At the start of the twelfth grade, Li Wu officially joined Class 1 and became classmates with his three new roommates.
He no longer commuted to and from school alone, often walking with them instead.
The atmosphere in the new class was unlike before. If the previous Class 10 was merely playful scuffles among young cubs, this place was a jungle teeming with predators, where undercurrents of survival of the fittest flowed beneath a calm surface.
Li Wu keenly felt the urgency and pressure here, and he absolutely loved this no-holds-barred environment, feeling nothing but immense excitement and a sense of belonging.
Qi Sixian was the homeroom teacher of the reorganized science honors class. He didn’t have a private heart-to-heart talk with Li Wu; on the first day of school, he simply greeted him at the classroom door: "Kid, I knew we’d meet again."
In the first monthly exam of twelfth grade, it was a battle of the elites, and for the first time in his life, Li Wu fell out of the top ten in his class.
His total score of 687 was higher than before, but at the pinnacle of the pyramid, he could only rank fifteenth.
When he returned home for the weekend, he handed his score report to Cen Jin as usual.
Cen Jin was stunned and exclaimed, "Wow, with this score, you might already be the top scorer in the liberal arts stream."
But Li Wu was far from satisfied, his face clouded with gloom. He muttered, "I’m going to study," then shut himself in the study to reflect in solitude.
Watching him leave, Cen Jin thought for a moment, then opened WeChat intending to send him some motivational messages. Unexpectedly, Teacher Qi had messaged her to inquire about Li Wu’s student status, saying the administration hoped the parents would find time as soon as possible to transfer Li Wu’s registration to Yi High School, ending his status as a guest student and making him an official student of Yi High.
This was undoubtedly a form of recognition.
Outstanding students were rare medals for any school, and each one had to be firmly secured and displayed.
Cen Jin replied: I’ll ask him about it later. He seems upset about this exam.
Teacher Qi wasn’t surprised: That’s normal. From what I’ve seen, students like Li Wu aren’t the type to settle for being a big fish in a small pond. He won’t be content with this. The competitive pressure in my class is indeed high—it’s all top students aiming for Tsinghua and Peking University. No one’s willing to give an inch. You should guide him carefully. Some kids might collapse under such setbacks, while others thrive on them. It’s hard to say.
Teacher Qi’s advice was worth pondering.
That night, Cen Jin tossed and turned and came up with an idea.
The twelfth grade only had a three-day National Day holiday, so they were let off early. Cen Jin timed her call to Li Wu perfectly.
When the young man answered, the line was quiet. Cen Jin asked, "Are you home yet?"
Li Wu replied, "I’m in the car."
Cen Jin sensed something off: "On the subway?"
"No, a long-distance bus."
Cen Jin: "Huh? Where are you going?"
Li Wu said, "Back to the village. My grandfather’s death anniversary is coming up, and this is my only break."
Cen Jin was taken aback: "A sudden decision?"
Li Wu replied, "No, I booked the ticket mid-month."
"Why didn’t you tell me?"
"Didn’t want to trouble you."
Her puzzlement turned to anger. Cen Jin’s voice rose as she fired off three questions in a row: "Do you think I’d be fine with you going alone? How old are you to take a long-distance bus by yourself so far away? What if your aunt catches you and drags you back?"
Her tone turned icy: "You still see me as an outsider, don’t you? Not a word about something like this?"
Li Wu was silent for a moment: "You wouldn’t have wanted to come anyway."
Cen Jin found it utterly unreasonable: "How do you know I didn’t want to go?"Li Wu replied, "You said that the day you came to pick me up."
"What?"
He said in a low voice, "You said you never wanted to come back to this place again."
Cen Jin paused, searching her memory in vain: "Did I say that?"
Li Wu was certain: "You did."
Cen Jin had no recollection: "How come I don't remember at all? I never said that!"
"Well..." The boy didn't know how to respond, only murmuring in acknowledgment.
Cen Jin asked, "Where are you now?"
Li Wu said, "I just left fifteen minutes ago."
Cen Jin glanced at her wristwatch: "What's the final stop?"
"Nongxi."
"And then? How will you get back?"
"Walk, or find a tricycle."
"And then? What about tonight? Sleeping rough?" she sneered.
"Find a place to stay down the mountain, then take a bus back tomorrow."
Hah, quite the well-laid plans.
Cen Jin closed her eyes, taking deep breaths to filter out her anger: "Did you know I originally planned to take you back to Shengzhou this holiday to relax?"
She tried her best to remain calm: "Partly for your grandfather's memorial day, partly to transfer your school registration. Now you've completely disrupted all my plans."
She had wanted to surprise him, never expecting this kid to have such deep thoughts and his own set of plans all along.
Li Wu knew he was at fault, remaining silent for a long while.
"Can you stop being so considerate?" Cen Jin had no other choice but to change her itinerary last minute: "I'll set off soon. Today's peak travel day, the highway will probably be congested. Not sure when I'll arrive. Wait for me in Nongxi, find a restaurant or guesthouse."
Li Wu felt guilty: "Don't go through all this trou..."
Cen Jin cut him off decisively: "Whether it's trouble or not is for me to decide."
―
At 5:30 in the afternoon, Li Wu got off the bus at the entrance of Nongxi Health Center.
It felt like entering another world - no more towering buildings around, replaced by rows of low, small houses. The road surface was patchy, with few vehicles in sight.
In the orange-red twilight, scenes of daily life unfolded: women gathered in front of shops, chatting idly; children wearing red scarves returning home jumped one by one from high platforms, chasing and playing, noisily startling a few chickens pecking for food at the alley entrance.
Returning to this place after nearly a year, Li Wu already felt somewhat detached from this world.
He stood gazing blankly until a string of clear bell rings startled him. Li Wu quickly stepped aside as a middle-aged man pedaled leisurely past on an old-fashioned bicycle.
Li Wu stuffed his hands into his hoodie pockets and walked unhurriedly toward his former school.
Nongxi High School was already on holiday, with no one in sight on campus. An old man was locking the gate. After finishing, he turned around and spotted Li Wu. Noticing the boy's clear-eyed features and decent clothing unlike the local townspeople, he asked doubtfully, "Are you a student here?"
Li Wu paused: "I used to be."
His eyes flickered slightly as he called out in local dialect: "Grandpa Zhang."
The old man, advanced in years with failing memory, was surprised that this boy recognized him. He responded somewhat confusedly, then uncomfortably scratched his withered neck, "I'll be going first."
Li Wu said, "Alright, take care."
After the old man left, the school entrance became quiet again.
The narrow playground grew dim in the deepening dusk, the school building's windows like several gray eyes - so different from Yi High School with its perpetual bright lights.
Li Wu stood still for a while gazing at it, exhaled a breath, then went to sit on the stone steps nearby.
He stretched one leg out, bent the other slightly, took out his phone and called Cen Jin to report his whereabouts.The woman also glanced at the navigation: "I've entered the Shengzhou area, should be at your place in about half an hour."
"Mm."
She asked again: "Where are you?"
Li Wu said: "At the entrance of our old high school."
Cen Jin: "What are you doing there?"
Li Wu: "Just looking."
"Any thoughts?" She suddenly became curious.
Li Wu replied: "Not sure."
Cen Jin took it upon herself to summarize his reflections: "Does it feel like the top scholar returning home in glory?"
"..."
"I'm joking. Send me your location and wait there properly."
"Okay."
As the distant sky shifted from yellow-red to deep blue and charcoal gray, the roadside beside Li Wu was illuminated by headlights.
He stood up, and the white car dimmed its lights. A slender figure emerged, paused briefly as if identifying him, then approached. A slightly surprised female voice carried on the wind: "You're really still sitting here?"
Li Wu also moved forward, stopping in front of her.
Cen Jin looked him over: "Hungry?"
Li Wu didn't want to provoke her again: "Yes."
Cen Jin chuckled lightly: "Oh, so you do know hunger."
"Mm."
"Let's go eat."
"Mm."
They randomly found a small roadside restaurant to satisfy their hunger, bought some fresh fruit, and set off again, heading south toward Yunfeng Village.
Osmanthus flowers bloomed all over the mountains, their subtle fragrance drifting through the air and into the car. Cen Jin couldn't help but inhale deeply.
"There are so many osmanthus trees here," she said, turning to look out the window.
"It'll be even more fragrant when you get out," Li Wu said. "So fragrant it'll make you sneeze."
Unfamiliar with the village roads, Cen Jin joked for help: "I'm not parking at the village committee this time. Director Li, where do you think would be appropriate to park?"
A slight smile touched Li Wu's lips: "Drive a bit further, there's an open space."
"Okay."
After parking, Li Wu unbuckled his seatbelt: "Are you coming with me, or resting in the car?"
Cen Jin gave him a puzzled look: "Am I your chauffeur?"
Li Wu fell silent, then explained: "It's dark now. The village graves are different from city cemeteries."
"I've done nothing to feel guilty about," Cen Jin declared, opening the door without another word and stepping out with her head held high.
Li Wu smiled slightly and quickly caught up, walking beside her.
The higher they climbed, the broader the view became. Moonlight, like silver gauze, softly illuminated the leaves and stems of the crops in the fields. The grass underfoot was soft, leaving nowhere to hide.
Along the way, Li Wu suddenly stopped, gazing into the distance.
Cen Jin asked: "What are you looking at?"
Li Wu replied: "You've been here before. The small earthen house where my grandfather and I used to live—it's gone now."
Cen Jin raised an eyebrow: "That little mud house?"
"Mm."
Cen Jin lifted her gaze, following his line of sight. The place was faint in her memory, having slipped quietly through time, not significant enough to leave a deep impression. But now that it was mentioned, she pulled up an old photo on her phone for comparison. Sure enough, all traces were gone, long since leveled into farmland.
Cen Jin felt a mix of emotions, unsure whether it was good or bad, whether to feel regret or relief. She only said: "At least there's a photo to remember it by."
Li Wu made an affirmative sound and started walking forward: "My grandfather's grave is in the woods behind."
Cen Jin glanced at the dense, dark forest ahead, its branches tangled like ghostly hands clawing at the sky.
Li Wu walked toward it without changing expression. Cen Jin, however, felt her heart tighten and quietly closed the distance between them.
Passing through the field ridges and approaching the wooded hills, the vegetation underfoot grew thick and tangled, its texture strangely detached. Cen Jin's heart wavered uneasily along with it.
The moon hid behind clouds, plunging the mountain wilderness into darkness, ink seeping through heaven and earth.Cen Jin turned on her phone's flashlight: the scene that unfolded before her eyes far exceeded her expectations. Beneath the dense clusters of tree trunks were graves and tombstones scattered everywhere. Some were neatly maintained by families, standing upright; others leaned crookedly or were broken and incomplete, creating an atmosphere thick with horror movie vibes.
"Seriously?" Cen Jin muttered under her breath, her heart leaping into her throat. Unable to look directly, she instinctively asked, "Why did we have to come here at night?"
Li Wu glanced sideways at her: "I don't know either. During dinner, you said you were wasting my time and were afraid I'd neglect Grandpa, so you insisted we come today."
"..." Talk about shooting herself in the foot. "Li Wu," Cen Jin urged while carefully avoiding obstacles, "turn on your flashlight too."
Her tone sounded urgent, clearly indicating she was scared. Li Wu secretly smiled, said "Okay," and turned on his phone's light as well.
The surroundings grew brighter.
The expanded field of vision only made things more terrifying.
Might as well have left it off. Cen Jin felt utterly drained.
A branch lay across their path. Li Wu stopped and lifted it higher.
The woman went first. After she passed, he followed.
Suddenly, Cen Jin let out a sharp, quiet scream: "Li Wu, where are you?!"
Li Wu was startled: "...I'm right behind you."
"Don't walk behind me!" Flustered and angry, she pressed close to him again.
Their arms brushed against each other intermittently from then on, making Li Wu's heart itch and his head grow warm.
Abruptly, there was a rustling in the grass by Cen Jin's feet, swift and rustling.
She jumped away with a shriek of "What was that?!", panicking and hastily grabbing the arm of the person beside her.
Li Wu stiffened, as if locked in place, unable to move. His arm was held tightly against her, with no gap between them. The warmth of her body seeped through the thin fabric of their clothes, scorching his senses.
His ears flushed crimson, and his Adam's apple bobbed. Pretending to be calm, he raised his phone to shine the light and reassured her: "Don't be afraid, probably just a weasel."
His teenage voice trembled slightly beyond his control, but fortunately, Cen Jin was already half-scared to death and had no attention to spare for anything else.
Cen Jin remained apprehensive: "Could it be a snake?"
"Snakes don't make that much noise."
Her back was already damp with sweat, her whole body trembling with chills. She didn't dare let go, and even in this state, she didn't forget to put on airs and order: "Stay close to me! Don't you dare be more than ten centimeters away."
Li Wu pressed his lips together. How could he dare?
The narrow path, less than a hundred meters long, was strewn with stumbling stones and grass, eerie and winding, as if they had walked through an entire era.
Their hearts raced wildly.
One from fear, the other from bliss.
Finally reaching his grandfather's gravesite, Cen Jin released Li Wu and gasped for breath as if exhausted, finally able to calmly observe Li Wu's grandfather's grave.
She didn't shine her phone directly on it, instead using the side light.
Li Wu's grandfather was one of the more respectable occupants of this cemetery, with a smooth concrete covering and the elderly man's name engraved vertically in clerical script on the tombstone.
"Tomb of
Li Minghe"
Small characters on the left read:
"Erected in 2019"
"Grandson Li Wu"
Li Wu set his phone aside, leaned over to brush the dust off the tombstone, and picked up some fallen leaves.
Perhaps because both the grandfather and grandson's names carried a sense of tranquility, Cen Jin's heartbeat slowed slightly: "Your grandfather's name is quite beautiful too."
Li Wu arranged the fruit plate, warning her gently to avoid startling her with sudden movements: "I'm going to bow now."
Thinking he didn't want her to see, Cen Jin asked: "Should I turn around?"
"No need." Li Wu lowered his gaze, knelt quietly, and bowed his head in reverence.The youth bowed low, his back broad and solid like gnarled, silent tree roots burrowing into the earth. Once, twice, thrice—unhurried and steady. The moon emerged at that moment, spreading frost-like over the mountain forest. Cen Jin gazed down at him unblinkingly, her heart feeling cleansed, leaving only immense awe. In this moment, the wilderness no longer seemed terrifying.
Only when he rose did Cen Jin snap out of her daze: "Finished?"
Li Wu: "Mm."
Cen Jin asked: "Do I need to do anything?"
"No need," Li Wu picked up his phone: "Let's go."
A thought struck Cen Jin: "Wait, let me say a few words to your grandfather." "Hm?"
Cen Jin thought for a moment, then faced the tombstone with palms pressed together: "Your grandson now has no worries about food or clothing, and his grades are outstanding. Please rest assured." Li Wu smiled faintly.
"Let's go." Cen Jin patted his arm and walked ahead first.
"Okay." Li Wu caught up to her side, no longer daring to let her walk alone.
Cen Jin no longer seemed as frightened, composed and even in the mood for casual chat: "That time I waited for you in the car, did you come here alone?"
Li Wu: "Mm."
"Aren't you afraid?"
"I often walk at night."
"But not on roads leading to graves."
"Maybe because Grandpa is here."
"True..."
...
Exiting the forest, they turned off their phone flashlights and began walking back.
On one side stood trees overflowing with osmanthus fragrance, on the other lay fields stretching in serene solitude. The vast sky seemed deeply asleep, and they moved as if traversing the Moon Palace.
Cen Jin looked up at the dense clusters of golden flowers: "The osmanthus trees here seem taller than those in Yishi."
Li Wu followed her gaze: "Because no one tends to them."
"I think it's the variety, but they all smell wonderful." As she passed by, Cen Jin leaped up, trying to reach a branch. The bough swayed, still slightly out of reach, and she couldn't help sighing.
Li Wu stopped, raised his arm to break off the same branch, and offered it to her.
Cen Jin didn't accept it, instead shooting him an annoyed look: "Who said you could pick it randomly?"
Li Wu muttered: "I thought you wanted it."
"I don't want it if I didn't pick it myself." Seeming petulant, she stuffed her hands back into her cardigan pockets and strode forward without glancing sideways.
Li Wu withdrew his hand in frustration, letting the osmanthus branch hang down as he walked in silence.
Cen Jin glanced at him, smiled, then extended her palm, curling her fingers a few times: "Give it to me."
Li Wu's eyes brightened as he handed her the branch again.
Cen Jin took it, sniffed it, then held it horizontally against his chest, blocking his path: "Borrowing flowers to offer to Buddha—this award is for the little brother who protected his sister today."
Li Wu broke into a smile and obediently accepted it: "Thank you."
"That's your acceptance speech? How perfunctory."
"..."
The woman continued walking;
The youth continued following.
Whenever she needed him, he would step forward without hesitation, finding sweetness in the duty.
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