“2019.05.14”
It was okay to fail, because you were all behind her.
—Excerpt from Tao Shuran’s Diary
After 0713 had eaten its fill, it flicked its tail arrogantly and left, then hid in the bushes and started snoring away.
Tao Shuran clapped her hands and stood up. Before she could react, Liang Yuanjing had already pulled out a wet wipe and handed it to her.
She said, “Thank you.”
Liang Yuanjing: “Do you have any plans for summer vacation?”
“I might work on a project with Teacher Lin.”
She did not know the exact location yet. Lin Tingzhou had only mentioned it in passing, saying there was a cultural relics restoration project where she could tag along and help out.
No pay, but food and lodging covered.
Tao Shuran agreed without hesitation.
Liang Yuanjing wiped his hands and tossed the wet wipe she had balled up in her palm into the trash can as well.
He shoved his hands in his pockets, his flight suit following smooth lines, standing ramrod straight like a tree.
“Planning to develop your career where in the future?”
The question sounded a bit precocious, but Tao Shuran was used to following his lead in thought, so she answered without thinking:
“Jingbei.”
Liang Yuanjing raised an eyebrow in surprise.
Jingbei was quite a distance from Fuqing City—a high-speed train ride took four hours. She was a proper southerner, yet she wanted to go there in the future?
“Why Jingbei?”
Tao Shuran hesitated for a moment, then said slowly, “Because you’re there.”
Liang Yuanjing huffed a laugh: “Good thing it’s not because of someone from Flight Class.”
He still harbored resentment toward her secret crush. Even if it was not Xu Yanyang, it did not seem like a good person.
“Why follow me?” he asked again, this time out of pure curiosity.
Tao Shuran lowered her lashes, her gaze fixed on her toes—and his reflection.
“Because I’m used to it.”
Used to following in your footsteps, chasing your voice, the afterglow at sunset’s end—that was her poorly disguised glance toward you.
“No.”
Tao Shuran was stunned. She no longer averted her gaze but lifted her head and stared at him blankly. “What?”
Liang Yuanjing repeated patiently.
“You can’t get used to it.”
His tone when he said this was clearly not gentle, and his gaze toward her carried a hint of sternness.
“Tao Shuran, you need to make your own independent decisions and walk the path you want.”
Suddenly addressed by her full name, Tao Shuran pressed her lips together and let out a soft “mm.”
She lowered her head again and kicked a pebble by the roadside.
Liang Yuanjing touched his nose and walked over to ask her, “Was I a bit harsh?”
“Huh?”
His sudden closeness made Tao Shuran’s heart skip. She instinctively took two steps back and answered honestly.
“Not that harsh, just a bit like my dad.”
Tao Hongfeng often asked her what she wanted to do in the future. Whenever she said something like “whatever,” her dad would get serious and tell her that the road ahead was hers to walk, so she had to learn to make her own decisions.
Liang Yuanjing had been reflecting—he was used to being unserious with the guys in the training team.
He did not want to upset the girl right after meeting her.
He had not expected her to say something like that.
His chest tightened.
After a long moment, he tugged at his lips in a smile, pinched the strap of her backpack, and pulled her toward him.
“Tao Shuran, you’re pretty bold.”
May 14th was the official start of the provincial selection competition in Fuqing.
As a contestant in the Calligraphy and Painting Group, Tao Shuran was the youngest—and the most nervous.
In the three days leading up to the exam, she suffered from insomnia almost every night. The moment she lay down, her sensitive nerves fired off signals of theoretical knowledge, turning her brain into a movie projector with no break.
Finally, the day before the competition, Tao Shuran could not take it anymore and called Fang Qingyi.
Fang Qingyi showed up at her dorm building with her suitcase in tow.
“Come on, let’s skip class. I’ll sleep with you tonight.”
At eleven that night, Tao Shuran finished her shower and climbed into bed. Before sleep, she swallowed a melatonin gummy—grape flavor, no different from regular candy when bitten.
Because she anticipated insomnia that night, her restless nerves were even more active.
Fang Qingyi snatched the book from her hand.
“What book are you reading at a time like this? It’s not like this competition only happens once a decade. If you don’t make it this year, try again next year.”
Fang Qingyi said firmly: “Let me tell you, Ranran, I never study before exams. Studying doesn’t help me remember anyway.”
Tao Shuran blinked and asked her, “Do you study normally then?”
Fang Qingyi: …
“Not really.”
“Then I’ll listen to some music.”
Tao Shuran pulled out her Bluetooth earbuds from her bag. She reached over and set the light to sleep mode, bathing the room in a dim yellow glow.
She opened her favorites and found the audio clip with practiced ease.
“Tao Shuran, good night.”
It was the only time Liang Yuanjing had ever sent her a good night message.
Tao Shuran had listened to it at least a hundred times, on every sleepless night filled with secret longing.
The competition consisted of two parts: theory in the morning and practical skills in the afternoon.
It covered fields like ceramics, calligraphy and painting, and clocks. Each contestant had to restore the artifact in front of them within the time limit, then face critique and scoring from the judges on site.
Tao Shuran was competing in the Calligraphy and Painting Restoration Group this year.
The event was broadcast live, and because of that, Tao Shuran grew even more nervous right before going on stage. She felt like a thousand eyes were staring at her from below.
“Ranran.”
It felt like someone in the audience was always calling her.
Tao Shuran followed the sound and looked over. In the spectator seats, she saw Fang Qingyi waving enthusiastically at her.
She had actually snuck into the venue.
Not just Fang Qingyi—Tao Shuran’s gaze swept across and spotted Fu Changpei and Zhao Zhengnian standing together.
And Liang Yuanjing.
He sat lazily in the spectator seats, hand propping his forehead as he rested with eyes closed. Suddenly, he opened them.
Perhaps it was fate. As he lifted his gaze, it met hers—her cautious glance at that exact moment.
Tao Shuran’s heart jolted, and she instinctively wanted to look away.
Liang Yuanjing looked toward her and waved his phone at her.
Tao Shuran immediately pulled out her phone from her pocket.
She saw him lower his head as if sending a message. Soon, her phone vibrated, and a message from Liang Yuanjing arrived as expected.
Tao Shuran held the phone to her ear and heard Liang Yuanjing’s voice.
He said: “Go for it.”
Across the crowded heads, his voice traveled the distance with a static metallic quality, quietly soothing all her anxiety.
At the moment the competition began, when Tao Shuran saw her four friends in the audience all thumbs-upping her in encouragement, all her tension suddenly vanished.
Even if she failed, it was okay.
She still had everyone.
In this competition, Tao Shuran was responsible for restoring a damaged painting. She took a quick look—it was not too badly damaged. Her initial plan was to use a row brush to press and clarify, then a clean cloth to absorb the dirty water, repeating until the basic cleaning was done.
Cultural relics restoration required patience. From two in the afternoon until eight at night, when the lights came on, she finally finished the piece in her hands.
When she stepped off the stage, Tao Shuran’s face was covered in cold sweat, and she could barely stand steadily.
She stumbled forward and nearly fell into Liang Yuanjing’s arms as he approached.
He steadied her lightly and teased with a smile, “Your job takes some real stamina too.”
Tao Shuran pressed her lips together. Actually doing a full restoration felt completely different from training.
The prolonged mental focus was incredibly draining. She realized she did need physical training.
Zhao Zhengnian suggested: “How about I take you guys jogging in the mornings from now on?”
“Pull the other one—I can’t get up that early,” Fang Qingyi said, cradling her face. “Don’t you know beauties need their beauty sleep?”
“Yeah right, beauties go to bed at nine and up at six. You sleep till eleven—that’s lazybones oversleeping.”
Fang Qingyi swatted at him: “Zhao Zhengnian, you asking for it?”
Zhao Zhengnian wailed dramatically, clutching his back as he hid behind Fu Changpei and tattled in his ear.
“Old Fu, look at her. Too fierce—always hitting people. My back must be red now.”
“You gotta rein her in.”
In their group of five, Fu Changpei was the most reserved and steady, practically the “family head.”
The constant bickering between Zhao Zhengnian and Fang Qingyi gave him a headache. He spread his arms to block Fang Qingyi as she charged forward.
“You two, settle down. We still have cleanup to do.”
The tickets were volunteer passes Fu Changpei had gotten from friends, mainly for guiding order and post-event cleaning.
Tao Shuran had not expected everyone to go to such lengths just to cheer her on. Deeply moved, she grabbed a broom to join in sweeping.
“Sit.”
Liang Yuanjing extended one finger and pressed her back into her seat.
He rummaged in his pocket and pulled out a handful of mint candies. He grabbed her wrist and dumped them all into her palm.
Tao Shuran was stunned, then realized it was for her earlier dizzy spell.
He had noticed.
She murmured a soft “thank you” and unwrapped one, letting the sweet mint melt under her tongue—like spring itself.
Halfway through cleaning, Fang Qingyi sidled up mysteriously. “Ranran, I heard something. On your birthday, Liang Yuanjing’s planning a surprise for you.”
“You think he’s gonna officially confess?”
The mint candy in Tao Shuran’s mouth shattered. She panicked and looked away, clamping a hand over Fang Qingyi’s mouth.
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
From the corner of her eye, she glimpsed him walking over. Tao Shuran shot Fang Qingyi a warning look.
Fang Qingyi immediately nodded with an “I get it” expression.
“Oh, right—earlier, I saw some girl over there asking Liang Yuanjing for his contact info.”
“What can I say, handsome guys get hit on everywhere.”
“Really?”
Tao Shuran glanced at Liang Yuanjing approaching from afar, wondering curiously if he gave it to her or not.
Just then, Liang Yuanjing paused in place.
“Tao Shuran.” He suddenly called her name and beckoned with his raised arm.
After only a second’s hesitation, Tao Shuran stood and walked over.
Only when she got there did she notice a girl standing across from Liang Yuanjing.
Tall figure, chestnut brown wavy hair, bangs clipped to one side with a pearl hairpin—strikingly glamorous looks.
The girl was proactive and enthusiastic, chatting him up with a grin.
“Handsome, can I get your WeChat?”
Liang Yuanjing slung an arm around Tao Shuran’s shoulders, tone casual.
“But my girlfriend’s the jealous type.”