Chapter 28
The location for the study tour was finally decided: Beijing.
Despite the rare opportunity, Mingying still did not participate.
Since the start of the semester, Sang Sui has only run into her a few times, and each time he can only see her thin back as she walks hurriedly.
In early winter in Beijing, the sky is a clear and expansive blue, the sunlight is bright but lacks warmth, and the dry, cold air, when inhaled, carries a biting chill characteristic of the North.
The study tour group of second-year high school students from Rongcheng No.1 High School arrived in Beijing in such weather.
Leaving behind the familiar campus and heavy coursework, the boys and girls' faces were filled with excitement and curiosity.
The red walls and golden tiles of the Forbidden City, the frozen lake of the Summer Palace, the students hurrying by on bicycles in Tsinghua University... every scene amazed them.
Sang Sui, Zhao Yanqi, Qiao Chunchao, and several girls from the science experimental class lived in one room.
The daytime schedule was packed, and back at the hotel in the evening, the girls were still full of energy, chattering away about their day's experiences and photos.
"Did you guys go try the douzhi (fermented mung bean juice) today?" Zhao Yanqi pinched her nose, her expression exaggerated. "My god, the taste was just awful! I bet Zhang Da that if he could drink a bowl, I'd call him 'brother' for a month, but he almost threw up on the spot!"
The room erupted in laughter. Qiao Chunzhao, while tidying up the cultural and creative bookmarks she had bought at the Palace Museum, said with a smile, "I still prefer soy milk, the simple sweet soy milk is so much better."
Sang Sui nodded with a smile, but an untimely image of her quietly eating soy milk and fried dough sticks in the cafeteria that morning floated into her mind.
The soy milk I drink in Beijing always seems to be missing something.
Although everyone was nominally traveling together on this study tour, the subtle awkwardness arising from the long separation between classes and between arts and sciences streams was still evident in the details. This was especially true for He Lili.
He Lili chose the humanities stream and was assigned to a different class, so she rarely saw everyone on weekdays.
During this study tour, she spent most of her time with a few new friends from her humanities class.
Sang Sui could clearly sense that the unreserved intimacy between her and Zhao Yanqi and Qiao Chunzhao seemed to have faded somewhat.
Once, while resting in the Long Corridor of the Summer Palace, Sang Sui saw He Lili sitting alone on a bench, staring blankly at the frozen surface of Kunming Lake, her back view appearing somewhat lonely.
Her heart softened, and she walked over and sat down next to her, handing her a bottle of water: "Lily, have some water? There's a vendor selling candied hawthorns over there, shall we go buy some together?"
He Lili took the water, smiled, but her smile carried a hint of politeness and distance: "Thank you, Sui Sui, but no need. I'd like to take some photos with my classmates later."
Sang Sui watched as she got up and walked towards a group of liberal arts girls chatting and laughing not far away, and a faint sense of loss welled up in her heart. She understood that this was no one's fault, but simply an inevitable part of growing up.
Just like a river that has forked, eventually flowing in different directions, once close friends may gradually drift apart due to changes in environment and social circles.
They are still friends, but they may no longer be the kind of best friends who can share all their secrets and stick together all the time.
She felt some regret, but she was slowly learning to accept it.
Life is like a train journey; some people get on, some get off, and it's already a blessing to be able to travel together for a while.
On the second day of the study tour, the itinerary was to climb the Badaling Great Wall.
Standing at the foot of the Great Wall, gazing up at the giant dragon winding and coiling along the continuous mountain ridges and soaring into the clouds, everyone was awestruck by a magnificent historical aura.
The stone steps were steep and the wind was biting, but the youth's enthusiasm was enough to overcome everything.
"Go for it! Let's see who climbs to the first beacon tower first!" Zhang Da shouted and rushed up first.
"Zhang Da, slow down! Wait for us!" Zhao Yanqi and Qiao Chunchao chased after them with smiles.
Cheng Xiao and Luo Kewei, arm in arm, were still arguing about a certain goal in last night's NBA game as they climbed up.
Song Shiyue and Liang Fengshen walked a little behind, their steps steady.
Sang Sui followed in the group, his breathing becoming rapid from the climb, his white breath rising in the cold air.
She would occasionally glance at the figure in the dark down jacket in front of her.
Liang Fengshen remained a man of few words, occasionally exchanging a few words with Song Shiyue in hushed tones, but Sang Sui keenly noticed that a gloomy look, even heavier than the winter sky over Beijing, hung between his brows.
He didn't seem to be affected by the grandeur of the Great Wall or the joy of his classmates. The lingering sense of loneliness that had been there since the end of the show didn't seem to have dissipated because of this trip.
What's wrong with him? Sang Sui was filled with questions and worries.
Finally, everyone successfully climbed to the highest beacon tower accessible to tourists.
Standing at the edge of the battlements, gazing into the distance, one sees rolling mountains and forests ablaze with autumn colors. Except for some hardy trees that still bear the marks of late autumn, the Great Wall stretches across the vast land like a giant dragon, evoking a feeling of both grandeur and insignificance.
"Let's shout a slogan!" Cheng Xiao suggested, his face glowing with excitement.
"Great idea! What should we shout?"
“Let’s shout it out: No regrets in youth, a promising future!” Song Shiyue replied gently.
"That's too formal! Just shout it out loud—We're the best!"
"Hahaha, so tacky!"
Everyone discussed it animatedly, and finally decided to simply shout out their names and dreams.
"I'll start! One, two, three—" Cheng Xiao took a deep breath of the cold air and shouted, "Cheng Xiao—I will become the strongest basketball player!"
"Zhao Yanqi—got into her dream university!"
"Qiao Chunzhao—I hope...I hope everyone is doing well!" She blushed slightly, too embarrassed to mention Chi Shu.
"Zhangda—Get rich! I want to get rich!"
"Luo Kewei—get rich by following Brother Da!"
"Song Shiyue—May this journey be smooth sailing."
When it was Liang Fengshen's turn, he stood by the edge of the battlements, the cold wind blowing his black hair across his forehead. He was silent for a few seconds before speaking in a voice lighter than the wind, yet exceptionally clear: "Liang Fengshen... peace and joy."
Finally, all eyes fell on Sang Sui. Looking at the vast expanse of sky and earth in the distance, feeling the surging emotions in her chest, she shouted with all her might, "Sang Sui—shine brightly!"
The clear, deep, resolute, and joyful shouts of the boys and girls intertwined, carried far and wide by the wind on the Great Wall, as if they were truly reaching the heavens.
At this moment, academic pressure, growing pains, and subtle feelings of alienation seem to be washed away by the vastness of the world and the purity of the slogan.
The passion and dreams of youth coalesced into the most moving scene at this moment.
Sang Sui noticed that He Lili had indeed not participated in this slogan campaign.
She and her new friends took photos at another crenellation not far away, their laughter equally crisp.
Sang Sui gazed in her direction, a lingering regret still present in his heart, but more than anything, a sense of relief and blessing.
After coming down from the Great Wall, as they were preparing to take a bus back to the city, Sang Sui finally found an opportunity to get close to Song Shiyue.
He and Cheng Xiao were standing by the car, waiting to get in.
“Song Shiyue,” Sang Sui said softly, with a hint of hesitation, “can I ask you something?”
Song Shiyue turned his head and looked at her gently: "What's wrong, Sang Sui?"
"I feel... Liang Fengshen hasn't been in a good mood lately. He's been like this ever since the show. Has something happened?" She asked cautiously, afraid of touching on something she shouldn't ask.
Song Shiyue's eyes behind his glasses flickered, revealing a complex emotion.
He glanced at Liang Fengshen's back as he boarded the bus, then looked at the undisguised worry in the girl's clear eyes, and sighed softly in his heart.
He certainly knew the real reason for Liang Fengshen's bad mood. It had nothing to do with the competition ranking, nor much to do with his illness; the root cause lay in the person who occupied almost all of his thoughts, yet whom he longed for but could not have—Mingying.
Song Shiyue, Liang Fengshen's best friend, clearly saw Liang Fengshen's silent yet persistent attention to Mingying.
But he couldn't tell Sang Sui.
He had long been aware of the girl's feelings for Liang Fengshen.
He didn't want to use another girl's name to shatter the cautious affection and pure worry in her eyes.
That's too cruel.
So, Song Shiyue avoided Sang Sui's probing gaze, pushed up his glasses, and said in a tone as relaxed and natural as possible, "Oh, him... it's probably because winter vacation is coming soon, and there was a revival round or semi-final round on that 'New Generation' program, so he might be under some pressure. It's okay, he can adjust on his own."
This reason sounds reasonable.
Sang Sui suddenly realized that the tension in his heart eased a little; it turned out he was worried about the competition.
She suddenly felt an urge to comfort and encourage him. She thought that perhaps she could find an opportunity to say a few words to him on the way back, even if it was just a simple "good luck in the game."
However, before she could put her plan into action, the next morning, as she was preparing to head to her last destination—the National Museum—she unexpectedly learned some news from a casual conversation with a girl from Class 6.
"Have you heard? It seems Liang Fengshen has some urgent family matters to attend to. He asked his teacher for leave and cut his trip short this morning to return to Rongcheng."
"Huh? So suddenly? Aren't we going to the museum?"
"Yeah, it seems like they went to the airport early this morning."
Sang Sui froze on the spot, almost dropping the water bottle she was about to take to the car. He went back early? She hadn't even had a chance to say a word to him, hadn't even had a chance to convey her desire to encourage him.
As she gazed out the bus window at the bustling traffic of Beijing in the early morning, a profound sense of loss and emptiness overwhelmed her.
The faint words "Peace and Joy" from the Great Wall still seemed to echo in his ears, but he had already embarked on his journey home alone.
In the end, she couldn't even utter a decent word of comfort.
Winters in Beijing are really cold.
It was indeed too late, she thought to herself.
I should have told him those comforting words sooner.
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