Urban Flower Dream

Chapter One: A Helpless Choice

Opening remarks

A myriad of emotions, from joy to sorrow, all vanish in the blink of an eye.

The beauty of a riot of flowers is fleeting, best left as a laughing matter.

Time: Midsummer of 1995

If life is a process of constant choices, then this choice seems premature for Tong Daqi. Indeed, at 17, he faces the first major decision of his life—graduating from junior high school. With his excellent grades, should he go to high school and university, or attend a vocational school and enter the workforce sooner? In truth, fate had already made the decision for him; rather than letting Tong Daqi choose, it was as if fate had forcibly forced upon him. He could only choose to attend a vocational school in Rongzhou, the provincial capital—a choice that deeply hurt him, damaging his childhood ambitions and confidence, and also breaking the hearts of his high school principal, homeroom teacher, and other teachers who had placed high expectations on him…

Why? Was it poverty? Was it his irresponsible father? Or his kind mother's tears? Or perhaps none of these, simply that he had bowed his head to the evil god of fate. In that one moment, he boarded the train bound for Rongzhou, the provincial capital.

When Tong Daqi first heard the long whistle of a train as he waited in line at the train station, he was genuinely excited. After all, he was the first among his companions to see and ride a train, and at that moment, the grievance of not getting into a top-tier high school seemed to be forgotten. He excitedly told his mother, "Mom, the train is here! The train is here!" His mother, who was over fifty, happily replied to Daqi, "Yes, yes, my son is really riding the train this time!"

Seeing her son's long-lost excitement and joy as a mother, she was naturally happy too, because at that moment, the gloom in her son's heart seemed to have been swept away...

Two hours after boarding, Tong Daqi's curiosity about the train faded. He felt that traveling by car was much better, at least the scenery along the way was much richer. The scenery along the train route was simply too monotonous, and the entire route from his hometown of Changqing County to the provincial capital Rongzhou was mountainous. The train had to pass through tunnels every ten minutes or so, which was like adding a sprinkle of dry, tasteless pepper to the monotonous train journey—it only made people feel more disgusted.

Perhaps his mind had become numb from the monotony of his life, but Tong Daqi began to wonder why he had given up the opportunity to be directly admitted to a top provincial high school to attend a vocational school in the provincial capital. He was clearly unwilling, a thousand times unwilling! But the vocational school acceptance letter was currently frantically carrying him towards Rongzhou! A month earlier, he had been admitted to the road and bridge engineering program at the Binhai Provincial Construction Engineering School in his hometown, with the highest score in the entire county. An absolutely high score; Tong Daqi's score exceeded the cutoff for the top provincial vocational school by a full 70 points, and also exceeded that of his alma mater, Changqing No. 1 High School, by 70 points. Students who could exceed the cutoff of Changqing No. 1 High School, one of the few century-old prestigious schools in the province, by 70 points were extremely rare in the area. Moreover, he was among the first batch of students personally selected by the principal of Changqing No. 1 High School to be directly admitted to its high school division without taking the entrance exam. However, he still couldn't attend high school. Because no matter how strong one's abilities or how good one's grades are, they are all so vulnerable and powerless in the face of fate... So Tong Daqi couldn't understand why he boarded the express train to Rongzhou. At this moment, his former friends were participating in military training at Changqing No. 1 High School. The high school entrance exam had divided his former classmates into two groups: one group continued to high school to prepare for university entrance exams, and the other group entered various vocational schools throughout the province to prepare for work after graduation. When he thought of his former classmates, Tong Daqi thought of three people: one was his close friend Kuang Dazhong, and the other two were girls, one named Zhuo Wenya and the other named Chen Meiting.

Zhuo Wenya enrolled in the senior high school of Changqing No. 1 Middle School. She was the class monitor of Daqi in junior high school. She was of average appearance, definitely not ugly, and had a great talent for the arts. Daqi once collaborated with her on stage to participate in the school's arts performance and won first prize on campus.

Chen Meiting was Daqi's deskmate from the second to the third year of junior high school. She was a true class and school beauty, a standard beauty in the making. For some reason, no one in the class, regardless of gender, wanted to sit with her. Finally, their homeroom teacher, Ms. Zhang, approached Daqi and asked him to sit with her. Ms. Zhang also instructed Daqi to help Meiting with her studies. Daqi, an honest student, remained unmoved by such a beautiful woman, focusing on his studies. Unlike others whose grades plummeted, his actually improved. During the two years he sat next to her, he jumped from the top ten in his class to the top five in his grade and even the entire county, becoming a well-deserved top student in the school. Actually, Daqi would occasionally steal glances at her. To be honest, she truly possessed a beauty that could rival the most beautiful women in the entire class and school: cloud-like hair, a straight nose, slightly upturned red lips, fair and delicate skin, and an air of haughtiness. She was undoubtedly the most beautiful girl in the entire class and school.

Although Meiting was exceptionally beautiful, her academic performance was dismal, the complete opposite of her looks, ranking at the bottom of the class. Therefore, she was always very respectful to Daqi, never daring to display her haughty, beautiful demeanor. This surprised Daqi, who was willing to patiently help her with her studies. Over time, they became good friends, sharing everything. Daqi liked Meiting because she was undeniably beautiful. However, another girl held a more important place in his heart—the class monitor, Zhuo Wenya.

Perhaps the admiration that fifteen- or sixteen-year-old boys feel for the opposite sex is the true Platonic love. Daqi knew that Wenya was far less beautiful than Meiting, but he only had admiration for Wenya in his heart, and his feelings for Meiting were more like those of a brother for his sister. Although they weren't biological siblings, he genuinely treated Meiting with brotherly affection.

For the first two years of junior high, Daqi and Wenya were the envy of many boys and girls. Daqi's academic performance was outstanding, and Wenya's artistic talent was exceptional. At Wenya's urging, Daqi and she co-starred in their first and only stage skit. The skit was a great success, winning first prize in the 1994 Changqing No. 1 Middle School Campus Arts Competition. Daqi was overjoyed, because he showed other high-achieving classmates that he, Tong Daqi, was not only superior to them academically, but also equally talented in his spare time. More importantly, this was an honor shared with Zhuo Wenya. Daqi was deeply moved when he recalled these moments. He had, in his naivety, come to understand what it meant to love someone. Young love is simple; just being with the other person and seeing them every day was enough. Unfortunately, this happy time didn't last. In their final year of junior high, for some reason, Wenya stopped paying attention to Daqi. This caused Daqi great pain. The only person he truly loved was ignoring him. He was unhappy every day, and he confided his unhappiness to Meiting. Meiting became like an angel, comforting Daqi every day and telling him not to be sad, and that as long as he kept pursuing her, he would eventually move Wenya.

Tong Daqi was truly grateful to Chen Meiting, for listening to him and for her understanding. Frankly, towards the end of junior high, as Daqi neared graduation, he felt Meiting's place in his heart growing ever more important. One scene in particular was unforgettable for Daqi.

It was a summer evening in May 1995. As usual, Daqi and Meiting were taking a walk on the school playground after evening self-study. At this time, they were both facing the choice of going to high school or vocational school after the middle school entrance examination. The two walked quietly along the playground track as usual.

This time, Meiting broke the silence first.

Meiting: "Daqi, we'll be graduating in a month. What are your plans? I heard from others that you gave up the opportunity to be recommended to No.1 Middle School (Changqing No.1 Middle School). Is that true?"

Daqi was silent for a moment before stammering, "It's like this..."

"Ah—, why, why?" Meiting, who was usually calm and collected, hurriedly asked Daqi, "If you don't go to high school, you're doomed! With your learning ability, you can definitely get into a top university. If you don't go to high school, you're doomed!"

Daqi said coldly, "It's over, it's over. My mother won't let me go. You know my family situation best!"

"No, no, no—" Meiting cried out "no" three times before bursting into tears, sobbing very sadly. "My grades are bad, I can't get into a top high school at all, but you're guaranteed admission, you should go. I'll go talk to your mother and ask her to change her mind, your future is important!"

Faced with Meiting's sudden crying, Daqi also cried and said to Meiting, "Meiting, I only told you this because I consider you a good friend. Don't go looking for my mom anymore, it's no use! I'm begging you!"

After saying this, Daqi ran home alone. ...

For the rest of his junior high school years, Daqi never spent time alone with Meiting again, and he didn't know why. In Daqi's own words later, he was afraid of seeing Meiting's tears again.

At this moment, Tong Daqi leaned back in his train seat, lost in thought. He knew that Meiting had also been admitted to a vocational school, a tourism school in a prefecture-level city, majoring in tour guiding. "Whatever," Tong Daqi thought, "I'll find her after I go home for the Spring Festival."

After a twelve-hour journey, the train finally arrived at Rongzhou Railway Station. As soon as they got off, Daqi and his mother went to visit relatives. They had a distant relative in the provincial capital: Daqi's mother's younger sister, his aunt. His aunt's husband was a section chief in the Agricultural Department of Binhai Province, a high-ranking official. In short, his aunt's family was well-known and influential in the provincial capital. After Daqi was admitted to a construction engineering school, his mother repeatedly urged him to visit his aunt's family often while studying in the provincial capital, hoping they could help him find a job after graduation. His mother specifically instructed Daqi to be obedient at his aunt's house and not to talk back to the adults, emphasizing the importance of his future! Faced with these so-called principles of conduct, Tong Daqi truly didn't know how to handle them. From a young age, he rarely spoke to others because of his outstanding academic performance, and his interactions with classmates always ended with him overwhelming them with his eloquence. Because he loved reading from a young age, he knew far more than most people and didn't take them seriously at all.

After asking around, the mother finally arrived at the house of the aunt whom Daqi had never met before. The mother timidly reached out and gently knocked on the aunt's door, softly calling out, "Is anyone home? Is anyone home?"

As soon as I knocked, someone answered, "Who is it? Who is it? Why didn't you ring the doorbell?" The door opened before I could finish speaking. It was a wealthy woman who opened the door. My mother reacted quickly and called out, "Little sister! I'm sorry to bother you!"

"Oh—it's Second Sister! Please come in, please come in." The noblewoman ushered Daqi and his mother into the house. "I figured you should have arrived in the last couple of days, and you've come indeed!"

His mother and aunt started chatting, and Daqi finally got a good look at his aunt. As expected of someone from an official's family, she was adorned with gold and silver, radiating an air of glamour. However, to be honest, his aunt wasn't pretty. Daqi didn't find her kind, and even felt a little intimidated by her, unsure why he was afraid to meet her gaze.

After having dinner at his aunt's house, Daqi and his mother talked about Daqi's schooling.

Aunt: "I've heard from the locals that your son is an excellent student. Why did you let him go to a vocational school? Isn't that a waste of his potential?"

Mother: "My sister knows our family situation best. I'm the sole breadwinner, and with the meager income from washing dishes at the restaurant, how could we possibly afford to send him to university? So we gritted our teeth and made him go to vocational school so he could start earning a salary as soon as possible!"

Aunt: "How's the tuition fee raising going? This year, the government mandates that vocational schools charge tuition fees. It would have been better if you had passed the entrance exam last year. Since the tuition fee system is being implemented this year, passing the exam last year would have saved you a lot of money."

Mother: "It's all fate! The first year's tuition is already in my bag, we'll talk about next year's later!"

Upon hearing this, Aunt's face immediately changed: "What? What about the next few years? Daqi is in a four-year vocational school! Sigh, it's all my deadbeat husband's fault for playing the stock market all day and losing all his money. Otherwise, we could have helped him out. It's just a small matter of ten thousand yuan!"

Hearing her aunt say this, the mother quickly replied, "No, no. Sister, please stop talking. I'll find a way to pay for Daqi's tuition for four years. You don't need to worry about it, no, no..."

Upon hearing this, Auntie's face immediately brightened, and she laughed heartily, "Thank you for your understanding, sister! When are you planning to go home?"

As Daqi listened to their conversation, a strong intuition lingered in his mind. His aunt certainly had money, but his tuition would absolutely depend on his mother; his aunt wouldn't lend him money. Because his family was too poor, who would lend money to someone without money? He couldn't even rely on his own father, let alone his own aunt.

Chapter Two: Two School Beauties

The next morning, Daqi and his mother went to the construction engineering school to register. After completing the enrollment procedures, the mother returned to her hometown of Changqing from the provincial capital overnight because her boss had only given her two days off, and there was still a lot of tableware waiting for her to wash at the hotel.

After collecting his bedding and other necessities from the school's general affairs office, Daqi went to his dormitory alone to make his bed. The other students had already moved in; he was the last to arrive. The dormitory housed 12 people, who, according to Daqi's later understanding, were from the same province but different cities. Two were from Longhai, a special economic zone, the others from coastal cities, and the third from a mountainous area in western Binhai province. When Daqi arrived at the dormitory alone, he found it quite lively, filled with students and their parents. In fact, the other 11 students were accompanied by their parents; Daqi was the only one who arrived alone.

Daqi introduced himself to his classmates in several dormitories first, and then chatted with them. They talked for a long time that night, and Daqi fell asleep without realizing it. Soon after falling asleep, Daqi drifted off to sleep.

In his dream, he saw a person, a girl. This girl was none other than his junior high school deskmate, Chen Meiting. Just like in reality, she was always breathtakingly beautiful in his dream. Tall and fair-skinned, Meiting wore a white dress. She cried and laughed at Daqi. When she laughed, she revealed her pearly white teeth. Daqi didn't understand why she was crying and laughing at the same time. He went over and took her hand, but she c

……