The dormitory lights went out promptly at eleven. Students had long developed a biological clock, falling asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow at that hour—except for Jiang Wan.
After washing up, he dried his hair and thought about sitting at the desk for a while. His phone screen dimmed and brightened, brightened and dimmed, over and over, but Jiang Wan didn’t open it to check.
In the end, Jiang Wan didn’t sit down. He stood alone on the balcony for a while, his eyes downcast, lost in thought—or perhaps thinking of nothing at all.
From Lu Xingheng’s perspective, only Jiang Wan’s thin, slender back was visible. Night slowly seeped in from the horizon, inexplicably making the scene feel somewhat lonely.
At that moment, Lu Xingheng spoke up without reason, “What are you looking at?”
Jiang Wan’s shoulder blades tensed for an instant.
Lu Xingheng said, “Sorry.”
Jiang Wan turned around, his eyes brimming with a smile. “What are you apologizing for this time?”
Lu Xingheng didn’t respond.
A light rain fell diagonally, scattering against the wall with a faint rustling sound.
Outside the window, nothing was visible except the rustling of the wind. Yet Jiang Wan stood there for a long while.
“Lu Xingheng,” Jiang Wan suddenly spoke up, “it’s almost midnight. Since you just arrived, you might not know—our university has morning exercises at six. If there’s nothing else, you should get some sleep early.”
“Mm.”
Lu Xingheng didn’t linger any longer. As he turned away, he heard Jiang Wan speak again. “Listening to the rain.”
Lu Xingheng was momentarily stunned before snapping back to reality, belatedly realizing that Jiang Wan was answering his earlier, unfinished question.
—What are you looking at?
—Listening to the rain.
…
These past few days, dawn arrived early. The feeling of being pulled from sleep was unpleasant. Lu Xingheng glanced coldly at the clock—5:40.
Jiang Wan was pulling back the blankets one by one. “Twenty minutes left.”
His voice wasn’t loud, but Jiang Wenyan was a light sleeper and vaguely heard half the sentence. “Bro…”
“Hurry up,” Jiang Wan tugged hard at Jiang Wenyan’s blanket.
“I’m up, I’m up!” Jiang Wenyan’s hair stood on end. “I’m not wearing anything, don’t just pull the blanket off!”
Xu Yichen mumbled, “I’m not wearing anything either.”
“…” To sleep a little longer, these two idiots would even spread such rumors.
Jiang Wan turned to look at Lu Xingheng.
Lu Xingheng was already sitting up, pulling on his school uniform. He was in a foul mood from waking up, his expression cold and unpleasant. Seeing Jiang Wan staring at him, Lu Xingheng said flatly, “I’m wearing clothes.”
It was… kind of adorably contradictory.
“Wow,” Jiang Wan suppressed a laugh. “Then you’re amazing. Here’s a little red flower as a reward.”
Lu Xingheng: “…”
He thought Jiang Wan was just saying it casually, but after getting out of bed, Lu Xingheng actually saw a little red flower by the ladder.
It looked very real, very kindergarten.
Lu Xingheng pretended not to notice, casually glancing at the other two beds and discovering that only Xu Yichen’s bed had one beside it.
This weird school’s morning exercises aren’t so bad, Lu Xingheng thought.
Jiang Wenyan was curled up in bed pretending to be dead, the blanket slightly bunched up into a small lump.
Jiang Wan tugged at the blanket twice, but Jiang Wenyan didn’t budge. Left with no choice, Jiang Wan had to resort to extreme measures.
“Shit,” Jiang Wenyan shivered from the cold and instantly sat up. “Why are your hands so cold?”
He gently pulled Jiang Wan’s wrist. “Is there any part of you that’s warm? Don’t you know to wear more when you’re cold?”
Jiang Wan tapped Jiang Wenyan’s phone and said slowly, “Your alarm has gone off five times. There are only ten minutes left until morning exercises.”
“I’m up,” Jiang Wenyan said, his tone not very pleasant.
Jiang Wan didn’t add more clothes—it wasn’t as if wearing more would make him less cold; he simply couldn’t warm up no matter what.
Xu Yichen squinted his eyes while washing up, mumbling something unintelligible. The dormitory washbasin was built quite high, and Jiang Wenyan, being younger, couldn’t reach it. Every time, Jiang Wan had to help him take down his toiletries.
“What are you angry about again?” Jiang Wan smiled, handing Jiang Wenyan a cup filled with water for rinsing.
Jiang Wenyan: “Who’s angry?”
Jiang Wan: “Where do kids get so much anger day after day?”
Jiang Wenyan softened his tone and pushed Jiang Wan out. “Go take your medicine.”
“Not angry anymore?”
“I never was in the first place.”
Jiang Wan always took his medicine in large handfuls. Perhaps it was a bit bitter, as he frowned and drank half a cup of hot water to suppress the taste. Just as he was about to take more, Lu Xingheng asked, “Have you eaten yet?”
“No,” Jiang Wan glanced at his watch. “School breakfast seems to be at seven-thirty.”
“Mm.” Lu Xingheng didn’t say anything more, slinging his bag over one shoulder and heading out.
Jiang Wan: “Hey, aren’t you waiting for me?”
Lu Xingheng stopped. “How long?”
“Two minutes.”
It was two minutes for Jiang Wan.
Jiang Wan gently rubbed his stomach. “Jiang Wenyan, do we still have vinegar?”
“What do you need vinegar for so early in the morning?” Despite saying this, Jiang Wenyan still opened a drawer and handed Jiang Wan a packet of fruit vinegar. “Don’t drink it on an empty stomach.”
Xu Yichen was still groggy. “What’s going on?”
Jiang Wenyan: “He wants vinegar.”
“On the class monitor’s obsession with vinegar,” Xu Yichen yawned. “If it’s not enough, I have more on my desk.”
Suddenly, the assembly bell rang downstairs, its frequency growing faster and faster, as if urging them on. Xu Yichen grabbed Jiang Wenyan and dashed down.
Jiang Wan took a sip of vinegar. The urge to vomit subsided somewhat, but the pain in his stomach became even more unbearable.
Lu Xingheng was still by the door.
“Let’s go, Little Red Flower.” Jiang Wan locked the dormitory door. “Those two are probably waiting downstairs.”
The six o’clock sun was scorching and blinding. By the time they arrived, many students were already holding textbooks and reciting on the playground.
There was even a Chinese teacher conducting impromptu recitations below, instantly raising the pressure.
“The green hills cannot block it, after all, the river flows east. Jiang… Jiang… Jiang…”
Xu Yichen jolted awake. “Holy crap, Persian Cat is here so early today?”
Jiang Wenyan: “…I brought a math book.”
“Can’t recite anymore? Come to my office after class. Next!”
“Below the Yugu Terrace, the clear river flows, how many travelers’ tears are in its midst—”
“Where are you starting from?”
The unlucky student who was chosen stammered, “Jiang… Jiang Wan… pitiful countless—”
Jiang Wan instinctively glanced ahead.
“What’s the next line?” Xu Yichen “whispered” to Jiang Wenyan.
Jiang Wenyan held a math book as a prop, cautiously saying, “Pitiful countless mountains?”
Persian Cat’s temper flared instantly. “Xu Yichen!”
Xu Yichen: “Here!”
“Did you write ‘rest in peace’ for ‘Anxi’ in ‘Seeing Off Yuan Er on His Mission to Anxi’? Why don’t you go rest in peace yourself?”
Xu Yichen lowered his head: “…It was a slip of the hand, a slip of the hand.”
Persian Cat: “Go stand at the back. Jiang Wenyan, continue reciting.”
Jiang Wenyan closed his math book. “The green hills cannot block it, after all, the river flows east. Pitiful countless mountains…”
Persian Cat: “Go on.”
Jiang Wenyan thought for a long time. “The green hills cannot block it?”
“Correct,” Persian Cat said. “Let’s see how long you can keep cycling.”
Jiang Wan whispered, “Jiang Wan is filled with sorrow.”
It seemed like the person chosen to recite could never hear the answer clearly; Jiang Wenyan only caught something about “yu.”
“Jiang Wan…” Jiang Wan raised his voice a bit.
Jiang Wenyan confidently said, “Jiang Shang Wan Xing Yu.”
Persian Cat: “…Jiang Wan has been standing there for ages, and that’s all you heard?”
Jiang Wan: “…” I tried my best.
“Tired?” Persian Cat asked softly as he passed by Jiang Wan. “The homeroom teacher mentioned you had low blood sugar yesterday. Are you feeling better now?”
Jiang Wan: “Much better.”
Xu Yichen: “…” And here he is saying “Jiang Wan Chou Yu”—Jiang Wan isn’t the least bit troubled; Xu Yichen is the one feeling troubled.
The morning exercise area wasn’t large, just two slow laps around the track. But the pre-run recitation was always a bit of a pain.
After the recitation, Jiang Wan half-heartedly adjusted the formation and led Lu Xingheng toward the back of the line. “Stand here for now.”
Rubbing his stomach, Jiang Wan stepped aside. “Usually, it’s two laps—”
Lu Xingheng: “Stomach bothering you?”
Jiang Wan didn’t catch it at first. “What?”
He had been frail and prone to chills since childhood, and it had been years since anyone asked about such specific details… At some point, “Jiang Wan might feel unwell” had become an accepted fact, something even he had grown accustomed to.
Lu Xingheng: “Taking medicine on an empty stomach isn’t good.”
Jiang Wan: “Oh.”
Lu Xingheng felt as if a cat had gently scratched his heart with its soft paw, leaving a lingering itch that lasted the entire day.
The cafeteria’s breakfast wasn’t bad. Xu Yichen charged ahead like a starving wolf.
Lu Xingheng ordered a serving of soup dumplings, and the auntie handed him a bowl of vinegar.
Jiang Wan called out to him, “Little Red Flower.”
Lu Xingheng ignored him but didn’t touch the soup dumplings either.
“Lu Xingxing.”
“Lu Xingxing.”
“…”
Lu Xingheng: “Heng.”
“Got it, Lu Xingxing.” Jiang Wan pointed at the vinegar. “Mind sharing a bit?”
Lu Xingheng unwrapped a pair of disposable chopsticks, picked up a soup dumpling, placed it in the vinegar bowl, and pushed it toward Jiang Wan.
Jiang Wan only sipped the vinegar.
Jiang Wenyan and Xu Yichen were still getting their food. “Bro, do you want a stuffed pancake?”
Jiang Wan: “No, I’ve got mine.”
Xu Yichen, while guarding his own stuffed pancake to prevent Jiang Wenyan from “borrowing flowers to offer Buddha,” called out to Jiang Wan, “Since when? How many months?”
Jiang Wan: “Let me ask for you.”
The cafeteria was noisy, so Jiang Wan simply carried the vinegar bowl and sat down next to Lu Xingheng, his tone as lazy as ever. “How many months along is your little soup dumpling?”
Lu Xingheng: “The water broke.”
Jiang Wan: “Huh?”
Lu Xingheng rarely engaged in such banter. Jiang Wan was just teasing him and hadn’t expected a response.
“Jiang Wan.”
Jiang Wan looked up at Lu Xingheng.
“If you don’t eat it soon, it’ll miscarry.”
Jiang Wan: “”