frank

On June 7th, there was a huge crowd of people at the entrance of the examination hall.

Xu Zhiyi and his classmates gathered in the designated area. Xu Dongxing, wearing a red T-shirt, high-fived the students one by one.

"Keep calm, you'll be fine!" he said in a loud voice.

Before entering the examination room, Xu Zhiyi looked back among the crowd.

Strangely, she saw Song Chengrui at the first sight. He was standing not far away and gave her a thumbs up.

She also replied one.

The two days of exams flew by. When the bell rang for the final English exam, Xu Zhiyi breathed a sigh of relief.

When I walked out of the examination room, there was a noisy crowd outside.

Parents, teachers, and reporters were crowded together. She struggled to make her way through the crowd when someone suddenly grabbed her wrist.

It’s Song Chengrui.

"Follow me," he said, leading her out of the crowd.

They jogged across two streets and stopped in a secluded park.

The early summer wind rustled through the leaves of the sycamore trees.

"How did you do on the exam?" He let go of her hand, his breathing a little unstable.

"Not bad." Xu Zhiyi calmed his breathing. "How about you?"

"I'm fine too." Song Chengrui looked at her, "Can you answer me now?"

"Answer what?"

"What's your choice?" he asked. "Beijing University or Shanghai University?"

Xu Zhiyi took out the letter from the side pocket of her schoolbag: "I saw it."

Song Chengrui's ears turned slightly red: "Then..."

"I never thought about Shanghai University." Xu Zhiyi said softly, "From the beginning, it was Beijing University."

Song Chengrui's eyes lit up.

They stood in the early summer breeze and smiled at each other.

Not far away, students who had finished the college entrance examination were cheering on the street, and pieces of paper were floating down from the windows of the teaching building like a sudden snow.

"Xu Zhiyi." Song Chengrui looked at her seriously. "Let's have a good talk after the results come out, okay?"

She nodded. "Okay."

At this moment, she didn't want to think about possible changes in the future, the difficulties of long-distance relationships, or her parents' opinions.

She only knew that this boy had accompanied her through her most difficult time in his clumsy yet sincere way.

On the way back to school, Zhang Ningxia came over and asked, "Where did Song Chengrui take you just now?"

Xu Zhiyi looked at the street scene passing by outside the window and smiled: "Nothing, just a few words."

"You're lying." Zhang Ningxia snorted. "But never mind. The exam's over. You can do whatever you want."

The class dinner was scheduled for the evening. Xu Dongxing, despite his usual serious demeanor, took photos with each of the students.

Xu Zhiyi was dragged to take many photos, and it was already nine o'clock in the evening when it was finished.

Song Chengrui was waiting for her at the hotel entrance: "Send you home?"

Xu Wangping originally said he would come to pick her up, but she called and said no.

The June evening breeze was warm as they walked side by side on the sidewalk.

When passing by the school gate, I found that there were still many students gathered there. I don’t know who took the lead, but they started singing in unison.

"Keep running, with the pure pride of a child..." The out-of-tune singing was mixed with laughter and crying.

When he got to the downstairs of her house, Song Chengrui stopped and said, "Just send it here."

"Um."

"Before the results come out..." He paused, "Can I call you?"

"Sure." Xu Zhiyi said, "I'll go home tonight to get my phone."

His eyes curved: "Okay."

Xu Zhiyi turned and went upstairs. When she looked back at the corner of the stairs, he was still standing there, waving at her.

When she got home, her parents were still awake and sitting in the living room waiting for her.

The TV was on, but their attention was clearly not on the screen.

"Xiaoyi, how did you do in the exam?" Mother came up to him and asked with concern.

"I feel okay, performing normally." Xu Zhiyi tried his best to sound calm.

Xu Wangping looked at her, as if trying to find more emotions from her face, but finally just nodded: "Relax after the exam, don't think too much."

"Yeah." Xu Zhiyi responded, his eyes sweeping across the living room. "Dad, Mom, can you give me my phone back?"

During the summer vacation of her second year of high school, her cell phone was confiscated so that she could concentrate on her studies.

At this moment, she desperately needed to reconnect with the world that might be related to him.

Xu Wangping stood up and took out the long-lost mobile phone from the bedroom drawer. He handed it to her and reminded her, "You just finished the exam, so don't play too late."

"I know." Xu Zhiyi took the phone and almost ran back to his room.

She closed the door, leaned against it, and pressed the power button impatiently.

No response.

She patiently plugged in the power, turned over and over again, waiting for time to pass. This process was really painful.

Finally, the tens of seconds of waiting for the system to start up felt like a century.

The red numbers that suddenly appeared on the penguin icon continued to rise, and information from class groups, friend groups, private chats...came pouring in like an explosion.

She took a deep breath and opened the chat interface with Song Chengrui with trembling fingers.

The last message he sent me was words of encouragement a few days before the college entrance examination.

She hesitated, not knowing how to send her first message after the exam.

Should I ask first if you’ve arrived home, or should I just say I’m very happy today?

As I was hesitating, the phone screen suddenly lit up and a familiar avatar started jumping.

Song Chengrui: "Are we there yet?"

Two simple words dispelled all the fog of uncertainty.

Xu Zhiyi: "Yeah, just arrived."

Song Chengrui: "That's good."

After a few seconds of pause, his status bar showed that he was typing, over and over again.

Xu Zhiyi's heart also rose and fell with the prompt.

Finally, new news popped up.

"Actually, there's something I haven't told you yet."

Xu Zhiyi: "What's the matter?"

Ding Dong, another familiar anime dog head image popped up and sent a message.

"That's it."

Xu Zhiyi: “???”

Xu Zhiyi stared at the line of words on the screen, his fingers hovering over the keyboard, not knowing how to respond for a moment.

Song Chengrui's message popped up again: "That number is also mine."

Xu Zhiyi slowly sat down on the edge of the bed, and every detail of his three years of high school flashed through his mind.

It was him who drove the tank, the enthusiastic netizen who always played games with her late at night, listened to her complain about math problems, and complained about school with her.

She clicked on the information page of the person who was about to drive the tank, and then clicked on Song Chengrui's, and the information of the two accounts alternated in front of her eyes.

The avatar styles are very different, and the way of speaking is also deliberately distinguished, but thinking back now, that inexplicable sense of familiarity finally has an answer.

Xu Zhiyi: "When did it start?"

Song Chengrui: "That time you wanted to play games, I was afraid you would find out, so I used a small account."

She remembered that in order to relieve stress, she wanted to lock herself in the room and find someone to play games with her.

Xu Zhiyi: "Why don't you say it?"

Song Chengrui: "At first, I was afraid you'd be angry. Later... I just didn't know what to say."

All the warmth she thought came from strangers online actually came from him.

Xu Zhiyi: "How do you know that game account is mine?"

Song Chengrui: "Zhang Ningxia told me. I begged her for a long time."

Xu Zhiyi was stunned.

It turns out her best friend was also involved in this white lie.

Song Chengrui: "Are you angry?"

Xu Zhiyi didn't reply immediately. She went back to the bed and picked up her cell phone.

Xu Zhiyi: "So, you've always known that I play games, so you brought me some merchandise when you went to the comic convention, right?"

Song Chengrui: "Yeah."

Xu Zhiyi looked out the window and saw the city lights twinkling in the night.

She recalled the most difficult days, when a few short games every day became her only respite.

Once, she was in a bad mood because of her parents' quarrel and made many mistakes in the game. Instead of blaming her, L stood with her under the cherry blossom tree in the game scene and watched the petals fall in the virtual world.

"There are many beautiful things in reality," he said in the game dialog box. "Just hold on, and you'll see them."

Now that I think about it, that was his usual way of comforting myself.

Awkward and sincere.

Xu Zhiyi: "Why do you do this?"

This time, Song Chengrui's reply came quickly:

"Because I want to be with you, but I don't dare to disturb you."

"I know your dad is very strict, and you sometimes get really upset. I'm worried you're under too much pressure, and I'm really worried."

Xu Zhiyi's eyes warmed slightly. She thought back to those nights when she wanted to give up, but a voice in the game always said to her, "You've done great today."

It turns out it was all him.

Xu Zhiyi: "Where do you find so much time? You have to train, study, and..."

I also have to split myself into two to act with her.

Song Chengrui: "We can always squeeze in. Besides, playing games with you is relaxing for me."

She couldn't help laughing.

This is so untrue. Everyone knows that time in high school is precious.

Xu Zhiyi: "How long has Zhang Ningxia been keeping this a secret for you?"

Song Chengrui: "From the beginning until now. She scolded me several times, saying that what I did was wrong, but she couldn't change me."

Xu Zhiyi could imagine Zhang Ningxia scolding Song Chengrui while at the same time being soft-hearted and willing to help him.

Xu Zhiyi: "Who else knows?"

Song Chengrui: "No more."

She leaned against the headboard, her thoughts in a mess.

Being deceived didn't feel good, but when I thought about everything he had done silently over the past year, my anger gradually dissipated.

Xu Zhiyi: "I need to think about it."

Song Chengrui: "Okay. Whatever decision you make, I will accept it."

Xu Zhiyi exited the chat interface and opened the class group. The group was actively discussing tonight's dinner and upcoming holiday plans.

She found Zhang Ningxia's profile picture and sent a message:

"You and he lied to me together?"

Zhang Ningxia replied immediately: "He confessed?"

Xu Zhiyi: "Yeah."

Zhang Ningxia called immediately.

"Zhiyi, please listen to my explanation." Zhang Ningxia's voice was unusually nervous. "I know I shouldn't hide it from you, but seeing how worried he is about you, I can't bear to refuse."

Xu Zhiyi remained silent.

"At the beginning of your second year of high school, you were in a very bad mood, remember? You once told me that if you didn't have an online friend to talk to, you might not be able to hold on. At that time, I wondered if telling him the truth would make you even angrier, but continuing to hide it..."

"I'm not angry." Xu Zhiyi interrupted softly, "I just need time to digest it."

Zhang Ningxia breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good. In fact, Song Chengrui really likes you. He said he would confess to you in person, so..."

Xu Zhiyi held the phone tightly, and a sour warmth rose in his heart.

After hanging up the phone, she reopened the chat interface with Song Chengrui.

Song Chengrui: "I shouldn't have kept it from you. I'm sorry."

Xu Zhiyi looked at the three words and suddenly understood his true feelings.

She didn't care what method he used, what mattered to her was his consistent feelings.

Xu Zhiyi: "Song Chengrui, thank you."

"Thank you for your companionship this year, both in the open and in the dark."

This time, Song Chengrui's reply came quickly:

"So, can we still play games together? Using the main account."

Xu Zhiyi couldn't help laughing.

Outside the window, a bright moon hangs high in the sky, its light shining on the windowsill.

She remembered how he stood under the street light and waved to her when they parted downstairs just now.

Those game images are connected together to piece together a young man’s most sincere feelings.

Xu Zhiyi: "What does your account name mean? Does it have any meaning?"

Song Chengrui: "This is the name I came up with when I was playing a game with Chen Hao and the others. I thought it was very meaningful, so I kept it. What's yours? It's not Valley, so what's the meaning?"

Xu Zhiyi thought about it and suddenly felt that he was quite childish.

"Well, I'll tell you next time we meet."

Song Chengrui's message popped up: "Okay."

In the following days, the graduates who had deviated from the trajectory of their senior year were like dolls whose springs were suddenly released. After a brief period of extreme excitement, they fell into a subtle state of helplessness.

Checking the answers has become an irresistible and torturous activity for many people.

There are constant messages in the class group every day, with various versions of answers and scoring standards flying around.

Xu Zhiyi roughly reviewed it a few times and had a general idea in his mind, so he no longer got involved in the debates.

She and Song Chengrui tacitly avoided discussing the scores in detail, only occasionally sharing some interesting things after the exam, or talking about their vague aspirations for college life.

As expected, he called her as promised, sometimes in the afternoon, sometimes at night.

The topics were very trivial, ranging from what they had eaten today to which movie they had watched, or just listening to the slight electric sound on the other end of the phone while everyone was doing their own thing.

Silence is not awkward, but rather brings a sense of quiet peace.

Zhang Ningxia asked Xu Zhiyi to go shopping with her and couldn't wait to ask for details.

"Hurry up and tell me! What did he say to you when he pulled you away that day? Also, what's going on between you two now?" In the milk tea shop, Zhang Ningxia took a big sip of the milk tea, her eyes wide open.

Xu Zhiyi stirred the coconut in the cup, and couldn't help but smile: "Just... asked about the volunteers."

"Then what?"

"Then I said I was going to Jingbei."

"And then?" Zhang Ningxia pursued relentlessly.

"Then he said we could have a good talk after the results came out."

"That's it?" Zhang Ningxia looked disappointed. "Song Chengrui is so patient! He won't even confess his feelings?"

Xu Zhiyi smiled and said, "Let's wait until the results come out."

"Okay, okay, you two are really driving me crazy."

Zhang Ningxia curled her lips, then became excited again, "But you're all going to Beijing North, that's great! Unlike me, I'm going to a university in the south, so it will be hard to see you in the future."

The topic turned to separation and longing for the future, and the two girls chatted for a whole afternoon.

Xu Zhiyi also returned to his hometown to visit his grandparents.

Summer in the countryside is quiet and slow, and you can see a sky full of stars at night.

She sat in the yard, listening to the cicadas chirping and texting with Song Chengrui.

He photographed the moon in the city night sky, and she photographed fireflies in the countryside fields.

Distance does not seem to create any barriers, but instead makes every little sharing sweet.

During this period, Xu Wangping seemed to ask casually about the friends she had contacted recently.

Xu Zhiyi just answered perfunctorily. Her father looked at her, sighed, and didn't ask any more questions.

Her mother's attitude was much gentler, and she only reminded her that no matter what decision she made, she must protect herself.