Summer in Your Name - 43

Sheng Xia was spinning like a top.

Every night, she didn’t get to sleep until after two in the morning.

The ‘suggested' assignments were so overwhelming she couldn’t even finish half of it, and she couldn’t take it home either, because Zhang Shu had brought her a stack of exam papers for practice. She had to carve out dedicated time to complete them strictly within the exam time limits.

Zhang Shu would check them the next day.

The test papers were printed on A4 sheets, God knows where Zhang Shu got them from, they also came with incredibly detailed answer keys.

So even during breaks and mealtimes, Zhang Shu was explaining problems to her.

The person fetching water for her had switched to Hou Junqi.

Hou Junqi was already set to take a gap year abroad after college entrance exams for a language prep course, so he barely needed to study anymore.

When Sheng Xia was exhausted, she couldn’t help but envy how he could just flop onto his desk whenever he felt like it.

Though, if she really wanted to, she could do the same.

Xin Xiaohe teased, “Xiaxia, how does it feel to have a personal tutor on call? Pretty awesome, right?”

Awesome?

Honestly, it didn’t feel that awesome.

It wasn’t that she wasn’t thrilled—it was that he didn’t seem to be.

Though Zhang Shu explained everything meticulously, his temper was as fiery as ever. Sheng Xia couldn’t help but think he’d been grumpy for a bit too long.

And she had no idea what to do about it.

She tried slipping him some candies, but he coldly returned them back, saying, “You think I’m tutoring you for a few lollipops or chocolates?”

Then what are you doing it for?

Sheng Xia blinked, not daring to ask.

During the long break, everyone else went out for morning exercises, leaving only Sheng Xia and the student on cleaning duty in the classroom. Every day at this time, Sheng Xia would ditch her crutches and walk along the corridor, holding onto the windowsill. The day before yesterday, she’d even gone to get water by herself.

But on her way back, the pain was so bad she broke out in a sweat, so she didn’t dare try that again and stuck to walking the ten-meter stretch of Class 6’s corridor.

She was just about to get up when someone called her name.

“Sheng Xia.”

It was Zhou Xuanxuan.

“Can you step out for a sec?”

The students on cleaning duty were sweeping and mopping, glancing at them curiously.

Sheng Xia grabbed her crutches and followed Zhou Xuanxuan out to the staircase under the covered walkway, where, to her surprise, she saw Chen Mengyao.

Sheng Xia wasn’t flustered, just a little puzzled.

“Why don’t you sit down?” Chen Mengyao said coolly, scrolling through her phone.

There was a low barrier next to them, designed like wide steps where people often sat to bask in the sun during breaks.

Sheng Xia replied calmly, “Thanks, I’m fine.”

This clearly wasn’t going to be a cozy girl talk, she just wanted to get it over with and head back to class.

Zhou Xuanxuan spoke up, “Sheng Xia, about the school sports festival, I want to apologize. I really didn’t mean it. I’ve been feeling awful lately, and I hope you can forgive me.”

An apology…

It had been over a month since the incident, and her leg was almost healed. Apologizing now felt a bit odd.

Sheng Xia said, “It’s fine.”

A brief silence followed. Sheng Xia asked, “Is there anything else?”

Surely, they wouldn’t have called her out just for a single apology, right?

Zhou Xuanxuan glanced at Chen Mengyao, who remained silent, showing no intention of speaking. Zhou Xuanxuan was at a loss, she hadn’t prepared anything else to say. She thought Yaoyao had something to say! Wasn’t it Yaoyao who told her to apologize?

Under Sheng Xia’s gaze, Zhou Xuanxuan blurted out, “So, can we… be friends?”

Both Sheng Xia and Chen Mengyao were taken aback. Even Zhou Xuanxuan felt her tongue tie itself in knots.

The atmosphere froze. The rhythmic sound of morning exercises echoed in the background: Three-two-three-four, four-two-three-four, providing a beat to the awkwardness.

After a long pause, Sheng Xia, though skeptical, answered earnestly, “Sure, we can. But becoming friends isn’t something you can just decide on. It happens naturally. Besides, there are all kinds of friends, lifelong bonds like Guan Zhong and Bao Shuya, or kindred spirits like Yu Boya and Zhong Ziqi, while others are just casual acquaintances or drinking buddies. We’re classmates, so in a way, we’re already friends…”

Zhou Xuanxuan: …

Chen Mengyao: …

Well, their thought processes were on different wavelengths, their cultural references worlds apart. Perhaps it was best to let things be? 

 

A strange thought crossed Chen Mengyao’s head, Sheng Xia is actually kind of cute.  

And kind of pretty, too.

Words she’d planned to say stuck in her throat. Instead, she called out, “Sheng Xia.”

Sheng Xia: “Hm?”

“Do you like Zhang Shu?”

Sheng Xia’s crutch wobbled, but she steadied herself quickly.

Was she dizzy from standing too long? What did Chen Mengyao just ask?

“Why don’t you sit down?” Zhou Xuanxuan muttered, equally shocked. Yaoyao was way too direct.

Was Sheng Xia this easily startled?

Chen Mengyao resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “Let me cut to the chase. I heard you two are together? If you are, then fine, I’m pretty busy anyway and will probably get over it soon. If not, do you like him?”

Sheng Xia was still dazed but decided to answer the first question. “We’re not together.”

“Good,” Chen Mengyao said, straightening up from leaning against a pillar. She smiled and continued, “I like Zhang Shu. I messed up before, but I’m going to win him back. I’m confident I can. But I don’t do side-chick stuff. If you two are together, don’t hide it, tell me straight up. That’s all I wanted to confirm.”

Sheng Xia: …?

So bold.

Sheng Xia actually wanted to say, I just want to focus on studying.

But Chen Mengyao wasn’t lingering for a battle, or maybe she was a bit embarrassed and wanted to escape the ‘battlefield’ quickly. With a few long strides, she disappeared from Sheng Xia’s sight.

Zhou Xuanxuan stood frozen, unsure whether to follow Chen Mengyao or go back to her own class with Sheng Xia.

Sheng Xia didn’t pay much attention to Zhou Xuanxuan’s dilemma. She returned to the classroom, put away her crutches, and slowly walked along the windowsill to exercise.

The conversation had taken up some time, and now the students doing morning exercises were starting to trickle back, the corridor gradually filling with people. To maintain order, the school assigned closer exercise fields to higher-floor classes, so they returned earlier. Class 6’s field was farther away, and no one was back yet.

Sheng Xia started to panic, worried someone might bump into her. With the colder weather, she wore oversized pants and fluffy shoes, hiding the cast on her leg. From the outside, she looked normal, so no one would deliberately avoid her.

As more and more people filled the corridor, some even playfully pushed and shoved each other. Sheng Xia stopped, gripping the windowsill, waiting for the crowd to thin out.

“Sheng Xia!”

She heard a familiar voice and looked toward the staircase.

Lu Youze was coming down from the second floor, weaving through the crowd toward her. When he reached her, he stretched out his arms to create a small protective space around her, asking anxiously, “You okay?”

Onlookers glanced at them curiously.

Sheng Xia shook her head. “I’m fine. Didn’t you go to morning exercises?”

“Andrew wanted to talk to me about something,” Lu Youze said.

Andrew was their English teacher.

Lu Youze continued, “I’ll shield you. Let’s go, be careful.”

“Thanks,” Sheng Xia said, taking small steps.

Lu Youze asked, “Have you started planning your language courses yet?”

“Not yet.”

“East coast or west coast?”

“I haven’t decided…”

“No rush, take your time picking.”

“Yeah.”

People were trickling back into the classroom. Sheng Xia completed her walk and entered through the back door. Just as she reached the last row, she stopped in her tracks.

At the front door, on the other side of the aisle, Zhang Shu stood by his desk, hands in his pockets, legs crossed casually, one foot tapping the floor.

His posture was both relaxed yet intimidating, like he was waiting for a guilty party to face judgment.

The scene felt familiar, it had happened just recently.

But Sheng Xia was immune by now. She lowered her head, carefully navigated around the boxes of books on the floor to reach her seat.

No need to look at him.

She wasn’t his prisoner.

Lu Youze settled into his own seat, also ignoring Zhang Shu.

Zhang Shu’s jaw tightened, a surge of nameless frustration bubbling up with nowhere to go, flaring and then forcibly suppressed.

It was like smoke choking his throat, stifling and irritating.

He knew he’d been losing control more often lately.

“Did you finish summarizing the physics mistakes from yesterday?” Zhang Shu sat down and asked.

Sheng Xia replied, “Not yet.”

Then why aren’t you working on it?”

 Zhang Shu urged impatiently.

Still in the mood to stroll and chat?

Sheng Xia even wondered if Zhang Shu had already met Lu Youze’s uncle, which might explain his recent mood swings.

But this was making her feel uneasy.

Not just a little.

A lot. She’d been uneasy for days.

If she thought about it, his attitude wasn’t much different from when they first met and weren't yet close. But it's hard to go from warmth to coldness, now even the slightest indifference pained her. 

She bit her lip, slowly looking up. “Zhang Shu, if you don’t have time to tutor me, it’s really okay. I’m already so grateful. You don’t have to… don’t have to be so fierce with me…”

After saying this, she didn’t dare look at his reaction, quickly turning away.

Zhang Shu froze. Was he being fierce?

The image of her aggrieved eyes lingered in his mind, his chest ached with a sudden, inexplicable pain. He felt a little lost.  

He seemed to understand now—raising his voice was considered fierce by her standards.

He was about to say something when the bell rang. Class started.

It was math class, and Lai Yilin had arrived early.

Sheng Xia pulled out the textbook and Zhang Shu’s notebook. Lately, she’d gotten better at multitasking, listening to the lecture while reviewing her notes to fill the gaps in her understanding.

Lai Yilin’s voice was so loud it could be heard in the next classroom, students almost never get distracted when listening to her lectures.

Sheng Xia focused on the lesson, following the teacher’s pace, no longer paying attention to Zhang Shu.

Then, suddenly, a helpless voice came from her right. “I didn’t mean to be fierce to you…”

Sheng Xia froze.

Not just because of what he said, it was how loud he said it.

She looked up and saw Lai Yilin pause mid-motion, while Hou Junqi and his desk mate turned around, eyes wide with shock. It wasn’t her imagination, his voice was definitely loud.

The classroom fell silent.

Zhang Shu, uncharacteristically, looked stunned himself.

 

How was he supposed to know that the moment he spoke, Lai Yilin would turn to write on the board and stop talking?

How was he supposed to know his casual comment would come out that loud?

His mind was a mess, how could he keep track of such things?

Ridiculous.

What are they, a bunch of gaping geese who’d never seen the world? What was there to be so shocked about?

Lai Yilin, the ‘head goose’, recovered first, chuckled, and flung a piece of chalk at Zhang Shu. “Don’t bully your deskmate!”

Zhang Shu dodged with a tilt of his head:…

The class snickered.

The lesson quickly resumed its normal rhythm, the small interruption fading away.

But Sheng Xia felt the atmosphere between her and Zhang Shu had grown even more awkward.

---

The end of the year was packed with holidays, Winter Solstice, Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Year's, but for senior-year students, they were just regular days.

However, Christmas Eve still caused a bit of a stir.  

Exchanging peace apples¹ in the dorms was pretty popular.

(¹: In Chinese, apple (píngguǒ) sounds similar to peace (píng’ān), making apples a popular gift on Christmas Eve in China, symbolizing wishes for peace and safety.)

Xin Xiaohe gave Sheng Xia a beautifully wrapped apple, but Sheng Xia hadn’t prepared anything, so she gave Xin Xiaohe a pack of chocolates in return.

This week, Zhang Shu had moved to sit by the window, which made it convenient for people to give him gifts. Now his windowsill was piled with these ‘peace apples’. 

From summer to winter, some people’s popularity never waned.

When Zhang Shu arrived, he was holding a small reindeer plushie.

He glanced at the peace apples but ignored them. But when he saw one on Sheng Xia's desk, he frowned. “Who gave you that?”

Sheng Xia wasn’t fond of his recent tone. But before she could decide how to respond, Xin Xiaohe tugged her arm, whispering mischievously, “A junior gave it to her!”

“Over Packaged. Needs more environmental awareness,” Zhang Shu said flatly, sitting down casually.

Xin Xiaohe: …

Lu Youze arrived just before class, pulling a peace apple from his bag. It was even more elaborately packaged in a little flower basket. “Xiaxia, peace and happiness!”

Sheng Xia took it, flustered. “I didn’t prepare anything…”

At No. 2 High School, not many people exchanged these, since apples that normally cost a few yuan could sell for dozens on this day. 

So she dug out her last pack of chocolates to give to Lu Youze, saying, “Thanks, peace and happiness for you too!”

Zhang Shu’s grip on the reindeer’s neck tightened, nearly twisting it off.

Why was everyone giving her stuff?

Did she have that many chocolates?

Did she think everyone would fall for her tricks?

What a dummy!

Zhang Shu tossed the little reindeer onto the windowsill, irritated, and pulled out a test paper to work on.

Suddenly, a figure appeared at the window. “A-Shu!”

It was Chen Mengyao calling Zhang Shu, but the whole class turned to look.

Chen Mengyao, used to being the center of attention, didn't seem bothered at all. She handed him an apple and asked, "Where's my exam paper?"

Zhang Shu pulled a folder from his bag and gave it to her.

Sheng Xia was about to look away when her gaze landed on the folder.

It was the same set she was using, exam papers and answer keys from Affiliated High School’s first and second years.

She’d thought he’d prepared them just for her, something only she had.

Apparently not.

Sheng Xia swallowed lightly, turning her focus to her assignment.

But she could still hear their conversation clearly.

“No return gift for me?” Chen Mengyao asked playfully.

Zhang Shu glanced at the windowsill. “Pick one if you want.”

“No way, none of them are as nice as the one I gave you!” Chen Mengyao reached for the reindeer. “I want this!”

Zhang Shu snatched it back. “No way!”

Then Sheng Xia saw the flower basket peace apple from Lu Youze get whisked away from her desk.

She stared, dumbfounded, as Zhang Shu took it and tossed the reindeer onto her desk in its place.

“Let’s swap,” Zhang Shu said to Sheng Xia.

Then he turned and handed the flower basket to Chen Mengyao. “This one’s nicer than yours. Take it.”

Chen Mengyao: …

Sheng Xia: …

Lu Youze: …

Chen Mengyao left, flipping Zhang Shu off as she went.

The entire Class 6: …

What kind of plot twist was this?

The room was silent, no one making a sound.

Hou Junqi was practically choking, trying not to laugh. Zhang Shu’s whole move was so smooth, so effortless, zero trace of ‘deliberateness’. What kind of natural yet bizarre maneuver was that?

 

Hou Junqi: “Shu, that’s inhumane!”

Zhang Shu, completely oblivious to any moral lapse, said dismissively, “Whatever.”

If he wanted to be ‘human’, that flower basket would’ve been incinerated by his glare by the end of the day if he had his way.

Sheng Xia glanced at Lu Youze, feeling a bit guilty since the gift he had given her had been taken and given to someone else.  

Lu Youze was clearly annoyed but reassured her, “It’s fine.”

Sheng Xia nodded, holding the reindeer and asking Zhang Shu, “This…”

Zhang Shu, irritated by their little exchange, waved it off. “The stationery store gave it to me.”

Sheng Xia kept it.

Whether out of resignation or a selfish impulse, she wasn’t sure. 

---

← Previous | Table of Contents | Next →

0