the school’s back gate and returned to the equipment room to slowly reorganize everything.
No familiar faces dropped by at noon—here, “familiar faces” specifically referred to the few students who frequented the place—so Lin Wanxing enjoyed a very leisurely lunch break.
The phone rang while she was eating watermelon on the recliner in the equipment room. The unfamiliar voice on the other end took a moment to register.
The caller carefully confirmed her identity and informed her of the National Youth League preliminary results and the decision to hold an additional match.
Lin Wanxing’s heart raced a little. She immediately sat up from the recliner, walked to the desk, and noted down the time, location, and teams for the additional match as relayed over the phone.
After hanging up, Lin Wanxing set down the pen. The early autumn heat poured in through the window, and the school’s class bell rang.
—
Lin Wanxing didn’t immediately notify the students about the additional match.
Her afternoon passed quickly. The aroma from food stalls outside the school mingled with the hustle and bustle of traffic.
She clocked out as usual. While locking up, she spotted two boys squatting in the shade of a tree outside the equipment room. It was none other than Qin Ao and his designated sidekick, Yu Ming.
Seeing her come out, Qin Ao walked over, his backpack slung over one shoulder, and said impatiently, “Can you at least try to be a little responsible?”
Lin Wanxing was taken aback by the reprimand. “What did I do?”
“Aren’t you going to notify us about today’s training time and meeting spot? You just clock out and try to slip away?”
Lin Wanxing paused for a moment, then continued locking up. Though Qin Ao was indignant, she was even more so: “You already know the training location. If you want to practice, you’ll come anyway.”
“I wouldn’t—” Qin Ao’s eyes widened, but he choked back the rest of his words.
Despite her tough talk, when Lin Wanxing headed toward the school’s back gate, Qin Ao quietly followed behind.
At the school’s back gate, Lin Wanxing “picked up” two more students.
Goalkeeper Feng Suo seemed to have been waiting there for a while, waving at them from a distance. When he saw Qin Ao, he shouted, “Old Qin, you finished the exam early too?”
“Who’s like you?” Qin Ao said as he walked toward the school gate. “I didn’t even take the damn test.”
Both Lin Wanxing and Feng Suo fell silent in unison.
Only then did Lin Wanxing realize there were fewer students on campus that evening than usual.
“Did you all have exams today?” Lin Wanxing asked.
“It’s the unified exam for our grade today,” Feng Suo said.
Lin Wanxing nodded. No wonder so few students had gathered at this hour. She walked out the school gate and greeted Zheng Feiyang, who was squatting outside, casually asking, “Did you all finish your exams?”
“Of course. The kid in front of me is our class’s academic committee member—got connections,” Feng Suo said.
“Is that so?” Lin Wanxing asked with a smile.
“To ace the test, cheating is best,” Feng Suo quipped.
“Teacher, did you used to copy others’ work too?” Yu Ming’s eyes lit up with gossipy curiosity.
“I was alright. Usually, if I did it myself, I’d finish a bit faster than copying,” Lin Wanxing said.
Qin Ao: “…”
Lin Wanxing didn’t comment further on the students who either hadn’t taken the exam or had used “special methods” to finish early. She also didn’t linger at the school gate, instead heading toward the old stadium’s field with the few students who had arrived first.
In the evening, the sunset’s red glow grew increasingly intense.
Lin Wanxing stood at the entrance and looked up. On the bleachers, the familiar figure of the young man appeared.
Oh, right. His name was Wang Fa.
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