Thеrе wаs а musiс store in the оffiсe building, and Wеi Qingyue hаd соmе tо buу some smаll accessories.
Jiаng Du quiеtly оbservеd him frоm а сornеr. With hеr grаndра right besidе her, she had tо аct nаturally. If she wеre to grеet him, it had tо арреаr аs the most оrdinаry аlumni rеlаtionshiр.
But thеn аgain, that wаs еxаctly what thеy were.
Тhе wеathеr was chilly, аnd Jiаng Du’s thrоat wаsn’t fееling grеаt. А sudden itсh mаde hеr want tо cough, but shе was аfrаid оf drawing Wеi Qingуuе’s аttention. So, likе a little kitten, she cоvered her mоuth and let оut two mufflеd сoughs. Нer grandpa suddenly called out, “Jiang Du, do you have a cold?”
Oh no…
She immediately panicked. Sure enough, Wei Qingyue turned around ahead of them. He pushed his cap back, revealing his slightly grown-out hair—a bit messy but unexpectedly… quite good-looking. She liked his hair.
Jiang Du awkwardly forced a faint smile and raised her hand just a little. “Hi.”
She didn’t even know why she greeted him like that. What was with the “hi”? But classmates occasionally bumped into each other on the street and exchanged a casual “hi” like this.
Her grandpa looked at the two of them in surprise, clearly not expecting that Jiang Du knew the boy who had entered the elevator after them.
The elevator doors opened, and Wei Qingyue got off on the same floor as the grandfather and granddaughter. He was much more natural and composed than she was, smiling and saying, “What a coincidence?” Then, he also greeted Jiang Du’s grandpa. Her grandpa, straightforward as ever, directly told Wei Qingyue that Jiang Du was there to see a tutor and asked if he was also looking for extra lessons.
Her face flushed with embarrassment, and she tugged at her grandpa’s sleeve, saying awkwardly, “He’s the top student in our school.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted them. Elders were always like this—if they found out your classmate was the top student, a barrage of comments like “How impressive!” or “Look at how they study!” would inevitably follow.
Although her grandpa wasn’t that exaggerated, he gave Wei Qingyue a thumbs-up and said with a smile, “Jiang Du, you should learn more from your classmate. With the right study methods, you can achieve twice the results with half the effort.”
Wei Qingyue maintained the most basic politeness and soon said, “I’ll head over there first. Goodbye.”
“Goodbye.” Jiang Du stiffly waved her hand, her heart finally settling quietly. She didn’t dare look her grandpa in the eye, afraid he might notice something. As they walked, she said, “Grandpa, Wei Qingyue and I aren’t in the same class. We’re not close, so I didn’t feel comfortable greeting him in the elevator. And you even told me to learn from him.”
Her grandpa didn’t think much of it. “What’s the big deal? Classmates should help each other.”
Hearing this, Jiang Du smiled again. It sounded like something an elementary school teacher would say. She replied, “If a bunch of people went to ask him for help every day, would he even have time to study?”
During the trial lesson, her grandpa went back first. When she was little and attended extracurricular classes, her grandpa would ride his bicycle to drop her off and pick her up. She would wear a little dress, long socks, and shoes with butterfly bows that fluttered in the wind. Later, she could take the bus by herself. Now that she was in high school, if it was her first time doing something, her grandpa would still insist on accompanying her.
So, not having parents around didn’t seem to be such a big problem.
She hadn’t expected today to be one coincidence after another. During the break between classes, she ran into Wei Qingyue again near the restroom.
Today truly felt like a day blessed by the god of luck. Jiang Du held her breath."Why do you always pretend not to see me?" Wei Qingyue smiled, his eyes sparkling.
It was precisely because she liked him that she pretended not to see him. Jiang Du was momentarily dazed before snapping back to reality, hurriedly explaining in a fluster, "That's not it."
As she spoke, the girl tightened her grip on her clothes.
"Just joking." Wei Qingyue glanced behind her a few times. "Here for math tutoring?"
Jiang Du nodded, unable to resist asking him, "What about you? I see you're carrying what looks like a guitar. Do you play an instrument?"
"Just learning for fun when I'm bored."
"You really know a lot of things," she praised him cautiously.
Wei Qingyue looked indifferent. "Just playing around, not that good at it either. Just passing the time." He always spoke like this—everything light as a feather, as if nothing in the world weighed heavily on him.
"I think you must play very well, just like studying—effortlessly skilled." Jiang Du tried her best to appear conversational. While he was speaking, her mind was already nervously brewing and pondering what to say next.
Wei Qingyue smiled. "Just average, casually learning."
Some high-achieving students hated it most when others said they worked hard or were caught studying. They always claimed they did poorly on exams or didn't review well... yet when results came out, they were consistently excellent. Wei Qingyue never said anything insincere. He wasn't humble, nor did he boast. He spoke his mind without needing to prove anything deliberately, and Jiang Du knew he was telling the truth.
How strange—she believed everything he said.
"If only I were half as smart as you, I wouldn't need tutoring," the girl said reservedly.
Wei Qingyue appeared utterly unemotional, speaking carelessly, "What's there to tutor in math? It's the same stuff over and over."
Jiang Du felt embarrassed by his words, as if she were some kind of fool. For a moment, she didn't know how to respond.
Wei Qingyue finally realized his phrasing was inappropriate and simply smiled. "Didn't mean to call you dumb. Maybe," he paused briefly to think, "you just haven't had your breakthrough yet."
The boy glanced down at his watch. "I should get going."
She didn't hope for time to stop—just for it to slow down a little. Jiang Du restrained her emotions, forcing a slight smile. "Mm, goodbye."
Wei Qingyue had already turned to leave but suddenly looked back, calling out to her, "Jiang Du."
It was just an ordinary call of her name, yet Jiang Du felt a fine, dense pain immediately spread across her chest, tugging at her. She didn't understand why the sensation was so intense.
Struggling to remain calm, she turned back. "Is there something else?"
"That Wang Jingjing..." Wei Qingyue had only thought to ask on a whim, but the words seemed to scatter like dust in the wind before he could speak them. He didn't know how to phrase it and shook his head with a smile. "Never mind. Your essay was read aloud in class by the Chinese teacher again."
Jiang Du could only tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "Actually, my essays aren't that good."
"I don't know if it's just my impression..." Wei Qingyue trailed off, blinking. Then he abruptly changed the subject. "That tree in front of the school library—at night, it looks like a person standing there. Have you ever noticed?"
Her heartbeat suddenly spiraled out of control, catching her off guard. Jiang Du even forgot to blink. What did he know? Why was he asking this? Their gazes met, like a dragonfly lightly skimming the surface of water.She tried her best to feign a puzzled expression, but her voice trembled slightly: "A tree? Are there trees near the library? I don’t think I noticed."
"Is that so?" Wei Qingyue couldn’t quite describe the feeling that washed over him upon hearing her answer—subtle, ambiguous, with no words to capture it precisely. He smiled silently and turned to leave.
The boy eventually stepped into the elevator, leaving Jiang Du standing there in a daze for a moment. Suddenly, she dashed to the window, her eyes fixed intently downward, waiting for a figure to appear.
Soon, the boy’s hooded sweatshirt, jeans, and the guitar on his back came clearly into view. Jiang Du stared unblinkingly as the figure moved, free from pressure or the need to worry about anyone’s gaze, like untamed vines growing boundlessly.
He passed the fountain, rounded the flower bed, walked to the tree to retrieve his bicycle, and rode straight down the steps, bouncing a few times. There was a traffic light ahead—one, two, three, four… Jiang Du counted silently in her heart. Wei Qingyue waited seventeen seconds for the red light to turn green, then crossed to the other side. Silk trees lined both sides of the road until, finally, the boy’s figure vanished into the endless stream of traffic, no longer discernible.
Jiang Du suddenly turned around and leaned against the glass, her hands empty.
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