Competition (Part 2)
At noon, leaden clouds flooded the sky like a tide. A damp mist filled the streets, making it hard to breathe. The leaves rustled in the wind, whispering a foreboding of something ominous. This unseasonal weather filled people with an uneasy feeling, a sense that something bad was about to happen.
Shen Zhihe had gone to a nearby bun shop for lunch. Just as his footsteps faded at the end of the corridor, Gu Hanzhi spread the competition manual out on the hotel bay window. The air-conditioning air, shrouded in the shredded shadows of the sycamore leaves outside, brushed across the paper, but she felt the densely packed instructions were like a twisted spell, impossible to comprehend.
She was staring blankly at the words "Hotel Entrance" when footsteps approached. Two girls, dragging suitcases, passed by, laughing and joking. The one with the cherry blossom headband suddenly lowered her voice and said, "Did you know there's a handsome guy in our competition this time? He seems to be from a key high school!"
"Is it Shen Zhihe? After all, he is the dark horse of this session." Another girl with a high ponytail sneered.
"No! I heard his name is Ji Mingyuan, and it is said that..."
Before the girl could finish her words, Gu Hanzhi's pen tumbled to the floor with a click. In the halo of the hallway's overhead light, she saw her fingertips trembling slightly. That name, like a red-hot iron, instantly burned through her memories—the corner of the junior high school hallway, the hem of Ji Mingyuan's white shirt brushing past, the shadow cast by his eyelashes as he lowered his gaze to look at his exercise book, and the laughter that echoed from behind him.
"A top student and a top student, a match made in heaven!"
"Senior Ji, you two are such a perfect match!"
The sensation of shredded paper hitting her back suddenly became clear, and Gu Hanzhi grabbed the edge of the bay window. From the end of the corridor, the sound of an elevator arriving mingled with the fading sound of a discussion. She stared at the smudged ink on the manual, her own heartbeat pounding, aching her eardrums. The cicadas outside the window suddenly grew shrill, and the sunlight of that summer seemed to filter through the mottled leaves again, trapping her in the locker, locked in the interlocking gaze of Ji Mingyuan.
The afternoon sun slanted through the glass, casting dappled shadows on the dark red velvet seats in the auditorium. Gu Hanzhi spun the lemon slices in her thermos. Suddenly, she heard a series of exclamations from the audience—the science contestants had entered the arena.
A slender figure in the crowd caught her eye like a magnet. Shen Zhihe, clad in the iconic blue and white uniform of Yuncheng High School, the school crest pinned to his collar, his gaze lowered as he sorted through documents resembled a tranquil ink painting. As if by telepathy, he suddenly looked up, his gaze from behind his spectacles meeting hers through the crowd. The corners of his lips curved upward with a youthful aura, as if silently declaring, "I will definitely do better than you in this competition."
Gu Hanzhi tapped her thermos with her fingertips, a faint dimple forming in her cheeks. She tilted her head, a determined smile on her face, silently responding, "I'll wait." This two-year-long competition, from the monthly exam rankings to the competition stage, had long become an unspoken understanding between the two.
Just as she was about to look away and flip through the competition manual, a familiar corner of a red and white school uniform suddenly caught her eye.
Sunlight slanted through the corridor's glass, casting diamond-shaped spots on the floor. Ji Mingyuan was concentrating on his competition questions. His red and white school uniform made him look even more youthful, the hem of his shirt swaying gently as he bent his head to edit his competition draft. His bangs covered his brow bones, the ends of his hair naturally parting his forehead. His black sneakers clung to the terrazzo floor, and the wind lifted his trouser legs, revealing his slender ankles. His straight legs made him look even more erect.
The noise in the examination room gradually subsided like boiling water. Gu Han took a deep breath and watched the audience gradually walk away. When she turned around with the review materials in her arms, she suddenly smelled a faint scent of lemongrass - it was the familiar shampoo smell in her memory.
"Long time no see, classmate Gu."
A deep, hoarse male voice brushed past her ear, his warm breath carrying the coolness of mint candy. Gu Hanzhi spun abruptly, only to see the hem of a red school uniform swaying at the end of the corridor. Ji Mingyuan's slender figure had already turned into the stairwell, the sound of his black sneakers on the steps clashing with her pounding heartbeat. The wind blew through the empty hallway, lifting the strands of her hair, and the youthful figure had already vanished around the sun-dappled corner.
The wind, wrapped in the fragrance of locust flowers, swept through the branches. Thousands of tender green leaves stretched their waists in the sunset glow, like countless translucent butterfly wings fluttering. The shadows of the trees cast tiny ripples on the bluestone road. In the flickering light, two figures approached and passed through the swaying shadows. The scattered hair at Gu Hanzhi's temples was lifted by the wind, and Ji Mingyuan's back had already disappeared. The setting sun, now hanging between the branches, was about to set, stretching their shadows very long - the silk thread of fate had already quietly entwined. What kind of story would these two people weave this time?
Elsewhere, the leather chairs in the consulting room shone coldly in the twilight. Gu Zhengfeng's knuckles tapped unconsciously against the armrests, making a rhythmic clicking sound. Outside, the shadows of the sycamore trees twisted into a web on the glass, slicing his meticulously tailored silver-gray suit into mottled fragments.
"Mr. Gu, your condition is quite serious." The psychiatrist adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, his pen hovering over the medical record. "However, after two weeks of treatment, as long as you can completely let go of the past that has been lingering in your heart, and combined with quitting drinking, there is hope for a complete recovery."
The knocking stopped abruptly. Gu Zhengfeng stared at the green plant in the corner, its leaves dangling with condensed water droplets. A sudden tear ripped through his memory—that night of torrential rain when Su Wanqing perished in the flames. Gu Zhengfeng was still relatively young then, and he wept bitterly as he hugged Su Wanqing's portrait. From then on, Gu Zhengfeng cried every day.
"You need to face that memory, not just numb yourself with alcohol." The doctor's voice, mixed with the hum of the air conditioner, felt like a needle piercing his eardrum. Gu Zhengfeng's Adam's apple rolled, and the whiskey bottle in his suit pocket burned against his heart. This was the secret that had kept him going until now.
Dusk completely swallowed up the last ray of sunlight, plunging the clinic into darkness. Gu Zhengfeng stood up in a long silence, his leather shoes echoing hollowly on the marble floor. "Thank you, doctor." His voice seemed to float from far away, but his fingers tightly grasped the cold bottle in his pocket, as if it were the last rope holding him to life.
The hallway's voice-activated lights lit up as he passed, then dimmed behind him. Gu Zhengfeng pulled out his phone. Twenty-three missed calls appeared on the screen, all from Gu Hanzhi. He pressed delete and turned into the emergency exit, the coolness of the metal railings piercing his palm. As he trembled, twisting the cap off the bottle and letting the amber liquid flow down his throat, he vaguely heard Su Wanqing's childish laughter echoing through the stairwell.
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