So, today was Chen Yiyang's birthday?
Aunt Wen had said during the engagement ceremony that today was the day she was reborn. So this was the deeper meaning.
On his fourteenth birthday, he stole his father's ID and the family's household register to facilitate his parents' divorce. On his seventeenth birthday, he witnessed his mother enter a new marriage.
What were you thinking, Chen Yiyang?
Yun Mi glanced at her phone. Chen Yiyang still hadn't replied.
Instead, Zhou Shihui had posted a group photo at a ramen restaurant for dinner with students from other schools.
The high-speed train announced its arrival at Suzhou Station. Yun Mi suddenly spoke, "Aunt Qin, I'm going to find Chen Yiyang. I'll keep you updated. Don't worry."
Aunt Qin didn't understand why Yun Mi suddenly had this idea. She stood up in surprise.
The broadcast played a gentle, clear female voice: "Passengers, the train is about to arrive at Suzhou Station. Please take your luggage and alight from the left door in the direction of travel... Suzhou Station has arrived."
The broadcast echoed for a long time, with crowds flowing through the aisle.
Before Aunt Qin could react, the girl's bright figure had already crossed the white high-speed train door and rushed into the vast world outside.
-
Chen Yiyang had locked his phone in the iron cabinet outside during the training camp. He hadn't expected so many missed calls when he saw them.
He scrolled through the engagement photos of Wen Liangyu. Yun Mi stood beside her, both smiling affectionately.
He heard Aunt Qin's voice on the other end of the returned call: "Xiao Mi went to find you."
Chen Yiyang's hand, sliding across the screen, froze.
A friendly classmate called out to him: "Chen Yiyang, someone's looking for you. She's a really pretty girl."
In the bustling night, there were still a few students staying on campus, cheering over beer.
After a day of solving problems, Chen Yiyang was caught off guard. He ran out quickly and saw the girl standing under the summer ginkgo tree.
She wore a white cotton-linen dress, her dark hair loose, travel-worn. She raised both hands and shook them, showing him a smiling face.
It was like a huge surprise in itself.
They were separated by three floors. Yun Mi cupped her hands around her mouth like a megaphone and shouted, "Chen Miemie, I came to find you! Happy birthday!"
Chen Yiyang hadn't celebrated his birthday in a long time.
On his fourteenth birthday, he stole Chen Jici's ID. Chen Jici insisted that the old man had put him up to it and beat the elderly man, who had just had brain thrombus surgery and was still in a wheelchair, severely.
Chen Yiyang protected his grandfather and said he acted alone.
Chen Jici didn't believe him at all.
That time, Chen Yiyang was nearly beaten to death.
In the same year, his uncle Chen Jiashu, who was only eight years older than him, died in the line of duty.
From then on, there was no real communication link between Chen Jici and the old man.
Chen Yiyang stood frozen. The classmate who had just spread the word was from the High School Attached to Beijing Normal University. The boy put his arm around Chen Yiyang's shoulder and laughed, "You're something, Chen Yiyang. Is she from your school? She chased you all the way to Shanghai to cheer you on for the competition? She's so pretty—introduce me?"
Chen Yiyang glanced at him coldly and said, "You know she came for me. Why are you butting in?"
His words carried possessiveness.
The boy stood there stunned, having thought Chen Yiyang wasn't interested. He rubbed his chin as Chen Yiyang waved his hand and walked downstairs, leaving behind, "Go solve your problems."
"..."
Yun Mi had passed a music store on her way to find Chen Yiyang and picked out a birthday gift for him.
Time was too tight; it was already eleven at night by the time she arrived.
She didn't have time to buy a gift box, so she just held it in her hand.
On the late-night campus, the oppressive heat of midsummer seemed to be flowing.
Dim yellow light cast scattered, swaying patches on the ground.
Chen Yiyang asked, "Weren't you going to Beijing? Why did you come to Shanghai?"
Yun Mi frowned. "Are you deaf?"
Hadn't she just said so?
"?"
The boy stopped in his tracks. Under the streetlight, his tall figure stood; the boy's cold face and dark eyes stared at her. His black jacket carried the chill of the night.
If the official competition had been two days later, Yun Mi wouldn't even have been able to get through the school gates. It would have been a wasted trip.
Chen Yiyang kept his hands in his pockets and lowered his eyes, demanding, "Say something nicer."
Yun Mi reluctantly opened her hand and, without even looking at him, handed him the item. "Here, for you."
Yun Mi added, "Your birthday gift."
Chen Yiyang stopped alongside her and looked at the small guitar pick.
He frowned and commented, "So ugly."