Wаng Jingjing asked Wеi Qingуuе whу hе hadn’t comе tо schoоl, then addеd, “Lеt’s сhаt оn QQ instеad. Writing lettеrs is actually prettу trоublesоme.”
Whеn this mеssаgе cаmе thrоugh, Wеi Qingуue lаughed and reрliеd:
I thought уou reallу enjoуed writing lettеrs tо mе.
Wаng Jingjing thоught tо hеrself, Thаt’s suсh an оld-fаshiоned wаy tо сommunicаtе—I onlу used it in elemеntary schооl whеn I had рen pals. Shе tурed оut а linе in а flurrу:
Didn’t wаnt to distrасt the tоp studеnt from studying.
Тhe twо оf thеm chаttеd in this drу mаnner, and aftеr just a few sentencеs, Wei Qingyue sаid he was gоing offlinе аnd would tаlk later.
This “talk later” truly took a very, very long time. By the time final exams rolled around, Wang Jingjing would still ask “Are you there?” online whenever she had the chance, but she never wrote back to Wei Qingyue. Of course, his “talk later” never led to another conversation either.
“Is Wei Qingyue deliberately keeping people hanging? He doesn’t reply to messages, so why did he let me add him in the first place?” Wang Jingjing complained while snacking. In the dorm room, she was the only one lying in bed, surrounded by a mess of potato chip crumbs, occasionally brushing them off.
She couldn’t understand—since they were already friends online, why couldn’t they just talk there? Why insist on writing letters? It seemed completely unnecessary.
Jiang Du listened quietly, unsure of what she was feeling. To be precise, for a moment, hearing that Wei Qingyue hadn’t been in frequent contact with Wang Jingjing made her happy. But this happiness felt shameful, undeniably petty.
“Maybe… he just hopes you’ll write back,” Jiang Du said, pretending to be calm as she organized her closet.
“I really don’t know what to write. You know, if we were just chatting, jumping from one topic to another, I could keep up. But asking me to write a letter? That’s so hard!” Wang Jingjing, tired of lying down, tossed her snacks aside and sprawled out. “I really want to fall in love—with Wei Qingyue!”
Such bold, attention-grabbing words were something Jiang Du wouldn’t dare think, let alone say. But Wang Jingjing was different—not only did she dare think it, she dared say it. Even if she didn’t truly feel that much desire, she could act with a thousand times the enthusiasm. Jiang Du was the complete opposite—she always tried to maintain composure, at least appearing indifferent on the surface.
She didn’t know if she was being hypocritical. Compared to Wang Jingjing, she certainly wasn’t as open and straightforward.
“Falling in love…” Jiang Du admitted that the term felt distant and dreamlike to her. Her tone was tentative, almost timid. “What exactly does it mean?”
Wang Jingjing flipped over abruptly, poking half her head out, and said without restraint, “It means holding hands, kissing—you know? Some girls at our school, especially those in the arts, aren’t virgins anymore.”
Jiang Du’s face flushed bright red with embarrassment, though she didn’t know why she felt so flustered. She closed the closet door, turned the key, and the hanging charms jingled noisily.
Wang Jingjing was truly bold. Jiang Du’s heart raced chaotically.
Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of other roommates.
However, as the end of the semester approached, everyone was focused on studying for exams. Though Wang Jingjing would occasionally grumble a few words, most of the time, she knew to focus on what mattered. Jiang Du wanted to urge her several times to write back to Wei Qingyue before the break, but in the end, those words never left her mouth.
During the two days of exams, it was unusually cold. Jiang Du, who was sensitive to the cold, sat alone at her desk. The weather was gloomy, and after two hours in the classroom, her whole body felt icy, her feet numb.She wasn't wearing the cotton shoes Grandma had made. How to put it? She also had a little girl's vanity. Grandma's cotton shoes were very warm, but they looked so bulky, so thick—practically like an aircraft carrier.
Ah, people always become less pure as they grow up. When she was little, she took pride in Grandma's craftsmanship. Putting on new cotton shoes made her feel so pretty. Now it had turned into, "It's fine, Grandma, I'm not cold. I'll just wear these."
But her feet were truly freezing. Jiang Du endured until the last exam, feeling like her feet no longer belonged to her.
It was so cold, yet Lin Haiyang was the boldest. After the exams ended, everyone returned to their classrooms. Teacher Xu arranged for cleaning duties and reminded everyone about holiday precautions. Once the teacher left, Lin Haiyang, as if performing a magic trick, tossed a pile of wood shavings at the front of the classroom.
He took the lead, and a few boys went to the school's small grove to gather dry branches, starting a fire. Everyone was quite delighted. The boys took off their shoes, propping their feet up to warm them.
Jiang Du had volunteered for cleaning duty. Watching them make a ruckus, she smiled without saying a word, silently sweeping the floor and arranging the desks and chairs by herself. The others gradually abandoned their tasks to join the fire.
"You guys are really daring, burning this in the classroom! Aren't you afraid the administration will come after you?" Zhang Xiaoqiang laughed as she blended into the group of boys. Everyone chatted and laughed together. In the end, it was Lin Haiyang who pulled Jiang Du over, snatched the broom from her hands, and said, "What are you sweeping for? We boys will take care of it later. Come warm up by the fire—I can see you're so cold you can barely hold the broom!"
Jiang Du initially wanted to decline, but she couldn't resist Lin Haiyang's enthusiasm. As she neared the firelight, a wave of warmth washed over her face, making her instinctively want to get closer. She set her stool down and squeezed in with the others, listening to them talk about their holiday plans.
She was shy and felt awkward in large groups, unsure how to join the conversation. She listened intently, secretly thinking about what she could say. By the time she mustered the courage, the words she had prepared were no longer appropriate—the topic had already jumped elsewhere, and there was no way to fit them in, even with adjustments.
"Jiang Du, are you going out during the holiday? There's a new amusement park near Central Park. Oh, and I heard the city library has heating this winter." Zhang Xiaoqiang, noticing Jiang Du's silence, took the initiative to speak to her. Jiang Du gave her a grateful smile and said, "I might go back to my hometown during the holiday."
"Your hometown? Is that where your grandma..." Zhang Xiaoqiang was particularly sharp. Before finishing her sentence, she suddenly remembered something. That's right—at the beginning of the semester, she and the class monitor had collected forms for personal information. Because Jiang Du had the highest score in Chinese, she had paid special attention to hers. In the family relations section, there were no parents listed.
At the time, her heart had skipped a beat. She went home and told her parents, "There's a very pretty girl in our class who doesn't have a mom or dad. She lives with her grandparents."
Realizing she might have misspoken, Zhang Xiaoqiang stopped herself in time, seamlessly shifting the topic: "My hometown is near Tianma Bridge now—it's really close."
"How is that a hometown? Isn't that still in the city?" a boy interjected.
Zhang Xiaoqiang was clearly more mature than her peers. She said, "Yeah, but it wasn't like that over a decade ago. The people there got rich from demolition and relocation. For those without much ability, it was a chance to change their fate."The boys were quite interested in this topic and asked a few more questions. Zhang Xiaoqiang spoke fluently about government policies, which was naturally influenced by her family background. Jiang Du watched her and couldn't help but sigh inwardly, though she knew she didn’t envy Zhang Xiaoqiang in this regard.
As the fire gradually died down, Zhang Xiaoqiang nudged Lin Haiyang and the others to get up, smiling as she said, "Well, the cleanup is up to you boys."
After that, she pulled Jiang Du aside alone and asked, "Are you free on the sixth? It’s my birthday."
So direct and straightforward—Jiang Du actually found it a bit abrupt. As for her relationship with Zhang Xiaoqiang, well, she considered them ordinary classmates. Zhang Xiaoqiang was warm-hearted to everyone, an outstanding student leader. You couldn’t tell who she was particularly close to; it seemed like she treated everyone about the same.
The sudden invitation caught Jiang Du off guard, and her slightly surprised expression almost slipped through. She smiled shyly and said, "Your birthday is on the sixth? I should be in the city... um," she seemed to hesitate for a moment, "are the people you’re inviting all from our class?"
"Mostly, yes. People you know, like Lin Haiyang, the class monitor, and my deskmates and those sitting around me." Zhang Xiaoqiang’s eyes shifted thoughtfully. "I’ll think about who else to invite. We’ll go out for a meal and karaoke then."
Jiang Du admitted she was being quite cunning. Her question had a selfish motive.
Would he go? She knew he and Zhang Xiaoqiang were good friends, and besides, Zhang Xiaoqiang also liked Wei Qingyue. But Zhang Xiaoqiang and Wei Qingyue interacted so naturally and openly.
Unlike her, whose heart was always thrown into chaos at the slightest thing.
Still, if only she had known him as early as Zhang Xiaoqiang did, how wonderful that would have been. Even if they were just ordinary classmates, she could have seen him for so much longer... Jiang Du’s heart swelled with a bittersweet tenderness.
However, she didn’t hear that familiar name from Zhang Xiaoqiang’s lips. The other girl had no idea about the secret anticipation and nervousness in Jiang Du’s heart. Even Jiang Du herself didn’t understand why she always clung to such illogical and unreasonable hopes.
In the hallway, students kept leaving, and only a few on-duty students remained in each classroom. After everyone had left, despite the cold, Jiang Du lingered, hiding in the restroom.
She didn’t actually need to use the restroom. Squatting until her legs went numb, she waited until everything outside grew quiet before struggling to stand up.
Sure enough, no one was left.
With everyone gone and the building empty, a faint sense of desolation and loneliness crept in. If the campus were captured in a film, the usual laughter and liveliness of the students would starkly contrast with the current quiet emptiness—a contrast worth revisiting in flashbacks.
At the end of the hallway, the lockers of several classes stood silently.
Jiang Du walked over slowly. Even though no one was around, she remained cautious, her heart pounding. She opened her own locker first. Inside were a pink thermos, a folding umbrella, and some unused scratch paper and tissues. After taking a few deep breaths, the girl’s gaze shifted to Class One’s lockers, where Wei Qingyue’s name was written in such striking characters.
Three characters—that was all it took to encompass a young girl’s entire world.
Jiang Du bit her lip, removed her gloves, and rubbed her hands together silently. Then, tense and nervous, she reached out toward that locker.
The locker was cold, gleaming with a metallic sheen.
The girl’s slender, pale fingers gently traced the name. As if suddenly aware of how strange her behavior was, her face flushed red again.Jiang Du quickly withdrew her hand in the end. Even though no one had seen her, she felt deeply embarrassed—as if she had just done something shameful. This was something she had planned for a long time. Before the winter break, once everyone had left, she wanted to touch Wei Qingyue’s locker.
Next, she pushed the things inside her own locker, locked it, turned around, and then saw someone leaning against the corner of the staircase, just stepping onto the corridor, with a playful expression on their face.
It was Wei Qingyue.
He had an unlit cigarette in his mouth. Clearly, he had come up to find a place to smoke.
Jiang Du’s heartbeat and breathing stopped simultaneously. She stared at him, unmoving, as if frozen in place by wind and snow. Her heart instantly plunged into a whirlpool of shock and panic.
“What a coincidence,” Wei Qingyue spoke first, as if he hadn’t seen what had happened at all. The boy was forever relaxed and composed, with an expression that seemed to care about nothing. He smiled at Jiang Du, taking the cigarette down. “Perfect timing. I have a question I’d like to ask you.”
“Huh?” Jiang Du was so flustered she nearly stuttered. Her brain desperately urged her to calm down quickly. Maybe he hadn’t seen anything. Yes, he hadn’t seen anything.
“You always rank first… My grades are pretty average.” Her awkward, nervous demeanor was fully observed by the boy.
Wei Qingyue, who had been leaning against the wall, pushed off and stood up straight. He said, “The other day, while working on a classical Chinese reading comprehension passage, I came across a term called ‘zhuodao.’ Do you know what ‘zhuodao’ means?”
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