Late August brought scorching sun and intense heat, right in the peak of summer.
That day, Tao Shuran officially moved into West Kang Road No. 48.
West Kang Road No. 48 was not a single address; it was a three-story inner-corridor residence with two three-story buildings facing each other, connected by a long corridor in between.
It was an old-style residential building, but the location was excellent, very close to Fuqing Affiliated High School where she would soon attend.
They passed through an alley entrance, turned at the second corner, and then went up a slope. Tao Shuran and Zhao Yanyun arrived at the destination, panting for breath.
The real estate agent who led them there slapped his forehead and pointed at the massive parasol tree in the center of the courtyard. “This is it, sis.”
“How about it? I found you a great place, right? The exterior looks a bit old, but the interior renovation is top-notch. It used to be dorms allocated by Affiliated Middle School for its teachers and staff.”
“This area is full of students from Fuqing Affiliated High School’s Linchuan Campus and Yuqian Campus. The atmosphere is fantastic.”
Zhao Yanyun took one look and had to admit the environment was impeccable—shaded by lush green trees with dense branches. It was a good spot.
She stared at the vibrant green parasol tree by the entrance and asked, “The cicadas won’t be too noisy at night, will they?”
“How could they? Don’t you know what’s across the street?”
The agent boasted on, “That’s Zhongshan Mansion territory, home to some of Fuqing’s top families. The environment and security around here are second to none.”
Zhao Yanyun was a decisive and straightforward woman. She made the call on the spot, signed a one-year contract, and paid a two-thousand-yuan deposit.
The agent handed them the keys to the house. Tao Shuran twisted the door handle open and hadn’t even taken a good look inside the rooms when she heard Zhao Yanyun already calling a cleaning service with lightning speed.
“Ranran, you’ll stay in this room. It has a desk, so you can do your homework here at night.” Zhao Yanyun placed a spare key in her palm. Before she finished speaking, her phone rang.
Tao Shuran watched wide-eyed as her mother stepped outside to take the call. She stood there in a daze, a bit at a loss with the cleaners about to arrive, yet it felt all too familiar.
Zhao Yanyun had always been like this. Back in Xianyao, she poured all her energy into work, and this move to Fuqing was for the same reason—a job transfer.
For so many years, Zhao Yanyun had worked as a local lawyer. Xianyao was a district under Yuzhou City, with a small population and underdeveloped economy, so there weren’t many cases for a lawyer to take.
By a stroke of luck, Zhao Yanyun landed an offer from the legal department of a listed company in Fuqing. The starting salary was higher than what she made as a salaried lawyer in the small county town. Gritting her teeth, she decided to bring Tao Shuran along to Fuqing.
Tao Shuran stood by the window, quietly waiting for her to finish the call.
“You child, why are you just standing there like a fool?”
After hanging up, Zhao Yanyun grabbed her bag from the table, opened it, pulled out her wallet, and handed her two bills, speaking at rapid fire.
“Something came up suddenly. Mom has to head to the company to report in right now. I won’t be able to eat lunch with you later.”
“Once you’re done with your stuff, go find a restaurant downstairs to eat. Call me if anything comes up.”
With that, Zhao Yanyun clacked down the stairs in her high heels.
Tao Shuran opened her mouth, but not a word came out before she saw her mother’s hurried back vanishing down the stairs.
She stood in the corridor looking down. She saw Zhao Yanyun pause downstairs, take out perfume from her bag, and spritz it behind her ear. She seemed to attach great importance to this new job.
After all, Mom had her own career to pursue.
Tao Shuran lowered her gaze, comforting herself with that thought. But what she had hesitated to say was: What about Dad?
When would her dad come to see her?
It was not a good question.
Because of the school transfer, Zhao Yanyun and Tao Hongfeng had been in a cold war for some time.
The cleaners arrived soon after. Zhao Yanyun had already sorted everything out over the phone, so there was nothing for Tao Shuran to do. Instead, in the dusty space, she felt like an idle outsider no matter where she stood.
She thought for a moment, grabbed a parasol, and decided to go downstairs for lunch.
She walked out of the alley looking for food, but to her disappointment, she didn’t see a single small eatery. Fuqing’s sun was vicious and blistering, and the humid air made it hard to breathe.
Tao Shuran lowered her parasol further. Stray strands of hair stuck to her sweat-dampened face.
Overwhelmed by the heat and with no appetite, she was about to turn back when she suddenly heard the sharp ring of a bell. Before she could react, a mountain bike appeared in her narrow field of vision.
She let out a startled cry, unable to dodge in time. She stumbled as the bike brushed past her.
“Are you okay?”
The bike’s owner stopped, hurried over, picked up the umbrella that had fallen to the ground, and handed it to her.
Tao Shuran lowered her head. Her gaze fell on a pair of pale, slender hands. She looked up and saw a boy about her age, tall and fair-skinned, with gentle eyes. He looked slightly annoyed at himself for nearly hitting her.
“I’m fine.”
She apologized first. “Sorry, I had the umbrella too low and didn’t see you.”
The boy quickly said, “No problem.”
Seeing her come from the alley, he asked, “Did you just move here?”
Tao Shuran let out an “ah” and nodded a beat late.
The boy nodded, apparently not intending to chat more. He walked back to his bike and pushed it.
Tao Shuran stared at the white canvas shoes on his feet and, on a whim, asked, “Excuse me, do you know where there’s a restaurant around here?”
“If you’re looking for food, you need to go out the other direction. There’s a snack street there.”
The boy paused, then continued, “The closest on this road is just ahead—turn left. There’s a fast food place.”
Tao Shuran said “thanks” and, while memorizing the route, squatted down to brush the dust off her feet.
Only then did she realize this boy seemed unusually familiar with the area, and she hadn’t even asked his name.
That wasn’t very polite.
She stood up, about to speak, but he was already gone without a trace. Only the parasol trees lining the street remained, basking in the full summer sun.
At two-thirty in the afternoon, it was the day Tao Shuran officially reported to Fuqing Affiliated High School.
As Fuqing City’s top school for university admissions rates, Fuqing Affiliated High School was known as the “direct ladder to Qing University.” It had numerous branch campuses across the region, and the one Tao Shuran entered was the Linchuan Campus, also called Linchuan Middle School.
She didn’t have the new school uniform yet, so she stood out among the neatly dressed students. At the school gate, she borrowed the guard’s phone to call her homeroom teacher, then waited awkwardly by the entrance.
Fortunately, five minutes later, the homeroom teacher came to meet her.
The homeroom teacher was surnamed Zhou—a slightly plump middle-aged man.
Tao Shuran greeted him softly. “Hello, Teacher Zhou.”
Zhou Wu nodded and casually asked, “You were at Xianyao No. 1 Middle School before?”
“Why the sudden transfer?”
Tao Shuran bit her lower lip. “Because my mom got transferred for work.”
Zhou Wu understood and didn’t press further. He just reminded her, “It’s senior year now, the most critical stage.”
He led Tao Shuran toward the academic building. As soon as they entered the gate, he spotted a familiar figure and barked.
“Fang Qingyi, you’re late again!”
“First day of school and you’re late—what kind of example is that?”
Fang Qingyi, sneaking in with her backpack, jolted in fright and quickly clasped her hands together. “Sorry, Teacher Zhou, I didn’t mean to.”
Zhou Wu looked displeased. “Fine, now here’s your chance to make up for it.”
He pointed at Tao Shuran beside him. “This is our class’s new transfer student. Take her to the classroom and help her get her books.”
Fang Qingyi jumped at the order and nimbly replied “Got it!” She darted right to Tao Shuran’s side.
Tao Shuran hadn’t caught up with the sudden shift when Fang Qingyi enthusiastically extended her hand. “Hi, I’m Fang Qingyi.”
She paused. “Hello, I’m Tao Shuran.”
Fang Qingyi gushed exaggeratedly, “Wow, what a pretty name.”
“And you’re so good-looking too.”
Tao Shuran flushed with embarrassment, her cheeks turning pink. She lowered her head and followed behind Fang Qingyi.
They walked slowly from the gate toward the academic building. Fang Qingyi took her to the academic affairs office to pick up books. Several textbooks were missing, so she led her to the storeroom to find them.
They finally gathered a complete set. As they came out, Fang Qingyi was sneezing nonstop from the dust inside.
Tao Shuran pulled a scented tissue from her pocket and handed it to her.
Fang Qingyi sniffed it hard. It was white tea and water peach—fragrant but not overpowering, just like this new transfer student.
“Thanks for sticking with me all afternoon today.”
Tao Shuran said worriedly, “But are you sure it’s okay that you didn’t go back to class all afternoon?”
“Old Zhou told me to show you around, so he must know the situation. Besides, first day of school—what’s there to do? Probably just cleaning and hauling books and desks like laborers.”
Fang Qingyi waved it off nonchalantly. “I should thank you for helping me skip the big cleanup.”
As she spoke, she leaned forward, pressing her body against the white tiles of the corridor.
Tao Shuran couldn’t help but follow her gaze outside. “What are you looking at?”
No sooner had she spoken than Fang Qingyi grabbed her hand and bolted downstairs.
“But if you want to thank me, come watch a basketball game with me.”
At the northern end of the senior-year academic building was the school field. The brick-red plastic track gleamed brightly, right next to a netted basketball court.
The red-and-green court buzzed with whistle blows.
An intense match was underway.
When she spotted a familiar figure, Tao Shuran’s pupils shrank. She stopped in her tracks, her gaze locked.
Fang Qingyi, oblivious beside her, cheered excitedly at the fierce play on the court.
She suddenly turned back and asked in surprise—
“Why are you staring at Liang Yuanjing the whole time?”
“Do you know him?”
Tao Shuran let out an “ah,” snapping out of it.
She shook her head slightly.
Fang Qingyi didn’t think much of it and smiled. “Liang Yuanjing—any girl would give him a second look. You’ll see once you’ve been here a while. He’s a big deal at our Linchuan.”
“I bet when he scores next, at least ninety percent of the girls in the crowd will scream for him.”
As she spoke, cheers erupted from the crowd, nearly shaking the skies.
Tao Shuran looked up.
At the edge of the sky, the evening sun blazed in a magnificent sunset, thick and vivid like an oil painting.
Liang Yuanjing stepped into the dying light, leaped high, and slammed in a three-pointer.
Cheers rang out nonstop around him. He tugged at his lips in a casual smile—cool, arrogant, and languid.
Fang Qingyi cleared her throat. “Perfect timing, new classmate. Let me properly introduce you to our Affiliated Middle School’s star.”
Liang Yuanjing was a famous figure at Linchuan Middle School. He had a big temper, a cold personality, skipped every evening self-study to play ball, and was still a top student.
He was Heaven’s Proud Son through and through.
Tao Shuran knew all this.
Because it was her third year secretly crushing on Liang Yuanjing.