Chapter 98

In the bright June, after seeing off the senior students, Yu Nian and her classmates began their own senior year early.

Their first task was the summer training camp, which they had all signed up for.

Compared to their first experience at camp, where they had felt lost, this time they were much more prepared. Yet, when they returned to school, they were noticeably tanned.

Even Yu Nian, despite her careful sunscreen preparation, hadn’t escaped unscathed and ended up with visible tan lines.

Yu Nian wore a frustrated expression, covering those tan lines all the way until the end of winter when her skin finally returned to its original shade. One could only say that while summer was delightful, the sunlight was still too fierce.

This was one of the reasons she had always preferred staying indoors during summer vacation in the past.

Once their senior year began, time flew by. In what felt like a blink, a countdown calendar appeared in the front corner of the classroom, though no one was sure exactly when it had been put up.

With each day’s sheet torn away, they moved one step closer to their dreams. They watched the stack of paper go from thick to thin, living in a state of busy fulfillment. During that period, their thoughts were simple, and they had only one goal—to pass the college entrance exam.

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“No rush, there’s still 20 minutes left.”

Even though it was early morning, the sun shone so brightly that it was almost overwhelming. Yu Nian looked at the two people who only ran for a short while, beads of sweat appeared on their foreheads, and she quickly handed them two wet wipes.

“Thanks,” Liu Manman accepted with a soft smile, her fair skin looking strikingly bright under the sunlight.

She opened her Chinese textbook, retrieved two five-inch laminated photos from between its pages, and handed them to Yu Nian, looking slightly shy. “Nian Nian, these are plant specimens I made. I found some four-leaf clovers near my home. One for you, and one for Chi Yao. Good luck on the exam, and I hope you both get what you wish for.”

Yu Nian took one, touched by the thoughtful gift, and ran her fingers over it with admiration. “Wuwuwu, Manman, this is beautiful! Thank you!”

With that, she stepped forward and gave Liu Manman a big hug.

After Yu Nian released her, Li Xiang also offered his sincere thanks. He had once imagined that his character “Liu Manman” might have blackened of unrequited love or would have withdrawn from accepting kindness due to her insecurities, but instead, she had grown into an independent individual.

He was a little proud, as the original author’s pride.

“Alright la, alright la, save the words for after the exam,” Zhang Chuanze urged, checking the time.

“Okay! Everyone jiayou ah!” Yu Nian excitedly said.

Liu Manman softly echoed, “En, jiayou.”

Li Xiang: “Let’s go.”

…

The tense and serious atmosphere in the exam hall erupted into celebration as the last subject concluded, with occasional howls of excitement echoing through the halls. Some students, it seemed, couldn’t wait to release their pent-up emotions.

The moment Yu Nian dashed out of the exam room, she saw Li Xiang waiting quietly for her nearby.

The two shared a smile across the crowd, and in each other’s eyes, they found a boundless hope for the future.

In the final stretch leading up to the college entrance exams, Yu Nian had rarely thought about the real world. It might sound selfish, but whenever she was with Li Xiang, she would subconsciously forget they were inside a book.

All she knew was that in this absurd world, there was someone who would always be by her side, and that was enough.

At the graduation dinner, Yu Nian hadn’t expected the usually gentle and shy Liu Manman to cling to her and cry without restraint, completely disregarding her graceful image.

As for the reason, this person couldn’t quite explain it herself, only managing to say with teary eyes, “I don’t know, but I have this feeling that it’ll be hard for us to meet again. Nian Nian, promise me that wherever you are, you’ll stay well with Chi Yao.”

“Don’t worry, I will.” Yu Nian hadn’t noticed anything unusual, assuming Liu Manman was simply being overly sentimental. She gently embraced her and murmured soothing words.

Li Xiang, listening from nearby, couldn’t help frowning, his mood sinking a bit. He felt as if he could sense Liu Manman’s unease and reluctance to part.

Li Xiang was uncharacteristically quiet that evening. However, as he was usually a man of few words, no one noticed anything out of the ordinary—except Yu Nian.

After saying goodbye to Liu Manman and Zhang Chuanze, Yu Nian pulled Li Xiang aside as they left.

“What’s going on, Li Xiang? You seemed distracted all evening.” Yu Nian nudged his arm lightly and tilted her head to look at him.

“Nian Nian, did you feel anything strange tonight?” Li Xiang asked suddenly.

“Strange?” Yu Nian frowned, thinking for a moment before shaking her head, her large eyes filled with confusion. “No ah.”

“Forget it, maybe I’m just overthinking,” Li Xiang replied with a smile.

For some reason, during the party, he felt an intense sense of reluctance coming from Liu Manman—a feeling he had never experienced before. It was as if, suddenly, an author had empathized with their own character.

Around him, the noise and chaos blurred, becoming like a parallel scene, and Li Xiang felt as though an invisible glass wall separated him from it all. He sensed every emotion of his characters—joy, anger, sorrow.

Yet in his eyes, Yu Nian was the only person who felt truly alive.

But the feeling was fleeting, and before long, Li Xiang was drawn into rounds of toasts, forgetting everything in the moment.

He dismissed what happened at the graduation dinner as just a minor episode and didn’t bring it up with Yu Nian, especially since nothing similar happened in the following days.

Until the day he received the acceptance letter, this feeling was aggravated again.

Zou Yunmin, who had stepped out with a smile to retrieve the letter, handed it to Li Xiang with joy but unexpectedly began to cry, surprising even herself.

Their friends who were visiting teased her, saying she was crying tears of joy, but only Zou Yunmin knew it was a pale, helpless sadness.

She stared blankly at her son, who had grown so tall without her noticing, and for a moment, she almost didn’t recognize him.

“Mom.”

Li Xiang’s voice was hoarse as he looked at the mother who had always been so good to him in this world. His eyes reddened, and by now, he understood the reason behind these emotions, no matter how absurd it all felt.

“I’m going to find Nian Nian,” he said.

Zou Yunmin raised her hand lovingly, her palm warm as she gently ruffled his hair just like when he was a child, tears in her eyes as she smiled. “Go, child.”

Li Xiang rushed out of the house with his acceptance letter in hand. Looking up, he saw the sky, a vivid blue that seemed like a stretched-out, detailed oil painting. Though it was the season when cicadas usually chirped noisily, everything around him was silent. Passersby, frozen mid-laughter, had stopped in their tracks, hands extended, paused in midair—as if the whole world had pressed pause. Then, a familiar voice called out from afar.

“Li Xiang!”

Yu Nian came running toward him, wearing a summer dress, her hair messy and her slippers flapping as she moved, completely disregarding her appearance. Clutching her acceptance letter, she waved to him, her once obsidian-dark eyes now red and tear-streaked.

“Nian Nian!”

Li Xiang didn’t think twice and ran towards Yu Nian.

The two of them met at the edge of their world, racing together into the brightness of the day.