4. That Summer (1)

The summer of 2013 was particularly scorching. As Yu Yue traveled from the western district of A City to the eastern district, he was constantly drowsy in the car. Although the car had air conditioning, the sunlight outside the window was intense and scorching on his skin, making him uncomfortable.

Yu Jingnian, who was driving, and Jiang Qian, who was sitting in the passenger seat, had been talking softly throughout the journey. Their voices were hushed, but as long as they were conversing, their presence was impossible to ignore. Yu Yue, half-dreaming, could always hear a sentence or two about his high school days, and he couldn’t help but furrow his brows. He wanted to find a more comfortable sleeping position. However, with a “thud,” he suddenly bumped his head on the cabinet beside him.

The pain immediately woke Yu Yue up.

The conversation in the front seats also ceased.

Yu Yue opened his eyes and saw himself in a very uncomfortable position, curled up in the back seat, with a cabinet on each side. These cabinets were made of rosewood and were filled with the precious possessions of Yu Jingnian—films he had directed.

Although Yu Yue wasn’t very tall, about 178 cm, the limited space was already quite painful for him.

Jiang Qian turned around to look at Yu Yue, her voice soft and filled with a tentative soothing tone, “Bumped your head?”

Yu Yue kept his head down, pressing his hand against his head where it had just bumped into the cabinet, and didn’t say a word for a while.

Jiang Qian seemed to be a bit cautious and continued, “We’re almost there. Hang in there a bit longer.”

Yu Jingnian also glanced at Yu Yue through the rearview mirror and joked, “Those are all treasures, even more precious than you. Don’t damage them; otherwise, I would have called a moving company long ago.”

Hearing Yu Jingnian’s words, Yu Yue’s irritability grew.

When he was in a bad mood, he would remain silent, biting his lip, appearing deeply aggrieved.

Jiang Qian chuckled, extending her hand to poke Yu Yue’s cheek on one side, where there was still a bit of baby fat. “Alright, it’s because you chose a high school so far away that we have to move with you, isn’t it?”

Yu Yue finally spoke, “I said I could live on campus.”

Yu Jingnian, with a solemn expression in the rearview mirror, furrowed his brow. “Always talking about living on campus. Look at yourself, can you survive without us? You’re just a pampered young master who doesn’t even know how to do laundry or make a bed. Can you really live on campus?”

Yu Yue turned his face away and looked out of the window. His eye sockets were slightly red, and the tip of his nose was flushed.

Jiang Qian noticed and said to Yu Jingnian, “Alright, stop talking about your son.”

Finally, Yu Jingnian closed his mouth.

Because the back seat was very cramped, with almost no space to stretch out, Yu Yue could only sit with his knees to his chest. He looked out of the window as the scenery passed by. Gradually, he saw a tree-lined path enter his view.

Yu Yue’s eyes lit up.

He had seen pictures of this place online. It was the tree-lined path in front of No. 3 High School!

Yu Yue immediately perked up, climbed up, and clung to the rosewood cabinet to look out of the car window. Not long after, Yu Jingnian drove past the school gate of No. 3 High School.

To give Yu Yue a good look, Yu Jingnian deliberately slowed down.

Jiang Qian was also looking out of the window.

She said, “It looks pretty good.”

“Among the four prestigious schools in A City, No. 3 High School has the best reputation!” Yu Yue quickly forgot about the earlier incident and excitedly told Jiang Qian and Yu Jingnian, “I’ve checked it online. Their facilities are excellent, and the classrooms even have air conditioning…”

Yu Jingnian chuckled and said, “You went there for the air conditioning, didn’t you?”

Yu Yue drooped his eyebrows and decided not to continue the conversation with Yu Jingnian.

But the grandeur of the entrance of No. 3 High School, along with the pillar inscribed with the school’s name, made Yu Yue feel particularly fond of it. He was increasingly confident that he had not chosen the wrong school, even though Yu Jingnian and Jiang Qian had initially wanted him to attend No. 1 High School, which was closer to home and had teachers they knew.

Yu Jingnian circled around the school gate of No. 3 High School and then drove to their new home.

They called it a new home, but it wasn’t entirely new. It was a villa that Yu Jingnian had bought years ago in this area, and it had been vacant for about five years, although they had someone taking care of it.

As they drove back to the villa area, Yu Yue leaned against the car seat and sent a message to his close friend.

His friend’s name was Dan Hang, and his nickname was “Not Hangzhou’s Hang.”

Yu Yue’s QQ name was “Is a Fish.”
*yu – fish

Is a Fish: “I’m at No. 3 High School now, I’ll be able to see you soon.”

Not Hangzhou’s Hang: “Really? Where are you right now?”

Is a Fish: “I’m still moving, I’ll come to see you in the afternoon.”

Not Hangzhou’s Hang: “Great! You probably aren’t familiar with the East City, so I’ll take you around this afternoon!”

Yu Yue happily turned off his phone, feeling that he was entering a new phase of his life. He hadn’t found many things he liked in the West City, including the school, teachers, classmates, and even his father, Yu Jingnian, who was always away on business trips for months or even half a year at a time, and his mother, Jiang Qian, who left home early and returned late. Yu Jingnian was a film director, and Jiang Qian was a TV host; they were both prominent figures in their respective fields.

When they arrived at the villa’s entrance, the moving company had also arrived outside. Yu Jingnian received a call from them and went out to greet them. Yu Yue got out of the car, not particularly impressed by the new villa. It was just moving from one villa to another.

In the afternoon, Yu Yue went to meet Dan Hang.

Dan Hang rushed over from a distance, gave Yu Yue a big hug, grinned, and then introduced a few people he had brought with him, “These are my classmates. They have all seen your dad’s movies and wanted to meet you.”