graduate
The June breeze, carrying the scent of gardenias, blew in through the open window. Chen Yu stuffed his last professional book into the cardboard box, his fingertips tracing the already blurred notes on the spine—those were the key points Jiang Yizhou had marked for him during his freshman year. The handwriting was bold and bold, as bold as the man himself.
"What are you still hesitating about?" Jiang Yizhou's voice came from the door. He was holding a bulging cloth bag in his hand, and a light sweat was beading on his forehead. "The moving company's truck will be here in half an hour. Do you want to seal this box or not?"
Chen Yu looked up and saw a gardenia petal on the collar of his T-shirt. He couldn't help but smile: "Just picked it?"
"I picked it from the flower bed downstairs. I'll pin it on the box for you." Jiang Yizhou walked over and pulled out a photo frame from his cloth bag. Inside was a photo of the two of them taken on the playground during their sophomore year—Chen Yu was pinned to the lawn, Jiang Yizhou was riding on his back, making faces, and the basketball hoop in the background was crooked. "I almost forgot about this. You said you'd take it with you."
Chen Yu took the photo frame and brushed his fingertips over Jiang Yizhou's sun-burned face in the photo. He suddenly remembered the day of the graduation ceremony when this person spoke as a representative of the graduates and secretly mouthed to him on the stage: "Don't be distracted."
"Oh, right," Jiang Yizhou suddenly pulled something like a scroll from behind his back and unrolled it. It was a painting—the classroom where they'd first met. Sunlight streamed through the window, casting dapples of light on the desks. In the corner were two small figures, one working on a homework assignment, the other furtively watching him. "A friend in the art department drew this for you. They said it was a graduation present."
Chen Yu looked at the painting and suddenly laughed out loud: "It's really realistic, especially the way you looked when you peeked at me and got called on by the teacher."
"Hey," Jiang Yizhou scratched his head, "I'm worried you'd get bored sitting alone."
The moving company's horn blared downstairs. Jiang Yizhou bent down and picked up the heaviest cardboard box. "Let's go, let's go. If we don't leave now, we'll miss the farewell dinner tonight."
Shen Yu followed behind him, looked at his broad back, and suddenly called out: "Jiang Yizhou."
"Huh?" Jiang Yizhou turned around with confusion in his eyes.
"Happy graduation." Chen Yu said with a smile, holding the painting tightly in his hand, "Also, thank you."
Jiang Yizhou was stunned for a moment, then smiled, revealing his two small canine teeth: "Happy graduation, Chen Yu. And ah—" He moved closer and lowered his voice, "I have something to tell you at the farewell dinner tonight."
The fragrance of gardenias filled the wind, and the sharp edges of the cardboard box pricked my palms, but it didn't hurt at all. Chen Yu looked at Jiang Yizhou walking in front of him, and suddenly felt that graduation was not an end, but a new beginning - just like that summer when they met in the sound of cicadas, and now they were going to go further in the fragrance of flowers.
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