Summer Camp

Summer Camp - Departure Day

At 7:30 AM on Monday, five buses were parked in front of Linxia No. 1 Middle School. A banner on the back of the buses read: "Joint Study Tour between Two Schools - Resort Station". Yu Chen was in bus number 3, his red hair tucked into his baseball cap, the drumbeats blasting from his headphones like a warm-up for his heart.

The schoolbag was gently tugged—Sheng Shuo. He handed over a bottle of room-temperature mineral water, "It's a two-hour drive, don't get low blood sugar." In his other hand, he carried a thin blanket, gray, embroidered with the Linxia No. 1 Middle School emblem, its edges faded from washing. Yu Chen thanked him, then casually tucked the blanket into the back of the seat in front of him and sat by the window.

The line moved forward, and An Yi boarded through the front door. His white shirt sleeves were rolled up to his forearms. His gaze swept across the carriage, stopping opposite Yu Chen. Sheng Shuo's backpack had been there; An Yi picked it up and politely asked, "Is anyone here?"

Sheng Shuo shrugged, stuffed his bag into the luggage rack, and sat down next to Yu Chen. His shoulder line was 194cm, dividing the aisle into two halves, one bright and one dark. Thus, the seating arrangement was set:

Window | Yu Chen | Sheng Shuo | Corridor | An Yi | Window

The bus started, and the air conditioning blew cold air. Yu Chen pulled his hat brim down and just turned down the volume when there was a gentle tap on the small table in front of him—An Yi handed him a stack of nailed A4 sheets: "Algebra Finale: Three Approaches" The cover had a line of red pen: Last-Minute Camp Special.

"You can flip through it if you're bored on the way." After he finished speaking, he put the earphone into his own ear to block out the outside world, but left the volume at half to eavesdrop on the breathing of the person opposite him.

Sheng Shuo turned his head and saw the stack of papers. He raised his eyebrows slightly, reached into his bag, took out a small bag of lemon-flavored gummies, and placed them in Yu Chen's palm. "To replenish sugar and relieve boredom."

Two acts of kindness, one on the left and one on the right, like indicator lights on both sides of a timer illuminating simultaneously. Yu Chen tucked the analysis into the back of the chair, folded the gummy candy into his pocket, and drew back the curtains—the morning mist outside the window hadn't yet dissipated, like a blue rope just being pulled up.

The drive was an hour, on a straight highway. Yu Chen closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep. The drumbeats in her headphones overlapped with the low frequencies of the engine, creating a private heartbeat. Suddenly, she felt a weight on her shoulder—Sheng Shuo was asleep, his head unconsciously resting against her neck, his breathing light and steady. At the same second, the table opposite her vibrated slightly—An Yi took off his headphones, his gaze falling on the area below her collarbone: the light pink mark had faded to a pale yellow, but it was still peeking out from the edge of her collar.

He looked away, wrote a line of small characters on the blank space of the draft paper, tore it off, folded it into a paper airplane shape, and gently placed it on the back of her hand:

"See you on Friday, the third solution has been upgraded. -A"

The paper airplane's wingtip touched the gummy candy bag, making a very soft "shh" sound, like a referee's pencil drawing circles on a scorecard.

Yu Chen didn't open his eyes, but he held the paper airplane in his palm, his fingertips brushing against the wing. The touch was thinner than a candy wrapper, but even more burning.

The bus exited the highway, winding along the mountain road. The bus tilted to the side, and Sheng Shuo's head slid onto her shoulder, his short hair brushing against her neck and tangling with the headphone wire. Yu Chen opened her eyes, her gaze passing through the window—the fog cleared, revealing the resort's outline: a gray-roofed main building, a separate training hall, and kayaks floating on the lake, like another competition venue brought into the background.

She let out a soft breath, unwrapped the gummy candy, and the lemon scent filled the cool air, refreshingly tart. The paper airplane was tucked into the side pocket, keeping the gummy candy company, like folding two axes of symmetry into the same coordinate system—

On the left, the stadium bell tolls;

On the right is the summer camp bonfire;

In the middle is her unfinished solution.

As the bus rounded the last bend in the mountain, the resort's main building came into view. Sunlight refracted across the lake, and a beam of light shone precisely into the third-to-last row of bus number 3—Yu Chen squinted, turning his head to avoid the light, but his peripheral vision caught sight of the parking lot below.

A white sports school minibus had just come to a stop in front of the gray-roofed main building. The door popped open with a "bang," and Xiao Wei was the first to step out.

She wasn't wearing her school uniform today, but a black sleeveless vest, athletic pants, and a red boxing glove bag slung over her shoulder, the color dazzlingly bright in the summer sunlight. As soon as she got off the bus, she put one hand in her pocket and slammed the door shut with the other, her movements clean and efficient. But just as the bus approached the speed bump, she looked up—her gaze fixed straight on the third-to-last row window of bus number 3.

Yu Chen's heart tightened suddenly.

That gaze pierced through the double-glazed windows, like a straight punch without protective gear—precise, swift, and even carrying a metallic provocation.

—She saw it.

Xiao Wei maintained her head tilted back, her hat brim pulled low, obscuring her eyebrows, but her jawline was taut, and her lips were pressed into a cold line. The bus continued to glide slowly into the station, her gaze following it, but her feet remained rooted to the spot, letting the sports school students getting off behind her walk past her.

angry?

No, it's jealousy churning inside.

Yu Chen could almost read the unspoken message in those dark eyes:

"Didn't you say it was 'just summer camp learning'?"

"Why were those two people standing so close to you?"

The bus came to a complete stop, and the doors hissed open. A rush of cold air from the air conditioner blew out of the cabin, colliding with the summer heat and creating a white mist. Yu Chen was obscured by the mist for half a second; when he looked out again, the area below was empty—Xiao Wei was gone.

All that remained was the red boxing glove bag, slung over her shoulder, which fluttered like a small flag in the wind as she walked toward the main building with the crowd.

Sheng Shuo followed her gaze downwards but couldn't catch anything. He only noticed that the girl beside him suddenly quieted down and unconsciously gripped the windowsill.

An Yi folded up his headphones and, following Yu Chen's gaze, saw the dark red figure reflected in the window. He raised an eyebrow but said nothing, only writing a final line of small characters on the edge of the draft paper:

"The axis of symmetry is beginning to tilt."

The car radio started playing:

"Please take your luggage and disembark in an orderly manner—"

Yu Chen looked away, clenching the lemon gummy wrapper in her palm, crushing the sweetness into powder. She didn't know which room Xiao Wei had gone to, but she knew for sure—

Tonight's bonfire party will be a source of jealousy for some.