Summer in Your Name - Extra 6

Afterwords

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As the story reaches this point, it’s time for me to step out of their lives.  

I once heard someone say that characters in books have souls, that at a certain point, they come alive, taking control and guiding you to narrate their lives. I never quite believed such claims, as everything about the protagonist—family background, personality, interests, and life’s ups and downs, wasn’t it all predetermined by me?

That was, until I met Zhang Shu and Sheng Xia.  

In the winter of 2021, I kept having a recurring dream of being chased and hunted, running and calling for help in an endless loop. Then, one night, the dream progressed. In a torrential downpour, a young boy stepped forward and shielded me, his life forever frozen in that moment. The crowd around gasped, all mere spectators, while I stood there, tears streaming, couldn't tell if I was dreaming or awake.  

I decided to write a story about a young hero.  

It was meant to be a tragedy, a fallen star, the ultimate heartbreak, the deepest sorrow.  

What kind of boy could be called a star? I rarely read high school campus novels, and my impression of male leads stayed rooted in an outdated era: tall, rich, handsome, clad in a white shirt, with a cool, aloof vibe. But when I thought about real adolescence, aloof boys were rarely the popular ones, white shirts are a rarity, add the ‘tall, rich, and handsome’ and they simply didn’t exist. A star had to be real, yet just out of reach.  

And so, Zhang Shu was born.  

Like any boy his age, he was proud, bold, and a little cocky, rowdy, quick to retort, and quick to throw around playful insults like ‘call me dad’. But he also carried a maturity beyond his years. His broken family made him more observant and fearless than his peers. He knew what he wanted, unswayed by vanity or hollow fame, steadfast in pursuing his goals. He respected everyone’s feelings but never took advantage of them. He was fiercely confident, yet insecure in front of the girl he liked. He respected Sheng Xia’s choices but still strives with all his might to break through the barriers of social class to stand by her side—and he succeeded.  

If a boy like this appeared in one's school days, he would be that rare, unreachable star.  

A star orbits the moon. So, what kind of girl could be called a moon?  

In my school days, I wrote a short poem about the moon:  

"Moonlight Like Water"  

The moon is blind  

After billions of years in darkness  

Each night, she lights the path before her door  

Fearing someone might walk with their head down  

Without a lamp  

The poem is quite immature, but its title, “Moonlight Like Water,” rekindled my impression of a moon-like personality: graceful and poised, gentle and serene, shy yet composed, melancholic yet radiant.

Sheng Xia, raised under the conflicting educational philosophies of her divorced parents, never revealed or vented the pain of being torn between them. Instead, she became the mediator of two families, balancing the delicate, fragile relationships between her parents and her younger sister. Her kindness is a strength woven into her very bones, a nourishing dew for those around her. That, to me, is ‘moonlight’. 

I placed these two, whom I love dearly, into my vision of youth. Nanli University Affiliated High School mirrors my own alma mater, with classrooms lined with glass on both sides, corridors wide enough for badminton, covered walkways connecting the entire school against wind and rain, an elegantly decorated library perfect for dates. The impatient chime of the school bell, blackboards crammed with homework, class jackets billowing in the wind, and sunsets that paint the city in splendor…

There’s also the ‘lunch care’ and cucumber juice outside the north gate, the pretentious ‘pastoral poet' and the ‘super awesome Sprite teacher’…  

In the exuberant summer, in the fiery bloom of youth, two perfectly matched souls collided, and love naturally followed.  

The sweet moments I wrote nearly bubbled over; I, typing at my keyboard, was dizzy with sweetness. A nervous excitement took hold, could this story still end in tragedy? The more I fell for Zhang Shu and Sheng Xia, the less control I had over the story. The turning point came when Sheng Xia underperformed on her monthly exam, and Zhang Shu comforted her by the river.

Like Sheng Xia, I was swept away, utterly devoted.  

I couldn’t let such a star fall, nor let such a moon shine for anyone else. They were meant to be together, shining brightly. The original outline was scrapped, and what you now hold in your hands is Summer In Your Name.  

At the story’s end, I expressed my fear that “being misunderstood is the fate of those who express,” because they are such beautiful existences in my heart, and this book is my deepest tribute to youth. I wanted to capture every bit of that beauty, yet I feared my limited skill would invite criticism or misunderstanding. Now that it’s finally printed and in your hands, I have no regrets for telling this story with my humble words. Because through it, more people have joined this youth, met them, loved them, and will remember them.

That’s enough.  

Thank you for reading this far. Until next time.  

—Ren Pingzhou  

July 2023

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