April arrived quickly—the month of whispering swallows and blooming flowers.
Since the art exams ended, this was the first time Cheng Minghao had come to No. 3 High to find Lin Jiang.
At some point, he had dyed his hair back to black and traded his curls for a straight, smooth style, making him look exceptionally well-behaved. The moment he handed Lin Jiang a box of candy, she was momentarily dazed, wondering if the person in front of her was actually a junior who had just started his first year.
Naturally, Lin Jiang didn't want to accept it. She wasn't blind to Cheng Minghao’s special affection for her, and she didn't want to give him any false hope.
Cheng Minghao huffed, saying she was being unfair. "Can't a friend just give a friend some candy? I brought this pear syrup candy specifically from Shanghai."
Lin Jiang remained firm. Finally, pushed to his limit, Cheng Minghao blurted out, "Lin Jiang, don't say another word. It’s exactly this stubborn streak of yours that I like."
Just then, Lin Jiang caught sight of Jiang Weifeng approaching from a distance. She quickly excused herself and hurried away.
Left with no choice, Cheng Minghao stuffed the candy into Jiang Weifeng’s hands.
Jiang Weifeng watched the girl’s retreating back and let out a cold snort. "You’re certainly generous. She doesn't appreciate the gesture, so you just foist it on me?"
Cheng Minghao gave a cheeky grin. "You act so cool all day; you clearly need a little sweetness in your life."
With that, he bolted before Jiang Weifeng could lose his temper.
Jiang Weifeng didn't have the energy to chase him. He had been focusing much more on his studies lately. Last night, he had finally gone out to skateboard, but he’d played until he was exhausted. When he woke up this morning, he felt a fever coming on. He hadn't thought much of it at first, but by the afternoon, the fever had become quite severe.
He had just swallowed a fever reducer in class and was planning to head home to sleep.
As soon as he walked through the door, he smelled the aroma of food. Looking further inside, he saw only Jiang He.
"Is your wife at the station?" Jiang Weifeng asked.
Hearing the noise, Jiang He looked up, a bit confused. "Why aren't you at school?"
Jiang Weifeng walked into the kitchen, grabbed a bowl, and served himself some rice. "What, is this my first time skipping class?"
Jiang He’s hand paused as he reached for a dish with his chopsticks. "Speaking of which, it’s been a long time since we had a drink together. Want a glass?"
"Can we do tea instead of wine?" Feeling drowsy from the medicine, Jiang Weifeng coughed and said, "I just took some fever reducers."
Jiang He laughed. "That works. Got a cigarette? Give me one."
Jiang Weifeng smiled without a word, reaching out to grab a cigarette and lighting it for himself.
"What’s this? Planning to give me a lecture on moral education?" Jiang Weifeng leaned back in his chair with a smirk.
Jiang He didn't argue. He pushed up his glasses and looked at him. "I still remember when we named you. Your mother said she hoped your life would be as free as the wind. That’s why we raised you with such a long leash. Looking at your personality now, you really do live up to your name."
Jiang He flicked his ash, looking at the boy before him. He hadn't realized when his son had grown so tall and spirited, while he himself had sprouted white hairs and was gradually entering the twilight of his life.
Jiang Weifeng remained silent, his thoughts drifting.
Sitting there by the dining table under the warm lights, he listened to Jiang He reminisce about the past and talk about the present—discussing his own younger years and then circling back to Jiang Weifeng’s current state. It was a long-overdue conversation between father and son, and the light felt truly dear.
While the city was illuminated by the lights of ten thousand homes, and a warm late-night talk happened on one side, there was joy to be found elsewhere as well.
The moment Lin Jiang walked through her front door, she was pulled into an embrace by Xu Mingjuan.
While she was still confused, Lin Wei pulled a square piece of paper from behind his back. As soon as Lin Jiang saw it, she couldn't help but scream.
"Is it the certificate of eligibility from Z-Media University?"
She was so excited she could hardly contain herself. Upon receiving a positive answer, she was so overcome with joy that tears fell.
Since the start of April, she had been receiving certificates from various schools, but none from Z-Media. Her heart had been hanging in suspense. Finally, her hard work had paid off, and her wish was fulfilled.
She was dying to call her grandparents, but Xu Mingjuan stopped her, saying they had already shared the good news with the elders.
Her mind was a mess—of course, it was late; it wouldn't be right to disturb the elderly's rest.
After returning to her room, she immediately reported the good news to Teacher Cheng. He replied to her text instantly: *Congratulations.*
Next, she took a photo of the certificate and posted it to her Qzone. Everyone commented with their congratulations. Cheng Minghao sent her a private message, saying he had also just received his certificate from the A-Film Academy today. Lin Jiang was even happier and told him how amazing he was.
Even Shen Yan logged onto QQ that day, a rare occurrence, and replied to her: *Having one's wishes fulfilled is one of the best things in life.*
Lin Jiang replied with a "Mm-hmm" followed by a big red heart.
That night was filled with sweet dreams.
After receiving the certificate from Z-Media, Lin Jiang was in high spirits. She focused all her energy on preparing for the academic subjects of the Gaokao, full of drive.
the second mock exams were scheduled for April 15th and 16th.
Everyone had been exhausted from the preparation lately. When class ended, few people moved around; most just slumped over their desks to rest.
During the evening self-study session the night before the exam, Lin Jiang put on her headphones and leaned on her desk to nap. During a gap in her playlist's automatic shuffle, someone in the hallway shouted Jiang Weifeng’s name, making her jump.
"Jiang Weifeng, since when did you become so studious? Going straight back to your books after the bathroom?" It was Shi Tou’s very recognizable voice.
"Get lost," Jiang Weifeng replied.
Shi Tou said something else outside, but the music in the headphones gradually swelled, silently drowning out the boys' conversation.
Suddenly, someone pulled off one of her earbuds. She sat up and saw it was He Lai.
"What are you listening to?" the girl asked.
"Vae. His new album just came out. Want to listen?" Lin Jiang said, though her heart was still fluttering, wondering if the voice she’d just heard was a dream or reality.
"Who’s Vae?" He Lai asked.
Lin Jiang thought back. "A pretty famous internet singer. Wang Jiaqian recommended his songs to me before. I liked them, so I downloaded a bunch."
After hearing this, He Lai looked at her with disdain. "You actually listen to songs by internet singers?"
Lin Jiang shrugged.
He Lai suddenly leaned in close to Lin Jiang, her eyes full of mystery. "I just went to the bathroom and overheard a huge secret about Jiang Weifeng."
Lin Jiang’s heart skipped a beat, but she feigned composure. "What is it?"
"Have you seen his mother? She came to the school for a parent-teacher meeting before. They say she’s a news anchor for the provincial station."
"Yeah, I’ve heard. What about it?" Lin Jiang sat up straight and asked.
"Apparently, that woman is his stepmother. I heard Jiang Weifeng’s biological mother passed away when he was in middle school." He Lai lowered her voice.
Lin Jiang’s heart gave a jolt. She immediately remembered a night when she had asked him why his English was so good, and he had replied that both his parents were English teachers.
She hadn't had time to think much of it then, but now she understood the truth.
Lin Jiang cleared her throat and asked, "How... how did she pass away?"
He Lai curled her lip. "That, I don't know."
While Lin Jiang was still lost in thought, He Lai asked, "How’s your revision going?"
Just then, the bell rang for class. Lin Jiang pulled a textbook from her bookstand and said, "There’s the bell. Back to memorizing. I still have a few classical poems to review for Chinese."
He Lai said "Good luck" and hurried back to her seat.
Lin Jiang thought about Zheng Ping; no matter how she looked at it, she couldn't associate her with the word "stepmother."
The next day during the exam, a question came up about Xin Qiji’s poem, *Yong Yu Le: Gazing from Beigu Pavilion in Jingkou*. When she reached the line, "Recalling those years, with golden spears and armored horses, his spirit swallowed ten thousand miles like a tiger," Lin Jiang’s mind went blank. Instead, her head was filled with the lyrics from Vae’s *Half City of Sand*: "Half a city of wind-blown sand, soldiers at the city gates, golden spears and armored horses, for whom do they fight for the world?"
Fortunately, at the very last moment before handing in the paper, Lin Jiang remembered the correct line.
But He Lai wasn't so lucky—
After the exams ended on the afternoon of the 16th, Lin Jiang was moving her books from the outdoor locker back into the classroom. He Lai followed closely behind her, grumbling, "Lin Jiang, if I fail this time, I’m blaming you."
"Why blame me? I didn't make you listen to Vae. Besides, didn't you look down on me for listening to him?" Lin Jiang laughed.
"It’s mostly because I had insomnia after going home that day. I wanted to listen to some music, and I thought of that Vae you mentioned. His song *Rain on Qingming* is seriously so good!" He Lai sighed.
Lin Jiang smiled. "You have good taste. That’s my favorite song of his, too."
"No, my favorite isn't that one; it’s *Grey Avatar*," He Lai started chatting away. "I looked up the story behind the song online. The lyrics say 'Your grey avatar will never blink again,' meaning his girlfriend passed away and can never log into QQ again, so he wrote this song for her."
Lin Jiang’s hands paused as she packed her books. She watched He Lai’s expression change several times within a single sentence, leaving her unsure whether to laugh or cry. "You actually believe that? People also say *Funeral for a Rose* was written for his girlfriend."
He Lai got even more excited. "Right, right! And some say his English name, VAE, stands for 'Only Love Ying.' He’s so devoted! Was his girlfriend’s name Ying?"
Lin Jiang nearly choked. She looked at the silly girl for a long time before finally shaking her head, letting her continue with her fantasies.
After school that evening, Lin Jiang, Shen Yan, and Wang Jiaqian met at a newly opened pizza place.
Wang Jiaqian pulled out her phone. "Lin Jiang, do you have a Weibo?"
Lin Jiang answered instinctively, "Yeah, why?"
"Come on, let’s follow each other," Wang Jiaqian said.
Lin Jiang froze, cursing her own lack of thought.
She had been introduced to Weibo by a roommate during the art exams. Because her friends followed her on Baidu Tieba and Douban, Weibo had naturally become the place where she recorded her thoughts when it wasn't convenient to write in her diary.
Almost everything on there was about Jiang Weifeng.
Feeling guilty, Lin Jiang made up a lie. "I uninstalled it. With the Gaokao coming up, I don't even use Tieba much anymore."
"Lame," Wang Jiaqian said.
Shen Yan asked, "What’s Weibo?"
Wang Jiaqian rolled her eyes so hard they almost disappeared. "It’s a really popular app lately. Honestly, you’re so out of touch."
As Shen Yan and Wang Jiaqian bantered, Lin Jiang smiled. Turning her head, she happened to see a familiar figure across the street. She stared for a long time, unable to process it. She rubbed her eyes and looked again, but the person was gone.
Shen Yan asked her, "What are you looking at?"
Lin Jiang answered slowly, "Oh, nothing. I probably just saw wrong."
Early Saturday morning, Lin Jiang took a taxi to her grandfather’s house.
Her grandfather lived on the first floor of an old residential compound. He had carved out a small courtyard for himself. Outside the redwood gate stood a large parasol tree, and beneath it sat a rocking chair. An old man sat in the chair, teacup in hand, leisurely listening to an opera.
The radio beside him was playing *Wu Jia Po*. Just as it reached the climax, it stopped abruptly with a *click*.
The little old man sat up with a start.
"You brat." After seeing who it was, the old man grumbled affectionately, his face lighting up with a smile.
"Grandpa, did you miss me?" Lin Jiang laughed.
Grandpa stood up and took Lin Jiang’s hand. "I missed you. If you hadn't come soon, I would have had to spank you."
The grandfather and granddaughter shared a laugh. Lin Jiang quickly helped her grandfather into the house. After entering, she first went to light incense for her grandmother. When she came out, she saw her grandfather bustling around the kitchen.
***
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