As the night wore on, even the boys who had initially boasted about “drinking all night” eventually collapsed one by one. Only those with a good alcohol tolerance remained. At this point, they no longer cared about saving face; they’d simply grab anyone who wasn’t asleep and pour out their hearts, revealing secrets they hadn’t dared to share openly before.
Even Shen Hui, uncharacteristically, brought up a personal matter to Wei Ran. The gist of it was that the person he liked liked someone else, and both of them were his really good friends from high school — it was incredibly dramatic.
Liang Ruixi had been eavesdropping with pricked ears. When Zhou Yan helped a fallen classmate onto the communal sleeping platform and then sat down beside him, he calmly stated, “You were pretty sad when your mother left, weren’t you?”
That was truly a psychological blow. The mask Liang Ruixi wore so perfectly in front of everyone was torn away by Zhou Yan’s understated question.
Perhaps it was the alcohol, or his emotional resilience wasn’t as strong as usual, but he burst into tears, completely caught off guard.
“Yeah,” he said, “I was so distraught back then, wondering why my mom didn’t want me anymore, and if I was too mischievous. Later, I stopped fighting. I studied hard, got first place in class, got into Changshui City’s best high school, and even got into F University… I’d already become so good, so why didn’t she come back?”
At that moment, Zhou Yan put his arm around his shoulder, and he leaned against him, crying like an idiot. By the end, he was even softly singing [Only Mama is Good in this World]…
He just cried himself into a hazy sleep. Drowsily, Liang Ruixi felt someone kissing the corner of his eye.
He was truly muddled from the alcohol then; he couldn’t tell if it was real or a dream. He only remembered opening his eyes and seeming to see Zhou Yan.
He frowned, pushed the other party away, and, seeing him withdraw, he quickly fell back asleep.
They were woken up before dawn the next day.
Being young, with good stamina and energy, they could get up after only four hours of sleep, even after drinking almost all night.
Liang Ruixi was still swaying and shivering on the way up the mountain. Zhou Yan pulled him to the summit, where he leaned against the railing, watching the sun hatch from behind the mountains like an egg yolk.
Little by little, it grew red and warm.
His eyes also gradually opened…
Watching the sky ablaze with dawn colors and the mountains bathed in light, the shock he felt in that moment was incomparable to today.
The classmates beside him also shouted as if they’d never seen the sun, “It’s the sun! The sun is rising!”
Humans always feel their insignificance before boundless nature, and in such moments, mortals can’t help but make wishes.
In his excitement, Liang Ruixi roared towards the sky, “Gods, grant me strength! Let me become the strongest man!”
Following that, various grand wishes and hopes erupted one after another—
“I want to make a lot of money! So Mom and Dad know I’m the best!”
“I want to graduate from F University with a 4.0 GPA! I want to study abroad! To see the whole world!”
“I want to get better and better! So those who ignored me back then will regret it later!”
……
Besides aspirations, some classmates also took the opportunity to expose each other’s private shortcomings—
Lu Jingtong: “I hope someone washes his clothes diligently every day and stops leaving his stinky socks everywhere!”
Wei Ran: “I hope someone doesn’t secretly watch adult films on his laptop in the dorm and make the whole room smell weird!!”
Zhou Yan was right beside Liang Ruixi at that moment. Liang Ruixi thought of Zhou Yan’s usual serious demeanor, and a thought struck him. He cupped his hands around his mouth like a megaphone and shouted to the sky, “I hope someone doesn’t wear a grim face every day; you’re only nineteen, not an old cadre, you should smile more!”
Zhou Yan paused, then mimicked Liang Ruixi, tilting his head back and shouting, “A certain idiot still couldn’t tell the difference between a lawyer’s and a prosecutor’s duties in the previous semester! I hope he studies hard! And achieves his true dream soon! I also wish him happiness every day! A life without worries!”
……
On that late April morning, they stood on the mountaintop, exposing each other’s flaws and offering blessings. Their wishes echoed across the entire peak of Yanlu Mountain, soaring through the sky towards the rising sun.
Going down the mountain, Liang Ruixi took two skipping steps, then realized Zhou Yan hadn’t followed and turned to look for him.
At that moment, the thin clouds of late spring had crept in. Zhou Yan stood behind him, silhouetted against the light, his form obscured by a hazy shadow. Liang Ruixi couldn’t make out his expression, and the subtle kiss from the night before seemed to be hidden by the thin clouds, becoming indistinct.
Liang Ruixi habitually waved at Zhou Yan, calling out loudly, “Zhou Yan! Come!”
“Coming!” Zhou Yan replied, quickly walking down.
It was as if nothing had ever happened between them.
–
“The rest of the company will be here soon. Sister Feng wants us downstairs by 7:30.” Liang Ruixi heard Brother Lin rushing him early in the morning.
He groggily opened his eyes, washed up, and met his colleagues. After a quick breakfast, the group headed enthusiastically into the scenic area.
On the way, Liang Ruixi tried to find traces of the past, but it had been seven years, and many places had been renovated. To make it easier for tourists of all ages to climb the mountain, the scenic area even installed a cable car.
The company was also very thoughtful, buying cable car tickets for everyone, so those who couldn’t manage the climb could choose to take the cable car directly up the mountain.
The hundred or so people walked, stopped, and looked around, taking almost two hours to reach the summit.
It was nearly noon by then. The mountaintop was clear of clouds, and the weather was excellent. Colleagues gathered in small groups to take scenic photos, and Liang Ruixi was pulled into a few shots before he could slip away.
He walked to the railing, gazed at the distant mountains, and then recalled the blessing Zhou Yan had shouted out that year.
When they first enrolled, Zhou Yan had asked Liang Ruixi why he wanted to be a lawyer. Liang Ruixi had grandiosely declared that he wanted to be the most handsome lawyer in China, that he wanted to uphold fairness and justice, and leave criminals nowhere to hide.
Zhou Yan had laughed, saying that he got into the law department but couldn’t even distinguish some basic concepts — making criminals have nowhere to hide was the prosecutor’s duty, while lawyers were mostly legal professionals who served their clients.
Because of Zhou Yan’s words, Liang Ruixi even hesitated about whether to change his goal, perhaps to become a prosecutor or something, but Zhou Yan later said that wasn’t suitable for him…
Of course, years later, let alone a prosecutor, he hadn’t even become a lawyer.
Thinking of this, Liang Ruixi felt a little wistful again.
“Time for the group photo!”
Hearing his colleagues’ call, Liang Ruixi pulled his gaze back from the distant mountains and turned to join the team.
Following the photographer’s shout of “Cheese” twice, everyone sighed as if they had completed a major task.
“Finally finished taking photos!”
“Let’s go, time to head down for lunch!”
The group clamored, surging towards the cable car in a rush.
Liang Ruixi looked back, just as he used to seven years ago, always walking ahead and then habitually turning back to find Zhou Yan when he realized Zhou Yan hadn’t followed.
In this time and place, Liang Ruixi obviously couldn’t see Zhou Yan again, but the memories of Zhou Yan’s gazes suddenly became clear, reminding him of what he had overlooked before…
The dorm, the classroom, the basketball court…
Every scene, every time he turned around, he could see Zhou Yan by his side, either laughing, angry, sad, or looking at him with gentle eyes.
Liang Ruixi’s heart trembled. Only at this moment did he suddenly realize that Zhou Yan’s inexpressible feelings for him seemed to have begun even before he had any suspicions.
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[Little Interlude]
Zhou Yan secretly kissed him, and Liang Ruixi opened his eyes.
Zhou Yan: Oh no, he found out!
The next day.
Zhou Yan: Oh, I forgot he’s an idiot.
