Sheng Xia thought she must have misheard.
She tapped to play the voice message again.
"Beg me."
Two seconds of audio, yet it carried the chill of an ice age.
How could it be Zhang Shu?
Sheng Xia played it once more.
It was unmistakably him.
Come to think of it, they hadn’t seen each other in ten days.
Hearing his voice again felt like a lifetime had passed.
Sheng Xia wasn’t sure how to respond—should she pretend she hadn’t heard it or just send a question mark?
The next second, another voice message arrived. She nervously tapped to listen.
This time, it was Xin Xiaohe: "I don’t know how to solve it either, so I asked Zhang Shu to take a look. Just ignore him—what’s with the 'beg me' nonsense? It’s just one problem. Hang on, I’ll go ask Yang Linyu!"
So Yang Linyu was back from the winter camp. Sheng Xia wondered how his results were.
She continued working on other problems in the meantime.
When her phone suddenly rang, Sheng Xia nearly jumped.
[Song Jiang is inviting you to a voice call…]
After a brief moment of hesitation—though she couldn’t think of any reason not to—she accepted. On the other end, she heard the sound of a book being tossed onto a desk, followed by the scrape of a chair against the floor.
She could almost picture it: him calling her while walking out of the classroom, carelessly throwing his notebook or draft papers onto a table in the hallway, then pulling out a chair and sitting down—
"Let me explain that problem to you," he said, his tone indifferent.
Sheng Xia: "Huh? Oh, okay."
She quickly flipped back to the problem in question.
A long silence followed. Sheng Xia glanced at the screen—the call was still connected.
Then, he cleared his throat and began, "The key to this problem is… look at the second line of the answer…"
As he spoke, she followed along, scribbling notes on her draft paper. After a while, he paused again. "Is your connection bad?"
Sheng Xia was confused. "No?"
"Give me some feedback, will you?" His voice rose slightly, carrying a hint of impatience—or perhaps displeasure.
"Mm, okay," Sheng Xia replied meekly, avoiding confrontation.
But she wasn’t sure what kind of feedback she was supposed to give. Wasn’t he the one explaining?
From then on, she made sure to hum in acknowledgment whenever he paused, just to show she was listening.
But timing those responses was tricky. Sometimes she interrupted him, and the awkward silence that followed made her cringe.
Eventually, she became so preoccupied with when to "give feedback" that she completely lost track of his explanation.
So when he asked, "Got it?" she felt a pang of guilt.
The explanation was over, but neither of them hung up.
She could hear the occasional laughter of classmates passing by in the hallway, even the faint sound of wind on his end.
"I’ll…" Sheng Xia broke the silence first, but before she could say "hang up now," he cut her off.
Zhang Shu: "Why are you working on such a difficult problem?"
His sudden question caught her off guard.
Did she need a reason to solve problems?
"You only need to pass the academic proficiency test to graduate. Even American college students might not reach this level. What’s the point of torturing yourself with these final-boss problems in the middle of the night?"
When she didn’t respond, he continued, answering his own question.
"I… I still have to take the college entrance exam," she said.
Another long silence followed. Zhang Shu’s voice grew heavier.
"Sheng Xia, every word I’ve ever said to you still stands."
Sheng Xia instinctively asked, "What?"
Still? Even after "this ends here," it still stands?
Zhang Shu: "I told you—if you have questions, ask me. Don’t embarrass yourself out there."
A sharp beep —then silence.He hung up.
Sheng Xia: ……
……
The day before the mock exams, Sheng Xia submitted her manuscript.
Do your best and leave the rest to fate.
She couldn’t neglect the college entrance exams, and she still had to take the SAT. The tutoring agency had signed her up for the first Saturday in May. Lu Youze had registered for March and had already left for Macau, skipping the mock exams.
Fortunately, her language course had dragged on long enough—otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to take the mock exams either.
At 6 a.m., Sheng Xia arrived at the classroom and was surprised to find it almost full.
The bright red double-digit countdown on the board instantly made her tense.
They were now less than a hundred steps away from the fruits of summer.
Li Shiyi spotted her first and quickly cleared the papers and notebooks piled on her desk, offering an awkward smile. "Xiaxia, you’re here! Sorry, haha, I kinda took over your desk."
"It’s fine."
The surrounding classmates noticed her too and greeted her one after another.
"Sheng Xia, didn’t you go to Macau for the exam?"
"No."
"I thought you went with Lu Youze?"
"I haven’t finished studying yet."
"When are you going?"
"May, probably."
"If it were me, I wouldn’t bother with the mock exams. It’s so stressful…"
When Zhang Shu entered the classroom, he heard a group chattering noisily.
His gaze immediately landed on the girl standing quietly by her desk.
Lately, the weather had been scorching, and he’d been puzzled as to how she still wore knit sweaters every day.
She had all kinds of them, in different colors.
Buying the same style in different shades—such a hassle-averse habit was usually something only guys did. It was rare among girls.
But today was different. She had switched to the short-sleeved school uniform. Her arms, hidden all winter, looked even paler now.
Sheng Xia glanced up and saw Zhang Shu too.
He must have just gotten a haircut—the fine bangs on his forehead were much shorter, faintly revealing his sharp eyebrows.
Beneath those brows, his gaze didn’t look particularly happy.
Somehow, the laughter and chatter died down, and everyone silently made space for the two of them, caught in each other’s line of sight.
Sheng Xia was the first to look away, sitting down to organize the recent stack of handouts.
Half a month’s worth of papers piled up to nearly the thickness of One Hundred Years of Solitude …
Staring at a century’s worth of unfinished work—it really felt lonely.
As the exam time approached, the class monitor directed everyone to rearrange their desks.
Sheng Xia and Li Shiyi helped each other move theirs.
"Thanks for covering for me while I was gone," Sheng Xia said apologetically.
Even after taking many books home, her desk was still heavy. She’d missed two weeks, so it must have been moved twice already.
Li Shiyi waved her hands. "No, no, it wasn’t me. Zhang Shu was the one who moved your desk every time…"
Sheng Xia’s eyes brightened for a moment, then her long lashes fluttered as she lowered her gaze again.
Li Shiyi pressed her lips together and fell silent.
Who didn’t know that this "class couple" had broken up over their future plans? After the oath-taking rally, many had seen how extraordinary Sheng Xia’s family background was—even Lu Youze’s father had been deferential to hers.
Honestly, outsiders found it all quite a pity.
But what could anyone do about it?
Plenty of couples broke up after graduation. Rather than dragging it out for a few more months, it was better to end it early and spare the heartache.It had been a long time since Sheng Xia had taken a full set of practice exams, and she wasn’t in top form—especially in math and the science sections. She could already tell she’d bombed those parts. English, however, was a different story. Thanks to her TOEFL classes, her language intuition had improved significantly. Even the cloze tests, which used to give her the most trouble, now felt effortless. She was quite pleased with herself.
The mock exam was a city-wide joint test, and grading was centralized. Since all teachers had to participate in the grading process, the weekend was converted into self-study sessions—real self-study, meaning attendance wasn’t mandatory.
Sheng Xia had been running around nonstop lately, day and night, her mind still tangled in poetry and prose, unable to shift gears. So she decided to give herself a break on Saturday.
Well, not exactly a break—she just slept in a little and studied at home. At noon, she even helped Wang Lianhua prepare lunch before heading out to her evening class at the tutoring center.
Wang Lianhua assumed she was just taking the weekend off and even tried to persuade her not to go to school so late at night.
As Sheng Xia stood by the door, she turned back and asked, “Mom, what if I get into a better university than Nanli University, but it’s far from home?”
Wang Lianhua seemed momentarily stunned before replying firmly, “That depends on which university. If it’s only slightly better, then Nanli University is still the better choice. It’ll give you an advantage in job hunting, and your network will be full of classmates…”
“Mm, got it.”
She closed the door and left, leaving Wang Lianhua standing inside, lost in thought.
The sky hung low, clouds in disarray, and the rain fell unpredictably.
Though it was March, the rain showed no gentleness, pouring down in sheets.
Sheng Xia stood under the eaves, grateful she hadn’t set off on her bike yet—otherwise, she’d have been drenched.
She had no choice but to hail a cab.
The rain was so heavy that the streetlights blurred in the mist. The intersection was jammed, horns blaring intermittently.
Two ambulances, their emergency lights flashing, blared their sirens futilely, unable to gain any speed. A doctor leaned out from the passenger side and shouted, “Move aside! Let us through!”
After yelling, he turned back to his phone and roared, “Requesting traffic police for clearance! Now!”
“Miss, should we take a detour? To make way for the ambulances behind us,” the taxi driver asked.
Sheng Xia agreed without hesitation. “Yes, of course. Let them pass quickly!”
The driver squeezed into the left-turn lane with difficulty, and the cars around them honked to make way. The ambulances rushed past, splashing mud in their wake.
“Tsk, they’re in such a hurry. Wonder what happened.”
“Huh, two ambulances… must be an accident. The weather’s terrible today—probably another car crash…”
The driver muttered to himself, his tone tinged with pity but mostly just idle chatter from an outsider.
By the time Sheng Xia finished her class, it was past nine, and the rain had eased.
Just as she was about to hail another cab, she spotted an unexpected figure in the lobby: Zou Weiping.
“I was working overtime at the company next door. Your dad asked me to take you home,” Zou Weiping explained.
Sheng Xia politely declined. “No need to trouble yourself. I can just take a cab.”
Zou Weiping elaborated, “There was a violent attack nearby today. The suspect ran off in a crazed state, so your dad didn’t want you going home alone.”
“Alright.”
On the way, Sheng Xia pulled out her phone to check the news. Zou Weiping, sitting in the front, casually remarked, “There was a brave young man today—said to be from your high school’s affiliated branch.”
Sheng Xia was shocked. Connecting the dots, she asked, “From today’s violent incident?”
“Yes.”
“Is he okay?” Sheng Xia asked with concern."It's still unclear, but they said he was stabbed."
Zou Weiping explained, "Earlier this evening, a deranged man was running around with a knife, slashing people. He injured a cashier at a convenience store, then rushed onto the streets. Many people were fleeing everywhere. This guy was clearly targeting society—wherever there were crowds, that's where he went. Eventually, he entered a bookstore, stabbed the owner, then charged at students reading inside..."
As Sheng Xia listened, her anxiety grew. "A bookstore? Which one?"
In this area, the only bookstore with heavy foot traffic by the roadside was Yifang Bookstore. Had the owner been stabbed?
And which classmate? She'd never encountered any classmates from the affiliated high school at Yifang Bookstore before.
"I can't remember clearly. Your father only mentioned it briefly. The police haven't released an official statement yet, so we shouldn't spread rumors," Zou Weiping replied. "If mishandled, this could become a major public incident."
Sheng Xia quickly opened her class group chat, certain there would be discussions.
For some reason, her heart pounded faster, an ominous premonition tightening her chest.
99+ unread messages in the group chat.
Her heart sank as she tapped in.
A heated discussion was underway, messages flooding the screen too rapidly to read clearly.
"Damn it, oh my god! This can't be real, right?"
"Praying for safety!"
"Please, heavens, don't take the talented ones from us!"
"Shut up, you upstairs! Don't say such things—nothing will happen!"
"May that society-hating bastard explode on the spot! Why would anyone do this?"
"Zhang Shu! Oh god, Shu-ge, no!"
"I'm crying my eyes out—tell me this isn't true!"
"God, I beg you!"
"What's the situation now? Anyone with family at the hospital?"
"Let me ask my aunt!"
"Everyone, stay calm. Shu-ge is such a good person—he'll be fine. The heavens wouldn't allow otherwise!"
"Shu-ge, please be okay!"
"No luck—the police have everything locked down. Can't get any info!"
"Lao Wang, go ask the school, quick!"
"Shu-ge has to be alright!"
……
……
Sheng Xia felt something sharp lodged in her throat, suffocating yet unable to break through.
Her vision narrowed to just two characters—Zhang Shu.
Her hands trembled as she scrolled up through the messages. Each clumsy swipe was interrupted by new notifications forcing her back down. She kept scrolling up, over and over—hands shaking, lips quivering, heart pounding uncontrollably. A hot sting spread through her nose as her eyes grew damp.
Zou Weiping, alarmed, quickly pulled the car over and moved from the driver's seat to the back. Hesitant but concerned, she asked, "Is it... a close classmate?"
Sheng Xia stared at the endless stream of "Zhang Shu" and "Shu-ge" in the chat. Finally, the dam broke, and tears poured down.
Stabbed? How could this happen?
Why him?
What was he doing at Yifang Bookstore?
Slowly, Sheng Xia raised her head and met Zou Weiping's worried gaze. For the first time, in front of this woman who was both familiar and a stranger, Sheng Xia couldn't hold back her emotions: "Not..."
Zou Weiping relaxed slightly but continued gently rubbing her back in comfort.
After a long pause, Sheng Xia's voice, fractured and fragile, whispered: "Not a... classmate... He's... someone I... really, really... like..."
Zou Weiping froze completely. Faced with the girl's distraught state, she too was at a loss.
Having no children of her own, she didn't know how to comfort one. All she could do was pull Sheng Xia into an embrace, stroking her back soothingly while pulling out her phone to call Sheng Mingfeng."Any updates on today's incident? Find out quickly and report back... Stop asking questions, just hurry!"
Sheng Xia could no longer hear Zou Weiping's words. Her mind was buzzing.
One Side Bookstore...
Violent attack...
Act of bravery...
Stabbed...
Zhang Shu...
She swallowed hard, struggling to regain normal breathing, then pulled up Zhang Sujin's number and dialed.
After all this time in the after-school program, she'd never made any requests or called this number before.
Ring, ring, ring—
No answer.
If it was really Zhang Shu, then Zhang Sujin would be the least able to handle anything else right now.
She couldn't bother her anymore...
Wiping away tears, Sheng Xia focused on her screen and remembered adding the bookstore's customer service on WeChat when she signed up for membership. She quickly opened WeChat and found the contact.
Only then did she notice a mass message received around 7 PM:
[Dear valued member of One Side Bookstore: We regret to inform you that our store experienced a violent incident today and is temporarily closed. We will notify you of reopening details. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience.]
It was true. It really was One Side Bookstore.
She could no longer comfort herself with the thought that it might be misinformation.
She tried a voice call—busy signal...
In the class group chat, someone had shared a Weibo link.
#OneSideBookstore #NanliStabbing So terrifying, I was at the newsstand across the street and saw this young guy running past me...
Sheng Xia swallowed painfully, feeling each word pierce her skin like needles.
The post included a video. Even before pressing play, the thumbnail showed a familiar scene—the view from across One Side Bookstore. The running figure in a black T-shirt was etched in her bones...
With over 10,000 reposts, she couldn't bring herself to watch it yet. She scrolled down to read comments first.
[Is this the power of youth...]
—Was everyone else dead? Was he the only real man there?
—Most heroic back view ever
—Truly handsome, from body to soul, handsome in spirit.
—The world becomes more beautiful when youths step forward.
[Stay safe please @NanliPolice hurry up with an official statement you useless pieces of shit!]
—@NanliPolice come take your beating
—Was that psycho caught? Death penalty, damn it!
—If he harmed a top scholar candidate, can he just say "I'm mentally ill" and get away with it? This world is insane.
[I heard he's this year's potential top scorer in Nanli! OMG!]
—Yes, he's always been #1 at our school, undisputed first in city-wide exams.
—Also the school heartthrob, ridiculously outstanding.
—Wasn't he second last semester?
—Shut the fuck up! He's always first!
—Please be safe. The person I've been secretly admiring—I never told you.
—Talented with noble character, this is pillar-of-the-nation material. Don't let anything happen...
—It's true, you have no idea how amazing he is.
[Stop fucking filming and go help!]
—Would you dare if it were you?
—Soul-searching question—it's really hard to actually do.
Trembling, Sheng Xia finally tapped the video. She still couldn't believe something like this could happen in her life, to someone she knew...
Chaotic screams and panicked voices filled the audio, creating instant suffocation upon playback.
Yet all these noisy people were just spectators. The only one who rushed forward without hesitation was Zhang Shu.The road was jammed as drivers stopped to "watch the show," filled with the impatient honking of horns.
Zhang Shu hurried through the chaos, the heavy rain instantly soaking him through. His clothes clung to him, his hair no longer fluffy but plastered down, making him look utterly disheveled. His long legs vaulted over the guardrail in the middle of the road as he sprinted at full speed, shoving through the crowd before bursting into the bookstore.
Fearless and unhesitating.
The distance was too far, so the footage zoomed in.
Shaky and blurry.
All that could be seen through the glass window was a tall man waving a cleaver in his left hand and a fruit knife in his right, swinging them wildly, ferocious and menacing. People scrambled in panic as he charged straight toward a seat by the window.
There sat a girl in a white dress, head bowed over a book. For some reason, she seemed oblivious to the commotion, showing no reaction at all.
Just as the cleaver was about to descend, someone grabbed the man from behind, wrapping their arms around his waist and yanking him backward with full force.
Both of them, off-balance, crashed to the ground.
What followed was out of the camera’s view—no one could see.
How they fought, how he got hurt, where he was injured—no one knew except those inside the bookstore and the camera.
The video ended abruptly amid a chorus of shocked exclamations.
They panicked, they marveled, they watched from the sidelines.
Not a single one of them stepped forward to help that young man.
They pressed the record button, becoming part of the spectacle, fodder for gossip.
They were that indifferent.
Sheng Xia couldn’t stop trembling, her entire body as if plunged into a glacier, numb and senseless.
At her shoulder, Zou Weiping’s hand rubbed soothingly up and down. “Don’t worry, wait for news from your dad. It’ll be fine, it has to be. Heaven protects kind and brave kids.”
Sheng Xia nodded frantically, praying that Zou Weiping’s words would prove true.
Those two ambulances today, racing so urgently—he had been inside one of them.
Where was he hurt? How badly? What state was he in? Was he even conscious?
So, she had once passed by him, battered and bruised…
So close.
Yet she had been calm as still water, oblivious to his pain.
Stabbed…
Where? Were there other injuries?
He must be in so much pain…
A-Shu, it must hurt so much…
A-Shu, don’t… I haven’t told you yet, how much I like you, how much I love you… I’ve been trying, I’ve never given up…
A-Shu…
Please…
Please, please…
Please.
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