Chapter 20
I fell asleep on the way back to school.
Zhang Jusong was still immersed in the joy of seeing the shooting star and couldn't sleep.
She looked out the car window at the sky which was gradually getting brighter. It should be almost sunrise.
I turned my head inadvertently and found that Xia Zhiheng was also awake.
For fear of disturbing the members' rest, Xia Zhiheng did not say anything, but just pointed at his cell phone.
Zhang Jusong understood what he meant and took out his cell phone.
Xia Zhiheng sent a message: "Want to listen to music?"
Zhang Jusong replied with an "OK" emoticon.
A blue earphone was handed to him from the front row, and Zhang Jusong put it on his left ear.
A melodious and soothing guitar music sounded, as gentle as the morning light outside the car window.
At the end of the song, it is another piece of instrumental music with a very clean sound.
Xia Zhiheng: "Which of the three songs do you like best?"
Zhang Jusong thought for a moment and replied, "The first one."
Even though the instrumental music that played afterwards was also very nice, Zhang Jusong still preferred the first guitar piece for some reason.
Xia Zhiheng nodded thoughtfully and said nothing more.
In the silence, the song in the headphones turned into the first song on repeat.
In the following week, Xia Zhiheng never took the initiative to look for her.
Although he felt a little inexplicably lost at first, Zhang Jusong quickly adjusted his mentality and returned to his familiar rhythm of life - going between the library and the dormitory.
She spoke very few times these days. If she did speak, it was mostly in the cafeteria, and the most common phrase she spoke was "Auntie, I want this dish."
When you live alone in a dormitory, you don’t have to wear headphones to listen to music, and you can go to bed and wake up whenever you want.
To be honest, it feels great.
It was not until the two roommates came back that Zhang Jusong spoke more often.
Annie and Manman dragged their suitcases into the dormitory and were a little surprised to see her.
"Ju Song, you're back so early this time."
Under normal circumstances, Zhang Jusong would have been the one who would have returned to school in the last two days.
Zhang Jusong smiled awkwardly: "Well, I came back early because of something."
“I see.”
The roommates didn't ask any more questions and went about packing their things.
The first reunion after school starts, we must have a meal together.
The three girls walked side by side to the cafeteria. It was a rare occasion for them to get together, so they decided to eat some stir-fried dishes and ordered one dish each.
We ate and talked, mostly about topics like how our summer vacation was going.
After dinner, walk back slowly.
When I passed by the auditorium, I suddenly heard the faint sound of music coming from the auditorium, it was very lively.
Zhang Jusong glanced in the direction of the auditorium: "Hey, is there any activity?"
"It should be the rehearsal for the welcome party." Annie said that she worked in the student union and was quite familiar with these things.
Manman sighed: "Wow, it went by so fast. It feels like our freshman party wasn't even that long ago."
As for the freshman party, Zhang Jusong's influence was not very deep, anyway, it was just a passing memory. In my memory, in the week between the end of military training and the official start of school, the freshmen of each department would discuss and come up with a program, whether it was a solo or a group performance. The rehearsal period was just to break the ice.
The freshman party was a little far away from them now. Annie and Manman chatted without even stopping, but Zhang Jusong turned around and took another look at the school auditorium.
She wondered if Xia Zhiheng would perform at the freshman party.
"Ju Song, what's wrong?"
Manman looked back at her in confusion.
Zhang Jusong quickly followed: "It's okay, let's go."
The next meeting is at 7 o'clock on Sunday evening, the regular gathering of the Stargazing Club.
The weather is very good tonight, with few clouds, perfect for stargazing. President Zhou Qunxing led everyone to the sky garden on the rooftop of the new library.
In order to provide a place for students who are busy studying in the library to relax, a large area in the southeast corner of the top floor was marked out without a roof, where trees, flowers and banana trees were planted to serve as a sky garden.
There are quite a lot of people coming here during the day, but very few at night, because there are only a few dim lights in this place, and the overall tone is still night. But for the people of the stargazing club, it is a good gathering place.
Zhang Jusong suffered from procrastination and arrived almost on time.
Almost everyone has arrived, and several astronomical telescopes are lined up in a row, looking quite intimidating.
The night was dim, but Zhang Jusong saw Xia Zhiheng at a glance. He was wearing a white T-shirt and standing next to the banana tree, looking fresh and clean.
When they met, a smile appeared on his face.
"Senior, you're here."
"Um."
Zhang Jusong turned around and apologized to everyone: "Sorry, I'm a little late."
"It's not a sign-in for class, it's okay." Zhou Qunxing waved his hand, "Now that everyone is here, our little star-gazing class tonight will officially begin."
Taking into account the presence of several newcomers, Zhou Qunxing started with the basics of star maps and nebulae.
Zhang Jusong listened for a while and felt a little confused, so he quietly moved to the back row - a perfect place to slack off.
Unexpectedly, she saw Xia Zhiheng also moving back quietly.
No way? He doesn't look like the type to slack off.
Zhang Jusong looked surprised.
Xia Zhiheng happened to turn around, and the moment their eyes met, he winked. His puppy eyes seemed to be saying "What a coincidence that we're all slacking off together."
Zhang Jusong lowered his eyes and curled the corners of his mouth.
The Stargazing Society's meeting ended only when the library began playing retreat music.
When she was about to leave, someone suddenly called her from behind.
"Senior."
...Zhang Jusong finally discovered that this guy seemed to like calling her "senior" in front of others, but liked to call her "sister" when no one was around.
What's wrong?
Zhang Jusong curled his lips and turned around slowly.
"What's wrong."
"Well... I have an extra ticket for the welcome party." Xia Zhiheng took out a piece of paper from his schoolbag with a smile, "It would be a pity to waste it. If you have time, why not go and take a look?"
Zhang Jusong asked doubtfully, "Welcome party... do you have any program?"
"One."
Xia Zhiheng looked at her and said, "However, the practice time is too short. If the performance is not good, please don't laugh at me."
Zhang Jusong took the ticket and raised his chin: "That's not necessarily true. If it's really bad, then I will definitely laugh."
"Student! Brother!"
As soon as she finished speaking, she strode away, pretending not to hear the laughter in the wind.
The welcome party started at 7pm and Zhang Jusong entered at 6pm.
She was one of the first audience members to enter the venue.
Since it is called a "Welcome Party", most of the people there are freshmen, and the whole place is full of energy.
Sitting in the front row, Zhang Jusong felt a little uncomfortable.
No one knew where Xia Zhiheng got the ticket. She could even see the bald head of the vice-principal sitting in the first row.
Fortunately, the lights gradually dimmed, and with the protection of the night, it didn't seem too awkward.
Zhang Jusong watched the first few programs patiently. However, when the fourth choir began to sing "Ode to the Yellow River", she couldn't help but start to daydream, thinking seriously about such important questions as whether to have a midnight snack and what to eat.
Obviously, she was not the only one who was distracted, as evidenced by the increasing number of cell phone screens that lit up in the darkness.
"Next, please welcome Xia Zhiheng from the Y experimental class—"
Like a small hammer, the three words "Xia Zhiheng" quickly drew Zhang Jusong's attention back to the stage.
“Give us a classical guitar solo.”
“Romance for Guitar and String Orchestra.”
The stage lights gradually went out, and there was no other light except the flickering light of the mobile phone screens in the audience. Until a spotlight came from the back of the auditorium, illuminating the outline of the boy.
Slender white fingers plucked the strings of the piano, and the melodious music passed through the speakers, filling every corner of the auditorium like a tide.
In the dark, Zhang Jusong's pupils dilated slightly.
This song was the one they played on repeat in the car that early morning after they saw the returning shooting stars!
In the light, Xia Zhiheng raised his eyes slightly and stared in the direction where she was.
After just a moment, he withdrew his gaze and lowered his head to pluck the strings.
The boy playing the guitar silently is as beautiful as a painting.
The girls next to her raised their phones one after another. Zhang Jusong realized it belatedly, and she hurriedly took out her phone, found the camera, and clicked the record button.
During the second half of the song, she didn't dare look at Xia Zhiheng on the stage, and only stared at Xia Zhiheng on the screen.
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