Chapter 24
When Jiang Wan came out of the bathroom after washing her hands, Lu Jiyu was leaning against the wall in the corridor, his head down, texting with one hand, and in the other hand he was holding her unfinished milk tea and bag. The corridor lights made his figure look handsome and neat. When he stood quietly somewhere, the sense of alienation on him was always so strong that it was hard to shake it off. Jiang Wan had just taken two steps when he seemed to have sensed her. He looked up and glanced at her hastily, then put his phone back in his pocket: "Are you leaving?" He handed the milk tea to Jiang Wan, then walked ahead carrying her black schoolbag.
"Aren't you going to have dinner with your friends?" Jiang Guan shook the milk tea in his hand and walked half a body length behind him.
Lu Jiyu reached out and pushed open the door to the corridor for her, looking at her with drooping eyebrows. Jiang Wan was thinking about dinner with Li Wan in the evening. Otherwise, if she had just looked up at that time, she would have noticed that Lu Jiyu's eyes were different from usual, with a hint of hesitation. "They have something else to do, so I'll send you down first and come back later."
Lu Jiyu thought you'd better not ask me what it was, because he was too lazy to make up a story.
Fortunately, Jiang Wan wasn't really curious about the matter, and stopped talking halfway through. It was just after six o'clock, and the light outside was still bright. Lu Jiyu ordered a coffee, but Jiang Wan declined it in favor of the milk tea Zhou Zifang and the others had given her. With more than an hour left until their scheduled time, Jiang Wan and Li Wan sat on an outdoor bench at the Starbucks on the first floor of the mall, chatting casually.
The weather in Nanyuan in May is incredibly different, so much so that you can practically experience all four seasons in just 24 hours. Yesterday, it was pouring rain and temperatures were in the teens, but today, the temperature has soared to over 30 degrees Celsius, so sweltering that even dogs were slumped against the entrance of a shopping mall, gasping for air. So, May is also a time for unconventional dressing, with down vests and backless maxi dresses alike. And with a shopping mall every ten steps in this area, it really gives people the freedom to be uninhibited.
The evening breeze felt sticky against his body, like a lingering, lingering emotion from last summer's lingering evening breeze. Lu Jiyu couldn't help but wonder what he'd been doing at this time last year. The green grass, drenched by the downpour, shimmered in the distant noon. Playing ball and doing homework were daily compulsory lessons, with occasional banter with teachers and classmates. He'd wake bleary-eyed from the empty classroom, and the early summer breeze would slowly drift in from the empty construction site in the distance, lifting the gray-blue curtains at the classroom's back window, and then he'd drift off into the next midsummer.
The days repeat themselves. Then the admission results come out.
He wasn't as excited as he'd expected. Everything was proceeding slowly, just as he'd envisioned. Only when things stopped occasionally did he inevitably feel a bit empty inside.
He has so much happiness and pride, but sometimes when he turns around to share it, he turns back to his usual arrogant and jerkish look when the words are on the tip of his tongue.
Lu Jiyu sat up straight, opened the lid of the coffee cup, sprinkled two packets of brown sugar, stirred it twice with a stirring stick, then wrapped the used stirring stick with a paper towel and put it aside to be thrown away later.
It was rare for Jiang Wan to see him with such an upright posture. The entire line from the back of his neck down along his spine was straightened due to the force, which reminded her of the fir forest in winter. They had endured the heavy snow all night, and when the first ray of bright sunshine slowly ignited from the plain behind the mountains, the snow and frost of the night were like the best merit. The rows of tall and straight fir trees bathed in the brilliant golden sun, like a raging fire, burning with a determination that could not be stopped by the vast ice and snow.
"Now you're watching openly instead of secretly filming?" Lu Jiyu held the stirring stick wrapped in a tissue in his hand and tapped the glass tabletop twice in a serious manner. He didn't even glance at Jiang Wan.
"It costs 5,000 to add WeChat, so how much is it to take a look?" Jiang Wan continued the conversation along with his topic.
Lu Jiyu leaned back in the chair, half-smiling, one foot propped up on a chair leg, the other leg lazily stretched under the table: "Are you really going to give it to me?" Leng Bai hooked his fingers on the paper cup and tapped it aimlessly. After saying the last word, he slowly raised his eyelids and looked at Jiang Wan, his clear pupils filled with endless emotions.
Jiang Wan wasn't fooled: "Didn't your Chinese teacher tell you that the best things in the world are free?"
"My friend, you need to open up your mind."
"Also, what Zhou Zifang just said turned out to be true? It costs 5,000 to add you on WeChat? So how many people did you add on WeChat in the end?"
Lu Jiyu tried to drink the coffee that had been cold for a while, but it was still hotter than he had imagined. Zhou Zifang was right, he was like a cat's tongue, he couldn't eat anything hot. He looked at Jiang Wan speechlessly: "Do you really think I'm doing this for money?"
"So you just want to reject them? But if there is really someone willing to pay the 5,000, will you add her on WeChat?" This is what Jiang Wangang has always been curious about.
"No," Lu Jiyu answered without hesitation. He had a strong sense of boundaries and didn't like it when strangers could contact him via WeChat at any time. When he was still living at Lu Lin's house, he'd always used his home phone number when leaving contact information.
Lu Jiyu didn't care about his reputation as a money-grubber. It would be best if they truly felt that way. That way, they wouldn't lose anything. However, if they persisted, he wouldn't be polite. He was a high-ranking scholar, and a few casual words would be enough to make them unbearable.
But now that he met Jiang Wan, he finally suffered the pain of meeting a worthy opponent.
Jiang Wan looked at Lu Jiyu and suddenly nodded, with an expression of sympathy on his face as if saying "I understand, I understand everything."
What do you know? You know best.
Lu Jiyu reluctantly took two more sips of his coffee. He'd heard from his friend about Jiang Wan's popularity at Jiayuan before he even met her. She'd made a splash at the time of admission simply for her looks, but then, once the grades and rankings came out, the scene of sending love letters to Jiang Wan was a veritable scramble. Everyone in this world understood that top high schools like Jiayuan and Experimental No. 1 High School housed the city's top students, and those high achievers were human too, wanting to be in love.
A few days ago, Zhou Zifang had suggested that he find someone to help him find out about Jiang Wan, but Lu Jiyu didn't think it was necessary. He followed his first instinct. If he liked someone, he would definitely like the feeling he had when he was with her. As for the seemingly plausible rumors, they were completely unnecessary to him.
"Control your expression." Lu Jiyu took the tissue from under the cup and handed it to Jiang Wan, looking at her teasingly: "The milk tea splashed all over your face."
"Really?" Jiang Wan took the tissue and wiped his face twice without any doubt before realizing that he had been fooled.
Seeing her rare naiveté, Lu Jiyu couldn't help but lower his head and curl the corners of his mouth before raising his head. His handsome eyebrows were slightly twisted, and there was still some lingering pride in his eyes. The setting sun scattered on his black hair, and countless shining points of light jumped up.
Jiang Wan crumpled up the tissue she'd just wiped herself with and placed it on the table. Inexplicably, Chen Wulin's overly stern and cold face flashed before her eyes. He was clearly the same age as the person before her, but Jiang Wan had never seen such an unconventional and carefree expression on Chen Wulin's face. He was like a deep, snow-capped mountain year-round, always giving off a feeling of being trapped and unable to recover.
"Why did you come back suddenly?" Lu Jiyu picked up the paper ball, weighed it in his hand, then put it back into his pocket and asked casually.
Jiang Wan came back to his senses: "It's my mom's birthday, and I came here to order a cake. I searched for a long time, and only one cake shop in the Financial Building has it in stock, and they can also deliver it to my door."
"I didn't expect to run into your Shura field. What did you do to that boy?" No other emotions could be seen in Jiang Wan's bright eyes.
Lu Jiyu was looking down at several videos her homeroom teacher had just sent him. He turned the volume down to a moderate level and casually opened a few of them for a quick glance. Then he shoved his phone back into his pocket. When he looked up, someone was staring at him with undisguised eyes.
There was that oppressive gaze again.
"Nothing." He coughed weakly, "Maybe she's jealous of my handsomeness."
Lu Jiyu originally thought Jiang Wan would think he was talking nonsense, but unexpectedly, the other party nodded in agreement: "I understand. People like us are born to endure some unkindness from others."
She understood again.
But Jiang Wan was really overacting, and Lu Jiyu couldn't help but remind her: "That's enough."
"That's called empathy." Then Jiang Wan pointed at his phone and suddenly asked, "Are you watching the graduation video?"
She had just remembered this when she saw Lu Jiyu clicking on a video. A few days ago, her homeroom teacher had asked her on WeChat if she had time to create a graduation photo album, hoping to show it to her classmates before the college entrance exams, as a way to cheer them up. Jiang Wan had been the arts committee member in her class, responsible for organizing all sorts of cultural and artistic activities in the school. She readily agreed to her homeroom teacher's request.
But it's a promise.
How to do it was another daunting question. She searched online for similar videos and discovered that regardless of the subject matter or content, they all shared a common theme: they were all incredibly moving. Tears welled up in her eyes, she felt thrilled, and it was a desperate struggle.
Jiang Wan's temperament obviously lacks the passion.
"I've seen the farewell video you filmed for your teacher in the third year of junior high. My friend said that many people cried after watching it." She went straight to the point.
Lu Jiyu fiddled with the coffee cup, thinking, what about you? Have you ever been moved by someone?
"Then, our homeroom teacher recently asked me to help make a video for the class pep rally before the exam."
"I have absolutely no idea." Jiang Wan said this and then suddenly changed his mind: "Actually, I'm not completely clueless. I tried to make one myself. But I don't think it's very good. Can you help me take a look when you have time?"
Lu Jiyu looked up at her and replied simply: "Okay, but I'm not an expert at this, so I can't necessarily give you any useful advice."
Seeing that he was willing to help, Jiang Wan no longer cared about his modesty. She unlocked her phone, opened the most recent video in the album and handed it to Lu Jiyu.
Jiang Wan's phone was covered in a simple, transparent case. Most people bought these cases to DIY and put pictures of their favorite celebrities or notes with greetings, but Jiang Wan was more straightforward and simply pressed a pink Mao Zedong note inside the case.
This is a blatant desire for wealth.
"How's it?" Jiang Wan's video wasn't long; including the opening and closing credits, it only lasted two and a half minutes. The content, naturally, consisted of classic scenes and lines she'd cut from various videos. Honestly, after finishing the video, Jiang Wan was quite satisfied at first glance, but the more she watched, the more it felt off.
This feeling is very similar to the helplessness and not knowing how to repent when writing an off-topic essay in a Chinese language exam.
Lu Jiyu read it carefully without putting down his phone. His facial expression paused for a few seconds, as if he was thinking about how to start.
Seeing this, Jiang Wan asked, "Is it that bad?"
"No, it's actually quite exciting." Lu Jiyu pinched the end of the phone with his two slender fingers and handed the phone back to Jiang Wan.
"But there is a small problem." He raised his eyelids and looked directly at the person in front of him: "The materials you selected are very good. The editing and transition of the video are very natural, including the progression of emotions." It is obvious that all of this has been carefully selected. I don't think he can achieve this level of achievement in such a video.
but.
Jiang Wan was waiting for him to ask the most important question.
"Your video is probably aimed at your classmates. Don't you think it would be more touching and resonate with people if the material in the video was about your classmates' study and life?"
There are countless emotions in this world that can move people. You have your grand, surging waves, and I have my steady, long-lasting flow. Lu Jiyu's approach has always been to choose the right emotion for the right situation.
"But?" This really puzzled Jiang Wan. She had never really liked taking photos. During her three years of high school, apart from being close to Chen Meiyun and her deskmate, she was basically just a casual acquaintance with the rest of the class, and they only interacted a little more during school activities.
Lu Jiyu immediately saw her dilemma: "If there is no material—"
Jiang Wan thought he was going to say, "Then don't force it."
“Then you can create material.”
Jiang Wan was stunned again. Lu Jiyu felt that she had been in a daze too many times today. Shedding that cold, indifferent exterior for a moment, it seemed as if this was the real her. Innocent, romantic, and unworldly, she was therefore fearless and unstoppable.
The cup of coffee on the table had completely gone cold. Lu Jiyu raised his eyes and smiled, "Classmate, you haven't graduated yet. If you really want to find some material, you can find time to go to school and shoot."
"This is not only their three years of youth, but also yours, Jiang Wan."
“But I don’t know what to record.”
“No need to record it specifically.”
"You have to know that the best things always come when you least expect them." He glanced at Jiang Wan casually when he said this, and Jiang Wan happened to be looking at him, which made him see a bit of guilt.
Lu Jiyu lazily lowered his head again, picked up his phone, and turned on the camera function: "Just start recording." He raised his thin and slender forearm and turned sideways to face the round, golden sunset between the tall buildings not far away. Just as he was about to press the camera button, a click sound suddenly came from behind him.
Like a ripe watermelon in summer, it bursts naturally.
Lu Jiyu turned back in surprise, and then there was another snap. Bathed in the golden heat, the young man flowed and scorched, captured in the tail end of that early summer.
Jiang Wan lowered his head and looked carefully at the photo he had just taken on his phone. After a moment, he nodded approvingly: "As expected of the WeChat owner who offered 5,000 yuan."
Lu Jiyu sighed, his eyes bright as a starry night, gently suppressing the waves of palpitations in his heart.
Why do you keep bringing this up?
Anyway, whether it’s 5,000 or even less, you won’t add it.
The result is the next sentence.
Jiang Wan: "Can we add WeChat first?"
After saying that, she switched her phone to the QR code interface and handed it to Lu Jiyu.
As a result, just when I stretched out my hand halfway, the screen suddenly showed that a phone call was coming in.
The constantly jumping caller ID was reminding him - Chen Wulin.
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