Cheng Hui had left the Su family in the autumn.
Su Jingming’s first experience with domestic violence had also been in the autumn.
Consequently, Su Jingming held no affection for the season.
The moment Zhou Hong learned that Su Jingming had been disqualified, his first instinct wasn't to blame him. When he finally saw Su Jingming, he only asked one thing: "Do you still want the opportunity?"
Su Jingming stood in the darkness, his black hair tossed into a mess by the night wind. His jacket hung rumpled on his frame, the collar loose and sagging, one sleeve turned inside out.
He stood there with his hands in his pockets, his lips pressed thin, staring at Zhou Hong without a word.
Old Tu’s eyes were filled with disappointment. Finally, he waved his hand, signaling Zhou Hong to take Su Jingming away.
He wasn't even given the chance to go back and pack his things.
Much less offer an explanation.
Zhou Hong drove to pick him up personally. After Su Jingming climbed into the car, Zhou Hong glanced back at the iron gates. In the silent night, the gates looked more indestructible than ever.
Su Jingming leaned listlessly against the seatback. Zhou Hong got in, buckled his seatbelt, and started the engine. The movements were fluid and practiced.
Zhou Hong drove steadily. The interior of the car was silent. As they descended the mountain, the lights of the distant city came into view—the glow of ten thousand homes.
He finally couldn't resist asking, "Why didn't you explain?"
Su Jingming sat in the passenger seat, propping his head up with one hand. His expressionless face was reflected in the window.
"There was no point."
The moment Old Tu appeared and spoke those words, his guilt had been set in stone. Any explanation would have seemed weak and hollow.
Zhou Hong let out a heavy sigh. "You’re still young. You don't realize how much the consequences of this will affect your future."
Su Jingming gave a quiet "mm." "I know."
"If you knew, then why didn't you explain from the start?!"
Zhou Hong accidentally hit the horn. In the empty mountains, the sound was exceptionally jarring.
In an instant, silence returned to the car.
"Teacher Zhou, you believe me unconditionally," Su Jingming said. "But they won't. Even if I explained, it would just sound like a desperate excuse."
Hearing this, Zhou Hong fell silent.
Though he didn't claim to know Su Jingming perfectly, he knew the boy would never do something like steal competition papers. He believed that.
But just as Su Jingming said, there was his unconditional trust, and then there was everyone else’s unconditional distrust. Between the two, there was only a world of difference.
Su Jingming leaned his head against the window, his entire body numb and devoid of sensation. It felt as though his life was meant to be this way—stained with filth in the midst of this autumn scenery. A stain that would follow him for a lifetime, impossible to wash away.
Zhou Hong gave Su Jingming two days off, telling him to return to class only after the competition ended. Su Jingming understood; Zhou Hong needed time to figure out how to explain things to the school.
When he opened the door to his home, the house reeked of stale alcohol and cigarettes.
Su Jingming flipped the switch. The living room was a disaster. Takeout boxes sat on the dining table, left there for who knew how many days, their contents filling the air with a musty, moldy smell. There were lingering wine stains on the sofa, and one corner of the curtain had been torn down. Ash covered the floor, and empty bottles were scattered in every corner.
Su Jingming stood in the living room for a few seconds, then took off his jacket and began to clean.
His movements were quiet, as he was afraid of disturbing the neighbors. He moved like a robot—every action precise, efficient, and methodical.
Fortunately, it was autumn. The temperature wasn't as high as in summer, so the mess hadn't attracted cockroaches or insects.
Su Jingming replaced the living room curtains with clean ones and opened the window to let the air circulate.
He leaned out the window. The horizon was already beginning to pale with the first light of dawn.
This wasn't the training camp. He couldn't see a vast river of stars, nor the boundary where night met day. There were no leaves rustling in the wind, no noisy chirping of birds.
It was like throwing a stone into a deep well; it failed to stir even a single ripple.
This was the "dirty" autumn that truly belonged to him, devoid of any extra color. Su Jingming had been naive enough to think he could learn to accept the autumn this year.
***
Bad news always ferments and spreads at the speed of light.
The next day, the moment Zhou Hong stepped into the classroom, the room fell into an eerie silence.
He rubbed his temples, about to speak, when someone from the back asked, "Teacher Zhou, is it true that Su Jingming tried to cheat?"
"I heard you went to pick him up last night."
"Does that mean he’s going to be expelled?"
"Cheating in a competition... shouldn't that be a major demerit on his record?"
Zhou Hong didn't know how they had found out. Having had no rest the previous night, his face was a sickly, unhealthy pale.
Ren Wei sat in his seat, listening to the murmurs around him. He desperately wanted to stand up and tell them all off.
*Su Jingming would never do that. There must be a misunderstanding.*
He had been waiting—waiting for Zhou Hong to refute all the doubts.
But Ren Wei didn't get what he was waiting for. He couldn't get through to Su Jingming’s phone, and he didn't hear Zhou Hong offer any proof of Su Jingming’s innocence.
Zhou Hong turned and wrote "Self-Study" on the blackboard. He rubbed the chalk dust between his fingers. "This period is for self-study. Regarding the matter with Su Jingming, the school is still investigating. I hope you all won't jump to conclusions based on unverified rumors."
Upon hearing Zhou Hong’s words, the class began to stir restlessly.
What did that mean? Such an ambiguous answer—did Su Jingming do it or not?
No one gave them an answer.
Ren Wei sat in his seat, fists clenched. He glanced at the empty desk beside him. For a fleeting moment, he thought he saw Su Jingming sitting there, wearing those oversized black-rimmed glasses, his eyes full of that familiar indifference.
While he was dazing, Zhang Jia turned around and asked, "Can you get in touch with Su Jingming?"
"I haven't been able to get through to him all morning."
Zhang Jia looked troubled. "Should we go see him after school?"
"We?" Ren Wei asked, surprised.
Zhang Jia nodded, her expression serious. "I don't believe he would do something like that."
Hearing this, Ren Wei looked at Zhang Jia with a strange expression. Recalling the forum posts from a while back, he seemed to understand something. He looked at her gratefully. "If Su Jingming knew you believed in him this much, he’d definitely be happy!"
After arranging the self-study session, Zhou Hong returned to the office to grab some assignments to grade. On the way, he was intercepted by Director Li of the grade level.
"Wen Yan from your class is back!"
Zhou Hong was shocked. "Impossible!!"
Director Li anxiously wiped the sweat from his forehead. "It’s true. He withdrew from the competition directly. He didn't even participate!"
Zhou Hong felt like his teaching career was coming to an end. Su Jingming’s situation hadn't even been cleared up, and now Wen Yan had voluntarily withdrawn.
With the incidents involving Su Jingming and Wen Yan, a massive wave of gossip swept through No. 2 High School.
Ren Wei took a deep breath and shoved his phone into his desk drawer. No matter what people said online, he would always believe in Su Jingming unconditionally.
Finally, school let out. Zhang Jia and Ren Wei were the first to leave the classroom. Suddenly, Ren Wei’s phone vibrated. He pulled it out quickly—it was actually a call from Su Jingming.
Zhang Jia saw Ren Wei’s expression turn odd. "Is it Su Jingming?"
Ren Wei nodded. Zhang Jia pulled him to a corner where it was relatively quiet.
Ren Wei had never been this nervous. He tapped the screen to answer.
"Hello?"
Su Jingming was currently standing by his bedroom window, watching the people come and go in the alleyway below. The never-ending cries of street vendors served as his background music. Hearing Ren Wei’s slightly trembling voice, he let out a laugh. It sounded cheerful, with no hint of anything being wrong.
"Ren Wei, were you about to come looking for me?"
Ren Wei gave an "mm." "After something this big happened, I definitely need to hear your explanation." He thought for a second and realized that sounded wrong, so he immediately corrected himself. "No, I mean, I believe in you. You wouldn't do something like that."
Zhang Jia listened from the side, her heart in her throat, terrified of missing a single detail.
The corner where they stood felt like a world apart.
They only heard Su Jingming say slowly and calmly, "The pure remain pure."
Hearing Su Jingming say that, the anxiety in Ren Wei’s heart gradually settled. He gripped his phone tight. "Right! The pure remain pure!"
Zhang Jia’s features also softened, the urgency in her eyes fading.
Ren Wei added, "By the way, I heard Wen Yan withdrew from the competition too. Do you know why?"
Su Jingming froze.
What did he mean, Wen Yan withdrew too?
He gripped his phone, asking in disbelief, "What did you say?"
Ren Wei thought it was too noisy on his end and that Su Jingming hadn't heard him, so he repeated it. "Wen Yan withdrew from the competition as well. Do you know why he did it?"
Suddenly, Su Jingming felt as if his world had gone silent. He couldn't hear anything. The alleyway below seemed to have been hit with a pause button; everyone’s movements and words froze in that instant.
His mind was filled with only one thought: *Wen Yan withdrew.*
Before he could even respond to Ren Wei, Su Jingming hurriedly hung up the phone.
His phone had been off since last night; he couldn't even explain why he’d done that. It wasn't until he turned it on just now that his first thought was to call Ren Wei back.
He opened WeChat, his brow furrowing slightly.
His WeChat was rarely this busy. Most of his classmates had sent messages asking what had happened, though most were just there to enjoy the drama. Su Jingming ignored them.
Scrolling down, Wen Yan’s message was at the very bottom.
Su Jingming’s heart leaped into his throat. His palms were sweating, and he felt a sudden sense of weightlessness.
He tapped into the chat. The message was from 4:00 AM.
Wen Yan: *The pure remain pure, the muddy remain muddy.*
Su Jingming’s chest heaved. He felt cold from head to toe, and the feeling of weightlessness vanished. He took several deep breaths. The cries of the vendors below gradually returned to his ears. The people in the alleyway seemed to return to their normal lives, busy and bustling, a never-ending flow of humanity.
Suddenly, a sharp, urgent knocking sounded at the living room door.
Su Jingming walked over to open it, still feeling somewhat lightheaded.
As the door swung open, a familiar face appeared before him.
They had lived together day and night. They had seen the morning sun and the river of stars in the dark. They had felt the cool evening breeze and heard the autumn birds.
They sat across from each other, and they smiled.
***
