Chapter 22 – The end of summer

That afternoon slipped away like a small interlude, quickly swallowed up in the tight, drum-beating rhythm of college entrance exam review.

Song Shiyue had no time to let this inexplicable emotion spread any further. What lay right in front of her was a far more important life checkpoint in reality.

The secret of her youth that no one knew was sealed inside a glass jar.

Just like fireflies that flew past on summer nights in childhood — once daylight came, they vanished without a trace.

Beautiful and alluring, yet impossible to catch.

One week before the exam, Song Shiyue was called to the office by Zhang Feng.

What he held in his hand was the student aspiration form.

In recent years the college entrance exam system had undergone reform. Students no longer needed to fill in their preferences before the scores came out. This form was simply given to each student to set their ideal target.

In the three lines of boxes on Song Shiyue’s form, she had filled in the same school for all.

China Foreign Affairs University.

“Your score in the last mock exam is completely enough to meet the admission line for the Foreign Affairs College. As long as you perform normally in the actual exam, there will definitely be no problem. However, with your grades you could get into even better universities. Getting into a top domestic first-tier university is basically a sure thing — are you really not going to consider any other options?”

“I happen to have some recruitment materials for key universities here. Several majors inside I think have very good prospects and suit you well. Why don’t you take them home and discuss them with your family for reference?” Zhang Feng pulled open the drawer, took out a stack of school materials, and handed them to her. His tone was earnest and gently persuasive.

“Thank you, teacher, but I have already made up my mind.” Song Shiyue said with a slight apology. She paused briefly, then still explained her original intention. “When I was very small — watching TV with my parents, there happened to be a news broadcast. At that time, I secretly set my goal.”

“The Foreign Affairs College is the most suitable place to study diplomacy and translation. In the future, I want to become a professional interpreter.”

Song Shiyue still remembered it clearly. It was a meeting between the leaders of two countries. At that time, beside the Chinese spokesperson stood a female interpreter — confident, composed, and graceful. She spoke the foreign language fluently, and under the gaze of everyone and the cameras, she conveyed the previous statement accurately, neither humble nor arrogant.

That scene was like a tiny seed buried in her heart. Later, when she started school and came into contact with English, Song Shiyue realized that the scene that had left such a deep impression on her as a child was actually communicating in this very language.

Her interest grew uncontrollably. The spark inside her burned, supporting her as she pressed forward tirelessly toward her ideal.

In the end Song Shiyue could not refuse Zhang Feng’s kindness. She took the materials back to the classroom. The moment she sat down, the classmate beside her glanced over. When she saw the booklet on the desk, she understood at once.

“Teacher Zhang giving you another thought-education talk?”

Her teasing tone brought a brief moment of relaxation amid the heavy coursework. Song Shiyue could not help smiling either. She lowered her gaze and answered, “Mm.”

“Teacher Zhang means well.”

Seeing this, the other girl asked curiously, “Class monitor, you’re really not changing it?”

Song Shiyue said, “I’m not changing it.”

“Why are you so firm about it?” She looked puzzled and could not help frowning.

Song Shiyue was momentarily stunned. Hearing the question, she thought seriously and said in a gentle voice, “I… from childhood until now, there have been very few things I especially liked. One is English, and the other…”

Her voice trailed off between her teeth. She finally reached her conclusion, her tone unconsciously firm.

“So I want to choose what I like. That’s the only reason.”

Midsummer June, the blazing sun hung high in the sky.

The sky was clear without a single cloud, a pure, deep blue. The gentle breeze that blew in seemed to soothe the nervous students.

Outside the bustling examination venue, crowds of families had gathered to see their children off. Song Qing, carefree as ever, drove her there, gave a few quick words of encouragement, and hurried off to work. Zhao Siqian was so annoyed she slapped him.

“Before you go into the exam hall, remember to double-check everything. At this point, a little extra review time won’t make any difference — the most important thing is your mindset. Oh, and do you want Mom to wait with you somewhere nearby so you can sit and rest?”

“No need, Mom. I’ll feel even more nervous if you’re there.” Song Shiyue politely declined her kind offer.

She was already standing at the most critical watershed moment of her life.

Yet at this very moment, Song Shiyue felt unexpectedly calm and at ease.

Perhaps it was because of the countless days and nights of absorbing knowledge and studying. Now that the finish line had truly arrived, she carried the fearlessness of having given her all and stepped forward to meet the test.

Two days.

It felt like nothing more than an ordinary, everyday exam — even giving the impression that the questions were a little easier than the usual mock tests.

After leaving the exam hall, everyone around her asked the exact same question: How did it go?

She could not describe her feelings in detail. She could only nod, her expression steady and composed. “It was okay.”

Zhao Siqian and the others could not tell exactly what level of “okay” she meant.

But mindful of her mindset, they did not dare to press further.

Song Qing unfolded a newspaper beside them, his voice as calm and steady as his movements.

“The college entrance exam is just a fork in the road of life. If this path doesn’t work, there’s always another. No matter how this exam turned out for our Yueyue, she will still have a bright and splendid future.”

Song Shiyue was momentarily stunned. When she recovered, an inexplicable wave of emotion touched her. Thinking of the persistence she had shown all along the way, her eyes suddenly felt a little moist.

Zhao Siqian outright rejected his bowl of chicken soup and knocked it over with one hand. “You can just shut up. If it weren’t for the college entrance exam back then, you’d still be out in the fields cutting pig grass right now! Sitting here so leisurely reading the newspaper — and drinking tea, no less.”

The more she spoke, the angrier she became. She directly picked up the freshly brewed cup of good tea in front of him and prepared to pour it out. Song Qing jumped up with an “aiya” and begged for mercy.

“Alright, alright, I was wrong. I was just trying to lighten Yueyue’s mental burden a little. After all, the exam is already over, so you say…”

His words trailed off. Zhao Siqian’s temper gradually cooled. She glanced awkwardly at Song Shiyue, who was quietly smiling to herself nearby, and asked with some concern.

“Yueyue…”

“Mom, Dad, our class reunion is about to start. I’m heading out to have fun.” Song Shiyue stood up with a smile, refusing to play third wheel any longer, and went to join the very last gathering of her high school years.

Everyone from the class had arrived, even Teacher Zhang Feng. The private room was booked at a hotel near the school, with a karaoke room right next door.

Separated by just one wall was Dali’s class. The timing had coincidentally been set for the same day.

Tonight’s dinner table unusually allowed them to drink. The children who had been on campus suddenly gained the rights of eighteen-year-old adults. Once the exam ended, freedom descended upon them out of nowhere. They seemed to have turned into the wind, free to blow toward any direction they wished. Or like young saplings that had left the shelter of the big tree, they were now beginning to face their own independent growth in life.

After the meal, the sound system next door was turned on. Someone started singing along with the accompaniment —

“The little yellow flowers of the story have been floating since the year we were born…”

It was Jay Chou’s “Sunny Day.”

Song Shiyue sat quietly on the sofa, listening to the boy’s voice blend with the melody. The lyrics continued to echo in her ears.

“…The rainy days that disappeared — I really want to get drenched by them once more.”

After listening to the song, on her way to the restroom, she was stopped by a boy.

He had lost the composure he showed earlier while holding the microphone. His face flushed red as he stood in front of her, hands and feet unsure where to go.

He looked at her, cleared his throat, and called out nervously, “Song… Song Shiyue, classmate.”

At that moment, just like when she had heard the song earlier tonight, Song Shiyue’s memory was unavoidably pulled toward a certain person.

She spaced out for a second, then her attention returned to the person in front of her.

The boy was already stuttering as he began his confession: “I… I like you. I know your goal is the China Foreign Affairs University. I’m planning to apply to Beihang University. The two schools are very close to each other, so in the future we’ll be in the same city…”

He grew nervous again at this point and hurriedly emphasized, “I’ve estimated my scores! There shouldn’t be any big problem!”

“I… the reason I’m saying all this is because I worked hard for three years to catch up to your pace. Now that the college entrance exam is over, if you want to date someone, could you… consider me?” In the end, with a red face, he looked at her and said this.

The boy had a pair of clean and clear eyes. When he looked at people, they would instinctively droop in an innocent way. At this moment they were filled with expectation, giving him an inexplicably pitiful appearance.

Song Shiyue knew him. Over the past three years, every time they met in class and he spoke to her, he would always look flustered and at a loss. She had thought he was simply reserved, or she had deliberately ignored the hidden joy that surfaced in his eyes every time their gazes met.

She had also drunk some alcohol tonight — just a little beer with low alcohol content. Yet it seemed to have made her tipsy. Her mind felt fuzzy and she had lost her usual quick thinking.

It took her quite a while to react. She shook her head at him and softly rejected him, “I’m sorry. I already like someone.”

The gathering ended.

Song Shiyue went home with Dali that night.

The two of them happened to be heading in the same direction. Once they got into the taxi, the girl teased her, “Our Song Goddess truly lives up to her name. Just from tonight’s graduation party alone, you’ve already received a whole bunch of confessions, right?”

“You’re talking nonsense.” Song Shiyue softly refuted her.

“What do you mean nonsense! I saw it tonight! In the corridor outside the private room, hehe. That boy was actually quite handsome — fair and clean. Of course, he still falls short compared to Zhou Zongbai —”

She had to bring up the one topic that should be left alone.

Song Shiyue closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead in headache, refusing to respond. But Dali suddenly changed direction and brought up the person who had been mentioned countless times that night.

“But if we’re really comparing, no one can compare to Zhu Xingyan. Honestly, Moon, after you were classmates with Zhu Xingyan, doesn’t every guy you see afterward feel just… average?”

—When you encounter someone too dazzling in your youth, they become fixed in your mind in the most vivid way. Every time you recall them for the rest of your life, you can return to that youth.

That was a youth that belonged to her alone.

The night wrapped around her. Song Shiyue felt as though she had sunk into a deep, dark sea. On the very first day after the college entrance exam, a classmate said they had seen Zhu Xingyan — he had taken the exam in the same venue as them.

The night before the graduation party, while discussing the location, someone asked in the group chat whether Zhu Xingyan would come.

They urged and encouraged her, pushing the class monitor to politely ask him.

Song Shiyue struggled repeatedly, pulling back and forth in her mind. She clearly knew the answer in her heart, yet she still held onto the last sliver of hope and opened that chat box.

She told herself that since they had been classmates, a group activity should invite everyone in the class. Asking him was no big deal. If she didn’t ask, what if he felt left out?

With her mind in chaos, Song Shiyue imagined countless possibilities, built up her courage over and over, and found endless excuses. In the end, she still sent the message.

「Moon」: 【Our class is having a graduation dinner tomorrow. Will you come?】

The message was sent successfully and then sank like a stone into the sea. An endless silence spread through her phone. Up until today — her chat box remained quiet, still stopped at the last sentence she had sent.

She had still not received any reply.

Song Shiyue thought that her three years of high school had ended just like this — lightly and without fanfare.