Time flowed by in a blur of classes and piano practice. By noon on Thursday, Lin Murun received his final paycheck from Boss Yuan.
The Arts Festival was set for the following day, so there was no evening self-study tonight. After the final period, the students didn't rush to the cafeteria as they usually did; instead, they gathered in small groups, heading home or out to local restaurants for small celebrations.
For students not participating in the performances, including Friday, they essentially had a three-day holiday. Although they were required to be at school for two of those days, it didn't dampen their spirits. Being able to watch performances without having to attend classes—who wouldn't be happy about that?
Zhou Xuan and Yu Qianyi were heading home and had packed their bags early, bolting the moment the bell rang. Consequently, Lin Murun was left to have dinner at the cafeteria alone.
The cafeteria, usually so crowded that people were packed chest-to-back, looked somewhat deserted. Not only were there no lines at the serving windows, but even the first-floor hall wasn't full.
The cafeteria aunties, seeing how handsome Lin Murun was, complimented him while piling extra boiled shrimp onto his tray.
"The chef didn't expect so few students today. Eat up, dear, it’s no trouble," one auntie said with a smile.
"Thank you, Auntie." Lin Murun lifted his tray to find a seat, only to spot Si Bin’s figure by a nearby serving window.
"Oh! Long time no see! Si Bin, you’ve grown taller again!" An auntie plopped a generous scoop of meat onto his tray. She looked at it, decided it wasn't enough, and added more. "Eat more! You're at the age where you're still growing."
"I will," Si Bin said with a smile. "Thank you, Auntie."
As he turned around, his eyes met Lin Murun’s.
"You didn't go home?" Si Bin asked, walking over with his tray.
"No, I have a performance tomorrow night, so I need to practice at school during the day," Lin Murun replied. "What about you? When do you perform?"
"The day after tomorrow." Si Bin led Lin Murun to two seats near the window.
"Hey! Bin-ge!" a student at a neighboring table called out.
"What a rare guest! What brings you to the cafeteria today?" another joked.
Si Bin replied, "Fewer people today."
"What do you want to eat, Bin-ge? My treat!" a girl said. Just as she finished, she noticed Lin Murun beside him. She gasped in surprise. "Oh! I’ve seen you before!"
"Where did you see him?" Si Bin asked, setting down his tray.
"The Confession Wall," the girl explained. "Someone posted his photo on the school’s Confession Wall. I happened to see it and told my friends that I didn't know we had such a good-looking guy at No. 1 Middle School."
Her companions burst into laughter.
"So, you're Si Bin's friend?" the girl asked with a bright smile.
"Just eat your food," Si Bin said, gesturing for Lin Murun to sit. He then introduced them: "These are all my friends. This senior is from the third-year Class One Science Stream. She’s already been recommended for admission to A University. She used to tutor me; she’s a great person, but she can never remember her own age and insists on calling me 'ge' like everyone else."
The girl laughed and said to Lin Murun, "Calling him 'ge' makes me feel younger, doesn't it?"
Clearly, this top-tier student was naturally sociable. Lin Murun didn't know how to respond, so he simply nodded in agreement.
"We're heading out, we're done eating. Take your time, you two." Sensing Lin Murun’s slight discomfort, the girl picked up her tray and signaled to her friends.
"Xuewen-jie, didn't you say you were going to buy Si Bin something to eat?" one of the boys asked.
The girl named Xuewen took another look at Lin Murun and said mysteriously, "Not today. There will be plenty of chances in the future."
Lin Murun: ???
"Want some soup?" Si Bin asked. "I got an extra bowl."
Seeing Lin Murun nod, he handed the soup over and said, "Xuewen-jie seems to like you."
Lin Murun: ?
He took a quiet sip of the soup and asked blankly, "Why?"
Si Bin looked into his eyes and suddenly laughed. "Nothing."
Lin Murun: Oh...
"They’re all very good people. I can introduce you properly when there's a chance," Si Bin said as he picked the green onions out of his dish.
"It feels like everyone at No. 1 Middle School knows you," Lin Murun remarked. "Even the cafeteria aunties."
Si Bin raised an eyebrow. "That auntie’s sister used to be our family’s housekeeper, so that’s how we met."
Lin Murun nodded.
"I’m not close with everyone. Some are real friends, some are just familiar faces, and others..." Si Bin paused, then said, "are just fair-weather friends."
It felt as though Si Bin was explaining himself, yet also as if he were just following the conversation. Before Lin Murun could react, he asked, "Are you practicing piano tonight?"
"Yes, but in a little while," Lin Murun replied.
"True, you should rest a bit after eating. I wonder if the colored lights on the playground are up yet," Si Bin said.
"Colored lights?" Lin Murun asked, biting his chopstick.
"Yeah." Si Bin pointed toward the playground. "Every year for the Arts Festival, the playground is covered in lights. It’s very beautiful."
Lin Murun looked where he was pointing and saw many teachers and students gathered by the playground, holding strings of lights.
"Let’s go take a look in a bit," Si Bin suggested.
Lin Murun: "Okay."
His compliant manner made Si Bin unable to suppress a smile.
"Are you always this easygoing?" he asked.
Lin Murun tilted his head. "Huh?"
"Never mind." Si Bin withdrew his gaze and began to eat.
By the time the two walked out of the cafeteria, the lights in the school corridors had already flickered on. As the winter solstice approached, the days grew shorter. The sunset had vanished, leaving only vibrant, fiery clouds spread across half the sky.
The colored lights had been wrapped around the playground fences. Once plugged in, the multicolored glow blinked and shimmered, creating a festive atmosphere.
First-year students in their uniforms saw the lights and excitedly pulled out their phones to take photos, chattering incessantly about their anticipation for tomorrow’s festival.
"I thought it was quite a novelty when I was a freshman, too," Si Bin said to Lin Murun, watching them. "Back then, I thought No. 1 Middle School was a truly special place. Few key high schools put this much heart into an arts festival."
Lin Murun nodded. "It’s a first for me, too."
"Which school were you at before?" Si Bin asked.
"N City No. 5 Middle School." Lin Murun thought for a moment before adding, "I don't think No. 5 Middle School ever held an arts festival."
"I’ve heard of that school," Si Bin said. "It’s a provincial key school that has produced top scorers in the Gaokao."
"Why did you transfer to No. 1 Middle School?" he asked.
"My grandfather passed away. I’m still a minor, so I came to H City to stay with relatives," Lin Murun said in a flat tone.
Si Bin was taken aback. "I’m sorry."
"It’s okay. He passed away of old age and didn't suffer at all. Besides..." Lin Murun’s voice trailed off.
Si Bin turned to see him quietly watching the lights on the fence, his expression calm.
Si Bin felt a bit at a loss. He usually knew exactly what to say in any situation, but those innate social skills seemed to fail him whenever he faced Lin Murun.
Since Lin Murun didn't speak, he remained silent as well.
"Besides, for him, leaving was a good thing," Lin Murun finally said after a long pause. "If it weren't for the sake of taking care of me, he would have gone to find my grandmother long ago."
Seeing that Si Bin didn't respond, Lin Murun turned to comfort him instead. "It’s alright, you don't need to feel guilty. Although I miss him, I’m happy for him."
"I’m sorry," Si Bin said again. "I didn't know about your grandparents..."
"Actually, I never met my grandmother. Everything I know about them is from the stories my grandfather told me." After saying this, Lin Murun turned and said politely, "If you’re willing to listen, I can tell you."
"Yes," Si Bin nodded. "I’m listening."
"My grandfather and grandmother met in university." Lin Murun’s bangs were lifted by the evening breeze. His eyes behind his glasses squinted slightly against the wind.
"I heard my grandmother’s classical literature professor was a very romantic old gentleman. He would lead the students in reading *The Romance of the Western Chamber* and *The Peony Pavilion*, telling them the love stories of Baoyu and Daiyu, praising those gifted scholars and beauties who defied social conventions and dared to rebel against feudal rites."
"'Love is unknown in its origin, yet it grows ever deeper. The living may die for it, and the dead may be revived by it.' That old gentleman once said that he admired all forms of pure love and respected those willing to give their lives for their beloved. The mortal world is too noisy, and human emotions are too complex; those willing to sacrifice their lives for love are the truly brave ones."
"It was an open lecture, and my grandfather happened to be auditing from the back row. He remembered those words. For all these years, he firmly believed that Grandmother was waiting for him somewhere." Lin Murun paused. "To him, passing away peacefully wasn't a bad thing. He was just going to find my grandmother."
"Your grandfather sounds like a poet," Si Bin said softly.
"Don't you think his ideas were strange?" Lin Murun asked in return. "The neighbors all said he was a romantic to the point of being childish."
Si Bin shook his head. "Those were his own thoughts. As long as that romanticism didn't cause trouble for others, it’s fine."
Lin Murun said, "He wouldn't. Grandfather was always a quiet person. His only two hobbies were reading and cooking."
"If he were still here, he would have really wanted to meet you." A smile played in Lin Murun’s eyes, shimmering like the festive lights, making anyone who saw it feel a sense of warmth.
"If he were still here, he definitely would have become friends with my father," Si Bin said.
He led Lin Murun to a bench by the playground and continued, "My father is also a romantic man."
"How so?" Lin Murun asked.
"Back when they weren't married yet, my dad would copy love poems for my mom every day. He’d leave them on her desk along with breakfast and a fresh rose."
"His biggest dream was to take his wife and child to travel the world—to see the moon in Veria, Greece; to watch the sunrise in Taormina, Sicily; to see the snow on Mount Hua..." Si Bin said with a smile. "But my mom is very busy with work. Our three-person travel plans often only had two participants. We once bought budget airline tickets and slept at a pier in some European country."
"Budget airline tickets?" Lin Murun repeated curiously.
"Yeah, those planes were small and dilapidated; you even had to print the tickets yourself. He also took me to obscure villages where the transportation was a truck made of dirt..."
As Si Bin spoke, Lin Murun listened quietly until the streetlights by the playground suddenly flared to life.
The light caused them both to look up simultaneously.
The streetlights turning on meant it was already eight o'clock in the evening.
"Is it that late already?" Si Bin remarked.
The moonlight was beautiful tonight. In the city sky, usually heavily polluted by light, even a few faint stars were visible.
"Eight o'clock sharp." Lin Murun checked the time and asked, "What about after that? Where else did you plan to go?"
"I don't know." Si Bin looked up at the streetlights and said slowly, "We'll see later."
Thinking of his father lying on a hospital bed, his breath fading, Si Bin closed his eyes and said in a natural tone, "High school courses are demanding, so we haven't made any travel plans for the time being."
Lin Murun nodded in understanding.
"I need to go to the bakery near the piano shop." He stood up and asked Si Bin, "Want to come? Their homemade milk tea is very good. My treat."
Si Bin smiled. "Sure."
He stood up to follow Lin Murun and asked, "What’s their best cake? My mom likes sweets; I can take her there next time."
"Hmm..." Lin Murun thought for a moment and said, "The birthday cake, I suppose. I’m planning to order one."
Si Bin paused. "You're ordering a birthday cake?"
"Yes," Lin Murun replied. "Tomorrow is my birthday, but their cakes have to be custom-ordered. If I wait until tomorrow, it’ll be too late."
Si Bin laughed silently.
"Do you think I’m childish?" Lin Murun asked him. "Already seventeen, yet still thinking about birthday cakes."
"No, I think it’s quite nice," Si Bin answered.
Lin Murun glanced at him, his face full of disbelief.
"When my dad was still around, he would order a cake for me every year on my birthday." The night wind was cool, and Lin Murun tucked his hands into his school jacket pockets.
"He said that life needs a sense of ritual."
"Yeah." Si Bin explained, "I don't think you're childish. I just think we're very much alike."
Lin Murun looked up at him curiously. "Do you do that too?"
"I do," Si Bin replied. "My dad used to order them for me. After I grew up, I started ordering them for myself."
The two boys walked into the night wind, heading toward the shimmering lights beyond the school gates.
***
Glossary
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
--- | --- | ---
表白墙 | Confession Wall | A social media page or physical board where students post anonymous messages or photos of people they admire.
理一班 | Class One Science Stream | Refers to the "Science" track in Chinese high schools (as opposed to Liberal Arts).
保送 | Recommended for admission | A system where top students are admitted to universities without taking the Gaokao.
A大 | A University | A placeholder name for a prestigious university.
《西厢记》 | Romance of the Western Chamber | A famous Chinese play written by Wang Shifu during the Yuan Dynasty.
《牡丹亭》 | The Peony Pavilion | A masterpiece of Ming Dynasty drama by Tang Xianzu.
宝黛 | Baoyu and Daiyu | The main couple from the classic novel "Dream of the Red Chamber."
情不知所起，一往而深 | Love is unknown in its origin, yet it grows ever deeper | A famous line from the preface of "The Peony Pavilion."
仪式感 | Sense of ritual | The idea of making ordinary moments special through specific actions or traditions.
