On the second day of the Chinese New Year, Qin Yeyun told Lin Yingtao that a customer who came to her house to buy cigarettes said that Jiang Qiaoxi's parents might be getting divorced.
"His mother went to Hong Kong to look for him once, but she said she couldn't find him."
Lin Yingtao asked in confusion: "What do you mean by not finding anyone?"
Qin Yeyun said in embarrassment: "I don't know either. How about I go and ask around?"
This winter was longer than any other in Lin Qile's memory. Snowstorms ravaged most of China. Senior high school students studied in silence in the classroom. A sign with a 120-day countdown to the college entrance examination was hung on the blackboard. The air was suffocating, filled with high pressure and tension.
Lin Qile unconsciously diluted the pressure because he was worried about Jiang Qiaoxi.
In the last semester, the school organized a mobilization meeting for each class in the senior year. The head teacher, Mr. Chen, stood on the stage and gave a passionate speech, then asked everyone to write down their future ideals on paper and hand them on the stage.
Fehringer's ideal is to win one or more Nobel Prizes.
Huang Zhanjie's ideal is to write a Chinese Harry Potter and let everyone read his novel.
Cai Fangyuan’s ideal is to create China’s next portal website and earn 100 million yuan.
Yu Qiao's ideal is that his whole family is safe and he can get on the plane as soon as possible.
Lin Qile's ideal is to make more people happy.
Cai Fangyuan laughed when he heard the teacher read this: "To make more people happy?"
The most amazing ideal is that of squad leader Feng Letian.
"Be elected President of China before the age of fifty!"
Students in every corner of the class raised their heads unconsciously, and after a short silence, they all applauded, paying tribute to this great ideal.
Lin Qile texted Jiang Qiaoxi about this incident. In the past, this was one of the stories Jiang Qiaoxi would tell him when he couldn't sleep.
Jiang Qiaoxi once half-jokingly said, "Cherry, I feel like a kid in kindergarten."
Lin Qile didn't understand what he meant at first and thought he thought what she said was too childish or silly.
Jiang Qiaoxi said: "I think my happiest times were when I was in kindergarten in Hong Kong, and when I moved and met you later."
Lin Qile happily asked him what kindergartens in Hong Kong were like.
Jiang Qiaoxi slowly recalled on the phone, recalling his childhood in Hong Kong, a golden time. Because his parents were still immersed in the pain of losing their eldest son and could not accept him, Jiang Qiaoxi seemed to have obtained a piece of luck that slipped through the fingers of God. He recalled his cousin, the puppy named Lassie, and the Filipino maid who took care of his food, clothing, housing and transportation at that time. He and Lin Qile had almost no intersection in their daily lives. AP exams were something that Lin Qile could not understand, so Jiang Qiaoxi rarely mentioned it. They would always talk about their childhood, what happened before they met, or what happened after a short separation.
Lin Qile sent a message about Feng Letian's desire to become the president of China. She waited for a few minutes until the screen of her mobile phone went dark, but Jiang Qiaoxi still did not reply. She put her mobile phone aside and continued to do the college entrance examination simulation test questions.
It is said that the elimination rate of the two items, on-site physical examination and cross-physical examination, is as high as 80% during the recruitment process. A person will be checked from head to toe, and even a scar on the body may be a reason for elimination.
So when Yu Qiao got the medical examination form and confirmed that he had passed, Cai Fangyuan sat next to Lin Qile on the bus and sighed, saying that if he were a woman, he would climb onto Yu Qiao's bed tonight to feel what a pilot's physique was like.
"You can do it even if you're not a woman." Lin Qile said to him from the side.
Cai Fangyuan rolled up his sleeves and said, "No! This basic bottom line of sexual orientation cannot be crossed. Hey Du Shang, have you slept with Yu Qiao? Tell us your specific feelings!"
Dushan was sitting in the front, chatting happily with his girlfriend. Hearing this, he turned around and his face turned green.
Lin Qile and Cai Fangyuan huddled together and laughed, shrugging their shoulders.
Du Shang hurriedly explained to his girlfriend: No, no, my mom went back to her parents' home to take care of my grandma when I was in the first year of high school! So I went to live in Yu Qiao's house for a while, and I didn't sleep with him! I slept in his brother's room! His brother... His brother is just a little brat, just a little kid!
Cai Fangyuan originally wanted to complain about Du Shang with Lin Qile again. Du Shang tends to be particularly nervous when his girlfriend is around.
As a result, he looked down and saw that Lin Qile had taken out his mobile phone and started sending text messages. The recipient of the text messages was usually "Jiang Qiaoxi", asking for instructions and reporting at a fixed time every day, just like writing a diary.
The bus arrived at the stop, and Cai Fangyuan got off. He told Lin Qile, "I guess Jiang Qiaoxi's mother wanted to take advantage of his cousin's accident to call him back. Jiang Qiaoxi couldn't bear to leave his brother, and maybe Hong Kong was in chaos, so he couldn't contact us for the time being."
Lin Qile's hand holding the phone dropped, and her ponytail slid to the collar of her school uniform.
The bus pulled away behind them.
"After all, he and his brother have a deep relationship." Cai Fangyuan looked at her.
Lin Qile nodded.
"Do you know what happened in his family?" Lin Qile asked.
Cai Fangyuan shook his head: "My dad doesn't know either. But he will go to Berkeley sooner or later. He will definitely get a full scholarship. Don't worry, maybe there will be news in a couple of days."
After this winter vacation, was it because of the $20,000 from selling the website? Lin Qile felt that Cai Fangyuan seemed to have become an adult, whether it was the confidence in his words, his gestures, or even a slight look.
The Shanghai Composite Index continued to fall, from 5,000 points at the beginning of the year to below 3,000 points. People's expectations were shattered again and again, and they lamented. 2008 was supposed to be a year of hope for the Chinese people, but disasters continued.
But maybe that's how life is. Lin Qile recalled that when he was nine years old, Jiang Qiaoxi told Lin Qile in a low, old house in the mountains that he wanted to go to the United States when he grew up. Jiang Qiaoxi hid a plane ticket, which was his cousin's ticket from Hong Kong to Boston, in the innermost pocket of his schoolbag. He carried it every day, as if he was carrying the only glimmer of hope in his life.
He has persisted so much, worked so hard, and given up so much. He is about to reach the end with his ideals on his back.
Lin Qile suddenly remembered a song he had heard on a tape at his father's bedside when he was a child.
There has never been a savior.
If we want to create happiness, it all depends on ourselves.
Jiang Qiaoxi had not been to school for almost a year, but Lin Qile still often saw "him" in unexpected places. In early May, the entire senior class had their last mock exam. Lin Qile followed her exam number and went to the classroom of Class 9 of the second grade. She saw the three words "Jiang Qiaoxi" carved by a strange school girl with a knife on her assigned desk. The carving was quite beautiful.
Even when she was on duty, Lin Qile rolled up her sleeves and put the mop into the public tool room. She saw a wall of densely packed names on the gray wall that exuded a stale and damp smell: Kimura Takuya, Ashin, Kim Jaejoong... Lin Qile read them word by word, stroke by stroke.
Soon, she found it. She took out the key to the tool room from her pocket and deepened the marks on the word "Jiang Qiaoxi" that someone had carved so that no one could blur it out.
Sometimes, people related to Jiang Qiaoxi would appear in front of Lin Qile.
Qi Le, a junior from Class 13 of Grade 12, showed up at the door of Lin Qile's class for the fourth time in a month. He said he wanted to see if Senior Jiang had come to school and to ask him questions.
Lin Qile walked out of the classroom and said, "If he comes, I'll text you."
Qi Le was very happy and exchanged mobile phone numbers with Lin Qi Le. He said, "Sister Rongrong, Senior Jiang has several math handouts in the Little White Building. I saw them today and they were almost thrown away. Why don't you come with me to get them at noon?"
Lin Qile quickly agreed, then frowned and asked, "What did you call me?"
Qi Le insisted on calling Lin Qile "Senior Rongrong". In the corridor of the Little White Building, he talked about how his classmates had teased him to call him "Rongrong" since he was a child. Although he didn't like it, he felt that the name "Rongrong" was not bad, but was more suitable for girls. "When I first knew your name, I felt that you were the one that was most suitable for these two words!"
Lin Qile felt that something was a little strange, the kind of strangeness that made her junior classmates disrespect her. She walked to the desk where Jiang Qiaoxi used to study for Mathematical Olympiad, squatted down, and took out the exercise books, handouts, and draft paper that were almost thrown away.
It had been almost two years since anyone had touched these things. Even Jiang Qiaoxi had forgotten about them, and they were covered in dust. Lin Qile flipped through them casually and found that they were all signed with Jiang Qiaoxi's name. She put the pile of books on the chair, turned around, bent over, and began to cough.
Qi Le stood beside her, looking down at her, but didn't help.
Lin Qile went to the bathroom to wash her hands. She took out a tissue, wet it a little bit, and wiped the dust off the book covers. She picked up the pile of books, along with a few pens in the drawer that she didn't know if there was any ink left, and went back to her classroom.
Qi Le suddenly said from behind: "Um, Senior Rongrong."
Lin Qile turned around, frowned and said, "You'd better stop calling me like that. It's so weird."
Qi Le raised his hand and scratched his hair helplessly, then he put his hand down and put it in his trouser pocket looking cool.
"You know that Senior Jiang is going to the United States, right?" He suddenly looked up and said to him.
Lin Qile also turned around to look at him.
There was no one else in the classroom, only some dust particles swirling in the light, and they seemed lifeless.
What is guiding them in their spirals
"Do you know where Jiang Qiaoxi went?" Lin Qile suddenly asked.
Qi Le was stunned for a moment.
"I don't know," he said, "but I know he went to the United States. Given Jiang's level, it is very likely that he will not be able to come back for eight or nine years. What if he stays to do scientific research—"
"What do you want to say?" Lin Qile asked.
Qi Le looked at her seriously: "Senior sister, what do you think of me?"
Lin Qile's mind couldn't come to her senses immediately and she was stuck there, her round eyes widened.
"I... I also participate in math competitions!" Qi Le said hurriedly, "Although I can't compare to the academic god, I am also a top student... I'm not bad! Besides, I won't go to the United States, I don't need you to wait for me, I am younger than Senior Jiang, one year younger!"
Seeing that Lin Qile was still silent, Qi Le said, "Before Senior Jiang was here, I didn't have the courage to say it, but the first time I saw you, I thought you were very cute. You looked silly, but you were very caring. Instead of waiting for Senior Jiang for eight or nine years in China, it's better to—"
Before he finished speaking, the chair beside him suddenly slid along the floor. The floor of the small white building shook a few times, and the portrait of Archimedes, the "God of Mathematics" hanging on the wall suddenly fell down with a "bang".
Qi Le was stunned, frozen in place, his face pale, as if he had disturbed some god.
Lin Qile ran out of the small white building panting. She frowned and looked around, and found that many students in the campus had run out. It turned out that the dizziness just now was not an illusion.
When school was over, Lin Qile held Qin Yeyun's hand and squeezed into the crowd. They stood in front of the TV hanging above the school's small supermarket, watching the PLA's rescue and relief efforts in Wenchuan. Du Shang's eyes were red, and he seemed to always feel more pain than others. Lin Qile turned around to look at him and handed him the last tissue.
The more scars you have, the more sensitive you become. Lin Qile was sitting on the bus going home, and he gave his seat to an old man who got on the bus. The old man's hands were shaking, and he kept pressing his cell phone after he sat down, but he couldn't make a call after pressing it for a long time. He suddenly raised his eyes and said, "Girl, help me make a call, help me make a call."
There was a tone of crying in his voice, as if he couldn't hold back his breath. Lin Qile was originally quite calm, but when she took the phone, she suddenly felt very uncomfortable. The disaster was so close to ordinary people like them.
The other party's number could not be connected. Lin Qile kept calling, trying to look hopeful, but the call could not be connected. The old man leaned on the front seat and burst into tears when the passengers around him looked at him. He covered his face with his hands.
"Uncle..." Lin Qile's voice trembled with fear.
A middle-aged man in his thirties holding the handrail next to him said, "Uncle, don't worry. I heard that the signal in Sichuan is down and the base station has collapsed. Now I can't get through the phone!"
“They are still under repair!”
"That's right, uncle," the aunt standing behind Lin Qile also said, "What if your family members are fine and you scare yourself into something!" The aunt choked up.
The bus driver stopped the bus in front and walked over, perhaps thinking that an old man had a heart attack. The driver bent down and looked at the old man's face in the crowd. The driver held his shoulder and his eyes reddened: "Uncle, are you okay?"
Lin Qile returned the old man's phone. Before getting off the bus, she wanted to say something else, but Yu Qiao pulled her down and asked the bus driver to close the door and leave.
The school organized a donation, and Feng Letian was busy running around. Because there were fewer people in the class and the review was tight, Feng Letian had to ask Lin Qile for help. Lin Qile didn't take care of the pile of Olympiad books left by Jiang Qiaoxi for several days. She put them in the bedside cabinet together with the shoe box containing the pair of red high heels.
When reviewing in the evening, Lin Qile was flipping through his math notebook, and inside it was a notice for a summer camp at a prestigious school during his sophomore year of high school.
On the back of the notice was Jiang Qiaoxi's sloppy handwriting. He wrote three questions for her to do to help her deepen her understanding of the knowledge points.
Lin Qile supported her head with her hands, and she suddenly thought sadly why she never knew how to cherish at that time.
One day in late May, when Lin Qile opened the door of his house after school, he found Uncle Jiang Zheng sitting on the sofa, smoking and talking with his father.
"Cherry," Uncle Jiang turned around and asked when he saw her coming back, "Has Jiang Qiaoxi called you recently?"
Lin Qile shook her head and stood at the door.
Uncle Jiang lowered his head, put the half-smoked cigarette into his mouth, and took another long puff.
On the eve of the college entrance examination, Lin Qile finished reading the final college entrance examination essay guessing topic. She lay on her side in the quilt and continued to text Jiang Qiaoxi.
"Are you still in Hong Kong?" Lin Qile's face was illuminated by the phone screen. "Where have you been, Jiang Qiaoxi? I'll come to visit you after the college entrance examination, okay?"
"Did you go to Berkeley? Or where did you go?"
Lin Qile, Cai Fangyuan and Xin Tingting were assigned to the same examination center. When they left home early in the morning, firecrackers were set off at the entrance of the power construction company headquarters to wish this generation of company children a triumphant return from the college entrance examination.
Xin Tingting sat in Manager Cai's car, trembling all the way, she seemed not to have slept well. Lin Qile held her cold hand from the side, Xin Tingting said palely: "Qile, are we going to be free?"
Lin Qile didn't know that she was filled with uncertainty, confusion and growing bewilderment. What would be waiting for them at the next stop in life
Lin Qile performed exceptionally well in the college entrance examination. For some reason, she was very calm from beginning to end, without any nervousness or panic at all.
At the beginning of her college entrance examination essay, she wrote: My hometown is a place with three water drying towers, where I spent a very happy childhood. When I grew up, I learned that the small town was built on disaster and ruins.
After the college entrance examination, Manager Cai arranged for several families in Qunshan to go out for dinner together to celebrate for the children. But Lin Qile was in no mood. She had locked herself in her bedroom since the exam, typing away on her computer and chatting.
Mom and Dad went to Uncle Cai's dinner party. They took good care of Lin Qile's mood and prepared some food for her and put it on the table. They didn't force her to do anything. The house was very quiet. Lin Qile went out, opened the refrigerator, and took out a can of iced soda to drink. She was wearing a nightgown. The summer night breeze blew in from the window. The wind was hot, but it felt cool.
The cat lay on the sofa cushion and turned its face towards the fan.
The webpage was still stuck on the search results for "Jiang Qiaoxi". Cai Fangyuan's ID showed that his mobile phone QQ was online. He asked Lin Qile if he had failed the exam and why he was not in the mood to eat: "We ordered sweet and sour pork ribs, do you want to come and eat?"
Qi Le's QQ window kept popping up, and he said, "Senior, I want to tell you something."
Lin Qile's fingers were slender and they tapped quickly on the keyboard.
"You're almost a senior in high school, so you should study hard." She wanted to delete him.
Qi Le said: "No, don't worry, I, I won't mention the previous things anymore. I just want to tell you..."
“… At that time, Senior Jiang and I were attending a math winter camp in Fuzhou. My dad was the team leader, and on the day the exam ended, he wanted to take Senior Jiang around Fuzhou.”
"But after Jiang finished his exam, he went back to the hotel and fell asleep. I thought he seemed very tired because the other candidates had their parents around, but he came alone and didn't care what others were doing. He slept until about six in the afternoon, and the first thing he did after waking up was to call you. He wanted you to pick him up at the station."
Lin Qile hugged his knees and sat in a chair, staring blankly at the lines of small words that popped up on the screen.
"So I think if he comes back, he will definitely contact you first." Qi Le comforted her.
The doorbell rang outside. Lin Qile turned around reluctantly and realized that her parents were not at home. She pushed back the keyboard, put on her sandals, walked outside and picked up the receiver: "Hello?"
"Cherry, it's me," he said.
The author has something to say: －－－－－－－－－
Notes to this chapter:
* The 2008 snowstorm in southern China refers to a large-scale natural disaster of low temperature, rain, snow, and freezing that occurred in China from January 3, 2008. As of February 24, 129 people died and 4 people were missing. 1.66 million people were urgently relocated and resettled. More than 100 million people were affected.
* “A song I heard on the tape at my father’s bedside”: “The Internationale”, from Tang Dynasty Band’s album “Beijing Music and Road”, released on October 30, 2001.
* At 14:28:04 on May 12, 2008, a magnitude 8.0 earthquake struck Wenchuan, Sichuan. The earthquake caused 69,227 deaths, 374,643 injuries, and 17,923 missing persons. It was the most destructive earthquake since the founding of the People's Republic of China and the one with the most casualties since the Tangshan earthquake.