Near the Municipal Library, there was a KFC. Jiang Du rarely ate there. Holding her money, she walked in to see a foreigner standing at the counter. His skin was pale and reddish, with a sprawling beard on his chin, and he was trying to gesture something to the employee.

Evidently, the employee didn't understand English, and the foreigner didn't understand Chinese.

Jiang Du immediately recalled traveling with Wang Jingjing during summer vacation. They had also encountered foreigners, and Wang Jingjing's mother had urged them to go over, pushing the two girls to strike up a conversation in English.

The result, of course, wasn't great. Even Wang Jingjing shied away, so Jiang Du was even less daring to go up and speak.

At the counter, the foreigner was still trying hard to communicate with the employee. Jiang Du glanced over a couple of times, hesitating whether to find another place to eat. She was really afraid the employee would see her. After all, she was wearing the Mei Zhong school uniform, and everyone assumed that Mei Zhong students were top students. It would be terrible if they asked for her help; she wouldn't be able to open her mouth.

The employee really did glance her way.

Jiang Du turned and left, feeling both guilty and hurried. With a bang, she slammed hard into the glass door. A sharp pain was mixed with a hint of dizziness, and within the dizziness was endless embarrassment.

The girl immediately squatted on the ground, clutching her head.

Strictly speaking, someone from the outside was pushing the door open, and she happened to walk right into it.

"Excuse me." A figure seemed to appear before her, carrying the dry scent of orchids.

Jiang Du's head was buzzing, but she still recognized the familiar voice. Tears welled up in her eyes from the pain, and a bump had formed on her head.

"I'm sorry, I didn't do it on purpose." Wei Qingyue slowly helped her up, then bent down to pick up her school bag and found a seat.

He was actually a little surprised that this girl was eating at KFC alone on the Mid-Autumn Festival.

After asking an employee for some ice, Wei Qingyue handed it to her. "Are you okay on your own? Sit for a while. If you still don't feel well, I'll take you to the hospital."

Jiang Du applied the ice without a word. It was just too embarrassing. But she really hadn't expected to run into Wei Qingyue here again. The Mid-Autumn Festival truly was a wonderful holiday.

When she secretly looked up, she saw that Wei Qingyue had already gone to the counter to order. He was very naturally conversing in English with the foreigner who needed help, and he did help him.

"Feeling better?" Wei Qingyue returned and pushed a pile of food in front of her, one item at a time. "I don't know what you girls like to eat, so I just ordered randomly. This one's on me."

Wei Qingyue was a big spender, without any planning, and had never understood the meaning of diligence and thrift.

The boy leaned over, unhesitatingly moved Jiang Du's hand out of the way, and examined her, saying, "It shouldn't be a big problem. Does it still hurt?"

'This person... how can he be so casual?' Jiang Du was so embarrassed she didn't move or dare to breathe.

"I brought money." She took out a roll of banknotes and tried to give them to Wei Qingyue, but he shook his head. "Consider it my apology. Eat up."

The boy picked up his own food, found another seat, and took out his laptop. He ate while fiddling with it. Jiang Du saw the laptop's logo—it was an Apple.

Back then, most high school students didn't own a cell phone yet. Occasionally, someone would bring a pager, and it would be confiscated by the head teacher.

Wei Qingyue's posture was relaxed and unrestrained. One long leg was propped over the other knee, and half of his body leaned out as he focused on his computer.

The boy also ate in a rough, unrefined way, his cheeks slightly puffed. Jiang Du quietly took small bites of her hamburger, occasionally stealing a glance in his direction like a little thief before quickly retracting her gaze.

Her head was still throbbing with pain, but Jiang Du forgot about it. On the Mid-Autumn Festival of 2006, she and Wei Qingyue had appeared in the same space more than once—the library, KFC. The boy's normally handsome and upright figure was now at a casual angle. He lowered his eyes, his eyelashes casting a crow's-wing shadow on his face. It was very strange; Jiang Du felt small bursts of happiness welling up inside her from all directions.

In that single instant, Jiang Du suddenly had the thought of forming some kind of connection with him.

Originally, she hadn't agreed to Wang Jingjing's plan. She couldn't say what was wrong with it, but she felt it was wrong. She couldn't deceive Wei Qingyue. She didn't want to deceive anyone, let alone Wei Qingyue. Was Wei Qingyue only worth those ten books? No, he was a priceless treasure.

Although she felt that even if she wrote many love letters, the final outcome would be like a stone sinking into the ocean. Jiang Du even suspected that Wei Qingyue had already received a whole bag of them.

While her thoughts were running wild, the pair of eyes behind the computer unintentionally lifted and met Jiang Du's premeditated gaze. A light touch, and the boy quickly lowered his head again. It was just an interlude in his thought process.

Jiang Du, however, was startled, and soon, a deep sense of loss welled up in her heart.

Wei Qingyue was the school's most individualistic top student, and his reputation was well-deserved. He always did his own thing in an orderly manner, as if no one could disturb him.

I really wonder what Wei Qingyue will do when he grows up.

The thought came to Jiang Du out of nowhere, and she got ketchup on her wrist.

But why wasn't he going home for dinner on the Mid-Autumn Festival? It was really puzzling.

Outside the window, the plane trees were a mix of green and yellow. Further up, the branches and leaves carved the delicate blue sky into many pieces. Another summer had passed, Jiang Du thought silently, eating the food in her hands very slowly.

"Hey, classmate, watch my stuff for a second. I'm going to the bathroom." Wei Qingyue had come up beside her at some point. Jiang Du turned her head sharply, pulling her gaze back from the window.

She hastily said, "Okay."

Wei Qingyue asked casually, "By the way, what's your name?"

'He's finally asking my name.' Jiang Du didn't speak. Instead, she took out a pen and paper from her school bag as if performing some solemn ritual, wrote down two characters, and said softly, "This is my name."

"Jiang Du?" Wei Qingyue read it out, raising an eyebrow at her.

It was as if those two characters suddenly possessed a magical power. Spoken from his mouth, they were like some kind of blessing. Tiny beads of sweat formed on the tip of Jiang Du's nose. He finally knew her name.

On the table, the boy's things were scattered about haphazardly—a pen lying quietly, the computer glowing on its own, and a backpack placed casually on the floor.

Jiang Du stared at those things openly, without blinking. Every glance held a precious meaning.

When Wei Qingyue came out, he saw the girl sitting primly and properly, her back straight, like a sentinel on guard duty.

He couldn't help but smile. He thanked Jiang Du, then returned to his seat and got busy with something.

Time ticked by, second by second. Jiang Du noticed that Wei Qingyue showed no sign of leaving. He rarely looked up, and occasionally, he would close his eyes and rub his temples.

Soon, Jiang Du fell asleep with her head on the table. The library opened at two-thirty, so she needed to take a short nap at KFC.

In her school bag, there was a small alarm clock.

So, when the alarm clock rang, Jiang Du thought she was at home and murmured, "Grandma." She opened her eyes, took a few seconds to figure out where she was, and then lifted her face, one side of which was covered in red marks.

Just as she became a little more awake, her first reaction was to look toward Wei Qingyue's seat. The boy was packing his things. As if sensing her gaze, he lifted his face and met her sleepy, dazed expression. He smiled.

This, in turn, flustered Jiang Du, and she subconsciously forced a stiff smile.

It turned out their plans were once again surprisingly in sync. They left one after the other, both heading for the library.

One after the other they crossed at the traffic light, one after the other they turned the street corner. Jiang Du could clearly see Wei Qingyue's back. Sometimes, a few people would get between them, and the boy's figure would only return to her line of sight a moment later. The feeling was like a scene from a silent film.

The boy soon realized she was going in the same direction as him. He was clearly surprised too, and asked, "You're not going home?"

She hadn't expected him to ask proactively. The wind blew, messing up Jiang Du's hair. She had originally wanted to say, "I haven't finished my homework," but when the words reached her lips, they somehow, inexplicably, turned into a question back at him: "What about you?"

Realizing what she'd said, Jiang Du quickly tried to salvage the situation: "Ah, no... I, I haven't finished my review materials. I think the library has a nice environment."

Wei Qingyue nodded but didn't answer her "What about you?" He adjusted his bag strap and waited quietly for the library to open.

The boy's hair had a beautiful sheen, shimmering in the autumn light.

Jiang Du only took a quick glance. Although it was a little awkward, the sky above was very blue and the wind was strong. The world was no different from before, yet it was also vastly different. Jiang Du felt she simply didn't know how to love this world enough.

To be a person, to be alive like this, was truly wonderful. A faint smile finally curved the young girl's lips.

She actually wanted to apologize again for throwing up all over him last time, but some words, after being mulled over and over, were on the verge of losing their chance to be spoken.

"Wei Qingyue." Jiang Du suddenly called out to him just as he was about to enter the door. It was as if his name alone could form a mysterious and wonderful world.

The boy heard her, turned around, let the people behind him go in first, and stepped to the side, looking at her inquiringly. "What is it?"

Jiang Du suppressed her frantic nervousness and did her best to appear calm. "Last time, I'm really sorry about... throwing up on you."

Wei Qingyue hadn't thought anything of that incident, but remembering something, he smiled and couldn't help teasing her, "You dumped the whole bag of laundry detergent in, didn't you?"

Jiang Du looked at him in confusion. "What?"

"If I had known, I wouldn't have let you wash it. I had to rinse it a dozen more times," Wei Qingyue said.

Jiang Du finally understood what he meant. Her face filled with shame, and she twisted the corner of her clothes shyly. "I'm not very good at washing things. By the end, I was completely exhausted. I'm really sorry."

Wei Qingyue smiled and shook his head. "Let's go in."

"So... are you angry with me?" Jiang Du asked in a low voice.

Wei Qingyue looked as if he couldn't understand her train of thought and said, "It's no big deal."

"But you seemed very angry at the time."

"I was in a bad mood," Wei Qingyue said nonchalantly.

Jiang Du was taken aback.

As for why he was in a bad mood, Wei Qingyue clearly had no desire to explain. The two of them entered the library.

The afternoon passed quickly. After Jiang Du finished her test paper, she straightened her skirt and ran to the bookshelves to look at magazines. Through the gaps, she could see the figure of Wei Qingyue studying at his seat. Just occasionally lifting her head to glance at him made her very happy.

They both stayed until closing time, when people began to leave one after another. Jiang Du and Wei Qingyue both stayed until the very last moment. She didn't know why he stayed so long, but she knew she stayed because of him. She couldn't bear to leave. An opportunity like this was too precious, and she didn't know when they would meet again.

She had already used her old pager to send a message to her aunt, telling her she would be home a little late.

Just as she was putting the magazine back, Wei Qingyue also came over to return a journal. He asked naturally, "Still not going home?"

Jiang Du stammered out a reply, then asked, "Are you going home now?"

Wei Qingyue let out a short laugh. "Nope. Going to the internet cafe."

Sure enough, Jiang Du's eyes widened. The scene she had witnessed during summer vacation leaped to mind. Their eyes met, and it was as if Wei Qingyue could read minds; he had an expression of someone who knew exactly what she was thinking.

But, the next second, the girl lowered her eyes and told him softly, "Actually, I'm not going home either."