The wind blew across the river, creating tiny ripples in the dim morning light.
It was past five o'clock and the whole city was hazy.
The popularity of the live broadcast room is rarely more than four digits, and the comments are also sparse.
- Good morning, fellow Douban friends
-It’s five o’clock Beijing time
- I can't believe my eyes
- The workers are already washing up.
-Readers are already memorizing words
-Happy birthday, Bean
-Where is Xie Lan
Dou Sheng’s face was facing the camera, and Xie Lan lagged two steps behind him, barely appearing in the frame from the edge of the screen.
"He's not really awake yet. He played with his classmates until very late yesterday, and I woke him up this morning. He was a little mad at me." Dou Sheng yawned, "I'll just live stream for a short while and log off in a few minutes."
-Here we go again, the intimacy revealed “inadvertently”
-Please describe in detail the process of being dragged up by you
-I heard that your beloved S-god reappeared for you yesterday and showed his face
-are you happy
Dou Sheng sighed, "If you talk about this, I will be more excited."
He turned around to look at Xie Lan and sighed artificially, "Such a big surprise, but he didn't tell me in advance. I was so busy with the math competition, and I almost got tired of doing the questions. I don't know when he adapted the song, and how he sneaked out to rent a venue to record it secretly... Oh, let's not talk about it. I'm embarrassed to tell you all this, as if I'm showing off."
-Friend, are you just showing off
- Trick the dog into killing it early in the morning
-You are also the first person in history to chase stars
-The one before, I almost don’t recognize the word “star chasing” anymore
- Chasing idols (male) like (friends)
Xie Lan came closer, listlessly saying, "Don't say that to the audience. I wasn't mad at you this morning."
-Good morning, Lanzai!
-What do you eat in the morning
-Lanzai’s birthday present is so grand!
-Now all the viewers on YouTube and Bilibili know that Douzi’s birthday is coming!
Xie Lan was so sleepy that it was difficult for him to read the small words in the comments.
He glanced at the screen casually, said hello perfunctorily and left the camera, whispering to Dou Sheng: "Stop broadcasting, don't we want to take a walk together?"
"I see you're just sleepy, so I'll turn it off." Dou Sheng said immediately.
-? ?
-What! You woke us up and want to abandon us
-Xie Lan, you are so cruel
-Bean, can you have some principles
-Indifference, devil, hehe
Dou Sheng seemed not to notice the cordial greeting on the screen. He smiled faintly and adjusted the camera to the rear view, facing the river directly.
"I've been broadcasting all morning. I'm exhausted. Let's say goodbye to this river."
-As we all know, one morning equals five minutes
-? ?
- I bow to your grandmother's legs
- I'll hit you on the head with my slipper
- Dare to go offline
As soon as the threatening barrage appeared, the screen went black.
Dou Sheng put his phone away and said, "Report, I have logged off as ordered."
Xie Lan glanced at him and turned to look at the river.
The sun has basically risen on the east coast. Half of the tallest building in the city reflects the dazzling sunlight, while the other half remains in the shadow of the morning light. It looks very beautiful.
"Have they left?"
Dou Sheng hummed, "The four of them took a car and left."
Xie Lan breathed a sigh of relief subconsciously, and after a pause, he said, "They left a long time ago, and I wanted to keep them for breakfast."
Dou Sheng suddenly laughed, "Xie Lan, can you be more fake?"
Xie Lan raised his eyebrows, "Is this obvious?"
"Why don't you just put the words 'Finally Gone' on your forehead." Dou Sheng was so happy that he reached out to grab Xie Lan's hand that was hanging by his side, and passed his five fingers through his fingers, and clenched them naturally, "Don't think about it. When you come back from school, no one will mention it anymore."
Xie Lan's ears felt a little hot again when he heard this, but fortunately it was only a little bit.
The sidewalks along the river were empty and quiet. Morning joggers ran past them quickly, but none of them backed away.
"There is a rumor in Yingzhong," Dou Sheng suddenly said, "People who hold hands by this river will never let go of each other."
Xie Lan was stunned for a moment, "You believe this too."
Although he said this, he subconsciously tightened his grip.
Dou Sheng held her boyfriend with one hand and put the other hand in her pocket. She squinted her eyes in the morning breeze with a smile on her face.
"When did the arrangement of Girls' Generation 2 begin?"
Xie Lan thought for a moment and said, "Maybe in October. By then, the league and the admission exam should be over."
Dou Sheng immediately said: "We still have a lot of free time, let's do a big collaboration."
"What kind of cooperation?"
Dou Sheng took out his cell phone and opened the Taobao order page to show him. It was a page where he had ordered various uniforms and costumes in the middle of the night. Some of the colors were exaggerated.
"This year's pinnacle work, the final push to the top 100." Dou Sheng said, "I got inspiration from last night's birthday song, and want to make a classic Japanese anime cosplay mashup, similar to the kaleidoscope of the male protagonist of Doupai anime. I need you to adapt a few songs for me as background music, and you need to hit the beats, are you willing to do it?"
Xie Lan was cheered up. "It is indeed suitable for a high-quality output. I think it is okay."
He was about to plan carefully when his cell phone suddenly started vibrating.
Xie Lan took it out and glanced at the screen, his smile suddenly froze.
"Who?" Dou Sheng came over.
"My Father… "
London is 7 hours behind Beijing, so it will be less than 11pm in London.
Xie Lan looked at the name jumping on the screen, hesitated for a long time, and finally pressed the answer button.
Dou Sheng continued to walk forward holding one of his hands without much reaction.
"Dad." Xie Lan whispered, "What's wrong?"
There was the sound of a TV on the other end of the line. It was BBC's Dateline London, which is broadcast every evening. The familiar British accent came into his ears through the phone, and it formed a strong sense of dislocation with the river in front of him and Dou Sheng holding his hand, which made Xie Lan a little distracted.
Dou Sheng was very smart, pinching Xie Lan's fingertips and shaking them back and forth.
The TV volume was quickly turned down, and Xie Jingming said in a kind tone: "I haven't called you for a long time. You should have finished your first domestic competition exam. How was it?"
He hadn't contacted Xie Lan since she rejected the university exchange proposal on messenger last time, so Xie Lan was a little stunned when asked this question.
Xie Lan paused for a long time before answering: "Very good."
As soon as he finished speaking, a female voice with an English accent suddenly sounded from the other end of the phone. Although the voice was very low and was immediately interrupted by Xie Jingming, Xie Lan still heard half of it.
Xie Lan asked sharply, "Where are you going? I heard... I heard her mention the plane ticket."
Xie Jingming sighed, "Dad is on vacation for half a month, and wants to take your aunt to visit China. So I want to ask if you are willing to spare two days to accompany dad."
Xie Lan paused, feeling that it was a bit ridiculous, "I will accompany you two on a domestic tour?"
"No." Xie Jingming said helplessly, "I know you can't accept her yet. But if you are willing to see dad, I will take two days off and go see you myself. You have been back to China for almost half a year, and dad is worried about you."
Xie Lan was silent after hearing this. Xie Jingming hummed again, "I saw your message, and there's nothing much to say. But father and son are always father and son. You want to go to college in China, but you can't really cut off contact with me, right? Xie Lan, am I so sorry to you? Have I failed to fulfill my father's responsibilities?"
Xie Lan held the phone in silence and turned to look at the river.
The sun was shining brightly, and Dou Sheng naturally turned around and stood in front of him, blocking the dazzling light for him.
After a long while, he replied cautiously: "I returned to China to do what I want to do, not to sever ties with you."
Xie Jingming sighed with relief, "Elizabeth and I will return to China on the 8th. We will go to a few other cities first. I will take time to visit you around the 12th or 13th. If you are willing, just tell me in advance. I won't force you. By the way, Dad has also discussed with your Aunt Zhao. She will support you until you graduate from college. You don't have to worry about tuition and living expenses. Just focus on your studies."
After hanging up the phone, Dou Sheng asked in a low voice, "Should I come over to see you?"
Xie Lan seemed to be deflated all of a sudden, and put his phone away, "Yes, I'm coming."
"With that woman?" Dou Sheng asked.
Xie Lan shook her head. "He's not crazy enough to show off in front of me. I guess... he just wants to come and see me."
He knew Xie Jingming too well, and therefore he was very clear that what Xie Jingming had just said was true.
The truth is difficult to deal with because it is hard to refuse.
Dou Sheng smiled nonchalantly, "Come on, I'll be your companion."
"What is a local guide?" Xie Lan was at a loss.
"I am doing my best to be a good host," Dou Sheng said. "It means that this road is mine, this tree is mine. If you want to pass through here, please leave your son behind."
Xie Lan looked even more confused, "Is this what you mean by playing the role of a good host?"
"Yes." Dou Sheng said confidently, but after a pause he added: "Don't write it in the composition."
Xie Lan: “…”
The two of them held hands and walked a few steps forward. Dou Sheng asked, "Can your father accept us?"
Xie Lan thought about it and said, "He's definitely not happy, but he probably won't reject it completely. He... although he got there on his own, his ideas are indeed Western."
"That's fine." Dou Sheng breathed a sigh of relief. "That doesn't matter at all. Let him come over. I'll meet him."
Xie Lan was speechless, "It's like they're going to have a fight."
"That's impossible." Dou Sheng smiled easily, "If he bullies you, I'll beg him not to."
"… "
Xie Lan sighed, hesitated for a while, and finally gave Xie Jingming an OK gesture.
Xie Jingming's itinerary was quickly decided. Xie Lan bought him a round-trip ticket from City S to City H and also booked a hotel.
He was malicious and booked a hotel on the other side of the city, prepared to terminate his reception immediately if Xie Jingming dared to bring Elizabeth here or order him to return to London.
The night before Xie Jingming's visit, Xie Lan was chatting with Pei Qing about music as usual when he suddenly received a call from Lao Ma.
"The test results are out, come to school."
Lao Ma spoke briefly and to the point, his tone somewhat serious.
Xie Lan wanted to ask any more questions but couldn't. She had no choice but to rush to school with Dou Sheng.
He didn't feel anything on the way, but when he stood outside the office, he suddenly hesitated.
Lao Ma's attitude made him a little unsure. Thinking of those fill-in-the-blank questions that he was confident of not looking back, he suddenly felt a little nervous.
"It's okay." Dou Sheng pinched his palm, "If you didn't do well in the exam, Lao Ma would probably come to your house in person to comfort you, and he wouldn't do this."
Xie Lan nodded, took a deep breath, and knocked on the door.
"Enter."
A very casual voice came from inside, it was young, the owner of the voice was probably in his twenties.
Xie Lan was stunned and looked at Dou Sheng inquiringly. Dou Sheng was also a little confused.
There was a sound of footsteps coming from inside to the door and pulling it shut.
He is a thin boy with dull eyes and eyebrows, but his tone is gentle.
"Xie Lan and Dou Sheng, right?" The man smiled at them and turned to the room and said, "Teacher, they are here."
Lao Ma said from inside: "Come in directly, don't stand there."
The boy returned to the table and sat down. He said to Xie Lan: "You guys chat, I just came to see the teacher."
Probably a former student of Lao Ma. Xie Lan understood and nodded politely.
Dou Sheng was unsure: "What is he doing?"
He Xiu
Xie Lan subconsciously looked at the boy again.
He Xiu was a little surprised, "Have you seen me?"
Dou Sheng said frankly, "In the window of the administrative building."
He Xiu smiled suddenly, "Okay."
Old Ma smiled and said to him: "These students are all familiar with your face. Hang it on the wall to immortalize it forever."
"It's as if I'm dead..." He Xiu sighed, "With the way you worded it, you're still complaining about other people's poor Chinese."
Xie Lan was immediately startled and stared at Lao Ma with the eyes of a Class 4 owl.
Old Ma smiled awkwardly, "Ah, the results of the first test are out, and those who scored A in math and physics have all made it to the second test. I went to the city hall to listen, and Xie Lan did really well in the test this time."
"It's indeed good." He Xiu also nodded, turned his head and smiled at Xie Lan: "I finally got the summer vacation to come back and play for a few days, and I also have to accept an urgent task from our admissions teacher to find out the details of the high school junior."
Xie Lan was confused, but he was more concerned about the results, so he asked, "Can I know the score?"
"The results of the first test are usually not announced." Old Ma paused, "But yours is a little special this time. All the schools know about it."
Xie Lan immediately asked, "How many points did I get?"
"Full marks." Old Ma's face wrinkled with laughter. "And there's no tie. You're the only one with full marks. I've rarely seen full marks in previous years."
Xie Lan finally breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "What about Dou Sheng?"
Lao Ma said, "Second, but I don't know the score."
Dou Sheng couldn't hide the smile in his eyes when he heard Xie Lan got full marks. Hearing that, he just put his hand on Xie Lan's shoulder and said, "That's fine. I'll be satisfied as long as I can be close to Xie Lan."
"You have some ambition, don't you?" Old Ma frowned and sighed, and took out two stacks of information from the drawer. "It's the second exam for college entrance examination, and time is very tight. He Xiu compiled two sets of test questions for T University's self-recruitment and recommended admission in recent years. They are very valuable. You should take a good look at them."
Dou Sheng immediately took it and flipped through it. "Why are you asking us to do this? Does anyone else have this set of questions?"
"They have all of them. They will come back tomorrow to get them. I will send Wang Gou's to him." Lao Ma said, "Besides this matter, He Xiu also wants to talk to Xie Lan."
"Talk to me?" Xie Lan was surprised. He didn't quite understand what this senior had to talk about with him.
He Xiu stood up and said, "Come to the corridor?"
Dou Sheng asked, "Can I sit in on the class?"
"Whatever." He Xiu said, "But it has nothing to do with you."
Dou Sheng symbolically followed two steps outside and stood at the door of the office, chatting with Lao Ma from time to time.
Xie Lan was standing by the window in the corridor, confused at first, but it wasn't until He Xiu mentioned AMC that he suddenly reacted.
Lao Ma said before that domestic universities seem to care about this matter very much.
He Xiu said it was just a casual chat, but the questions he asked all revolved around math competitions.
I asked him when he first came into contact with AMC, what the competition training system of Winchester Public School was like, whether he had ever formally participated in international competition training camps, etc.
Xie Lan answered all of them one by one. He Xiu didn't say much. He just listened most of the time, nodded occasionally, and agreed with him when he talked about the difference in question-setting ideas between AMC and domestic leagues.
"The top few players in the provincial league can participate in the winter camp. The winter camp selects players to join the national team and represent China in IMC. It's the same process as yours in the UK." He Xiu gave a brief introduction at the end and smiled. "The mathematics departments of T University and P University are both good. Do you have any preference for a school now?"
Xie Lan couldn't figure out what he meant, so he just said truthfully: "I want to go to T University."
"Is that so?" He Xiu breathed a sigh of relief. "Then I don't have anything else to ask. Good luck on the second try."
The toilet door at the end of the corridor suddenly creaked, and He Xiu's gaze immediately passed Xie Lan and looked over there.
Xie Lan subconsciously turned around and saw another tall boy coming out of the toilet. He jogged lazily for two steps, jumped up and touched his head.
"I have to go." He Xiu said: "I have arranged a hot pot restaurant with a friend. T University's early signing date this year is in September. See you later."
He strode past Xie Lan as he spoke, "If you have any questions, contact me on WeChat."
Xie Lan was confused. After he and the boy went downstairs together, he asked Dou Sheng: "What does He Xiu do?"
Dou Sheng said, "Old Ma told me that he is a student assistant in the admissions office of T University this year. I guess he is here to learn about your situation on behalf of the school."
Xie Lan said, "Does Old Ma have anything else to say?"
"No more, let's go back." Dou Sheng rolled up the information he brought out and put it in his trouser pocket, sneering, "Old Ma is really a jerk, he always likes to keep us in suspense."
It's going to rain in the evening, and the wind will make people feel hot and humid.
It was dark at night. Xie Lan and Dou Sheng walked towards the west gate together. Halfway there, Xiao Ma suddenly sent a message saying that there was a traffic jam in the west and they had to go around to the east gate to pick them up.
Outside the east gate is a wide overpass with a pedestrian-shaped bridge on it, and the other side of the bridge is full of restaurants.
The two turned around and headed over there. Dou Sheng browsed through the review software as he walked, "Why don't we just have a meal to celebrate your victory in the first attempt?"
"All is fine." Xie Lan said, "Let me see the set of questions."
"What are you looking at? Go back and look again." Dou Sheng muttered, "It's dark and you might damage your eyes."
Xie Lan had no choice but to give up. Just as he was about to contact Uncle Xiao Ma, he suddenly stopped.
He subconsciously raised his hand and grabbed Dou Sheng's sleeve.
"What's wrong?" Dou Sheng looked up.
Xie Lan whispered, "Look at the overpass."
He Xiu and the other boy were on the overpass, walking up the stairs.
The boy was holding a half-eaten old-fashioned popsicle in his hand, and he thrust the popsicle towards He Xiu's mouth with a hissing breath.
He Xiu took a bite naturally, swallowed it, then turned his head and kissed him on the cheek.
The two of them quickly walked onto the overpass and disappeared.
Xie Lan was still in the dark when he suddenly heard Dou Sheng beside him hiss, "The rumors are actually true."
"What's true?" Xie Lan asked immediately.
Dou Sheng thought for a moment, "He Xiu is a college genius who graduated from Yingzhong. He scored almost full marks on the exam. Rumor has it that he has a boyfriend who is in the same class with him."
Xie Lan: “…”
Lao Ma’s earnest advice suddenly came to my mind.
—"Talk to He Xiu about study and life."