Ch1 - Meeting Again

Guo Jingyu accompanied his mom in cleaning out the basement. In the last two years, he had established a studio and an art gallery, and he had made enough money to buy a large house for his parents. Mama and Papa Guo were too old, yet they couldn’t change their old practice of storing things rather than tossing them away.

Everything was in bits and pieces in the basement, even his school textbooks from when he was studying were kept. “You were in high school when you used these. Time flies so fast, you’ve grown so big in the blink of an eye. You may as well save them for later, if you want to have a look,” Mama Guo reminisced. 

Guo Jingyu organized it according to the elder lady’s directions. He asked, “Who are you keeping it for, ah?”

“For me to see, ah. It truly has sentimental value whenever I look at it…”

 

 

“You can keep the books if you want, okay? But what on earth is the use of keeping these old carton boxes? Others would think they’re mementos from your hometown, but others who don’t know will assume I don’t provide for my parents, so you and dad went out to gather carton boxes, ne!” remarked Guo Jingyu, lifting up the old carton box next to him, trying to move it; he didn’t know if it was because the box was too old and fragile or the contents were too heavy, but it collapsed and the contents dispersed over the ground.

Mama Guo let out an “aiyo!” and dashed off to clean it up. Guo Jingyu quickly followed her and bent down as well. He had barely taken up more than two items when he squatted still without saying anything. 

He was holding a collection of Song poems. Without even unfolding it, he knew that there were photo stickers on the flyleaf.

 

It was his 17th birthday. He had dragged Li Tongzhou to a small commercial street beside the school.

Li Tongzhou didn’t like taking photos. When he faced the camera, his face would unintentionally stiffen.

Guo Jingyu on the other hand, loved to smile since he was young. When he was younger, his face was particularly attractive, in contrast to Li Tongzhou’s air of indifference, which repelled people from afar.

 

Unlike him, he was very easy-going and had buddies scattered over the campus.

But Guo Jingyu loved hanging out with Li Tongzhou, as seen by their shot at the photo booth. He’d dragged Li Tongzhou over, then taken a bunch of shots before settling on the one with Li Tongzhou smiling.

To say it was a smile, it was more like he just worked hard to hook the corners of his lips together so he could express his emotions.

 

Li Tongzhou indulged him. He had an excellent temperament, and would always go along with him. 

He’d also say things repeatedly like, “I’m good with anything,” “you do as you see fit,” “anything you want, ba,” and so on.

Guo Jingyu silently wiped the contents of the box one by one before putting them away. Inside were all the things he’d given to Li Tongzhou, from the badge he gave him as a present in elementary school to the gold-embroidered tapestry he bought for him when he went overseas for university.

Li Tongzhou collected and kept them well, regardless if they were expensive or not, and then placed them in this box, picking a day to return the original items and mailing them back to his home.

He was studying overseas at that time, and it was already half a year later when he’d opened the box with his own hands. 

He had planned all their futures and weighed all possibilities, but never for a moment did he imagine Li Tongzhou would leave him.

He last saw Li Tongzhou at a barren cemetery, on a white stone slab with his 19-year-old photograph.

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

Guo Jingyu bowed his head as he packed his belongings. He didn’t say anything.

Instead, Mama Guo, who was alongside him, sighed profoundly and then got a clean handkerchief, went over, and helped him wipe the items together, softly persuading, “Jingyu ah, mom knows that deep in your heart, you haven’t moved on yet, but after all, that person has been gone for so many years. Being alone isn’t the answer, either. Regardless of gender, you should at least get to know a few more people…” 

“Zbw, qifjrf, pera vgbq la.”

The elder lady took one look at him, stood up with a sigh and mumbled, “If I had known, I would have allowed you two be together sooner, at least there would have been someone to support him. Sigh. Xiao Zhou and his mom were miserable, and got that bastard of a man.”

 

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Guo Jingyu opened it and looked inside. The majority of them were his solo photos, but some were of him with Li Tongzhou.

He placed his finger on the photo. His eyes were incredibly bright, and his thin lips were slightly elevated; the 17–18-year-old teen appeared attractive. He happened to be photographed with a little smile on his face.

Guo Jingyu stared at the photo for a long time before taking it out and placing it in his pocket.

Whether it was because he had suddenly seen and gone over all those old stuff, but when he fell asleep that night, memories of his adolescence resurfaced one after the other. 

 

Guo Jingyu was muddling along when he had a long dream, as if he had returned to that humid, scorching summer.

The fan over the classroom creaked as it whirled incessantly. An occasional warm breeze would blow in through the window, and numerous cicadas would sing out in succession, its noise making everyone drowsy.

The teacher in front whacked an eraser on the blackboard in an attempt to rouse the students. “Haven’t you understood the learning points?  Mark the key points, ah. Finals is based on the equator’s positional relationship to the line connecting the earth’s core and the sun—The line lies north of the equator, indicating that the sun shines directly at 23°26’N. Then the trajectory of the Earth’s orbital rotation is at the summer solstice... He Xiangyang!” 

A tall boy in the back row, who was still dazed from sleep, was called and jerked up. “Here!”

This led the class to burst out laughing.

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The geography teacher chided the class several times to quiet down, his face disgruntled as he said, “Did you listen to what I just taught clearly?”

“I paid close attention!” 

“Then I’ll ask you. If the obliquity of the ecliptic increases, what will happen to the sun rays at noon in Shanghai on the summer solstice?”

“Ah?”

 

“What ah? Answer the question!”

“This.. I haven’t been to Shanghai either, ah, teacher…” 

The class was filled with laughter once more. Their laughing jolted Guo Jingyu awake. He blinked his eyes, as if seeing from a bystander’s perspective, gradually blending in with them. For a little period, he looked blankly, somewhat at a loss for words, unsure whether he was in a dream or not.

Guo Jingyu’s forehead was damp with sweat. He saw the figure seated in front of him as soon as he glanced up.

It was Li Tongzhou. His back was as ramrod straight as it had always been, his white shirt school uniform had a mild scent of detergent, and his slightly long hair was neatly parted. He was also accompanied by the steady rustling of a pen; calm and unhurried. He looked like he’d always been: a straight A student.

Guo Jingyu laughed, as if he’d been freed of a huge burden, and gently nudged the person in front of him twice with a pen, saying in a hushed whisper, “Li Tongzhou?” The teen in front of him halted and didn’t say anything, but he extended his hand behind him and handed him something. 

Guo Jingyu was lying motionless on his desk. With his fingers, he poked Li Tongzhou’s palm, which the other gently gripped.

Guo Jingyu’s heartbeat gradually slowed, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly. He had waited for this guy for so long, and he had never had such a vivid dream like this, where he could touch him—if this was a dream, it was the most beautiful one he had ever had, and he wasn’t willing to wake up.

The geography teacher, who was still roll-calling, took the opportunity to let a few dozing off and lazy students in the back row to rise up and stand still as punishment. He made amends for the class’s misbehavior.

The chairs in the class were organized according to height. After a row of male students rose up, they resembled a row of towering sunflowers, except that each one was withering, smacking their lips, and appeared as though they couldn’t endure listening 

The geography teacher posed the same question again, and this time he called Li Tongzhou.

Li Tongzhou stood up and remarked, “Increases.”

When the geography teacher stared at the top student in the class, his mood brightened somewhat. He motioned for him to sit down and then proceeded to lecture.

  

Guo Jingyu supported his chin with one hand and waited until the after-class bell rang, bringing him back to reality.

Those who had been punished to stand still suddenly sprang back to life as soon as class ended. “Yu-ge, why didn’t Boss call you just now? You clearly slept better than I did!” He Xiangyang grumbled with a sullen face.

Guo Jingyu cocked his head to look at him. Before he could speak, the few people next to him answered for him, “Nonsense! Yu-ge has someone to help him. Whenever he’s called up to answer, he’d always answer correctly. He’d surely not be called, ah.”

Guo Jingyu glanced again at Li Tongzhou, who was sitting in the front row, and smiled wordlessly. With the help of Li Tongzhou, the number one top student in the grade, he’d just stand up and read the answer that was written on the paper in front of him. 

He Xiangyang was still grumbling, “I felt relieved to follow you to sleep because you were sleeping so soundly…”

Guo Jingyu gave him a light kick, laughed, and scolded, “Scram!”

 

 

Li Tongzhou got up and went out. Guo Jingyu noticed him and instantly followed him. “Going somewhere?” 

Li Tongzhou took a quick glance at him, saying, “To the Chinese teacher. Gonna carry the assignment.”

Guo Jingyu immediately placed his hand on his shoulder and followed after him. “That’s perfect, I’ll help you. Let’s go together.”

Li Tongzhou was a little taken aback. He couldn’t help observing him again when they were in the corridor. He wanted to say something, but he was hesitant.

Guo Jingyu was staring at him as well, but his thoughts were entirely different. His heart had fluttered slightly as he saw Li Tongzhou standing in front of him. He had to desperately resist the dampness that was continually building in his eyes, as if a little electric charge had passed upwards, activating his tear glands. 

After a few steps, Li Tongzhou couldn’t help but mutter, “Didn’t you say you planned to hide from the Chinese teacher these two days?”

Guo Jingyu responded oddly, “Why?”

Li Tongzhou gave him an even stranger look. “You scored 72 points on the exam last time,” he hesitated for a moment before adding, “A fail.”

Guo Jingyu, “…” 

Busted. He had forgotten that he was a learning scum in high school.

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The beginning of the new article~ little jelly beans, please leave comments ^口^

Translator’s Feed: 

Hi, guys! Welcome to REA! I know, I know, I told you I’ll focus on AFD after I finished BIS, but I just couldn’t help myself. Curse me!! But yeah, I hope you guys will come to love this story!

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