The weekend always seemed to fly by. On Monday morning, Lin Jiang ran into Shitou on her way upstairs. As soon as he saw her, he greeted her warmly and asked if her injury was any better.
Lin Jiang gave him a polite smile, said she was mostly recovered, and hurried back to her classroom for morning self-study.
After her phone call with Wang Jiaqian two days ago, Lin Jiang had thought a lot.
Unrequited love was like a pool of water—seemingly calm on the surface, but harboring turbulent undercurrents. The name "Jiang Weifeng" was like a stone cast into that lake; she couldn't avoid the ripples, but she could stay far enough away to be less affected by the waves.
It wasn't just Jiang Weifeng; she needed to avoid everyone around him as well.
But things rarely go as planned.
During the morning flag-raising ceremony, Lin Jiang intentionally avoided looking toward Class 16. However, as they were lining up to return to class, He Lai swapped places with the student behind Lin Jiang and whispered, "Jiang Weifeng skipped the ceremony again."
Lin Jiang wasn't surprised by this. What truly surprised her was that as soon as she entered the classroom, the class monitor informed her that she needed to go to the head teacher's office.
It was currently the English morning session, and there was a vocabulary dictation scheduled for the last ten minutes. Lin Jiang asked if she could go after the session, but she was told it couldn't wait. She had no choice but to head to the office.
The moment she stepped inside, she was stunned.
The room was packed.
At first glance, Lin Jiang saw Jiang Weifeng and Lan Jingyu standing against the wall. Three parents were seated on the sofa nearby. Besides her own head teacher, Mr. Huang—Jiang Weifeng’s head teacher—and another teacher were also present at the desks.
Lin Jiang’s heart sank.
"Lin Jiang, I'm sure you can guess why we called you here today. According to Lan Jingyu, Jiang Weifeng and a group of people ganged up on him last Friday night. Is that true?"
It was her head teacher who asked.
Lin Jiang’s legs felt weak. Her voice was barely a whisper. "I don't know."
"You're lying!" a short-haired woman on the sofa snapped sharply. "My son said you were right there when he was being beaten."
"Don't be afraid, Lin Jiang. Jiang Weifeng hasn't denied hitting Lan Jingyu. We've called you here primarily to confirm whether it was just Jiang Weifeng alone, or a whole group," the head teacher guided her.
"I already told you, it was just me," Jiang Weifeng said, sounding a bit impatient.
"Is it your turn to speak?" Mr. Huang barked at him.
"Teacher, I really don't know. If I did, I wouldn't have any reason to lie," Lin Jiang gritted her teeth and insisted.
Unexpectedly, as soon as the words left her mouth, someone grabbed her hand and pulled it forward, revealing the still-fresh scrape.
Lan Jingyu gave a mocking laugh. "Then where did this wound come from?"
"I tripped and fell, obviously. Or are you saying you did it?" Lin Jiang emboldened herself and asked him pointedly.
Now it was Lan Jingyu’s turn to be at a loss for words.
"Young lady, this matter originally has nothing to do with you. You just need to tell the truth. Isn't the first thing we learn in school the difference between right and wrong?" The man on the sofa spoke up.
He walked slowly toward Lin Jiang, his gaze scrutinizing. "You say you injured yourself, but how did Lan Jingyu know you were hurt beforehand? He even knew the exact location of the injury."
Lin Jiang’s heart plummeted.
At that moment, another woman stood up from the sofa. She had a composed and elegant air. Smiling, she walked over to Lin Jiang. "Don't be afraid, classmate. Just say what happened. If it's Jiang Weifeng’s fault, we will apologize and accept the school's punishment. But if it isn't, as parents, we must ask for justice."
Only then did Lin Jiang take a good look at the speaker. The woman was in her forties, well-maintained, and possessed a first-class temperament. When their eyes met, the woman smiled at her. Lin Jiang was momentarily stunned, feeling a flicker of pleasant surprise.
Lin Jiang didn't have time to overthink it. She swallowed hard. "Teacher, I actually do know something about this."
The atmosphere in the room shifted instantly. Lin Jiang continued, "Now that this gentleman has asked, I remember something. A few days ago in the cafeteria, I ran into a group of people saying they were going to corner Jiang Weifeng last Thursday. I don't know if it actually happened, though."
"You're talking nonsense with your eyes wide open!" Lan Jingyu’s mother bolted upright. "Your injury is right there, and you're already starting to twist the facts? Is this how your mother raised you? Go call your parents here; we'll settle this in front of them!"
The moment the woman mentioned "parents," Lin Jiang’s eyes darkened. "I really did get this injury myself. If you don't believe me, there's nothing I can do."
A snippet of her Friday conversation with Wang Jiaqian flashed through her mind. With a sudden spark of inspiration, she walked slowly toward her head teacher, her gaze honest. "Teacher, I'm not lying. If Jiang Weifeng really was cornered, you can check the surveillance footage. And if Lan Jingyu isn't lying, you can also check the footage of Jiang Weifeng hitting him based on his description of the location. Everything will be clear then."
Hearing this, Mr. Huang’s eyes lit up. "That's right. Everything needs evidence. How about this: everyone tell me exactly when and where you were cornered, and I'll go check the cameras."
The parents and teachers all agreed to this solution. Jiang Weifeng even chuckled. "Yeah, I almost forgot until Lin Jiang mentioned it. I'm a minor too. If I'm being threatened, I should call my parents and tell my teachers."
Jiang Weifeng looked at Lan Jingyu with a casual smile, but the warmth didn't reach his eyes. "Come on, Classmate Lan. Write down the time and location for the teacher."
Lan Jingyu’s mouth twitched, his face turning a sickly shade of green. With the whole room watching him, he finally gritted his teeth and wrote down the address where he had been beaten.
This way, as long as it was proven that Lan Jingyu had instigated the trouble first, even if Jiang Weifeng had indeed hit him, the punishment would be lenient.
With the matter mostly settled, the head teacher let Lin Jiang leave first, not forgetting to caution her: "Don't spread word of this."
Lin Jiang murmured an "okay" and turned to leave calmly. But the moment she stepped out of the office, her legs went so weak she nearly collapsed. These recent events had strayed far too much from the usual orbit of her life.
She had lied and put on an act; her heart was racing with guilt, and her back was soaked with sweat.
By the time she returned to the classroom, the English teacher had just started the vocabulary dictation. She did a terrible job. After class, He Lai kept asking why the head teacher had kept her for so long, but Lin Jiang just shook her head, lacking even the energy to make up a lie.
It wasn't until the long afternoon break that Lin Jiang was called to the office again.
This time, the head teacher didn't question her immediately but told her to wait to the side. Lin Jiang assumed there was another witness and didn't think much of it. But when the so-called "witness" walked in, Lin Jiang shuddered.
When Jiang Weifeng saw the newcomer, his eyes tightened—a detail that didn't escape Lin Jiang.
As soon as Zhao Siyi entered and saw the room full of people, she lowered her head and walked forward cautiously. As soon as she stood before the teacher, she was asked, "What is your relationship with Jiang Weifeng?"
Zhao Siyi’s shoulders trembled. When she spoke, her voice shook too. "Teacher, I don't understand what you mean."
"Do you know anything about the fight between Jiang Weifeng and Lan Jingyu?"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Siyi’s trembling worsened. "I don't know! Teacher, what happened?"
Lan Jingyu’s mother was getting impatient. "Teacher, just call this girl's parents and ask them directly. Wouldn't that be clearer?"
"No!" Zhao Siyi’s eyes turned red instantly. "Teacher, I really don't know anything about this. Please don't call my parents."
Lan Jingyu’s head teacher spoke up: "Then what exactly is your relationship with Jiang Weifeng?"
Zhao Siyi was so anxious that tears began to fall. "No... there's no relationship..."
Lin Jiang watched in disbelief, then looked at Jiang Weifeng. He was expressionless, like a mass of fog. She felt a bitter smile in her heart.
The bell for class rang at the right moment. The teachers asked a few more simple questions, but Zhao Siyi insisted she knew nothing. Realizing they wouldn't get anything out of her, they stopped pressing her and told her to go back to class.
Zhao Siyi didn't dare leave immediately. "Then, Teacher... will you still call my parents?"
"No. We only called you here to cross-reference some details. This has nothing to do with you. Go back to class."
Only then did Zhao Siyi hurry away. She glanced at Jiang Weifeng out of the corner of her eye as she passed him, but she didn't stop.
Once Zhao Siyi was gone, Mr. Huang turned back to Lin Jiang.
"I'll ask you one last time. After school on Friday, did you really not see Jiang Weifeng hitting anyone?"
Mr. Huang’s voice rang in her ears.
The room was silent. She didn't need to look to know everyone was watching her.
Lin Jiang caught a glimpse of Jiang Weifeng. He was standing there slouched, appearing as if he didn't care about her answer at all. Yet his gaze was clear, as if he were waiting for her response.
Lin Jiang didn't hesitate. She nodded.
Mr. Huang nodded back and dismissed her.
Lin Jiang looked at the teacher, then stole a glance at Jiang Weifeng before leaving.
Inside the office, Mr. Huang turned to Lan Jingyu’s parents. "Mr. and Mrs. Lan, you've heard everything. Now, there are only two ways to handle this. Either we settle this privately and move on, or we issue punishments. Lan Jingyu instigated the fight, and there is video evidence of that. While Jiang Weifeng admitted to hitting Lan Jingyu later, that specific area had a power outage, so there's no video, and we can't prove it was a gang fight. Therefore, Lan Jingyu will certainly face a heavy penalty. How do you want to resolve this?"
Lan Jingyu’s mother was outraged again. "What do you mean Lan Jingyu will face a heavy penalty? What about my son's bruised face? And that girl just now—you're just letting her go? I think she's the one who stirred up most of this!"
Mr. Huang didn't try to persuade her further. "You heard it yourself. The people Lan Jingyu brought said he wanted to fight Jiang Weifeng because he likes Zhao Siyi. It didn't really matter whether Zhao Siyi came here or not, but you insisted on questioning her. We did, and as you saw, her presence didn't change the facts of the case."
Lan Jingyu’s mother wanted to say more, but her husband pulled her back. "Enough. Both boys are at fault. But they are in their senior year; it's better to have one less problem than one more. Let's just drop it. They can apologize to each other and be done with it."
As he spoke, he turned to Zheng Ping. "What do you think?"
Zheng Ping looked at Jiang Weifeng. The boy remained expressionless. Mr. Lan then turned to Lan Jingyu and said sternly, "You started this. Go apologize to him first."
Lan Jingyu was a thousand times unwilling, but he couldn't withstand his father's harsh gaze. Swallowing his protests, his face flushed as he muttered reluctantly to Jiang Weifeng:
"Sorry."
Everyone looked at Jiang Weifeng, waiting for this farce to reach its happy ending.
Jiang Weifeng wasn't in a hurry. Instead, he let out a casual, cold smirk. His entire demeanor was aloof and mocking as he walked up to Lan Jingyu. He looked down at him with utter contempt and said:
"Get lost."
Then he turned and walked away.
Behind him, the sounds of the woman’s frantic anger and the man’s attempts to calm her rose and fell.
***
After returning to class, Lin Jiang’s heart remained suspended. She briefly told Wang Jiaqian what had happened. Wang Jiaqian was furious, cursing Lan Jingyu for being a snake.
Lin Jiang didn't have the energy to judge Lan Jingyu’s character. Her mind was entirely focused on having Wang Jiaqian ask Gu Xiang about the final outcome of the investigation.
The answer was brought by He Lai soon after.
Shortly after the incident, Lan Jingyu transferred schools. Jiang Weifeng, on the other hand, rarely showed up.
Lin Jiang found herself constantly looking for news of Jiang Weifeng. She even increased her frequency of going to the bathroom just to pass by his classroom. But every time she did, he was either sleeping or playing on his PSP, as if nothing had happened.
For three consecutive days, Wang Jiaqian didn't give Lin Jiang a definitive answer. On the school bulletin board, the only news was that the exams originally scheduled for this week had been moved to after the National Day holiday. There was no other announcement. During the break after morning exercises on Thursday, everyone was buzzing with rumors that the school was going to issue a public criticism. Lin Jiang trembled with fear, but fortunately, his name wasn't on the list.
It was also on this day that Wang Jiaqian called Lin Jiang back to discuss the whole affair. Lin Jiang hid her phone in her sleeve to take the call while running toward the broadcasting station. The sky was overcast.
"Don't worry, Jiang Weifeng isn't that stupid. With so many eyes on him right after it happened, he didn't plan on retaliating against Lan Jingyu again."
Lin Jiang smiled. "That's good. When will the cycle of revenge ever end?"
Wang Jiaqian’s voice sounded a bit distant. "Still, that power outage was really a stroke of luck. Even God is helping Jiang Weifeng."
Lin Jiang smiled, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
Wang Jiaqian sighed. "Sigh, you say even God is helping him, but then there's Zhao Siyi..."
Lin Jiang gave a faint "mm," a large shadow falling over her heart.
That day at the broadcasting station, "38.6°C" was back online. This time, the song she requested was "Rainy Day" by Nan Quan Mama.
In truth, Lin Jiang really wanted to find a reason for choosing this song, but the reality was that there wasn't even a self-indulgent excuse behind it.
When she had chosen the song, it had actually been a bright, sunny day. On her way home after broadcasting class, she had overheard a girl ahead of her asking another, "What do you think about me singing 'Rainy Day' for him?"
The other girl said it wasn't a good idea. "You're not in an unrequited love or a breakup. That whole song is about loving someone you can't have. No, no."
But Lin Jiang had silently taken note of it.
As it turned out, by the time the song ended today, it really was raining outside. She hadn't brought an umbrella, so she used her hands to cover her head in a gesture of self-deception and walked back toward the classroom.
The hallway was quiet. Just as Lin Jiang reached the landing between the second and third floors, she heard the sound of sobbing. She instantly held her breath and froze.
Zhao Siyi’s tearful voice sounded intermittent amidst the chaotic sound of the rain. "Good brother, please don't be mad at me anymore, okay?"
The other person didn't answer. Zhao Siyi spoke again, "You know my parents are really strict. I couldn't let the teacher call them. But in my heart, I've always loved you."
This time, the boy spoke. His voice was cold and indifferent. "How much is your 'love' worth?"
"I'm sorry, I was wrong. You can scold me however you want, just don't break up with me, okay?"
"Aren't you annoying?" Jiang Weifeng sounded completely exhausted.
"I really love you... My mom wants me to go abroad, but I've been stalling just to be with you."
"So you're saying I'm holding you back?" Jiang Weifeng let out a frustrated laugh. "Then get lost right now. Get as far away as possible."
Zhao Siyi kept crying and saying "no." There was a sound of pushing and pulling, followed by the sound of someone heading downstairs. Lin Jiang was startled but had no time to hide. Jiang Weifeng came down the stairs and came face-to-face with her, soaking wet.
The moment Lin Jiang met his eyes, she suddenly forgot how to breathe.
He was also momentarily stunned when he saw her, but he quickly brushed past her and continued downstairs. From beginning to end, his gaze probably lingered on her for less than two seconds.
When Lin Jiang went upstairs, Zhao Siyi was still crouching there, crying. Lin Jiang didn't dare think any further. She had a broadcasting class tonight and hurried back to the classroom to pack her bag.
When she went back downstairs, the hallway was empty. Walking through the rain, Lin Jiang felt a heavy dullness in her chest. The image of Zhao Siyi looking so spirited during her speech under the national flag contrasted sharply with her current pathetic state, both scenes swirling in Lin Jiang's mind.
That evening, Lin Jiang had to force herself to stay focused to ensure the class went smoothly. After class, she noticed the rain had let up significantly. She didn't use her umbrella and ran toward Xu Mingjuan’s car. Once inside, she tidied her hair. When she looked up, she saw someone standing by the side of the road not far away.
He seemed to be waiting for someone, unhurriedly smoking a cigarette. Because he was dressed in black, he blended into the night like a predatory beast out on patrol.
Lin Jiang watched him with a touch of greed, as if time had stopped for a moment.
She suddenly felt that Zhao Siyi wasn't pitiable at all. At least she had possessed him once. The memories slipping through her fingers were more than everything Lin Jiang had. Lin Jiang couldn't even look at him openly without picking the right moment.
After returning home, Lin Jiang wrote and paused in her lyric notebook. She copied Miriam Yeung, and she copied "Rainy Day." When she reached the line, *"How heavy must the rain be, how dark must the sky get, before I can have your tenderness,"* her palm was damp.
The rain that night was thick and sticky, and so were her dreams.
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 石头 | Shitou | A nickname meaning "Stone." A friend of Jiang Weifeng. |
| 黄老师 | Mr. Huang | Jiang Weifeng's head teacher. |
| 郑萍 | Zheng Ping | Jiang Weifeng's mother. |
| 38.6℃ | 38.6°C | Lin Jiang's radio persona/alias. |
| 南拳妈妈 | Nan Quan Mama | A Taiwanese music group. |
| 《下雨天》 | "Rainy Day" | A song by Nan Quan Mama. |
| 杨千嬅 | Miriam Yeung | A famous Hong Kong singer and actress. |
