Summer in Your Name - 78
Sheng Xia received the text message with her exam results just as she was picking Wu Qiuxuan up from the exam hall.
At the same moment, another message arrived, announcing the cutoff scores.
[XX Provincial Education Examination Bureau] Priority Admission Line: Arts 536, Sciences 524; Undergraduate Line: Arts 430, Sciences 410.
Sheng Xia’s score was 65 points above the first-tier cutoff. Zhang Shu, meanwhile, surpassed it by a staggering 191 points.
Wu Qiuxuan clung to Sheng Xia’s arm the entire way home, refusing to let go. “Who needs to repost koi fish for luck? I’ve got the real thing right here, a shining, golden koi!”
Wang Lianhua chimed in, “Look at your sister, always improving, always pushing forward. You should follow her example and study hard."
Wu Qiuxuan grinned but didn’t respond to Wang Lianhua. Instead, she leaned close to Sheng Xia’s ear and whispered, “If I study hard, will I meet someone like Brother Zhang Shu?”
Sheng Xia’s reply was soft but resolute. “No way.”
How could it be so easy to meet someone like Zhang Shu?
He was the surprise of youth.
He was the adventure of summer.
---
At eight that evening, Affiliated High School’s official website, Weibo, and WeChat simultaneously posted a celebratory announcement.
The word [TOP SCORER] dominated the headline, bold and golden.
The announcement itself was concise, cutting straight to the point without any flowery language.
[Zhang Shu of Nanli University Affiliated High School, Ranked First in Science Track Scores and Total Score in the College Entrance Exam: 715 points]
The layout was awash in celebratory red, the design unapologetically bold, radiating two words: showing off.
Below, it listed other glorious achievements: the school maintained the province’s highest rate of students admitted to top-tier universities, with a commanding lead in high-scoring students.
Everytime Sheng Xia looked at her phone, whether it was Weibo, Xinfeng, QQ, or WeChat, the celebratory announcement was everywhere.
In the Class 6 group chat, messages flew by so fast that a blink meant missing half the conversation.
Red envelope relays and firecracker emojis flooded the screen.
“I’m in the same class as the top scorer! I’m gonna brag about this for years!”
“Brother Shu, absolute legend!”
"Crying, brb, gotta brag about it on Xinfeng!”
“Calling Brother Shu! Calling Brother Shu!”
“A-Shu’s phone must be blowing up right now. No way he's got time for us!"
Zhang Shu: “1111111”
Zhang Shu sent a red envelope: Thanks.
“Grabbing the top scorer’s red envelope!”
“Eating the top scorer’s celebratory candy!”
“Wait, what candy? Where, where?”
“Calling Sheng Xia! Calling Sheng Xia!”
“Where’s Xiaxia? Where’s Xiaxia?”
“Hold up, Sheng Xia got into Heqing University’s Strong Foundation Program. Am I the last to know?”
“Holy crap!”
“No freaking way! You’re not the last, I am! Is this for real? Calling Sheng Xia! Calling Sheng Xia!”
Zhang Shu: “11111111111.”
Zhang Shu: “It’s real.”
“I’m exhausted from all this jealousy.”
“My god, my god. I’m green with envy and it’s not pretty.”
“The CP I ship is real!”
“They’re a perfect match, I’m tired of saying it.”
“Get married already! I’m the Civil Affairs Bureau, I’ll officiate in person!”
“This is insane. Are we sure our class is just a regular one?”
“Everyone, let’s go flex on Xinfeng!”
On Xinfeng, five out of ten posts were about Zhang Shu.
[Wow, this senior’s going down in our school history, right?]
— [Let's be real here, 715 isn't even that high for a top scorer at Affiliated High School’s history. There was a 730 once!]
— [Hey, upstairs commenter, how much did YOU score?]
— [It’s not the same. This guy made the government bulletin for his heroic act, okay?]
— [Show some respect. He's this year’s poster boy for positivity.]
[Your dad will always be your dad, even after a month in the hospital, he comes back and STILL owns everyone!]
— [Correction: 42 days in hospital, thank you very much.]
— [Guess the first mock exam really does decide everything. Zhang Shu was first then, too, right?]
— [Wonder what those clowns dissing him are feeling now.]
— [The same people dissing him are now hyping him up. The internet’s just a bunch of bandwagoners with a memory of a goldfish!]
[A top scorer who looks like that? This year’s Top Ten Outstanding Youth poll is gonna blow up. Hot search incoming.]
— [Some people exist just to remind you how ordinary you are.]
— [Top Ten Outstanding Youth? What’s that?]
— [It’s on the homepage of Nanli Public Network’s WeChat account. Voting’s open, and he’s miles ahead!]
— [Is that like a government-approved good citizen badge?]
— [This guy’s a living legend.]
[Zhang Shu’s girlfriend got into Heqing University!]
— [Scores just dropped, and you're already guaranteeing her admission to Heqing?]
— [Wasn’t his girlfriend a transfer from No. 2 High School? Her grades are that good?]
— [Ever heard of the Strong Foundation Program? It’s not easier than the College Entrance Exam, comrades.]
— [Fairytale couple.]
— [No way, for real? Their senior year vs. my upcoming senior year!]
[Let’s not get sidetracked. Winning the top scorer title to Affiliated High School is legendary! Congrats Zhang Shu!]
— [Let’s build this thread! Congrats, Zhang Shu!]
— [Congrats, Zhang Shu!]
— [Congrats, Zhang Shu!]
The thread hit a thousand replies, reaching Xinfeng’s maximum limit before the post locked automatically.
Weibo saw a wave of buzz too. Some local Nanli official accounts reposted the celebratory announcements, though their congratulations were mostly directed at the school, rather than specific individuals.
Self-media accounts, however, were a different story. Zhang Shu’s past interviews were dug up, and some of his quotes were even turned into memes.
Like this one: “What’s there to get excited about school? School’s hard work.”
Now stamped with ‘Top Scorer Certified’.
The top scorer himself said it, school is just hard work!
If even the top scorer doesn’t love school, what’s wrong with me not loving it too?
Sheng Xia watched the spectacle unfold, pride mingling with a quiet melancholy.
Just two months ago, the internet was full of pessimism and doubt about him.
Scrolling her phone in the car made her dizzy. The messages were all variations of the same things, so she turned off the screen, leaned back, and rested her eyes.
At 9:30 PM, the car stopped at the entrance of their residential complex. The security gate lifted, lowered, then lifted again, yet Wang Lianhua didn’t drive in.
Sheng Xia looked puzzled, following her mother’s gaze to the right.
Wu Qiuxuan squealed, “Sis, is that Brother Zhang Shu?!”
By the side of the road near the entrance, a tall young man straddled a bicycle, checking his phone under a streetlight.
The light cast a soft glow over him, his silhouette lean and faint against the night.
Wang Lianhua glanced back at Sheng Xia. "Getting off here, or coming home first?”
Sheng Xia reached for the door handle. “Here.”
“Don’t wander far. Home by ten,” Wang Lianhua reminded.
“Got it, Mom.”
—
Zhang Shu looked up at the sound of the car door closing. When he saw Sheng Xia, surprise flickered across his face.
Since the scores were released, his phone hadn’t stopped buzzing. Media, university recruiters were one thing, but even random companies started offering him money.
No such thing as a free lunch. He couldn’t be bothered to deal with them, so he went out and got a new SIM card.
After leaving the service center, he’d cycled aimlessly until, somehow, he found himself at her neighborhood. Even he was a little surprised.
How did he end up here?
Since he was already here, he’d messaged her to ask if she was back. Half an hour passed with no reply.
And now, there she was, appearing out of nowhere, like she’d dropped from the sky.
Is this what fairy do?
As the car rolled into the underground garage, Sheng Xia hurried over, eyes crinkling with a smile. "What are you doing here?”
Zhang Shu pocketed his phone. “What do you think?”
Sheng Xia pointed to the sky. "No crescent moon tonight."
Zhang Shu glanced up, then gestured at the trees. “But we have Nanli’s camphor trees.”
Sheng Xia giggled. “Who talks about themselves like that?”
Was he really admitting to being shamelessly clingy?
He was still straddling his bike, and she stood a few steps away. Zhang Shu, annoyed by the distance, grabbed her hand and pulled her close. With a gentle tug, he wrapped an arm around her waist.
Now at this angle, she was level with him, their gazes aligned.
Zhang Shu asked lightly, “Didn’t check your phone?”
Sheng Xia glanced around guiltily. “Fell asleep in the car.”
He gently turned her face back to him. “No one’s watching you.”
That line felt familiar. Sheng Xia muttered, “The top scorer is watching me.”
Zhang Shu visibly paused, then broke into a laugh. After a moment, his smile softened, his gaze lingering on her lips before slowly meeting her bright, dark eyes.
The world around them fell silent.
He raised a brow, his hand giving her a gentle squeeze, encouraging.
Sheng Xia’s lips, tightly pressed, relaxed. She leaned in, brushing a quick kiss on his lips, her face flushing crimson with shyness.
He wasn’t satisfied. “You didn’t miss me.”
“I do…”
“No sincerity.”
His eyes lingered on her lips, his meaning clear.
Sheng Xia leaned in again, pressing a kiss like a stamp, grazing his lips.
The softness sent tremors through her heart.
Before she could pull away, he cradled the back of her head, tilting his own to deepen the kiss. His lips captured hers—sucking gently, pressing hard, then soothing with a light lick. His tongue teased her lips apart, slow and deliberate, entwining with hers.
Unlike their first kiss’s raw urgency, he was patient, savoring her like a delicate dessert.
Sheng Xia was hyper-aware of every touch—his high nose grazing her cheek, his hand moving from the back of her head to her ear, thumbing her earlobe, caressing gently.
Her breathing faltered. He was yearning for more, cupping her face, shifting angles, chasing another kiss.
Her lips tingling, Sheng Xia pushed against his chest.
After what felt like eternity, he withdrew his lips and tongue, peppering her with soft pecks before planting a final kiss on her forehead and letting go.
“That’s about how much I missed you.”
“…”
"Aren’t you supposed to be super busy?" Sheng Xia scrambled for subject. "I heard your phone’s getting bombarded with messages."
Zhang Shu: "It's not that bad. Check your phone, save my new number."
Sheng Xia pulled out her phone and saw his message from half an hour ago.
She could guess why he’d changed his number. Talk about efficiency.
“Is this the burden of overnight fame?” she teased, saving his contact.
Zhang Shu pinched her cheek. "Enjoying my misery, are we? Want me to show you how many confession DMs I’ve got on Weibo? Have some sense of crisis, will you?”
Sheng Xia actually felt a twinge of nerves. “Didn’t you say you don’t check Weibo anymore?”
Satisfied with her reaction, Zhang Shu stopped teasing her. "Just guessing.”
Sheng Xia shot him a look. “Narcissist.”
By the time Sheng Xia reluctantly returned home and checked Weibo before bed,
She realized he hadn’t been narcissistic after all, even if he hadn’t bothered to check.
His Weibo was flooded with confessions from juniors and schoolmates, even students from other schools, flocking to his page and leaving satisfied.
His follower count had skyrocketed to nearly fifty thousand.
Some comments were rallying votes for the ‘Nanli Top Ten Outstanding Youth’ award.
Sheng Xia clicked the official voting page. His votes had doubled since she last checked, leaving other candidates’ in the dust.
She messaged him on QQ: “Didn’t expect you’d be in the running for this kind of selection?"
Zhang Shu replied almost instantly: “Because the mayor will present the awards.”
“Wow,” she typed, “that’s amazing!”
Zhang Shu: “…”
Zhang Shu: “He’s your dad’s colleague.”
Was this his roundabout way of making an impression before her father’s colleague?
Well, that was… quite the long game.
---
A few days later, they returned to school to submit their college application. The squad gathered again.
Sheng Xia’s choices were straightforward. Her first pick was Heqing University’s Classical Chinese Literature program under the Faculty of Arts. Following Wang Wei’s advice, she also listed Chinese Language programs at several 211-tier universities as backups.
Xin Xiaohe’s score fell short for Dongzhou University. so she chose Yang Linyu’s school, Heyan Tech, as her first pick.
But her score was dangerously close to the cutoff, and her desired majors were highly competitive. She hesitated over checking the ‘accept reassignment’ box.
Yang Linyu advised beside her, “Study what you love. If Heyan Tech doesn’t work, try other school in Heyan.”
Xin Xiaohe wavered. “But Heyan Tech is in the city center. The others are in the suburbs, so far away.”
Heyan was massive. Wouldn't that be no different from a long-distance relationship?
Yang Linyu: “I promise to visit you every weekend.”
Xin Xiaohe: “Honestly, I don’t even know what I want to study.”
Sheng Xia didn’t know how they decided in the end, but knowing Xiaohe was also heading to Heyan made her happy.
Zhang Shu filled out his application under the watchful eyes of the school leaders, grade director, and a crowd of subject teachers.
Though their presence was merely ceremonial. No one could sway his decision.
He only needed to pick his first choice, since there was no possibility of rejection.
His final choice was kept confidential to avoid media attention.
That evening over dinner, Xin Xiaohe asked curiously, “Xiaxia, what major did Brother Shu pick?”
Sheng Xia shook her head. “I don’t know.”
Xin Xiaohe blinked. “You don't know? He didn’t tell you? You didn’t ask?”
Sheng Xia smiled. “He’ll choose what suits him, what he loves. That’s all that matters.”
Xin Xiaohe gave a thumbs-up. “Wow, already giving off ‘supportive wife’ energy? I bet, even at a place like Heqing University, packed wall-to-wall with geniuses, you two are gonna be a power couple.”
Sheng Xia didn’t argue but after a thoughtful pause, she said, “He probably won’t pick Heqing, though? Haiyan seems more likely.”
Xin Xiaohe: “What? Not the same school as you?”
Sheng Xia: “Not sure. Don't you think Haiyan seems more his style?”
Xin Xiaohe: “I really don’t get you two. I mean, sure, they’re just across the street from each other, so it’s not like it’s far…”
Xin Xiaohe trailed off, then frowned, the more she thought about it, the less it made sense. “But didn’t you work so hard for Heqing’s Strong Foundation Program because of him?”
However you looked at it, Zhang Shu owed it to her to match that effort.
Sheng Xia looked at her, puzzled. “Is that what you thought?”
“Wasn’t it?” Everyone had thought so.
Sheng Xia laughed softly. “No. I love Chinese, especially classical Chinese. If I didn’t get into Heqing, studying abroad was my only option. That’s the main reason why I worked so hard. He just… made the outcome feel luckier.”
Xin Xiaohe asked, “Then what does Zhang Shu like?”
Sheng Xia’s voice was steady. “I hope that what he studies, what he achieves, what he wants to pursue, and what he accomplishes will always be his own decision.”
She could accompany him by his side, but the decisions were his.
And he knew that’s what she wanted for him.
Just as he wanted the same for her.
Xin Xiaohe was struck by a new perspective, one she couldn’t quite articulate. It felt profound.
This new perspective held within it a higher form of love.
—I love you, so I drew close to you, but you are free.
Such a love, if one-sided, would be devastating for the one who gives it.
But if it flowed both ways, it was life itself.
"You two are perfect for each other," Xiaohe murmured.
She lacked the words to describe it, only knew that their harmony was rare and precious.
After dinner, Zhang Shu walked Sheng Xia home.
Hand in hand, they strolled along the main road, their shadows stretched and shrunk under streetlights.
“I applied to Haiyan University,” Zhang Shu said, swinging their hands gently.
Sheng Xia nodded. “I thought you might.”
Zhang Shu continued, “Information Science and Technology. For grad school, I'm leaning towards information communication, control science, and intelligent systems. I’ll figure out the details as I go.”
Sheng Xia: “You’ve got it all mapped out. Meanwhile, I’m stuck with my major, no switching. If I do grad school, it’ll still be this field. Do you think I’ll turn into some boring scholar?”
Zhang Shu chuckled. “What’s wrong with being a scholar?”
Sheng Xia pouted. “Sounds like the dull type, no?”
“No way,” Zhang Shu said, ruffling her hair. “Your mind’s so full of wonders, I’ll spend a lifetime trying to grasp it. And the way your thoughts race, I’ll never keep up in this lifetime. You have to guide me, okay?”
Oh.
He was good at this.
Talking about a lifetime, he really knew how to make her blush.
Sheng Xia returned the compliment. “A-Shu’s gonna be a dazzling adult! I’ll keep watching you, shining brightly.”
Zhang Shu nodded, accepting her blessing. He cupped her face, saying solemnly, “Better than being a dazzling adult is being the adult you like to be. Xiaxia, I know you’ll achieve that.”
Always sincere, always passionate, always pure.
Always doing what you love.
His Sheng Xia is such a person, and will be such a person. And he’d protect that, always.
---
August, the height of summer.
In the Nanli Broadcast and Television Building’s studio, applause thundered.
The host, with a poised smile and fervent voice, announced, “Today, we have the honor to hear the stories of ten outstanding young individuals, each a testament to the power of youth. History and experience have proven time and again that the hope of a nation lies in its youth, the future of its people rests upon their hands. Born into an era of boundless opportunity, they carry heavy responsibility: to inspire their generation, to ride the tide of the times, and to strive for even greater contributions. Now, please join me in warmly welcoming the Nanli City Top Ten Youth to the stage to receive their awards, presented by Comrade Sheng Mingfeng the Party Secretary of Nanli City.”
Whispers rippled through the audience.
“Sheng Mingfeng is here?”
“Wasn’t it supposed to be Mayor Chen presenting?”
“This year’s a big deal.”
Sheng Xia, holding a bouquet in the guest section, was just as surprised. She glanced at Zhang Sujin beside her, who gave her a questioning look.
Sheng Xia shook her head. She had no idea either.
Onstage, Sheng Mingfeng presented certificates and trophies to the Top Ten Youths. Zhang Shu, whose surname placed him last alphabetically, stood at the end of the line.
When Sheng Mingfeng reached Zhang Shu, he handed over the certificate and trophy, clasped his hand, and met the young man’s gaze in the eye. “Keep striving, Zhang Shu.”
With the others, he’d said things like “Congratulations” or “Thank you for your contributions to Nanli’s development.” But for Zhang Shu, he used his name, his tone earnest and encouraging.
The crowd turned their heads, recognizing him as the heroic top scorer. Understanding dawned in their eyes.
He was the youngest on the stage, his intellect and character beyond reproach.
Who wouldn’t hold him in high regard?
Zhang Shu held the trophy steady, nodding slowly, solemnly. “I will. You have my word.”
During the group photo, Sheng Mingfeng gestured for Zhang Shu to stand beside him.
The flashbulbs illuminated the young man’s face, dazzling the entire studio.
The ceremony aired that night on Nanli TV’s news channel.
Before eight o’clock, the old hashtag “Heroic Student is a Top Scorer” shot back up the hot search list climbing to the top ten.
The music blogger who’d previously shared Zhang Shu’s Weibo video reposted Nanli News’s post about the award ceremony.
[He actually became the top scorer. Badass!]
Talk about real-time updates.
Netizens stitched together the police report from the knife incident, Affiliated High School’s celebratory announcement, and photos from the Top Ten Youth ceremony.
[This book is titled Someone Else’s Eighteen]
— [My Years of Just Existing as a Background Character]
— [A Top scorer Who Doesn’t Do Heroic Deed Isn’t a True Top Ten Youth]
— [A Top Ten Youth Who Can’t Sing Isn’t a True Top scorer]
The top scorer halo hadn’t even faded when he added ‘Top Ten Youth’ to his accolades. Yet this paragon of virtue had somehow avoided interviews altogether.
The buzz soon died down, but the internet had preserved a mark of Zhang Shu.
Searching his name now linked directly to his Weibo.
Even though he hadn’t logged in again since.
He avoided the clamor, growing stronger in the quiet.
← Previous | Table of Contents | Next →
0
Comments
Post a Comment