"You there, teacher in the front row! Give us a smile, don't be so serious," the photographer called out, looking toward Teacher Tang while holding up his camera.
Teacher Tang, who was fair-skinned and plump, had long grown accustomed to wearing a stern expression. Hearing the photographer's request, he hurriedly tugged at the corners of his mouth, resulting in a look that was more of a strained grimace than a smile.
"Alright! Teachers, students, look at the lens!" the photographer counted down. "Three, two, one..."
"Eggplant!"
*Click.*
On the class photo for Grade 12, Class 1 of the Liberal Arts stream, row after row of youthful, brilliant smiles were captured forever.
Before the graduation photos were taken, the results of the College Entrance Exam had already been released. Once the scores were out, it was time to get busy filling out university preferences.
After the photo session, students crowded around their teachers to ask for advice. Some were jubilant, while others were filled with worry.
"Oh no! What a pity! I hit the admission threshold for H University, but I can't get into the major I wanted..."
"Being able to accept a major reallocation is already pretty good. Look at my score—it's right in the middle, neither here nor there. It’s so stressful."
"I want to go abroad. My parents are looking into the 2+2 study abroad program at C University."
...
The weather at the end of June was sweltering. After the graduation photos were finished, Lin Murun, who disliked crowds, retreated to the shade of the trees in the small garden.
Before he could even relax, a group of girls surrounded him.
"Excuse me..." one girl said, holding up her phone with a flushed face. "Can we take a photo together?"
Lin Murun was slightly startled but nodded in agreement.
The girl smiled happily and hurriedly opened a beauty camera app, snapping several photos with Lin Murun.
"I want a photo with Lin Murun too!"
"Student Lin, I don't need a selfie! I just want to take a picture of you!"
The overly enthusiastic girls swarmed forward like a hive of bees.
Lin Murun had a good temperament and didn't refuse anyone. He took group photos with some and cooperated with others for solo shots.
"Excuse me, could you make some room?"
A girl holding a camera was smiling widely at Lin Murun when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around and saw Si Bin's face.
"Si Bin!" she exclaimed in surprise.
Several girls heard his name and looked over.
"It really is Si Bin!"
"Is Si Bin here to find Lin Murun?"
Si Bin gave a gentle smile and walked through the path the girls instinctively cleared for him until he reached Lin Murun's side. He raised his hand and draped an arm over Lin Murun's shoulder. "I'll be taking your Student Lin away now."
Though Si Bin spoke with a smile, he looked like a man who would not take no for an answer.
The girls looked at one another and eventually dispersed.
Before Si Bin and Lin Murun could walk away, one girl covered her mouth and snapped a photo of the two of them with a *click*. She turned to her companion with a red face and whispered, "I ship it so hard!"
"Ship what?" her friend asked.
Watching Si Bin and Lin Murun walk into the distance, the girl said excitedly, "Didn't you notice the Confession Wall during the sports meet last year?"
The others finally remembered the photo from their junior year—the one of Si Bin and Lin Murun embracing under the blue sky and white clouds.
"Holy crap! Now that you mention it..." one girl said, covering her face.
"They look so good together!"
"Eeeek!"
Si Bin led Lin Murun through the small garden to the edge of the pond.
No. 1 High School had a very large pond. Every summer, the entire surface would be covered in blooming lotus flowers. Because the pond was in a relatively secluded location and offered beautiful scenery, it had become a "dating sanctuary" for many young couples at the school.
Cicadas chirped incessantly. The willow branches by the pond swayed in the breeze, dipping into the shimmering waters of the lotus pond.
The couples who used to be secretive no longer hid. On this graduation day, they held hands openly and whispered sweet nothings.
A willow twig brushed against Lin Murun's shoulder. Si Bin reached out and flicked it away.
"Runrun, can I hold your hand?" Si Bin asked softly.
Lin Murun looked up and smiled, proactively interlacing his fingers with Si Bin's.
"Of course."
The two shared a smile.
Suddenly, the sound of something hitting the ground came from behind them.
Lin Murun and Si Bin, still holding hands, turned to look. They saw Jiang Yuxi with his head down, hurriedly picking up the phone he had dropped. Without looking up, he turned and ran away.
Si Bin arched an eyebrow. "He saw us."
Lin Murun watched his retreating back and thought for a moment. "It's fine if he saw."
Si Bin let out a questioning "Hmm?"
Lin Murun smiled. "You'll know in a bit."
Sure enough, half an hour later, the school's QQ Confession Wall was in an absolute uproar.
No. 1 High School had a long-standing tradition of graduation confessions. After the graduation photos, many students didn't want to miss the excitement of the confession segment. Instead of leaving school immediately, they crowded into air-conditioned areas in small groups and started scrolling through their phones.
"Holy shit!!!" Yu Qianyi's shout startled Li Menglai, who was currently picking out an ice cream.
"What's wrong?" Zhou Xuan turned to ask.
"Look at the Confession Wall!!" Yu Qianyi looked up in shock. "There's something going on with Si Bin and Lin Murun!"
There were many students from other classes in the convenience store. Yu Qianyi's loudspeaker-like voice prompted everyone to curiously pull out their phones.
Instantly, the store was filled with a chorus of "Holy shits."
Seeing that Li Menglai and Zhou Xuan remained perfectly calm, Yu Qianyi thought she hadn't made herself clear. She grabbed Li Menglai's arm and said, "They held hands! Right there at the lotus pond!"
Li Menglai nodded and asked, "And?"
"And? What do you mean 'and'?" Yu Qianyi gestured frantically. "They were *really* holding hands! It wasn't just boys messing around or putting arms over shoulders."
Li Menglai nodded. "I see." Then, in an incredibly calm tone, she asked, "Isn't that normal?"
Yu Qianyi stared at Li Menglai with wide eyes, then at Zhou Xuan. After a moment, she finally snapped out of it.
"You guys knew all along?!"
Seeing the two of them nod, Yu Qianyi wailed in frustration.
"What! So Lin Murun didn't have a girlfriend at all! Then why did you have me plan a birthday surprise for him?"
"He only said he was in a relationship; he never said if his partner was a boy or a girl," Li Menglai shrugged and said with a smile. "January 1st is Si Bin's birthday."
Yu Qianyi was so stunned she was practically catatonic. After a long while, she furrowed her brows, looking like she was about to cry. "What the... you all knew, and I was the only one left out." She pursed her lips and accused, "Menglai, you look so honest and trustworthy, how could you betray our food-buddy friendship?"
Li Menglai smiled and handed her a box of ice cream. "I'm sorry! It's my fault. I'll treat you to ice cream, so don't be sad."
Yu Qianyi took the ice cream, but she didn't feel particularly comforted.
The photo of Lin Murun and Si Bin holding hands spread like wildfire. The comments were a mix of shock, blessings, and people lamenting their own "breakups" with their crushes...
Lin Qingqing was nervously scrolling through the comments, terrified that harsh criticisms would appear. Fortunately, among the thousands of comments, not a single student was hurling insults. Even the students who found homosexuality difficult to accept stated that while they didn't understand it, they wouldn't easily judge someone else's sexual orientation.
After finishing the comments, Lin Qingqing breathed a sigh of relief.
With such a massive piece of gossip breaking, the physical Confession Wall under the teaching building was instantly swarmed. Girls whispered about the photo of Si Bin and Lin Murun, while most of the boys, who were on good terms with Si Bin, wanted to know if it was true.
Teacher Xia, holding his large tea mug, said cheerfully to Teacher Tang beside him, "Old Tang, why do I feel like this year's confession segment is even livelier than usual?"
Teacher Tang looked at the jostling crowd and only felt that he had missed the best opportunity to "beat the mandarin ducks" and break them up.
Teacher Yang gossiped, "Guess which students will confess publicly this time?"
Teacher Li adjusted his glasses and said with certainty, "There probably won't be any from our class."
"That's hard to say," Teacher Yang joked. "Lin Murun and Si Bin from our class are so handsome and have such good grades. There must be plenty of girls who like them."
Just as she spoke, they saw Si Bin and Lin Murun walking over side-by-side from a distance.
The crowd instantly became restless.
"They're here, they're here!"
"Ahhh! The part I've been waiting for is here!"
"Students, don't push! Watch your safety!" Teacher Xia called out a warning.
Jiang Yuxi hid in a corner, staring unblinkingly at Si Bin and Lin Murun as they approached the Confession Wall. He gripped his phone, the tempered glass screen protector of which was already cracked.
Aside from Lin Qingqing, he was also closely monitoring the comments on the digital wall. To his disappointment, most of the girls actually had a supportive attitude, and even the boys just treated it as gossip and moved on. He had tried to use a newly registered alt-account to stir up trouble in the comment section, but his remarks were quickly buried under thousands of other comments. When he refreshed, he found he had been blacklisted by the person running the wall.
He hid in the corner, gritting his teeth, desperately hoping for Lin Murun or Si Bin to suffer some misfortune.
But things went contrary to his wishes.
When Lin Qingqing saw Si Bin, she took the initiative to ask, "Are you going to write your names on the wall?"
Si Bin smiled and nodded. "Yeah."
"Wow!" The girls covered their faces and screamed.
"Hahaha, Teacher Li, you miscalculated." Teacher Tang actually let out a rare laugh. "I want to see whose name Si Bin is going to write."
Si Bin didn't move. Instead, Lin Murun took a marker and, under the gaze of the entire crowd, walked to the Confession Wall. He raised his well-defined left hand and cleanly wrote two names: "Si Bin" and "Lin Murun."
Si Bin thought for a moment, stepped forward, took the marker from his hand, and drew a small heart between their names.
"Holy shit!" a girl screamed. "My husband just confessed to my other husband!"
"Ugh! Your circle is so messy!" her friend teased.
"Waaaaah... I'm heartbroken! Double heartbroken!"
"Ahhh! So romantic! It really feels like a plot from a novel!!"
Amidst the screams and cheering, Si Bin capped the marker, turned around with a smile, and took Lin Murun's hand.
"Let me introduce him. This is my boyfriend, Lin Murun."
Teacher Xia was so shocked he nearly dropped his tea mug.
Teacher Li's eyes went wide.
Teacher Yang tilted her head, a look of realization dawning on her. "Oh... no wonder they were so close they were practically inseparable."
Teacher Tang, who had been the first to notice the signs, gritted his teeth. He stared at Si Bin's smiling face from afar for a long time before finally squeezing out a single phrase: "That little brat."
All the joy on this side fell into the eyes of Lin's uncle, who had come to pick up the children.
The uncle's school had started its break today. He had rushed to No. 1 High School without even calling, wanting to take Lin Qingqing and Lin Murun home. But neither child noticed his arrival.
Lin Qingqing was cheering and screaming along with the crowd, her face flushed with excitement. Meanwhile, Lin Murun and Si Bin stood in the center of the crowd, their fingers tightly interlaced.
Youthful years, success in exams, holding the hand of the person they loved most, and receiving the blessings of the crowd—what a beautiful picture it was.
The uncle stood at the school gate. After watching silently for a long time, he turned and left without a word.
That night, neither Lin Qingqing nor Lin Murun came home. The uncle had something weighing on his mind and found his dinner tasteless.
Seeing this, the aunt thought he was simply reluctant to let the children leave for university. She comforted him, "The children have grown up; they have to be independent eventually."
"Yes..." The uncle started. "They've all grown up."
When it was time for bed, the uncle tossed and turned, unable to sleep for a long time. He thought of Lin Murun's heartfelt smile during the day and the way his hand was locked with the other boy's. After a sigh, he got out of bed quietly.
The air conditioning in the house was a bit cold. The uncle threw on a jacket and walked into the study in the dark. He turned on the light, pulled a photo album from the cabinet, and opened the first page.
The person in the photos was Lin Murun's mother.
The uncle flipped through the pages slowly, watching her grow from a little girl clutching a ragdoll into a graceful young woman. Lin Murun's mother had beautiful eyes—those light-colored irises were like the surface of a lake shimmering under the setting sun. One look was enough to make anyone feel a sense of tenderness.
Looking at his sister's photos, the uncle remembered many things.
In her youth, she was always quiet, never competing or fighting for anything. She was like a flower blooming by an ancient well—beautiful and soft, yet easily overlooked. After graduating from university, this obedient girl had her first irreconcilable conflict with her family. She resolutely rejected the blind date her parents had arranged and chose to be with Lin Murun's father.
The two elders disliked the father and were frustrated by their daughter's rebellion, which they felt made them lose face. Thus, after she married, they cut off all contact with her.
Their next meeting was in a funeral parlor.
She lay quietly on the cold morgue bed, still so young and beautiful, but she would never wake up again.
The uncle had held the infant Lin Murun in his arms, weeping uncontrollably. From that moment on, he secretly vowed that he would respect the child's choices in the future.
Recalling the sight of Lin Murun and the youth named Si Bin with their hands tightly clasped, the uncle wiped his face and closed the album.
The next morning, the uncle, who hadn't slept all night, told the aunt about Lin Murun and Si Bin.
The aunt worked in a hospital and had seen much of the world, but because it concerned her own nephew, she was stunned when she first heard it. The uncle patiently persuaded her for a long time before she finally came around. She sighed and said, "Let's find a time to meet that boy Si Bin. Qingqing said his family is wealthy; I'm afraid our Murun might be tricked by one of those rich second-generation types."
The uncle agreed with her and nodded.
The two guardians were discussing when to look for Si Bin, but they didn't expect Si Bin to deliver himself to their door that very afternoon.
When the uncle opened the door, he saw Lin Qingqing with a fawning smile on her face.
"Dad, Mom... um..."
The uncle saw Si Bin standing next to Lin Murun and instantly understood the children's purpose.
"Hello, Uncle, Auntie." Seeing the two elders looking at him, Si Bin took the initiative to greet them.
The uncle turned away and said neither warmly nor coldly, "Come in."
After entering and changing shoes, Si Bin proactively presented the gifts he had bought. For the aunt, it was a silk scarf. The pattern was simple and elegant, and it felt soft and smooth to the touch. The uncle's gift was a Montblanc platinum-plated fountain pen.
Just as the uncle took the gift box, he heard Si Bin say, "Uncle, Auntie, my name is Si Bin. I am Murun's boyfriend."
The uncle, who had been prepared to beat around the bush with Si Bin, was stunned. The gift in his hand suddenly felt like a hot potato—it wasn't right to keep it, but it was even less right to throw the person and the pen out together.
"You're quite something, giving the gifts before introducing yourself so we elders can't strike a smiling face." The uncle noticed the nervous expressions on Lin Murun and Lin Qingqing and sighed, gesturing to Si Bin. "Everyone, sit down."
After brewing tea, the uncle asked Si Bin, "When did you two start?"
"The first semester of our junior year. We've been together for two years," Si Bin answered.
The uncle gazed at the handsome young man before him with a complex expression. "Are you serious? You're not just playing with someone else's child because you have money?"
"Uncle, we..." Lin Murun started to speak but was interrupted by the aunt.
"Murun, let Si Bin speak."
Lin Murun looked at his stern uncle and aunt. He opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, his left hand resting on his knee was gripped by Si Bin. Si Bin patted the back of Lin Murun's hand and gave him a reassuring smile.
"Uncle, Auntie, I am serious," Si Bin said solemnly. "This isn't a whim, and I have no intention of playing with anyone's feelings."
The uncle said seriously, "What about your parents? Do they agree?"
"My father has passed away," Si Bin replied. "As for my mother... Murun already met her during our first year together." After a pause, Si Bin continued, "She knows my sexual orientation and supports us being together."
The uncle hadn't expected Si Bin's father to be deceased. Looking at the young man who was about the same age as his own child, his tone unconsciously softened. "Then have you thought about the issue of children? You're young now, so you might not think much of it, but what about ten or even twenty years from now? You might still end up separating for the sake of marriage and children."
Si Bin shook his head. "We don't want children, not now and not in the future."
Before the uncle could ask again, Si Bin said, "Uncle, both Murun and I grew up in incomplete families, so we understand better than most what kind of environment is needed to raise a child. If we weren't together and eventually formed separate families and had children, we couldn't guarantee a happy home for a wife or a child. A girlfriend can be broken up with, and a marriage can end in divorce... Separating just to have children and forming a family with someone you don't love would only hurt more people. It would be putting the cart before the horse."
Lin Qingqing thought of the resentful couple, Wu Chuchu and Bei Fan, and chimed in, "Yeah, yeah! Dad, do you remember that senior I told you about? Her husband, Bei Fan, originally had a very excellent boyfriend, but to have children, Bei Fan broke up with him and went against his conscience to marry the senior. The result? Including that child, Bei Fan ruined three people's lives at once."
The uncle and aunt had heard Lin Qingqing talk about Bei Fan and Wu Chuchu before. At the time, they had lamented that Bei Fan was a piece of work. Now, hearing Si Bin and Lin Qingqing's words, both fell into silence.
The uncle stared at Si Bin for a long time before finally relenting. "Since you like each other, then just... keep seeing each other for now and see how it goes."
"Dad, you're the best!" Lin Qingqing said happily.
"But we still have things to say to Si Bin." The uncle turned to Lin Murun. "Murun, take Qingqing out for a walk first."
Lin Murun looked at Si Bin uneasily.
"He's only just been brought home, and already your heart is leaning toward the outsider..." The aunt shook her head and sighed. "Fine, you two go out. We won't make things difficult for Si Bin."
Si Bin smiled at Lin Murun. "It's okay, Runrun. I'll come find you in a bit."
Only then did the siblings leave the house, looking back every few steps.
Once they were gone, the uncle looked at Si Bin again. After a long silence, he spoke. "Have you really thought this through? This path is not an easy one."
Si Bin nodded and said seriously, "I've thought it through. No matter what difficulties we encounter in the future, I will face them together with Murun."
"What if one day you no longer love Murun?" the aunt asked.
Si Bin was momentarily stunned, and then he remembered the first time he saw Lin Murun. On that summer afternoon, Si Bin had only looked at Lin Murun once, and his heart had been moved so deeply he could never forget it.
"That day will never come," Si Bin said categorically.
The uncle shook his head. "Young people..." He stood up and patted Si Bin's shoulder. "Then prove it to me."
That night, Si Bin stayed over at the uncle's house.
Lying in bed, Lin Murun was looking up travel guides for their vacation, yawning with exhaustion. Si Bin walked over, pulled the air-conditioning quilt over him, and took the phone that was about to drop onto Lin Murun's nose.
"What did Uncle and Auntie say to you?" In a half-asleep state, Lin Murun nuzzled against Si Bin's hand and murmured, "Did they make things hard for you?"
"No." Si Bin slid into the covers, pulling Lin Murun into his arms. He answered softly, "They just told me to treat you well."
"Mmh..." Lin Murun's eyes were half-closed. "Then I'm relieved."
Si Bin kissed his forehead. "Go to sleep. When you wake up, we'll set off."
Lin Murun closed his eyes and asked, "Where are we going first?"
"To Veria to see the moon, to Taormina to see the sunrise, and when winter comes, we'll go to Mount Hua to see the snow." Si Bin lightly stroked Lin Murun's soft cheek. "In the future, we can see all the beautiful sights in the world."
Lin Murun mumbled, "Seeing them all will take a long time..."
"It's okay, we're still young." Si Bin gazed tenderly at Lin Murun's sleeping face and whispered, "We have plenty of time."
The air conditioner hummed softly in the bedroom. On the bed, the two youths huddled together, sleeping in each other's arms.
Outside, the drifting clouds were scattered by the wind. The moonlight was bright tonight, and stars were scattered across the black velvet sky, silently radiating their light.
Lin Murun had a dream.
In the dream, he returned to that summer day when he first met Si Bin. A youth holding a paper cup pushed open the door to the recital room. Lin Murun stopped playing his violin and looked toward the door.
No one could have imagined that that single door would open up a lifetime of intertwined destinies for the two boys.
— END OF MAIN STORY —
***
**Glossary**
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
---|---|---
茄子 | Eggplant | The Chinese equivalent of saying "Cheese" when taking a photo.
提档线 | Admission threshold / Cutoff line | The minimum score required for a university to pull a student's file for consideration.
服从调剂 | Accept major reallocation | A choice in the Chinese college application process where a student agrees to be placed in any major if they aren't accepted into their preferred ones.
2+2留学专业 | 2+2 study abroad program | A program where a student spends two years at a domestic university and two years at a partner university abroad.
表白墙 | Confession Wall | A social media page (often on QQ or WeChat) where students post anonymous or public confessions, news, or gossip about school life.
磕到了 | I ship it! / So sweet! | Slang used when seeing a couple (real or fictional) interact in a way that makes the observer happy.
浓眉大眼 | Honest and trustworthy | Literally "thick eyebrows and big eyes," an idiom often used to describe someone who looks upright or reliable.
穿了一条裤子 | Inseparable / Thick as thieves | Literally "wearing the same pair of pants," an idiom for people who are extremely close.
小兔崽子 | Little brat / Little rascal | A common, often slightly affectionate or grumbling insult used by elders toward younger people.
万宝龙 | Montblanc | A luxury brand known for its pens.
韦里亚 | Veria | A city in Greece.
陶尔米纳 | Taormina | A hilltop town in Sicily, Italy.
华山 | Mount Hua | One of China's Five Sacred Mountains, famous for its steep paths and winter scenery.
