Gardenia Blossom Season

Part 8

14

Zhou Ji and his group noisily rode their little electric scooters.
They were all classmates who had studied together during the winter break, and my deskmate was there as well.

"Aww, you two coordinated this, didn't you? Wearing couple outfits tonight," my deskmate said, grinning like a flower. "Go, go, you sit behind Zhou Ji."

I glanced at Zhou Ji.

We were both wearing yellow down jackets, the same color but different styles.

He had one foot propped on the ground, leaning against the scooter with a smile, completely unfazed by my deskmate's teasing.

He handed me a helmet, playing along.
"Since Sun Hui Er said so, then Xu Zhi, let's make her shipping wish come true."

I took the helmet but swung around to sit on Sun Hui Er's scooter instead.

I strapped the helmet on and raised an eyebrow at Zhou Ji. "I'm not daring enough to ride with you. You go too fast. If we ran into traffic police, I wouldn't even have time to get off."

The warm, dim streetlight shone on Zhou Ji's head.

He leaned against the handlebars, staring at me, a breeze stirring in his amber eyes.

Quiet and tender.

He curled his lips, revealing a dimple on one side. "If you were on my scooter, I'd definitely slow down."

I didn't know when it had happened, but Zhou Ji was no longer that boy who blushed at every little thing.

I felt like he'd secretly trained himself.

Every move he made was laced with a springtime warmth that stirred the heart.

I avoided his gaze, patted Hui Er on the shoulder, and waved my hand to signal, "Let's go!"

There were a lot of people by the lake to watch the fireworks.

We searched here and there before finding a spot with relatively fewer people.
We arrived just in time, barely settling in when the countdown began from a nearby crowd.

"5—"

"4—"

We joined in, shouting in unison.

"3—"

"2—"

"1—"

Across the lake, fireworks suddenly soared into the sky, tearing through the night.

A warm breath brushed past my ear.

"Xu Zhi, happy New Year. May all your wishes come true."

Zhou Ji stood beside me, his arm hovering protectively behind my back, shielding me from the crowd's jostling.

He looked down, smiling softly.

His eyes reflected the fireworks, shining brightly.

And with that—

The loud and magnificent fireworks erupted one after another.

Our friends were shouting their wishes into the night—

"Adulthood, here I come! Sun Hui Er is ready!"

"Good luck with the college entrance exams!"

"May we all get into our dream schools!"

I cupped my hands around my mouth and yelled, "Nan University, wait for me!"

Boom, boom, boom.

The fireworks kept coming.

Thump, thump, thump.

My heart raced.

In the icy winter wind, the passion in our youthful hearts burned brightly.

I turned my head and found Zhou Ji still looking at me.

"Zhou Ji, happy New Year."

"May everything go your way."

I heard myself say.


15

The winter break tutoring hadn't been in vain.

During the start-of-term exam, I once again took first place without question.

All my friends who had joined the tutoring sessions saw their scores improve, especially Zhou Ji.

He even managed to break into the top ten in our grade.

The homeroom teacher from Class 1 walked past our classroom, then took a few steps back and said, "Xu Zhi, it seems that your tutoring methods really worked for Zhou Ji."

My deskmate whispered teasingly, "It's not about the method; it's about the person."

I nudged her.

After the teacher left, she leaned in and asked, "So, on New Year's Eve, what little secrets were you two sharing? Did he... confess to you?"

She mouthed the word "confess" silently.

"No, you're overthinking it."

"Really, nothing?"

She examined my face closely. Perhaps not seeing any hint of embarrassment, she gave up on prying further.

Zhou Ji liked me.

I wasn't a fool.

I did have some feelings for him, too.

I wondered if it was because the fireworks that night had been so beautiful.

I couldn't stop someone else's emotions, but I could suppress my own fleeting feelings.

Right now, the most important thing was the college entrance exams. I couldn't afford to think about anything else.

At lunchtime, we headed to the cafeteria, passing by the honor roll.

Sun Hui Er stood on tiptoe to get a better look and said, "Hey, hey, Xu Xing Zhan made it up there this time. Second place, right next to you."

As soon as she said this, the person in front of us stopped.

Xu Xing Zhan turned around.

Hui Er went silent.

He looked like he had lost weight; even in a down jacket, he seemed as if the wind might blow him away any moment.

"Congratulations."

Xu Xing Zhan looked at me quietly, his voice calm and emotionless.

"Thank you."

The early spring wind was still chilly, gusting between us.

We were like two ships parting ways, each headed for a different harbor.

Someone ran up from behind and pulled up the hood of my coat.

In an instant, the wind stopped.

"Xu Zhi, aren't you going to the cafeteria? Your favorite chicken wings are about to be gone!"

Zhou Ji jogged past with a few other boys, glancing back with a radiant smile.

Hearing this, I quickly grabbed Hui Er and chased after them.

It wasn't until we were far away that I realized I hadn't said goodbye to Xu Xing Zhan.

I glanced back briefly.

Tall and lean, he moved through the crowd with a kind of aloof grace.

He seemed a bit solitary.

But in the next moment, Jian Qing Mai ran over and joined him, walking side by side.