“Among those who know each other, there are promises.”
September 1 the day school began.
Early that morning, Lin Jingshan drove the two children to school.
There were more than twenty second-year classes, but only three Lingyun Classes, so they were easy to find.
Lin Zhinuo was once again assigned to Class 4 of the first year. Inside the classroom was a group of teenage boys and girls. Some sat quietly, while others chatted softly among themselves.
The moment Lin Zhinuo stepped into the familiar classroom, she felt strangely emotional.
Her gaze swept across the room and landed on a seat by the window.
Sure enough, sitting by the window was a round-faced, slightly chubby girl. Just as Lin Zhinuo remembered, she waved at her, her eyes curving into a smile.
“Classmate, there’s an empty seat here.”
Lin Zhinuo walked over and put down her schoolbag. Her eyes stung badly.
“Thank you.”
The girl generously held out her hand.
“Hi, new classmate. My name is Meng Siyu. ‘Si’ for thoughts, and ‘Yu’ for misty rain.”
“Hi, my name is Lin Zhinuo.”
Meng Siyu’s eyes lit up.
“Which characters are used for ‘Zhinuo’? The ones from ‘a clear breeze in the woods, promises between those who know each other’?”
Lin Zhinuo sighed inwardly. Meng Siyu was still just as poetic as she remembered.
She nodded lightly, suppressing the urge to hug her.
“Yes, those two characters.”
Meng Siyu had been Lin Zhinuo’s best friend throughout high school. After they went to university, one living in the north and the other in the south, they still kept in frequent contact.
Later, when Lin Zhinuo’s family went bankrupt and she was so frightened by debt collectors that she didn’t dare leave campus, Meng Siyu had immediately taken all the money she had saved from her part-time jobs to visit and comfort her.
Although that money was merely a drop in the bucket compared with the debt they owed, it represented all of Meng Siyu’s heartfelt loyalty and affection.
But during her third year of university, Meng Siyu suddenly took her own life for reasons no one could explain.
Lin Zhinuo couldn’t believe it.
Meng Siyu had been such a sunny, cheerful girl who loved life. Lin Zhinuo simply couldn’t believe she would willingly end her own life.
She went all the way to the north, hoping to uncover the truth, only to be told by Meng Siyu’s family that she had killed herself because of a breakup.
She still refused to believe it.
After she got married, she asked Xu Qingyan to investigate for her, but the result was exactly the same.
From then on, Meng Siyu became a knot in Lin Zhinuo’s heart that she could never untangle.
Her homeroom teacher, Jiang Yun, was in her forties and taught Chinese.
Based on the students’ entrance examination scores, she called out several names and directly appointed those students as class representatives.
Meng Siyu was appointed the Chinese class representative.
On the first day of school, the students mainly familiarized themselves with campus life, received their new textbooks, and were briefed on school rules and daily schedules. There was no evening self-study.
Lin Jingshan had originally promised to personally pick up the two children after school, but something came up at the last minute, so he sent the driver instead.
The first-year students were dismissed ten minutes early.
As soon as Xu Qingyan walked out of the school gate, he saw a large black Mercedes parked by the roadside.
The car window rolled down, and a girl poked her head out. She smiled at him from a distance.
“Brother, over here!”
He pressed his lips together and quickly walked over.
The car door opened, and a wave of cool air rushed toward him.
“Brother, how was your first day of school?” Lin Zhinuo tilted her head, her bright eyes gazing at him.
He gave a slight nod, his voice soft and low.
“Good. What about you?”
“Pretty good.”
Whenever the girl’s smile deepened, a faint dimple appeared beside her lips, making her look sweet and adorable.
When they got home, Aunt Yang had already prepared dinner.
Lin Zhinuo hurriedly ate a few mouthfuls to fill her stomach, then rode her cherry-pink mountain bike toward the dance training center.
It wasn’t far away, located near Xinyue Bay Villas.
There were two classes a week, each lasting two hours. Since there were no evening self-study sessions during the first semester of the first year, Lin Zhinuo wanted to make the most of her time and practice more.
The classical dance teacher’s name was An Ning. She was stunningly beautiful, with a cool and aloof temperament. Lin Zhinuo secretly nicknamed her the “Iceberg Beauty.”
But she was actually very gentle.
Lin Zhinuo was the second student to arrive. Another older girl had already changed into her dance clothes and was warming up.
She greeted her, then hurried into the changing room.
By the time she came back out in her dance clothes, Teacher An Ning had already stepped outside.
Shen Qianqian stretched her legs while turning her head to ask,
“Junior, which class did you get into? Who’s your homeroom teacher?”
Shen Qianqian was also a student at No. 1 High School. She was in her second year.
“Class 4. My homeroom teacher is Jiang Yun.”
Lin Zhinuo walked over and followed along with the warm-up exercises.
Shen Qianqian clicked her tongue twice. “This Teacher Jiang is notoriously difficult to deal with. She’s going through menopause, and she also has a son in his rebellious teenage years. You’d better be careful around her.”
Lin Zhinuo smiled and nodded repeatedly. How could she not know?
As they were talking, another student, Su Wenjing, came in.
She was a second-year student at No. 2 High School and was also pursuing the dance-specialty route.
After exchanging greetings, the three girls began practicing.
At 7:10, Lin Zhinuo parked her little pink bike in front of the house.
As soon as she stepped inside, she heard Lin Jingshan’s voice coming from the living room.
“Qingyan, why did you suddenly decide to live at school? Are you uncomfortable staying at home?”
Lin Jingshan was worried that the boy had some concerns he wasn’t telling them about, which was why he had chosen to live in the dormitory.
He could also tell that his precious daughter really liked and depended on this boy.
Every day it was “Brother this” and “Brother that,” sometimes sounding even more affectionate than when she called him, her own father.
“Brother is going to live at school?” Lin Zhinuo asked as she came in. “Why?”
No. 1 High School wasn’t very far from Xinyue Bay Villas. She had originally been looking forward to riding to and from school with her brother.
Perhaps because she had just finished dancing and taken a shower, the high ponytail tied behind the girl’s head had loosened slightly and hung down her back. She wore a white tank top and pink pants, leaving her slender forearms exposed, their fair skin especially eye-catching.
Xu Qingyan’s gaze briefly swept over her before settling to the side.
“Second-year students have evening self-study, so they get out too late.”
Lin Zhinuo suddenly understood.
She had almost forgotten that she and Xu Qingyan had different school schedules.
High school studies were demanding, and with everyone competing so fiercely, living at school could save the time spent commuting back and forth, leaving more time for studying or resting.
Lin Zhinuo sighed softly in her heart.
In this lifetime, all she asked was for him to remain safe and well year after year. As long as he lived a peaceful and smooth life, the rest could follow his wishes.
She tilted her head up slightly, her expression serious.
“Brother can live at school, but you have to come home on weekends.”
“And one more thing.” She rubbed her stomach, which was so hungry it felt like her front and back were sticking together. “You have to eat properly and make sure you… build up your strength.”
There was no need for him to grow any taller. He was already very tall.
She was the one who needed to grow.
She was practically the shortest person in her class.
With that, she headed toward the kitchen, her soft, sweet voice carrying a hint of childish pleading.
“Aunt Yang, is there anything left to eat? I’m starving!”
“Yes, yes, yes. I saved all your favorites for you.”
Xu Qingyan stood where he was, feeling strangely conflicted.
He had been the one to ask to live in the dormitory. They had readily agreed, yet for some reason, he now felt inexplicably gloomy and disappointed.
The school would provide bedding, so Xu Qingyan only needed to prepare spare school uniforms and toiletries.
When he left for school, his black backpack wasn’t even full.
In the car, Lin Zhinuo was like a little adult who couldn’t stop worrying, repeatedly reminding him to eat properly and get enough rest.
Lin Jingshan then handed him a mobile phone.
“If anything happens, call me anytime.”
The school did not explicitly prohibit students from bringing phones, and Lin Zhinuo had secretly tucked one into her schoolbag as well.
“Brother, if you need anything, just message me. I’ll bring it to you when I go to school.”
Xu Qingyan gave a quiet hum of acknowledgment. After getting out of the car, the two followed the stream of students into the school.
The workload for new students wasn’t particularly heavy at first, as everyone was still getting acquainted with one another.
Meng Siyu and Lin Zhinuo naturally clicked because of their similar personalities, and the two quickly became close.
The moment the lunch bell rang, they grabbed each other’s hands and dashed into the cafeteria.
Despite having barely done any physical activity, Lin Zhinuo felt unusually hungry.
Her tray was piled high with three dishes and a soup, all generously filled with meat.
Meng Siyu looked at her own tray of nothing but vegetables and let out a miserable cry.
“Being beautiful really means you can do whatever you want!”
Then she picked up her vegetables and stuffed them unhappily into her mouth.
Laughing, Lin Zhinuo picked up a piece of meat and put it into her tray.
“You’re at the age when your body is still growing. Why are you dieting? Once you grow taller, you’ll naturally look slimmer.”
Meng Siyu stared at the piece of meat and swallowed hard.
“I know all that in theory, but my arch-enemy keeps making fun of me.”
“Your arch-enemy?”
Although Lin Zhinuo already knew the answer, she thoughtfully asked anyway, giving her friend a chance to vent.
“Yeah. My sister. She’s in the Lingyun Class for first-year students now.”