Jiang Qiang’s heart raced as she nodded slightly at him.
With her permission, he gently wrapped his arm around her shoulders, holding her loosely.
Jiang Qiang felt his heartbeat, like a drum, beating steadily. Mouths could lie, but heartbeats couldn’t.
Her eyes inexplicably grew moist.
It was April 9th. She would always remember that day.
Xu Si released her: “When I felt like I couldn’t go on before, I just wished Little Teacher would give me a hug. Then Little Teacher really hugged me – my wish came true. I think I’m really lucky to have met Little Teacher.”
Jiang Qiang stared at him: “Silly.”
Meeting Xu Si was her luck. Her world had been dull and empty until a boy suddenly burst in, bringing life and vitality to that barren land.
“I’m not silly, Little Teacher.”
Xu Si’s ears were still red, his heart refusing to calm.
On the tree-lined path, two people walked side by side. The boy in black kept his gaze on the girl beside him.
…
“Ah Xu, he confessed to me.”
Jiang Zhixu naturally knew who “he” was.
“Ah Xu, but I can’t accept him.”
Jiang Zhixu looked at her empty expression, feeling an inexplicable ache. Her nose stung with unshed tears: “I know, I know.”
She knew what kind of person Jiang Qiang was – no matter how much she liked someone, she wouldn’t let herself accept them.
“I can’t hold him back. I’m dying – what right do I have to accept him?”
Jiang Qiang spoke emotionlessly, as if describing someone else’s story rather than her own.
She just hoped he would keep getting better.
“Qiaoqiao…”
She had never heard Jiang Qiang talk like this before. The Jiang Qiang she knew was excellent, confident, handling everything with ease and composure.
Though she was younger, she had always protected Jiang Zhixu.
When she learned of Jiang Qiang’s illness, she couldn’t accept it for a whole month, afraid she’d wake up one day to find her gone.
But Jiang Qiang was calm about her illness, seeming unafraid of death. Even through repeated chemotherapy, she smiled and said she was fine, making Jiang Zhixu forget she was terminal.
Heaven had never been kind to her friend.
Why such injustice? She wasn’t even seventeen. She had just reached her best years.
“Ah Xu, sometimes I feel it’s so unfair. I’ll never have a future.”
Jiang Qiang smiled slightly at Jiang Zhixu as she said this.
Jiang Zhixu wished she hadn’t smiled. The smile was too bitter, too complex.
“Qiaoqiao…” Jiang Zhixu was choking up.
Why did her friend have to suffer such illness? When they liked each other, they couldn’t even find the courage to say it.
“I’m fine, Ah Xu. I told him if he could catch up to me, I’d consider being with him. If… I say if… I don’t make it to that day, please tell him he’s wonderful and I liked him very much.”
She could have accepted him, had a passionate romance.
But what about him? How would he cope? How long would it take? Months? A year? A lifetime?
How could he move on? What about his future?
Perhaps never being together was easier to accept than being together and losing it.
Life was cruel that way. Regret and missed chances seemed to be required courses in youth.
Jiang Zhixu spoke softly: “Qiaoqiao, handle your own matters. I won’t help with this. I hope you can tell him yourself someday.”
“Okay.”
If possible, she wanted to handle her own matters, say what she needed to say herself.
Jiang Zhixu hugged Jiang Qiang: “I hope little one can say it herself.”
Jiang Qiang repeated okay.
At 9:40 PM, Jiang Qiang received Xu Si’s message.
[Cute Classmate Xu]: Little Teacher, look outside. They say there’s a meteor shower at 10.
Jiang Qiang took her phone to the balcony, opened the curtains and floor-to-ceiling windows, and sat on a small stool outside.
Perhaps because the city lights were too bright, only a few stars dotted the black night sky.
Jiang Qiang remembered staying in the countryside when she was young. Though the memories weren’t pleasant, she clearly remembered the starry sky.
[Cute Classmate Xu]: Little Teacher, are you watching from the window or balcony?
[Cute Classmate Xu]: Wear more clothes. [Cute Classmate Xu]: Two minutes left.
Jiang Qiang: Okay, you too.
[Cute Classmate Xu]: I’m cold-resistant.
Jiang Qiang smiled at his words.
At 10:00, the sky still showed only those few stars. Jiang Qiang looked up for a while but saw no meteor shower.
Xu Si’s video call came through.
She saw the boy in the frame wearing a gray hoodie, holding his black cat.
“Xu Si, aren’t you cold in just a hoodie?”
“I’m cold-resistant.”
“Looks like we won’t see the meteor shower today.”
Just as Jiang Qiang finished speaking, several stars streaked across the sky. They shot across the dark night like bright white lines.
“Xu Si, make a wish quickly.”
“Okay.”
Xu Si watched Jiang Qiang close her eyes in the frame, then closed his own.
The meteor shower passed quickly.
Jiang Qiang took her phone back to her room, meeting Tian Ling getting water.
“Qiaoqiao, not asleep yet?”
“Not yet.”
“Rest early.”
“Okay.”
They exchanged brief words before Jiang Qiang returned to her room.
The video call was still on. Hearing their conversation, Xu Si thought they sounded like strangers, very formal.
Jiang Qiang put her phone back on the desk, adjusting its position: “Let’s do problems, I’ll watch you write.”
“Okay.”
“After the next exam, you won’t have to write so much.”
“Whatever Little Teacher arranges.”
Xu Si finished the materials at past eleven. He looked at Jiang Qiang in the frame, reading quietly, peaceful and beautiful. He couldn’t help but stare.
Jiang Qiang looked up from her book, meeting Xu Si’s gaze: “Finished?”
Xu Si nodded: “Can Little Teacher come with me to get a haircut tomorrow?”
“Okay.”
…
Sunday noon.
Xu Si waited downstairs, watching Jiang Qiang approach.
She wore a light purple jacket over light jeans, her hair half-up with small clips.
So gentle. Not just her clothes, but her whole being.
Xu Si noticed what she was carrying: “What’s that?”
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