Ci Ye had no doubt about Song Fu being cute. The confusion he showed was purely aimed at those last six words—who cared about whom?
The class bell rang. While the teacher had them recite the text, the two discussed it. “How did you come to that conclusion?”
Not speaking made it less stifling. Before, when they had that status, Song Fu would come watch him play basketball during PE class. Now that the engagement was canceled, she barely even glanced his way during PE.
Zhu Chenxi grinned mischievously and teased in an exaggerated tone, “During free activity time, she told me a ton about you two, and all about what you like and dislike… If she didn’t care, how would she know it all so well?”
Whether he cared or not was another matter. Ci Ye glanced toward Song Fu’s seat. His focus was, “Why’d she tell you all that?”
Zhu Chenxi had pondered this question deeply and answered brightly, “She wants to be friends with me, so she’s sharing.”
Ci Ye fell silent for three seconds, then stated in an extremely complicated tone, “You mean she wants to befriend the guy competing with her for top spot in the whole school?”
Zhu Chenxi didn’t think it was a big deal. “Don’t judge a gentleman’s heart with a villain’s mind.”
Too many gripes to voice—suddenly cast as the villain, Ci Ye had nothing to say. He decided to set aside the friendship issue for now and revisit his original concern. “Song Fu’s really smart and remembers everything easily, so… Even if she memorized stuff about me, it doesn’t prove anything.”
“No way.” Zhu Chenxi looked dead serious. “She hasn’t even memorized her classmates from a whole year in Class 1!”
Ci Ye’s mouth curved upward. “Is that so?”
Zhu Chenxi nodded again. “Yeah.”
The arc of Ci Ye’s smile grew more obvious. He couldn’t deny the pleasant mood.
But it didn’t last long. Zhu Chenxi’s next words were, “What if I ask Song Fu to hang out this weekend?”
Ci Ye didn’t think that was a good idea. “She’s going to the library on weekends. I’ll go with her.”
Zhu Chenxi sighed mournfully.
She wasn’t the type to ignore the mood and wedge between a little couple. “No helping it then. Will she have more time over summer break?”
… “Alright, time’s up. I’ll call on a student to recite what I assigned.” The Chinese teacher knocked on the blackboard, her gaze landing straight on Ci Ye. “Ci Ye, you recite it.”
Fortunately, the teacher had assigned this text long ago. The time just now was for review and reinforcement. Ci Ye recited it smoothly.
The Chinese teacher nodded in satisfaction. “On this recent monthly exam, you got over half the classical poetry blanks wrong. Think if you’d gotten those points, wouldn’t your score improve even more?” She advised earnestly, “How many are you planning to get wrong on the final exam?”
Ci Ye said, “Three?”
“Three? That’s six points!” The Chinese teacher wouldn’t accept it. “At most two wrong. Can you do it?”
What could Ci Ye say but yes? He nodded helplessly.
Over half a month passed in the blink of an eye. Final exam day was a typical clear sky, cloudless, with the blazing sun mercilessly scorching the earth. Some students who biked to school parked carelessly in the sun; when they sat down, their butts nearly got seared medium-rare, leaving them grimacing and hopping up.
The moment Ci Ye finished his exams, he flipped through the textbook to check his poetry matching. Relieved to find only one wrong, he asked Song Fu about her holiday plans.
Song Fu had been writing tests all day; her fingers ached. Rubbing her right hand, she replied, “Seems like traveling with my parents. Want to come?”
Ci Ye wanted to, but he couldn’t. “I have tutoring.”
To get into the same university as Song Fu.
Holidays could be sacrificed.
He hadn’t forgotten what Song Fu said before—they were just neighbors… If Song Fu went to university in another city, she definitely wouldn’t live at home anymore. If they didn’t go to the same school, even living close would cease to exist.
The foreseeable future left Ci Ye uncontrollably depressed. He quickly pulled out his phone for a look, which lifted his mood a bit.
“Your wallpaper is…” Song Fu couldn’t miss her own signature. Wasn’t that the future love contract they’d signed?
Ci Ye saw no issue with it. “It’s not a photo; it’s a scan. Looks clear. Want me to send you a copy?”
Song Fu waved it off. “I have the original; that’s fine.”
Ci Ye didn’t push. He worried if she looked at it over and over every day, she might regret it. Better for him to appreciate it alone.
The family vacation over long break was tradition for Song Fu’s household, and this summer was no exception. Zhu Chenxi had hoped to hang out, maybe study at the library together. But after finally getting her contact info and asking, she learned they were picking shells on a private island beach.
A small bucket of shells, a big bucket of trash. For a moment, Song Fu felt less like she was vacationing and more like a volunteer cleaning ocean garbage.
The day final scores came out, Song Fu sat face-to-face with her grandmother sipping tea. On the single sofa nearby sat a boy in a white dress shirt, refined and scholarly, exuding bookish elegance.
In her grandmother’s words, their family backgrounds, looks, and temperaments matched perfectly. “This child, his family—we all know each other well. You’re still young; no rush, but it’s good to meet first.”
She’d heard her granddaughter got engaged out of nowhere not long ago, then canceled it just as quick. That wasn’t handled well; the elders had to step in and arrange things.
“Xiao Cheng studies medicine in university; his family’s a medical lineage. My migraine issue was fixed by his dad with acupuncture.”
Song Fu and the boy called Xiao Cheng nodded to each other by way of greeting.
“I’m Cheng An.”
“Song Fu.”
The two young people exchanged a wordless look.
The elder smiled warmly, first at the boy. “Call her Fu Fu.” Then to Song Fu, “He’s three years older; calling him brother fits.”
Song Fu really wasn’t good at these scenes. She’d only learned about the blind date setup after arriving. She quickly sipped tea to keep her mouth busy.
Seeing the youngsters together pleased the elder immensely. She kept arranging, handing them fishing gear she’d prepped. “Play a bit, then come back for snacks.”
…
Once alone, Song Fu wanted to clarify. Walking ahead over the pebbles, she said, “Actually, I’ve already promised to date someone else.”
Cheng An was just mildly surprised. “He’s pretty lucky.” His smile was gentle. “We can still be friends; it doesn’t interfere.” Half his high school classmates who dated broke up before graduation, a third after; the rest fizzled due to long-distance. Nothing to fuss over.
Cheng An told Song Fu about his college roommate’s long-distance woes. “Two days of a three-day holiday wasted on travel, exhausted, no energy left to play.”
Song Fu cast her line and nodded to show she was listening.
Her phone pinged with a message from her bag right then. Opening it, she saw the fresh score sheet.
She and Zhu Chenxi took the top two spots as usual, while Ci Ye had climbed to the middle-upper ranks.
Moments later, her phone rang.
Ci Ye’s name appeared on the screen.
Song Fu didn’t want to disturb Cheng An’s fishing. She waved, mouthing “Sorry” before heading to the pavilion.
The call connected, and first came a sticky, weirdly squeaky voice: “When are you coming back?” She paused to confirm it was Ci Ye, then realized it was the repeating duck toy.
That repeating duck was the one they’d gotten after twenty-three hoops at the ring toss.
Song Fu sat in the small pavilion. “Probably next month. I’m at my grandma’s; her big birthday’s in two days, so I can’t leave.”
A muffled “Mm” came from the other end, switching to his normal voice. He pressed, “Exactly which day?”
Ci Ye mumbled awkwardly, “Huan Huan misses you quite a bit.”
Huan Huan was the Song Family’s dog. Whenever they had time, Song Fu and Ci Ye took it to the park. They could’ve boarded it at a pet shop during the trip, but Ci Ye offered to care for it.
Song Fu knew it was heartless—any stranger with meat could steal it away. But she didn’t call him out. “I miss it too.”
“…Just it?”
Ci Ye bargained, “Miss me a little too, while you’re at it.”
Aw, kinda cute. Song Fu’s eyes curved in a smile. “Sure, sure.”
Ci Ye went on about studying so hard he had nightmares of test papers late at night, but on practice sets, his mistakes were indeed fewer. His tone was upbeat. “Now I use up a pen refill in under three days.”
—“Fu Fu, your rod’s moving; looks like you got a bite.” Cheng An stood up far off, calling out.
“Oh, got it. Don’t worry about it.” Song Fu raised her voice in reply.
Ci Ye caught the faint unfamiliar male voice and instantly went on high alert. “Who’s that?” Fu Fu was someone he could call out to?
Song Fu hesitated, mumbling vaguely, “An older brother.”
Ci Ye didn’t recall Song Fu having any brothers. “Blood-related?”
Song Fu gave a dry laugh, answering honestly, “No.”
The line went quiet for at least three seconds before an incredulous voice came, “Then what kind of brother is that? You never even called me brother!” Ci Ye, who had been lying on his bed talking to Song Fu, shot upright, itching to buy a plane ticket and fly over to check things out.