“2017.08.30 Weather clear”
The sunset blazed brilliantly, woven like a tapestry, and today, just like always, I still liked you.
— Excerpt from Tao Shuran’s Diary
Her aching wrists and somewhat blurry vision persisted as she copied the texts for the thirtieth time, when Tao Shuran stood up to stretch.
Her gaze involuntarily drifted to the window, where a perfect sunset hung in the clear sky, vast fiery clouds like flames and smoke, draping low over the horizon, beautiful beyond measure.
Before coming to Fuqing City, Tao Shuran had scrolled through many pictures online of the city’s stunning sunsets, and she had always yearned for this sight.
She never imagined she would witness it under such circumstances.
Under the sunset, the girl’s upward gaze at the scenery was serene and elegant. Fang Qingyi slipped in through the back door and caught exactly this scene.
She placed the takeout box on the table and quickly pulled out her phone to snap a photo.
Tao Shuran thought she was photographing the view outside the window and had no idea she had been captured in it.
“Hey, put off the copying for now and eat first.”
Fang Qingyi puffed her cheeks and asked her, “Ranran, how many more passages do you have to copy?”
Tao Shuran held up a number.
She did not mind yet, but Fang Qingyi grimaced first, showing an expression of utter agony. Finally, she steeled herself, gripped her pen,
and said, “I’ll copy for you.”
Tao Shuran shook her head. “Our handwriting is different. The teacher will notice, right?”
“You’ve been the good student for too long. I have experience with this sort of thing. The teacher won’t check each one carefully. Mixing a couple fakes in with the originals won’t get spotted.”
Fang Qingyi spoke in an experienced tone. “Besides, Teacher Yu was just angry when she assigned so much. She knows how tiring it is to copy all that. With high school third year so intense, how could she waste time on punishment copying?”
“Teacher Yu has been our homeroom since second year. Back then, my mom and dad stayed up all night copying for me.”
Tao Shuran’s mind conjured an image of the three of them at the dinner table copying through the night. She let out a “pfft” of laughter and stopped refusing.
Holding the steaming takeout box in front of her, she asked, “Is this stir-fried rice noodles?”
Fang Qingyi replied, “Yeah, it’s delicious. I brought it specially for you.”
Tao Shuran curved her eyes. “Thank you, Little Yi.”
“But why are you so nice to me?”
Fang Qingyi waved it off, lowered her head, and scribbled furiously. She did not dwell on the question and answered without thinking.
“Because I like you.”
“You’re pretty, gentle, and have a great personality. I want to be friends with you.”
Tao Shuran froze for a second, her expression momentarily stunned.
After a moment, she recovered and said calmly, “Yeah, I hope we can be friends too.”
The two copied together, and their efficiency seemed to improve a lot. Before seven o’clock, Tao Shuran tidied up all the punishment copies and prepared to hand them to Teacher Yu.
As they left, she asked Fang Qingyi if she wanted to come along.
Fang Qingyi shook her head. “I hate going to the teacher’s office the most, especially after school when there are no other students, just scary teachers.”
“Really? I think I saw other students inside after school.”
Tao Shuran recalled and said casually, “It seemed like Fu Changpei from Class 4. He was helping the teacher grade homework.”
Fang Qingyi rushed right up to her face. “What did you say? Fu Changpei is there too?”
Tao Shuran nodded lightly.
Fang Qingyi immediately grabbed her hand and said with particular determination, “I’ll go with you.”
The sudden change left Tao Shuran slightly stunned.
Soon, she caught something in the tiny details. A faint smile tugged at her lips as she slowly took Fang Qingyi’s hand.
There was a sense of surprise at discovering a secret.
She parted ways with Fang Qingyi at a corner in the school and walked home alone as dusk deepened.
On the way home, she received a call from Tao Hongfeng.
He asked how her life had been lately, if she was used to Fuqing City, and if the food was good.
Hearing her father’s concern, Tao Shuran’s eyes reddened instantly.
She lowered her voice and said, “Dad, why don’t you ask about my grades?”
Tao Hongfeng laughed. “No rush on that. No matter how big the world is, my girl’s eating and sleeping well comes first.”
He followed up, “So, how’s studying in Linchuan going?”
“Not used to it,” Tao Shuran said dully. “I got dead last in the class on the first test.”
Tao Hongfeng paused, then laughed as usual, in a tone that made light of it.
“It’s only been a short time since you transferred. Affiliated Middle School moves fast, so you’re bound to struggle at first. You’ve always studied hard, and Dad believes you’ll catch up soon.”
Tao Shuran let out a quiet “mm,” but her dejected mood did not lift—in fact, it intensified.
She recalled the scene from Chinese class that day, the moment the teacher questioned her, still fresh in her mind.
And that embarrassing moment had happened right when Liang Yuanjing sat next to her.
It was not like this—her grades were not that bad. She wanted to explain, but the words stuck in her throat, and Tao Shuran could say nothing.
She just felt down when she sat back, and with the person she liked right beside her, that sadness amplified to another level.
Tears began to patter down her cheeks. She half-squatted by the roadside at the alley entrance, stealthily wiping them with her sleeve.
Tao Hongfeng on the other end noticed her mood and tried to comfort her with a joking tone.
But people are emotional creatures; being coaxed only made the grievance surge twofold. Tao Shuran felt her emotions overwhelm her, and the tears fell harder.
In the end, her sleeve was soaked. Tearfully, she fumbled for tissues in the side pocket of her shoulder-slung backpack.
In her teary vision, someone handed her a pack of tissues.
Slender knuckles, white as jade, like a perfect character stepped from a manga. Liang Yuanjing had a basketball tucked under his left arm, one hand in his pocket, his gaze naturally falling on her.
Tao Shuran dazedly took the tissues, only then realizing her disheveled state.
But Liang Yuanjing acted like he did not recognize her—or perhaps had no impression of her at all. He did not linger a moment longer, his silhouette stretching long at the edge where light met shadow.
“Ranran?”
Tao Shuran, still holding the phone, froze completely in place.
After a while, it dawned on her: maybe in Liang Yuanjing’s world, she was just an NPC with no memorable traits.
The embarrassment and awkwardness she felt so acutely did not even exist in his memory.
With that thought, Tao Shuran managed to console herself a bit.
She hurriedly responded, “I’m here, Dad.”
“Dad has good news for you, but you can’t cry after I tell you.”
Tao Shuran tore open the pack, pulled out a tissue, and wiped the tears from her face.
She said softly, “What?”
“Dad’s coming to Fuqing City.”
“This weekend?”
“This whole year,” Tao Hongfeng said. “I quit my job in Xianyao. For the next year, I’ll focus on being with my girl while she studies. Didn’t you always love Dad’s cooking?”
“How could you quit your job for me? Didn’t you love that work?”
Zhao Yanyun’s lawyer job required court trips nationwide, so Tao Hongfeng handled most household matters.
The reversal of traditional roles drew plenty of outside criticism toward him, like “living off a woman” or “henpecked,” often cloaked as jokes.
A couple years back, Tao Hongfeng found a job he enjoyed—low pay, but leisurely.
Tao Shuran had been happy for her dad then, feeling he finally had his own life.
Tao Hongfeng said, “Compared to work, Dad prefers taking care of you.”
“But weren’t you against me transferring to Fuqing City?” Tao Shuran said softly. “You even had a big fight with Mom over it. I heard you two still haven’t made up.”
Tao Hongfeng huffed. “Arguments are adult business. Nothing’s more important than not letting my girl’s stomach go empty.”
After ending the call with her dad, Tao Shuran’s mood lifted a little.
She got home later than usual. Looking up at the window, the room light was off—Zhao Yanyun was not back yet.
Her mom had been coming home later and later that week, and Tao Shuran was used to it.
Luckily, Fang Qingyi had bought her dinner.
She turned on the light, did a simple wash-up, then sat at her desk again. The slowly booting computer betrayed certain hidden emotions.
With practiced ease, she opened her QQ email. When she saw a reply to the email she had sent half a month ago, surprise lit her eyes.
That email had been about a physics problem she asked Liang Yuanjing. She struggled with physics and could not understand the solution, so she asked him on a whim.
Unexpectedly, half a month later, she got a reply.
Liang Yuanjing not only wrote three solution methods for the problem but also detailed the source of each knowledge point.
Tao Shuran carefully replied, “Thank you, Y.”
The first week at the new school passed like this, and the novelty of the new classmate was quickly overshadowed by the upcoming Opening Ceremony.
Friday night’s last class was Zhou Wu’s.
“We have the normal break this week. Go home and prepare—Monday is the official Opening Ceremony, marking your entry into third year high school and the true Gaokao countdown.”
Zhou Wu cleared his throat lightly. “Alright, head out early. Cherish your last full weekend.”
His words drew wails from below.
But for all the complaints, no one slowed their rush out the school gate after dismissal.
On the way back, they passed the Honor Roll covered in photos again. Unsurprisingly, Liang Yuanjing’s picture was at the very top.
Tao Shuran paused her steps.
She silently calculated the distance between them in her mind, suddenly feeling the pressure of time, and bit her lip unconsciously.
Fang Qingyi came running up from behind, bookbag in hand, and slapped Tao Shuran’s shoulder hard.
She jumped in fright, but relaxed once she saw the face.
Fang Qingyi complained, “Do you know Wen Fangfang got first in integrated humanities this time? You saw how smug she was today, passing that crappy test paper around to a dozen people.”
“She even hypocritically asked if you needed it—like we didn’t hear. The past couple days, she’s been spreading everywhere that you got dead last.”
Tao Shuran pulled a milk candy from her pocket and asked softly, “Want some candy?”
“Yeah.” Fang Qingyi tore open the wrapper angrily, chewed it, and mumbled indistinctly, “Next test, we have to beat her.”
After saying that, she hesitated, then added,
“At least not take the bottom three again.”
Tao Shuran pressed her lips. “I’ll try.”
“So, I’ve decided to form a study mutual aid group.”
As she spoke of her plan, Fang Qingyi’s eyes lit up, staring intently at her. “Fu Changpei will lead us two in studying. What do you say—join?”
Just then, they reached the alley mouth.
Tao Shuran had not realized Fang Qingyi had followed her here. She could not help asking, “Does Fu Changpei agree to this?”
“I talked to him yesterday. If you agree, we’ll study at his family’s shop tonight.”
Fang Qingyi seemed even more familiar with the area than she was. She deftly passed through the alley, up the long slope, and at an open angled spot, knocked on the window.
After a moment, the back door opened. Fu Changpei stepped aside slightly to let them in.
Tao Shuran said a bit embarrassed, “Sorry to bother you.”
Fu Changpei said nothing, just pointed to the shelves. “Get water if you want.”
Past the back door was a spacious yard with supermarket wholesale shipping boxes stacked around. A large wooden table sat in the corner.
He brought over long benches from the house, just enough for her and Fang Qingyi.
But Tao Shuran never expected someone else to be there.
With the house door wide open, the interior was fully visible. On the beige fabric sofa, Liang Yuanjing had taken off his jacket. His T-shirt was sky-blue, collar loose and drooping. He gripped the controller with both hands, focused on his game.
Tao Shuran’s gaze fell calmly and intently on his face.
Following her line of sight, Fang Qingyi noticed the person in the room too.
She was surprised for a second, but then she thought of the relationship between Fu Changpei and Liang Yuanjing and felt that his appearance here was perfectly normal.
“Truly an unexpected delight,” Fang Qingyi said with a smile. “Now we have two older experts leading us—perfect for 1v1.”
Fu Changpei walked in and said a couple of sentences.
The summer cicadas were too noisy, the clashing air currents too stifling, and her pounding heart drowned out everything else. She only caught snippets, including Fu Changpei’s question as he turned back to look at him right before leaving.
He asked Liang Yuanjing, “Are you joining or not?”
Liang Yuanjing’s gaze dropped. Summer’s fragmented light fell on the bony ridge of his nape, and his skin seemed to glow translucently in the sunlight.
Through the floating dust particles in the air, she had the illusion that he was looking right at her.
Tao Shuran’s heart skipped a beat. She instinctively averted her eyes.
When she looked up again, Liang Yuanjing had tossed the controller aside, stood up lazily, and walked out of the room into the yard bathed in the brightest light.
He lifted his chin slightly, his tone casual as if he were still playing.
“I’m following Old Fu.”
At that moment, Fang Qingyi quietly whispered a story about the two of them into Tao Shuran’s ear.
In truth, Fang Qingyi knew very little about Liang Yuanjing herself. She only knew his family background was anything but simple—so not simple that even the school’s leaders were somewhat wary of him. But as for specifics, no one could say for sure.
The opportunity for him and Fu Changpei to meet was simple too. During a certain competition, the two hit it off at first sight and became friends just like that.
Fang Qingyi grumbled, “Fu Changpei and Liang Yuanjing—one’s a stuffy flirt, the other’s bad to the bone. Their personalities are worlds apart, yet they ended up as such iron-clad friends.”
There were too many things in this world that couldn’t be predicted.
Just like how Tao Shuran hadn’t expected that the day she and Liang Yuanjing would cross paths, the opportunity would come like this.
Her eyelashes drooped and fluttered, her gaze never daring to meet his.
Fang Qingyi’s personality was bold and carefree. She seemed not to notice Tao Shuran’s momentary silence.
In the end, a sudden knock at the door shattered the quiet, awkward atmosphere.
The moment the knocking started, Fang Qingyi closed her eyes in despair and said in a tone of absolute certainty, “That madman’s knock can only be Zhao Zhengnian the mutt sniffing his way over here.”
Tao Shuran couldn’t help asking, “How do you know it’s him?”
“Because we used to meet here often,” Fang Qingyi said with an “oh,” then explained to her. “Me, Fu Changpei, and Zhao Zhengnian—we were in the same class in our first year of high school. Later, when we split into arts and sciences tracks, Old Fu went for sciences and wasn’t with us anymore.”
“This supermarket is run by Old Fu’s grandma. It’s like our little hideout. We often did homework together here.”
“Was that doing homework? You were clearly just copying Fu Changpei’s math answers one-sidedly.”
Zhao Zhengnian hadn’t even arrived yet, but his booming voice carried over first.
He had overheard something about a study group during his recent call with Fu Changpei, and now he was kicking up a fuss to join.
Fang Qingyi shot him an irritated glare. “What’s it got to do with you?”
It had been such a perfect 1v1 setup, and now there was an extra person. She couldn’t count on Liang Yuanjing’s aloof personality for sure—did that mean Fu Changpei had to tutor two people by himself?
“Hey, I can’t let you sneak around studying behind my back.”
Without another word, Zhao Zhengnian declared, “I hereby announce the official founding of our Linchuan Study Group!”
“What you say doesn’t count.”
Dead set on defending her “big sis” status, Fang Qingyi stuck out her hand. “Givemefive.”
Tao Shuran hesitantly extended her own hand.
In those few seconds of hesitation, Liang Yuanjing’s palm covered hers. Soon, everyone’s hands piled on top.
Then they dropped and rose together in a heavy high-five, sounding a clarion call of youth.
Tao Shuran’s vision swam.
During the high-five, her hand had flipped slightly, and her raised fingertips had accidentally brushed across Liang Yuanjing’s palm.
It was just an instant, but her heart stirred. She instinctively looked up.
Their eyes met exactly.