Shine on Me

June arrived, and Nanjing suddenly turned scorching hot.

Having lived in Nanjing for nearly four years, my biggest impression was that the city seemed to lack spring and autumn—it was either blazing hot or freezing cold. Long-sleeved shirts were rarely worn, as the weather often skipped straight from short-sleeved T-shirts to sweaters.

This sweltering heat, however, matched my current restless mood—not because of my thesis defense, but because of my cousin’s college entrance exams.

My uncle and aunt were naturally on high alert, and even my dad called to express his concern, though my uncle wasn’t particularly appreciative. Unconsciously, I found myself growing tense too, tiptoeing past my cousin’s room to avoid disturbing his rest. Yet, amid all this nervousness, the examinee himself was annoyingly relaxed, showing no sign of urgency whatsoever. The exams started on the 7th, but on the 6th, he was still flipping through study abroad brochures.

“This university looks pretty nice.”

“…Maybe focus on finishing your exams first.”

It had been decided long ago that my cousin would go on a study tour in Europe after his exams. What I hadn’t expected was that I’d be dragged along too. Originally, my aunt was supposed to accompany him, but she had last-minute obligations and couldn’t go. So, the task fell to me. Just the thought of sitting on a plane for over ten hours made me shudder.

“Jiang Rui, shouldn’t you be reviewing? Your exams start tomorrow.”

“Who studies right before exams?” my cousin scoffed. “Cramming at the last minute is useless.”

Who says it’s useless? I mentally rolled my eyes. I got into university by cramming.

Back when I was preparing for the entrance exams, my father had lined up plenty of connections, just in case. But when the results came out, my score happened to be exactly at the cutoff line for A University. The whole family was overjoyed, nearly convinced I was some hidden genius. In reality, it was just dumb luck. Once I got into A University, I slacked off again, and my grades were now mediocre at best. I guess I was just the type who performed well under exam pressure.

I stood up to get some mung bean soup from the kitchen and brought a bowl for my cousin. He slurped it down noisily and said, “Oh, right, Nie Xiguang, you’re coming with me to the exam tomorrow.”

“Aunt said she’d take you.”

Jiang Rui pouted. “No way. They’re so high-strung—they’ll make me nervous.”

And so, four years later, I found myself back at the college entrance exam site. Early the next morning, Old Zhang dropped us off at the exam center and left. After getting out of the car, Jiang Rui looked around.

“What are you searching for?”

“Well, I’m heading in now. Sis, keep an eye on the parents waiting outside—maybe you’ll find a romantic encounter.”

He winked at me, then sauntered into the exam hall with a cheeky grin. I stood there bewildered, scanning the crowd of middle-aged parents waiting outside. A romantic encounter? I shuddered at the thought.

While Jiang Rui was taking his exam, I booked a room at a nearby hotel and spent a long time studying the menu at the Chinese restaurant, ordering a few dishes and arranging the serving time. After that, I wandered around the area until it was almost time, then returned to the school gate to wait for Jiang Rui.

He emerged quickly, his triumphant expression making it clear he’d done well. I walked up to him with a smile. “Congratulations! One down, huh?”

Jiang Rui tossed his hair with an air of arrogance. “Sis, what if I end up as the provincial top scorer?”

I nearly choked. After a long pause, I patted his shoulder solemnly. “Then… we’ll just have to accept fate and move on.”Jiang Rui scoffed, "Can't you say something nice for once?" He spoke while sneakily glancing around. "Sis, did you have any romantic encounters?"

I retorted irritably, "Romantic encounters my foot. Let's go eat."

"Wait, wait," he persisted, still looking around before suddenly grabbing my hand. "There."

Before I could figure out what was happening, he dragged me over to a boy and slapped him on the shoulder casually, calling out, "Zhuang Fei."

Then he turned to introduce me, "Sis, this is Zhuang Fei."

Zhuang Fei?

The name sounded familiar, but before I could place it, Jiang Rui added, "My classmate, Brother Zhuang's younger brother. Don't you remember? Oh, Zhuang Fei, this is my sister."

Ah, so it was him.

I sized up the boy—tall, slender, and handsome, with a faint resemblance to Zhuang Xu. I smiled and said, "Uh, didn't recognize him at first. Are you two in the same exam hall?"

Jiang Rui nodded and asked Zhuang Fei, "Didn’t anyone from your family come with you?"

Zhuang Fei shook his head. "No." Then, as if afraid we might say something, he quickly explained, "I told them not to come. My brother took the college entrance exams alone too, so I can do the same."

Jiang Rui said, "Your home is pretty far, so you probably won’t go back for lunch, right? Why not join us?"

He looked at me, and of course, I had to nod. "You're welcome to come."

Zhuang Fei seemed shy and reluctant, but my cousin was quite persuasive. With lines like "We're from the same school" and "I have a question about this afternoon’s exam subject," he managed to talk Zhuang Fei into joining us for lunch.

Listening from the side, I couldn’t help but sweat internally.

We returned to the hotel a bit earlier than I expected. Since the food hadn’t arrived yet, I ordered them some tea to quench their thirst and calm their nerves.

Zhuang Fei remained quiet, silently listening to Jiang Rui’s nonsense. I stole a couple of glances at him and noticed he didn’t look well—his face was pale, his eyes slightly swollen, and he seemed preoccupied.

After a moment’s thought, I asked directly, "What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Zhuang Fei shook his head at first, then admitted softly, "I woke up with a slight fever and dizziness this morning."

Any issue during the college entrance exams was serious. I asked urgently, "Are you still dizzy now?"

"Not anymore," he replied. "I’m just worried I didn’t do well this morning."

Jiang Rui said breezily, "If you’re not dizzy now, then it’s fine. You could’ve aced this morning’s questions with your eyes closed. Don’t worry."

Zhuang Fei nodded. "I did finish all the questions."

"Then what’s there to worry about? You’re not in bad shape—you’re just overexcited, like my sis."

What about me? I glared at Jiang Rui from the side.

Like a storyteller, Jiang Rui began dramatically, "You don’t know about my sister. Her usual grades were just above average at best. She only buckled down a few months before the exams. Then, on exam day, she had a fever. We all thought she was done for, but when the results came out, she scored dozens of points higher than usual. We joked that she must’ve been delirious to do so well."

"Pure skill, pure skill," I chimed in smugly. Oh right, how could I forget? This was the proudest moment of my life, so I couldn’t resist bragging a little.

"Really?""Of course it's true. Actually, I usually have the ability, but for some inexplicable reason, I can't perform at my best. That day, when I had a fever, my inner potential was finally ignited..."

I joined Jiang Rui in spouting nonsense, and Zhuang Fei finally seemed less nervous, smiling shyly and saying softly, "You're different from what Rong Rong-jie said."

As soon as the words left his mouth, he seemed to realize he'd spoken out of turn and looked at me nervously. I was momentarily taken aback, but seeing how tense he was, I pretended not to notice and craned my neck to look around.

"Where's the food? Why isn't it here yet?"

Jiang Rui cheerfully changed the subject with Zhuang Fei, who kept stealing glances at me while talking, his face filled with concern.

He really was a very sensitive child. Only when he saw that my expression remained unchanged did he finally relax completely and let out a sigh of relief.

I also breathed a sigh of relief for him.

Soon, the food arrived right on time. Jiang Rui glanced at the dishes and complained, "Sis, you're so stingy. Where's the big feast? I had an exam today, you know?"

I glared at him. "Exams call for ordinary meals."

Although I had ordered enough for two, it was plenty for three. After the meal, I sent them upstairs to rest while I sat alone downstairs, inevitably recalling Zhuang Fei's words. Rong Rong and the Zhuang family had been neighbors for years, so it was natural for Zhuang Fei to be familiar with her. I hadn't expected her to mention me even to Zhuang Xu's younger brother. I wasn't sure if I should feel honored.

I didn't want to dwell on what Rong Rong had told Zhuang Fei. It just felt pointless, and I even regretted inviting Zhuang Fei to eat with us. If this momentary kindness was again misinterpreted as having ulterior motives, how could I bear it?

But regret aside, when the math exam ended in the afternoon, I still asked Zhuang Fei to walk with us—I remembered we were going the same way. Zhuang Fei didn't refuse and got into the car with a slightly shy expression.