Thе lеtter was dеlivered during thе first brеаk оf еvеning self-study. Fоr this, Lin Haiyang even mаnаged tо scаm а bоttlе of sроrts drink frоm Wаng Jingjing.
Dеnse rаin slanted down, аnd thе railings оutside the clаssroom wеre hung with mostlу blасk аnd grау umbrеllas. On thе dаrk glass, thе silhоuеttes оf students in twоs аnd threes wеrе reflеcted. Jiang Du sаt there with a сlеаr and trаnquil mind, motionless. Тhе lеtter wаs writtеn, аs if а сеrtain missiоn hаd beеn cоmpletеd. Bесаuse shе hеld nо hоpe at аll, she could instead рlunge headfirst intо studying during the nеxt сlаss.
Lin Hаiyang wasn’t close with Wei Qingyue, but boys tend to speak bluntly and straightforwardly with each other, making communication easy. He simply knocked on the window of Class One and waited for someone to open it before saying, “Could you call Wei Qingyue out?”
A boy soon emerged.
“Your letter,” Lin Haiyang handed it to him.
As if assuming Wei Qingyue would know who wrote it.
Wei Qingyue took it in his hand, glanced down, and saw it had the same envelope as the one he had looked at on the balcony last time.
He shook the letter in his hand and asked, “Who wrote it?”
Only then did Lin Haiyang realize: Wei Qingyue was no ordinary person—he received too many letters and had likely long forgotten the previous one. He thought to himself, Wang Jingjing was wasting her effort; these girls were just infatuated with Wei Qingyue.
“Wang Jingjing from Class Two. Buddy, you probably don’t know who she is, right? Let me point her out to you.” Lin Haiyang was overly enthusiastic, but Wei Qingyue remained indifferent. An unfamiliar name held no interest for him. “No need.”
“She sits by the window…” Lin Haiyang’s words trailed off as he suddenly stopped. Wang Jingjing was peeking furtively from the end of the corridor. He chuckled and pointed, “Her, she wrote it for you.”
At the end of the corridor, a group of girls stood. Wei Qingyue glanced over but couldn’t make out who was who. He said, “Thanks,” and turned to walk back into the classroom.
Top students were just like that—always so distinctive. Lin Haiyang sauntered back and teased Wang Jingjing again, and the two ended up playfully wrestling in the classroom. Jiang Du said nothing. She quietly rested her head on the desk, lost in thought for a while. When the bell for the second evening self-study session rang, she cleared her mind and began focusing on her study materials.
The autumn rain drizzled on without end.
Mei Zhong was large, and there was quite a distance between the teaching building and the dormitory. Evening self-study ended at ten, and crowds surged toward the hot water room. A long string of streetlights stretched forward, and the paths were filled with open umbrellas.
Wei Qingyue wasn’t in a hurry to leave. Alone, he stood by the window of the now-empty corridor and read the letter.
The sound of rain was right beside his ears. He truly followed the direction of the window, searching for the tree near the library—a dark, shadowy mass, so tall it hardly resembled a person.
Some people were having late-night snacks in the cafeteria. The sudden drop in temperature made everyone especially hungry, particularly the growing teenagers in their adolescence with their hearty appetites. Some went through an awkward phase during these years, eating their way into a stocky build—a regrettable low point in appearance that many would rather forget. Most were already in that awkward stage of development, so those who managed to look strikingly attractive during this period were truly rare.
Jiang Du’s Grandma made sweet chili sauce, one jar for her and one for Wang Jingjing. Lin Haiyang had seen the two dipping fried chicken legs in the sauce in the cafeteria. After trying it once, he became addicted and shamelessly asked Jiang Du for some. After fetching hot water, the three of them gathered around, dipping warm steamed buns into the sauce. Lin Haiyang had a huge mouth—with one bite, half a bun was gone.He could eat three steamed buns in one meal, which meant... six bites. Jiang Du was doing strange mental arithmetic when Wang Jingjing started scolding him:
"You're so shameless! The jar is so small, and you keep dipping until it's almost empty. How mean!"
"Why are you so worked up? The sauce is Jiang Du's, not yours."
"If you're so brave, don't touch mine! This jar was given to me by Jiang Du's grandma. Why are you dipping into mine?"
As the two bickered back and forth, Lin Haiyang suddenly shouted, "Wei Qingyue! Wang Jingjing is offering you some sauce!"
At those words, Jiang Du's heart seemed to stop. She couldn't help but look up. Sure enough, a familiar figure stood at the cafeteria entrance. Under the lights, in the interplay of brightness and shadow, the boy was closing his umbrella.
Lin Haiyang had sharp eyes. Wang Jingjing covered her face, letting out a series of embarrassed "ahhhs" as she sat there, squirming slightly. She genuinely felt a bit shy—being seen by her crush eating steamed buns dipped in sauce felt awkward.
Wei Qingyue, however, was more composed than they expected. As he approached, he glanced in their direction. Beside her, Wang Jingjing fumbled nervously and said, "Hey, Wei Qingyue, here to refuel too? Want some sauce?"
Jiang Du's mouth went stiff, and her chewing slowed involuntarily. The more people were around, the less courage she had to look up at Wei Qingyue. Instead, she stared fixedly at the dark, glossy glass jar.
"Thanks, but I'm not really used to eating this. Enjoy your meal." Wei Qingyue said this while looking at Wang Jingjing. Wang Jingjing—she was Wang Jingjing. He silently repeated the name in his mind, finding it hard to connect her appearance with those two letters.
Beside her sat a quiet girl who hadn't even lifted her face. Her cheeks were slightly puffed, as if she were eating. Wei Qingyue suddenly found her amusing—pretending not to see him so quickly.
Not many food counters were open in the cafeteria. Wei Qingyue bought something simple to fill his stomach. When it came to food and clothing, he wasn't particularly fussy. Wei Zhendong was particular about everything, so he chose to be casual about everything.
Outside, the rain grew heavier for a while. Lin Haiyang started singing "Cold Rainy Night," his voice cracking like a broken gong, with the pitch splitting after just two lines. Wang Jingjing, annoyed, covered her ears, but Jiang Du asked him seriously:
"Whose song are you singing?"
"Beyond's. The lead singer is Wong Ka-kui." Lin Haiyang mentioned a name unfamiliar to Jiang Du. Most girls their age liked Jay Chou, but the name Wong Ka-kui carried an old-fashioned aura. Upon further questioning, she learned it was a Hong Kong rock band whose lead singer had passed away when their generation was just two years old—no wonder she hadn't heard of him.
Lin Haiyang took out his MP3 player and handed the earphones to Jiang Du, smiling as he said, "But this version is originally sung by Wong Ka-keung."
As she put on the earphones, the intro played, evoking the sound of cold, dripping raindrops. Jiang Du instantly fell in love with the song.
While the group discussed Hong Kong singers, Wei Qingyue's figure had quietly disappeared at some point. Lin Haiyang and Wang Jingjing didn't notice, but Jiang Du did. He had bought his food and left directly from the other side without even glancing in their direction.
I want to share this song with you, Jiang Du thought silently. On the way back, the raindrops under the streetlights shimmered like fine needles. She stared blankly at the rain all the way home, knowing that Wei Qingyue probably hadn't read the letter.The osmanthus at school had withered, the weather grew colder, and darkness fell earlier each day. Life went on day by day, with no one holding any expectations for that letter. By the time midterm exams were over, everyone suddenly realized how quickly time could pass—in the blink of an eye, more than half of the first semester of senior high school had gone by.
Calculating it this way, it seemed the third year of high school was fast approaching. In the midterms, Jiang Du’s ranking had dropped instead of rising, and even a fall of two places in class felt painful. She had studied just as hard as before, but while her class ranking slipped by two spots, her grade-level ranking fell much further.
On the announcement board, Wei Qingyue remained the dazzling top scorer, exceptionally steady. Every one of his subject scores was firmly etched in Jiang Du’s mind—the gap was huge. The girl couldn’t help feeling somewhat frustrated, though she didn’t know why she was absurdly comparing herself to Wei Qingyue. If anyone should be using him as a benchmark, it ought to be someone like Zhang Xiaoqiang with her grades, right?
Returning home for the weekend, Jiang Du told her grandparents about the midterm results. Grandpa was washing fish in the kitchen, where a faint fishy scent lingered. A clump of bloody mess sat in the trash bin, and Jiang Du squatted nearby helping to peel garlic.
“Don’t get arrogant in victory or discouraged in defeat. Fluctuations in ranking are normal—just keep working hard!” Grandpa began chopping the fish head with vigorous energy. On the stove lay peppercorns clipped from the pepper tree back in their hometown in early autumn. Jiang Du hummed in acknowledgment, picking up two peppercorns and holding them gently under her nose to sniff—they carried the scent of the season.
Grandma was stringing red chili peppers in the living room. They lived on the first floor, with a small vegetable garden at the entrance where they grew some vegetables. When they had more than they could eat, they would give the extras to their neighbors. Hearing the granddaughter and grandfather discussing grades, she started discussing with the old man about arranging tutoring for Jiang Du.
So expensive—that was Jiang Du’s first reaction. She didn’t want tutoring. But math and physics were indeed her weak spots, though she planned to choose the humanities track, so physics tutoring felt like a waste.
“You should at least get some help with math,” Grandma said.
Jiang Du gazed at the string of red chili peppers, still undecided: “Math for the humanities track in the second year should be easier, right? Maybe things will get better.”
“Better to prepare early,” Grandma said, untying her apron. “Your math isn’t that bad to begin with. A little tutoring could take you to the next level. Maybe there’s just a block somewhere—once it’s cleared, you’ll improve.”
The elderly woman even made a funny gesture, and Jiang Du laughed along.
After discussing it over a meal, the family decided to hire a one-on-one math tutor for Jiang Du during the winter break.
The tutoring center was located in an office building downtown, where trial sessions were available. Grandpa took Jiang Du to check it out first. As they entered the elevator, they noticed a boy carrying a guitar just a few steps away from the elevator door. Jiang Du quickly pressed the button to hold it open.
The boy wore a hooded sweatshirt, half his head tucked into the hood, with baggy jeans in a faded color. He looked, well, cool—a word everyone loved to use popped into Jiang Du’s mind the moment he stepped in.
“Thanks,” the boy said without even looking up.
The elevator door slowly closed, the space narrow. Jiang Du froze—she recognized Wei Qingyue by his voice.
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