“2018.06.16 Sunny skies stretched endlessly.”
In that case—see you at Qing University.
—Excerpted from Tao Shuran’s Diary
The instant she was dazzled by Liang Yuanjing’s smile, Tao Shuran almost thought that incomparable summer from her memories had returned once more.
Her mood was unconsciously infected by his radiant smile, and the gloom of the past few days dissipated quite a bit. She only felt that the entire world had opened up.
Tao Shuran smoothed her hair and shook her head like he had.
Her response was crisp and straightforward: “I’m not telling you.”
Liang Yuanjing clasped his hands behind his back, picked up the bag she had forgotten on the shelf, and followed slowly behind her.
“Second secret.”
Tao Shuran turned to look at him: “What?”
Liang Yuanjing raised an eyebrow: “The second secret, besides the person you like.”
He still remembered that she liked someone else.
Tao Shuran hurriedly glossed over the topic and took the initiative to say “thank you” to him.
“Thanks for what? Didn’t you do the same?”
Liang Yuanjing got straight to the point: “With Fang Shiyue that time.”
Tao Shuran immediately understood: “You knew?”
“Come on, you went to my mom—how could I not know?”
What kind of person was Madam Li Wan? She was usually decisive and stern as a company executive, always with a cold face. Ordinary girls wouldn’t dare approach her to say more than a word.
Unexpectedly, not only had Tao Shuran taken the initiative to find her, but she had also spoken up for him in front of his mom.
Liang Yuanjing lifted his chin: “Just returning the favor.”
Tao Shuran suddenly froze in place.
The joy and excitement that had just welled up in her heart were now doused like a bucket of cold water over her head.
She forced a smile at the corners of her mouth and asked: “Just returning the favor?”
They had to pass through a very long corridor after leaving the simulation room. For some reason, the corridor was pitch black. Liang Yuanjing relied on instinct, groping along the wall for the switch.
He said casually: “What else?”
In the darkness behind him, Tao Shuran silently shed tears.
She was glad that the room was shrouded in darkness, hiding all the embarrassment of her self-indulgent feelings and sadness.
“Nothing, I just think friends don’t need to be so formal about returning favors.”
Click.
Liang Yuanjing found the switch on the wall, pressed it with his fingertip, and turned around. He heard her words.
He was stunned for a moment, then gradually discerned the meaning in her words.
“Sorry.” He reflected with a hint of apology, “It’s just that I’m used to with girls…”
“I know.”
For the first time, Tao Shuran interrupted him. The moment the lights came on, she had already adjusted all her emotions.
At that moment, her smile was as usual, just like a true friend who understood him.
“I know you’re worried that going even a little too far might make others misunderstand that you like her.”
“But Liang Yuanjing, you don’t have to worry. I never will.”
Tao Shuran looked up at him, her face relaxing into a slight smile, her eyes curved as she gazed at him completely.
“I know you will never like me.”
Her voice was very soft. If they weren’t standing so close, Liang Yuanjing might not have heard it.
He instinctively looked into her eyes, but Tao Shuran had already brushed past him quickly, leaving him momentarily dazed in place. He felt like he tasted a hint of loneliness in those words.
Liang Yuanjing’s mind conjured up Tao Shuran’s face from just now—an unchanging, flawless perfect smile that seemed impenetrable.
After leaving the experience room, Tao Shuran stayed to visit the other exhibition halls, while Liang Yuanjing went to catch up with Lin Lanting.
When they parted, he handed her the bag he had been carrying.
Tao Shuran was stunned for a moment, then remembered she had forgotten something. Her eyelashes lowered, and she said softly, “Thank you,” carefully avoiding his fingertips as she took it.
When he left, however, she stared at his back, looking utterly heartbroken.
The more considerate he was, the sadder she felt.
When you fall for someone who was good beyond good, you couldn’t even vent by blaming him.
Those well-hidden dimness and disappointment now engulfed her like waves.
The surging crowd only amplified her sadness. Tao Shuran walked ahead with her head down and unwittingly turned into a quiet room.
The room had no exhibits, only a display screen playing a process of cultural relics restoration. The video was long, and the restoration process somewhat tedious, so almost no one came here compared to the check-in spots outside with the artifacts.
Yet Tao Shuran stopped and watched with keen interest.
When she saw a court clock shattered almost beyond recognition, pieced back together from over a thousand parts and finally restored to its original majestic grandeur, a sense of admiration for the craft welled up naturally.
Next to each restored artifact was a signature line noting the creator and restorer.
Two names spanning a thousand years were linked by a peculiar bond.
At the end of the video, a line of small text slowly floated onto the screen.
“Before being captured by mundane reality, before being tamed by trivial life, may we still have the capacity to be slightly moved by that worn-out word—’sentiment’.”
Tao Shuran’s heart surged.
She found resonance in those words.
Falling for Liang Yuanjing stemmed from a chance encounter in the height of summer—just a glance, and she pounced like a moth to a flame toward him.
Was it worth it?
Tao Shuran didn’t want to weigh it by universal values or the outcomes it might bring.
She simply felt that in the grandest season of youth with phoenix trees and cicadas at their peak, she had to throw herself wholeheartedly into liking someone.
“Do you like restoration?”
The sudden voice startled Tao Shuran. She turned around to see Lin Lanting, whom Liang Yuanjing had gone to find.
For her to appear by Tao Shuran’s side now—did that count as a special kind of fate?
“Hello, Director Lin.”
Tao Shuran smiled and greeted her. Her gaze returned to the video on the screen as she said softly, “I just think it’s very healing and quiet. To focus so intently on one thing, seeing the artifact restored must feel incredibly fulfilling.”
“But it’s also very tedious, isn’t it? The video condenses it to twenty minutes, but in reality, a painting or a piece of calligraphy might take six months, a year, or even many years to restore.”
Lin Lanting sighed: “I’ve been in this field for thirty years. Too many people leave. Everyone starts with passion and dreams.”
“Maybe I can give it a try.”
Tao Shuran said it half-jokingly: “After all, I’m very good at waiting.”
“You’re welcome to visit anytime.”
Lin Lanting extended her hand proactively: “No need to call me Director. You can call me Grandma, like A Jing does.”
Liang Yuanjing circled the museum, asked several people, and finally spotted Lin Lanting.
He walked over and naturally patted Tao Shuran’s shoulder.
“Pretty coincidental, you’re here too.”
Tao Shuran’s breath hitched slightly, and she nodded obediently.
Lin Lanting asked: “What do you need help with this time?”
Liang Yuanjing laughed. His eyes, usually cold toward others, now held a touch of affectionate amusement.
“With Gaokao coming up, my mom still doesn’t approve of me applying for flight major. Looks like I need you to step in again.”
“After all these years, you still haven’t convinced your mom?”
Lin Lanting gave him a playful glare, chiding the useless kid, but still said, “Come have lunch here with your mom.”
Liang Yuanjing knew it was settled the moment he heard that.
He glanced at his watch—it was nearly closing time—and hooked his finger on Tao Shuran’s backpack strap, pulling her toward the exit.
A relaxed, carefree smile hung on his face as he lazily called out to Lin Lanting.
“Alright, Grandma, I’ll take her back.”
Tao Shuran was caught off guard by his pull. As she followed him out, she hurriedly said, “Goodbye, Grandma.”
It was a bright sunny day. Sunlight shone on the lush green grass, and the phoenix trees lining the road, barren all winter, now showed hints of green.
Liang Yuanjing realized it.
With hands in his pockets, he asked her: “Why did you call her Grandma?”
Tao Shuran let out an “ah,” thinking there were still things our genius Liang didn’t know.
She wanted to keep a bit of mystery in front of him, so she deliberately said, “Guess.”
Liang Yuanjing rarely saw Tao Shuran like this—sly and mischievous. Most of the time, she was quiet and reserved, yet her gaze on people was intensely focused, carrying an inescapable serene beauty.
He laughed: “Tao Shuran, you’re really not obedient at all.”
Tao Shuran’s heart raced.
She noticed Liang Yuanjing’s gaze lingering on her head for an instant. Her long hair, specially treated with essential oil, was silky smooth. He was used to roughhousing with friends, so it was probably an instinctive urge to ruffle it.
But he held back.
Tao Shuran understood what he was holding back from.
She considerately took a step back, maintaining a safe distance between them.
As long as I like you, even as friends is fine.
“I’ll tell you the third secret.”
Tao Shuran looked up, solemnly telling him:
“I’m going to study cultural relics restoration.”
Liang Yuanjing chuckled, turning his head to ask her, “Thought it through?”
“Mm.”
Her tone was firm, her eyes already brimming with smiles at the thought of this goal.
At that moment, she was radiant, like the sun itself.
“I finally have a dream like yours, charging toward the skies.”
Liang Yuanjing was unconsciously infected by her joy.
He let out a low “mm” and extended his fist to her.
“In that case—see you at Qing University.”
“See you at Qing University!”
Her fingertips dug into her palm. The crisp sound of their fists bumping was like a watermelon cracking open.
Tao Shuran heard her own heartbeat and felt the winds of an entire summer surging back into her embrace.
“One day until Gaokao.”
Truth be told, when that day truly arrived, the classroom was unusually calm.
Everyone stood on chairs together, writing “Happy Graduation” on the blackboard. The obscure formulas no one could memorize were wiped clean, replaced by dashing signatures—the final strokes of this youth.
Tao Shuran had her own selfish motive.
She was the last to sign, squeezing her name right next to Liang Yuanjing’s.
Finally, with a wave of Zhou Wu’s hand, he signed his own name.
Graduation was thus settled.
Zhou Wu said emotionally: “Kids, tomorrow is Gaokao. The teacher won’t say much here—just wish everyone smooth sailing tomorrow. Don’t get too excited tonight and stay up; save the all-nighters for after the exams.”
“Youth is a process, not a result. Many years from now, when you look back on your school days, what you’ll think of isn’t a Gaokao score sheet, but the late-night study sessions with classmates this year, every day spent with friends. There were laughs, there was sadness, crying and fussing—looking back, it all seems clumsy and immature, but that’s the lovable part of youth.”
“What we miss about youth are always the people and moments back then.”
Hearing this, Tao Shuran felt something stir and looked toward Liang Yuanjing outside the door.
Logically, today was the last day before Gaokao, so he had returned to his flight class to say goodbye to his teacher.
In the classroom, Fang Qingyi held a loose-leaf classmate record book and gave the first page to Fu Changpei, leaning over his desk to make him fill every line.
Fu Changpei: “It’s not like we won’t see each other again.”
“What if.” Fang Qingyi pointed to the blank lines: “Hurry and write—blood type, favorite food, and QQ, phone number, all of it.”
“Does everyone have to write?”
“Yeah.” Fang Qingyi’s eyes flickered for a moment. She undid the loose leaves and handed one to each person right in front of him.
Fu Changpei almost never wrote in these things.
He felt there was no need to leave mementos in life, but Fang Qingyi’s earnest gaze made it hard to refuse.
The back of the classmate record book required a message.
Fu Changpei paused his pen, looked up, and asked her, “What do I write here?”
Fang Qingyi propped her chin, teasing him: “Write a confession to me.”
He immediately flushed from his ears, his thin lips pressing together slightly, fingers unconsciously tightening around the pen.
Fang Qingyi watched him leisurely. Truth be told, she had a wicked fondness for Fu Changpei—liking to see him shy.
Usually cool and aloof like a flower on a high peak, but as soon as she boldly teased him with a word, he’d turn beet red with tension.
And he never got mad.
“Joking, just write whatever,” Fang Qingyi said without any seriousness. “Otherwise, write about what kind of girl you like? I’m pretty curious.”
After a while, Fu Changpei handed him the completed Classmate Record Book.
His handwriting was very beautiful, a kind of elegant beauty. Sometimes Fang Qingyi felt like she had too much of a filter for him, to the point where even his handwriting seemed uniquely beautiful in the world to her.
Humming a tune as she walked back, Tao Shuran stood smiling at the classroom door, teasing her.
“How was it? Did you get your Fu great male god’s autograph?”
“Of course, Ranran. I even got a special one just for you.”
Standing in the corridor, Fang Qingyi clasped her hands together, bowed three times to the sun, and said very devoutly, “With the study god’s blessing, our Gaokao will definitely go smoothly.”
Just then, Fu Changpei came out to hand out Classmate Record Books to the other classmates in the class. Hearing this, he found it a bit amusing.
But he was looking at Tao Shuran.
“You believe in this too?”
By this day, nothing worked better than superstition.
Tao Shuran made a pleading gesture. “After all, I really, really want to get into Qing University.”
Fu Changpei also asked, “Why Qing University specifically?”
Tao Shuran smiled.
In her view, this question was just like asking “Why Liang Yuanjing specifically?”
It was him, with no other reason.
Catching Fang Qingyi’s hint, Tao Shuran cleared her throat and asked, “What about you? Have you decided which university to aim for?”
“Qing University too, I guess. It’s close to home, convenient for taking care of my grandpa and grandma.”
Tao Shuran immediately remembered that there was still bone broth that Tao Hongfeng had stewed for Fu Changpei’s grandpa and grandma at home.
Tao Hongfeng didn’t have many other merits, but he had a warm heart. Fu Changpei was good-looking and had good character too—a perfect well-rounded youth in morals, intellect, physique, aesthetics, and labor in the eyes of parents.
Tao Hongfeng took a liking to him and always made an extra portion when cooking, asking Tao Shuran to deliver it.
Thanks to that, Tao Shuran often went to him for help with questions. With both Fu Changpei and Liang Yuanjing’s assistance, her grades had improved dramatically over the year.
But for delivering food, Tao Shuran tried to hand it off to Fang Qingyi whenever possible.
The timing was perfect right now. She slapped her forehead, pretending to just remember, pulled the key from her pocket, and handed it to Fang Qingyi.
In a pleading tone, she said, “I just remembered I need to buy some things later. Little Yi, could you swing by my house and pack up the soup for me?”
Fang Qingyi snatched the key. “Happy to be of service.”
There were too many study materials left in the classroom; Tao Shuran made two trips just to carry them out.
When packing up the last bits, a few scattered notebooks remained.
She flipped through them—they were all Error Notebooks that Liang Yuanjing had made for her. His handwriting was as lazy as he was, wild and sweeping, with just a few strokes.
Only on the first page, where he wrote her name, was it the most careful.
Tao Shuran.
Her gaze swept over every stroke, pressing the notebook to her chest as she thought back to her first day in Linchuan.
The first time he called her name, she felt like all the flowers in the world were blooming in happiness.
Tao Shuran closed her eyes and made a very sincere wish.
Please bless me one more time, heavens.
Get into Qing University, and stand by his side.
By the time she finished packing, it was already six-thirty in the evening.
At five, Zhou Wu had stopped by and told them there was no evening self-study tonight—go home, take a shower, play a game, and get to bed early.
No point in cramming now for extra points; maintaining a good mindset was more important than anything.
As they left the classroom, Fang Qingyi’s eyes were red-rimmed, on the verge of tears.
“Why are you all staying in Fuqing City?”
“Wuwu, do you know how high Fuqing’s admission lines are? If I don’t get in, won’t that mean I won’t see any of you for four years of university?”
“Fuqing has 54 universities. Besides, your mock exam scores have been great every time.”
Tao Shuran grinned. “What, don’t want to see your Fu Changpei anymore?”
“What do you mean ‘my’?” Fang Qingyi lowered her head, her face flushing red. She muttered softly, “He doesn’t even know I like him yet.”
Tao Shuran laughed.
She had a feeling in her heart that Fang Qingyi’s confession wasn’t far off. The girl couldn’t hide things in her eyes; her affection shone brighter than anyone’s.
The sunset dipped below the horizon, orange-red light spilling from the west like an overturned bottle of paint.
Tao Shuran stopped in the connecting walkway in front of the teaching building. She tilted her head up, gazing at the white flower trellis entwined with wisteria blooms, beautiful like an oil painting.
From the nearby sports field came nonstop cheers, as if applauding the end of a heated match.
Tao Shuran looked over, lost in a daze, feeling like she was back on the first day.
Back then, Liang Yuanjing had leaped into the sunset, slamming home a three-pointer.
That was the first time she saw him in Fuqing City, their reunion after seven hundred and seventy days apart.
So, in the future, would they reunite again at Qing University?
For Tao Shuran, the Gaokao was her one and only chance.
A chance to stand by Liang Yuanjing’s side, a chance to stand shoulder to shoulder with him. She absolutely could not lose.
Tao Shuran lowered her head, gripping the book’s spine tightly. All her nervous emotions bubbled up, and she didn’t notice the person who had appeared beside her.
Liang Yuanjing didn’t know when he had walked up to her side.
He had just finished training, basketball in hand, dribbling idly. Friends clustered around him, stars orbiting the center, always the focal point of the crowd.
Tao Shuran thought the two of them would just pass by.
They had only less than a year’s connection, like fleeting passersby with little bond.
But unexpectedly, Liang Yuanjing’s steps suddenly halted.
In the instant they brushed shoulders, Tao Shuran heard Liang Yuanjing say, “Gaokao fighting.”
She lifted her head in disbelief, and just like that,
Their gazes collided in midair.
In that instant, she knew she was hopelessly into him. The courage swallowed by fear surged back, like soft clouds lifting her toward the sun.
Gathering her courage, Tao Shuran said, “You too.”
Her voice was very soft, drowned in the crowd; she hadn’t intended for him to hear.
Who knew Liang Yuanjing’s forward step would pause.
He turned his head back, his hair glowing in the golden sunlight, even his brows and eyes softened by the light.
Just like that, he looked at her and said, “I wish you get what you desire.”
Tao Shuran smiled and said, “Okay.”
But Liang Yuanjing didn’t know that everything she desired was him.