Waiting for the Wind to Come | Chapter 5 | A Secret Longing | Novela.app

The noodles were served quickly. Lin Jiang withdrew her gaze and took the bowl from the server. When the two bowls—one a fiery red and the other a clear white—were placed on the table, He Lai let out a sharp cry of dismay. "Lin Jiang, are you trying to kill yourself? Do you not want your voice anymore? Are you ever going to quit the spicy food?" Lin Jiang was busy snapping her chopsticks apart. "Oh, hush. Their chili oil isn't even that spicy." "Not spicy? Are we eating from the same jar?" He Lai said, looking utterly pained. "..." At the next table, the girl overheard their conversation and said in a low voice, "That girl can handle her spice almost as well as you." Jiang Weifeng cast a casual glance toward the neighboring table. "A bit worse than me." Zhao Siyi scoffed with a smile. "So, what have you been busy with lately?" Jiang Weifeng took a sip of Coke. "The usual." "The internet cafe, billiards, skateboarding?" "Yeah." "Nothing else?" "What else do you want there to be?" Jiang Weifeng leaned back against his chair, looking up at her. Zhao Siyi was momentarily stifled. She huffed, "Ever since my mom took my phone away, I haven't been able to contact you every day. You’re not allowed to get too close to any girls." Jiang Weifeng gave a meaningful smile. "I haven't been close to any girls. I've been quite close to a guy, though." Seeing the teasing glint in his eyes, Zhao Siyi stopped mid-bite and asked pointedly, "Oh? And what do you do with this guy?" Jiang Weifeng let out a soft chuckle. "Just things men do." Zhao Siyi grew curious. "Oh, stop messing around. Have you been out fooling around?" Jiang Weifeng had been wearing a faint smile, but he visibly paused at the words "fooling around." His eyes lowered for a moment before the smile returned. "With Lan Jingyu? You think we could manage to fool around? With that coward's personality..." At the mention of the name, Zhao Siyi’s hand jerked. This time she truly was stifled; she began to cough violently, her face turning bright red as she struggled for breath, tears pricking her eyes from the force of it. "The two of you? What could the two of you possibly have going on..." Jiang Weifeng sighed helplessly. "Forget it. This is boring." As he spoke, he reached for a napkin to give to Zhao Siyi, only to find the dispenser on their table empty. He instinctively felt his pockets—nothing there either. As he searched the room, his gaze suddenly fixed on a spot nearby. He stood up and walked over. "Excuse me, could I borrow some tissues?" The moment the voice sounded above her head, Lin Jiang’s scalp went numb. Her heart felt like it was on a drop tower, plunging dozens of meters in a split second. She looked at He Lai, who was staring up at Jiang Weifeng, her rapidly reddening ears betraying her nerves. Because Jiang Weifeng’s words had been directed at He Lai. He Lai’s mouth opened, but not a single word came out. However, her reflexes were faster than her brain; Lin Jiang watched as she handed the pack of tissues on her left to Jiang Weifeng. Jiang Weifeng took the tissues, offered a word of thanks, and returned to his seat to pull out two for Zhao Siyi. Throughout the entire process, he didn't spare Lin Jiang so much as a single glance. Lin Jiang’s chest felt heavy, as if stuffed with a ball of cotton. *He forgot me.* It made sense. That night had been dark, and they had only shared a brief encounter. On the day she went to deliver the English homework, she should have realized that he had long since forgotten her—or perhaps he had never remembered her at all. Lin Jiang didn't enjoy the rest of her meal. She watched from the corner of her eye as Zhao Siyi coughed for a while longer before finally feeling better. Then, Jiang Weifeng allowed the girl to link her arm through his as they headed downstairs. Even after they left, He Lai was still in a daze, her face as red as her ears. "Lin Jiang, did you see what happened at their table just now? Why did he suddenly come over to borrow tissues?" Lin Jiang shook her head. At that moment, the two of them had been debating the hit series *Chinese Paladin 3*. He Lai insisted that Long Kui was the best female character, while Lin Jiang loved Xi Yao most. They had been so caught up in their argument that neither had noticed the drama at the next table. He Lai sighed. "If I’d known, I would have minded my appearance more. I probably had oil all over my mouth just now." Lin Jiang wasn't in the mood to respond. He Lai continued to sigh to herself, then suddenly grew excited, remarking that Jiang Weifeng’s features were actually quite handsome up close. After rambling for a long time, the two finally went downstairs to pay. However, when they gave their table number at the front desk, they were told the bill had already been settled by the table next to them. He Lai let out a "Wow" and nudged Lin Jiang with her elbow. "Lend me your phone in a bit. I need to search and see if I’m having a stroke of romantic luck today." Lin Jiang’s face went blank with exasperation as she hurried out. The incident wasn't exactly earth-shattering, but Lin Jiang remained distracted for the rest of the afternoon. When the final class ended, she forced herself to perk up and head to the radio station to broadcast the day's scripts. When she arrived, however, her partner Cheng Yunquan was nowhere to be seen. Cheng Yunquan’s class had physical education during the last period today. Usually, she would have arrived long before Lin Jiang. Of course, even when she arrived early, she never spent the time preparing. Instead, she would be holding a small mirror and applying lipstick. Back then, there were always girls who secretly wore makeup at school, and Cheng Yunquan was one of them. Just as Lin Jiang was wondering where she was, someone pushed the door open. It was a girl with a bob cut. Her eyes lit up when she saw Lin Jiang, and she called out, "Senior!" "Are you here to fill in? I didn't hear anything about this," Lin Jiang asked. The girl smiled. "I ran into Senior Cheng at the office the other day. She said she’s quitting the radio station. Since I happened to be there, the teacher assigned me to work with you. Please look after me, Senior." Lin Jiang, who was looking down at the equipment, paused. "Why so sudden? Was there a reason?" "I asked her quietly on my way out, but she just smiled and said it was a secret," the girl chirped. A strange feeling washed over Lin Jiang. Though she wasn't close to Cheng Yunquan, they had been partners for half a year. The sudden change was difficult to process all at once. However, Lin Jiang didn't have much time to think. The school’s summer schedule had classes ending at 5:20 PM, with the broadcast running from 5:40 to 6:00. There were only five minutes left, and today’s broadcast was important; she couldn't afford to be distracted. The first song of the day happened to be "This Life Unchanged" from *Chinese Paladin 3*. It was a birthday request from a male student for a female classmate. There were three key high schools in Qingcheng, known as the "1-3-8" Iron Triangle. Among them, No. 1 High was strong in liberal arts, and No. 8 High leaned toward the sciences, but No. 3 High was formidable in both. Lin Jiang always felt this was largely due to the school's management. Though No. 3 High had a heavy workload and strict discipline, it was relatively open-minded by comparison. For instance, except for Mondays and major occasions, the school didn't strictly enforce the wearing of uniforms. Also, the school playground still maintained its "confession wall." Furthermore, the radio station allowed song requests; as long as it wasn't a blatant confession of love, a bit of subtlety was perfectly fine. Today, Lin Jiang had a selfish motive. She spoke the words from the script into the microphone: "Our final song today comes from a student with the ID '38.6℃'. She says she wants to dedicate this song to Jiang Weifeng of Class 16, Grade 12. She hopes he can always be as free as the wind." The music swelled at the perfect moment. Lin Jiang’s hand holding the script trembled slightly—she had requested a song for Jiang Weifeng, keeping it a secret from the whole world. The song was titled "Lonely Heart." Every young girl has a secret longing in her heart, and Lin Jiang was no exception. She didn't know exactly when it had started. She only knew that one day, while she was spacing out during a math problem, she realized her scratch paper was covered in a single name. The moment she discovered it, even though no one was watching, she had blushed furiously. As the female singer reached the lyrics, *"I can only be like a sunflower, persisting silently in the night,"* a gale began to howl outside the window, bending the trees halfway to the ground. How did that poem go? *The south wind knows my heart, blowing my dreams to the Western Isle.* Lin Jiang felt a momentary surge of sentimentality. If it were possible, she hoped the wind could carry the song to the "Wind" himself. That evening, time felt gentle. When the broadcast ended, Lin Jiang was surprised to find He Lai waiting downstairs with food. He Lai shoved a cup of soy milk into Lin Jiang’s hand. "I was heading back to the classroom just now when I heard someone request a song for Jiang Weifeng. Do you know who it was?" Lin Jiang instinctively avoided He Lai’s gaze and started walking. "The ID was 38.6℃. I don't know who the person is." He Lai followed her, sighing softly. "Sigh, these days, any guy who’s handsome has so many people pining for him." Lin Jiang gave a faint smile. "Beautiful girls are in high demand, too." "You mean Zhao Siyi?" He Lai curled her lip. "She’s only got Lan Jingyu, and he’s not exactly high quality. I heard from my friends at the East Campus that the girls Jiang Weifeng used to be with weren't any worse than Zhao Siyi." Hearing this, Lin Jiang’s pace slowed. "Don't forget, everyone says Jiang Weifeng transferred schools specifically for Zhao Siyi." He Lai wanted to argue, but she paused and forced the words back down. They walked in silence. When they returned to the classroom, the students were moving desks. To ensure that the students in the far left and right rows could see the blackboard clearly, the class monitor had suggested rotating seats periodically. This was the first time they were switching; the three major sections moved one position to the right. Lin Jiang, who had been by the window, was now in the very center. She spent the evening struggling to adjust to the new seat. Previously, she had a wall and a window beside her, where she could occasionally sneak a look at her phone. Now she was next to the aisle; forget the phone, she didn't even feel secure doing her homework. That night after going home, Lin Jiang finished the last of her assignments and took out a notebook locked in her drawer to copy down song lyrics. Shen Yan had given her a Disney pen a couple of days ago, and the ink flowed smoothly. On the first page of the notebook, "Lonely Heart" was written in elegant handwriting. Lin Jiang’s lips curled into a smile for no reason; she had done what she wanted to do, and her heart was full of joy. Lyric notebooks were popular back then, costing five yuan each. The most popular topic in class was the summer hit drama *Meteor Shower*. Wang Jiaqian was a die-hard fan of Murong Yunhai; she bought posters, stickers, and lyric books for everything, and spent all day dragging Lin Jiang into discussions about the plot. During the summer, Lin Jiang had been in intensive training every day, focusing on vocal exercises and breathing. She hadn't watched the show at all and knew nothing of the characters or songs. After being forced to listen to it for so long, she had eventually heard a few songs and, surprisingly, found some she liked. In the deep of the night, everything was still. The sound of her pen scratching against the paper had a strangely comforting quality. As Wei Chen sang the line *"Watching you suffer for someone else, I focus my spirit"* from her phone, Lin Jiang turned the page. By the time she finished copying the song, it was nearly 11:30 PM. She tidied everything up and, as usual, went to her wardrobe to pick out her clothes for the next day. She held up several outfits in front of the mirror but wasn't satisfied with any of them. Suddenly, her gaze settled on a pleated skirt tucked deep in the closet. Only then was her choice finally made. *** **Glossary** Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation --- | --- | --- 蓝竟宇 | Lan Jingyu | A male student mentioned as being close to Jiang Weifeng; also linked to Zhao Siyi. 程云川 | Cheng Yunquan | Lin Jiang's former partner at the school radio station. 仙剑奇侠传3 | Chinese Paladin 3 | A popular Chinese fantasy television series. 此生不换 | This Life Unchanged | A song from the soundtrack of *Chinese Paladin 3*. 孤单心事 | Lonely Heart | A song by Blue J (Lan Youruo), the title of the chapter. 南风知我意，吹梦到西洲 | The south wind knows my heart, blowing my dreams to the Western Isle | Lines from the classical poem "Xizhou Song" (西洲曲). 一起来看流星雨 | Meteor Shower | A popular 2009 Chinese idol drama (remake of *Meteor Garden*). 慕容云海 | Murong Yunhai | The male lead character in the drama *Meteor Shower*. 魏晨 | Wei Chen | A popular Chinese singer and actor.