The following days passed in a blur of exam preparation. Lin Jiang studied until midnight every night, only to drag herself out of bed at five-thirty the next morning for her arts training. Xu Mingjuan worried about her daughter’s health, but Lin Jiang knew that after the midterms, she would be leaving school to focus entirely on her arts entrance exams. She didn't want to leave this semester with any regrets.
More importantly, she wanted her English score to break one hundred.
On the day the exams ended, the first snow fell over Qingcheng. Wang Jiaqian invited Lin Jiang to a movie, and when Shen Yan heard about it, he insisted on tagging along.
Lin Jiang stood at the base of the teaching building waiting for Shen Yan to come downstairs, idly fiddling with the zipper of her school jacket. Suddenly, someone tapped her on the left shoulder.
She turned her head, but no one was there. A second later, the person popped up from her right.
Cheng Minghao grinned at her, holding out a cup of milk tea. "I kept it tucked inside my jacket; it’s still warm."
Lin Jiang didn’t take it. She looked at him in surprise. "Why are you here at this hour?"
Cheng Minghao laughed. "Last period was self-study, so I slipped out early."
Lin Jiang was momentarily speechless. "Oh, I forgot we’re not at the same school. You don't have exams today."
Cheng Minghao scratched his head and smiled. "So, the milk tea..."
Before he could finish, the cup was snatched from his hand.
Jiang Weifeng stood there, wearing a perfunctory smirk. "Look at you, prioritizing girls over your friends." He glanced at Lin Jiang and gave a small nod of greeting.
Cheng Minghao reached out to grab it back, and for a moment, the two of them ignored Lin Jiang. Just then, Shen Yan came down the stairs. Lin Jiang called out, "Hey, my friend is here. I’ve got to go."
Cheng Minghao snapped back to attention, only to see Shen Yan standing beside Lin Jiang. One was sunny and handsome, the other pure and lovely.
The snow fell in thick flakes, stinging Cheng Minghao’s eyes.
"Where are you guys going?" he asked.
Shen Yan answered for them, "We're going to a movie."
Lin Jiang nodded. "It’s starting soon, so we’ll head out. Let's talk later."
Shen Yan gave Jiang Weifeng a slight nod before he and Lin Jiang headed toward the bike sheds, one after the other.
"What are you watching? Can I come?"
Cheng Minghao watched their retreating backs, his voice growing smaller. As his heart churned with a bitter restlessness, he caught a glimpse of Jiang Weifeng out of the corner of his eye. Jiang had actually inserted the straw and was casually sipping the milk tea.
Cheng Minghao’s temper flared instantly. Without a word, he snatched the tea back and hurled it into the trash can.
Milk tea splashed onto Jiang Weifeng’s clothes. Just as he was about to curse, someone handed him a wet wipe from behind.
It was Cheng Yunchuan.
Feeling sticky and annoyed, Jiang Weifeng took it.
Cheng Yunchuan spoke slowly, but she was looking at Cheng Minghao. "You have a thing for Lin Jiang, don't you?"
Cheng Minghao was clearly in a foul mood. "What’s it to you?"
Cheng Yunchuan didn't take offense. "She and I used to be in the same broadcasting club. I’d advise you to stop wasting your time. Everyone knows she and Shen Yan are childhood sweethearts."
Cheng Minghao let out a frustrated laugh. "Being childhood sweethearts doesn't mean everything."
Cheng Yunchuan shrugged. "A lot of people are like that nowadays. They want to keep several people on the hook at once, so they never commit to anyone. When asked why, they use schoolwork or exams as an excuse, but the truth is they’re just unwilling to give their heart to anyone."
The words were harsh and pointed. Jiang Weifeng’s brow furrowed.
Cheng Minghao sneered. "Do you know why Jiang Weifeng doesn't like you?"
Cheng Yunchuan froze. Jiang Weifeng looked on, appearing ready to listen.
Cheng Minghao’s voice was cold. "Because you have a malicious heart."
With that, he left. Jiang Weifeng and Cheng Minghao walked away together, leaving Cheng Yunchuan standing still, watching their silhouettes. As snowflakes blurred her vision, she sniffed hard and let out a self-mocking laugh.
***
The next morning, the world outside was draped in silver and white.
When they had emerged from the cinema the previous night, the world was already a vast expanse of white. Wang Jiaqian hadn't seen Shen Yan in a long time, so she had taken the opportunity to shove a handful of snow down his collar. She had even playfully forced Lin Jiang to declare who held the number one spot in her heart.
The two of them had fooled around for quite a while.
As a result, Shen Yan woke up with a fever the next morning. In the end, it was Xu Mingjuan who drove Lin Jiang to school.
When evening self-study ended, Lin Jiang stayed late to finish her cleaning duties. She expected Xu Mingjuan to be waiting impatiently, but when she reached the main gate, her family’s car was nowhere to be found. She called, but no one picked up.
Just as she was debating whether to call a taxi or wait a bit longer, someone called her name.
Lin Jiang turned around and was pleasantly surprised. "Teacher Zheng."
Zheng Ping walked over and patted her shoulder before speaking. "I was sitting in the car and thought it might be you. I didn't expect I’d be right. What’s the matter? Waiting for your parents? They didn't come to pick you up?"
Lin Jiang looked at Zheng Ping politely. "They might be here in a moment."
"How about I give you a lift? It’s coldest right after a snowfall, and it’ll be hard to catch a cab," Zheng Ping said.
Lin Jiang looked around. School had been out for a while, and most people had already left. The sky was dark, the roads were slippery, and the air was biting. In her heart, she wanted to get in the car, but...
"Teacher Zheng, are you here to pick up Jiang Weifeng?"
"I had some business nearby and happened to catch the end of your classes. He’s already in the car. Don't hesitate, get in." Zheng Ping urged her with a smile.
Lin Jiang gripped the straps of her backpack. "Okay then. Thank you, Teacher."
Inside the car, the boy was peeling an orange. He didn't even look up as he asked, "What took you so long? Aren't you cold?"
"Lin Jiang, are you cold?" Zheng Ping ignored him and turned to ask Lin Jiang instead.
"No." Lin Jiang wasn't actually cold, but for some reason, she was trembling slightly.
"That’s good. Where do you live? I’ll drop you off," Zheng Ping said.
Lin Jiang glanced awkwardly at Jiang Weifeng. That afternoon he had walked her home, he had also sat in the passenger seat. Her heart felt a sudden warmth. "Xiangjiang City. Is it on your way?"
Zheng Ping gripped the steering wheel. "It’s not far. It’s on the way; we turn at the intersection right before your complex."
Lin Jiang nodded and sat quietly in the back. She sent a text to Xu Mingjuan telling her not to come, and her mother replied instantly: *I completely forgot.*
Zheng Ping spoke to her again. "I added you on QQ last time, but we haven't talked much since. You haven't been slacking on your studies, have you?"
At the mention of "QQ," Lin Jiang broke into a cold sweat. Her heart sank like it had been filled with lead, and her voice weakened. "I haven't been slacking."
She was so nervous she couldn't even hear what Zheng Ping said after that, giving random, scattered answers. Her hands were clenched so tightly that her nails nearly bit into her palms.
She was so afraid...
Fortunately, Zheng Ping didn't bring up QQ again. Instead, she shifted her target, asking Jiang Weifeng with a smile, "Aren't you afraid of getting a sore throat from eating so many oranges? Why don't you give one to Lin Jiang?"
Jiang Weifeng was wearing headphones and didn't say a word. Zheng Ping pursed her lips, her smile fading, and didn't press him further.
Lin Jiang thought he hadn't heard. But when they reached the entrance of her complex and she was about to get out, he pressed two bright orange fruits into her hands.
"There are four left. We'll split them."
Lin Jiang tried her best to control herself, but she couldn't help it—the corners of her mouth lifted as she whispered a thank you.
As she turned to leave the car, the boy’s gaze darkened slightly.
That night, Lin Jiang peeled the oranges with great care. When she took a bite, she couldn't help but furrow her brows—
They were sweet.
Of course, it wasn't just the taste.
After she finished them, Lin Jiang specifically kept the peels, storing them in a glass jar which she locked inside her drawer.
***
The day Shen Yan recovered was the day the grades were released.
Lin Jiang sat in the classroom, listening to the north wind howling outside. The windows rattled violently, but the class teacher’s voice was even colder than the wind.
Lin Jiang ranked 21st in the class. She got an 81 in English, and a 113 in Math—the subject taught by her class teacher. She had regressed in both.
During English class, the teacher criticized Lin Jiang in front of the whole class. Her eyes stung, and she felt listless for the rest of the day.
During evening self-study, Lin Jiang found it impossible to focus. To make matters worse, her seatmate kept pestering her with questions. Eventually, she took her English notebook of corrected mistakes and went out into the hallway to memorize.
As soon as she stepped into the corridor, she smelled cigarette smoke. Just as she was frowning in confusion, she looked up and nearly screamed.
Jiang Weifeng was sitting on a step between the third and fourth floors, a cigarette between his fingers. He looked like a hallucination.
She didn't know why, but in the past, she had searched every corner of the school for a glimpse of his back. She had drunk countless bottles of water just so she’d have an excuse to walk past the back door of Class 16 on her way to the restroom, yet she had rarely seen him then.
But now, as if proving the saying that "flowers planted with care do not bloom, while willows planted by chance provide shade," the frequency of their encounters was enough to scare her—she was afraid her luck would run out too soon.
Jiang Weifeng’s eyes were clear as he stared at her, unmoving.
Lin Jiang didn't know where to put her hands as she held her notebook. She was the first to speak. "What are you doing here?"
When he spoke, it was with that same familiar, lazy tone. "The rooftop is too far, and I didn't want to go to the bathroom."
After saying that, his eyes flickered down to the notebook in her hand. "Out here to memorize English?"
Lin Jiang looked at the notebook, feeling a bit ashamed. "Yeah. I didn't do well on the exam."
Jiang Weifeng smiled, stubbed out his cigarette, and stood up. "Then I won't disturb your hard work."
Lin Jiang murmured an "okay" and stepped aside to let him pass.
After he left, his scent lingered in the air. Lin Jiang’s heart felt cold. She remembered that a key component of tobacco is nicotine. If she were to write a metaphor, she would surely write something sentimental like, "Jiang Weifeng is like Lin Jiang’s nicotine."
In truth, no one could fully understand why she was so heartbroken over this failed exam.
It wasn't entirely because this midterm was the last major test before she left school to prepare for her arts exams. The more important reason was that the English teacher had said, "Just aim for Jiang Weifeng’s score," and she had failed to reach it.
Before the exam, she had even looked up tarot cards online. She had never believed in such things, yet she couldn't resist spending five yuan to buy a hollow sense of peace.
In the end, it was better than nothing.
Actually, aside from English, Jiang Weifeng’s other grades were a total mess. But even so, Lin Jiang felt his radiance was blindingly bright.
In the movies, they say, "My beloved is a peerless hero." But Lin Jiang felt that sentence should be rewritten with a different logic: "Because you are my beloved, you are my peerless hero."
Many years later, when *A Chinese Odyssey* was re-released in theaters, Lin Jiang finished the movie and listened to "Love of a Lifetime" on her way home.
In the comment section of that song, someone had written: "He is but a mortal; it is your love that has gilded him with a golden body."
Her heart remained damp with emotion all the way home.
***
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Waiting for the Wind to Come | Chapter 16 | Gilded by Love | Novela.app | Novela.app
