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Feng Ning was gently pushed awake. Rubbing her eyes, she noticed a piece of clothing had slipped off her shoulder.
A bit dazed, she picked it up and looked around before raising her head.
The driver shouted from the front, "Hey, you two in the back, we’ve reached the final stop! Get off already!"
Once they got off the bus, Feng Ning realized how much the temperature had dropped outside. She handed her jacket back to Jiang Wen. "Why didn’t you wake me up?"
He was only wearing a short-sleeved shirt and was shivering slightly.
Feng Ning stood beside him, waiting for him to put on his clothes while checking the route on her phone. "The final stop is half an hour from your place and an hour and a half from mine. It’s only eight o'clock now, so I’ll get home around ten."
As they boarded the return bus, Jiang Wen casually glanced over and noticed Feng Ning setting an alarm on her phone. He asked, "What are you doing?"
Feng Ning muttered, "Setting an alarm. I’m afraid you’ll purposely miss your stop again and make me waste two bucks."
"......"
He nearly jumped up. "What do you mean 'again'? Who purposely missed their stop?"
Feng Ning replied matter-of-factly, "You did! Otherwise, how would we be at the final stop now?"
"You fell asleep yourself and are blaming me?" Jiang Wen struggled to keep his composure, his face turning slightly pale. "Besides, I've never taken the bus before; how would I know?"
"Alright, alright." Feng Ning decided not to argue with him any further.
Jiang Young Master’s little romantic schemes were completely ruined by the oblivious Feng Someone. He turned his head, staring out of the right window, ignoring her for a long time.
Feng Ning was already used to Jiang Wen's spoiled temperament; he wouldn’t be satisfied unless she said a few sweet words. She lowered her voice and coaxed, “It’s my fault, Young Master, please don’t be angry. I was just joking; let’s forget about it, alright?”
The night breeze blew in as the window was cracked open slightly.
“Hey.” Feng Ning nudged him with her shoulder.
With that nudge, Jiang Wen nearly lost his balance. He quickly grabbed the handrail and glared at her, “What’s wrong with you?”
“Why are you so angry?”
Feng Ning crossed her arms over the back of the seat in front of her, lazily resting her head on them, smiling at him, “Thank you.”
A voice came over the intercom: “Dear passengers, welcome aboard Bus 425. Please sit tight and hold on. The next stop is Xingxi Road; passengers getting off should prepare.”
“Oh... no need to thank me.”
“And by the way, the song is really nice.”
He paused for two seconds, his expression turning slightly awkward. “You’re not asleep?”
“Take out your headphones.” Feng Ning glanced at her watch. “We’ll be there in five minutes; I want to share my favorite song with you.”
She unlocked his phone and searched for the song.
When the piano intro began to play, Feng Ning asked, "Do you know what this song is?"
Jiang Wen shook his head.
...
I can't find a good reason
To block this intimacy...
"This song is the theme from Itazura na Kiss."
Letting the song play in the background, Feng Ning turned off the phone and set it aside, happily describing to him, "Every time I revisit Itazura na Kiss, it's during the summer. So whenever I hear this song, I can't help but think of summer. The weather outside is hot, I'm holding a big watermelon, enjoying the air conditioning, pulling the curtains so the light isn't too bright, and snuggling in bed watching dramas. Isn't that wonderful?"
...
I suspect this adventure is just a prank
I think I've slowly started to like you
I recklessly dive into the prank you gave me
...
Jiang Wen was taken aback. "Jiang Zhi Shu? Yuan Xiangqin?"
Feng Ning laughed in surprise. "Yes, have you seen it?"
She leaned against the windowsill, and Jiang Wen shifted his gaze back to the front. "I haven't seen it, but my sister does."
"There’s a very girly line in it that I still remember," Feng Ning said, placing her hand over her heart. "I love you so much that I'm willing to give everything."
Jiang Wen mocked her, "What nonsense."
"Now that I think about it, you and Jiang Zhi Shu are somewhat alike. You both have the surname Jiang and have been high-achieving, aloof students who’ve had smooth sailing from childhood. When others confess their feelings, you both just sidestep it."
As she spoke, Feng Ning playfully extended her hand. "Jiang, hello, nice to meet you. I'm Feng Ning from Class Nine of Sophomore Year."
He remained expressionless. "Boring."
Feng Ning clicked her tongue in annoyance.
Before she could retract her hand, Jiang Wen unexpectedly grasped it.
The students in the back row watched the small interaction between the two high schoolers and couldn’t help but sigh inwardly—youth is truly beautiful.
So beautiful.
Jiang Wen's fingers curled slightly, his fingertips brushing against the skin on her wrist. Their hearts raced like drums.
Meeting Feng Ning's gaze, he said, "My name is Jiang Wen."
The bus arrived at the stop, and Feng Ning waved goodbye to him. The doors closed automatically, and Bus 425 dutifully continued on to the next stop, leaving behind a trail of exhaust.
The sky had turned a deep indigo, and Jiang Wen stood with his hands in his pockets beside a warm yellow streetlight. The bus quickly vanished into the night.
The song in his headphones began to loop again.
- I think I will start missing you,
- But I just met you.
In that moment of parting, I will begin to miss you.
*
Time flipped like turning pages in a book, passing through spring rains, summer thunderstorms, autumn leaves, and falling snow. Another year had gone by; Qilan returned home a few times but saw little improvement, and by October, she was back in the hospital.
Feng Ning usually took two days a week to work part-time. When Jiang Wen was on break, they studied together at home. The rest of the time was spent by her mother's bedside.
Saturday was Jiang Wen's birthday, and Zhao Binlin and Xi Gaoyuan called him starting from eight in the morning.
Jiang Wen was jolted awake by their commotion, feeling a bit grumpy with messy hair as he sat at the foot of the bed for a moment. He opened WeChat and saw that at one in the morning, Feng Ning had sent him a simple birthday wish.
He had invited her to lunch today, but she hadn’t replied yet.
Irritated, Jiang Wen tossed his phone aside and opened the wardrobe to pick out his clothes for the day. Just as he took off his pajamas, his phone buzzed, and he quickly grabbed it to check.
Zhao Binlin: "Hurry up, everyone is waiting for you."
Feeling a bit disappointed and more annoyed, he replied with a simple "oh."
A large group of people had come to celebrate Jiang Wen's birthday today, some of whom he didn’t even know.
Zhao Binlin had borrowed a limited edition supercar from his brother. They didn’t want to be too ostentatious and planned to have a barbecue at a reservoir in the suburbs.
Close to ten o'clock, Xi Gaoyuan went to the store to pick up the custom cake they had ordered yesterday.
Jiang Wen sat in the passenger seat, fiddling with his phone in his pocket. Habitually, he took it out to look at it for a moment before putting it back.
Zhao Binlin glanced over, "Waiting for someone’s call?"
"What?"
"I asked if you were waiting for someone’s call."
Distracted, he answered, "No one."
Zhao Binlin wore a knowing smirk. "Just tell me, how many times have you checked your phone in the last little while?"
"I’m bored, is that a problem?" Jiang Wen replied just as his phone buzzed again. He glanced down to see it was a notification from Tencent News. Leaning back in his chair, he felt the atmosphere around him grow even heavier.
"Pei Shurou asked me the other day why she hasn’t seen you around lately," Zhao Binlin fiddled with the rearview mirror. "I didn’t tell her you were with Feng Ning."
"Time really flies; before we know it, we're already in our senior year." Zhao Binlin suddenly sounded a bit nostalgic. "Is Feng Ning coming today for your birthday? It feels like I haven’t seen her in ages."
Jiang Wen remained silent, lifting his gaze to look outside with a hint of annoyance.
After a moment of silence, Zhao Binlin seemed about to say something else when he turned and saw Jiang Wen answer a call, pushing the door open to get out.
"Hello, Jiang Wen! Where are you?" The voice on the other end was slightly excited.
Jiang Wen was irritated and snapped back, standing at the busy intersection. "Do you know it’s my birthday today?"
"Didn’t you check your phone?" Feng Ning's voice sounded a bit breathless. "I said happy birthday, didn’t I?"
Jiang Wen’s anger subsided slightly as he muttered, "You didn’t check your phone; you haven’t replied to my messages." He kicked a small stone at his feet. "Where are you? I’ll come find you. Do you have friends with you?"
After hesitating for a moment and meeting Zhao Binlin's inquisitive gaze, he said, "No, it’s just me."
"Oh, great! Come over then; I’ll give you your gift in person while it’s still warm. Hehe."
He sensed something was off. "Are you running?"
"I'm not telling you. I'm sending you an address, so hurry up and come over," she replied.
Xi Gaoyuan hummed a tune as he opened the car door and got in. He paused for a moment. "Where's Jiang Wen? Where did he go?"
"I don't know. He suddenly said he had something to do and told us to go ahead," Zhao Binlin said, checking his reflection in the mirror and stroking his newly grown stubble. "I guess he went to find Feng Ning."
*
Jiang Wen didn't expect that the place Feng Ning mentioned was the finish line of the Marathon.
It was nearing eleven o'clock, and people were arriving one after another. A few individuals nearby had collapsed on the scene and were being taken away by ambulances.
One by one, people crossed the finish line. He felt anxious, searching through the chaotic crowd for Feng Ning, but his calls to her went unanswered. Just as he was about to dial her for the fourth time, someone slapped him hard on the shoulder.
Jiang Wen turned around to see her wearing a sun hat, breathing heavily.
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