11

The earliest ferry arrives at 9:00 AM.

Zhong Yan arrived at the port at 8:40. The sun was already high in the sky, and the scorching sea breeze was suffocating.

After the ship docked, tourists carrying their luggage walked down the deck in small groups, making a lively scene.

Zhong Yan focused her attention and turned her gaze toward the direction from which the crowd was coming, carefully discerning the situation.

"It's my older sister!"

Her younger sister, Zhong Xin, saw her first and excitedly waved her little hand.

She rode on her father's shoulders, towering above the crowd like a colorful little flag.

Zhong Yan followed her and then saw her mother helping the elderly woman beside her.

Grandma is my younger sister's grandmother. When my younger sister was born, she came to our house to help take care of the newborn. At that time, Zhong Yan's grades had dropped sharply, and my mother devoted a lot of time to her studies, which made Grandma very unhappy.

Friction and conflict between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law continue to intensify and escalate.

Zhong Yan is old enough to understand that every conflict in the family is because of her, because she takes up her mother's energy and time that should be spent taking care of her younger sister.

Every time her younger sister gets sick, she gets very nervous, so nervous that she gets stomach cramps.

Because her grandmother would always deliberately wander up to her or her mother and nag, "Other babies grow up drinking breast milk, but my poor Xinxin didn't drink much breast milk, so naturally her body isn't as strong as other babies."

Mom would also say, "I've sacrificed the time I spend taking care of your sister to keep an eye on your studies. If you don't get into the top ten, how can you face us?"

She was terrified of letting her mother down and hindering her younger sister's development.

If her grades are bad, the arguments at home and her sister's health become meaningless, and she becomes the sinner.

"Sister! Sister!" Zhong Xin returned to the ground and pulled her parents' hands toward Zhong Yan.

"Xiao Yan," her stepfather greeted her with a smile.

"Hello, Uncle." Zhong Yanren's younger sister hugged her leg and turned to look at her mother.

"Mom, hello Grandma."

Wang Xiangmei frowned as she looked at her daughter, "Your hair has grown so long and you haven't even bothered to get it cut! Look at the state it's in!"

Zhong Yan brushed her hair back; she had forgotten to wear a hair clip when she left home, and her bangs were blown in front of her face by the wind, stinging her eyes.

"They've been playing so much they don't know where they're going. They disappeared after the exams and didn't even bother to tutor your sister, who's about to start elementary school..." Grandma snorted through her nose.

"Mom!" Zhong Yuanxing said disapprovingly, "The child has studied hard for so long, what's wrong with relaxing during the summer vacation?"

"I don't want to study!" Zhong Xin hugged Zhong Yan's arm, shaking it back and forth and acting coquettishly.

Grandma said seriously, "You can't be worse than your sister, or people will look down on you."

Zhong Xin pouted.

"Oh my, Xiao Yan is even prettier than in the photos!" Suddenly, a middle-aged woman with curly hair appeared from behind them. She took off her sunglasses and said to Zhong Yan with a smile, "Do you remember me? I'm Aunt Deng, and my son is Wu Chuanze. You two used to play together when you were little—Chuanze, come on up here, don't worry about your sister!"

Zhong Yan had a vague recollection of it.

A brother and sister, a man and a woman, quickly stepped forward.

The boy was around twenty years old, thin and wiry, wearing black-rimmed glasses and a black striped polo shirt. He had a decent appearance, but his eyes behind the lenses made no attempt to hide his scrutiny of people, which made people feel uncomfortable.

The girl next to her, around fifteen years old, wearing a short-sleeved floral dress, was also looking at her curiously, but she didn't seem to dislike her.

"Xiao Yan, long time no see," the boy greeted her.

Zhong Yan couldn't be impolite, so she said, "Long time no see."

She turned to look at her mother.

Because Mom didn't mention yesterday that there would be other people joining us.

"Aunt Deng started paying attention to you before your college entrance exam and even provided a lot of information about applying to schools," Wang Xiangmei said gratefully. "Your Aunt Deng is now an associate professor at S University, and Xiaoze is your senior. You can ask them for help if you have any questions when you get to university."

"Don't be so formal. Xiao Yan has always been a well-behaved child, and her grades are so good. I like her very much. I even thought about taking her as my own daughter! If you need anything in the future, just go to Aze."

Upon hearing this, Wu Yuexia said coquettishly, "Mom! What about me!"

"You're not as well-behaved as Xiao Yan."

Wu Chuanze also said with a smile, "From now on, we'll be alumni. You can come to me with anything."

"Look how good Xiaoze is! Xiaoyan, you should take him around today," Mom said.

Wu Chuanze smiled at Zhong Yan and said, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Xiao Yan."

Zhong Yan began to understand.

Why did her mother specifically tell her to dress nicely today, and she even wore her best long dress for that purpose?

My mother's posts on WeChat Moments kept popping up in front of me.

Despite the sweltering heat, my arms were covered in goosebumps from the cold.

Zhong Xin tugged at Zhong Yan's hand, wanting to talk to her.

Zhong Yan knelt down, and her younger sister put her hands to her ear and said in a clear voice, "Sister, this brother is the boyfriend Mom found for you!"

She thought she was speaking softly, but everyone around her could hear her.

The adults burst into laughter, but Zhong Yan's face burned with embarrassment.

It felt like I'd been slapped in the face from a distance.

I don't know if it was embarrassment or anger.

Or perhaps it's a helpless sorrow.

She wanted to leave immediately, but kept asking herself the same question.

What should I do if I'm being impolite?

What should I do if my mom is angry?

What should I do if Aunt Deng is unhappy?

If it were Ji Feng, he would definitely turn around and leave, never letting such a bad mood affect him.

But she lacked the courage to tear everything apart; she could only force herself to stay where she was, forcing a smile as she went along with it.

Are there any interesting sights on this island?

"It was too sunny, I didn't pay much attention."

Do you like seafood?

"Well enough."

"My mom makes delicious stir-fried shrimp. I'll treat you to it next time."

"It's too much trouble for Aunt Deng."

"It's no trouble at all. My mom really likes you. She's always praising your grades back home... We haven't seen each other in a long time. Do you feel like I'm a stranger to you?"

Six years have passed since elementary school. Although the parents still keep in touch, for Zhong Yan, her former playmates are now complete strangers, and the memories of her childhood do not bring her any warmth.

"Indeed...it feels a bit unfamiliar."

"It's okay, you can ask me more questions, and we'll feel more comfortable with each other."

Zhong Yan opened her mouth, but couldn't find the problem.

She didn't want to know about Wu Chuanze.

“Xiao Yan hasn’t interacted with many boys, she’s not good at talking, and she’s rather introverted. Xiao Ze, please bear with her,” Wang Xiangmei said.

Zhong Yan lowered her head, but what she was thinking was that she wasn't incapable of speaking.

She can talk to Ji Feng very naturally, and they have endless things to say to each other.

Wu Chuanze smiled and said, "It's okay, you can ask again if you think of it. Let's add each other on WeChat."

Unable to refuse in front of her mother, Zhong Yan took out her phone and opened the app.

While operating his own phone, Wu Chuanze glanced at Zhong Yan's screen and asked, "Who is this WIND? You even pinned it to the top of your chat list."

Zhong Yan seemed to have been suddenly pricked by a sharp thorn, and abruptly turned her head to look at Wu Chuanze.

For a fleeting moment, her eyes shone brightly.

Wu Chuanze thought that when the girl was dull, she was just averagely pretty, but when she got angry, she was really beautiful, like a vibrant flame.

"Sorry, I saw it by accident. Is this your ex-boyfriend?" There was no apology on his face, and his eyes behind his glasses were only probing.

Aunt Wang said that Zhong Yan had never had a boyfriend.

But during adolescence, people often say one thing in public and another in private.

Zhong Yan bit her lower lip, her eyes slightly swollen.

"What ex-boyfriend?" Wang Xiangmei asked.

"No, just a friend." Zhong Yan denied it outright, while lowering her eyelashes and nervously unpinning WIND from the top of her chat list.

“You can pin me to the top, otherwise I’m afraid you’ll scroll down when you have a lot of messages,” Wu Chuanze said with a smile.

Zhong Yan said in a low voice, "It's okay, I don't have much information."

Zhong Xin, standing next to her, raised her Little Genius watch and asked, "Sister, have you pinned me to the top of your chat list? Have you pinned me to the top of your chat list?"

Zhong Yan pinned her account to the top of her chat list right in front of her.

Wang Xiangmei pulled her daughter over and said with a smile, "What are you doing causing trouble?"

Zhong Xin squirmed in her arms, "I want it!"

“Xin Xin has always liked her older sister since she was little, there’s nothing we can do about it,” Wang Xiangmei explained.

Deng Zhenli said, "Is it because your sister is pretty?"

Zhong Xin nodded, "Sister is beautiful."

The child's innocent words made the adults laugh.

Wu Chuanze squatted down next to Zhong Xin and said, "Yes, your sister is beautiful."

When someone agreed, Zhong Xin was even happier and proudly boasted, "Just now, there was a handsome guy over there who kept looking at my sister!"

She pointed, and everyone instinctively looked over.

Zhong Yan also turned her head away.

A tall, thin figure wearing a gray baseball cap was walking slowly forward under the shade of a tree.

"Really, I saw it too!" Wu Yuexia said excitedly. "So cold and aloof!"

Deng Zhenli pinched his daughter's cheek and shook his head. "Kids these days are really something. They only like those with withdrawn personalities. They don't know that sunny and optimistic people are the best."

Zhong Yan pursed her lips.

Ji Feng isn't aloof; he's just naturally not fond of smiling and has a slightly harmless, quirky personality.

But she couldn't utter a word; she could only silently follow them to the island.

The weather was quite nice in the morning, but around noon, a cloud drifted in from somewhere and blocked out the bright sunshine, turning the seawater gray and dull.

Grandma said, "I don't know what these people are trying to achieve by coming all this way to see such an ugly sea. The boat is rocking and smells terrible..."

“The sea must be beautiful when the weather is nice,” Wu Chuanze said. “Right, Xiaoyan?”

"Um."

Zhong Yan hugged her arms; the sea breeze made her feel a bit cold today.

The waves in the distance were also rising higher and fiercer than usual.

A staff member wearing a life jacket walked over and spotted a familiar face among the group.

"Xiao Yan, aren't you going swimming today?"

Zhong Yan shook her head stiffly, afraid that he would ask again, "Where is the boy who was with you?" Fortunately, his colleagues were calling him from a distance. He smiled at them and ran over to join them.

However, Wang Xiangmei still heard the key words.

"You went swimming in the sea? Didn't I tell you not to go swimming? You can't swim, you could get swept away by the current any day. Every year, how many high school graduates go to the sea or reservoirs and lose their lives..."

Zhong Yan wanted to cover her ears, but there was nothing she could do but let her mind wander.

Imagine yourself as a scarecrow, completely oblivious even when riddled with arrows.

As Ji Feng once said: Learning to swim is not about taking risks, but about having the ability to protect yourself when you encounter danger.

She needs the ability to protect herself.

Whether it's the external physical body or the internal psychology.

Whenever Wang Xiangmei started nagging, her grandmother would chime in from the side.

One minute they're saying we shouldn't have left Zhong Yan alone on the island for so long, the next they're saying maybe she's made some bad friends and been led astray.

When it was finally lunchtime, Wang Xiangmei didn't wait for Zhong Yan's recommendation and directly asked Xin Xin's father to take them to the seafood stall with good online reviews.

Zhong Yan had originally planned to bring them here as well.

Wang Xiangmei felt that her daughter's judgment was not worth listening to, and she had not initially intended for her to arrange the travel itinerary.

Zhong Yan had no objection to this.

She was never good at socializing and didn't like socializing.

I'm happy to be a useless decorative vase.

Since the food stalls didn't have the drink the little girl wanted, Wu Chuanze suggested that he and Zhong Yan go to the small shop next door to buy it.

They left the food stall and walked back along the path.

There is a small shop run by Zhang Yong at the intersection.

Zhong Yan was caught off guard when two colorful heads flashed by; they were Chen Baoran and Coco.

The island isn't very big, and the probability of running into someone you know seems to peak on this day.

Fortunately, it wasn't a direct encounter, otherwise Wu Chuanze would probably go back and say that she had made two friends who were "strangely dressed".

When the two arrived at the convenience store, the owner was sweeping the glass display case with a feather duster, his brow furrowed and muttering about cats.

Wu Chuanze carried six colorful bottles of drinks to the cashier and asked the owner if he owned a cat.

The sixty-year-old man scrunched up his already wrinkled face even more. He brandished a feather duster in disgust and said, "I could never keep a cat. Cats scratch people and shed fur. I hate cats the most!"

Wu Chuanze nodded in agreement: "You can't tame a cat."

"That's right, those two girls were looking for the cat everywhere. They said their cat had escaped and disappeared. It's bound to die outside during a typhoon." The old man skillfully scanned the barcodes of the goods. "32 in total, scan here."

Zhong Yan thought to herself, they must be helping Grandma Chen find her cat.

Wu Chuanze took out his phone and scanned the code, agreeing, "If the stray cats don't die, and they scratch tourists, who knows who will be responsible?"

“Cats are living beings too. They won’t just run onto the street and snatch tourists,” Zhong Yan couldn’t help but say.

Wu Chuanze looked at her for a moment and said gently, "I forgot that you girls all like small animals. Just look at them outside, don't keep them as pets. If they have a virus, you'll have to clean up their poop."

Suppressing her anger, Zhong Yan asked, "What impact will it have on you whether I keep a pet or not?"

Wu Chuanze snapped out of his daze and chuckled twice. "I was just offering a suggestion. You girls tend to get excited about these furry little things on a whim, ignoring the trouble that comes with it. My mom doesn't like keeping these things, and she scolded my sister when she wanted to. Don't tell my mom you want to keep one."

Zhong Yan had no desire to have any close dealings with Aunt Deng, and she had no say in her affairs.

Back at the food stall, Wang Xiangmei and Deng Zhenli were talking about hair.

"The dye job is weird and strange, I don't know how the parents managed it."

"Kids these days like to be different. They dye their hair, get their ears pierced, get their tongues pierced, and get tattoos. It's obvious they haven't studied properly. They hang out with idle young people all day and don't do anything serious."

Zhong Yan lowered her head, guessing that Coco and Chen Baoran might have come to the food stall looking for the cat, which is why they saw it.

The two mothers suddenly lowered their voices, and then Zhong Yan heard Chen Baoran's voice.

"...Thank you, Brother Huang. If you see it, please call me so I can come and arrest it."

Brother Huang from the food stall chuckled and nodded, "Okay, I'll keep an eye out for you. Want to grab a bite to eat here?"

"Next time, we'll have to look in other places. A typhoon is coming, and it would be terrible if we couldn't find anything."

Brother Huang waved his hand and said, "Okay, okay, come eat next time."

Zhong Yan saw Chen Baoran and Coco, who were limping, turn around and their eyes swept over her, where they saw her.

Zhong Yan subconsciously lowered her head.

"Hey!"

COCO made a soft "eh" and then fell silent. It took Zhong Yan a while to raise her head and see Chen Baoran forcefully grabbing COCO's arm and pulling her away, while COCO turned her head and looked at them curiously.

Zhong Yan felt ashamed, extremely ashamed.

Even though they were already friends, she was "ashamed" to admit it at this moment.

But what exactly is she ashamed of?

Shame on their bright red hair? Their beautiful nails? Their pretty short skirts? Or their vibrant, hardworking lives?

Only after the person walked out the door did the two voices from the side return.

"I really don't know what they do; they seem to be doing nothing productive."

"I guess they didn't study hard and didn't go to university. Look at them, they're not that old."

“They have legitimate jobs,” Zhong Yan suddenly said.

Wang Xiangmei frowned. "You know them? Why do you look like thugs?"

Zhong Yan, seeing the disapproval in her mother's eyes, didn't stop there. She said, "The pink-haired girl's mother abandoned her when she was very young. Her father is an alcoholic and abusive bastard. After graduating from high school, she opened a pottery studio and supported herself very well. The blue-haired girl is a student at Shangda Art School and works part-time as a photographer. She doesn't need her family to give her living expenses. A few days ago, they even helped an old lady go to the hospital. Everyone on the island knows they are very good girls."

“That hairstyle just doesn’t look good,” Deng Zhenli said.

Zhong Yan didn't remain silent. "My junior high school teacher taught us not to judge people by their appearance because it's not okay for children, but is it okay for adults?"

"Zhong Yan!" Wang Xiangmei yelled, "What's wrong with you today? Your mother came all this way to see you, and you act like you've been hit by a firecracker?"

"Xiangmei." Uncle Zhong quickly pulled Wang Xiangmei back. "Children all like novel things. Look, Xinxin also likes to put colorful ribbons in her hair."

"Yes, yes, maybe it's because we're getting old and can't stand all this bright and colorful stuff," Deng Zhenli chimed in, trying to smooth things over.

"Mom, I want to dye my hair glacier blue!" Wu Yuexia blurted out amidst the chaos.

Zhong Xin chimed in, "I want to too."

Seeing that she was about to corrupt the children, Deng Zhenli immediately said, "Dyeing your hair is bad for your hair quality, and it may even cause cancer and make you lose all your hair."

Zhong Xin asked incredulously, "Really?"

Wu Yuexia said, "It's definitely fake."

The conversation drifted off into various topics, and the atmosphere at the table became harmonious and joyful once again.

Zhong Yan sat in silence.

Wu Chuanze was still putting food on her plate, but she poked at her rice and had no appetite.

The weather was bad in the afternoon, and everyone's enthusiasm for sightseeing was not high. Only the youngest, Zhong Xin, was in high spirits, pulling people around to look at things and asking if there was milk tea to drink on Zhongyan Island.

Zhong Yan subconsciously mentioned the Jasmine Milk Tea Shop.

Zhong Xin insisted on going for a drink.

There was no sunshine, but the temperature on the island was still very high, so hot it felt like being put in a steamer.

Two little girls ran in front, Zhong Yan and Wu Chuanze walked in the middle, and several adults behind them were still talking about school.

Zhong Yan was uneasy because the Jasmine Milk Tea Shop was right next to Chen Baoran's pottery studio. If they ran into each other there, she didn't know what her mother and Aunt Deng would say.

Moreover, her performance just now must have disappointed her two friends.

In the alleyway of the Jasmine Milk Tea shop, I didn't see Chen Baoran and COOC's motorcycles, but I did see Jifeng.

He had just stepped out of the pottery studio.

Zhong Xin pulled Wu Yuexia along, "That brother!"

This time, Zhong Yan gripped her phone tightly and didn't look away, but Ji Feng's eyes only glanced at them briefly before he walked away as if no one else was there.

It was as if he didn't know anyone in there at all.

Zhong Yan was stunned for a moment, her heart aching with a bittersweet feeling.

She remained timidly silent, but unexpectedly, Wu Chuanze suddenly called out to Ji Feng.

"Monsoon?"

Jifeng paused, then turned around.

Wu Chuanze saw his face clearly and became even more certain, saying, "I know you. You may not remember me. We were in the same year, and I was from the neighboring school. We went to the provincial capital together to attend the commendation meeting."

"Oh." Ji Feng glanced at him a few times. "I vaguely remember him."

"Who is it?" Deng Zhenli asked curiously.

Wu Chuanze said, "A classmate from Shigao High School."

Deng Zhenli said, "Then wouldn't that be Teacher Wang's student?"

Wang Xiangmei walked forward and recognized the person, "Ji Feng?"

Ji Feng straightened up slightly, nodded, and said, "Hello, teacher."

They were both in the same school, one a teacher and the other a student, but they didn't have much interaction.

When Ji Feng was in his first year of high school, Wang Xiangmei only briefly taught him math for half a semester before the principal urgently transferred her back to teach the graduating class in the senior year.

Then, Zhong Yan's desk from her first year of high school was vandalized with graffiti. After investigating, she found out it was him.

"Hmm, I remember you did quite well on your college entrance exam. Which university are you in now?" That's all the teacher's concern is about.

The monsoon responded to the question with: "Aerospace University."

Deng Zhenli, who was standing next to me, said, "Aerospace University is great, what major do you study there?"

Before Ji Feng could answer, they heard Teacher Wang talking to Zhong Yan, "You two know each other?"

Zhong Yan looked up and glanced quickly at Ji Feng. "Yes, I know him."

Wu Chuanze interjected, "What a coincidence! I have a cousin who also wants to apply to the Aviation University. Would it be convenient to add each other on WeChat?"

Ji Feng said "Oh" and took out his phone.

"WIND?"

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing," Wu Chuanze smiled.

On the other side, Wang Xiangmei's smile vanished completely. She pulled Zhong Yan a few steps away and asked seriously:

What's your relationship?

"Alumni".

Wang Xiangmei continued, "Did you want to study at the Aeronautical University because of him?"

Zhong Yan's heart clenched painfully. "Mom, I didn't even know him back then."

"You really don't recognize me?"

Wang Xiangmei turned around and saw Ji Feng's gaze. Then she looked at her daughter, whose eyes were already red with tears. The more she thought about it, the more she felt that something was wrong.

He argued fiercely with her over a college application, and even threatened to jump off the building to scare her. She lost her appetite and vomited to the point of being hospitalized.

When has her daughter ever been so rebellious!

Everyone says that teenagers are unruly and difficult to manage. Other teachers always envied her because her children were always well-behaved and obedient, following all her arrangements, prioritizing their studies, and never getting into any trouble.

But now, she suddenly realizes that her daughter is not as obedient as she had imagined.

"You don't want to go home because you want to be on the island with him? Are you two dating now?"

"Tell me the truth! Did you start dating in your senior year of high school? Otherwise, why would you suddenly want to go to the aviation university?!"

The moment her daughter was hospitalized, Wang Xiangmei thought she had made a mistake.

As a mother, she felt a pang of annoyance and regret when she saw her weak daughter, but now she is fully backlashed in the face of a gradually emerging truth.

She did nothing wrong.

Zhong Yan couldn't explain why she wanted to go to the Aviation University of China because she had made a promise with her boyfriend to go there!

She's in a relationship!

Zhong Yan suddenly shouted, "Mom!"

She was at a loss and just wanted to interrupt her mother.

Those unreasonable and barbaric questions were like thorns, piercing her heart once again.

"Xinxin, let's go in and order some milk tea first. Xiaoxia and Xiaoze, come in together." Zhong Yuanxing pulled his youngest daughter and helped his mother, urging the extra people into the milk tea shop.

“Brother, he did better on the exam than you, and he’s also more handsome than you.” Wu Yuexia took Wu Chuanze’s arm and chuckled.

Wu Chuanze slapped his sister's hand away.

Later, Zhong Xin innocently asked her father, "Will that handsome older brother marry my sister?"

Grandma sneered, "It's a miracle your mother didn't tear him apart."

"Grandma, why did Mom tear up the handsome brother's picture? Is it because she prefers my sister to be with this not-so-handsome brother?"

Zhong Yuanxing quickly covered Zhong Xin's mouth.

Zhong Yan suddenly wanted to cover her mother's mouth as well.

Even just once would be fine.

Her words were like sharp arrows, always piercing her weakest points.

How can she get her mother to stop hurting her?

Seeing that she couldn't get anything out of her daughter, Wang Xiangmei turned to look at Ji Feng. He didn't say much, but his eyes kept glancing at Zhong Yan.

Concern, worry, and a hint of pity.

As a mother and as a woman, she was very sensitive to this.

Are you dating my daughter? When did it start?

As if on cue, Zhong Yan grabbed her mother's arm.

"mom!"

"Auntie, Zhong Yan and I have only known each other for a few days. Isn't it a bit too early to talk about dating?" Ji Feng shifted to a more comfortable position and smiled slightly.

His smile was hardly friendly; in Wang Xiangmei's eyes, it looked more like a provocation.

Wang Xiangmei did not have a good impression of him.

Although he was a student with good grades, grades don't tell the whole story.

He may be talented, but he doesn't take his talent seriously. Not only does he draw on the table during class, he is also often distracted by various activities, wanting to get involved in everything. He's like a "notorious" beagle, with frighteningly high energy.

In the office, she occasionally heard other teachers complain about his lack of focus.

A lack of focus indicates that he treats everything with a playful attitude, and wasting talent is worse than having no talent at all.

Wang Xiangmei had a wonderful plan for Zhong Yan, and she didn't want any uncontrollable accidents to happen along the way.

Whether it's a person or an event.

Good students are often easily led astray by bad kids.

“That’s good. My daughter is introverted, and I’m afraid you wouldn’t be able to talk to her.” Wang Xiangmei added, “The good majors at the Aviation University are not suitable for girls. There must be relatively few girls at your school.”

Ji Feng casually replied, "No, there are quite a few outstanding girls in our school. Art knows no borders, and academic subjects are not limited to men and women."

Wang Xiangmei continued her questioning: "Is that what you told her?"

She still suspects that Zhong Yan's threat to commit suicide to go to the university is because of Ji Feng.

“This is the first time I’ve said this,” Ji Feng replied patiently.

Zhong Yan grabbed her mother's arm again, unable to bear the way she was interrogating Ji Feng like a criminal, pinning unfounded accusations on him.

"Mom, what does this have to do with him? Can't I go to the aviation university because I want to go myself?"

Zhong Yan still cried.

She didn't cry when she was slapped in her first year of high school, but the grievance still turned into rust stains, remaining deep in her body.

She shouted:

"I want to go to the Aeronautical University because it's far away, in the north!"

"I don't want to go to teachers' college, I don't want to become a teacher, because I don't want to become like my mother!"

From childhood to adulthood, Zhong Yan heard her mother say most often that she should grow up to be an excellent teacher, just like her mother.

Through more than a decade of hard work, the mother earned praise and dignity, completely severing ties with the poverty and destitution of her family of origin.

She was unwilling to mention her brothers and sisters who tightened screws in the factory, and she was also afraid that her children would pick up those unpleasant memories again.

Her income as a teacher is limited, and so is her ability to support others. She cannot afford to take too many risks, and stability is her only wish.

But Zhong Yan didn't want to.

She often wondered why she could retain her own thoughts and even struggle to come up with other ideas despite being "brainwashed" day after day and year after year.

She doesn't want to be like her mother.

Everything proceeds in an orderly fashion, like a wound-up machine, always moving and turning in a predetermined direction and speed.

Call her ignorant or ungrateful, but she simply can't help but struggle and have unrealistic fantasies.

Some people say that when you really crave a certain food, it's because your body needs it.

Zhong Yan also wondered if her desire to break free from her mother's control was also because her body wanted to save itself.

She didn't want to let her mother down, nor did she want to hurt her mother.

She naively thought that getting into a better university would make her mother accept her, but she didn't expect it would make her even more disappointed, angry, and furious.

They both suffered heavy losses and perished together.

Words are more powerful than real weapons.

It doesn't just harm the body; it tears apart the soul.

Some things that were originally solid were shattered without anyone noticing, and the cracks slowly widened.

Wang Xiangmei calmed down.

Zhong Yan's face was covered in tears, and she couldn't stop sobbing.

She rapidly decayed in this maddening silence.

Ji Feng left, then returned, handing Zhong Yan a pack of tissues.

His concern was undisguised, and his demeanor was open and generous.

Zhong Yan wiped away her tears with a tissue, only her eyelashes remained wet and clumped together.

/

Summer vacation is peak season.

A regular room on Niling Island costs seven or eight hundred yuan a night, and the elderly are too frugal to stay there.

Fortunately, Zhong Yan's current house has two small rooms, one for her mother and one for her grandmother, so she sleeps on a makeshift bed on the floor in the living room.

After Grandma finished inspecting the house, she went to take a shower.

After their argument that afternoon, the mother and daughter rarely spoke, even when sitting face to face.

Around eight o'clock, Wang Xiangmei took a shower and returned to her room.

Zhong Yan was left alone in the living room.

This is something that has never happened before.

A mother's silence is more heartbreaking than angry scolding.

Zhong Yan buried her head in her knees.

She's such a contradictory person.

It was neither true submission nor complete resistance.

The phone screen lit up and then went out. After a long while, Zhong Yan finally picked it up to look at it.

The top one was posted by my younger sister.

Several photos in a row were taken at the guesthouse.

The family room has many child-friendly facilities, which is why Zhong Xin didn't insist on sleeping with her sister.

Zhong Yan replied with a rabbit hugging a heart emoji.

The other lines came from the stepfather, Jifeng, and Wu Chuanze, respectively.

Uncle Zhong comforted her for a few words, telling her not to be angry with her mother, and then transferred two thousand yuan to her.

Zhong Yan did not accept the money, but only thanked her uncle for his kindness.

Next to Wu Chuanze's profile picture is the message: Are you there?

Zhong Yan pretended not to see it and opened Ji Feng's chat.

WIND: [What did you eat for dinner?]

Cage: [I didn't eat much.]

WIND: [Can I go downstairs now?]

Cage: [Are you downstairs?]

WIND: [Hmm]

Zhong Yan was stunned for a moment, then immediately sprang up from the ground. Without even changing her shoes, she grabbed her keys and phone and ran down the stairs in her slippers.

She didn't know why she was in such a hurry; she just really wanted to hurry, to hurry.

She ran downstairs in one breath, and under the dim streetlights on her left, a group of insects were circling around a person.

Jifeng was still wearing the same hat she wore that afternoon. The brim blocked the light from above, and her features, though in shadow, were still clearly defined.

It reminds me of the plaster portraits in art class, three-dimensional and profound.

"Monsoon".

Ji Feng straightened up and turned his head.

Zhong Yan walked up to him, still a little out of breath, and asked, "Why are you here so late?"

He picked up a plastic bag and said, "I ordered an extra barbecue with my friends, and I was just passing by when I asked if you were okay. If you're still hungry, I'll give you some extra food. Would you like some?"

Before the bag was even opened, the aroma of charcoal wafted out from the gaps, and Zhong Yan's stomach rumbled softly.

She pursed her lips shyly.

She didn't eat much today because she had no appetite.

There were no benches to sit on in the alley, so Zhong Yan and Ji Feng could only sit on the steps.

The barbecue in the foil box was still warm, but not too hot, just right for eating.

"Did I say something wrong when I ran into your mother this afternoon?"

Zhong Yan, biting into a piece of barbecue, looked up in a daze.

"ah?"

Ji Feng scratched his face. "I am a little temperamental. I heard from Chen Baoran that you're on a blind date?"

Zhong Yan silently chewed the food in her mouth, and only spoke after swallowing it:

"They didn't say, we were just playmates when we were kids..."

The monsoon said, "Oh."

After finishing another barbecue, Zhong Yan asked, "Is this the first time you've realized that your voice... isn't pleasant?"

Ji Feng said, "No, it's just that I suddenly felt that what I said was inappropriate and caused you and your mother to quarrel."

“Oh.” Zhong Yan mimicked his speech, then said, “That’s not it. My mom never realized that I really didn’t want this. She would find many excuses to blame my ‘going bad’ on various external factors, bad friends, mindless novels and TV dramas… It’s like she thinks I can’t accept my stepfather because my name comes from my biological father.”

Zhong Yan paused for a moment before continuing:

“I changed my name. My previous name was Qingyan, which was given to me by my father.”

“Light swallow?” Ji Feng repeated.

“His surname is Song, and my name is Song Qingyan.” Zhong Yan stepped onto a step and wrapped her arms around her knees.

“I don’t object to my mother remarrying. My uncle is very good to her and to me, but my name… was left to me by my father.”

Ji Feng took the bamboo skewer from her hand and put it into the bag.

"Song Qingyan is a very nice name. Your mother made a mistake by changing your name."

Zhong Yan sniffed and looked up at the dark blue sky. "My dad used to say that I was like a nimble swallow that God had given him."

“You can change your name when you turn eighteen. If you want, you can change it back,” Ji Feng said.

Zhong Yan lowered her eyes again and said, "I don't know."

She hugged herself tighter and whispered, "I'm timid, not brave at all."

“Our teacher taught us to be kind people, but I’m afraid to help an elderly person who has fallen and is injured, and I’m also afraid that someone will come up to me and ask for directions,” Zhong Yan said, her eyes reddening again.

“More than kindness, you’re afraid of getting hurt,” Ji Feng said. “Without the ability to protect yourself, you’re still a little bird that can’t fight the storm.”

Zhong Yan asked, "When will I grow up?"

The monsoon said, "Wait until you face the pain."

/

Before Zhong Yan went upstairs, the shop owner called her back.

"Hey Xiaoyan, does your friend still want to buy chocolate? I just found a box in the warehouse."

Zhong Yan asked, "Who?"

"It's that tall guy who came with you to buy water last time, the one wearing a hat." The shopkeeper looked up at the wall clock. "Oh dear, forty minutes have passed."

Zhong Yan glanced at the time displayed on her phone again.

I glanced again at the wall clock.

It turns out that when Jifeng sent the first message, he was already downstairs.

He waited thirty minutes before receiving her first reply.

Cage: [Monsoon, why did you come at night?]

WIND: [The wind blew me here]

/

Thursday, August 20, 2025

The wind doesn't speak; only the monsoon can talk nonsense.

Was he trying to say that he wanted to come?