Chapter 48

For a long, long time.

Xia Zhiheng finally let her go and panted softly, "I promise, no matter what time it is, I will always be your number one fan. In the past, now, and in the future, it will never change."

Their foreheads touched, and Zhang Jusong laughed: "It's number two."

"Hmm?" Xia Zhiheng raised his eyebrows slightly, a little confused.

Zhang Jusong blinked and said, "Because my number one fan is myself."

She stood up, faced the sea, took a deep breath, and called out her own name in a trembling but clear voice:

"Zhang-Ju-Song, you are the best you, you have to believe it!"

The most hearty and refreshing shout startled a seagull, which flapped its wings and flew towards the vast ocean.

She was still immersed in the heartbeat of shouting, but Xia Zhiheng's voice of echo rang in her ears.

"I testify that Zhang Jusong is the best person in the world and deserves the best."

Zhang Jusong laughed so hard that he put his hands to his mouth and made a trumpet shape: "He's right!"

"Zhang Jusong, you must be fine!"

The silly shouting was like a storm, washing away all the depression in my heart.

She opened her arms and embraced the sea breeze for a while, then turned her head and said to Xia Zhiheng with a smile: "I've decided, I want to participate in the finals of the campus singing competition!"

All those rumors, get the hell out of here!

It's not her fault that she didn't grow up the way others expected her to.

She has grown up to be what she is now, let her do whatever she wants, as long as she is happy!

Since he had decided to go back to participate in the finals, when night fell, Zhang Jusong practiced the song for a long time in his room in the B&B.

As she sang, she became tired, so she lay down on the pillow and took a rest in a daze.

I was woken up by the rain.

The cold rain tapped against the glass window, and when she opened her eyes, she saw nothing but gray. Was it still dark? She wondered.

I looked at my phone and found that it was already nine o'clock. It was getting late.

She put on a coat, turned the round doorknob, and knocked on the door of the next room.

No one answered.

Strange, is Xia Zhiheng out?

Zhang Jusong walked downstairs in confusion. At the front desk, Xia Zhiheng was frowning and talking to the boss. When he saw her, his voice weakened: "...Okay, then please help me find out for a while."

He strode towards her and took her hand to test the temperature.

"It's a bit cold, why did you come out without socks?"

Zhang Jusong said: "It's fine, what are you talking about?"

Xia Zhiheng was about to answer when the rain outside became heavier. The green plants near the door were blown by the wind and hit the door, making a dull sound.

The boss took out a roll of tape from the front desk and started to stick a cross on the glass door.

Zhang Jusong exclaimed: "It's raining so heavily."

As soon as she finished speaking, she realized something was wrong. This is an island, and it is raining so heavily, how can the boat still get out?

She looked at Xia Zhiheng.

As if they were in sync, he sighed softly, "The boss just said that all the boats are temporarily stopped today."

"Then when will it open?" Zhang Jusong asked anxiously.

The boss who was grunting and applying tape over there interrupted and said, "It depends on the weather."

God, it seems like you are not giving me much face.

For two consecutive days, there were intermittent winds and rains, and the ferry was suspended for safety reasons.

Zhang Jusong gradually became unable to sit still and always stood in front of the glass window watching the rain.

She said to Xia Zhiheng: "The rain will eventually stop."

Finally, after a moment of silence, he added, "If I really can't catch up, there's nothing I can do. I'll just leave it as a little regret."

The rain continued to fall until the early morning of the final.

The owner of the B&B just received the news that a ferry might depart. Zhang Jusong and Xia Zhiheng immediately went to the ferry center to wait.

The pier was covered with drizzle and the sea breeze was blowing on my face, it was a bit cold.

But Xia Zhiheng always held her hand, so her palms were always warm.

After waiting anxiously, Zhang Jusong finally got the news that the ship was leaving. She breathed a sigh of relief, but the next second, the urging text message from the Art and Literature Department secretary made her anxious again.

"If we really can't make it, the original eleventh student C will be the substitute."

At seven o'clock in the evening, the final of the campus singing competition will begin.

Can we really catch up?

She was unsure either.

The ship docked and the car that had been contacted in advance connected seamlessly and headed straight to City A.

There was no rain in City A. Instead, a sky full of pink and purple sunset glow and a jam-packed avenue greeted her.

As the night deepened, the taillights of the cars outside the car window were clogged up, with countless red dots floating on them. Zhang Jusong looked down at the time, then glanced out the window at the convoy that had moved without anyone noticing, and gritted his teeth and said, "Zhiheng, I, I'll run first."

"I'll go with you." Xia Zhiheng opened the car door without question, took her hand and ran.

Running has never been Zhang Jusong’s thing. She already found it difficult to run 800 meters, but thinking about the competition, she insisted on running more than a kilometer.

I ran all the way, hurriedly, and when I arrived at the school auditorium, the host just announced: "Next, let us welcome student C to perform a song for us..."

Still didn't catch up.

She supported her knees with her hands, gasping for breath, and heard the first note of the accompaniment music of classmate C in the auditorium.

"Sister, are you... okay?" Xia Zhiheng asked worriedly.

Zhang Jusong shook his head: "Let me take it easy."

The imagined emotions of sadness, disappointment, etc. did not appear, only calmness.

As one of the grand events in the school, the Top Ten Campus Singers Competition is undoubtedly attractive to students. However, the seats in the auditorium are limited and not everyone can get a ticket.

A small number of students failed to get tickets, so they just wandered around outside the auditorium and enjoyed the musical atmosphere.

Zhang Jusong looked at the students wandering outside the venue and lowered his eyes thoughtfully.

She asked Xia Zhiheng: "Is your guitar still in the dormitory?"

"exist."

"Can you get it now?"

Xia Zhiheng was stunned, with a look of disbelief, but the next second, he suddenly laughed: "Okay, I'll get it right away, sister, wait for me for a while."

The stars in the night sky bear witness to the singing in the auditorium.

Student Li, who was strolling outside the venue, listened while distractedly watching the live broadcast of the venue on his mobile phone.

Suddenly, he heard another melody of music behind him and looked back in confusion.

In a small square not far away, a bright street lamp illuminated two slender figures. The girl's hair was a little messy, but she didn't care and stood in the brightest spot. The boy was holding a guitar and sitting casually on the stairs, plucking the strings with his fingertips, making pleasant sounds.

Xia Zhiheng tuned the strings and nodded to Zhang Jusong.

Zhang Jusong took a deep breath and said loudly: "Dear students, I'm sorry to bother you."

"I have a song that I've been practicing for a long time, and I want to sing it for everyone. Um... mainly I want to sing it for myself, so I'll take up one of your songs. If you like it, listen to it. If you don't like it, you can leave. Okay, I'm going to start singing."

After saying a long string of words, she closed her eyes, and she seemed to see her former little self sitting in the audience, with a smile and anticipation on her face.

The melody of the guitar leaped, she closed her eyes, smiled and began to sing. It was the song "To My Future Self" that she had practiced many times.

"The night is covered with a brilliant sea of ​​lights

How many people, how many kinds of helplessness

Forget yesterday's hurt in the starlight

Waking up with expectations

I don't give up the courage to love

I don't doubt there will be sincerity

I want to hold the most beautiful dream

To my future self"

Is anyone listening? Maybe, maybe not, but she doesn't care.

Anyway, she sang the song she had always wanted to sing, and she sang it happily and joyfully.

That's enough.

Just keep singing like this, whether it is summer or winter, as long as the singing is there, it is enough.

"The world has kissed my soul with its pain, asking for its return in songs."

—— End ——

To every shining you: Your existence itself is a unique miracle in this universe. No matter you are at the peak or at the low point, don’t forget to love yourself.

Summer is over, and the story of Juxia has also come to an end. Thank you for spending this summer with Zhang Jusong and Xia Zhiheng.

May your long summer never fade.