The start of the school season at Mei Zhong was always bustling.

A banner welcoming new students was stretched across the main gate, replacing the one that had been promoting the Gaokao top scorer all summer.

But the honor roll was crowded with the parents of new students. Heads bobbed in the crowd, a rare gleam in the middle-aged people's eyes as they pointed at the names behind the glass frame: Tsinghua University, Peking University, Fudan University... The parents praised them endlessly, as if that was the beautiful future their own children could reach in three years.

Grandpa was also there looking. He was sturdily built and dressed neatly, maintaining the dignity of a retired old worker. He was being bumped and squeezed by others, but he still craned his neck forward, trying his best to see the students on the honor roll clearly.

“Old man, stop squeezing in here. The important thing is to see which class the child has been assigned to.” Grandma started pulling at her husband.

There were no advanced classes for the first year, only regular ones. Students were assigned in order based on their entrance exam scores, and once the list was exhausted, it started over from Class One.

“Sweetie, have you seen which class you're in?” Grandma found Jiang Du in the crowd. The two girls were huddled closely together, searching for their names.

Wang Jingjing suddenly shrieked, then violently shook Jiang Du's arm. “Class Two! God must have heard my prayers, we're both in Class Two! This is so awesome!”

Jiang Du, frail and delicate, was pulled so hard she couldn't stand steadily.

Upon hearing this, Grandma's face lit up with a pleasant surprise. “Jingjing is in the same class as you?”

Next was finding the dormitory. Wang Jingjing ran incredibly fast, shouting something about needing to grab a good spot.

The first-year girls' dormitory building was on the way to the cafeteria. The balconies were already fluttering with the colorful clothes of the upperclassmen. While Wang Jingjing rushed towards the dorm, her mother and Jiang Du with her grandparents walked unhurriedly behind.

The ones by the door were the worst; people were always coming and going, it was noisy, and it was cold in the winter. Wang Jingjing snagged a bunk bed near the balcony, tossed her schoolbag onto the top bunk, and plopped down on the bottom one. She smiled sweetly at the other parents who quickly entered and said, “Auntie, this bunk bed is taken.”

Wang Jingjing was very cunning. The boys' dormitory was right across from them. She had heard that after lights out, the boys would whistle at the girls' dorm, some would pretentiously play the guitar, and others would shout out love poems... In short, the gossip at Mei Zhong was tantalizing, and Wang Jingjing was eager to enjoy her brand new high school life as soon as possible.

Jiang Du got a bottom bunk.

The first day was a mix of chaos and excitement. The vibrant, youthful faces were filled with longing for the future. It was an eight-person dorm room. Prodded by their parents, most of the girls reservedly gave simple self-introductions, stating their names.

“This little girl's skin is so fair, so pretty.” Someone praised Jiang Du. A post-rain, earthy smell still lingered in the dorm room. The intensity of the downpour was gone, but the scent clung in the air, making everything feel damp.

When someone praised her, Jiang Du just pressed her lips together and smiled silently.

The mosquitoes were vicious this season. The mothers helped their daughters hang up their mosquito nets and make their beds, not forgetting to instruct them with a smile, “Get along well with your classmates, don't get into fights! You're all high school students now, you've grown up.”

Grandma clasped Jiang Du's hand, rubbing it continuously as she softly reminded her of various trivial matters. Jiang Du just kept nodding gently.

“About the military training, you must remember to tell the teacher. You can't push yourself too hard, understand?” Grandma patted her hand, still looking worried.

Jiang Du said, “I know, I won't forget.”

“That's good, that's good,” Grandma murmured.

At noon, the two families had planned to eat at a small restaurant by the gate, but it was too crowded. Wang Jingjing's mother drove them to a place a little farther away for a meal, and then brought the two girls back. After that, there was basically nothing left for the parents to do.

As soon as the adults left, Wang Jingjing cheered joyfully. She pulled Jiang Du along, wandering all over the school to familiarize themselves with the environment.

During the evening self-study session, unfamiliar figures started trickling into the classroom one after another.

Some were lucky enough to still be in the same class as their old junior high classmates and were thrilled. Others had tested in from smaller counties and didn't know anyone, so they tried to strike up conversations. Wang Jingjing scanned the room and confirmed that besides Jiang Du, she knew no one. She sat down resentfully, but then, unwilling to give up, she rested on her desk and secretly scanned the back of the room to see if there were any handsome boys in the class.

Jiang Du listened to the girls who were already chatting about the TV dramas they had watched over the summer break. Laughter rang out continuously. The classroom was noisy, and no one knew where the head teacher was. Everyone had a lot to say, freely letting it all out.

Seating was casual. Wang Jingjing preferred to hang out with boys, so she headed to the back as soon as she entered the classroom. It was almost all boys back there. When Jiang Du came over with her gaze lowered, the boys let out a very obvious whistle.

She didn't say anything, just flipped through her book. A boy behind her gently poked her back. Jiang Du turned only halfway, and at that moment, the boy got a clear look at her face.

“Hi, what's your name? I'm Lin Haiyang.” The boy introduced himself openly.

Wang Jingjing had already turned around, and she let out a snort of laughter, a gossipy expression on her face.

Jiang Du's face turned slightly red. “My name is Jiang Du.”

“Your name is very unique,” Lin Haiyang started the conversation. “Is it the ‘Du’ that means to ferry across? That’s a real coincidence, my name is all about water too.”

Listening from the side, Wang Jingjing pursed her lips. “Classmate Lin, you really know how to stretch things. You won't even let go of a connection through the water radical. Are you lacking water in your five elements or something?”

Lin Haiyang replied in earnest, “What, are you lacking water too, classmate?”

“I'm not lacking water, my mom says I'm lacking a brain.” Wang Jingjing made fun of herself without hesitation. As expected, the boys behind her roared with laughter at her comment, and just like that, she was soon engaged in a lively conversation with them.

In the end, Wang Jingjing simply turned her whole body to face the back. She was the type to get friendly with anyone.

Jiang Du was the kind of girl who had always been very shy. She didn't like to talk and could never blend in with her classmates as effortlessly as Wang Jingjing did. She liked to observe everyone quietly from the sidelines, but the double standard was that she didn't want others to pay attention to her.

The classroom was still chaotic, but Jiang Du's heart was quiet.

She watched Wang Jingjing chatting animatedly with the boys and didn't disturb her. In her desk drawer was a plastic bag from a clothing purchase. Strangely, after entering middle school, no one liked to carry a schoolbag anymore; they preferred to carry a plastic bag with a few miscellaneous school supplies. After a while, some people wouldn't even use a plastic bag.

Jiang Du took out a small pack of tissues, pulled one out, and put it in the pocket of her denim skirt.

There was no one in the hallway.

The classrooms were brightly lit. Under the brilliant white light sat crowds of chattering first-year high school students. Every classroom was like this—lively and disorderly.

Jiang Du didn't share Wang Jingjing's habit of boldly peeking into other classrooms when passing by. She had just reached the corner, about to go downstairs, when she almost collided head-on with a figure.

It wasn't her fault; she wasn't walking in a hurry. It was a boy who was taking the stairs two at a time, and they met right at the top.

Jiang Du took two steps back.

The two of them said “Sorry” almost in unison. She subconsciously looked up, and her pupils trembled slightly.

The boy didn't even look at her. He apologized hastily and walked past.

It was him. There was no blood on his face; he looked completely clean.

Jiang Du couldn't help but slowly turn back, her chin resting on her shoulder, as she cautiously watched to see where that figure was going.

But it was unclear whether it was the back door of Class Three or the front door of Class Four when a figure suddenly appeared. Jiang Du froze and quickly retracted her gaze. In a fluster, she guiltily squatted down and pretended to tie her shoelaces. The sudden change made her face flush bright red.

After the person walked by, she took a quick glance over, only to find that the boy was already gone.

Was he from Mei Zhong? A first-year? He looked completely different from last time... Last time, she thought he was a young punk—the type with bad grades who goes to a vocational high school, idles around all day, dates, smokes, and fights... Like her peers, Jiang Du had a stereotype of vocational high school students.

Although he didn't look like a punk anymore, he didn't exactly look like a... good kid either? Jiang Du's mind was a mess of thoughts. She turned on the tap, gently scooped up a handful of cool water, and splashed it on her face.

She was very curious about him. It was the first time she had felt curious about someone.

This curiosity was a very subtle feeling, like a thin layer of mist spreading through her heart, yet it wasn't strong enough to interfere with her normal life. After returning to the classroom, she couldn't help but glance at the boys in the back row—very quickly—before pretending to casually look away.

“Jiang Du, are you looking at me?” Lin Haiyang had been staring at her since she came in. He suddenly joked loudly. Jiang Du was instantly embarrassed. She shook her head, and just as she sat down, smoothing her skirt, a man walked into the classroom. The room fell silent in an instant.

It was the head teacher, surnamed Xu. He was slightly plump and looked rather old for his age, but he said he had only graduated from university two years ago. Teacher Xu was very humorous: “I'm twenty-five this year. You all probably think I look forty, but I'm actually a young man. Can't be helped, I just grew into my final form all at once. But the biggest advantage of looking old is that I'll still look like this when I'm forty, believe it or not. When I turn forty, you all can come back and see if it's true.”

The classroom erupted in laughter. Jiang Du couldn't help but twitch the corners of her mouth. She calculated in her head: when the teacher was forty, that would be fifteen years from now. Oh, she would be thirty. Thirty years old... that was really old. To a young girl, the number thirty seemed distant and ancient.

'I wonder what I'll be like when I'm thirty,' Jiang Du thought. 'I don't want to get a perm like my neighbor Auntie Li, and I don't want to wear those hip-hugging skirts. I'll still want sneakers and denim skirts.'

Next came the one-minute self-introductions for each student. When Jiang Du went up, the class buzzed again. Her skin was snow-white, but her eyebrows were jet-black. Her classmates immediately understood what it meant to have features as beautiful as a painting.

She was very shy. Her pupils sparkled, her eyelashes fluttered, and not knowing where to put her gaze, she ended up staring at Wang Jingjing the entire time.

Teacher Xu stood to the side holding the class roster, which included their middle school entrance exam scores. After Jiang Du finished her two-sentence introduction, Teacher Xu stopped her. “Jiang Du? Can you be the Chinese language representative for now? I see you have the highest score.”

“Teacher Xu, Jiang Du was the Chinese language representative for all three years of junior high, and she's won awards for her essays! Pick her!” Wang Jingjing cheered for her from below. At this, the tips of Jiang Du's ears burned. She hurriedly agreed to the teacher's request, and after returning to her seat, she lightly tapped Wang Jingjing.

That evening, the teacher first put together a temporary class committee, selecting representatives for each subject. Then, he had the boys go collect the textbooks. The boys warmed up to each other quickly, leaving the classroom together, talking and laughing.

Military training at the start of the school year was a tradition. Before it officially began, the first-year high school students stood on the sports field in their ill-fitting green military uniforms, a dense black mass under the sun that began to scorch their faces.

Everyone started grumbling about why it wasn't raining this week. After a quiet commotion, they fell silent again under the sweeping gaze of their head teacher.

The leaders on the stage spoke in order. Each one would say, “Next, I'll just say a few words,” but everyone knew that an adult's “few words” meant at least twenty minutes to start.

By the time the so-called new student representative went on stage to speak, the crowd below was already very impatient.

After all, the opening ceremony for new students had been going on for over two hours. The stage was covered, but the students below were standing in the direct sun. Some frail girls had already fainted and been sent to the infirmary.

“Ugh, who knows how long this representative will talk. Weren't we told it would be over in an hour?”

“I'm dying from the sun. Can't they hurry up? It's so annoying listening to the same old ‘Respected leaders, beloved teachers.’”

“Hello everyone, in this refreshing golden September with its autumn breeze, I am honored to be chosen as the new student representative...” a boy glibly mimicked, changing the atmosphere. Everyone couldn't help but chuckle secretly.

But soon, they stopped laughing, and their spirits lifted slightly.

“It's Wei Qingyue! It's really him!”

“That one, the top student, that's him.”

“So handsome! He's in Class One, right? Next door to us!”

Feeling slightly dizzy, Jiang Du gritted her teeth and looked up. The boy on the stage was named Wei Qingyue. There wasn't a single person in the entire first year who didn't know that name. It was simple: he was the top student in the entrance exams, assigned to Class One.

She stared at the boy in astonishment.

He wasn't some young punk; he was the city's top scorer on the high school entrance exam.

It turned out she had known his name all along.

Jiang Du wiped the sweat that was trickling down her neck.

After getting on stage, Wei Qingyue first bowed to the leaders. Then, he walked to the microphone, stuffed the speech script that his head teacher had reviewed beforehand into his pocket, and spoke with a calm expression:

“Hello, fellow students. You've all been standing for over two hours, so I'll keep it brief. I'm very happy that we are standing here at Mei Zhong, one step closer to our original dreams. I hope that all of us can study well and live well here, and as always, live up to our youth. Thank you. My speech is over; sorry for taking up your time.”

After he finished speaking, the boy gave a slight bow and turned to leave the stage.

The entire sports field was silent for a moment.

No one had expected that Wei Qingyue, as the new student representative, wouldn't use his prepared speech at all. He improvised for a minute, leaving behind the dumbfounded leaders and teachers, as well as the bewildered students.

Someone started it with a shout of “Bravo!” followed by a tsunami of applause. It was amidst this applause that Jiang Du's body went limp and she fainted.

This was destined to be an unforgettable opening ceremony. The maverick speech of Mei Zhong's top new student, the scorching autumn sun, the restless emotions, and the fainting girl—all these elements composed the first picture of this cohort's life at Mei Zhong.