His wish was for her.

As the long break was about to end, students outside the teaching building were gradually walking into their classrooms. Wen Sheng, Li Qingmiao, and Zhang Qin chatted and laughed as they returned to their seats.

Wen Sheng first looked up at the timetable copied on the blackboard. The next class was math. In case it was another quiz, she quickly went through the knowledge points of trigonometric functions and solid geometry in her mind. Her hand was already reaching for the drawer, ready to take out the draft paper.

Just then, her eyes caught sight of the windowsill next to her, and she froze.

There sat a White Rabbit candy quietly, its white wrapper reflecting the sunlight, making it stand out against the mottled marks of an old wooden windowsill.

Wen Sheng subconsciously looked around. Her classmates were all looking down at their books and no one noticed her. She immediately reached out and put the candy into her pocket.

This was a code, a code that only the two of them understood.

The math teacher hadn't come in yet, and the relaxed atmosphere in the classroom allowed people to chat casually.

Just then, a steady footstep sounded in the corridor, growing closer and closer. The classroom, which had been filled with conversation, immediately fell silent, and everyone reflexively sat up straight.

The door clicked open, and the math teacher walked in, carrying a stack of test papers. His gaze swept over the class, and he spoke succinctly:

"A short math quiz."

A chorus of suppressed sighs filled the classroom. The math teacher, however, was quite pleased. A barely perceptible smile curved his lips as he slammed the test paper down on the podium and said in a deep voice, "Quiet. Complaining solves nothing."

He handed the test paper to the students in the first row: "Pass it on."

Wen Sheng received the test paper and quickly glanced at the questions. The first two multiple-choice questions tested the properties of functions, and there was a simplification and proof of trigonometric functions in the fill-in-the-blank questions. The last big question was a comprehensive problem on solid geometry and spatial vectors.

Thankfully, the quiz wasn't too difficult.

A student in the front row couldn't help but mutter a complaint: "It's only the first day of school, and the test is already this hard..."

The math teacher tapped on the desk and said calmly, "Anyone who finds it difficult can write their name on the paper and hand in a blank one, but the grade will still be recorded."

On the first day of school, Class 1 of Grade 1 spent almost all their time in a sea of ​​questions and a tense atmosphere. They took quizzes on every subject, with Chinese, foreign language and mathematics taking turns. Even the physics teacher, who didn't have any classes, temporarily picked out a few mechanics questions to test everyone, making everyone complain.

Wen Sheng didn't find it too difficult. She maintained a steady and fast pace in answering the questions. However, towards the end, she couldn't help but raise her hand to rub her temples. It wasn't because of the questions, but because the continuous exams from morning till night were making it hard to breathe.

She touched the candy in her pocket, glanced at the clock on the wall, and realized it was almost time for get out of class to end. She was about to pack up her things and tell Li Qingmiao and the others that she wouldn't be going to dinner with them.

However, just as she stood up, Du Sulan walked in, pushed up her glasses, and her gaze fell precisely on her.

"You, come to my office."

"Go quickly," Zhang Qin whispered a reminder from the side.

Wen Sheng nodded, gently pushed the chair back under the table, trying not to make a sound, and followed Du Sulan out of the classroom.

The Chinese language teaching group office was on the second floor. As Wen Sheng went upstairs, she kept wondering: Was there a mistake in the test paper, or did the essay topic displease the teacher?

When I walked to the second-floor corridor, I happened to pass by the Grade 11 (1) class. The classroom had not yet finished self-study. Xu Jianing was leaning on his arm, casually flipping through a book in a lazy posture.

Just as Wen Sheng passed by the window, he seemed to sense something, slowly raised his eyes, and his gaze met hers, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes.

Wen Sheng first pointed to Du Sulan in front of her, then pointed to herself, and gently shook her head, as if to say that she could not keep the appointment on time.

His eyes darkened slightly, and he raised his chin to indicate that he understood. Only after the other person had completely walked away did he lower his head and continue reading.

Wen Sheng followed Du Sulan into the office. There weren't many people inside. Du Sulan went straight to her desk, pulled out a test paper from the pile, and gestured for Wen Sheng to sit down in the chair next to her.

Wen Sheng sat down obediently, her fingers on her knees, her hands unconsciously clenched on her knees, trying to appear calm: "Teacher, what is the reason you wanted to see me?"

"I've read your essay."

"The title is 'Youth and Responsibility.'" Du Sulan pushed up her glasses, her voice cold. "Your writing is quite good, but I don't understand why you talk about 'letting girls study' throughout the entire piece, instead of 'youth should serve the country' or 'serve the people'? Don't you think your perspective is too narrow? Youth should shoulder greater responsibilities."

Wen Sheng took a deep breath, raised her eyes and looked directly at her: "Teacher Du, I don't think there's anything wrong with this."

Du Sulan sneered: "No problem? The responsibility of young people is to aspire to serve the country, to serve society and the people, not to be limited to trivial matters like 'letting girls go to school' as you say. You think your writing is novel, but in fact your vision is narrow and you don't see the entire people."

“Teacher, the essay topic is ‘My Responsibility as a Youth,’ so I will write about ‘My Responsibility.’ The future of the country requires that half of the population also have the ability to learn and contribute. Enabling more girls to study is not something that conflicts with serving the country, but rather a part of serving the country.”

"That's enough. You either write it according to my requirements, or you're prepared to have your essay score dragged down."

"Why is a girl always thinking about those things?"

The air in the office suddenly froze. Several teachers who were grading papers stopped writing, looked up at each other, and glanced back and forth between the teachers and students as if watching a spectacle.

Du Sulan said no more, took out the corrected essay paper, placed it heavily on the table, and gestured for her to take it herself. "Next time, I hope you can write an essay that is more in line with the overall situation."

Wen Sheng took a deep breath, and finally just lowered her eyes, politely accepting her test paper. "I understand, Teacher Du."

After saying that, she turned and walked out of the office.

The moment I pushed open the door, a breeze from the corridor rushed in, much cooler than in the office, and I felt a sense of freedom in comparison.

As I walked down the stairs and out of the teaching building, the sunset was painting the sky with seven colors. The lower clouds were outlined with gold by the setting sun, and the clouds were tinged with light blue, pink and purple, like the luster of a polished mother-of-pearl shell, truly revealing their colors.

Wen Sheng stared in a daze at the sea of ​​clouds. It was so beautiful...

So rainbows can be hidden in the clouds?

She reached into her pocket, found the White Rabbit milk candy, squeezed it, then unwrapped it and put it in her mouth. The milky aroma and sweetness melted on her tongue.

The moment the sweetness spread, she suddenly felt a lump in her throat, and a thought flashed through her mind: Was she really just shouting slogans, as Du Sulan had said? In the teacher's eyes, such an essay was nothing more than "too narrow-minded"; in the eyes of her classmates, perhaps they would only find it strange.

Just as Wen Sheng was lost in self-doubt with her head down, a voice suddenly came from behind her and said:

Make a wish.

She turned around and saw Xu Jianing standing not far away, walking towards her against the backdrop of the sunset, and taking the test paper that was shockingly marked with red pen from her arms.

Wen Sheng quickly reached out to snatch it back: "Give it back to me!"

Xu Jianing glanced down at the essay but didn't look at it immediately. Instead, she stopped at the novel reading comprehension section of the exam paper. "The original text of this novel is very good. You can borrow it from a bookstall. I recommend you read it."

He casually flipped through a couple of pages, his brow furrowing slightly: "You answered these questions quite well, and your classical Chinese translation was faithful, expressive, and elegant. So why did your teacher call you to his office alone?"

"Take a look at the essays at the back."

Xu Jianing flipped to the essay section at the back, where Du Sulan had written comments in red pen at the top: "The theme is narrow and the scope is insufficient. It should be elevated to the patriotism that young people should have."

He patiently and attentively read the essay from beginning to end. The setting sun shone obliquely on his profile, the light outlining the clear contours of his brow bone and nose, making his expression look more serious than usual.

Wen Sheng stood to the side, feeling extremely nervous. She knew every single word of the essay, but as he read it, she had the illusion of being scrutinized.

He didn't look up until he finished reading the last word, and said earnestly, "You wrote very well."

"The argument is very clear and the structure is complete. You started by writing about the girl around you, using a specific predicament to present the problem, then connected it to a larger social significance, and finally brought it back to 'youth responsibility' itself. You shouldn't have gotten such a low score."

Wen Sheng pursed her lips and whispered, "But the teacher said my point of view was not strong enough. I only wrote about girls' opportunities to study, without expanding the scope to the country and the nation, and without considering men. She said I was just shouting slogans."

“But a nation is made up of individual people. When you write about girls, you are including the voices that are most easily overlooked. This is also your responsibility as a young person, and there is nothing wrong with that.”

Xu Jianing handed the test paper back to her and said calmly, "As for what the teacher said about 'empty slogans,' he wasn't wrong."

Wen Sheng's eyes widened, tears welling up in them. "Really...?"

When Xu Jianing saw the tears welling up in her eyes, his previously indifferent expression faltered slightly. Reason told him that he shouldn't do anything unnecessary, but his hand still subconsciously rose up and gently wiped away the tears on her cheeks with his fingertips.

"It's true."

"Because we are still students, we don't have the ability to earn money, nor do we have the power to change anything. No matter how big or loud our words are, they are just slogans."

“But Wen Sheng, you’re different.” Xu Jianing’s fingertip lingered on her cheek, reluctant to let go.

"Once you have the ability to make money, you will definitely turn what you write down today into reality, with the auspicious seven-colored clouds in the sky as witness."

As soon as she finished speaking, tears welled up in Wen Sheng's eyes and slid down her cheeks. She lowered her head, her shoulders trembling slightly.

Xu Jianing panicked instantly, his hand frozen in mid-air, wanting to pull it back but unwilling to. He had never seen her like this before, and he stammered, "Don't cry, I... I mean you can definitely make your dream come true."

Wen Sheng sniffed, choked back tears, and looked up, tears still glistening in the corners of her eyes. "Do you still have any milk candy?"

Xu Jianing paused for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh out loud. She took out the same White Rabbit candy from her pocket and held it out to her: "I have them all, they're all for you."

"I hope that when I see the auspicious seven-colored clouds again, I can fulfill my slogan." Wen Sheng murmured softly, clasped her hands together, and made a wish on the layers of auspicious seven-colored clouds on the horizon, with a White Rabbit milk candy in her palm.

Yes, I will.

Xu Jianing also looked up at the clouds in the sky. What he didn't say was that no matter if the auspicious seven-colored clouds would come again, he would stay with her and fulfill all her wishes.

His wish was for her.