Chapter01
Endless Summer
Text/Diving Fish
Summer 2025
In late September, the summer heat has not yet dissipated. The sun is directly overhead and the sunlight hitting my body is still a bit stuffy.
Jiang Xu had just transferred to No. 3 Middle School a few days ago. She wouldn't take the initiative to talk to anyone unless there was something important. Her seat was close to the window, and the reflected sunlight was a bit dazzling. She squinted her eyes and felt a bit drowsy.
"Hey, did you know that our school cafeteria is going to be renovated? I heard it will have three floors, and they will also build an experimental building." The girl in the front seat sat sideways, holding a small mirror in her hand, and said as she looked at herself.
My deskmate said, "I know. It's on the campus forum, but when did No. 3 Middle School become so rich?"
"Never mind him, but since you didn't come sooner, I don't know if we can see it before we graduate."
"Of course I can. There are still two years left. What are you afraid of?"
The two girls in the front row were chatting enthusiastically and only turned around when the bell rang.
Jiang Xu supported his face and wrote slowly on the physics test paper, stroke by stroke, without any reaction.
Suddenly, she felt her arm being poked twice. "The English teacher is here." The voice was soft and weak. She nodded, put the test paper into the drawer, and took out the English book.
Then she turned her head to look at her deskmate, Ji Jing. As her name suggests, she was a very quiet girl. In the past few days at school, she could feel that everyone around her would intentionally or unintentionally cast curious glances at her, but no one took the initiative to talk to her.
The only person who spoke to her was Ji Jing, but she spoke very little and rarely looked at her.
English class was the last one. Jiang Xu frowned, feeling that the letters of the English words on the blackboard were floating. After finally waiting until the get out of class was over, he slammed his head on the table.
I don’t know how long it was, but when I looked up again, almost everyone in the class had gone to eat. I turned around and saw Ji Jing quietly doing her homework. I saw her lying down just now and didn’t call her, and she couldn’t go out.
Jiang Xu patted his cheek and stood up. "Shall we go eat?"
Hearing this, Ji Jing closed her homework book and nodded, "Yeah."
The two walked side by side. Across from the school, there were many places to eat. The cafeteria had been renovated, and students were eating there. The restaurants ahead were packed with people. The two looked at each other in tacit understanding, and Jiang Xu raised an eyebrow slightly: "What do you want to eat?"
Ji Jing replied, "Let's have some noodles. There's a noodle shop up ahead. It won't be crowded."
Jiang Xu nodded: "Okay."
The noodle shop was at the very front corner of the road, and there was a milk tea shop next to it. Because it was a long way to go, there weren't many people around. The two of them sat in a corner, Jiang Xu propped up his head and looked out the window, feeling a little bored.
At this moment, the doorbell rang, and the front desk lady walked over with a sign. "Welcome, please sit here. What would you like to eat?"
Three boys were sitting opposite them. Jiang Xu looked in the direction of the voice and saw the one wearing the school uniform of No. 3 Middle School whose front could be seen. He was also the most eye-catching one.
He wore a black baseball cap on his head, had cool pale skin, a slender neck, and the top two buttons of his school uniform were undone, revealing his distinct collarbone.
The boy seemed to notice it and looked up, and their eyes met in the air for a few seconds.
Jiang Xu did not avoid her gaze at all. The boy seemed a little sleepy with redness under his eyes, and he was inexplicably restless. The corners of his eyes were slightly raised. His eyes were obviously very seductive but without a trace of warmth.
"Hey, Brother Jin, let me say this, but this campus beauty Xu writes you notes and brings you breakfast every day. She's pretty, with long legs and a slim waist, yet you haven't shown any interest in her at all. And the goddess from the vocational high school next door just confessed to you, but you just skipped over her. What's the meaning of this? It must be so embarrassing for a girl to be there. I feel so bad for her." The boy sitting opposite him spoke with a very distressed tone.
Hearing this, He Jin retracted his gaze, lowered his head, and played with the Coke can in his hand. His expression was obscured by the brim of his hat, and he said, "If you feel bad, then agree."
"What's the point of me agreeing if people don't like me?"
He Jin opened the ring with one hand and said seriously, "Well, I don't like her either."
"Look at you, you have such good conditions but you don't have a relationship. It's such a waste. There are at least eight beautiful girls who come to you to confess their love every week, but you don't seem to be interested at all..." The boy suddenly thought of a hot topic recently.
"!" An idea struck him, and he straightened his back. "Fuck, Brother Jin, you said you don't like anything, you can't be... into boys, right?!"
He Jin then gave him a look, and Song Li immediately fell silent, shrinking his head like a quail.
"Pfft...Hahahahahahahahahahaha" another boy almost spit out the Coke in his mouth, "Song Li, do you deserve to be punished?"
"...No, I'm not feeling sorry for those girls. They'd fall for Brother Jin, this iceberg that never melts."
"Then how can anyone like you?"
"Tsk, it's not like no one is pursuing me." Song Li curled his lips in disdain.
"Ji Jing, is the boy behind me also a sophomore?" Jiang Xu became interested while mixing the noodles in the bowl, his eyes filled with starry light.
Ji Jing glanced back and pursed her lips. "I don't know much. I've only heard of the guy wearing the hat across from me. He's He Jin from Class 7, Grade 12. He's always top of the grade and usually gets full marks in science."
"Pretty impressive." Jiang Xu supported his chin with one hand, his eyes vaguely falling on the people at the opposite table.
"There is a lot of information about him on the campus wall." Ji Jing opened the phone and handed it over.
The search bar only had the word "He" in it, and the first column was He Jin's name. When Jiang Xu clicked on it, the first thing that popped up was a photo of He Jin and a personal profile. He had won countless awards, including those in physics, mathematics, chemistry, and English competitions, and he had won most of the scholarships set up in the school.
Then what followed were all kinds of confessions and candid photos. The photos were basically of backs, and the front photos were enlarged several times and were very blurry, but He Jin's figure was very recognizable, and he was very eye-catching even in a crowd. One could recognize him just by the outline of his back.
Jiang Xu patiently flipped through the pages for a long time but still couldn't reach the end. This guy is definitely the school idol and academic genius.
Suddenly, a girl's crying voice came from the other side, "He Jin, how could you do this? Do you know how embarrassing it was for me to be alone there just now? I've been chasing you for so long, and you didn't even give me your phone number..."
The girl didn't care about her image. Her voice was not loud but very sharp, which made everyone in the restaurant turn their heads to look at her.
She was still crying to herself and reached out to pull his sleeve, but He Jin calmly avoided her. His voice was very cold, implying that it had nothing to do with him, "There was no phone call. Don't do this again next time."
The girl stopped crying and looked at him blankly, "Then can you..."
Before she could finish her words, He Jin said directly, "No."
After he finished speaking, he walked past the crowd and left, leaving the girl standing there in a daze.
Song Li and Xie Yiming were stunned for a moment, then stood up and smiled at her: "Goddess Xiao, our brother Jin may not have woken up today and is not in a good mood. See you another day."
After saying that, he went to pack the noodles and followed He Jin.
The girl squatted on the ground and cried sadly, and the sisters hurriedly surrounded her to comfort her.
There is no phone call. Do you believe what I said?
It was the first time Jiang Xu saw someone use this reason to reject someone else, and she found it interesting.
There was plenty of time at noon, so after finishing their noodles, they went to the next door to order milk tea. While they were waiting, a phone call came in. Jiang Xu picked up the phone. Before she even put it to her ear, she could hear the loud voice on the other end: "Hello, Jiang Xiaoxu, how are you adjusting to life at No. 3 Middle School?"
Jiang Xu still kept some distance from the phone: "Okay, I won't suffer if I stay there."
The voice on the other end was still blaring: "Did you miss me? Life in No. 1 Middle School is so boring without you."
If someone else said this, she would believe it, but the person on the other end of the phone was the famous young master Xu Zhixin from No. 1 Middle School, and it has always been others who thought about him.
Jiang Xu found it funny: "Come on, young master, changing girlfriends every few days is not enough to relieve your boredom."
"How can you talk like that? What do you mean by changing every few days? I don't want to do that either," Xu Zhixin retorted, then joked, "I've asked around. There are a lot of art students at No. 3 Middle School, and a lot of beautiful and handsome guys. You said you didn't like any of the ones at No. 1 Middle School. Is there anyone at No. 3 Middle School that you'd like?"
Jiang Xu thought of the face he had just seen in the noodle shop, as well as the other two who were also good-looking, and agreed with this statement: "Yeah, a lot."
"Oh, being recognized by Miss Jiang means you're really handsome." The other party thought for a moment and pretended to be sad: "Jiang Xiaoxu, if you find a handsome guy, you should talk to him quickly. If I'm gone, there will be no one to match you up, and no one will keep handsome guys for you. Don't forget what you promised last time."
Jiang Xu was used to the young master's daily nagging. When she saw her number was called, she stood up and went to get her milk tea. "I didn't forget, I didn't forget. I'll hang up first and go back to class."
The afternoon passed quickly. When it was time to go home from school, Jiang Xu was reading his book slowly. He suddenly remembered what Xu Zhixin had said to him at noon.
When I was in No. 1 Middle School, I had nothing better to do than make a bet with that idiot about whether his new girlfriend could last more than a month.
The original agreement was that if she won, Xu Zhixin would not have a boyfriend for three years of high school, and if she lost, she would have to find a boyfriend this semester.
Because she didn't think she would lose, she just agreed without thinking and gambled that she couldn't win. As a result, she dated that idiot for two months and made him very proud of himself.
Jiang Xu sighed. What did it have to do with her whether the young master was in a relationship or not? Why did she agree to such a boring bet at that time?
She zipped up her schoolbag and suddenly paused. She made up her mind that if she was going to date someone, she would date the best one, and that was him, the school hunk and academic genius.
Jiang Xu thought about it and confirmed his idea.
She didn't leave until everyone in the class had left, ready to pick up her brother from school.
Jiang You's kindergarten was not far from the No. 3 Middle School. It was just across an alley and then across a road. Jiang Xu bought an ice cream at the life station in front of the school and went there just in time.
Just as they reached the kindergarten gate, a little kid ran over like the wind and hugged Jiang Xu, his round little eyes shining as he reached for the ice cream in the bag hanging on her wrist.
Jiang Xu rubbed his head and handed him the bag. Then the phone rang, as if timed perfectly. "Xu Xu, today is the twentieth anniversary of your mother and I. We won't be back today. Be well, my aunt has gone back to her hometown for something. Take that kid out for a good meal. Bye."
Jiang Xu: “…”
Before Jiang Xu could reply, Lao Jiang hung up the phone.
Okay, it’s not the first or second time anyway.
"Ding~" Jiang Xu glanced at the screen. "Mr. Jiang [transfer] please receive the payment." Then another "ding~" sounded. "Mrs. Jiang [transfer] please receive the payment."
Okay, then I'll be willing to forgive them.
Little Jiang You was so engrossed in his eating that his face was covered in food. Jiang Xu didn't care and took his other hand. "Come on, honey. Sister will take you out to play tonight."
The little guy ate happily and nodded vigorously.
Jiang Xu climbed over the campus wall as he walked, and found that there were endless fancy confessions and candid photos of He Jin. There was nothing practical at all. Are the alumni of this year so incompetent that they can't even tell what his preferences are.
As she was flipping through the pages, she suddenly remembered her previous 17 years of basically no love experience. After a moment of silence, she clicked on the Baidu search bar and asked, "How do I pursue a boy?"
1. Be proactive
2. Use humorous and witty language
3. Find common topics
…
In front of the internet cafe a few steps away, Song Li said, "Brother Jin, do you want to play tonight?"
He Jin: “Yeah.”
Hearing the sound, Jiang Xu stopped and looked forward. It was an Internet cafe. Four or five teenagers were standing at the door, and He Jin was standing between them.
Jiang Xu's eyes lit up. Isn't this the opportunity to put it into practice?
Although she has never pursued anyone, she knows that directly saying, "Handsome guy, please add me on Facebook" is too vulgar.
Little Jiang You looked up in confusion, "Sister, why don't you leave?"
Listening to Jiang You's baby voice, Jiang Xu suddenly had an idea. She pulled the little guy back and retreated to a corner, some distance away from the Internet cafe.
She leaned over and looked at little Jiang You's confused eyes. She led him to poke his head out from the corner of the wall and pointed at the boy in the black hat. "Baby, did you see that handsome guy in the black hat? Later, you pretend to be lost and run to that guy and tell him that you're lost and want to borrow your phone to call my sister. Got it?"
Little Jiang You was stunned for a moment, "Yeah, I understand."
Jiang Xu's eyebrows curved, and she patted his head with great satisfaction, "Good boy, go ahead."
Little Jiang You ran over happily. Jiang Xu squatted against the wall, looking at the phone screen with joy. But she seemed to have forgotten something. As she looked at the phone screen that was about to light up, she forgot everything.
After a long time, there was no call reminder. Jiang Xu moved outside. Just as he was about to take a look back, a shadow covered his eyes. Grandma Jiang You's small voice came: "Brother, my sister is here. She said she can't find the way home and wants you to take her home."
Jiang Xu: “?!”
She seemed to have forgotten that how could a little kid who hadn't even graduated from kindergarten remember her cell phone number or recount the whole story in detail?
Jiang Xu was stunned for two seconds, then raised his head stiffly. He was about the same height as Jiang You, so he squatted down and looked up at him. He blinked, and blinked again.
He Jin lowered his eyes and looked at her without saying anything. The two of them maintained eye contact for ten seconds.
In the end, she was the first to give in. She raised the corner of her mouth awkwardly and uttered something from underground: "Haha... classmate, the weather is nice today, so I won't bother you. See you tomorrow."
After saying that, he stood up suddenly, but because he had been squatting for too long and stood up too suddenly, he felt dizzy and hit the wall behind him with a "bang". He quickly supported himself with his hands and barely stood up. He found that he hadn't left yet. He was so embarrassed that he wanted to bang his head against the wall, really.
I glanced to the side and saw an even more horrifying scene: one, two, three, four... four heads popped out from top to bottom.
“…”
Jiang Xu didn't care about anything anymore and started running. Just as he ran out, he found that Jiang You didn't follow him. After struggling for a while, he turned back and pulled Jiang You back from He Jin's hands. He didn't care whether Jiang You's short legs could keep up or not, and ran all the way.
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