Chapter 2
The next day, Sang Sui woke up at six in the morning. She was used to the schedule of Linchuan High School and couldn't fall back asleep at this time.
She tiptoed out of the room; the house was so quiet that the ticking of the living room clock could be heard.
After a quick wash, Sang Sui took out toast and milk from the refrigerator and, just like Tan Huiyu had done yesterday, put the toast into the toaster. The toast smelled wonderfully toasted. She scooped a large spoonful of peanut butter onto it and heated up a cup of milk. This was her second breakfast in Rongcheng, just like yesterday.
She ate in small bites, the peanut butter sticking to the roof of her mouth, the toast a little dry, but she still finished it; she wasn't used to wasting food.
At 7:30, the family members gradually woke up. Sang Zhiyuan ate a simple boiled egg and prepared to leave with Sang Chi. Sang Chi was wearing a brand-new school uniform, with his schoolbag slung across his shoulder, looking like he hadn't woken up yet.
“Dad,” Sang Sui stood up and called out.
While changing his shoes, Sang Zhiyuan said, "Go to the mall with your mom today to buy some clothes. Go to school tomorrow. I've already told the teacher."
Sang Chi glanced at her, said nothing, and went out the door first.
Sang Sui responded with an "Mm," sat back down, and the security door clicked shut. She calmly cleared the table, then turned around and saw Tan Huiyu wearing a face mask as she went into the bathroom. A few minutes later, when Tan Huiyu came out, the face mask was gone.
Sang Sui put the bowls and chopsticks into the kitchen, came out and looked at Tan Huiyu, "Mom, I baked some toast."
Tan Huiyu nodded, went into the kitchen, took out a piece of toast, took a bite, and her delicate eyebrows furrowed. "You toasted this way too much, how can I eat it?"
"I set the temperature a bit too high."
Tan Huiyu put down the toast, saying, "Even if Xiao Chi were to toast the bread, it wouldn't burn."
Sang Sui's expression froze for a moment.
She was too lazy to argue or explain anything, so she put on her headphones and prepared to go upstairs.
Tan Huiyu called out to her, "Don't go upstairs. I'll take you out for a walk later and help you change into some new clothes."
Sang paused, took a deep breath, and said, "Oh."
Tan Huiyu ate a simple breakfast and then took her downstairs to head to the largest shopping mall in Rongcheng.
Sang Sui had never been to Rongcheng before, and to be honest, she really wanted to explore the city properly.
As soon as she went downstairs, she encountered a strange woman. The woman was young and beautiful, but her lips had a sickly pale color. Sang Sui didn't recognize her, but Tan Huiyu greeted her with a smile.
Sang Sui was silently considering whether she should greet the woman when they finished their small talk and Tan Huiyu pulled her away.
After walking a few steps, Tan Huiyu looked at Sang Sui with some dissatisfaction, "You didn't even say hello just now. People who didn't know better would think I don't know how to raise children."
Sang Sui pursed her lips: "I don't even know her."
Tan Huiyu was exasperated: "Even if you don't recognize her, you can still call her 'Auntie.' People will think I don't know how to raise a child and that I've raised a mute."
Sang Sui remained silent.
Just as she thought Tan Huiyu had a good relationship with the strange woman from before, she heard Tan Huiyu say again, "Her daughter is also in your school. You'll have to study hard so that people don't look down on you. At least your grades should be better than her daughter's."
"I don't want to compare myself with others."
Tan Huiyu said, "I didn't mean for you to compare yourself to others. I just felt that my child couldn't possibly be worse than those kinds of children."
Before Sang Sui could answer, Tan Huiyu continued, "Do you want to be inferior to others and be looked down upon?"
Most people in this world have their own lives and wouldn't be so bored as to look down on you just because you don't get good grades.
Sang Sui sat in the passenger seat, turned his head to look out the window, and thought silently.
We arrived at the shopping mall quickly; it was over ten stories high and much larger than the shopping malls in Linchuan.
"Look around, try on whatever you like." Tan Huiyu casually pointed to the clothes in the mall.
Sang Sui stopped in front of a shop. A light yellow top and an ordinary pair of jeans were hanging on a clothes rack.
“This is too plain,” Tan Huiyu shook her head. “Young people should dress more brightly.”
After visiting several more stores, Tan Huiyu could always find fault with the clothes Sang Sui liked. Either the style was too outdated, or the color didn't suit her skin tone.
Tan Huiyu scrutinized Sang Sui's face with some disdain: "It's not like Mom hasn't sent money home, so why is your face so tanned? It seems like no matter what color clothes you wear, you don't look good."
"Mom, you can choose whichever you prefer," Sang Sui finally said. "I'm fine with either."
Tan Huiyu frowned: "You child, how come you have no opinions at all? The clothes are on your body, so you have to like them yourself."
Sang Sui wanted to retort, but after opening her lips, she couldn't say anything. So she simply lowered her head and said nothing.
Finally, Tan Huiyu selected a few new seasonal items. When Sang Sui tried them on, the sales assistant exaggeratedly praised, "Auntie has such good taste! This one suits your daughter perfectly."
Sang Sui looked at herself in the mirror. She was very thin, with no flesh on her face. Her clothes fit her perfectly, but she didn't like them. However, Tan Huiyu was right about one thing—her skin was indeed very dark.
Is this what you call "suitable for her"?
Sang Sui looked up and saw a smile on the sales assistant's face that was hard to tell if it was genuine or not.
After buying her new clothes, Tan Huiyu took her to boutiques and household goods stores, buying her underwear, socks, sunscreen, and moisturizer.
When it came time to pay, Sang Sui glanced at the bill; the amount had already far exceeded four figures. Tan Huiyu was certainly willing to spend money on her.
That night, Sang Sui returned to her room early and hung her new clothes one by one in the closet.
Sang Sui took out the sunscreen, placed it on the desk, and stared at it for a long time.
Then he took out a mirror, looked at his face, and stared at it for a very long time.
For some reason, I remembered what Tan Huiyu said to her today.
A deep sense of inferiority weighed heavily on her heart.
The next day, Sang casually went to Rongcheng No. 1 Middle School to report for duty.
When she first arrived in Rongcheng, she was unfamiliar with the environment. However, her parents were busy with work and did not have time to take time off to accompany her to complete the procedures, so she navigated by herself and took the bus to Rongcheng No.1 Middle School by herself.
The train carriage during the morning rush hour was like a sardine can, and she was squeezed in the middle of the crowd, unable to move.
Just as the train swayed into the station, she caught a glimpse of a familiar figure near the front door—a white shirt, a slender profile, strikingly similar to Liang Feng. She stood on tiptoe to get a better look, but the person had already disembarked with the flow of people and disappeared into the bustling crowd on the platform.
She quickly dismissed the idea in her mind.
How could it be such a coincidence to meet "Liang Feng" on the bus?
She's probably just seeing things.
Rongcheng No.1 Middle School is bigger than I imagined.
The school gate was lined with lemon and orange trees, their unripe fruits peeking out from among the green leaves, a faint, sweet fragrance filling the air. Following the navigation, she found the office building and stopped in front of the political group office on the third floor.
"Please come in." A gentle female voice came from inside; it was Yuan Ying, Sang Suixin's homeroom teacher.
Sang Sui pushed open the door and immediately saw Yuan Ying sitting in an office chair. She looked to be in her early forties, of medium build, with neatly trimmed eyebrows and a pair of metal-framed glasses perched on her nose, behind which were a pair of gentle-looking eyes.
"Sang Sui," Yuan Ying looked up at Sang Sui, adjusting her glasses, "Are you settling into Rongcheng anytime soon?"
Sang Sui stood properly and gave a standard reply: "It's alright, it's pretty good."
Yuan Ying smiled and said, "That's good. Just sign here. Your father has already paid the tuition online. We'll have our class monitor take you to the classroom later so you can get familiar with the school."
Upon hearing this, Sang Sui noticed the boy standing by the window not far away, waiting. Hearing the noise, he turned around—a clean-cut appearance, black-rimmed glasses, and his school uniform was impeccably worn.
"You must be Sang Sui?" The boy smiled and stepped forward. "I am Song Shiyue, and I am also our class monitor."
Sang Sui nodded: "Thank you for your help, Song."
“No trouble at all.” Song Shiyue picked up a folder from the table. “Let’s go get the textbooks first.”
They walked along a long tree-lined path. Song Shiyue was very talkative and introduced things to her along the way: "This is the laboratory building, where science classes are held. That's the arts center over there, and the music classrooms are on the top floor."
Sang Sui listened quietly, glancing around at his surroundings.
Rongcheng No.1 Middle School is really big, and the buildings are new and beautiful.
"Haven't we arrived at the classroom yet?" she couldn't help but ask.
Song Shiyue laughed, revealing two tiger teeth: "Are you stupid? It's class time now. If you wander around a bit more, you can skip class."
Sang Sui was stunned for a moment before she understood his intention and couldn't help but laugh.
Class 7 of Grade 11 was at the end of the corridor. Before even reaching the classroom door, one could hear the noise coming from inside. Song Shiyue pushed open the door, and the classroom instantly fell silent, with everyone's eyes focused on Sang Sui.
"This is our new classmate, Sang Sui," Song Shiyue introduced.
Sparse applause broke out, accompanied by whispers. Sang Sui stood on the podium, looking at the unfamiliar faces below, and took a deep breath.
"Hello everyone, my name is Sang Sui, Sang as in mulberry leaf, and Sui as in casual." Her voice was soft and gentle, with the characteristic soft accent of people from Linchuan.
A few soft laughs came from the back row; several boys were chatting in hushed tones.
"I've been looking forward to this for so long, but the transfer student seems pretty ordinary. I thought she would be a great beauty."
"The glasses are rather unfashionable, and they make the person look a bit dark."
Sang Sui pretended not to hear and went straight to his seat.
Song Shiyue happened to be sitting next to the group of boys and warned them in a low voice, "Zhang Da, don't talk about the new classmate like that."
Zhang Da joked, "Oh, you're already defending a new classmate right after arriving. What, do you like her?"
“This joke isn’t funny at all,” Song Shiyue said expressionlessly.
"He really has no sense of humor." The boy named Zhang Da shrugged, made a comment, and then fell silent.
Sang Sui's seat was arranged in the fourth row from the bottom by the window. Her deskmate was Zhao Yanqi, who had short hair, a tall figure, and looked like a tomboy. She had very good features, but her skin was not very fair.
To be honest, Sang Sui rarely saw girls with the same skin color as her in Rongcheng.
As Sang Sui sized up Zhao Yanqi, the other woman was also looking at her. Sang Sui was very thin, with healthy, even wheat-colored skin, shoulder-length short hair, thick bangs, and glasses, giving her a well-behaved appearance.
"My name is Zhao Yanqi." Since they would probably be deskmates from now on, Zhao Yanqi took the initiative to start a conversation to get closer to her.
"Sang Sui," she then introduced herself.
The two chatted casually for a few minutes, but perhaps because they were too unfamiliar with each other, the conversation became increasingly awkward. Then, the school bell rang, and the physics teacher walked into the classroom with his textbook, so the two simply ended their conversation.
Even after class, they didn't initiate conversation with each other again.
Physics class is the last class in the morning.
When the class ended, it was lunchtime. As soon as the bell rang, the students in the classroom rushed to the cafeteria like starving ghosts.
Zhao Yanqi and the two girls at the table in front of her were all boarding students, so they didn't have to fight with other students for the cafeteria and weren't in a hurry to leave. They leisurely chatted about gossip, from the latest comic books to the romance novels they could borrow for a week for three yuan at the bookstore near the school gate.
Sang Sui was not a talkative person, so she did not join their conversation, but silently lowered her head to organize the new textbooks she had just received on her desk.
She wasn't familiar with the school yet, and she couldn't compete with other students for food, so she figured she might as well wait until there were fewer people before getting her food.
Sang Suigang had just written his name on the title page of his math book when the classroom speakers crackled with static, and a cheerful tune played over the loudspeaker—the midday broadcast had begun.
"Hello everyone, this is Rongcheng No. 1 Midday Broadcasting Station..."
A clear male voice came through the speakers, and Sang Sui's hand suddenly stopped.
This sound—
Clear and clean, with the unique texture of youth, yet more composed than she remembered. She felt this voice was very similar to the voice of the boy who told her on the train, "I'm getting off at the next stop."
The timbre is very unique and highly recognizable.
Sang Sui had a feeling that this person was him and wanted to hear more, but he only read the opening remarks and did not continue speaking. Then the radio started playing songs.
Sang Sui urgently needed to verify something. She raised her head slightly, looked at her deskmate Zhao Yanqi, and mustered up her courage to ask, "Zhao Yanqi, is there someone named 'Liang Feng' at your school?"
She was filled with anticipation, but then she heard Zhao Yanqi say, "Liangfeng? I don't think there's anyone like that at our school."
That's true, there's no way things could be so coincidental.
She will never be this lucky.
Sang Sui didn't ask any more questions, turned around and went downstairs, not hearing Zhao Yanqi's conversation with her friend behind her.
He Lili: "She wouldn't be asking about Liang Fengshen, would she?"
"Impossible, would she know Liang Fengshen?" Zhao Yanqi asked in shock.
Qiao Chunzhao: "I also think it's impossible. After all, Sang Sui and Liang Fengshen don't seem to be from the same world."
Sang Sui walked on the asphalt road at school, feeling an overwhelming sense of loss.
Just as she was about to reach the cafeteria, someone called out "Liang Fengshen" in a sweet voice. It was a girl, and her friend next to her covered her mouth and giggled, teasing her, "Lin Shuning, you're so bold!"
Sang Sui turned around upon hearing the sound, and then witnessed this scene—
In the lush spring, several teenagers rode their bicycles one after another past rows of verdant camphor trees, stirring up a gust of wind.
Then, her gaze fell on one of the boys.
He was wearing only a simple white school uniform short-sleeved shirt, the top two buttons casually undone, revealing his defined collarbone. The hem of his shirt billowed in the wind, billowing backward, exuding a refreshing and confident youthful air.
His cycling posture was graceful; his body leaned slightly forward, conveying a focused yet relaxed strength. The wind swept the stray black hairs across his forehead, revealing a smooth, full forehead.
By the time Sang Sui realized what was happening, his figure had already disappeared around the corner.
At this age when her heart was just beginning to flutter with romantic feelings, Sang Sui only knew that the person she liked had already taken a concrete form the moment the wind blew in.
Sang Sui stood there, quietly watching the figure disappear around the corner.
A fleeting encounter, yet a deep dream is entrusted to you.
From this day forward, my heart will no longer be closed to the wind.
It turns out his name is Liang Fengshen.
It turns out that luck can indeed befall her.
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