Lin Jiang waited until Shen Yan turned the corner before she dared to look back. She felt as if the past few hours had been a dream; the further Shen Yan pedaled, the further she drifted from that dream.
That night, while scrolling through her phone, she noticed that Cheng Yunchuan had visited her Qzone.
Early the next morning, just as she finished her morning practice and headed upstairs, she received a call from Wang Jiaqian.
Wang Jiaqian: "Cheng Minghao has been hounding Gu Xiang for your QQ number. He’s been bombarding him with calls since dawn, but Gu Xiang didn't dare give it out. He told me to ask for your opinion."
Lin Jiang: "I don't mind. Just give it to him."
Wang Jiaqian was speechless. "That guy Cheng clearly wants to pursue you. Don't tell me you haven't noticed at all?"
Lin Jiang frowned at the words and gave it some serious thought before answering, "Really?"
Wang Jiaqian sounded like she was about to cough up blood on the other end. "I finally understand why you have such bad luck with romance despite being so pretty."
Lin Jiang was still bewildered. "What does one have to do with the other?"
Wang Jiaqian sighed in exasperation. "Fine. I was originally planning to set you up with Jiang Weifeng..."
Lin Jiang was startled. "Huh? Me? With him? What... what made you think that?"
Wang Jiaqian let out a yawn. "Oh, never mind. With that blockhead of yours, how could you ever compete with Cheng Yunchuan? I’ll have Gu Xiang give your QQ to Cheng Minghao then. I’m going back to sleep. Bye."
A dial tone followed.
Lin Jiang shook her head and went to eat breakfast.
Of course, while Lin Jiang was easygoing, she wasn't a complete statue. She soon understood the meaning behind Wang Jiaqian's words.
An invisible hand tore away the last page of the October calendar.
Once November began, Cheng Minghao started appearing at the West Campus for no apparent reason.
Although he was usually there to see Jiang Weifeng, he would ostentatiously call out Lin Jiang’s name and greet her every time he saw her.
One afternoon after school, Lin Jiang and He Lai went to the noodle shop by the back gate. When they came out, they saw Jiang Weifeng from a distance, holding a skateboard in one hand and standing with a group of boys by the roadside. Cheng Minghao was among them, his chestnut-colored hair particularly eye-catching.
Lin Jiang originally thought that with so many people around, she could just avoid them and head back to school. Unexpectedly, Cheng Minghao was sharp-eyed and spotted her instantly. His voice was louder than the megaphone of the nearby roasted sweet potato vendor: "Lin Jiang!"
He Lai burst out laughing beside her, giving her a knowing look. "He definitely likes you."
The group of boys was laughing too, while Jiang Weifeng looked over with an unreadable expression. Lin Jiang was dying of embarrassment, but Cheng Minghao ran over anyway, pulled out two bars of Dove chocolate, and stuffed them into her hands. "For you... one for you and one for your friend."
With so many eyes watching, Lin Jiang was reluctant to accept. They went back and forth for a while, but the stalemate only made things more awkward as everyone continued to stare. Finally, she muttered a "thank you," took the chocolate, and hurried away.
He Lai couldn't hold it in any longer. As soon as they entered the school gates, she doubled over with laughter. "Lin Jiang, he’s actually not bad-looking. He’s the cute type, like Xiao Wu from Top Combine."
Lin Jiang stuffed both chocolates into He Lai’s hands and gave a dry laugh. "Haha."
"Of course, compared to your Shen Yan, he’s still not as handsome," He Lai teased.
Lin Jiang rolled her eyes. "Shen Yan is like my biological younger brother from another mother."
He Lai curled her lip. "Tch, I don't believe for a second that he thinks of you as a biological sister."
Lin Jiang spread her hands. "Believe it or not, I’ve actually asked him several times if he likes anyone."
"What did he say?"
"Class Monitor Shen, of course, said he only loves studying. He even looked at my question with utter disdain."
He Lai sighed, looking disappointed, and muttered something about how "childhood sweethearts aren't always a fairy tale."
During the evening self-study session, the English teacher was on duty. she took up the first period and the ten-minute break for a pop quiz, leaving the class wailing in despair. But something even more insane followed: the English teacher actually managed to grade over a hundred papers from two classes in just one period.
As soon as the third period of self-study began, she sat at the podium with the test papers, calling names one by one. The students below were like startled rabbits, not daring to breathe too loudly for fear of being singled out for a poor performance.
Lin Jiang was no exception. Her heart was thumping against her ribs. Strangely, even after more than half the class had gone up, the teacher still hadn't called her name.
Just as her nerves were causing her stomach to ache, ten minutes before the end of class, the English teacher called her out alone.
Lin Jiang walked out of the room with a sense of tragic resolve.
The English teacher waited for her at the door. "I originally planned to spend the first half of the period with your class and the second half with Class 16, but I didn't manage the time well. Here, go to Class 16 and get Jiang Weifeng. Come to the office with him."
After saying this, the teacher walked away with a rhythmic click-clack of her high heels.
Lin Jiang felt herself turn to stone on the spot.
She forced herself to shuffle toward Class 16, one step at a time. This situation reminded her of not long ago, when she had been entrusted by someone else to deliver a message.
Alas, she couldn't help but sigh inwardly at the memory.
Jiang Weifeng sat in the last row by the window. She had intended to just call out from the back door and leave, but when she peeked stealthily through the back door window, she saw that the Class 16 head teacher was also in the room.
Because of that, calling out from the back door would be rude.
Lin Jiang had no choice but to walk to the front door. The classroom door was open, so she cleared her throat and forced herself to call out, "Jiang Weifeng, the English teacher is looking for you."
As soon as she spoke, the entire class's gaze snapped toward her in unison, like a military parade.
Lin Jiang held her ground, pretending to be calm. After speaking, she didn't forget to give the teacher a polite nod. Then, she watched as the boy slowly stood up from the back row. As he walked over, he was openly holding his phone.
Lin Jiang didn't dare to keep staring at him. Sensing him approaching, she turned to leave. The two of them disappeared from the class's collective gaze, one following the other.
Once out of the classroom, Jiang Weifeng bypassed Lin Jiang and took the lead. Lin Jiang followed behind him; whenever she looked up, she could see his tall, broad back.
The ridge of his shoulders stood tall, like majestic mountains. She felt fortunate just to have glimpsed such a view.
The walk wasn't long, but for some reason, Lin Jiang felt a sudden surge of sentimentality. She wished she could split the time in half, and then in half again.
She had a vague, lingering premonition that this might be the last time she would ever be this close to him—walking together so openly in the posture of a follower.
The two had no conversation along the way. Once in the office, the English teacher indeed brought up their grades.
Two test papers lay on the desk, marked with large red numbers: one was a 74, the other a 130.
Lin Jiang was the former. Her nerves were pulled taut.
The English teacher didn't nag this time. She looked at Lin Jiang expressionlessly and said succinctly, "Even though you're an arts and sports student, if you want to get into a good university, your academic subjects can't be this lopsided. If nothing else, just aim for Jiang Weifeng's score. He got a 22 in math, but he still got a 130 in English. Why can't you?"
At those words, Jiang Weifeng laughed. "Teacher, that doesn't sound very pleasant to my ears."
The bell for the end of class rang, and the quiet campus suddenly filled with noise. The teacher ignored Jiang Weifeng's remark and continued looking at Lin Jiang. "Why did your grade drop so much?"
Lin Jiang opened her mouth. Aside from her own lack of ability, there had actually been another reason that day... but she couldn't exactly tell the truth and say it was because of period cramps, could she?
"I was careless," she said, resorting to a universal excuse.
Fortunately, the English teacher didn't press her further. "You should learn from Jiang Weifeng more often. Even if his other subjects aren't great, his English is truly excellent. Don't be shy. If it's inconvenient in person, you can contact him on QQ. In short, I want to see you break 100 on the midterm exam."
Lin Jiang’s mental state collapsed.
"So, I'm being assigned as free labor?" Once they were out the door, Jiang Weifeng laughed, sounding quite amused.
Lin Jiang felt terribly embarrassed and pursed her lips. "Um, don't worry, I won't trouble you."
Jiang Weifeng pulled out his phone, blew at his bangs, and said, "That 'dusk' in the group chat is you, right?"
"Huh?" She was stunned.
"I've sent you a request. Accept it," Jiang Weifeng said casually.
Lin Jiang froze, her lips trembling, unable to speak.
He continued talking. "I don't know how to teach people, but if you have any questions, just ask."
Lin Jiang gave a very shy smile. "I'm actually a bit curious. How is your English so good?"
As Lin Jiang asked this, they were both walking. The moment she finished, Jiang Weifeng stopped in his tracks and turned to face her directly.
Lin Jiang’s breath hitched.
He curled his lips into a faint smile, his voice as casual as ever. "Both my mom and dad teach English."
Lin Jiang let out an "oh." After a few seconds, she felt like something was off, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She could only murmur in response, "I see."
As they were talking, they reached the teaching building. A group of boys was coming down toward them. Lin Jiang recognized them as students from Class 16, so she turned to Jiang Weifeng and said, "I'll head up first." Jiang Weifeng replied, "Sure."
Fragments of conversation drifted from behind her. Someone mentioned going to the arcade and asked if he was coming. He replied, "Duh."
Lin Jiang smiled and ran upstairs, not seeing the boy's gaze fall upon her as she turned, only pulling away just as she was about to disappear around the corner.
After entering the classroom, Lin Jiang couldn't wait to accept Jiang Weifeng's friend request.
Her screen name was "dusk," a tribute to the scenery when she first saw him. Thinking of how he had just pronounced it so perfectly, she felt like a meteor streaking through the dark, airtight corners of her heart.
After returning home that night, Lin Jiang browsed Jiang Weifeng's Qzone while eating a late-night snack in the dining room.
There were only two updates in his Space. One was a photo of a newly bought skateboard, and the other was a selfie posted a year ago—a black-and-white profile shot, slightly blurry. For some reason, she felt the photo looked familiar, so she saved it.
His message board seemed to have been cleared, leaving only a single entry he had written himself: "Private territory, do not trespass." She stuck her tongue out and exited, then hurried to check her own Space to make sure there was nothing embarrassing before logging off.
After finishing her homework, Lin Jiang instinctively pulled out her phone again. When she logged into her Space and saw that he had visited, her toes curled in excitement.
His screen name was "Imagination," and his profile picture was solid black. She gave him a new nickname in her contacts and carefully placed him in a separate, private group.
By the end of that night, Lin Jiang didn't even know how she fell asleep. All she knew was that she was smiling in her dreams.
***
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