The classroom still had a faint smell of oranges. Midway, Teacher Xiao Xu came in once. The girls gave him an apple and a few pieces of chocolate. Xiao Xu said, 'Don't try to bribe me with sugar-coated bullets. You've been fooling around for half the day, it's time to focus.'

It wasn't so easy to focus the mind. The first self-study session was the English teacher's. She strolled around once and played a listening exercise, while some boys at the back were still whispering unconsciously. After enduring until the end of the first evening self-study session, everyone immediately ran out, scurrying around in the corridors to give gifts.

The corridor was freezing cold, but it couldn't hide the restless hearts of the teenagers.

"He wrote back to you." Jiang Du handed the letter, still warm from her body, to Wang Jingjing. The girl, who was picking at the fluff on a stuffed doll, froze. She opened her mouth without making a sound, but her lips formed the name "Wei Qingyue."

Seeing Jiang Du nod, Wang Jingjing swore, "Holy shit! Holy shit!" After she was done with her "holy shits," she suddenly sprang up like a coil and rushed out.

Jiang Du didn't know what was wrong with her. She called out "Wang Jingjing" and chased after her, but the girl had run off in the direction of the restroom.

She stood at the classroom door. Students from various classes bustled through the corridor, their figures flashing past the glass, laughing and playing in the light.

Wang Jingjing quickly returned, panting. She had gone to wash her hands. Her face was beaming with delight. "I should have bathed and burned incense to show respect, but I don't have the means for that right now, so I just washed my paws, hahaha!"

The classroom wasn't that safe. Lin Haiyang was the most annoying; he would stick his nose in their business at the drop of a hat. Wang Jingjing scanned the room and saw Chen Huiming gossiping nonstop with a few other girls. Whether intentionally or not, they glanced in their direction a few times. They definitely weren't saying anything nice. Wang Jingjing thought to herself. She seemed carefree, but she could be very meticulous when she needed to be.

Good news should only be shared with the closest people. There aren't that many people in this world who wish you well. She felt that the fewer people who knew about Wei Qingyue's reply, the better. Of course, Jiang Du was an exception; someone like her, who could only use templates for essays, could never write a rambling, old-lady-style love letter.

"I have a small flashlight. Let's find a place to read the letter." Her eyes darted around slyly.

The break was only ten minutes long, which meant they would have to skip class. Jiang Du's heart pounded. She stared at the thin piece of letter paper in Wang Jingjing's hand, its creases distinct; she had possessed it for a short while. Now, that paper carried a vast and mysterious world, one she had long wanted to dive headfirst into, but it remained just out of reach.

Even the most introverted and shy girl would become surprisingly brave at a moment like this. As if possessed, Jiang Du agreed to Wang Jingjing's suggestion. The first time she ever skipped class was because of Wei Qingyue.

The two girls hid under the flower trellis behind the Comprehensive Building. Jiang Du held the flashlight, and in her ears was the faint rustling sound of Wang Jingjing opening the letter. Her hand was shaking so much she almost couldn't aim the light at the paper. Wang Jingjing asked if her hand was cold.

The light shone on the boy's forceful handwriting.

"To XX:

I don't know how to address you, so I'm using this as a substitute. Please don't be offended. After all, you never sign your name.

I've received your letters. To be honest, I wasn't surprised, even though we've likely never interacted. I've received all three letters and have read them. I think I can guess your intention for writing to me. In your eyes, I'm probably nothing more than 'handsome and gets good grades.' Beyond that, I don't think you know much else.

If those two points are what attracted you, I want to tell you that it's all superficial gloss not worth your illusory passion. A face is something you're born with. I've never felt my appearance was so superior that it could make people like me. If one could gain affection based on looks alone, then I should have been well-liked long ago. As for grades, as long as you're not outrageously dumb and you work a little hard, they won't be too bad.

Everyone has a side that others don't know, you could even say an embarrassing side. I'm telling you this with great sincerity because I feel that your three letters were equally sincere. I have an obligation to remind you, because I'm not the perfect image everyone imagines me to be.

I can answer the questions you were concerned about in your letters. I will try to study in America; there's nothing here that makes me want to stay. I usually don't wipe the desks and stools, I just sit. Boys don't really care about these things.

And about the tree in front of the library, I guess you must sit by the window in your class, where it's convenient to look at the scenery, so you let your mind wander a lot. I don't really understand the mental world of a girl who can have so many feelings just by looking at a tree or a bird every day, but I respect that feeling. The world is naturally diverse. Everyone's understanding is different. You may see this side of the world, while I might see the other side.

Some of the trivial things you shared in your letters are very interesting. Your parents must dote on you very much. Only someone who grew up in a happy family would notice the details of life and have the ability to extract the most beautiful aspects from those details."

Having read up to this point, Wang Jingjing finally couldn't help but make a heaven-shaking racket: "Ah, he really understands me! How did he know my parents dote on me!"

Jiang Du's eyes felt sore. She gripped the flashlight tightly. Wang Jingjing didn't seem to need a response from her. After her outburst, she quickly shushed herself, saying "Quiet, quiet." In reality, Jiang Du hadn't made a sound.

The cold wind seemed to pass through her very organs, chilling her to the bone. Her cheeks were icy. The two fluffy heads huddled together again.

"You lamented the passage of time in your letter. There's no need to be too sad about it. The future is full of promise; one should look forward. There's no point in dwelling on the past. At least for me, the past isn't worth holding onto. I look forward to the future more. But we've had different upbringings, so your views might not be the same as mine. Everyone values different things.

Those three letters didn't bother me. I'm probably much less sensitive than you think. I'm not easily bothered by things.

I'm not very good at saying well-wishes. If I must say something to conclude, then I wish you progress in your studies. That should be something you care about. I'll leave my QQ Number for you on the back. You can add me. If you prefer to communicate through letters, that's up to you."

The letter ended there. Wang Jingjing flipped it over abruptly, creating a gust of air that startled Jiang Du. She instinctively wanted to read it again.

Sure enough, there was a string of numbers on the back.

Wang Jingjing was like someone waving a small victory flag. "Ahhh, Wei..." Her voice suddenly dropped to a whisper. She tugged hard at Jiang Du's sleeve, her eyes shining. "It's Wei Qingyue's QQ number! Oh my god, I got his QQ number!"

Jiang Du was shaken back and forth by her pulling. She tried hard to etch a cooperative and appropriate mask onto her face to react to her good friend's joy.

But she was in a daze. 'Is this Wei Qingyue? Did he really write this?'

It was as if she had touched a finer texture, a clearer vein, if Wei Qingyue were a tree. Jiang Du's eyes stung. She couldn't even bring herself to ask Wang Jingjing, "Let's read it again."

How strange. She didn't actually need to read it again; she had already memorized it at a glance. Every word he said, every stroke, every hook, every pause of the pen, was imprinted on her heart, not on the paper.

Jiang Du had a good memory, but this was the first time she discovered that she could actually have a photographic memory.

In her ears was Wang Jingjing's incoherent chatter. Whatever she was saying felt very distant to Jiang Du, as if coming from a misty sea. She was immersed in the reply she had just read. That letter was like a huge echo, reverberating endlessly against the walls of her heart.

He said he was going to America. He said, "Your parents must dote on you very much." 'That's not it, Wei Qingyue. I only pretended to have a loving mom and dad in the letters; I was actually talking about my grandparents. Is there anyone who dotes on you? Why don't you feel any attachment to your hometown?'

Jiang Du's heart was suddenly tugged by a pang of pain. She stiffly placed her hand under her lips and breathed out lightly, then Wang Jingjing patted her on the shoulder.

"Deskmate, deskmate, what do you think he means in this letter? He's allowing me to keep writing to him, right? Does this mean Wei Qingyue likes me? Lin Haiyang told him it was me who wrote the letters. He knows who I am, right?"

Wang Jingjing was asking too many questions. When Jiang Du came back to her senses, she didn't know which one to answer first.

"Tell me, how should I reply!" Wang Jingjing tried desperately to suppress her excitement. She never expected that Wei Qingyue would actually write her such a long reply, that he actually had so much to say to her, although there were some things where she didn't quite understand his true meaning.

That wasn't important. What was important was that she had received a reply from Wei Qingyue. She was one of a kind; Wei Qingyue looked upon her with favor. The vanity unique to young girls naturally reared its head.

In that instant, Wang Jingjing even had a novel little idea. She deliberated for a moment, then said to Jiang Du,

"How about, from now on, I write the replies myself? You can give me some advice, but I think it's better if I write to him myself. Otherwise, it'll seem like I'm not sincere, don't you think?"

Jiang Du's heart was instantly pierced with pain. She was speechless for a few seconds, every breath stagnant. Something had been mercilessly snatched away from her—this was a trap she had set for herself. She lacked courage, so naturally, she didn't deserve it.

"Okay," she said softly, feigning utter calm. "Let's do that then."