Chapter 4

Unexpected girlish thoughts can easily cause distress and unease.

As darkness fell outside the window, Sang Sui couldn't continue writing. She suddenly stood up, pushed open the door, and said, "Mom, I'm going out to buy a study guide."

Tan Huiyu poked her head out from the kitchen: "Going out at this hour?"

“The textbooks in Rongcheng and Linchuan are different. I can’t continue writing without supplementary materials,” Sang Sui lied.

Tan Huiyu didn't notice anything amiss. She hesitated for a moment, then finally sighed and said, "Alright, hurry back, dinner will be ready soon."

Tan Huiyu took out a fifty-yuan note and gave it to her.

Sang responded and went to the entrance to change her shoes. She noticed a gaze that seemed to be falling on her, and she looked up sharply to meet Sang Chi's eyes.

Sang Chi sat on the living room sofa, holding a bag of potato chips, staring at her intently. The moment their eyes met, he quickly looked away, his face indifferent, as if nothing had happened.

Sang Sui was too lazy to pay him any attention.

Just as I was about to open the door and go out, Tan Huiyu poked her head out again: "On my way back, I passed by the supermarket downstairs and brought back a bottle of orange juice."

Sang Sui's hand, which was about to grasp the doorknob, froze in mid-air: "Orange juice?"

"Yes, your brother likes to drink orange juice."

Sang Sui's feelings were somewhat complicated: "Aren't other drinks okay?"

"Your younger brother likes to drink orange juice."

Sang Sui gave a soft "oh" and quickly walked out of the house without turning her head.

Sang Sui did not go to the bookstore, but instead headed towards the commercial street near his home.

Her phone was confiscated, so she came to the shopping street to find something to pass the time, like a portable music player.

Without navigation, she could only ask for directions and wander around in a maze of turns. Just when she seriously doubted whether she was going to get lost, she finally found a name.

"Mad Dog Audio-Visual Store".

Why would a music and video store have such a name? It doesn't look like a proper shop. Sang Sui hesitated at the door for a while before pushing open the glass door and going inside, the wind chimes tinkling.

The store is not large, but it has a wide variety of products. In the far corner, there is a row of old-fashioned Walkmans and MP3 players on display.

The store was quiet, with only a slender young man standing behind the counter, head down, arranging a stack of records. He was wearing a simple white T-shirt, and his profile was particularly clear under the warm yellow light.

Sang Sui stopped in her tracks, her heart suddenly racing.

At that moment, joy burst forth from the depths of her heart, awakening from her despondency and growing freely.

Sang Sui entered quietly, but Liang Fengshen still heard it. He looked up and saw the girl standing at the door, and seemed to be stunned for a moment.

Liang Fengshen recognized her and remembered their brief encounter on a green train.

"What do you need?" He put down the record in his hand, his tone very casual.

Sang Sui then came to her senses, walked to the counter, and unconsciously twisted the hem of her clothes: "I want to look at MP3s."

Liang Fengshen took out several demo units from the glass display case: "These are all available for audition."

She looked down as she browsed, not really paying attention to comparing sound quality and features; her mind was filled with thoughts of him standing behind the counter. Finally, she randomly pointed to a small, white model: "This one."

"What song do you want to download?" He took out the memory card from the machine. "We can download it for you here, or you can download it yourself at home if you have a computer."

Sang Sui was taken aback. She did have a desktop computer at home, but she definitely couldn't download anything there. Tan Huiyu would definitely ask her why she suddenly bought an MP3 player, and might even confiscate it.

She suddenly mustered her courage and asked softly, "What kind of music do you usually listen to?"

Liang Fengshen paused, looked up at her, and the warm yellow light fell on his eyelashes, casting dappled shadows.

“I listen to a wide variety of things,” he said softly. “I’m a huge fan of Radiohead and Muse, and lately I’ve also been listening to some post-rock.”

These names were somewhat unfamiliar to Sang Sui. When she was in Linchuan, she mostly listened to Jay Chou, Stefanie Sun, JJ Lin, and popular love songs on the radio.

"Could you recommend a few songs you like?" She lowered her voice, afraid that the request would be too abrupt.

Liang Fengshen was silent for a moment, then typed a few words into the search bar. Soon, a soothing guitar intro flowed from the speakers, accompanied by a slightly hoarse male voice singing softly.

“These are Radiohead’s ‘No Surprises’ and ‘Creep’, these are really good songs,” he said.

Sang listened quietly. The melodies of these songs were simple, yet they carried an indescribable sadness, like sitting alone in an empty classroom at dusk.

Then he played another song, this time even more exciting and full of dramatic twists. "Muse's 'Starlight'."

She listened to the music and couldn't help but steal glances at him. His eyelashes were lowered, and his fingers tapped lightly on the counter to the rhythm, completely immersed in the music.

"What style do you like?" He suddenly looked up, meeting her gaze that she hadn't had time to look away from.

Sang Sui's ears burned, and she hurriedly lowered her head: "They are all very nice, especially the first one."

Liang Fengshen gave a soft "hmm" and continued working on the computer. "Then I'll download them all for you." In addition to the few songs he recommended, he also downloaded some works by Chinese pop singers and independent musicians.

“But I think you’ll like this singer.” He clicked on the page of a singer named Khalil Fong. “His R&B is very good.”

When the intro to "Special Person" began, Sang Sui's heart skipped a beat. It was the song playing in her headphones when they met on the train.

“You know this song?” Liang Fengshen noticed her subtle reaction.

"Hmm." She nodded gently, but didn't reveal the coincidence.

While waiting for the download to complete, the store was so quiet that you could hear the computer fans running.

Sang Sui stood in front of the counter, her gaze secretly sweeping over his profile, while he focused intently on the screen, his eyelashes casting faint shadows beneath his eyes.

"It's still downloading, it will take a while, maybe five minutes." Liang Fengshen put down the mouse and looked up unexpectedly.

Before Sang Sui could avert her gaze, their eyes met, and she immediately felt a sense of panic, as if she had been caught red-handed.

"It's okay, five minutes is actually quite short." She could clearly feel her ears burning.

Fortunately, Liang Fengshen didn't ask any further questions, or perhaps he didn't notice.

Five minutes felt incredibly long at that moment.

Perhaps the atmosphere was too strange, Liang Fengshen took the initiative to ask her, "How did you find this shop? This shop is in a very remote place."

Sang Sui spoke frankly: "I just came to Rongcheng and I'm not familiar with this place. I asked many people and went through many twists and turns before I finally found it."

Liang Fengshen chuckled softly: "It is indeed hard to find."

"Are you coming here for a part-time job on weekends? Rongcheng No.1 Middle School seems to have a lot of homework, right?" Let alone a part-time job, even if you write for three or four hours every day on weekends, you still can't finish the homework.

Liang Fengshen asked with some surprise, "You know I'm a student at Rongcheng No. 1 High School?"

Sang Sui froze instantly, belatedly realizing that he had said the wrong thing.

She took a deep breath: "I've heard my classmates mention you, and I've also heard that Liang Fengshen is your name."

Liang Fengshen raised an eyebrow: "Hmm."

Sang Sui couldn't discern his mood or thoughts at that moment. She only hoped she hadn't offended him. Biting her lip, she took the initiative to say, "Um... my name is Sang Sui."

Realizing that Liang Fengshen was staring down at her, she lowered her eyes somewhat timidly, avoiding his gaze, and continued to introduce herself: "Sang is the mulberry leaf, and Sui is..."

“I know you too,” Liang Fengshen said. “Your class monitor told me about the ‘follow’ in ‘I wish to follow the spring breeze to Yanran.’”

He knew her.

Sang Sui suddenly looked up, but Liang Fengshen remained as calm and composed as ever.

The download was now complete. Liang Fengshen deftly inserted the memory card into the MP3 player and put it back into the box.

"Two hundred and sixty in total." He handed her the bag.

Sang Sui hadn't expected it to be so expensive. She thought the most expensive would not exceed 150. If it were in another store, she might have hesitated and refused, but the person standing in front of her was Liang Fengshen.

In front of someone you like, you'll always have some pitiful pride.

Fortunately, her grandmother had secretly given her some money before she came to Rongcheng, so that she wouldn't lose face at this moment.

Sang paid and, as she took the bag, her fingertips inadvertently brushed against his hand again. This time, she didn't immediately pull away, but instead softly said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Stepping out of the store, the evening breeze carried a chill on her face. She clutched the bag in her hand, which contained a brand-new MP3 player and a playlist he had personally selected.

Sang Sui's lips curled up slightly, and on the way home, even the wind carried a hint of sweetness.

There really is a small supermarket downstairs from my house. But calling it a supermarket is a bit of a stretch; it's more like a large convenience store.

Sang walked in, picked out a bottle of orange juice, and was about to pay when she realized that the cashier was a girl about her age.

The girl was a bit taller than Sang Sui. She had a very distinct oval face with a small, pointed chin. Her skin was so white it seemed to glow under the lights. Her nose was very high and delicate, giving her a cool and heroic air, which accentuated the bone structure of her face and made her seem aloof when she wasn't making any expressions.

"Eleven yuan." The girl quickly scanned the code, put the orange juice in a bag, and handed it back to her.

The girl lowered her eyes slightly and looked over, allowing Sang Sui to see her eyes clearly.

The most beautiful feature of her face is her eyes, which are more elongated than almond eyes, with slightly upturned corners and slightly downturned inner corners, giving them a somewhat world-weary look.

Sang Sui dared to say that this girl was the most beautiful girl she had ever seen in her life.

She seemed stunned, and only after a moment did she take out her money to pay.

It was already dark when she got home. She hid the MP3 player in her coat pocket and walked into the house as if nothing had happened.

"Did you buy the study guide?" Tan Huiyu asked.

"No, the version I wanted is sold out," she replied softly.

Sang Sui didn't have much of an appetite for dinner tonight. She ate a few bites of eggplant and then put down her chopsticks.

Tan Huiyu glanced at her: "Why are you eating so little? Are you on a diet?"

"No."

“At your age, all you know is dieting,” Tan Huiyu still felt she had seen through Sang Sui’s little scheme.

Sang Sui didn't refute, and only after Tan Huiyu got tired of nagging did she feel relieved and quickly walk back to her room.

After closing the door, Sang Sui eagerly put on her headphones and pressed play. As the music flowed gently, she remembered that little music store again.

The music he liked, the voices he recommended—all of this was transmitted to her heart through that thin headphone cable. On this weekend when her phone was confiscated, she unexpectedly gained a playlist that belonged only to him.

The gentle singing in her ears made her rest her chin on her hand, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curve into a smile.

Sang Sui sat at his desk, opened his notebook, and wrote down carefully:

April 26, 2013.

"We've started talking to each other again."

"Because of him, I came to like my own name."

Sang Sui remembers that when she was in elementary school, the teacher asked each student to take turns explaining the meaning of their name, which was carefully chosen by their parents. She didn't know the meaning of her name, so she made a phone call to her father, who was far away in Fuzhou.

Sang Zhiyuan was busy with work at the time and took a break to answer the phone, but when he heard Sang Sui ask such a trivial question, he was speechless and casually replied, "What's so special about it? It's just a name I picked randomly."

For many years afterward, she believed that.

The "sui" in "sang sui" means casual or casual.

Even today, her name has taken on a new meaning in the mouths of others—

I wish to ride the spring breeze to Yanran.

Was her attraction to Liang Fengshen based on physical attraction? Perhaps.

But he really is a very, very good person.