At ten in the morning, the sunlight was strong.
The light pierced through the clouds and fell on Xiangcheng First High School, landing on the giant stone that had stood for a thousand years.
Bai Lian raised her hand to shield from the light ahead, her gaze falling on those powerful characters. Between reality and illusion, she seemed to see the soldiers who had fought their last battle with her a thousand years ago.
Light and shadows blurred together.
A thousand years later, Bai Lian would stand beneath the line of poetry she had written with her spear.
Ready to fight her first battle.
The photographer held up his camera, intending to check the frame composition, but his attention was drawn to the girl in the lens.
She stood among the crowd, her face slightly turned, half-tied hair falling on her shoulders. Her eyes in the lens held the spirit of war horses and weapons, as if she had crossed thousands of mountains and waters, emerging from the battlefield, cleaving through mountains of corpses and seas of blood to arrive on horseback.
Though there were many students around, laughing and playing, for that instant they all became mere background to her presence.
The photographer instinctively focused and pressed the shutter.
After capturing this moment, he returned to review the photo. The composition was beautiful, like a destined cycle of a thousand years, full of mysterious storytelling.
He admired it for a while, planning to send it separately to that student later.
Class 15 students had mostly taken their positions. The photographer lowered his camera and raised his voice: “Students, please get in position quickly, teachers can take their places too.”
Nearby, the guidance counselor who was negotiating with the principal about “how many banners did you actually order” heard this and stopped. He straightened his shirt and walked to the front with a serious expression.
In the crowd.
Lu Xiaohan was filming behind-the-scenes footage with her camera. When everyone was mostly ready, she put down her camera and stood up.
Seeing Wen Qizhen raise the banner, she said: “Wait a moment, let the photographer take one photo without the banner first, then another with the banner.”
This was decided after Lu Xiaohan discussed with Lu Lingxi.
“Take one without the banner first?” Wen Qi simply folded the banner and stuffed it in his pocket, patting his pocket, “Alright, we’ll include it in the next shot.”
“Wen Qi, lower your head a bit.”
“Don’t push me, Xiaohan I’ll stand on your right…”
“Can I stand in front of Sister Lian…”
“You go to the front, stop tiptoeing, you won’t be taller than me even on tiptoes.”
“…”
The students in this class wore matching traditional Chinese clothes, chattering away.
Under the lens, they looked youthful and vibrant.
The photographer looked at these bright young students in the sunlight, rarely reminded of his own school days, that youth that would never return. He wondered how many of these classmates would still be in touch years later.
He sighed—
“Click”
The photo was frozen in that instant.
For the second photo.
Wen Qi asked nearby classmates to move aside a bit, leaving a space, then looked at Ning Xiao on the left, gathering courage: “Academic God, can you help me out?”
Ning Xiao lowered his head, his bangs covering his pitch-black eyes.
He coldly looked at the ridiculous banner in Wen Qi’s hands, not saying anything.
Having interacted with Jiang Fuli for so long, Wen Qi now found Ning Xiao less unapproachable than before.
“Academic God,” Wen Qi handed him one corner of the banner, looking at the roughly one-person distance between them, trying to ask, “Good Person is your deskmate, if you hold this isn’t it like he’s here too?”
As he spoke, he tentatively raised the banner in his hand.
Ning Xiao looked at the red banner but still didn’t speak.
Bai Lian stood in front of the two, with the empty space between Wen Qi and Ning Xiao right behind her.
She turned her head back slightly, “Ning Xiao, help him hold it.”
Ning Xiao coldly hooked one corner with his finger.
His expression particularly gloomy as he held the banner.
Wen Qi made a grateful gesture to Bai Lian, then waved to the photographer, “We’re ready, you can take the photo!”
The photographer raised his camera, his attention drawn to the banner, seeing the “One Good Person” symbol on it. He thought about how proper students’ nicknames were nowadays – in their time they had names like Fart Prince, Crazy Wild Boar…
After all photos were taken.
Lu Lingxi asked a student to call Class 16 down for group photos.
Lu Xiaohan took out her camera to film class behind-the-scenes footage. Wen Qi called the boys in the class to stand by the road, shouting to Lu Xiaohan: “Lu Xiaohan, quick, take a group photo of us boys!”
Lu Xiaohan readied her camera and turned to face them.
Wen Qi stood in front of everyone, telling them to pose. Before he could speak, several tall boys lifted him up as he shouted loudly, “Taro Cream Puff!”
Lu Xiaohan captured this moment on video.
Class 16 came down.
They were on the fourth floor and hadn’t seen Class 15’s graduation outfits this morning. When they came down, the girls immediately exclaimed in surprise.
The graduation photographer was discussing positioning with Class 16’s teachers.
Two girls from Class 16 came over with their phones, stopping beside Bai Lian, “Classmate Bai Lian, can we take a photo together?”
The school forum had many photos of Bai Lian, mostly from behind.
Students from other senior classes would often come to Class 15 to pay respects to the two academic gods. With graduation approaching, if they didn’t take photos now, they might never see each other again after the college entrance exam.
“Why isn’t Tang Ming down yet,” Wen Qi, who had been tossed around for a while, finally made it to Bai Lian’s side seeking protection, “Wasn’t he supposed to take a photo with us?”
Just then, Tang Ming hurriedly ran over, still wearing his school uniform jacket, muttering: “Made it, made it.”
Wen Qi, overwhelmed, pointed at Tang Ming saying, “Everyone go get him!”
Tang Ming was an honorary member of Class 15.
He had just come down and hadn’t figured out what was happening before being surrounded by Class 15 students.
Many people had phones and took lots of photos to share in the group chat.
Bai Lian found several photos in the group, finally finding one of her with Zhang Shize’s banner and Lu Xiaohan’s group, sending it to Jiang Fuli—
[Print this out and bring it to Good Person tomorrow]
Jiang Fuli replied quickly: [Graduation photo?]
[1]
While the group was horsing around, Lu Lingxi stood watching for a while without urging them back to class. Class 15 students had been under a lot of pressure this semester, it was good for them to relax before the exam.
Seeing Bai Lian standing aside looking at her phone, she walked over, paused, then said, “Just perform normally in the college entrance exam, don’t pressure yourself. With the exam approaching, you should relax a bit too.”
She thought Bai Lian was studying.
Bai Lian quietly put away her phone: “…Okay.”
At the research institute.
After waiting for a while with no reply from Bai Lian, Jiang Fuli opened the photo she had sent him.
The photo was taken with a phone – Wen Qi and Lu Xiaohan held Zhang Shize’s banner standing on Bai Lian’s left, another girl stood on her right, with Ning Xiao, Tang Ming and others behind.
The sunlight overhead was perfect, making the group of young men and women radiate youth.
He looked at the girl in the middle, standing among the crowd, her dark almond eyes looking at the camera, lips curved in a smile, with a slightly lazy posture, standing against the wind, her half-tied black hair flying, blending with the youths around her.
A spirited group of high school seniors.
Jiang Fuli’s finger lightly tapped the photo, then he clicked to save it.
After exiting, he opened Xiangcheng First High’s forum posts. Since Bai Lian came to Xiangcheng First High, she had been a regular topic – her test scores, what she wore today, running into her in the cafeteria…
At first Jiang Fuli wanted to delete these, but looking through them, the forum was like a growth diary for her.
From the first “Lian Mantis Emperor” to today’s graduation photos.
Jiang Fuli looked down, about to check what new posts there were today.
He immediately saw the pinned photo—
[Ahhhh took a photo with Senior Bai! She’s so beautiful!]
Scrolling down, they were all photos taken with her.
High school seniors were one thing, but why were first and second years taking photos too? Jiang Fuli looked on coldly.
After school in the afternoon.
Class 15 students walking on the road had a 100% turn-around rate.
Bai Lian carried her backpack, walking at the edge of the group with Lu Xiaohan beside her. Class 15 students were urging Lu Xiaohan to hurry home and share the videos in the group chat.
The bubble tea shop was still packed.
Jiang Fuli was talking with Chi Yundai across from the bubble tea shop. Today he wore clothes made by Ji Heng – a silver-gray silk shirt, elegant and cool, with cold light dancing under the sun.
He quietly listened to Chi Yundai talk, his gaze occasionally sweeping past the school gate, somewhat absent-minded.
He only paused briefly when he saw Bai Lian’s group appear wearing rose-colored graduation outfits.
“Young Master Xu talked with Butler Jiang…” Chi Yundai was telling Jiang Fuli something when he noticed his shifted gaze and belatedly looked back.
He immediately saw Bai Lian coming from the school gate. Chi Yundai stopped, “They took graduation photos today.”
With the college entrance exam approaching, the school was covered in banners.
When Bai Lian came over, Wen Qi, Tang Ming and others stopped fooling around and properly greeted Jiang Fuli before heading to the bubble tea shop together.
Chi Yundai remembered his cake and hurried back.
Jiang Fuli stood still, maintaining his aloof appearance, only looking at Bai Lian.
Bai Lian held Zhang Shize’s banner, pausing slightly: “What’s wrong?”
Jiang Fuli just leisurely took out his phone, opened the camera, and said casually: “Senior Bai, can I take a photo with you?”
Bai Lian: “…”
Where did he hear this from?
Jiang Fuli hadn’t taken many photos before. He opened the front camera, without beauty filters. But with both their superior bone structure, the front camera only showed them from the chest up, both in classical style clothes.
The two looked like they were printed in an ink painting, with a streak of sunset behind them, exquisitely beautiful.
Without any composition technique, the photo looked good purely because of their looks.
After taking it, Jiang Fuli looked at it and thought it was okay. Remembering Bai Lian’s criticism of his photography skills, he showed her: “Senior Bai, what do you think?”
Bai Lian looked down at the photo and sighed.
Across at the bubble tea shop.
Lu Xiaohan held her order standing by the counter, quietly complaining to Yang Lin, “Teacher Jiang’s angle is so deadly, he really can’t take photos.”
Yang Lin looked up through the glass at the scene across the street.
Chi Yundai, who had just come in wearing his chef’s hat, rather wanted to give Lu Xiaohan a thumbs up.
Meanwhile.
In North City.
With the college entrance exam approaching, Bai Qiming specially invited the principal of North City First High and the international class homeroom teacher to dinner at a hotel, to inquire about Bai Shaoqi’s exam preparation status.
The First High principal praised both Bai Shaoqi and Song Min highly, “Both students have improved rapidly this semester. Mr. Bai, Mr. Song, you need not worry.”
Bai Qiming was usually serious, but now couldn’t help smiling. He and the Song family had already booked hotels, “Do you think Shaoqi has a chance to enter Jiangjing University?”
“Of course,” the principal nodded, smiling and sighing, “Although she’s not as good as her brother academically, she’s improved greatly this semester. Barring any mistakes, she has a 90% chance of getting into Jiangjing University.”
Bai Qiming didn’t have a good grasp of their scores, but hearing the principal say Bai Shaoqi could really get in, his joy was hard to conceal.
He gripped his wine glass tightly to avoid being too emotional.
Would their Bai family really have two champions? Two Jiangjing University scholars?
Although the principal said Bai Shaoqi wasn’t as good as Bai Shaoke, Bai Qiming was still happy.
Now Bai Shaoke was already interning at Jiangjing Laboratory, meeting many professors and doctoral students. With Bai Shaoqi added, they were another step closer to establishing themselves in Jiangjing.
Behind them, Butler Bai watched this scene, also happy for the young miss.
But he couldn’t help thinking of Bai Lian, who had left a deep impression when she left the Bai family.
Bai Lian was in the same grade as Bai Shaoqi, but after going to Xiangcheng, there had been no news.
Bai Qiming was happy for his daughter but couldn’t help feeling regret, “It’s a pity, running into Song Min. Song Min should be North City’s top scholar this year, right?”
He had heard the Song family mention several times that Song Min was first in all recent joint exams.
Far ahead of second place by many points.
Bai Qiming thought the principal would agree, but unexpectedly both the principal and homeroom teacher stayed silent. Bai Qiming paused, somewhat puzzled: “Did I say something wrong?”
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