Тhat day, Jiаng Du wаsn't the onlу one whо fаintеd. Аftеr stаnding for neаrly three hours, it was said thаt а boу from Сlаss Тwеlve еvеn соllаpsеd straight to the grоund. Suсh incidеnts, in the teaсhers' words, оnly servеd tо рrоvе hоw рoor thе рhysiсаl fitnеss of tоdaу's сhildren was, аnd sо on.
Вut daring to byрass the teасhеrs, abаndon the prераred sреесh, аnd tаke mаttеrs into his оwn hands bу improvising оn the sроt—thаt was sоmеthing оnlу Wei Qingyue did.
Nоw, there was no onе who didn't know him.
As fоr whether hе was сritiсized bу the teachers, no one knew. But according to high school logic, when top students made minor, harmless mistakes, teachers wouldn’t bother to pursue them. Moreover, in the eyes of the freshmen at Mei Zhong, Wei Qingyue suddenly became a symbol of individuality. At this age, everyone wanted to stand out as unique, and when someone did what others didn’t dare to do, they became an idol.
Especially since Wei Qingyue already had the halo of an academic star.
The weather forecast said the entire week would be sunny and clear—not a drop of rain, not even a wisp of cloud.
Under the scorching sun, with cicadas still chirping, everyone was sweating so much their faces glistened, their bangs sticking together in strands, forcing them to wash their hair every day. The drill instructor was fierce and liked to launch surprise attacks, suddenly kicking the back of someone’s knees to see if they were truly standing straight. Unfortunately, out of ten kicks, nine would cause the legs to buckle slightly, almost losing balance.
Those who were kicked would first be startled, then secretly curse the instructor in their hearts.
Everyone’s faces were tanned and flushed. On the vast playground, if you saw a class already resting under the shade of a tree, you’d definitely envy them to the point of jealousy.
Jiang Du sat alone on the side in her military training uniform. Due to health reasons, she couldn’t participate, but she insisted on staying on the playground until dismissal.
“Ugh, it’s so hot. I’m really afraid I’ll just drop dead,” Wang Jingjing said, running over to sit next to Jiang Du during the break. As soon as her butt hit the ground, Lin Haiyang came over carrying several bottles of water, handing one first to Jiang Du and then to Wang Jingjing.
“So generous,” Wang Jingjing said, unscrewing the cap and gulping it down.
“Just passing on the favor, no trouble at all,” Lin Haiyang replied, tilting his chin to gesture toward the south. There, a girl with slightly dark skin, a slightly protruding mouth, but very beautiful eyes was handing out water to everyone.
It was Zhang Xiaoqiang.
Wang Jingjing remembered that during self-introductions, when this name was announced, everyone laughed. Zhang Xiaoqiang wasn’t tall, but her teeth were exceptionally white. Unfazed by the laughter, she calmly wrote three beautiful characters on the blackboard and explained, “My name uses the character for ‘rose,’ please don’t misunderstand.”
She was the top student in Class Two, with entrance exam scores second only to Wei Qingyue. With her confident and bright smile, everyone immediately felt they were the uncultured ones.
Xu had already appointed her as the class’s study committee member.
But at this moment, Zhang Xiaoqiang was acting like the class monitor, taking care of her classmates in an orderly manner.
Wang Jingjing clicked her tongue twice. “Did she buy the water with her own money?”
“Yeah, Zhang Xiaoqiang is generous. My roommate knows her. Her family is well-off—her dad is an official, and her mom is a university professor. Both are respectable figures,” Lin Haiyang said. There was nothing he didn’t know; he could even dig up gossip from a mouse hole. When it came to rumors, his face lit up with delight.Wang Jingjing looked down on this kind of tone. She curled her lip again, "You're a grown man, yet you're so gossipy and snobbish. I mean, do you boys really like discussing girls' family backgrounds behind their backs? What's it to you? Are you all trying to curry favor with Zhang Xiaoqiang?"
"Hey, why the sudden insults? Zhang Xiaoqiang just has good conditions, are you jealous?"
The two began bickering back and forth. Wang Jingjing tore into Lin Haiyang, but he didn't get angry—he just laughed, which made Wang Jingjing even more furious. She called Lin Haiyang a little bitch.
They were just new classmates who had known each other for two days, yet their friendship had rapidly advanced through these verbal battles.
Jiang Du had been quietly smiling all along. She shifted her position slightly, afraid that if Wang Jingjing chased and hit Lin Haiyang, she might get caught in the crossfire.
"Jiang Du, how are you feeling? Are you okay?" Zhang Xiaoqiang walked over, her tone concerned. This was a task given to her by Xu.
Jiang Du didn't want to be treated specially. Fainting during the ceremony was already embarrassing enough. Some classmates had already secretly started calling her Lin Daiyu, a nickname she wasn't too happy about. It seemed like if you had a slightly weaker constitution, people would call you Lin Daiyu. If that were the case, the name "Lin Daiyu" would be too cheap.
She pulled out the newspaper she was sitting on and placed it beside her. "Zhang Xiaoqiang, do you want to sit for a while? I'm fine."
Zhang Xiaoqiang smiled slightly and handed her another bottle of water. "If you feel unwell, make sure to speak up. Don't be shy." The girl had a mature kind of liveliness—a feeling that was hard to grasp, as it was rare to see such a harmonious balance in a high school student.
Just as Jiang Du was about to say something else, her breath caught. A somewhat familiar figure was walking toward them. The boy had taken off his cap and was holding it in his hand, tapping it against his leg absentmindedly.
As he approached, pairs of eyes watched from not far away.
"Did you buy the water?" Wei Qingyue was speaking to Zhang Xiaoqiang. His demeanor was indifferent, and the slight frown when he spoke always made him seem somewhat intimidating. "Can I take one?"
He wasn't speaking to her. Jiang Du lowered her eyes, her gaze trembling as it drifted downward. She clenched the water bottle in her hand, motionless, as if struck by something, and simply stared at the sand and soil by her feet.
She didn't know why her heart was beating so fast, feeling a bit panicked, but her ears were unusually sharp. She could hear the hint of laughter in Zhang Xiaoqiang's voice.
"Take it, no need to be polite with me. Take a few more bottles."
"Thanks." Wei Qingyue gestured. His gaze dropped, casually glancing at Jiang Du, then lifted again to meet Wang Jingjing's eager eyes. Clearly, the girl was excitedly trying to figure out how to strike up a conversation with him.
Fangirl.
Wei Qingyue withdrew his gaze with a hint of annoyance and walked away.
"Wow, you know Wei Qingyue?" Wang Jingjing asked Zhang Xiaoqiang.
Zhang Xiaoqiang looked completely unfazed. "Yeah, we were classmates in junior high. Sometimes I ranked first, sometimes he did. Unfortunately, I didn't beat him in the high school entrance exam." The girl's pride as a top student inadvertently showed, leaving Wang Jingjing with nothing but admiration. "You're both so amazing!"
Before she could ask more about Wei Qingyue, a whistle blew. Wang Jingjing had no choice but to pat Jiang Du and say, "So annoying, it's starting again. I'm off!"Jiang Du felt her chest still pounding uncomfortably. Only after the others had walked far away, when she felt she was in a safe place, did she quietly let her gaze wander, searching for that tall figure among the sea of identical green uniforms.
From this distance, no one could tell who her eyes were searching for.
But she was unlucky—even from this far, she truly couldn’t find that figure anymore. There was more than one tall boy in Class One besides Wei Qingyue.
An uncomfortable sensation, whether in her stomach or abdomen, grew increasingly noticeable in waves. Jiang Du grabbed her cap and stood up, heading toward the restroom.
How awful—her periods had been extremely irregular since her first one. It had only been ten days, and it had come again. Flustered, Jiang Du rushed out of the restroom without even washing her hands.
A figure blocked her path.
“We’ve met before, haven’t we?” Wei Qingyue’s voice rang out clearly. Jiang Du froze.
The campus was quiet, with everyone on the field for military training. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting circles of light that fell on the boy’s face. She could even see the texture of his skin clearly.
Jiang Du felt her mouth go stiff, nodding mechanically.
“Don’t talk too much.” Wei Qingyue spoke only three words.
The words sounded harsh. Jiang Du couldn’t help but clutch her trousers, her face flushing with embarrassment. “What?” Her fair, almost translucent face turned bright red.
She genuinely didn’t understand this threat.
“Classmate, we met at the police station over the summer. Act like you saw nothing. If you’re not stupid, you should understand what I’m saying.” Wei Qingyue’s tone carried a natural hostility, completely opposite to Jiang Du’s impression of the top student. It was even far removed from the boy who had spoken on the podium.
Her throat tightened, and she lowered her head awkwardly, saying, “I haven’t spread anything about you. I don’t even know you.”
Jiang Du thought Wei Qingyue might hit her.
She was actually quite timid, afraid of causing trouble and, of course, afraid of getting beaten up.
During that summer accident, she herself didn’t know where her courage had come from.
“Don’t know me?” Wei Qingyue let out an almost imperceptible laugh. His arrogance carried a precocious sharpness. “You know my name.”
Jiang Du couldn’t deny it, so she nodded lightly.
Wei Qingyue was nothing like the top student. His demeanor was more like that of a school bully who skipped studying, specialized in fights, and got parents called in.
Upon closer inspection, the boy had a budding handsomeness, with a scholarly air, but his every movement was tense and sharp.
Those eyes—the ones she occasionally remembered from summer—were now fixed on her without kindness. Nervous, Jiang Du thought of pretending to tie her shoelaces.
As if possessed, she crouched down, mumbling, “Don’t worry, I don’t like gossiping about others.”
Her heart felt as if it had shrunk to the size of a small apricot pit.
His shadow fell on her shoes. Jiang Du’s fingers moved in and out of his shadow, alternating between light and dark. When she suddenly stood up, her vision truly went black for a moment.
Almost instinctively, she grabbed Wei Qingyue’s arm.
The boy reflexively steadied her, his tone icy. “What? What are you doing? I haven’t done anything to you.”
It took Jiang Du a few seconds for her vision to gradually clear again.
Her complexion wasn’t great, her gaze weak and somewhat dazed as she looked at Wei Qingyue. He frowned tightly. “Are you sick?”
No matter how she heard it, it sounded like an insult.Jiang Du desperately wanted to explain that she wasn’t feeling well—her period had come again—but there was no way she could say that out loud. Yet now, it wasn’t a matter of whether she should say it or not. Instead, a sudden surge of air rushed up from her stomach, straight to her throat.
The next second, she vomited all over Wei Qingyue.
Jiang Du’s mind exploded with a roar. This time, she was certain Wei Qingyue was going to hit someone.
Sure enough, Wei Qingyue’s expression turned grim. With a cold face, he directly took off his jacket, revealing the white short-sleeved shirt underneath.
“Classmate, please wash it clean and return it to me.”
The boy stuffed the sour-smelling clothes into Jiang Du’s arms. She was on the verge of tears, too embarrassed to even look Wei Qingyue in the eye. Utterly mortified, her brain relied purely on instinct to command her mouth:
“I’m really sorry, I didn’t know…”
“Apologies are useless. Just remember to wash my clothes.” Wei Qingyue had no interest in empty words. He glanced at her twice, pointed in a direction, and said, “The infirmary is that way.”
He showed no intention of escorting her there. After speaking, the boy headed toward the large playground outside the school.
The cicadas’ incessant chirping was deafening. Jiang Du stood frozen for a moment, clutching the boy’s soiled clothes.
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