Shanghai Jiamu

Xu Jiamu started his graduation trip and I also started preparing for my high school entrance examination. On the day the college entrance examination results were released, I woke up very early. I knew that the results would not be out until 8:00am but I opened my WeChat at 7:30am. Then I just waited for the time to come to ask Xu Jiamu about his results.

I paced around in my room, internally complaining about the time passing so slowly.

At 8:00, I immediately opened the dialog box but before I finished typing all the words, Xu Jiamu had already sent me a screenshot of his college entrance examination transcript.

Candidate’s name: Xu Jiamu

Language 107

Math 73

English 147

Physics 91

Chemistry 67

Biology 61

Total score 546

I was very happy for him, in fact, with his grades, it’s already very lucky to pass the exam. I asked Xu Jiamu which school he wanted to go to.

He said Shanghai.

There is no specific major, no definite school, he just likes this place.

I’m used to controlling my emotions and doing things systematically. In fact, I don’t really understand why some people think so lightly about such serious matters as going to college.

But I then I remembered; he was Xu Jiamu.

Xu Jiamu, Xu Jiamu. Like a tree that grows enthusiastically in the gentle breeze, he is someone who is always impulsive and passionate, but never reckless.

I have forgotten what reply I sent back to him at that time. It should have been words of encouragement. But I clearly remember that I mentally went through the best medical schools in Shanghai with the fastest speed, as if unconsciously, I was already looking forward to meeting him, and was already secretly calculating how to get closer to him.

He had already figured out his path, but I was only about to start my high school entrance examination. With the high school entrance examination approaching, I gave my phone to my parents for safekeeping. Before handing over my phone, I texted Xu Jiamu to have fun and to take more photos for me. I am looking forward to seeing the scenery in Hangzhou maybe because I have always lived in the north. I have always had fantasies about that misty and rainy place. Unfortunately, I am still young and with my family’s situation, it is delusional to expect a harmonious family trip. I said it so offhandedly that I don’t expect him to take it seriously.

The high school entrance examination was a big event, but I was not so nervous for some reason. The three days of exam passed like the usual monthly examinations in school, but when I left the examination room on the last day, I was suddenly filled with joy for no reason. I’m finally no longer a junior high school student, I might have become more matured in his eyes.

The first thing I did when I got my phone was check my WeChat.

I only have Xu Jiamu as my friend on WeChat so when I saw a red circle with 42 written on the app, I was already feeling giddy. Of course, I still wasn’t sure all the messages were from him. When I opened the chat box with him, I let myself secretly bend my lips.

There was basically no text message, they were mostly pictures. He went to the ancient town of Hangzhou; the quaint place actually seemed like a paradise. If I’m being honest, Xu Jiamu was not a good photographer. The photos he took were either crooked or the color was off. I can see he took the pictures without any thoughts: the bungalows with shingles and white walls, trickling streams, wooden bridges carved with mythical creatures… There were even photos of children playing in the water and a grandma selling handwoven bracelets on the street.

Some of the photos were even blurry, but I somehow felt a sense of being there and walking alongside him.

I seem to see him bickering with the children, making them bawl and ran back to their parents, and him strutting away with a successful smile; I can see him thinking that the grandma’s life is difficult, telling her with a smile that he wants to buy a lot of bracelets to give away to his classmates and asking the grandma to weave a few more bracelets.

I thought about it and laughed again; Xu Jiamu does seem like someone who would do such a thing.

I replied to his messages one by one, and when I got to the seventeenth photo, he sent me a new message.

Huangfu Tie Niu: “Cuihua, done with your exam?”

Utopia: “Hmm.”

Huangfu Tie Niu: “How? How was it?!”

Utopia: “I think I did okay.”

Huangfu Tie Niu: “I said you can do it, congratulations! You’ll be a high school student in the future!”

The corners of my mouth went up again. Yes, I’m a high school student, I’ve grown up a bit.

His trip was not over yet so I felt bad to keep chatting with him. After a casual chat, I went offline. I looked at the photos he sent over and over again and chose a fairly clear photo of the sunset as my wallpaper. My phone screen went dark and lit up again, and my mood became even better.
I have never been to Hangzhou, but in my heart, I have already walked thousands of times in that ancient town.

It was a cloudy and rainy day when my high school entrance examination results came out. My heart was already pounding from early in the morning. I didn’t think I was nervous, but when I opened the website, my hands were trembling.

    639.5

What a ridiculous result, it was 1.5 points away from the entry requirement of No.1 High School.

I was not that disappointed. I applied for No.1 High School because I saw that they had a scholarship program.

It’s just that I still felt a sense of loss.

Why, it seems that everything is just a little bit worse, it was so close yet it will never be within reach.

Huangfu Tie Niu: “Hurry, hurry, I want to be the first to know the good news.”

The message that popped up on my phone made me feel dizzy all of a sudden.

Utopia: “I’m sorry to disappoint you. I was 1.5 points away from…”

Huangfu Tie Niu: “Hey, I guessed it.”

Utopia: “? ? ?”

Does he know how to comfort people?

Before I could text anything else, his call came in.

“……hello.”

The other side was quiet, then there was a low chuckle.

“Hey! Xu Jiamu, do you have any sympathy?!” I was so annoyed that I didn’t call him Uncle Tie Niu as usual.

“Sorry, sorry, I won’t laugh anymore. Are you angry Cuihua?”

I was silent, how could I be angry with him, I was only angry at myself.

“Actually, you know it yourself, you’re just unreconciled with the fact that you missed No.1 High School with just a small difference. You’re thinking you should have tried a little harder.”

“Don’t beat yourself up over that 1.5 points, brag that you have succeeded against more than 900 people in the city, you did a good job, kid!”

My heart felt both sweet and astringent. The sweet thing was that he praised me, but then he also called me a little kid.

I’m a high school student, I was obviously not a child anymore…

But it is undeniable that I was successfully comforted by his words. Xu Jiamu’s friend came and called him to go out so we chatted for a few more seconds before I ended the call. I hung up the phone a little reluctantly and called my parents to tell them about my grades. The response was as flat as I expected. I was boredly surfing my phone in bed when a takeaway call suddenly came in.

I answered the phone suspiciously.

“Hello, your takeaway has arrived, please come down and pick it up.”

“You’ve made a mistake; I didn’t order any takeout.”

“That can’t be, you are Ms. Zhou and the last four digit of your phone number is 1757, right? I also see a note written for you; the order should be made by your friend.”

I was surprised to see that it really was my number. An absurd thought appeared in my mind; I forcibly pressed it back.

I put on a coat and went out, but I still decided to send a message to Xu Jiamu first.

Utopia: “Did you order takeout for me?”

Xu Jiamu didn’t reply, he should be out with his friends.

I thanked the delivery guy before I check what was inside the package. It was a cup of jasmine milk tea with 30% sugar, at room temperature.

“Your reward.”

I saw the note. Even if Xu Jiamu hasn’t replied yet, I’m now sure he was the one who ordered it. He seems to really know how to comfort someone.

The mellow aroma of the milk tea spread in my mouth. I hum a song on my way back home. I read in some book that humans used to have tails a long time ago. I thought, if I had a tail right now, they would have been raised very high at this moment.