Signature in the studio

Life goes on the same way, but something seems different.

Lu Xingye became more and more silent. He started to stay in the studio all day and all night like Aunt Shen, and it became increasingly rare for us to see him.

Sometimes when I went to see him, I could see him drawing as soon as I opened the door. He didn't even raise his head, and the dark circles under his eyes were so heavy that it was scary.

Lulu was busy preparing for the Trinity exam, running around the corridor all day carrying a stack of admission brochures and review materials from various universities.

"This major requires an interview! And you have to wear formal attire!"

"This school requires a portfolio! Oh my god!"

Every time I heard her nagging about the harsh application requirements at lunch, I felt inexplicably anxious and wanted to cover her mouth.

In comparison, Jiang Yuanzhou and I’s senior year of high school could be described as “degenerate.”

Since we got together, Jiang Yuanzhou hasn't gone to training class for several weeks.

Of course, I sometimes feel uneasy, “If you don’t go to training, what will happen to that admission quota?”

He was silent for a moment, then squeezed my fingers, his palms warm. "It's okay, I can take the test myself."

I guess there is a high probability that "something" happened. His momentary silence has revealed his guilty conscience.

But I didn't ask any further questions.

The sweetness of the early stages of love completely overwhelmed my mind, easily drowning out the guilt and making me refuse to think about the possible price I might have to pay in the future.

On weekends, we often huddled in the last row of the cinema eating popcorn, or hid in the woods behind the school. He read a book while I took a nap on his shoulder.

He always remembers to buy two cups of milk tea, one with full sugar and pearls for me, and one with three-tenths sugar for himself.

We watched almost all the new movies released that spring, from Hollywood blockbusters to shoddy domestic youth films, some even twice or three times.

Once, after watching a movie, we were walking hand in hand and ran into our class teacher. We were so scared that we turned around and ran away.

They ran all the way to the fork in the road before they dared to stop. They held their knees and gasped for breath. They looked at each other and burst into laughter.

The days passed slowly, like the old locust tree outside the classroom window.

Flowers sprout in spring and bloom in summer, but no one knows what kind of fruit will be produced in autumn.

only......

Such indulgence has side effects...

————

I carefully pushed open the door of the studio, looked around and breathed a sigh of relief.

There was no one in the studio.

I sat down at the table and took out the crumpled test paper from my schoolbag. The red 56 points hurt my eyes.

What’s even worse is that the head teacher specifically wrote in red pen that parents were required to sign, which really gave me a headache.

I sighed.

Among us, my grades have never been the best.

However, every time I see Jiang Yuanzhou's test paper with close to full marks and Lulu's score firmly in the top ranks, my little self-esteem still hurts a little.

"It still doesn't look like it..." I bit the pen cap, worrying about the crooked signature on the draft paper that I had tried seven or eight times, and scratched my hair in annoyance.

"What are you doing?"

"Ah!" I was so scared that I shuddered and almost dropped the test paper on the ground.

I don't know when Lu Xingye stood behind me, bending over and staring at my test paper.

I hurriedly hid the test paper in my arms, "Why are you walking so quietly? Are you a cat?"

He raised an eyebrow, quickly snatched the test paper away, and glanced at the score. "56 points?"

"It's just a small mistake. I will definitely do well next time!" My face was hot and I reached out to grab it back.

Lu Xingye curled his lips, threw the test paper back to me, turned around to put away his drawing board, and said in a faint voice, "You are going to take the college entrance examination this year, so be more careful and don't just focus on dating."

This hit a sore spot for me.

Ever since I got together with Jiang Yuanzhou, my already precarious grades have indeed gone down a bit.

I lowered my head feeling a little guilty and mumbled vaguely, "What do you care..."

I watched him skillfully arrange the brushes stained with colorful colors, and suddenly an idea came to me.

"Hoshino..." I leaned over and smiled in a very flattering way.

"What?" He took a half step to the side cautiously.

I handed him the pen. "Can you sign for me? Just... imitate my mother's handwriting..."

"Didn't you say it was a small mistake?" He glanced at me sideways, but didn't say anything else.

He picked up my test paper, looked at the parent's signature column, and then scribbled a few times in a flamboyant manner, and a signature that was so realistic that it could be mistaken for a fake appeared on the paper.

"Wow!" I exclaimed sincerely, holding the test paper. "As expected of a painting major, even your signature is so artistic!"

Lu Xingye ignored my flattery and just spread out new drawing paper and dipped it in paint.

I put away the test paper embarrassedly and was about to find an excuse to slip away.

He suddenly said, "I received the admission letter from China and the United States yesterday."

"China-US?" I exclaimed. This is the country's leading art school.

This guy Lu Xingye has quietly obtained admission letters from both China and the United States.

I was so happy for him that I slapped him on the back in a fit of excitement, sending him stumbling forward. "You're so awesome!"

He rubbed his shoulders and turned back to glare at me, "Lin Nian, can't you be a little more ladylike?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," I quickly reached out to rub his skin, "I'm just so happy for you!"

I jumped up and down in excitement, then leaned in closer and asked, "For such a big happy event, we must have a farewell party! Invite Lulu and Jiang Yuanzhou!"

Lu Xingye lowered his head and said in a muffled voice, "No need."

"Why?" I blinked, not quite understanding.

"That's all you need to know," he said casually. "Okay, go back. I need to paint."

"Oh..." I touched my nose embarrassedly.

The studio suddenly became quiet, with only the rustling sound of the brush rubbing against the paper.

I stared at his cuffs stained with acrylic paint. Outside the window, I could hear the whistle of a physical education class in the distant playground. Through the glass, it seemed blurry and unreal.

The joy I had just felt slowly subsided, and an indescribable melancholy emerged.

I suddenly realized that the college entrance examination was really coming soon.

It seems that we, a group of people who have been hanging out together since childhood, are really going to board different trains and head towards completely different futures.