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As the new semester begins, a large number of new students have flooded into the campus of the university. Every road is crowded with people, some dragging their luggage, others taking pictures, all full of energy and vitality.
Senior students, wearing matching armbands, acted as temporary volunteers, guiding new students through the enrollment process.
"Excuse me, what department are you in? Do you need any help?"
Under a tree by the roadside, the girl who had been looking down at her phone looked up, gave the person a slight smile, and said, "No need, thank you, senior. I'm from the Flight Design Department, and I'm waiting for someone."
The boy exclaimed "Wow!" and scratched his head. "This junior is amazing."
He ran back to his post, and a classmate next to him asked curiously, "What department is that pretty girl in?"
"Aircraft design!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a chorus of "Wow!" erupted.
The School of Aeronautical Science and Engineering contains the most prestigious disciplines in the university, and the entrance scores are all incredibly high.
"She's also a top student!"
Just then, an excited voice came from afar, "Xiao Yan!"
The girl under the tree looked up again, her smile widening, and waved to the person running towards her, "Senior Lin!"
Lin Yuhang ran up to her, pounded his chest, and gasped for breath. "Oops, I tripped over the professor! I was so worried! Did you keep me waiting? Hey, where's your luggage?"
"I left it at the school gate. I can pick it up after I finish these tasks." The girl waved her campus card in her hand.
Lin Yuhang reached out: "Let me see, wow! They really changed the name, that's great!"
Song Qingyan's smiling face matched the photo on her school ID card. Her lips were slightly upturned, and two dimples were faintly visible on her cheeks. Her eyes were bright and clear, and she looked youthful and beautiful.
"Is your mom so angry that she didn't come to see you off?"
"It's okay, I can do it myself."
Repeating a grade, changing her name, or going out to work—each of these options hit Wang Xiangmei's sore spots.
Song Qingyan has made peace with herself, but her mother has not yet forgiven her for her "betrayal".
At least on the surface.
Lin Yuhang handed the student ID back to her, then patted his chest to assure her, "It's okay! Here, your senior will protect you!"
"Okay." Song Qingyan smiled and winked, saying mischievously, "I've been waiting for you to say that, senior."
Lin Yuhang clutched his chest in shock, "Damn, the way you're talking and acting right now is as sinister as a monsoon!"
Suddenly, the topic of monsoons came up, and Lin Yuhang, as if his tail had been stepped on, jumped up and said:
"Let's go, let's take a walk around the campus."
Song Qingyan nodded, took a step, and the clear sound of bells followed closely behind.
Lin Yuhang glanced down casually, pointed curiously at the little red charm on her bag, and couldn't help but say, "What a coincidence, Ji Feng has one too."
"Yes, he gave it to me." Song Qingyan didn't hide it.
"Really? I accompanied him up 999 steps to buy this stuff..." Lin Yuhang slapped his forehead, "But that's not right either, he didn't even know you back then."
Song Qingyan held up the sachet, still somewhat confused, and asked, "He... said he wanted to give me a wish, what wish?"
Lin Yuhang was taken aback, then looked at Song Qingyan's face and said, "I...I guess, at that time he probably already knew that his condition was serious. The wish of a seriously ill person is probably that..."
He rubbed his face vigorously, then suddenly said in a bitter tone, "Live on."
Song Qingyan was stunned for a moment.
It turns out that what he had always wanted to tell her was—to live on.
Lin Yuhang jumped up and down, waving his arms as if to break the tense atmosphere. "Hey, I knew it. He's not the kind of person who believes in this stuff. It's weird that he went to the temple for no reason, right?"
"Yes," Song Qingyan said softly.
He doesn't even believe it himself, yet he wants her to believe it; what a bad person he is.
"I get goosebumps just thinking about him." Lin Yuhang rubbed his arms and said, "Come on, let me take you for a walk around the campus! Our school is so beautiful!"
Song Qingyan had just nodded when Lin Yuhang's phone inappropriately started bouncing in his palm.
He answered the phone.
"Ah, now? I can't, I'm with someone right now."
"No, she's not my girlfriend, she's a junior from my university..."
The roar from the other end came through the microphone.
"Screw you, get back to the lab!"
Lin Yuhang and Song Qingyan looked at each other in bewilderment.
Song Qingyan was the first to come to her senses and said, "How about I wander around by myself for now, and I'll find Senior Lin if I need anything?"
"Oh, but you're not familiar with this?"
Song Qingyan looked into the distance through Lin Yuhang's side.
Under the shade of a tree, a tall, thin figure leaned against the trunk, hands in his pockets.
She said softly, "We're not exactly strangers; I've heard about it from someone before."
"Oh, okay." Lin Yuhang was also in a rush because of the phone call, so he had to stand her up at the last minute. "Then call me if you need anything, I'll treat you to dinner tonight!"
Lin Yuhang had only run a few steps when he suddenly turned back. "I almost forgot something. When you were wandering around Huishi Building, there was a time locker. Ji Feng left something for you there. The password is the time when you found the little seagull."
"Hehe, I was thinking that if you hadn't gotten into the Aviation University, wouldn't I have gotten off easy!" Lin Yuhang laughed and ran away waving his hand.
Song Qingyan blinked twice.
"What is that?"
The person next to him didn't answer, but pointed to the sculpture by the roadside and said, "This is the sculpture I told you about that grants all wishes and guarantees passing all exams. You can come here and touch it before your exams, but I suggest you study hard. Our department's professors are all formidable devils."
"Was it you who knocked out this little gap in front?" Song Qingyan reached out and touched the ledge, and couldn't help but laugh.
"Keep your voice down, the teacher doesn't know yet."
“Oh,” Song Qingyan mimicked his voice.
"This is an artificial lake, where several pairs of black swans live. One of the black swan couples had their eggs stolen, and now they are very aggressive towards people. Don't get too close when you're looking, or you might get pecked in the eyes."
“…Okay.” Song Qingyan stopped in her tracks and looked at the elegant swans swimming leisurely in the water.
That was close; she almost went closer to take a look.
"There's an apple orchard right across the street. In autumn, the trees will be laden with apples. If you like sour apples, you can keep an eye on them. Once they're ripe, your classmates will pick them all very quickly. There are a lot of stray cats near the orchard. If you want to feed them, you'll have to buy some good quality cat food. They've already been fed to the older students."
Song Qingyan smiled and said, "Okay."
"This East Square is also called the Aviation University Launching Platform. The School of Aeronautics, including the Flight Design Department and the Flight Motion Department, conducts experiments here. You can see a lot of fire-fighting equipment nearby, and the fire station is also located nearby."
“I remember this place; I’ve seen it in your videos.” Song Qingyan ran into the square.
Perhaps it was a coincidence, or perhaps it was luck.
The light today was just like the one in the videos she had watched.
Standing in the same spot, she grinned, revealing a bright smile.
Doesn't it look like your smile?
The boy didn't comment; he simply turned and headed to another attraction, dutifully acting as a tour guide.
Song Qingyan put away her smile and followed without complaint.
"The morning reading path leads to the library. It's hot in the summer, there are a lot of gnats in the fall, and it's very cold in the winter, so I don't really recommend sitting here to read."
Song Qingyan sat on the stone chair, looking around. "Would you sit here?"
"No, I'm usually on the basketball court next door."
Song Qingyan gripped the green wire mesh with her fingers, leaning her face forward as much as possible, carefully watching the athletes sweating profusely on the basketball court, imagining Ji Feng exercising inside.
On Muddy Island, Ji Feng was always carefree, like a spineless person, always just leaning against something wherever he stood. She couldn't imagine him dribbling past people with agility, jumping up on the spot, and then shooting a brilliant three-pointer.
"There are more than 20 canteens of various sizes at the university. I often go to the East Canteen, not because it's particularly delicious, but because it's close to the campus and convenient to get there. There's a teriyaki chicken place on the second floor that's pretty good. Downstairs, I often eat sauerkraut stewed pork with vermicelli and sweet and sour pork rice bowl. If you're ordering by weight, don't order steamed egg tofu, it'll weigh you out, unless you really want to eat it."
Song Qingyan had teriyaki chicken rice for lunch, which was indeed delicious, but a bit too sweet for her. She'll try the sauerkraut stewed pork with vermicelli next time.
She finished her meal quickly and didn't dare to rest for too long, because while she was sitting there, several groups of enthusiastic upperclassmen asked her if she was a freshman and if she wanted to join the student union or clubs.
Leaving the canteen, I headed straight for the Aerospace Institute.
This is the place that the monsoon is most familiar with and where he spends the most time.
"The trophies and medals from the competitions will be displayed here. You can redeem them after graduating from university. There's also a photo wall here, filled with pictures taken during events organized by the college..."
Song Qingyan focused on finding Ji Feng inside.
Fortunately, he loves excitement, and five or six out of ten of the things in it are related to him.
She's popular and loves to have fun; the photos always show her laughing or playing around.
There's another really funny one: Ji Feng, wearing an apron and holding a plate of something pitch black, stands at the front with a sour face. Behind him, several classmates hold up a piece of paper with "0 points", "10 points for friendship", "-100 points", and "5 points for the chef" written on it.
Song Qingyan drew a picture on it with her finger in the air and whispered, "Friendship gets 100 points."
Several girls happened to come to the photo wall as well.
"Look, it's this senior. What a pity... He was specially recruited by our dean. I heard he's incredibly talented... He won an award in his freshman year..."
"No way, that's terrible! I haven't even seen the real person yet!"
Song Qingyan took a deep breath, quickly pursed her lips, and walked out.
Where is Hui Shi Building located?
She asked.
The boy did not answer her.
That's true, they hadn't mentioned Hui Shi Lou before.
Song Qingyan had no choice but to ask a passing student.
A girl with a round face waved her hand and said, "Sorry, I'm a freshman, I don't know."
"Have you ever heard of Hui Shi Building? Have you ever been there? Is it next to the Mechanical Engineering Building?"
"I don't know, I didn't even notice."
After asking several people, Song Qingyan finally caught up with a senior who knew the way.
"Huishi Building, it's a bit far from here. Take the Xiaobai bus up ahead and get off at the Materials Building stop. I can't give you exact directions, just ask around as you go."
Autumn arrives earlier in the north than in the south. The leaves shed their green coats and don red and yellow ones, swirling in the air with the north wind.
The little white dog, with its two openwork sides, happily dashed into the rain of golden and red leaves, just like a playful puppy.
Swish—swish—swish—
Fallen leaves flew by, roadside trees swayed, and countless students disappeared from sight.
"We've arrived at the materials building!" As soon as the driver rang the bell, Song Qingyan jumped onto the curb.
The bell on the canvas bag rang a few times, echoing the bell on the little white bus, as if saying goodbye.
Where is Hui Shi Building?
Song Qingyan searched and asked along the way, and finally found the inconspicuous little building after taking many detours.
At the back of the building, there is a row of cabinets that look like parcel lockers, with the compartments painted in various vibrant colors and covered with colorful stars.
There is a screen in the middle where you can input text.
A sentence was displayed on the screen.
"Hidden in the years, hidden for you, a gift for the future."
Below the text are two virtual buttons, one on the left and one on the right. The left button is for "dig out" and the right button is for "hide".
Song Qingyan clicked on the left, and a nine-square grid of numbers popped up on the page.
Remembering Lin Yuhang's words, she typed "20250801" into the input field.
With a "bang," the bottom cabinet door on her right popped open.
That was the largest cabinet.
Song Qingyan squatted down, tilted her head, and looked inside.
Long-awaited light peeked in through the open hole, reflecting a silvery glow off the metal.
The final life-size model of the engine that Jifeng made is lying quietly inside.
Inside the glass enclosure, besides the engine, there was a small sign welded to the base that read:
"The heart of a brave petrel."
—This is a gift for you.
There was no one around except Song Qingyan and it.
After a year apart, we met at the agreed-upon place.
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