Summer in Your Name - 48

At one in the morning, Sheng Xia was as awake as a night-blooming cereus.

She’d turned off the light at midnight, but now, sleep still eluded her completely. If this keeps up, she’d be too tired to focus during tomorrow’s exam.

Premature love really could affect your studies.

The thought startled her as soon as it surfaced. Falling in love? 

Who? 

She wasn't!

Feeling had to do something to calm herself, she got up and started reading poetry.

Of all the luck, the book by her pillow was one by Yu Xiuhua, and flipping it open landed her on a love poem—

[I am swathed by the sky

its grasp growing tighter and tighter 

Yet I still make room in the left side of my heart to love you

How incredible it is…] 

Incredible coincidence, indeed. Annoying.

Sheng Xia slammed the book shut, and, as if possessed, grabbed her phone, opened QQ, and clicked into Song Jiang's chat window.

Suddenly, Tao Zhizhi's words echoed in her mind: “Isn't it obvious? You want to understand him, understand his past. Or maybe... you just miss him…”

Staring at the ceiling, Sheng Xia gave up resisting. Perhaps, she did miss him.

This couldn’t go on! Just as she was about to put the phone down, she noticed Zhang Shu’s profile picture pop up in the

‘Friend Updates’ section.

What did he post?

Her hand moved faster than her brain, already clicking through.

Not many people posted updates at this hour, so as soon as she entered the page, she saw Zhang Shu’s posts.

Several posts in a row.

The top two were posted just a minute ago:

[Wishing you sweet dreams.]

[I’m beyond saving.]

Sheng Xia: …?  

Was his account hacked?

She scrolled down.

[Even if the King of Heaven showed up, I’m doomed to insomnia tonight.]

[My night is done for.] 

[I give up.]

[Shared link: #MeditationSpace01#] 

Sheng Xia was utterly confused.

[If you can’t sleep, try this meditation training. It not only improves sleep quality but can enhance focus over time.]

[Little Sheng Xia, asleep yet?]

Seeing her name, Sheng Xia’s hand trembled.

What is he doing?!

Reading backward, she now realized the posts were connected, one after another, all meant for her.

Why didn’t he just message her directly? Posting like this in a public space, what was he trying to do?

And how did he know she couldn't sleep?

Does he think she'll lose sleep because of his confession? Narcissist!

Meditation training.

It sounded a bit mystical. Driven by curiosity, she clicked the link and found an audio file.

Soothing music flowed, accompanied by a gentle, comforting female voice: “Welcome to Meditation Space. Let me guide you to relax, become aware, heal, and transform…”

“Now, choose your most comfortable position, sitting or lying down, and let’s take deep breaths together…”

“Deeply inhale, slowly exhale, inhale, exhale…”

“Imagine yourself lying in a cloud, sinking into soft cotton, your whole body completely relaxed…”

The voice seemed to carry a kind of magic; as Sheng Xia listened, she found herself wanting to follow the instructions.

She truly calmed down.

Sheng Xia paused the audio, turned off the lights, placed the phone by her pillow, pressed replay, and lay back down.

The female voice was slow, as if entering an empty realm. Sheng Xia was gradually guided to relax every part of her body, occasionally drifting off, only to be pulled back by the guiding words. Following the meditation’s rhythm, she slowly slipped into sleep.

One dream later, a new morning—

At six-thirty in the morning, Sheng Xia arrived at the classroom on time. To her surprise, Zhang Shu was already there.

Two classmates were gathered around him, discussing a math problem. 

Sheng Xia walked past them and took her seat.

On her desk was a familiar food container. Hadn’t he said he’d stop bringing these once she recovered?

She had recovered for a while now.

She glanced to her right, Zhang Shu looked up at that moment, their eyes meeting. His brows and eyes crinkled with a smile, though his mouth kept discussing the problem, his explanation uninterrupted.

 

The classmates discussing the problem didn’t notice Zhang Shu’s subtle gesture.

Only Sheng Xia did. 

In that moment of eye contact, something felt… different from before.

She quickly turned her head back, her heartbeat speeding up without permission.

She had already eaten breakfast—the small cake from him.

But opening the food container, the aroma of milky buns wafted out, too tempting to resist. She picked one up and took a small bite.

Soft, creamy, sweet.

As if possessed, she slowly turned her head again. She didn't know what she was thinking, she just wanted to take a look at him.

She’d looked at him before; it wasn’t a big deal.

However, this time, it felt strange, there were two little voices arguing inside her:

Look! Don’t look! Look! No, don’t! Okay, look!

In the end, she couldn't help but steal a glance.

Only for him to look up again, winking at her…

Sheng Xia quickly turned back, determined not to look at him again.

Did he have x-ray vision or something? With people in the way, how did he know she was looking?

Shaking her head, she ate while listening to English audio through her earphones. She didn’t notice when the classmates asking questions left. When she finished a set of questions and removed her earphones, she saw the guy to her right propped on his elbow, staring straight at her.

The morning classroom was still mostly empty, she returned the food container, muttering, “Why are you staring at me like that?”

“I look if I want to,” he replied matter-of-factly. “Learn from me, look at me openly too?"

Sheng Xia: …

She turned back to her book, refusing to engage further!

Wasn’t he ‘beyond saving’ from insomnia last night? Where does all this energy come from?

Zhang Shu gazed at her flushed face and felt absolutely ecstatic. Had he known confessing would feel this good, he’d have done it sooner.

But why was she so shy?

Didn’t she know the idiom, ‘trying to hide only makes it obvious’?

Zhang Shu had stayed awake all night but surprisingly he wasn't even a bit tired now. Taking advantage of the early hour, he decided to work on a set of Five-three practice questions.

Halfway through a reading question, a classmate at the front desk by the door called, “Zhang Shu, someone’s looking for you.”

 

Zhang Shu looked up, frowning slightly.

It was Chen Mengyao.

He stood, his peripheral vision catching Sheng Xia, who sat motionless, as if the world around her was irrelevant.

But Zhang Shu noticed her pen pause on her draft paper for at least a few seconds before resuming her calculations.

He strolled out leisurely.

Chen Mengyao was there to negotiate. "Two hundred per hour. Does that work for you?”

Zhang Shu replied, “That’s the going rate for one-on-one tutoring? No wonder those places are going bankrupt!"

Chen Mengyao suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. Those tutors also offer emotional support! Could he, with that sour face, manage that? 

Still, she explained, “I checked. For one-on-one at agencies, after the split with the agency, the tutor gets about this much. Plus, they have to teach lessons. I only need you to explain problems.”

To be honest, if it was anyone else, he would have jumped at this offer without hesitation. But...

“I really don’t have time. I already have a student,” Zhang Shu said.

Chen Mengyao didn't believe someone could beat her to it. 

"Who?"

Zhang Shu raised an eyebrow. "Well, I'll have to ask her if she’s willing to be my student first.”

Chen Mengyao: …?

She froze, feeling like Zhang Shu was getting weirder, his words cryptic lately. Is this how top students talk?

"That works out perfectly then. Tutor us together. You can’t say my offer’s too low,” Chen Mengyao pressed, undeterred.

“No way,” Zhang Shu’s voice remained flat. “My student might want one-on-one.”  

By now, Chen Mengyao had caught on. Zhang Shu was just making up nonsense, clearly uninterested in tutoring her.

"If you don't agree, just say so! Why waste my time with nonsense?"

With that, Chen Mengyao stormed off, visibly annoyed and frustrated.

Zhang Shu glanced at the group of eager gossipers stretching their necks in the classroom. His gaze finally landed on a calm profile.

There she is—unfazed by it all, lost in her studies, oblivious to the world.

Quite the composed Buddha, huh? 

Incredible. 

---

Zhang Shu’s ‘not tired’ state backfired during the Chinese exam.

He was so tired he felt like his soul was leaving his body, especially after finishing the reading questions. He could barely make out what he'd written.

Glancing at Sheng Xia to his left, he wondered why she loved dealing with words so much. It was practically hypnotic.

After a moment's thought, he remembered this was an end-of-semester exam. No big deal. He put his head down and slept.

Halfway through her essay, Sheng Xia noticed Zhang Shu had fallen asleep at his desk.  

He was done already?

That fast?

After the exam, lunch break started early.

Hou Junqi was eating while scrolling through his phone as usual when he suddenly exclaimed, "Holy shit! A-Shu, how did you already reach King rank?"

Zhang Shu glanced at him. "Was that hard?"

"Not really...but I thought I was seeing things when I got a notification about your streak. Didn't you stop playing and lose all your ranks long ago?" Hou Junqi mumbled through a mouthful of rice. “Consecutive wins, let’s see, 13 stars. Damn, how long did you play…”

“Damn, you pulled an all-nighter? What the hell, playing all night before an exam? And you didn’t even call me…”  

Zhang Shu didn’t respond, just kept eating

Hou Junqi let out another gasp. “Holy crap, you posted updates too? What the hell happened last night? Damn, I’ve never seen you post stuff like this…”

"I'm beyond saving now... A-Shu, you sick? Even if the King of Heaven showed up, I’m doomed to insomnia tonight… You had insomnia? I’m done for tonight… What?” Hou Junqi read aloud, commenting as he scrolled.

“Shut up already! Stop swearing and eat like a civilized person—every grain is hard-earned!” Zhang Shu finally snapped, shoving a chicken leg into Hou Junqi’s mouth.

Sheng Xia paused mid-sip of her soup.

Right!

His posts!

Last night, she was lulled by meditation and forgot the key issue!

How could he mention her name in his post? So many classmates followed him, maybe even teachers, what was she supposed to do now?

Sheng Xia lost her appetite. Ignoring that she was eating, she grabbed her phone, opened Q.Q, and sent Song Jiang a message: “Delete them now!!”

She hit send. As she set her phone down, Zhang Shu’s phone on the table buzzed.

Sheng Xia rarely used her phone while eating, so her actions were especially eye-catching.  

The timing of her sending a message and Zhang Shu receiving one was too much of a coincidence. Hou Junqi’s eyes darted between the two of them: What's going on here? There are obviously three of them here—do they think this is appropriate?

Zhang Shu’s lips curved. He picked up his phone, typed quickly, and set it back down.

Sheng Xia’s phone was on silent. She deliberately waited a bit before picking it up again.

Song Jiang: “Why?”

Why? Seriously?

She replied: “It’s inappropriate.”

Across from her, Zhang Shu picked up his phone again, still smiling. This time, he typed with both hands.  

Sheng Xia kept her phone in hand. Seconds later, she received another message. 

Song Jiang: “What’s inappropriate about it?”

Song Jiang: “Do you have rules for mortals that say we can only sleep at night and not cultivate immortality?”

He also sent a screenshot of his QQ space.

Turns out, only the three posts Hou Junqi read were public. The others had a lock icon.

Does that mean they're visible only to her?

Sheng Xia felt a mix of embarrassment and something else she couldn’t quite name. She asked: “Why didn't you just send me a private message?” 

Song Jiang: [You? Like Princess Pea¹, if you were already asleep, the notification might’ve startled you.] 

(¹: A reference to the fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen, often used in Chinese to describe someone who is overly sensitive or delicate.)

Sheng Xia’s heart fluttered, a tingle spreading through her.

She didn't reply, putting her phone away as naturally as she could and continued drinking her soup.

He… he…

Sheng Xia was at a loss for words.

How could someone be so indescribable!

Yet this indescribable person wasn’t done yet. Sheng Xia saw him lean over and ask, “So, did you sleep well last night?”

His voice was practically rippling.

Hou Junqi, gnawing on his chicken leg, had an earthquake in his pupils.

---

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