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Chapter 6: The Red Paper Airplane
The fire door was pushed open again.
“Bro, I’m about to have a stress response from your admirers’ nonstop questions. And here you are, hiding and smoking.” Song Lang walked over to Zhou Shubei in a few quick strides, muttering as he picked up a paper from the floor. “Financial aid application—whose is this?”
Zhou Shubei paused mid-smoke.
The A4 sheet had neatly aligned fold marks, showing how seriously someone had folded it. The form was blank, freshly printed, and hadn’t been filled in yet.
“Zhou-ge, Lang-ge, the second half is about to start.”
Someone pushed the door open to call them. Zhou Shubei responded and stubbed out his cigarette.
Jian Li only realized she had lost one of her application forms after returning to the dorm. Fortunately, she had printed extra copies. The other three girls had already finished washing up and were lying in bed on their phones.
“You had extra training?” Tan Xueying peeked her head down from the upper bunk and asked.
Their dorm had the typical lofted beds with desks below, along with a private bathroom and balcony. Tan Xueying lived next door to Jian Li.
Jian Li pulled out a change of clothes from her cabinet. “No, I just walked around near campus.”
Tan Xueying nodded and lay back down, continuing the previous topic. “If it weren’t for this financial aid application, I wouldn’t have known so many people at our school needed help. Every print shop was packed.”
Qing Wen said, “Makes sense. Back when we were younger, applying for aid felt a little embarrassing. Now everyone just jumps in. I even saw people with designer bags filling out the application. If they can afford luxury brands, they shouldn’t be competing with those who really need the money.”
“Exactly. People who truly need the help end up missing out. That’s just wrong,” Tan Xueying said, stretching her legs up the wall, trying to get those ‘comic-style legs’ from an online bedtime routine. She tilted her head and asked, “Right, Lili?”
Jian Li tied her ponytail into a bun and gave a small smile. “Yeah.”
Lights went out at 11 p.m. Jian Li finished her routine just in time. She drew the blue curtain around her bed for some privacy and opened the school forum. A post about tonight’s basketball game was pinned to the top.
The final score showed the finance department had won. In the ending photo, the team was draping their arms around each other’s shoulders, making victory signs at the camera. Zhou Shubei stood on the far right, smiling lazily. His forehead band was off, and his sweat-drenched bangs stuck to his face. He casually raked his hair back with a couple of fingers. A bead of sweat slid from his chin down his Adam’s apple.
Song Lang jumped on him, slinging an arm over his shoulder. Zhou Shubei locked him in a playful headlock in return. Song Lang surrendered with a raised hand, and Zhou Shubei chuckled and let go, heading toward the locker room. As he passed the hoop, he tossed the ball casually.
It was effortless, but the ball seemed to have a guided system, circling the rim before landing cleanly inside.
The boy, dressed in all black, radiated untamed freedom and confidence.
The forum post had exploded with comments:
Jian Li’s eyelashes fluttered slightly.
She thought back to a sunny afternoon shortly after starting her first year of high school. A classmate had run in excitedly to tell a friend, “I found out! Zhou Shubei, Class 1, third year. Top student. Loves basketball and running. Single!”
At Xiyuan No. 1 High School, a prestigious city school, the first- and second-year students were in the new campus, while the third-years were at the old one. Each grade had 13 classes. Classes 2–6 were honors classes, and Class 1 was the elite among elites.
During the opening ceremony, the entire school gathered on the field. Zhou Shubei went on stage as the model student to share his experiences.
It was peak summer, and the crowd murmured their discomfort under the scorching sun. After the principal recited school rules, Zhou Shubei leisurely stepped up the stage.
His blue-and-white uniform looked completely different on him—stylish. With deep brows, long eyes, and ink-black pupils, he looked like a painting. The wind stirred his hem, and his long, slender fingers raised the mic.
“I don’t have much to share—just one thing.” His deep voice echoed through the speakers. He held a folded red paper airplane between his fingers. The sun hit his face as he continued, relaxed but powerful, “Opening a book is like unlocking the door to an infinite future. If you want to change your destiny and realize your ambitions, hold that key tight.”
He then launched the paper airplane.
It twirled once in the air before landing in Jian Li’s hands. Before she could look at it, someone else snatched it. The opening ceremony instantly transformed into a passionate oath-taking event.
And on the stage, the instigator stood with one hand in his pocket, smiling freely—like nothing in the world could trouble him.
Through the crowd, Jian Li watched him, while even the cicadas’ chorus seemed to lose rhythm in that blazing summer.
Bang!
Something fell on the same floor, startling Jian Li back to the present.
The forum thread was still blowing up. Jian Li saved a solo picture of Zhou Shubei from the post to her phone, then uploaded it to her private album on Weibo. After that, she deleted it from her phone—clearing even the “Recently Deleted” folder to avoid leaving any traces.
The next day arrived. After morning military training, Qing Wen and Chu Yue went to a club meeting. Jian Li declined Tan Xueying’s invitation to eat together.
“You’re not eating lunch?” Tan Xueying asked, surprised. “We were doing squats all morning. My legs don’t even feel like they’re mine. I need a good meal to recover.”
Jian Li picked up her water bottle. “You go ahead. I’ve got something to do.”
Tan Xueying walked beside her, tilting her head curiously but hesitating to speak.
Jian Li messaged Feng Yutao through an app and looked up. “Just say it.”
“Okay, first of all, I absolutely don’t mean this in a judgmental way,” Tan Xueying clarified, lowering her voice. “Are you… a bit tight on money? I accidentally saw your aid application this morning.”
After a month of living together, they had some idea of each other’s situations.
Tan Xueying came from a wealthy upper-class family in North City. Qing Wen and Chu Yue were from regular working-class backgrounds. Jian Li was the most frugal among them, still using a ten-year-old laptop whose fan whirred like it was dying, and half the keys were worn down to nothing.
When Tan Xueying saw the form, she remembered Jian Li didn’t go home during the National Day break. It wasn’t hard to piece together.
“Yeah,” Jian Li didn’t deny it. “I need to save for next year’s tuition.”
Though the state provided some subsidies each year, no amount of frugality would cover full tuition—especially since she also had to repay her student loans.
Tan Xueying nodded. People were poor for all kinds of reasons. Jian Li didn’t elaborate, and she didn’t push. “So you’re going to apply for a part-time job now? On campus? Doing what?”
Jian Li glanced at Feng Yutao’s reply. He was already at the telecom office. “Campus card sales.”
“I’ll come with you then. The school promotes work-study anyway. Who knows? Maybe I’ll do well and get a scholarship for it.” She waved her phone playfully. “Then I’ll buy a new skin for my phone.”
Jian Li could tell she was trying to lighten the mood, so she didn’t feel awkward.
She gave a soft smile. “Okay.”