Second year of middle school
Zhu Shiyi turned his head and landed in a quiet forest.
He tilted his head to the other side, lowered his eyes, and looked at her sideways. His expression was not very strong, except for a slight upturn at the corner of his eye, with a hint of a smile.
A gentle evening breeze caused the short, wispy bangs on the forehead to sway.
Zhu Shiyi was taken aback by the model-like beauty.
"Is that how you use that word?" Just as he was getting into a daze, Zhu Shiyi retorted, "I was just being careful."
Pan Yue curled his lips: "A landlubber raised by the sea?"
Zhu Shiyi narrowed her eyes, raised her index finger and waved it: "No no, I love swimming. When I was three or five years old, my dad started teaching me to swim."
When she was a child, she even thought she was a mermaid.
Although it's possible that the initial swimming technique is the dog paddle.
“However,” Zhu Shiyi took a deep breath and straightened her back slightly, “later my dad was too busy with work and didn’t have time to go swimming. My mom is afraid of water, so she didn’t feel comfortable letting me swim alone at the beach.”
She noticed that her tone was so calm when she mentioned these things.
It's no longer as heartbreaking as it was when I was young and screaming.
There's really nothing to be sad about. She's grown up now and doesn't need so much family pampering and love. She can take care of herself on her own; it's just a little tiring.
...
A gentle evening breeze caressed my face, and the bright moonlight and the dazzling fireworks illuminated the night, instantly dispelling any languidness in my heart.
My mind is calm.
Zhu Shiyi gathered her long skirt and walked towards the sea.
The receding tide was gentle, lightly caressing the insteps of my feet; it was cool and refreshing, a truly delightful experience.
It cleared away the nameless emotions that had been building up for the past month or so.
A sea breeze blew by, and the seawater rose slightly, gently and playfully wetting the hem of her skirt.
Zhu Shiyi gasped softly; her skirt was wet.
Oh well, so what? It's all wet anyway, might as well just spread it out and not bother with the skirt, it'll save some trouble.
Thinking of this, Zhu Shiyi opened her arms, letting the hem of her light purple skirt dip into the water, and walked towards deeper water.
In the north after the start of autumn, if you stay still while soaking in the sea at night, the evening breeze can be quite chilly.
The hem of her skirt clung stickily to her ankles.
It wasn't very comfortable.
"Old Pan, stop pretending!" Lin Changren's voice pierced through his heart.
Zhu Shiyi looked up.
Lin Changren ran sideways with his legs spread apart, splashing water high like a crab.
“…Why would I pretend?” Pan Yue’s brows furrowed slightly.
Zhu Shiyi tilted his head slightly, equally curious.
Lin Changren clicked his tongue, looking impatient: "Come closer, why are you standing so far to the side? Have you forgotten about how you ran into the sea in your flip-flops?"
Zhu Shiyi blinked.
Pan Yue... is he really that chuunibyou (a Japanese term for someone with delusions of grandeur)?
“…” Pan Yue tightened his lips and narrowed his eyes, “And what makes you any better?”
Through this back-and-forth, Zhu Shiyi roughly learned the whole process.
Lin Changren and Pan Yue were college roommates. Back in college, the first time the group of them went on a trip together, it was also to the beach, on Shangdao Island.
They rented a car. To save money, they booked a hotel in a remote corner of the city, far from the tourist attractions.
That day they wanted to drive to the shopping street, but when they passed a beach, the young boys didn't care about anything else. None of them had brought swimming trunks, so they threw off their shirts, wore only their pants, and ran straight into the sea.
As for who led the group, Lin Changren said it was Pan Yue, but Pan Yue firmly refuted this, saying that Lin Changren's memory was faulty.
Lin Changren was too lazy to criticize, so he mocked Pan Yue for his slippers being swept away by the waves.
Pan Yue said he could just pick up his slippers; but Lin Changren complained that his feet were hurting in the sea, and when he went back to the beach to put on his shoes, his slippers were stolen.
...
Zhu Shiyi watched the show from the sidelines, smiling silently.
She also said they had very different personalities, but that doesn't seem to be the case. No wonder they get along so well.
Zhu Shiyi sighed.
Mom, look at other people's youth, it's so colorful, so crazy. Her craziest side is probably her crazy posts on social media.
She couldn't help but feel envious. They were so good together. Roommates, colleagues, partners—they were a perfect match in every way. They were truly destined for each other.
A refreshing feeling lingered in my heart.
Fate is truly a wondrous thing.
Zhu Shiyi raised his head, letting the sea breeze blow across his neck.
In the distance, several seagulls appeared in the sky above the beach.
Zhu Shiyi squinted to focus.
“Someone is flying a kite!” She raised her eyebrows and tilted her chin slightly upwards.
Pan Yue turned his head.
The girl held her head high, her almond-shaped eyes shining like the moon. Her long, black, slightly wavy hair fell naturally, following the direction of gravity. A few strands near her ears, unwilling to be restrained, swayed in the wind.
A lingering fragrance lingers on the tip of my nose.
Pan Yue inexplicably thought of spring.
He turned his head, looked away, and followed the direction the girl pointed to, gazing at the other side of the sky.
“There really is,” Lin Changren said, his anger rising again. “I want to release it!”
"Me too!" Zhu Shiyi nodded frantically in agreement.
She was excited just thinking about it; she had never flown a kite in the sky before.
Pan Yue's lips twitched slightly as he stepped onto the waves and took the lead.
......
There was a small shop on the beach. Zhu Shiyi carefully selected a large, colorful kite, while Pan Yue stood to the side and took out his phone.
Zhu Shiyi was startled and quickly reached out to cover Pan Yue's phone screen: "I'll do it, you've given me enough."
“No,” Pan Yue moved his phone aside, “He just paid the bill.”
Zhu Shiyi knew that "he" referred to Lin Changren.
But that doesn't matter. Zhu Shiyi grabbed his phone with one hand: "No way!"
With her other hand, she took out her phone, scanned the QR code to pay, and said smoothly, "It's the same for me whether you pay or not."
After entering the password, Zhu Shiyi finally let go of Pan Yue's phone screen.
Pan Yue didn't say anything more. He turned around, took three bottles of electrolyte water, scanned the code to pay, and handed out the drinks one by one. When he got to her, he casually unscrewed the cap.
"Thank you," Zhu Shiyi said without hesitation.
Electrolyte water is really good; it has no calories and is beneficial for weight loss.
Zhu Shiyi felt incredibly guilty for exceeding her calorie intake limit today, and this drink in front of her was simply perfect.
...
Lin Changren downed almost half a bottle of beverage in one gulp, then stared longingly at Zhu Shiyi's hand: "This kite is huge!"
The unspoken message: Let me play with it!
Zhu Shiyi pretended not to understand: "Yes, this is what a kite should look like."
As she spoke, she tugged at the string and, just as she remembered, jogged along with the kite.
The kite was like an iron anchor, as if it were filled with lead, it just dragged on the ground, showing no intention of taking off.
Zhu Shiyi shortened the line and increased the speed.
The kite finally took flight.
It floated up a meter, then suddenly became drunk, squeaking and spinning around in place, like a cumulonimbus cloud covered in steam, drifting listlessly.
Zhu Shiyi's feet were practically steaming; he suddenly felt like a crazy old woman.
She slowed her pace.
That's right, running around aimlessly with a kite in tow, and with bare feet.
Zhu Shiyi slowly stopped, and the kite deflated, quickly falling to the ground, half-dead.
She caught her breath, turned around and looked around. Pan Yue and Lin Changren followed behind, slowly, both of them barefoot.
Being alone is awkward. But with two or more people, you can isolate the whole world.
Zhu Shiyi immediately calmed down and turned around: "This kite is being unreasonable and won't cooperate."
"I'll do it!" Lin Changren sprinted over and took the kite in a few quick steps, snapping his fingers. "Watch me."
Before Zhu Shiyi could catch her breath, she put her hands on her hips, bent her back slightly, and handed the kite to Lin Changren.
Pan Yue also came over, taking off his floral shirt as he walked.
"Could you help me carry this?" Pan Yue casually folded the clothes in two.
Zhu Shiyi took the clothes, which were heavy; they probably contained an iPad, no wonder he had to take them off.
Pan Yue thanked him, then took two steps forward and grabbed the kite string to fiddle with it.
“Okay, keep up with me, and remember to coordinate with the line-casting.” Lin Changren and Pan Yue discussed.
Without exchanging more than a few words, the two took long strides and rushed out like the wind.
The kite was caught off guard.
It twitched its boneless body in the sky for a while, then circled around and fell silent again.
"What's wrong?" Lin Changren blurted out in his dialect, then turned around, unwilling to give up, "Let's try again!"
The two of them struck the same pose again and ran back.
Zhu Shiyi stood still and watched the show, acting as a hands-off manager and letting the two do their research.
She watched as the two men, one positioned at the front of the defense and the other pulling from behind, ran faster and faster.
But this kite is so rebellious and stubborn, it just won't take off, not even a meter.
They combined are not as good as her.
The distance was sometimes far, sometimes near; I went around in circles, only to end up with nothing.
"No, I'm not playing anymore," Lin Changren said breathlessly after the last lap, throwing away the kite in frustration. "It's a kid's toy, not fun at all, and it's exhausting."
Pan Yue followed behind, holding his phone: "The wind direction at the beach is always changing, making it difficult to fly. The tail of this kite is also a bit small; it can't support such a big kite."
“Then why were they able to put it up?” Lin Changren was clearly unconvinced. “It’s because of someone’s technical problem.”
"Good to know," Pan Yue said quietly, leaning back with his arms crossed. "With your line-laying speed, you can't even form an angle of attack. How are you going to fly?"
Zhu Shiyi stretched his neck.
What is the windward angle?
Someone appears to be flying a kite, but is actually doing math problems.
Lin Changren retorted, "If you're so capable, then you go first. Go to the front."
He pointed to the kite on the ground.
Pan Yue didn't buy into that, nor did he argue with Lin Changren. He took the shirt back from Zhu Shiyi, sat down on the ground, tossed the shirt aside, and tilted his head back to take a sip of water.
Lin Changren also plopped down.
Zhu Shiyi was also a little tired. She picked up the kite that had been thrown on the ground, moved it under her to sit on.
The sound of a zither drifted from not far away.
Zhu Shiyi followed the trail.
On the beach, a trendy boy wearing a baseball cap holds a microphone and moves to the rhythm of the music.
“They’re so young,” Lin Changren remarked, clearly also drawn in. “There are quite a few young people like this in Qincheng. They bring their own sound systems and come to the beach to sing.”
Zhu Shiyi nodded along with the music, saying, "It creates a great atmosphere."
“You can also make some money,” Lin Changren pointed to the QR code in front of the boy, “like paying to request songs, or you can pay him to sing if you want, that kind of thing.”
“Yes,” Zhu Shiyi puffed out her cheeks. She still remembered the astonishing price of ten yuan a song. “But I can understand it. It’s about making money, and everyone gets what they need.”
“He and we are essentially the same; we are all in the emotional economy,” Pan Yue said. “In that sense, we are actually in competition with him.”
“Their positioning is different, isn’t it?” Zhu Shiyi looked at Pan Yue.
Pan Yue gave a muffled "hmm": "The products offered are different, but they are similar in essence. Under certain circumstances, consumers will consider the two to be substitutes for each other."
“Why are you thinking about this so late at night?” Lin Changren punched Pan Yue. “Besides, you can’t just stop others from doing it, can you?”
Pan Yue fell silent.
Pan Yue propped one leg up, placed his hand on his knee, and casually raised his head.
Suddenly, he lay down and refused to get up.
Zhu Shiyi was startled.
"What's wrong?" She peeked out and looked at Pan Yue.
Its eyes weren't closed, its tongue wasn't sticking out, and there was no foam coming out of its mouth, so it should still be alive.
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