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墨書 Inktalez
At the end of June, at the school of Jian Ming and Reiko.
Both Jian Ming and Reiko signed contracts to teach at a middle school in a prefecture-level city near the Provincial Capital. Jian Ming, having won a first-class award in the National College Student Mathematical Modeling Competition during his university years and various other excellence awards while in school, could have stayed at a middle school in Beijing. However, considering his future living arrangements with An Shaomin, he resolutely chose this middle school closer to home.
In addition to Jian Ming and Reiko going to that middle school, there was another person who was even more important to Reiko—Zhou Liqiao, whom Reiko met during her internship and who graduated from another Normal University in Beijing.
Zhou Liqiao was a local from Beijing. Originally signed to a middle school in the outskirts of Beijing, he changed his contract to join the same school as Reiko because he liked her.
On the day before leaving school, Reiko and Zhou Liqiao walked along the tree-lined path of Reiko's campus. Reiko linked arms with Zhou Liqiao, her long hair tied up high on her head, swaying with her bouncy steps. She was still in sneakers, jeans, and a white t-shirt, laughing widely with a bright and clear voice.
Ah! Knowing that she had graduated from university, she ultimately did not become the refined girl that Li Xueshou described.
As she walked, she enthusiastically discussed dinner plans with Zhou Liqiao, debating where to eat. Such a simple yet amusing question made her squint her eyes in laughter as she gazed at Zhou Liqiao beside her, completely ignoring the path ahead.
"Watch where you're walking," Zhou Liqiao reminded her.
He always reminded her like this while they walked together.
However, his reminder came too late; she had already bumped into someone head-on. The person was walking briskly and couldn't stop in time, resulting in both of them colliding into each other's arms.
The person who was bumped into looked up, slightly stunned.
Reiko was similarly taken aback for a moment.
"What are you doing here?" Reiko asked in surprise.
"Li Xueshou!" Reiko called out his name again.
His name had once been the object of her fantasies. Not only was he handsome and talented, but why did his parents also give him such a romantic and charming name?
His face no longer bore the calm confidence and brilliance of the past, although he remained just as handsome and wonderful.
Reiko knew that the girl who had co-hosted a show with him for several years, recognized by everyone as the one who matched him best in both talent and appearance, had broken up with him. Before graduation, the girl suddenly went abroad without even telling him, and only after arriving overseas did she write him a breakup letter.
He looked at Reiko with a puzzled expression but remained silent. Even after Reiko walked away, he kept turning back to look at her. Reiko glanced back at him once, waved her hand, and broke into a sweet, happy smile.
Of course, she wished him well and wanted to tell him that she was very happy now!
"Li Xueshou, you are still an outstanding and handsome boy with many virtues. Because of those qualities in you, I like you even more. But you have one flaw—a fatal flaw in my eyes—because you do not love me. So you and the one you love, while I love you, ultimately become two unrelated people in this world."
"Goodbye, dear wonderful boy," Reiko silently wished him well.
If life could start over, if fate could be foreseen, would she still treat him that way on the night he got drunk? Would he still remain speechless towards her? Reiko wondered.
The next day, Jian Ming, Reiko, and Zhou Liqiao left Beijing under the farewell of Qinglan, An Shaojie, Lin Xi, and Simple.
With a long whistle of a train horn, it took away Jian Ming's and Reiko's dreams and Zhou Liqiao's reluctance to leave his hometown. For love, they either headed back home or distanced themselves from their roots.
Zhu Shuting, who shared a dorm room with Reiko, followed her boyfriend Zhu Jingpeng to a middle school in the suburbs of Shenzhen.
Nan Xue resolutely went abroad without any attachments.
What about Yang Zhi? On the eve of graduation, she was the most carefree and unburdened person. Especially regarding job prospects after graduation, she showcased the advantages of being single. Many companies were eager to hire her at graduation; recruiters and classmates joked that it was because there were many single men waiting for her at various companies. Once she joined a company, she would surely become a sought-after catch; men who had been working for several years were definitely wealthier and more handsome than her schoolboyfriends. Moreover, among numerous companies, Yang Zhi could choose freely without needing to consider whether she could work alongside her boyfriend like other girls had to.
But at the same time, she was the loneliest and most desolate among all the graduates.
In the days leading up to graduation, all the graduates scattered like monkeys fleeing from a fallen tree. Even though there were many things to miss and people to remember, no one was willing to linger any longer or turn back for one last look. Everyone was eager to rush toward the unknown, even if it was not entirely satisfying or clear. By the time the official departure day arrived, the entire graduate dormitory was nearly empty. No one reminisced about past joys, and no one was willing to spare a moment to accompany a friend who was not yet ready to leave.
Lonely Yang Zhi was left behind by everyone else. When she embraced each person for farewell, there was always someone downstairs urging them on. In the end, Yang Zhi had no interest in hugging; there was no reluctance, only her urging them with their belongings: "Hurry up, hurry up, you all should leave quickly."
In the end, only Reiko and she remained in the dormitory.
She said, "Reiko, you should hurry and leave too!"
Reiko replied, "Aren't you going to miss it?"
She said, "Miss what? Now that you all are gone, I can finally have some peace. Looking back on four years of university, we have always been creating grand dramas and sorrowful tales; we have never had peace, or perhaps we were all so afraid of it."
"That's true," Reiko sighed. "Look at Zhu Shuting; in the end, she bowed down to loneliness and settled for love. Now she is happily flying away with someone."
"Reiko, actually you have gained the most. You were lonely when you needed to be, and when true love came along, you seized it in time," Yang Zhi said.
"Yes," Reiko nodded in acknowledgment of her happiness but then added, "But you don't need to envy others. Love is not something that can be arranged early or something that can be compromised on. Those who are willing to wait will always get the best. Who says not getting something isn't because something better is waiting?"
"Yes," Yang Zhi nodded. After Reiko left, Yang Zhi quietly took a nap in the dormitory. She had never slept as soundly during her four years of university as she did now, but she also felt the most exhausted. Loneliness is a kind of pain but also a kind of beauty! No one could understand the meaning of this phrase better than Yang Zhi did at this moment after waking up.
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