“You’re going to the city, and I don’t know if we’ll ever see each other again. I need to prepare myself mentally.” That year, Song Jing made many new friends, but Li Yueling remained constant. They were always together, making a pact with their little fingers: to be best friends for life. She often sighed: People say true friends are hard to find? Why am I so lucky to have met you? Now that she’s leaving, it feels like a part of Song Jing has been forcibly cut away, the pain is excruciating.
"You...you're an idiot! You're a moron!" It took Li Yueling a while to understand what Song Jing was talking about, and she was furious. "Do you think this is a TV drama? Or a tragic romance novel by Qiong Yao? This is reality! In reality, anything is possible! Isn't this all what you taught me?"
Song Jing just stared at her blankly.
Li Yueling softened her heart and said, "Don't worry, we can still write letters even if we're apart. Besides writing letters, you can also come to my house to play. We have a telephone, so you can call me... What if I go somewhere else and don't have time to let you know? Don't you know how to ask my parents? My address, my phone number, so don't worry, we will really be together forever. As long as we have the will, nothing is impossible!"
"Address...phone number..."
Song Jing murmured the word repeatedly, recalling a year ago the boy with the crooked smile and sly, bright eyes. He had said, "Write down the address and stuff more clearly. Oh, and..." He casually tore a piece of paper from his notebook and wrote down a detailed address, including his old home, new home, and phone number. "Here! This is my home address, and we have a phone at home."
She didn't understand; she only remembered what he said, but she didn't grasp its meaning. Now that she did, it was too late. That day, after changing her clothes, she forgot to take the note out. When she remembered to look for it later, her mother had already washed it into small pieces. She stared blankly at the scraps of paper for a long time, and was scolded by her mother for being inconsiderate.
Looking at Li Yueling, Song Jing suddenly felt like crying, and so she actually shed tears.
Ouyang Xiao and Gao Jin were originally rivals. In sixth grade, they often fought tooth and nail for first place. Now, Ouyang Xiao has gone to the city, and Gao Jin has gone to a rural junior high school. Without their opposing stances, the acquaintance they had built from their enmity quickly turned into mutual respect.
So, on a dark and stormy night, when it was the perfect time for murder and arson, he and his friend agreed to play a game of chess together and have a long talk by candlelight.
The young man with thick eyebrows and big eyes was skilled at chess, and even more so in sportsmanship. At one in the morning, he was still enthusiastically playing chess, his mouth wide open in a dazzling smile. He suddenly asked, "Hey, do you have someone you like?"
In those days, dating was forbidden. Teachers clearly separated boys and girls in junior and senior high school; for three years, you might not even speak to each other. However, this didn't stop the secret blossoming of romance among teenagers. They often asked each other if they had someone they liked, or who their favorite was, using this to strengthen their friendship, adding a layer of security and allowing them to be more unrestrained.
Ouyang Xiao hesitated for a moment, put down his horse and took the cannon, before saying, "Yes."
Gao Jin's curiosity was completely piqued, and he hurriedly asked, "Who? Who is it? Do I know them? Ah—wait!" The boy pretended to think seriously, "Let me think, Xie Jialingli? Zhen Liang, that willful little devil from the Zhen family? Shuang Ping, that gentle and tall girl from the Chu family? Or... hehe, Xia Jia is still very cute in an hour."
Ouyang Xiao ate his soldiers, advanced three steps, and headed straight for the city's commander. Then he withdrew his hand and said, "None of them. Her name is Song Jing." He seemed to remember something, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly, a hint of tenderness flashing in his eyes.
“Song Jing? Never heard of her—” Gao Jin sat cross-legged on the mat, suddenly slapping his thigh. “Ah! I remember now, there’s a girl in our class named Song Jing! But…” He looked Ouyang Xiao up and down. Putting everything else aside, just his grades—perennial top of the school—his family background was also top-notch, and all he could see about his appearance was his large, bright eyes and “strange” smile. But overall, objectively speaking, Ouyang Xiao was definitely the type who was adored by thousands—
If Song Jing hadn't mentioned such a person, he wouldn't have remembered that such a person existed in his class. The person wasn't particularly striking in appearance, had an average temper, lacked any real personality, and sometimes even seemed as gloomy and old-woman-like. As the class's labor committee member, the person had an unusually loud voice, was excellent at getting things done, and was quite impressive when scolding people; aside from that, it was hard to find anything good about the person.
"It's wrong to just throw in any random person to make up the numbers!" Corporal Gao Jin said, setting out with his carriage and horse.
“No.” Ouyang Xiao retreated his horse. Although mutual destruction was his usual strategy in chess, he wasn’t in the mood today. He stared at the chessboard, waited a moment, and when Gao Jin remained silent, he looked up and said, “I couldn’t be more serious. Besides, you’ve heard about that matter, haven’t you?”
"What is it?" Gao Jin was full of questions. He was a good boy who only studied hard and didn't care about anything else. Who knew that he had done something earth-shattering while he was studying so diligently?
"How about this, once school starts, find some time to tell Song Jing that Ouyang Xiao asked you to ask her to say hello. You'll understand once you see her reaction." Ouyang Xiao seemed to be giving advice casually, but his eyes suddenly darkened, and he began to kill his subordinates and force the issue.
Gao Jin rubbed his chin for a while, then turned the car back to its original position to keep it under control before nodding and saying, "You want to test her? And you want me to go? Are you kidding me?"
Ouyang Xiao withdrew his rook, and the game officially entered a stalemate. He slowly said, "This is not a test; I have confidence in her."
"Confidence?" Gao Jin scoffed. "Where do you get so much confidence? Besides... Ouyang Xiao, this isn't what liking someone is! Liking someone means being together, making promises, vows, providing security, and so on. What kind of liking is this? It's more like bullying!"
Ouyang Xiao paused for a moment, lowered her brows and eyes, and replied, "Gao Jin, I want to be with her forever. The current separation is for a longer reunion, for being together forever. Yes! You're right, liking someone means being together. Song Jing is by my side, I keep her in my heart, and Song Jing will keep me in her heart too. We'll be together."
We've separated, but our hearts are together.
This is a fact that Ouyang Xiao and Song Jing have always firmly believed.
This startled Gao Jin. After carefully observing Ouyang Xiao's expression for a long time, he said dejectedly, "You're amazing. How do you know she won't change her mind? I'll show you."
Ouyang Xiao pursed her lips, but finally couldn't help but raise the corners of her lips: "It's my intuition."
Gao Jin couldn't catch his breath and almost choked to death on his own saliva.
"You're something else, Ouyang Xiao. Wait until school starts, I'll show you!"
Gao Jin was a man of his word. The first thing he did after school started wasn't to register, but to search everywhere for the girl named Song Jing. Song Jing was only 1.29 meters tall when she first entered junior high, but in just one year, she had grown to 1.35 meters. Her previously short hair had grown long—all for one sentence: "My long hair is for you." With a delicate oval face and a lively personality, she was actually quite easy to find.
Li Yueling had moved to the city during the summer vacation, leaving Song Jing alone. However, Song Jing had always been independent, so being alone wasn't a problem. In fact, apart from the first semester when her father took her to school, Song Jing registered and paid her tuition alone for all four grades. In fifth grade, when she went to her new school, her mother took her. Initially, Song Jing's short hair caused a lot of trouble, and she was even beaten up by boys for being a "tomboy." However, she fought back, and after that, no one dared to bully her anymore. In sixth grade and middle school, whether it was registering or carrying rice to school, Song Jing did it all alone. This is what they mean by "poor children learn to be independent early."
When Gao Jin found Song Jing, Song Jing was sweating profusely as he squeezed out of the rice-paying queue. Three hours had passed in the blink of an eye; he'd stood there, barely managing to move, pay his rice, get his meal ticket, and out—a whole morning gone in an instant. Remembering he still had to pay his tuition, Song Jing hurriedly packed up his rice bag and headed to another front.
"Song Jing?" Gao Jin called out to Song Jing at the corner.
Song Jing was taken aback for a moment, then said, "Oh, it's Gao Jin! Have you registered yet? How many people are in our class?" After a barrage of questions, she exclaimed, "You're a day student, so you don't have to pay for rice in exchange for meal tickets, how lucky you are!"
Gao Jin was completely bewildered by Song Jing and couldn't utter a single word for a long time.
Song Jing was in a hurry, so she waved to him and said hastily, "I have to go register now, see you in the classroom later!" After saying that, she walked past him and headed towards the building with the teachers' office.
"Ouyang Xiao asked me to give you his regards."
She froze, completely stunned. Song Jing was terrified. Had she been hallucinating from exhaustion? For the past year, walking through the campus and the countryside, she would always see one or two people whose backs or profiles resembled hers. She felt excited, nervous, and held her breath before realizing she had mistaken them for someone else. It didn't matter; even if she was wrong, it didn't matter. At least there were still people who looked similar. Now, this person behind her had said it so openly, like a fragile, beautiful dream that vanished at the slightest sound.
People were coming and going around her; the place had been bustling with noise a moment ago, but now she couldn't hear a sound. It was as if the whole world consisted only of her and the person who had brought her news. She strained her ears, relaxing every cell in her body to send out probing rays, but the person remained silent.
"What did you just say?" What have you gained this year? One advantage of being an official is that it hones your interpersonal skills and ability to adapt to different situations. Song Jing is no longer the naive child who wore his heart on his sleeve or always had a stern face.
Gao Jin smiled, a smile so similar to that person's, both cute and sly: "Ouyang Xiao asked me to give you his regards. That's exactly what I meant."
In her second year of junior high, twelve-year-old Song Jing officially entered the sensitive period of teenage rebellion. She began to focus on her own affairs, imagining what it would be like to have wings and fly into the free sky. She no longer took her parents' words to heart, responding verbally but inwardly sneering. She didn't do anything outrageous, at most sleeping in late, but she started wandering around, refusing to do housework, and not prioritizing her parents. Her grades plummeted.
As a result, Song Jing's relationship with his parents gradually froze, and they grew to loathe each other.
The so-called good friends who used to be by Song Jing's side began to slowly distance themselves from her, and she just smiled indifferently when she realized it. Her best friend, Li Yueling, might give her a good beating if she saw her like this, even though Li Yueling was not good at fighting at all.
Gao Jin once had a less-than-harmonious conversation with her, which Song Jing described as a "one-sided lecture."
That day, Gao Jin approached Song Jing under the name Ouyang Xiao and successfully became her close friend. In reality, their conversations never strayed from their studies, and never revolved around the name Ouyang Xiao. Song Jing simply wanted to get along well with this so-called best friend of Ouyang Xiao, while Gao Jin was just doing it for fun.
Unhappy at home and misunderstood, Song Jing was often crying herself to sleep at night, then sitting up all night wrapped in her blankets. But no one would tug her hand, grumbling that she'd taken the blankets and the wind was blowing in, making her cold. When Gao Jin asked her to come out for a talk, Song Jing was somewhat pleased. Like all teenagers going through a rebellious phase, she just needed more care, but unfortunately, Gao Jin disappointed her.
"Does your family object to your studying?" Gao Jin's opening line.
Song Jing frowned: "Who told you that?"
"That's what they all say?"
"You believe them just because they say that?" Song Jing asked him in return.
Gao Jin spread his hands innocently: "There must be some reason why everyone says that."
"The truth is that everything everyone's saying has absolutely no basis," Song Jing replied coolly. "My family doesn't object to my studies; on the contrary, they're very supportive. It's just that I can't find the motivation to study anymore. I want a freer atmosphere. The atmosphere at home is too oppressive right now, and I feel like I can't take it anymore." Don't doubt that these words came from the mouth of Song Jing, who was once obedient, sensible, and inexplicably mature.
Gao Jin remained silent.
Then came a long, rambling discourse about filial piety and the importance of reading, so lengthy that Song Jing felt sleepy.
If things had continued this way, the subsequent events would not have occurred. There are no "what ifs" in life; it continued on its predetermined path. Song Jing offered no resistance, accepting her fate, and thus encountered Ouyang Xiao again. Two years had passed since they last met. If the memory hadn't been so vivid, Song Jing, at that fleeting first glance, certainly wouldn't have recognized Ouyang Xiao.
Ouyang Xiao has grown taller, thinner, and more handsome.
That evening, the sky was ablaze with the colors of the sunset, and in the distance, fiery red pomegranate blossoms were in full bloom. Occasionally, someone would pass by on the pebbly asphalt street. Song Jing and her close friends from school had just returned from mailing letters at the post office at the foot of the mountain. Song Jing and the three of them chatted and laughed, and as she laughed loudly and brightly, Ouyang Xiao walked towards them from the other end of the road, accompanied by a middle-aged man.
They went down the mountain.
They went up the mountain.
The fiery sunset clouds not only illuminated the sky, but also the world.
Ouyang Xiao spotted Song Jing immediately, while Song Jing, still grinning foolishly with his mouth wide open, also spotted Ouyang Xiao.
Two years ago, Ouyang Xiao's demeanor was merely gloomy and naive; now, all that remained was a pure, aloof coldness masked by a gentle smile. Although his eyes, lips, and even facial features smiled when he saw Song Jing, Song Jing, while stunned, felt a chill and a dull ache in her heart.
Don't doubt it, although they met, they didn't speak. She continued up the mountain with her group, while he continued down the mountain with his relatives. They passed each other. Only after they had moved a little further apart did Song Jing turn around and see Ouyang Xiao's back. When Ouyang Xiao turned around, Song Jing also only showed him his back.
For the next week, Song Jing kept dreaming about Ouyang Xiao. Sometimes she dreamt they were still in sixth grade, exchanging casual glances, and Zhen Liang hadn't made a big deal out of it. Other times she dreamt she got into a middle school in the city, the same school as him, though not in the same class, but happy to see him every day. Still other times she dreamt he had walked far away, and she stood there, watching his figure disappear. Finally, Song Jing only remembered one sentence. Ouyang Xiao had told her: "You must remember what you said." At the time, she had replied, "I won't forget." But now she had forgotten it.
By the end of the second semester of her second year of junior high, Song Jing's grades had risen back to the top ten in her class and the top thirty in the school. Her relationship with her family remained strained, but Song Jing seemed unconcerned, focusing solely on her studies. She was inherently intelligent, quick-witted, patient, and focused. One day, she alternated between English and Chinese in the morning, doing practice problems, taking careful notes in class, catching up on missed lessons from her second year. She didn't rest at noon, concentrating on memorizing history and politics. While she always excelled in physics and chemistry, she now focused more on math, employing a "sea of questions" approach, which yielded considerable results.
Song Jing started school early and was extremely sensitive and mature, excelling in both academics and practical matters. However, she simply couldn't seem to learn how to have fun. Whether it was playing cards, skipping rope, badminton, basketball, or anything else, except for running, Song Jing was clumsy and stubborn; she just couldn't learn it. Therefore, she focused all her attention on her studies and didn't find them boring, nor did she become restless and want to play like other children.
In the third year of junior high school, just after March, news arrived that the entrance exams for top high schools were about to begin. The top ten students in the school were selected to take the exam, and Song Jing was stuck at the very bottom of eleventh place. Frustrated, he had no other choice. The exam was divided into morning and afternoon sessions, mainly testing Chinese, English, a foreign language, and physics and chemistry. There were four papers, with a total score of 550 points. A score above 400 would guarantee direct admission to the top high school, namely C City No. 2 High School.
On the third day, the school announced the exam results, and everyone was overjoyed. Three out of ten students passed, ranking first in both total score and number of students among all the rural middle schools. Gao Jin was one of those three. Back in the second year of junior high, Song Jing had spoken to Gao Jin briefly, just a greeting and some casual conversation. Gao Jin had achieved excellent results and could now rest easy. Song Jing mingled with many others to congratulate him, but Gao Jin called her back as she was leaving.
"What is it?" Song Jing asked calmly, kicking at the pebbles on the ground with his toes.
Gao Jin was much taller than Song Jing at this time. Song Jing had only grown to about 1.3 meters tall in her second year of junior high, but now she was already 1.57 meters tall. Gao Jin, however, was more than a head taller than Song Jing; he had already grown to 1.77 meters. Gao Jin stood five steps away from Song Jing, frowning as he looked at her. Song Jing's long hair had reportedly been cut for a strange reason; her short hair, not even reaching her ears, lay disheveled and unruly on her forehead. He suddenly hesitated, feeling that perhaps it was better not to say some things. In the past three years, nothing major had happened to Song Jing, neither good nor bad, but she had always been very unhappy inside.
"He said he's waiting for you at No. 2 Middle School. He'll take the exam with us, and he's already been admitted to university through the guaranteed admission program."
After a moment of silence, Gao Jin spoke in a deep voice.
He couldn't understand Ouyang Xiao's meaning either. Apart from jokingly telling him to greet Song Jing back in the second year of junior high, he had never mentioned this person before, so why was he suddenly saying this now...
Gao Jin could never forget the expression on Song Jing's face when he uttered the words, "Ouyang Xiao asked me to give you his regards." Her expression was a mixture of surprise, joy, disbelief, and pain. Her lips trembled, and she turned stiffly around, unable to utter a single word for a long time. For a moment, he thought Song Jing would cry, but she didn't. She trembled like a leaf in the wind, all the color draining from her face, yet her eyes shone brightly, seemingly capable of searing. She stubbornly bit her lip, her nails digging into her flesh, before slowly calming herself and softly saying, "He..." September, the sun shining brightly, but the wind on the mountaintop was strong. Whether he hadn't heard clearly or couldn't recall, Gao Jin's memory contained no complete sentence from Song Jing that day.
Upon hearing Gao Jin's words, Song Jing abruptly looked up, her sharp eyes fixed on him like a snake lurking deep in the trees and grass of a jungle, eyeing its prey. Gao Jin had never known that the gentle, modest, and quiet Song Jing could also possess such a sharp and intimidating side. For a moment, he involuntarily took a few steps back and pursed his lips.
Song Jing smiled faintly and said, "Thank you, I understand." Like a receding tide, the oppressive aura emanating from Song Jing dissipated. The girl standing before Gao Jin, head bowed, was once again the familiar, reserved, and quiet girl he knew. For some reason, he felt a sense of relief. Coming back to his senses, Song Jing had already walked away when he realized a cool, damp feeling on his back.
After that, Song Jing worked even harder, and became increasingly thin, but his sharp edges gradually softened and disappeared.
In early July, the sun was scorching and cicadas chirped everywhere.
Exams, graduation.
In mid-July, news came that Song Jing had failed the exam by three points.
Chapter Six
Updated: 2008-04-19 10:24:41 Words: 0
Chapter Six
“I like him, and I’ve made up my mind to like him for the rest of my life. He always tells me, ‘Don’t rush, don’t rush, catch up, I’ll be waiting for you ahead.’” Song Jing smiled slightly, her dreamy face full of happiness. “Sometimes I want to catch up with him and walk with him. This idea has become my biggest dream.”
What the listener wasn't concerned with Song Jing's dream; what he was thinking was, "So, liking someone for a lifetime requires a firm commitment..."
“Of course. If you just say you like someone, but you don’t have the determination or perseverance to stick to it, then what’s the point of liking them?” Song Jing tilted his head, asking with an innocent and naive air.
"...Do you like it that much?"
"I'm telling you, you have absolutely no idea what it feels like to like someone!" Ouyang Xiao smirked sarcastically. "Wanting to be with that person makes your heart race when they get close, missing them when you're apart, and being afraid when you're together, all because you desperately want to be with them forever—do you know all that? No one else is acceptable, not even close!"
"I...I can do it too!" the delicate yet beautiful girl said, her voice trembling as she mustered her courage. "I can do it!"
"Really?" Ouyang Xiao glanced at her dismissively, seemingly nonchalant. "Then, which number boy have you liked?"
The girl's face turned bright red, and her lips trembled as she couldn't utter a single word.
"I will only love one person, from the moment I fall in love until the moment I die."
"What if she... changes her mind?"
Ouyang Xiao laughed: "I'll find a way to keep her from changing her mind! And..."
And what? The girl's eyes were filled with doubt, but Ouyang Xiao turned his head to look at the sky, a very warm smile on his lips.