Right to choose
(Small Theater) Thrilling ~ Lei
Three years of junior high—not long, not short—turns out we've known each other for over 600 days. Graduation is a year away, and for those two years, I've wished I could go to and from school with her every day. Wherever she's at, I'm there. When she's at school, I'm waiting for her. When she's home, I'm right behind her. When she's taking extra classes, I'm watching her. Wherever she's at, I spend all my time "sticking to her." Yes, that's the word, so precise, and I, too, want to be sticking to her.
Oh my God, I am in love. I am just a naive boy, but I am in love. It turns out that there really are pink bubbles in the world. Should I tell her? Does she know? Why do I feel like she doesn’t seem to know? It seems that students who are good at studying are relatively stupid when it comes to feelings.
If I were myself ten years later, I would never use the word mentally retarded, I would choose slow.
~~~
Time always flies quickly during busy days, and graduation season is here in the blink of an eye.
"I've finally finished my graduation project, which took a month of hard work. Truly, this month is too painful to look back on. It's filled with sadness. Countless adjustments, countless discarded drawings, version after version of color comparisons, days and nights of rendering. My computer, my brain, my teammates—everything—has been taxing. They say nine out of ten designers are crazy, but looking out the window at the blue sky and white clouds feels like a luxury. It feels like another world, so unreal."
Now, please allow student number four to start the defense.
"Good afternoon, teachers and students. I'm Lan Qiyue, the student who's defending number four. My design today is for a cafe, a warm and inviting cafe called 85 Degrees Celsius."
"85 degrees Celsius, just like my feelings for you, hot but not cold, just right, the temperature I like."
…
"As long as we remain young, we will never part ways. Thank you all for listening. I am Lan Qiyue, the student defending thesis number four."
The older sister in the dorm said: "It's finally over. I don't know how I've been getting through these past few days. I feel like I've been sold out to this graduation project."
Second sister: "Thankfully, it's all over now. Even though we didn't get the title of Outstanding Graduation Project, someone did. Most importantly, we finished it. We don't have to stay in a small hotel and stay up all night to save a few dozen dollars to catch up on the progress. We don't have to worry about the lights going out at night and not being able to render the picture."
Dormitory Head: "No, no, no, none of this is important. What's important is goodbye to the six o'clock morning exercises, goodbye to the repetitive back-and-forth professional classes, goodbye to the difficult English listening and speaking lessons, goodbye to the big classes where you can't get a seat, and goodbye to all the various electives you have to take just to get credits."
Qi Yue looked at the other three with a happy face: "Well, you all said it, what do I say? Do I still have any lines?"
Second sister: "There is no need to say anything about the excellent graduation project. Just hang the picture here. After hanging it, we should go celebrate, celebrate our rebirth." She pointed to the exhibition wall of the School of Design.
The eldest sister said: "Hurry up, hurry up, let's go quickly after we finish the posting. I can only remember eating what the cafeteria gave me this month. As for what I ate, I can only say that I was only focused on survival and swallowed it directly."
"How can it be so exaggerated?"
Dormitory Head: "No, no, no, I'm not exaggerating at all. It feels like I haven't seen my boyfriend in a century. And, the most intuitive thing is, the number of times I washed my hair this month can be counted on one hand, and there are still more than enough."
Ring Ring Ring
Dormitory Head: "Wait a minute, I have a call."
"Let's go quickly. It's time for our class to take graduation photos. The class monitor is calling us over." said the dormitory head after hanging up the phone.
"Come on, look here, students. I say one, two, three, and you say eggplant."
Qi Yue doesn't remember anything except the kindergarten things, but she experienced the scenes of graduation photos one, two and three times in a real and serious way four times, not counting the art exam period.
All over the playground, each class was taking graduation photos, in groups of three or five friends, by class, on the grass, by the fountain, at the library entrance, at the north gate, and in front of the main gate, as if they wanted to capture all the footprints of the past four years on a small piece of photo paper.
Yes, four years, over a thousand days and nights, longer than the time I've spent with my family. We've come from all corners of the world, and now we've gathered here. Of course, during our field trips and internships, we've also traveled to many places, so it seems our journeys extend beyond Chunxi University. Now, we're about to part ways. Life is truly wonderful. If we don't keep going, we really don't know what will happen.
Ring Ring Ring
"Yueyue, how was your defense today? Did it go well? It's already afternoon, and you haven't sent me a message. Your dad and I are worried about you."
"Please rest assured, everything went smoothly. By the way, Mom, why are you calling me this time? Dad."
Lan's father picked up the phone and said, "Daughter, Dad knew it would be okay. He started preparing dinner early in the morning."
Lan's mother muttered to herself, "Don't listen to what your father says. I don't know who's been pacing the house so early in the morning, looking so restless."
Lan's father completely ignored Lan's mother's revelations and said to himself, "I'll celebrate with your mother at home tonight. I'll take some photos for you to enjoy. They're all your favorite foods, sweet and sour spare ribs, cola pig's trotters, spicy chicken feet, sweet and sour fish..."
"Dad, stop talking. I'm drooling. It's all meat. Be careful of the cholesterol. Dad, do you have a cold? Why does your voice sound so nasal?"
"No, it's because Dad just got up after lying down for a while. Oh, I'm going to tell you, your uncle Wang asked me to play cards, so I have to pack up, otherwise I won't be able to get a table if I'm late."
"Then go ahead. Don't get tired and go home early."
"Okay, okay, I get it. Don't go back to the dormitory too late. Send a WeChat message to your mom when you get there."
After hanging up the phone, Lan's mother said to Lan's father, "You've only just slept for a while, and you're already thinking of calling me. Now I feel relieved. Go back to sleep for a while."
As she spoke, she helped Lan's father lie down. Recently, Lan's father has become increasingly listless and thin. He rarely goes out unless necessary. Even when video chatting with his daughter, he rarely shows up. He either lies that he is playing cards outside or going out for dinner. Most of the time, he uses WeChat voice calls instead. Qi Yue was completely unaware of it because of her graduation project.
Qi Yue had just hung up the phone and turned to walk towards her roommate when her phone rang again.
Dudu
Han Muze: "Happy graduation, Qiyue. I can't go to celebrate with you because I have to start working. I will go home and make it up to you when I have the chance. Don't forget our agreement."
"Promise, what promise? Will you treat me to a meal when I get home? Hehehe, I don't remember." Qi Yue muttered to herself.
Jiang Yiheng: "Queen Qiyue, happy graduation, and welcome to join the ranks of working people."
Tong Xiaoxiao: "Qiyue Qiyue, happy graduation! I've prepared a graduation gift for you. It's on the way. Remember to sign for it."
…
Lin Lei: "Leader, happy graduation!"
"What a coincidence, it happened on my graduation day. And where did you hear the news that I was graduating today? You must have put so much effort into it. It's been so fast! It's been half a year, and I've accumulated so many messages. And here's another message that I won't reply to. It's like a stone sinking into the sea, without any response."
"Qiyue, come here quickly. We need to leave. Go back and pack up. We have a graduation party soon. Our School of Architecture graduation party is going to be super exciting, at least better than the Management and International Languages graduation parties. After all, there will be hundreds of art students there. We can't lose face."
Qi Yue raised her eyebrows and said to her second sister mischievously, "Second sister, you are right."
After saying that, the group of four walked further and further along the path they had walked for four years, until they slowly disappeared from Chunxi's sight.
"Ruoshuizhibin is still so fashionable, elegant, and retro, with the atmosphere of literati and scholars. Look at us, we are rude and vulgar. If we didn't have the title of art students, we wouldn't have any literary and artistic atmosphere at all." said the second sister who walked into Ruoshuizhibin.
The instructor said, "Qiyue, you really don't plan to stay here. I told you before that you would take the postgraduate entrance exam. You said you yearned for freedom and wanted to see the outside world sooner rather than later. But with your grades, it would be a shame if you didn't pursue academic studies."
"Thank you for your kindness, dear teacher. I just want to be a free bird. The school is good, but I have been studying for too long and have not experienced the hardships of life. Naturally, I yearn for the vast and boundless paradise. Although the result may not be satisfactory, I still want to keep the right to choose in my own hands."
"You will always be you. No matter what the external environment is like, you will always be yourself. But sooner or later, you will suffer. You will find that although the cage restricts your freedom, it is still stable and safe. Even if there are troubles, they are minor problems. Although the outside world is very beautiful, it is also mixed with so much sadness, pain and helplessness."
Class monitor Liu Ming: "Hey, instructor, why are you always so close to Qiyue? Look at all the students waiting to take pictures with you."
"Okay, okay, I'm coming right away. Qiyue, no matter where you go, don't forget me, your old friend." The instructor continued to give earnest instructions.
Qi Yue smiled knowingly, looking at the instructor's back as he was being pulled away, and her thoughts were brought back to the Spring Festival on the eve of graduation.
"Yueyue, why don't you plan to take the postgraduate entrance examination? If it's because of Dad's illness, don't worry. No matter how difficult our family is, we still have money for postgraduate studies. Don't worry about Dad. If it's really because of this, how can Dad be at ease?"
"Oh, Dad, do you think I'm a good student? If I loved studying, would I still be able to participate in the art exam training in high school? Of course, I'm not saying that I'm not good at painting, or that art students are not good. After all, painting is my passion. I just want to express that at that time, studying and art exams complemented each other for me. You say that I was a good student in junior high school, then I don't deny it, that's true. In our county, my grades were considered good, but in high school, I was not used to it, and I couldn't keep up with the learning progress. If I hadn't taken the art exam, I'm afraid I wouldn't even be able to go to school."
"Yueyue, that's not entirely what I meant. Your dad thinks that if you take the postgraduate entrance exam, you'll have the opportunity to stay on campus and become a teacher, and your life will be more stable. Your dad and I are old, and your dad's health is like this. He's afraid that if that day really comes, he'll be worried about you."
Father Lan sighed and said, "If I had known this would happen, I should have gone straight to Yangbin Normal University. That way, after graduation, your Uncle Hai could have let you stay on as a teacher. You said back then that you always wanted to rely on yourself. Your Uncle Hai and I are sworn brothers, so there's nothing to be embarrassed about."
"Dad, I'm trying to emulate you. Since I was little, you've told me that I should be an independent woman in the new era, and that women should hold up half the sky. Isn't that why you asked me to read more books?" As he spoke, he made a gesture of standing upright.
Father Lan looked at Mother Lan and said, "Look, you're still using what I said to lecture me. This child is really worrying."
Raising a child for a hundred years means worrying about him for ninety-nine years. This is embodied at this moment.
"Yes, my father, my sick father, didn't even know how long he would live to see me grow up. Parents who love their children always plan for them in the long run. Even when he didn't know how long he would live, he was still worried about my future."
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