Summer in Your Name - 1

Playing Victim

---

July was almost over. The long stretch of rain had finally ended, leaving behind a sky rinsed clean and sunlight blazing overhead.

The campus during summer break was deserted. Cicadas, hidden in the camphor trees, droned on without pause.

In the main office, the air conditioner hummed, blowing a steady stream of cold air. The cicadas' chorus and the murmur of adult voices mingled together, filtering into Sheng Xia's ears.

"Student Sheng Xia's Chinese scores are excellent. An essay like this would easily make it onto our Model Essay Wall here at Affiliated High!"

The grade director looked over Sheng Xia’s report card and final exam papers from last semester and made this comment. As he spoke, he handed the essay to the balding man beside him. "Teacher Wang, take a look."

Teacher Wang accepted it, his eyes sweeping across the page. A deep, resonant sound came from his chest. "Mm. The handwriting is really nice."

Sheng Xia held her canvas schoolbag in her arms, sitting quietly on the black leather sofa. She lifted her gaze just slightly, sneaking a look at her new homeroom teacher: Wang Wei.

His thin frame seemed barely able to support his oversized head. A few strands of hair were combed diagonally across his shiny scalp, framing thick brows, narrow eyes, and cheeks that looked like they were stuffed with cotton.

He bore no resemblance whatsoever to the pastoral poet Wang Wei whose name he shared.

He introduced himself as a chemistry teacher.

For a chemistry teacher to sidestep the content of an essay with a ‘nice handwriting’ comment spoke volumes about his emotional intelligence, if not his literary discernment.

The director nodded. "You can tell this foundation was built from a young age.”

Wang Lianhua looked pleased and smiled warmly. "Good eye, Director. Sheng Xia started practicing calligraphy at four. Both brush and pen."

"It's rare to find a kid with the patience for that kind of discipline these days."

Wang Wei nodded in agreement. "Exactly. I'm sure with some focused effort, her other subjects will catch up just fine. Student Sheng Xia is a promising student. Being at No. 2 High was really selling her short."

Wang Lianhua said, "Her foundation in chemistry and physics isn’t very strong. We’ll be relying on you to guide her more from now on , Teacher Wang."

"Of course, of course. In my class, I can't guarantee she'll get into a top 985 university—" Wang Wei started, but his impassioned voice was cut off by a gentle yet jarring ringtone.

The opening notes of "Moonlight over the Lotus Pond " blared through the office. It was Wang Wei's phone.

He shifted in his chair, stretched one leg out, pulled his phone from his pocket, glanced at it , and hung up immediately. He continued, "In my class, I can't guarantee 985 universities, but we can definitely see improvement. Sheng Xia's foundation isn't bad at all. Our class—"

"Moonlight over the Lotus Pond " sounded again. Whoever was calling was persistent.

Wang Wei's thick eyebrows knit into a frown. He shot the director and Wang Lianhua an apologetic look and, without stepping out, answered curtly, "I'm busy. Call me back this afternoon!"

Then, before the other person could respond, he hung up again.

"A student from my class," Wang Wei explained, a hint of exasperated familiarity in his voice.

The director smoothly changed the subject. "We placed Student Sheng Xia in Teacher Wang's class after careful consideration. The experimental class would be too high-pressure. Teacher Wang's Class 6 is perfect. It's not an experimental class, but it's top among the regular tracks. The top student in the grade is also in that class. He ranked first in the entire city in last semester’s joint exam.”

First in the city. Sheng Xia had heard about him.

Last semester, Affiliated High had, for the first time, participated in the citywide joint exam. They swept the top ten spots, and the first-place student's scores were in a league of their own: perfect scores in math and English, and only three points deducted in the science comprehensive section.

Sheng Xia was in the top ten at No. 2 High, which placed her around 2000th in the city.

The day the results came out, her class group chat was a wasteland of despair. The top students at No. 2 High were like eggplants hit by frost, completely wilted.

If the joint exam was Affiliated High's way of demoralizing every other school in the city, then this academic god's score was their way of grinding the self-esteem of every top student at No. 1 and No. 2 High into the ground.

She wondered how they would react if they knew this guy was in a regular class at Affiliated High.

And she was going to be in the same class with such a person?

Wang Lianhua, however, was very satisfied with this information. Her eyebrows lifted, her eyes brightened, and she gave a small, appreciative nod.

Wang Wei's face was practically glowing with pride, and though he was complaining, his tone was laced with indulgence. "That top student had very average entrance scores. Even up until the arts and science pision, he was nothing special, which is why he was placed in our class. After coming to our class, he has been consistently number one in the grade. The kid's a rebel, though. Thinks his grades give him a license to do whatever he wants. No discipline."

The director quickly added, "But he's much more disciplined under Teacher Wang's watch."

Wang Lianhua took the cue. "It sounds like Teacher Wang is just as skilled at managing students as he is at teaching them."

Wang Wei demurred. "Not at all. I just want what's best for my students. I want them to get good grades and be good people. It's the least I can do to repay the trust from the school and the parents."

"I'm even more reassured after this visit," Wang Lianhua’s smile never faded. Her voice was gentle, and she seemed satisfied with the meeting.

The three adults went back to poring over the transcript. Sheng Xia hadn't slept well the night before, and drowsiness crept over her. The voices of the people around her began to fade, replaced by the steady drone of cicadas, like a lullaby.

It wasn’t until Wang Lianhua stood up first, repeatedly expressing her thanks, that Sheng Xia jolted back to attention. She stood too, her lips pressed together in what might have been a small smile.

"We'll have to trouble you with Sheng Xia , then."

"Not at all. Please send my regards to Secretary Sheng."

"He had a last-minute meeting today, or he would have come with us."

Leaving the office, Wang Lianhua declined the director's offer to see them out, saying she wanted to look around the campus. The mother and daughter walked down the stairs and reached the first floor.

The teaching building was completely empty.

Wang Lianhua pointed to the sign for Class 6, Grade Three, and leaned in to whisper to Sheng Xia, "See? Affiliated High really is different. Even the classrooms are special."

Sheng Xia nodded slightly, taking in the place where she'd spend the next year.

It was unlike any classroom she'd ever been in.

The hallway was unusually wide—wide enough to play badminton. The classroom had three doors. The walls on either side were only as high as a desk, and above them were floor-to-ceiling windows. Even the doors were made of glass. The whole room was bright and open from end to end.

The blackboard was pided into three sections: a smart whiteboard in the middle, flanked by two movable chalkboards.

The desks were arranged oddly, too. There were three rows of paired desks, then a single row lined against the wall, with desks having no partners.

The unfamiliar, unusual environment made Sheng Xia's brow furrow slightly.

Nanli University Affiliated High School was the best high school in Nanli, and one of the top in the province. Its rate of students scoring above the first-tier university line exceeded 90%. Getting into Affiliated High was like having one foot in a top-tier university.

Sheng Xia hadn't done well on her high school entrance exam and had ended up at No. 2 High. Over two years, she'd slowly climbed to the top of her class. But at No. 2 High, even the top ten were only barely scraping by the first-tier line.

When they'd heard she was transferring, the teachers at No. 2 High had tried hard to convince her to stay. "Better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix," they'd argued. They promised her their full attention and the best education No. 2 could offer, guaranteeing her admission to a prestigious 211 university.

The phrase "head of a chicken" had set Sheng Mingfeng off. He'd only been going along with the transfer plan because Wang Lianhua kept hammering him with "have to be responsible for Sheng Xia" and "have to plan for her future." Now, he was just as determined to see it through.

Sheng Xia's entrance exam scores had been too low. Getting into No. 1 High would've been a stretch, and Affiliated High was out of the question. But now her grades had improved. She'd done well in the citywide joint exam, giving her a foundation for getting into Affiliated High. Wang Lianhua wanted her to go for it. After all, at No. 2 High, no matter how hard she struggled, this was as good as it got.

As for the teachers' parting warning—that Sheng Xia, with her quiet personality, might not be able to handle the pressure at Affiliated High— it had simply been filtered out by Wang Lianhua.

Sheng Xia had to do better than her. It was Wang Lianhua's obsession.

---

The opening notes of "Moonlight over the Lotus Pond " echoed from the second floor again.

That ringtone really was loud.

Even louder, though, was Wang Wei's voice.

"Hello?"

"No. Absolutely not. How many times do I have to say it? Who asks for leave before school even starts? Are you sick? Did you break a leg?"

"You're going to report the school for holding extra classes? Have you lost your mind?"

"Do you even realize you're about to start your senior year? You think you can coast on your grades? Everyone else is going to be grinding! You think the kids at No. 1 High are idiots?"

"Get back here now!"

"You hear me? Hello? Zhang Shu!"

" You little brat!"

Wang Wei's voice boomed through the empty building.

As they walked out of the building, Wang Lianhua's face creased with worry. "This homeroom teacher of yours has quite a temper. Is he really up to the job? Who did your father even find? I wonder if he even cares."

Sheng Xia understood. "Temper" was already Wang Lianhua's polite way of putting it. Wang Wei's demeanor and speech probably didn't match her mother's idea of what a key high school teacher should be.

This was her mother, alright.

She'd been wondering why her mother had been so easily satisfied. Of course, that appreciative nod, those satisfied words, were just Madam Wang Lianhua's social manners at work.

But still.

Maybe the person on the other end of the line had an even bigger temper?

That... Zhang Shu.

Daring to talk back to the homeroom teacher.

Threatening to report the school. He must be fierce.

Sheng Xia said nothing, just filed the thought away.

---

Sheng Xia's house was less than two kilometers from Affiliated High, so Wang Lianhua decided she didn't need to board. Sheng Mingfeng bought her a little electric scooter and had the driver teach her to ride it.

There wasn't much to teach , actually. You just twisted the handle and it went. Sheng Xia wobbled around the neighborhood a couple of times, felt steady enough, and decided to try riding to school.

She was too hasty. The open road was nothing like the protected streets of her neighborhood. Cars whizzed by, and the sound of them speeding past felt like it might suck her under. She gripped the handles, nervous sweat prickling her back.

After a near-miss at an intersection where she almost failed to brake in time, Sheng Xia decided to avoid the main roads altogether and cut through the residential compound behind the school instead.

Turning into the compound, still rattled and not fully focused, she saw two mountain bikes coasting down the gentle slope toward her. The riders were low over their handlebars, and in her frazzled state, they looked like eagles swooping down on their prey.

Sheng Xia froze. Before her brain could process what was happening, her body took over. She leaped off the scooter, but in her panic, her hand jerked the throttle.

The brand-new scooter, suddenly gunned, lurched forward, shot across the pavement, and slammed into the curb with a deafening crash.

The two boys on the bikes, one thin and one heavy, screeched to a halt and stared: ...

The security guard, who'd poked his head out of his booth at the noise: ...

Sheng Xia, standing unharmed in the middle of the road: ...

For a moment, there was only silence, punctuated by the relentless cicadas buzzing in the camphor trees along the road.

Zeeee... Zeeee...

The heavy boy recovered first. He turned to his friend. "Dude, why'd she just bail like that? This has nothing to do with us..."

It really didn't. They were still a good ten meters away.

The thinner one let out a cold laugh. "If she tries to pin this on us, it'll be a moon-landing-level scam."

The utter nonchalance in his voice, laced with a kind of ineffable disdain, sent a shiver down Sheng Xia's spine as she stood there, frozen like a porcelain doll.

"What's going on?!" The security guard hurried out of his booth. Seeing the pale, frightened girl, he softened his voice. "Are you alright?"

"I'm... I'm fine."

She said she was fine, but her voice was trembling.

The guard looked at the two boys, still a dozen meters away. "What happened?"

The heavier one shook his head quickly. "We have no idea what happened..."

They were just riding their bikes, not even going fast in the compound. How were they supposed to know that a little sister who couldn't take care of herself would just materialize in front of them?

The guard hurried over, righted the scooter, and gave it a once-over. He twisted the handle. "Tough little thing. Just a scratch. Should still run. If you're okay, you should move on. Don't want to block the gate."

Sheng Xia's body was still stiff. At his words, she moved to the scooter, steadied it, murmured a quiet thank you to the guard, and pulled out her phone.

There was no way she was riding it again.

"Brother Li? I've been in an accident..."

"Accident?" The heavier boy shrugged. Some accident, that was. He watched the flustered girl by the roadside, so serious about the whole thing, with a little amusement.

"Stop staring. Let's go.” The thinner one's voice was impatient. He pushed off, his long legs working the pedals, the bike's gears clicking like a rifle being cocked.

As they rode past Sheng Xia, a gust of wind carried the heavier boy's words to her ears.

"A-Shu, you think she saw you and got so nervous she jumped?"

Sheng Xia, lost in her own self-doubt and shock: ...?

A-Shu?

Where had she heard that name? She turned her head without thinking.

Nanli was a city of tall camphor trees, their canopies draping everything in green shade. Sunlight filtered through, scattering into a thousand golden fragments, softening the harsh summer glare.

The bikes weaved through the dappled light. The boys' laughter faded, and the thinner boy's back disappeared around a corner.

---

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