Chapter 9

After the school celebration, Jiangcheng entered the scorching month of June. During this period, the outdoor temperature lingered around 35 degrees Celsius. The campus was bathed in bright sunlight, filled with the incessant chirping of cicadas, and the air seemed to be layered with an invisible heatwave.

In the teacher’s office at Jiangcheng Elementary School, there was a collective sigh: “Has the repairman not come to fix our office air conditioner yet? It’s really going to kill us in this heat.”

The office air conditioner was old, and even when turned on, it was as if it wasn’t working at all. It had been reported for repair three days ago, but still, no one had come.

“Just wait, probably next week,” another teacher said. “If it’s too much, you can go to your classroom early; the air conditioning there is cooler.”

Teacher Li quickly shook her head: “Forget it, I’d rather die from heat than noise. At least with heat, I can fan myself.”

The hot weather made everyone irritable, and the office was filled with the sound of teachers fanning themselves with notebooks.

Teacher Li wiped the thin sweat from the side of her face and glanced at the person at the next desk, unable to help but ask: “Teacher Wen, aren’t you hot?”

Today, Wen Ci was wearing a white cardigan over a long cyan dress. Although it was a typical summer outfit, it seemed a bit heavy in this sweltering environment, especially since their office was directly under the sunlight, and the poor-quality curtains could not block it.

However, Wen Ci didn’t seem affected by the temperature at all. She was quietly grading students’ homework, her low ponytail hanging down the back of her neck, revealing a slender, fair neck.

There wasn’t a trace of restlessness about her; just looking at her made people feel comfortable.

The person called did not respond, so Teacher Li called again: “Teacher Wen?”

Wen Ci snapped back to reality: “Huh? Sorry, Teacher Li, I was lost in thought. What did you say?”

Teacher Li repeated herself, and Wen Ci smiled faintly: “I’m okay; I seem to tolerate heat well.”

Teacher Li casually asked out of concern: “Do you have something on your mind lately? You seem distracted these past few days.”

Wen Ci joked: “No, just being lazy.”

“Indeed, as they say, those with a calm heart aren’t afraid of heat,” the teacher at the neighboring desk interjected. “Teacher Wen, teach me how you manage your emotions. We teach the same class, yet I’m always so angry every day.”

Teacher Li shook her head: “You can’t learn this; Teacher Wen is naturally good-tempered. Our class kids are so rowdy, but she’s never lost her temper with them.”

“They’re just noisy during breaks; they’re very well-behaved in class,” Wen Ci smiled and took a small electric fan from her drawer. “Teacher Li, do you want this?”

Teacher Li’s eyes lit up: “This is a lifesaver, thank you so much.“

Wen Ci was about to say it was nothing when her phone on the desk suddenly beeped. She quickly picked it up to check.

Even she didn’t realize how hurried her movements were. Seeing this, Teacher Li smiled and asked: “A message from your boyfriend?”

Wen Ci’s fingers paused for a moment: “No, it’s a message from my mom.”

“The young Wen doesn’t have a boyfriend,” the teacher at the next desk said.

Wen Ci smiled lightly.

Her mother had sent her pictures of groceries, reminding her to come home early for dinner after school.

Wen Ci replied with an “okay.”

The class bell rang, and the teacher’s office finally quieted down. Wen Ci held her phone in silence for a while, then exited the chat with her mom.

Below her mother’s message were countless work groups, parent groups, and then Dou Yiqing, followed by several teachers discussing work, parents, and the breakfast shop owner. Except for Dou Yiqing, her last message to everyone else was “okay.”

She finally stopped scrolling when she saw the Samoyed avatar.

Half a month had passed since the school celebration, and she hadn’t spoken to Zhou Wu.

This was actually their usual state; they weren’t really friends and had nothing to talk about outside of the hotel. When Zhou Wu went to the United States, they even lost contact for nearly three months.

But during those three months, Wen Ci didn’t feel particularly sad. She would check for Zhou Wu’s messages before bed and upon waking up. If there was no message, she would start looking forward to the next day. When she couldn’t wait any longer, she decided to find time to ask if he had returned, only to receive his room number in response.

“Expectations” were precious to Wen Ci, and Zhou Wu generously gave her many of them.

But this past half month felt exceptionally long to Wen Ci.

Duan Wei’s marriage seemed on the brink, and during their conversation, there was even talk of “regret.” Wen Ci suddenly wasn’t sure if Zhou Wu would come looking for her again.

If he didn’t come again, would Zhou Wu politely inform her, or would it just end silently?

She didn’t know. She knew too little about Zhou Wu.

Holding her phone for a long time, Wen Ci finally opened the chat with Zhou Wu and typed: “Are you free recently?”

She stared at the line of text for a while before deleting it all.

She couldn’t bring herself to sleep with Zhou Wu knowing his ambiguous relationship with Duan Wei.

She also worried that Zhou Wu might use this opportunity to break things off with her.

Wen Ci closed the chat window, thought for a moment, and opened Duan Wei’s Moments feed. Duan Wei had updated three or four times in the past half month. Wen Ci scrolled through all the photos and didn’t see Zhou Wu, which made her breathe a slight sigh of relief and put down her phone.

Wen Ci looked down at her students’ assignments. After a while, she couldn’t help but put down her pen, lie on the desk, and bury her face in her arms.

It was awful. Whether she was avoiding it out of luck or peeking at Duan Wei’s Moments feed.

—-

A little after 9 p.m., Wen Ci’s room was lit as she focused on writing lesson plans when her phone beeped.

Remembering what Teacher Li said today, she deliberately waited two seconds before picking it up to check.

[Qin Yun: Wen Ci, my birthday party is this Saturday night. Come and join us.]

Wen Ci was stunned. She had thought Qin Yun was just casually mentioning it, but to her surprise, he actually invited her.

They weren’t very close, and given the relationship with Duan Wei, Wen Ci hadn’t planned to go. She thought for a moment and started typing a reply.

[Wen Ci: Sorry, I already have plans with Yi Qing that day, so I might not be able to make it. Happy birthday in advance^^]

[Qin Yun: Did she make plans with you? That’s perfect.]

[Qin Yun: She’s coming to my birthday party that day too.]

[Wen Ci: ?]

Wen Ci immediately called Dou Yi Qing.

Yi Qing picked up quickly: “What’s up, baby? I’m soaking in the bath.”

Wen Ci asked, “Are you going to Qin Yun’s birthday party?”

At first, Dou Yi Qing had refused.

Go to celebrate Qin Yun’s birthday? Was she crazy? Not cursing him out was already her being magnanimous.

But Qin Yun’s sharp tongue got the better of her. After hearing her refusal, he exaggeratedly sighed in relief, “That’s great. I regretted it as soon as I invited you, but I always keep my word. Since I said I’d invite you, I had to follow through. I’ll hang up now. Wishing you an average life and an unhappy work experience.”

Could Dou Yi Qing tolerate that? She had to go just to spite him.

“Perfect timing. My students have been driving me crazy. I need someone to vent on, or I’ll have a heart attack.” Dou Yi Qing said, “He invited you too? If you don’t want to go, don’t worry, I can handle him by myself.”

Wen Ci couldn’t feel at ease.

Besides, she had already given a flimsy excuse, and there was no taking it back.

However, if it was Qin Yun’s birthday… Zhou Wu and Duan Wei might be there too.

Before Wen Ci could figure out what to do, Qin Yun sent another message: [It’s settled then. I’ll arrange for someone to pick you up.]

Wen Ci quickly replied: [No need, I’ll ride with Yi Qing.]

[Qin Yun: Dou Yi Qing isn’t driving. I’ll arrange for someone to pick you up. The parties in the mountains and the route are tricky. It’s not safe for you to drive or take a cab. Don’t worry, I’ll handle it. Just send me your home address.]

Wen Ci had no choice but to reply: [Okay, thanks.]

[Qin Yun: No need to thank me. We’re old classmates, after all. Oh, and remember to bring your school uniform!!]

Unexpectedly, there was more to it.

Wen Ci quickly put down her pen and stepped on the bed to reach for the deepest part of her wardrobe. Soon, she found two school uniform tops.

One was filled with signatures, some with small graduation messages next to the names.

The other had only one name.

Wen Ci spread out the shirt and stared at that name for a while before turning to find a marker and scratch paper—to avoid getting caught, she needed to add Zhou Wu’s name to the other school uniform.

Wen Ci had learned calligraphy as a child and occasionally imitated the writing of famous artists, so she had some experience.

But this time, she imitated writing “Zhou Wu” more than ten times and still felt it wasn’t quite right.

Zhou Wu’s handwriting was sloppy and free, like dragonflies skimming water, with each stroke seeming effortless yet looking good.

After several attempts with no success, Wen Ci leaned back in her chair, staring at Zhou Wu’s name, her thoughts drifting.

She inexplicably recalled the way Zhou Wu looked when he signed his name.

At that time, she had secretly tucked the school uniform top into her bag for nearly a week, always unable to find the right moment to bring it out.

Zhou Wu finally ended up alone on a Wednesday.

Zhou Wu had skipped classes for two days in the last month before the college entrance exam and was called to the office by Yu Bin Hong, who lectured him until nearly seven in the evening.

Wen Ci sat in the classroom at that time, guarding Zhou Wu’s papers he hadn’t taken yet, feeling a bit regretful—within a few minutes, the classmates for night self-study should arrive.

Then Zhou Wu came back.

Zhou Wu must have been severely scolded, as when Wen Ci called out to him, he looked up with a faint trace of irritation and annoyance on his face.

Seeing her, Zhou Wu was visibly startled.

“Could you sign your name on this school uniform?” Wen Ci asked, “I want to keep a memento with all my classmates’ names.”

Zhou Wu’s frown relaxed, and he agreed lightly, “Sure.”

Wen Ci quickly handed him the marker in her hand, “Use this to sign.”

Zhou Wu unfolded the shirt, searched for a spot, and found he was the first to sign. He asked, “Can I sign anywhere?”

“Yes.”

Zhou Wu swiftly signed two strokes, then suddenly chuckled.

He looked up at her, eyes filled with a faint smile, “Oops, looks like I signed too big… I’ll buy you a new one tomorrow and sign it again.”

Wen Ci stared at his eyes in silent daze.

It wasn’t until he waited for a long time and raised his eyebrows in confusion that she quickly snapped back.

“No, it’s fine like this. It’s not too big.”

Wen Ci took back the shirt, not daring to look at him again, “Thank you, Zhou Wu.”

—-

On the twenty-seventh attempt, Wen Ci finally managed to imitate it decently.

She picked up the shirt covered with names and carefully wrote Zhou Wu’s name on it.

Wen Ci held up the shirt, comparing it from side to side for a long time, and sighed—there was still a slight difference.

Fortunately, it was subtle enough that it should pass unnoticed.