After sреaking, Jiang Du rаised her hеаd аnd рursеd hеr lips.
Strangеly, in that moment their eуеs met, it sеemеd аs if thеу had mаgiсаllу sеnsed а kindred spirit in eасh othеr—at least fоr Wei Qingyuе. He kееnlу sеnsеd sоmеthing but didn’t press furthеr, оnly оffеring а faint smilе:
“Thе librаry is emрtу in the еvening. Do yоu have somеwhеrе to gо?”
Jiang Du nodded. “I’m gоing tо mу aunt’s hоusе.” Неr hеаrt pоundеd, and thоugh she knеw it was impоlite, shе соuldn’t helр аsking, “Whу аren’t you gоing home?”
Wei Qingyue lоoked at hеr meaningfullу for а fеw seсonds, his gaze so intense it made Jiang Du uneasy. Slowly, the corners of his mouth lifted—whether in a cold smile or a bitter one was hard to tell.
“Haven’t you seen it before?” He deftly sidestepped the question, shifting the awkwardness back to Jiang Du. She bit her lip, feeling as though witnessing someone else’s embarrassment was even more uncomfortable than being the one embarrassed.
As they walked out of the library together, dusk had just settled. The early autumn evening brought a cool breeze, and between the towering buildings, a blood-red sun slowly sank like a round, tangerine-hued rose.
Everyone had their own destination, like birds diverging in flight.
Jiang Du tightened her grip on her backpack strap. She had to do something—the day was ending, and this unexpected encounter felt like an unforeseen gift in her life. Whenever she was nervous, she wanted to tie her shoelaces, but she forced herself to resist. Trembling slightly, she said to Wei Qingyue:
“Wei Qingyue, can I ask you about a problem? I couldn’t solve the last big question on the test.”
After speaking, she quickly averted her gaze. She knew the request was abrupt and unreasonable—why hadn’t she asked earlier? Only when he was about to leave did she bring it up.
Wei Qingyue hesitated for a moment but still agreed.
The crowd dispersed quickly, with no one lingering. The boy was casual, tossing his backpack aside and sitting on the steps. Seeing this, Jiang Du hurriedly pulled out her test paper and pen. Her hands trembled uncontrollably, and the pen rolled far away—it was Wei Qingyue who retrieved it.
She thought the ground was dirty but didn’t care. Sitting beside him, neither too close nor too far, Jiang Du felt as if even breathing had become a luxury.
“It’s so simple, and you still couldn’t do it?” Wei Qingyue chuckled, taking her pen and placing a book on his knee to cushion the test paper.
Jiang Du nodded sheepishly.
He truly wasn’t a patient person. His handwriting was swift and flowing as he quickly wrote the solution steps on the diary she used as scratch paper, speaking rapidly. When he finished, he asked, “Got it?”
There was no way she understood, but it didn’t matter—his handwriting was now on her diary. He handed the pen back, its surface still warm from his fingers. Jiang Du hated the passage of time, knowing that this warmth would vanish completely from the world in just a few seconds. She only had those few moments.
So, she gripped it tightly, holding on so futilely, and told Wei Qingyue she understood.
“You’re really good at studying,” Jiang Du said, fishing for something to say, her praise unoriginal. Then, as if unintentionally, she added, “You must be aiming for schools like Tsinghua or Peking University, right?”
“I’m going abroad,” Wei Qingyue said, his expression taking on a meaning Jiang Du couldn’t decipher as he spoke of the future. The setting sun cast a red glow on half his face, giving him an unfamiliar vitality. “I won’t be attending university in China.”
Jiang Du’s heart suddenly felt like a plane plummeting in freefall.
Even though she knew that this prodigy before her, no matter where he studied, had little to do with her, the moment he said he was going abroad, she wanted to cry. It was as if once the words were spoken, mountains and rivers would separate them, and they would never meet again in this lifetime.She didn't know how to respond to Wei Qingyue. After hesitating for a long time, she finally said, "That's good."
"I'm off." Wei Qingyue patted his clothes, slung his bag over his shoulder, and gave Jiang Du a casual wave as a farewell.
Jiang Du didn't move. She offered a shy smile and said, "Goodbye."
"You're not leaving yet?" Wei Qingyue was a little surprised to see her still standing there. He raised an eyebrow and looked at her. The girl was delicate and gentle, with skin so fair it seemed almost translucent, like layers of white clouds. The boy suddenly realized that girls could be born with such fair skin. He had always thought all girls looked the same, with identical faces and appearances.
"I'll wait until the moon rises before leaving," Jiang Du replied softly, her thoughts tangled and intricate, impossible to put into words.
Wei Qingyue found her way of speaking quite interesting. The moon rising... He had never paid much attention to the moon. For him, the Mid-Autumn Festival was just a repetition of yesterday and a preview of tomorrow, nothing special at all.
The thoughtful expression on the boy's face lasted only a few seconds. He nodded and quickly disappeared into the crowd. After all, this encounter was nothing more than a chance meeting. One brief encounter didn't mean they were acquainted. Jiang Du watched Wei Qingyue's retreating figure and let her thoughts wander aimlessly.
The evening breeze picked up, cool against her skin. Jiang Du suddenly realized how lonely it felt to stand there alone, waiting for the moon to rise. Her heart felt hollow. Even though she would be spending the Mid-Autumn Festival with her grandparents that night, she believed that when she saw the full moon rise, she would still feel this loneliness—unprecedented, novel, and completely unfamiliar, as if she were the only one in the world.
After the Mid-Autumn Festival, Jiang Du returned to school. The first thing she did was buy stationery. There were many small shops near the school gate, and girls loved to gather in groups, flipping through celebrity posters, stickers, and picking out pretty diaries and stationery. Wang Jingjing, in addition to this, was particularly obsessed with taking photo booth pictures. She dragged Jiang Du into the cramped photo booth to choose colorful frame templates, then pouted, made peace signs, and acted as exaggeratedly as possible. Jiang Du couldn't bring herself to make such expressions and was often scolded by Wang Jingjing for being like a wooden doll.
The stationery was too flashy. Jiang Du chose a relatively plain one, while Wang Jingjing had already picked out what she considered her prettiest photo booth picture, ready to send it off along with a love letter.
"Don't you think this one of me looks good? My nose is pretty high," Wang Jingjing said narcissistically, admiring her photo booth picture. She urged Jiang Du, "Hurry up! The National Day holiday is almost here."
Lin Haiyang suddenly poked his head in from behind and said teasingly, "I heard everything! You're writing love letters!"
Jiang Du's face flushed instantly.
Wang Jingjing reached out and punched him, hitting him hard. Lin Haiyang dodged with a tilt of his head, laughing uncontrollably. He looked at Wang Jingjing and said, "Let me tell you, the number of people obsessed with Wei Qingyue is probably N times more than you. Don't waste your effort."
"None of your business! I enjoy chasing him!" Wang Jingjing always spoke recklessly with boys, but if she encountered someone handsome, she would tone it down a bit, trying to act like a lady so as not to scare them off.
"Do you think you can compare to Zhang Xiaoqiang?" Lin Haiyang gossiped like a girl, deliberately lowering his voice and glancing toward the seat of the class monitor, Zhang Xiaoqiang. "Even Zhang Xiaoqiang couldn't catch Wei Qingyue. Her grades are so good, her family is wealthy, and while she's not exactly beautiful, she has her own unique charm."
Wang Jingjing stared at Lin Haiyang in shock. "She's chasing Wei Qingyue too? How do you know?"“There’s nothing about Mei Zhong I don’t know!”
“You’re just bragging!”
Jiang Du listened silently as the two bickered, her limbs stiff. But she hid it well, turning away as if completely uninterested in the gossip and lowering her head to read. Yet, she suddenly realized with clarity that she, too, had a darker side. If even someone as outstanding as Zhang Xiaoqiang couldn’t catch his eye, then he must have very high standards. That was fine—everyone was merely harboring a secret crush on him.
Jiang Du was startled by her own quietly malicious thoughts. She felt dirty, as if she couldn’t bear to see others succeed.
The first letter went through two drafts, but in the end, nothing particularly special was written. Wang Jingjing read it and was somewhat disappointed. She said, “Jiang Du, what you wrote is too plain—like boiled water. Wei Qingyue won’t be able to feel my burning heart or my volcanic emotions at all.”
Jiang Du knew Wang Jingjing was mostly just playing around. She was always like this—loud and dramatic, quick to talk about liking this or that person. On campus, she could fall in love at first sight just from seeing someone’s back. However, her passions usually lasted only three minutes. Even if rejected, she didn’t feel embarrassed and would still laugh and joke around.
“Isn’t it a bit much for the first time? The way you described it feels too exaggerated,” Jiang Du analyzed earnestly. She also knew that Wang Jingjing was just venting verbally and wasn’t really serious about it. After all, Wang Jingjing had returned from the Mid-Autumn Festival break with noticeably waning enthusiasm. If Jiang Du hadn’t brought it up again, Wang Jingjing would have quickly forgotten about wanting to pursue Wei Qingyue.
There was a bit of her own ulterior motive in this.
But she didn’t dare dwell on it too much. Rather than a love letter, it felt more like talking to herself. Teacher Xu had already informed everyone that the first monthly exam would take place right after the National Day holiday. Presumably, everyone would be studying hard throughout the break, even if they claimed, “I was too busy having fun to review much.” Such words were absolutely not to be believed.
Lin Haiyang reminded Wang Jingjing to be prepared for the letter to go unanswered. There were rumors that Wei Qingyue received love letters but never even looked at them—he just threw them straight into the trash, where countless shattered young hearts lay.
It’s fine. That was Jiang Du’s first reaction. She had already prepared herself for the worst.
However, since Lin Haiyang knew about it, Wang Jingjing asked him to deliver the letter. As soon as he returned, she excitedly tugged at his sleeve and asked, “How did it go? How did it go?”
“No reaction at all. He didn’t say a word.”
“Did you see him throw it in the trash?”
“No, he went into the classroom. But I don’t know if he threw it away later!”
Jiang Du carefully listened to the conversation, her heart rising and falling like waves, though her face remained calm. She silently wiped the table with a rag, leaving it shiny and polished.
The school liked to plant roses—pink, yellow, white—but only the bright red ones blazed like bursts of fiery color, reflecting in her eyes like a dazzling person who always shone brilliantly.
Before the holiday, Teacher Xu emphasized the upcoming monthly exam. After finishing, he told everyone to study on their own. Somehow, someone started saying that without even taking the test, they knew first place would either be Wei Qingyue or Zhang Xiaoqiang. After all, they had both graduated from the best junior high schools and entered with the best high school entrance exam scores.
Zhang Xiaoqiang was clearly accustomed to such discussions. She shook her head modestly and said, “Mei Zhong is full of hidden talents. It’s not necessarily true.”Her middle school was a good one, with many students getting into Mei Zhong, so there were always old classmates in the class. Everyone was familiar with each other, and conversations were casual.
It was strange—Jiang Du hadn’t paid much attention to Zhang Xiaoqiang before, but ever since hearing Lin Haiyang’s words, inexplicably, she couldn’t help but notice Zhang Xiaoqiang’s clothing, observe her expressions and tone when she spoke, and often saw her actively participating in class activities—cheerful, warm, and generous.
All of this made Jiang Du feel an indescribable sense of inferiority.
“Hey, even if Wei Qingyue is first, it doesn’t matter. He’s going abroad, so to put it bluntly, he won’t take up any competitive spots,” a boy said meaningfully. Zhang Xiaoqiang smiled, as if in agreement.
Jiang Du heard it clearly.
So, there were others who knew he was going abroad. She had thought no one knew, and she had kept it as a secret, determined not to mention it casually, even though Wei Qingyue hadn’t asked her to.
Another wave of inexplicable disappointment washed over her.
Everyone discussed Wei Qingyue with ease and laughter, but she couldn’t. She had thought that chance encounter had given her something unique—like his warmth, or his plan to go abroad. But in reality, it wasn’t so. Everything about him could always be openly mentioned at Mei Zhong.
On the last day before the break, she didn’t receive a reply from Wei Qingyue, and of course, there wouldn’t be one. Yet, the dusk that day was exceptionally beautiful, the world vast and distant. Jiang Du stood alone on the corridor outside the classroom, staring blankly at the evening glow for a long time before finally heading home.
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