Summer in Your Name - 53

Barbecue stalls are all over the streets of Lianli. For the locals, eating barbecue was as normal as having regular meals.

On weekends, people from nearby towns often make a special trip to Lianli just for the barbecue.

Zhang Sujin once ran a barbecue stall herself. As the beautiful owner, she often had to deal with drunk customers causing trouble late at night.

This was how Zhang Shu got his reputation as the little tyrant of Lianli. At thirteen or fourteen, the scrawny kid looked like a breeze could knock him over, but precisely because of this, those who underestimated him ended up crying for mercy after being beaten up by him. ruthless, he’d smash a beer bottle on someone’s back without flinching.

Han Xiao had seen Zhang Shu fight once, his eyes flashing with ferocity. It scared the goody-two-shoes Han Xiao so much that he steered clear of Zhang Shu for all three years of middle school.

Although there were no tourists during the New Year, the streets were bustling with people who had returned home from working elsewhere. At 11 p.m., Lianli’s nightlife was just getting started.

"Ah, nothing beats the air in Lianli—it’s filled with the smell of barbecue!" Han Xiao exclaimed as he plopped down on a small stool.

“Old Du, another pot of lamb spine!” Zhou Yingxiang called out, then asked, “Anything else?”

The barbecue stall was shrouded in smoke, the owner’s voice rang out loudly, “Coming right up! Oh, Han Xiao's back too? Didn’t your mom move to Nanli to buy a big house?”

Han Xiao shouted back, “Nothing compares to Lianli! Nanli doesn’t have Old Du’s barbecue!”

Old Du chuckled, “Hey, this kid knows how to sweet-talk!”

The barbecue stall was lively, people were chatting amidst the sounds of firecrackers and fireworks. 

Factory workers complained about their difficult bosses, white-collar workers boasted about their impressive achievements this year, and business owners discussed big plans for the upcoming year.

No matter their status, once at the barbecue stalls, everyone settled into small wooden stools, taking bites of meat and sips of beer.

"Shu, I heard from my dad your old house is gonna be part of some ancient town project?” Han Xiao’s father worked for the local government, holding some kind of director position, and his mother was the principal of Lianli Elementary School. With that setup, young Han Xiao used to strut around town like he owned it.

Zhang Shu nodded, "Mm, that’s what I heard."

"Your old house must be worth a fortune now. Are you selling?"

"Not sure."

He'd never lived in the old house and had no emotional attachment to it. The decision was entirely up to his sister.

Han Xiao: "By the way, speaking of this ancient town project, the idea was proposed by her dad. If this really takes off, Lianli could see huge development!"

Some of the guys who went to school in Lianli didn’t get it and asked, “Who?”

"Who's dad?" 

Zhou Yingxiang answered proudly, like he was in on a secret, "Your Brother Shu's goddess's dad!"

"What? Isn't it Chen Mengyao?"

Zhou Yingxiang now understood Hou Junqi frustration back then, he scoffed, "Idiot."

"...So who is it? I also saw A-Shu’s post from before. Is he dating someone?"

“What does she look like? Show us!”

“Is she pretty?”

Zhou Yingxiang acted as a spokesperson, responded, "Can’t describe her. ‘Pretty’ is too shallow a word, right, A-Shu?”

 

Zhang Shu just took a sip of the fizzy yellow drink without answering.

"No way? Prettier than Chen Mengyao?"

Zhou Yingxiang: "There's no comparison!"

"Damn, that’s impressive. Show us a picture!”

Han Xiao ignored them and continued, “My dad said Sheng Mingfeng has a solid political track record. He doesn't come from a powerful background; just a hard worker with big ideas and good connections. He’s held big posts in some impressive counties and made a name for himself. Now he’s back in Nanli as the top dog. At his age, he might climb even higher—maybe even get transferred to Dongzhou in a term or two.”

"Dongzhou is a vice-provincial city. If he does well, he could go even further, the kind of guy you’d only see on the evening news.”

"That’s impressive...” Zhou Yingxiang muttered, “Brother Shu, maybe just stick with Chen Mengyao?”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Han Xiao smacked the back of his head.

Zhang Shu looked up, his gaze sharp.

"No, no, I was just talking nonsense, nonsense..." Zhou Yingxiang quickly shut up.

Just as everyone was curious about who this ‘goddess’ was, Zhang Shu’s phone rang. It was an incoming call. 

Zhang Shu looked surprised and gestured, "Quiet."

Then he clicked to answer.

The people beside him mouthed: “Who is it?”

Han Xiao: "His goddess!"

They all pricked up their ears to listen.

Zhang Shu didn’t put it on speaker, so they couldn’t hear what the other person was saying, they only heard his responses.

"What's wrong?" 

His two-word reply had a soft, upbeat lilt, so gentle it was almost mushy—ordinary yet dripping with affection.

Zhou Yingxiang rubbed his arms. Good lord, since when did Brother Shu talk like this?

"Not yet, I'm outside. Yeah, meeting some friends. It's fine. No, don't hang up. Send me a picture—I'll take a look. Mm, okay, that's good. Whatever works for you. I'll pick you up tomorrow. Hm? Alright then let's meet at Yifang Bookstore. Okay, no rush, don’t hang up... let's talk a bit more... OK..."

Now everyone was exchanging glances, all rubbing their arms.

How could someone be like this? He manages to disgust everyone without saying a single romantic word!

When Zhang Shu finally hung up, everyone was ready to bombard him with questions, but before they could say anything, he called out to the stall owner, "Old Du, got any paper and a pen?"

"Of course!"

A moment later, Old Du brought over some order slips and a pen.

Zhang Shu didn't mind. He looked at his phone and started scribbling on the paper.

The group peeked over and was speechless.

He was solving a math proof question that didn’t look simple. He wrote for a good five minutes.

The group just sat there waiting, occasionally whispering among themselves. Finally, he finished writing, snapped a photo, and sent it.

Then, as if nothing had happened, he looked at everyone, "What are you guys doing? Eat up."

"I'm stuffed."

“Knowledge changes fate, brains win romance—I get it now.”

"I should've studied harder back then. I also want to go to Affiliated High School and help a goddess with her homework."

Han Xiao scoffed. "Ha! You think if you got into Affiliated High School, a goddess will ask you for help?"

"Hahahaha!"

By now, everyone had pretty much figured out the situation. One of them asked, "A-Shu, is your girlfriend really the daughter of that, uh... Secretary guy?"

Zhang Shu replied calmly, "She’s not my girlfriend yet."

"Wait, what?"

With what they just witnessed? Who would believe that?

"But why would kids with her background take the tough college entrance exam with us? I thought they'd all use their connections to study abroad.”

"Same thought. Even if she doesn't go now, won't she eventually?"

"A-Shu, you’re aiming for Heyan University, aren’t you? That’s a tough one to get into

“Does that mean you’re headed for a long-distance relationship?”

Han Xiao: “Heyan’s got tons of good universities, not just Heqing and Haiyan. Sure, the score cutoffs are high, but Sheng Xia’s grades are pretty solid, right?”

"But the issue isn't her grades; it's whether she wants to go, no?" 

“...”

The gathering lasted until dawn. Zhang Shu returned home at 2 AM, and was surprised to see Zhang Sujin still awake.

"Sis? Why are you still up?"

"Waiting for you."

Zhang Shu tossed his keys aside. "Why wait like this? You could've just called."

“You rarely get to see your friends, and you’re heading back to Nanli tomorrow, I thought you could spend some more time with them. I didn't want to rush you and ruin the fun.”

"Do you have something to tell me?" Zhang Shu sat down on the couch.

Zhang Sujin hesitated, “About tomorrow’s dinner…”

“Yeah, what’s up? Plans changed?”

Tomorrow, Zhang Sujin’s boyfriend had arranged for both families to meet, a plan set since New Year’s Eve. 

 

Zhang Sujin: “No changes, just giving you a heads-up about their family so you’re not caught off guard.”

Zhang Shu: “What, they got an evil mother-in-law or something?”

Zhang Sujin: "No, his parents passed away already. His family’s pretty well-off, which is why I hesitated to commit before. He has a nephew, and you know him..."

"It’s Lu Youze, that kid from your class who used to come to our Afternoon Care.”

The Lu family?

That’s more than just ‘quite well-off’.

Zhang Shu's expression remained neutral, but his eyebrows raised slightly.

“You didn’t really get along with him before, so tomorrow...”

Before Zhang Sujin could finish, Zhang Shu chuckled, “Sis, what are you worried about? It’s such a happy occasion, I won’t do anything to him. Besides, having an extra nephew isn’t so bad, don't you think?"

Zhang Sujin: "..."

She had a bad feeling about this.

---

Sheng Xia went to bed early, though it was already midnight, but compared to her usual bedtime of two or three in the morning, this counted as an early night.

She needed to wake up early tomorrow to finish all her planned afternoon study tasks in the morning.

Because at 3 p.m., she had a plan with Zhang Shu at Yifang Bookstore.

While setting her alarm, Sheng Xia hesitated.

Six a.m.?

Hmm…

What if he asks her to stay out for dinner?

Maybe she should finish some of the evening tasks too.

In the end, she set the alarm for five and fell asleep with a smile on her face. 

The next day, after lunch, she didn't take a nap but stood before her wardrobe, unsure of what to wear.

Nanli had a warm spring; even during the New Year, temperatures could reach 28°C, leaving no room for winter.

What should she wear?

She has a lot of clothes, but most of them are sportswear. They came in sets, so she never had to worry about matching them.

But... today, she didn't want to wear sportswear.

"Sis? Mom said you're going out with Sister Zhizhi. Can I come along?" Wu Qiuxuan suddenly appeared at Sheng Xia's door, excited.

Sheng Xia avoided her gaze. "Um, we're just going to the bookstore. It'll be pretty boring."

"Better than staying home!"

“You,” Sheng Xia randomly picked out a cotton dress, “You're starting school tomorrow, don’t you still have homework to finish?”

Wu Qiuxuan pouted. "Then I’ll bring it to the bookstore. A change of scenery might help! My brain’s not working properly here!"

Sheng Xia wasn't good at lying and didn't know what else to say, pretending to be stern. "No, go hang out with your own friends. You can't spend every day with me."

Wu Qiuxuan was confused but then noticed the dress on Sheng Xia’s bed. "Sis? You’re wearing a dress?"

"Uh... I'm still deciding what to wear..." Sheng Xia admitted, still unsatisfied, and opened the wardrobe again, staring at her clothes.

Wu Qiuxuan walked inside with a playful look in her eyes. "You're wearing a dress when going out with Sis Zhizhi? It's just a bookstore. Why are you worrying about what to wear?"

Sheng Xia’s heart skipped. What’s with Qiuxuan? Did she figure something out?

“You’re not going to meet Brother Zhang Shu, are you?”

At these words, Sheng Xia slammed her wardrobe shut. "What are you talking about, Wu Qiuxuan!"

“Heehee, got it, I won't tag along. Your little sister is super understanding!" Wu Qiuxuan giggled, retreating. Before closing the door, she whispered, “Sis, don’t tie your hair up. Wear a pretty hairpin!”

Sheng Xia changed into the dress and stood before the mirror, eyeing the crystal hairpin in her dark hair, hesitating.

Is it… too much?

She took off the hairpin, put it in her bag, and left home.

Between riding her scooter or taking a taxi, Sheng Xia chose the scooter. That way, if Zhang Shu wanted to go somewhere else later, they'd have a way to get there. Taxis were expensive, and he was such a frugal person.

At this thought, she went back home to grab another helmet.

Wu Qiuxuan watched as her older sister left for the second time and sighed: one is beautiful, the other is handsome. For a moment, she didn't know who to envy, her sister or brother Zhang Shu.

Sheng Xia remembered Tao Zhizhi’s advice: ‘Never arrive early on a first date.’ She had timed her departure carefully, but maybe she rode too fast because she arrived at 2:45.

So she turned around, stopped a block away from Yifang Bookstore, parked, and scrolled her phone to kill time.

Before she knew it, she had opened his chat window again. Their last message was still at the voice call she made to him last night.

He'd told her she could call him anytime she got stuck on a problem.

So that's what she did last night.

She didn’t expect it to be so noisy on his end, he was hanging out with friends. She felt embarrassed just thinking about so many people around him.

But he still helped her solve the problem.

In front of everyone, could this be considered as openly showing favoritism?

Sheng Xia’s lips curved up. It’d been a week since they last saw each other. The weather was warm, what would he wear today?

He mentioned having a family gathering today, so he must have dressed up a bit, right?

She hoped she wasn't the only one looking deliberate. 

As the time approached, Sheng Xia rode her scooter to the bookstore, pushing open the door right on time.

He wasn't there yet.

Did the gathering run late?

Sheng Xia chose a sunny spot by the window, ordered a glass of water, and decided to wait for him before ordering anything else.

At 3:15, he still hadn’t shown up. Sheng Xia, with nothing to do, started scrolling through her phone again. Should she ask?

It's only been fifteen minutes. If she called him now and he really had something come up, it might make her seem too eager.

So she didn't. 

The phone screen went black, reflecting her less-than-happy face.

Sheng Xia forced a smile, then took out a hairpin from her bag and put it on.

At 3:30, he still hadn’t arrived.

Sheng Xia opened his chat window countless times. In the end, she gritted her teeth and sent a message: "Where are you?"

Almost instantly, the chat window showed: “Typing…”

But two whole minutes passed with no reply.

Huh?

Was he busy and couldn’t reply?

Just as she was wondering, her phone vibrated—[Song Jiang is inviting you to a voice call...]

Sheng Xia quickly answered.

"Hello, are you..."

"Sheng Xia, go back home first.”

---

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