He looked down at her, then bent over slightly.
Shen Qingyou was taken aback for a moment, then, with her ears turning red, she draped the string over his shoulder and measured the width. She went around to his back and measured the shoulder width. Then she came around to the front and measured the collar.
She measured very carefully, memorizing as she went: shoulders this wide, back this broad, collar this big.
When she was done, she put the string away and looked up at him.
Yan Tingxu stood there, looking down at her.
“All done?”
Shen Qingyou nodded. “Done. Thank you, Third Uncle.”
She turned and walked back. After two steps, she suddenly heard him say from behind.
“Don’t stay up too late.”
Shen Qingyou paused and looked back at him.
He had already crouched back down and continued wiping the car, as if he hadn’t said anything at all.
Her eyes curved into a smile. She gave a soft “Mm,” then ran back to her room.
…
On the eighteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, the sweater was finished.
Shen Qingyou held it in her hands, turning it over and over to look at it.
The dark gray yarn was knitted neatly and evenly, the stitches well-proportioned. The collar was rounded off nicely, and the sleeves were the same length. She had also secretly knitted a small flower on the chest—hard to notice unless you looked closely. Only she knew it was there.
She looked at that little flower and felt a bit shy.
But she couldn’t bear to undo it, so she left it as it was.
She folded the sweater, tucked it at the very bottom of her cabinet.
Then she didn’t dare take it out again.
The next day, and the day after that, the sweater remained in the cabinet.
She wanted to give it to him, but she didn’t dare.
What if Third Uncle didn’t like it?
What if he thought the knitting wasn’t good enough?
What if it didn’t fit him?
She thought it over and over but just couldn’t muster the courage.
Before she knew it, the days of dawdling had passed, and the final exams were approaching.
She grew even busier and had even less time to give Third Uncle the sweater.
…
The twentieth day of the twelfth lunar month was the day of the school’s final exams.
Shen Qingyou had stayed up late for several nights in a row.
She had read through her textbooks again and again, memorized her notes over and over. She didn’t dare slack off, afraid that if she did poorly, she would embarrass her third uncle.
That evening, she sat at her desk again. The lamp was on, and her math book lay open in front of her.
The wind howled outside, and the stove hummed warmly inside the room.
Her eyelids were getting heavy. She rubbed her eyes and continued reading.
Just as she was studying, there was a knock at the door.
“Still awake?”
It was Yan Tingxu’s voice.
Shen Qingyou quickly closed her book and stood up to open the door.
The door opened. Yan Tingxu stood outside, wearing his coat over his shoulders.
He looked at her, his gaze moving from her face to the lamp on her desk.
“What time is it?”
Shen Qingyou didn’t know, but it was definitely late.
“I… I’m just reviewing a little more,” she said. “There’s an exam tomorrow.”
Yan Tingxu looked at her.
The girl stood in the doorway, her face small as a palm, dark circles faintly showing under her eyes. It was clear she had been staying up late for days.
“Go to sleep early,” he said.
Shen Qingyou obediently nodded. “Mm. I’ll go to sleep after I finish this page.”
Yan Tingxu didn’t say anything more. He turned and left.
Shen Qingyou closed the door, went back to her desk, and sat down.
But after she finished this page, there was another page.
So she bit her lip and kept reading.
The lamplight illuminated the densely packed words.
She didn’t know how much time had passed before she finally finished the last page.
She closed the book, rubbed her eyes, and stood up to get ready for bed.
As she walked toward the bed, she suddenly heard some noise outside.
She paused, walked to the window, and secretly lifted a corner of the curtain to look outside.
In the yard, the light in the main room was on.
Third Uncle was standing by his window, looking in her direction.
Shen Qingyou’s heart warmed, but she also felt a little nervous.
Was he… waiting for her to turn off her light?
She hurried to her bed, lay down, and switched off the lamp.
After a while, the light in the main room went out too.
In the darkness, Shen Qingyou smiled.
….
After the exam ended the next day, Shen Qingyou felt a little uncertain.
She knew how to answer all the questions, but she didn’t know if she had gotten them right. There were a few problems she had checked twice and still wasn’t sure about.
Li Hongmei came over. “Qingyou, how did you do?”
Shen Qingyou shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“You definitely did well!” Li Hongmei said. “You’re so diligent all the time—you work harder than any of us.”
Shen Qingyou smiled but didn’t say anything.
Walking out of the exam hall, she let out a long breath.
Finally, the exams were over.
Now came the wait for the results.
The waiting was the hardest part.
Her heart remained suspended, constantly thinking about how the results would turn out.
What if she did poorly and embarrassed her third uncle?
She thought about it over and over, and the more she thought, the more nervous she became.
Li Hongmei saw her like this and laughed. “Why are you so nervous? You definitely did well!”
Shen Qingyou shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“Then on the day they post the results, I’ll go with you to check!” Li Hongmei said. “We can be nervous together!”
Shen Qingyou’s eyes curved into a smile. “Okay.”
…
The twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month was the day the results were released.
When she got up that morning, Shen Qingyou was already a little distracted.
While cooking, she nearly mistook salt for sugar—luckily, she caught herself early and didn’t ruin the dish.
After breakfast, she wheeled her bike out the gate. Yan Tingxu was exercising in the yard.
He glanced at her.
“Results come out today?”
Shen Qingyou was startled. “How did Third Uncle know?”
Yan Tingxu didn’t answer. He only said, “Take it slow on the road.”
Shen Qingyou nodded and rode off.
She pedaled fast the whole way, her heart both nervous and expectant.
When she arrived at school, the classroom was already full of people, all talking about the exam results.
Li Hongmei spotted her and waved vigorously. “Qingyou! Over here!”
Shen Qingyou walked over and sat down. Her palms were sweaty.
The bell rang, and Teacher Zhou walked in carrying a notebook.
The classroom fell silent.
Teacher Zhou stood at the podium, her gaze sweeping across the class.
“This time, our class did quite well on the final exams,” she said. “The average score is five points higher than last time.”
A few students sighed softly in relief.
Teacher Zhou opened her notebook and began reading the results.
“Li Hongmei, Chinese 82, Math 78, total score 160.”
Li Hongmei whispered, “Not bad, not bad.”
“Wang Fang, Chinese 79, Math 83, total score 162.”
“Zhao Xiuying, Chinese 71, Math 65, total score 136.”
…
Name after name, score after score.
Shen Qingyou sat there, her heart pounding.
Finally, Teacher Zhou read her name.
“Shen Qingyou—”
She paused, looked up at Shen Qingyou, and a small smile appeared on her face.
“Chinese 94, Math 91, total score 185. Third place in the class.”
The classroom was silent for a second. Then a collective “WOW!” erupted.
Li Hongmei grabbed Shen Qingyou’s arm, her eyes wide. “Qingyou! Third place! Third in the whole class!”
Shen Qingyou sat there stunned, unable to process it for a moment.
Third place?
She got third place?
“Settle down, settle down,” Teacher Zhou tapped the podium. “Shen Qingyou came here from the countryside, with a weaker foundation than our city kids, but she worked hard and was willing to learn. This time, she achieved third place. Everyone should follow her example.”
A round of applause filled the classroom.
Shen Qingyou lowered her head, her ears a little red.
But inside her heart, it was sweeter than honey.