Chapter 36
After Ji Ting finished replying to him and said “okay.” Qiu Dan pulled out a few notebooks from the box, dusted them off, and looked at Ji Ting’s phone. “Did Yucheng send a message?”
Ji Ting sat down on the sofa and nodded. “He’s on a business trip today.”
Qiu Dan seemed a bit disappointed, thinking that she might have connected with the landlord’s son or had new updates. She wiped the dust off the notebooks, which had Ji Ting’s handwriting from her younger years. Her handwriting was always beautiful, elegant, with a calligraphic feel. Especially the characters for Ji Ting’s name. When she opened the first page, it wasn’t just Ji Ting’s handwriting.
There were also notes from Tan Yucheng, who had annotated Ji Ting’s notes. His handwriting was also very nice, showing the strength typical of a male’s handwriting.
Qiu Dan was intrigued and praised, “Yucheng’s handwriting is really strong and distinctive.”
Since their families often spent time together, Qiu Dan was familiar with Tan Yucheng’s handwriting and recognized it immediately. Ji Ting listened and reached out to take the notebook from her.
She opened it and saw that she had solved part of a problem, but felt something was wrong.
It was Tan Yucheng who had completed the final half. So the problem-solving process was incomplete, with her writing at the top and his at the bottom, both very neat. Perhaps this problem was the reason she kept this notebook.
In fact, at that time, she had collected anything related to him.
Scattered and unorganized, so no one would have known about her hidden feelings, not even Yu Xi, who often slept with her at that time, didn’t have any clue.
But actually in reality, there wasn’t much of his stuff left with her.
“Class Yearbook?” Qiu Dan flipped to the next book, which was a light yellow one with a picture of a girl holding flowers on the cover. The characters of “Class Yearbook” were written in cursive, making them hard to recognize at first. Qiu Dan reached out to turn the page.
Ji Ting immediately raised her hand and took the yearbook away.
Qiu Dan looked at Ji Ting. “Can’t I see it?”
Ji Ting nodded. “It’s filled with childish messages. I’m afraid you’ll laugh.”
“I’m not so far removed from your age. We also had yearbooks back then, though they weren’t as refined. We just used exercise books to write in. I remember this yearbook was one your dad brought back when he was restocking, right?”
Ji Ting confirmed with a soft “mm-hmm.”
She leaned back, looking at the yearbook, with a photo frame and notebook placed beside it.
Qiu Dan saw Ji Ting lost in thought and knew not to touch her things. During high school, Ji Ting had her rebellious moments too, but both Qiu Dan and Ji Lindong were emotionally stable. They thought it was normal for kids to be rebellious, so if she didn’t want them to touch something, they wouldn’t. They never enforced it on her.
She walked back to the warehouse, reorganized the opened box, and closed the lid.
Ji Ting sat on the sofa, gazing at the yearbook. She opened it and saw the first message was from Yu Xi. Yu Xi’s handwriting was large, so much so that it overflowed the original format onto the margins. Her wishes for Ji Ting could fill an entire page—wishing for her immense wealth and beauty, endless romantic opportunities, a successful career as a leader, and marrying a super handsome, wealthy husband who would spoil her. In the end, she hoped they would graduate and work in the same city.
At that time, Yu Xi’s scores could only get her into another school, whereas Ji Ting’s scores could get her into a better one. They had to part ways, so Yu Xi’s last wish was for them to end up in the same city.
After graduation, wherever Ji Ting went, Yu Xi followed.
The next message was from Meng Jia.
In fact, Meng Jia’s feelings for Ji Ting should be quite complex. She knows Ji Ting’s secrets and should have kept her distance to avoid becoming a romantic rival. Yet, she feels a certain kinship with Ji Ting, as if they share similar troubles. Sometimes, she feels envious when Shu Xiao calls out to Ji Ting or when Ji Ting plays with Shu Xiao. She wants to pull Ji Ting to her side and isolate Shu Xiao.
Moreover, Yu Xi loves being with Ji Ting so much. Despite being in the same class as Yu Xi, Meng Jia and Yu Xi don’t have the same bond that Yu Xi and Ji Ting share. So, Meng Jia is determined to insert herself between them.
In Ji Ting’s yearbook, Meng Jia’s message is simple: “Stay happy every day.”
Next is Long Kong and other classmates, with Shu Xiao’s entry specially placed in the middle, not in a conspicuous spot. Ji Ting has her own reasons for this, as she deliberately placed Tan Yucheng’s note at the end.
Shu Xiao’s handwriting is elegant and gentle. Her message to Ji Ting is sincere and neatly written, making the whole page pleasant to look at.
Shu Xiao writes well and her final line, “Ji Ting has the spirit of a heroine, which I admire,” is accompanied by a simple drawing.
Ji Ting has to admit that she quite likes Shu Xiao’s handwriting.
As she continues flipping through the yearbook, nearing the last page, she reaches Tan Yucheng’s entry. At that time, everyone used blue pens or, like Yu Xi, used various colors.
Only Tan Yucheng used black ink.
His clean, simple handwriting with the black pen makes it memorable.
His message to Ji Ting is also simple:
—The wind is on Ji Ting’s shoulder, and the wind carries twinkling stars.
He quotes a line from Bei Dao’s poetry collection ‘Endings or Beginnings’, which Ji Ting liked at the time. However, she also saw what he wrote to Shu Xiao, which was more elaborate. Although she doesn’t know the exact content, she could see from Shu Xiao’s flushed cheeks and slightly red ears that the message was touching.
At that time, she pursed her lips and, for some reason, took a black pen and added a line to the bottom of his message—The balloon of confession drifted away, not seeing you and her.
Her handwriting was hurried and barely legible, and if Qiu Dan had seen it, she wouldn’t have noticed. Only Ji Ting knew what it meant.
After Shu Xiao received the yearbook with his message, she never had anyone else sign it. Since Tan Yucheng was the last one to write in it for her, Ji Ting would never know what he wrote to Shu Xiao.
Returning to the present, Ji Ting closed the yearbook. Qiu Dan brought out the juice that Ji Lindong had made and glanced at her, asking, “Finished looking?”
Ji Ting nodded and rubbed the frame. She put the notebook, yearbook, and frame back into the box and sealed it again with clear tape. Qiu Dan took the tape and said, “I’ll handle it. Once it’s sealed, I’ll put it in your room.”
Ji Ting drank the juice and agreed.
Watching Qiu Dan seal the tape, Ji Ting saw the frame disappear from her sight.
The photo inside showed young Ji Ting and behind her, the young Tan Yucheng.
Once everything was sealed, the mother and daughter pushed the box under the cabinet in Ji Ting’s room. Afterward, Ji Ting finished her juice, checked the time, and said goodbye to her parents. Ji Lindong handed her a bottle of juice and advised her to drive safely.
Ji Ting acknowledged.
Qiu Dan watched her leave, hesitated to say something, then decided to wait until next time—there was plenty of time.
Back at the apartment, around 9:30, Ji Ting put the juice in the fridge, took her pajamas, and went to shower. After drying her hair, her phone rang with a video call from Tan Yucheng.
Ji Ting sat on the sofa and answered the call.
The video call connected, and Tan Yucheng had just sat down on the sofa, holding his phone. He lightly adjusted his tie; today, he wore an all-black tie and shirt. As he loosened it, the veins on the back of his hand were clearly visible. He adjusted the camera angle and looked at her.
Ji Ting was drying her hair and met his gaze. “Have you been drinking?”
Tan Yucheng’s lips curved slightly. “How did you know?”
Ji Ting shrugged, continuing to dry her hair. “Just a guess.”
He raised his eyebrows slightly, moved a teacup from the table, took a sip, and watched her as she dried her hair. “Just back from Aunt Qiu’s?”
Ji Ting nodded.
She finished drying her hair, removed the towel, and played with her strands. “I found the yearbook you wrote for me back in high school. Do you remember?”
Tan Yucheng was undoing his cufflinks and casually rolling up his sleeves. Upon hearing the question, he paused and looked at the beautiful woman in the camera. “The wind is on your shoulder, and the wind carries twinkling stars?”
Ji Ting nodded.
“Hmm.”
Tan Yucheng rolled up his sleeves, moved his laptop, and spoke in a lazy tone. “I should have written more if I’d known.”
Ji Ting’s heart skipped a beat.
He wrote more for Shu Xiao.
Ji Ting looked at his profile, countless words caught in her throat, unable to express them. She realized this was her dilemma, trapping everything about her and burying her courage.
Ji Ting opened her mouth, asking, “If you had written more, what would you have written?”
Tan Yucheng gave her a sidelong glance, a hint of a smile in his eyes. “It’s more interesting to say what wasn’t written.”
Ji Ting pursed her lips.
Tan Yucheng had been drinking, with his collar open and tie loose. He was typing on the keyboard and fiddling with his phone while chatting intermittently with her. Ji Ting leaned against the sofa armrest, holding her phone, her thoughts somewhat tangled but still drawn to him. She chatted with him until eleven o’clock before going to bed under his gaze.
In the following days, he was quite busy. Although he occasionally found time for video calls in the evening, sometimes he was too occupied to do more than send messages. He had gone to work at Fuheng Holdings Group, where he and Fu Yan were continuing as founders. Fu Linyuan, the investor from Fuheng Holdings, was involved in discussions about the future of AI. With Fu Yan staying at home to accompany Wen Nanxi during her confinement, Tan Yucheng was the only one at Fuheng Holdings, making him very busy. It was already good that he could make time to contact her.
In the class group chat.
Shu Xiao had rarely appeared in the chat since the day Zhong Yu mentioned her. Zhong Yu had also become less active, and later, from messages from Yu Xi, it was learned that Shu Xiao and Zhong Yu seemed to have had an argument.
Of course, it only seemed like it, and no one knew for sure whether there was really an argument.
Shu Xiao is such a sensitive person, and she would surely not have wanted Zhong Yu talking about her ex-boyfriend in the group. Whether this was a trigger for the argument was unknown, and there was no discussion about it in the group.
But Yu Xi remembered Ji Ting’s birthday.
In the group, she tagged Ji Ting: Baby Ting, your birthday is coming up. How do you plan to celebrate? Any arrangements?
Ji Ting didn’t want Yu Xi to continue discussing her personal matters in the group, so she replied immediately: I’ve made arrangements. I’ll let you know later.
Yu Xi: Great! I was also thinking of inviting you for a ¹Man Han Quan Xi buffet.
Ji Ting: Let’s save it for next time.
Yu Xi: Okay, sure.
Long Kong: Brother Cheng said he’ll help out with the birthday.
As soon as Long Kong’s message was sent, Zhong Yu came online and tagged Ji Ting: Happy Birthday, Ji Ting.
Ji Ting was taken aback, not expecting such a sudden blessing from her. She paused, then replied: Thank you @ZhongYu.
Feng Yingying also sent a message: Ji Ting, happy birthday.
Ji Ting responded: Thank you @FengYingying.
Other classmates also followed up sent their congratulations.
The messages were sparse but still quite a few, though not particularly lively. Mainly, it was work hours, so everyone was busy.
A few days later.
The weather forecast predicted cold air would move south on the 15th. Although the cold air hadn’t arrived yet, the weather had changed from sunny all day to only having a little sunshine around noon or in the afternoon.
On the day Tan Yucheng returned to Li City, the weather wasn’t great. He sent Ji Ting his flight information and added: Can you pick me up? Let’s have dinner together in the evening.
Ji Ting paused, then replied: OK.
In the afternoon, around three o’clock, Ji Ting took the car keys and arrived early at the airport’s waiting area. Many people were there to pick up passengers, including private cars, taxis, and online ride-hailing cars.
Ji Ting parked the car and, feeling stuffy inside, she got out to get some fresh air while checking her phone.
Waves of people walked out of the airport, with cars picking them up and driving away. An international flight had just landed, bringing out many foreigners.
Among them were also many fellow countrymen, blending into the crowd.
Ji Ting glanced casually and unexpectedly spotted a familiar figure in the crowd. A slender figure in a beige sweater and white skirt, with a delicate and beautiful face but with a hint of fragility. She was walking slowly with a suitcase.
It was Shu Xiao.
After so many years, she looked just as she did in the photos, as if unchanged, retaining that same aura.
Ji Ting raised an eyebrow, wondering if they might run into each other.
But at this moment, although Shu Xiao was clearly walking in this direction, her gaze was scanning the other way, subtly changing the direction of her suitcase as well.
Ji Ting followed her gaze.
She then saw Tan Yucheng, who was dressed in a black suit and carrying a suitcase, walking toward her. Standing out from the crowd, Tan Yucheng also noticed Shu Xiao approaching at an angle, causing him to pause slightly.
Shu Xiao clutched her suitcase tightly and, amid the bustling airport exit, she softly called out, “Tan Yucheng.”
The sound seemed to pull Ji Ting back to the past, to the student days with a fan spinning overhead. Tan Yucheng didn’t respond, and Shu Xiao’s fingers tightened around the suitcase. From her sleeve, a string of small leaf red sandalwood bracelets was visible, along with a bruise on the back of her hand, which she instinctively tried to hide.
Tan Yucheng looked at her, still silent.
From a short distance away, Ji Ting witnessed their exchange. In her daze, it felt as though she remembered something or perhaps forgot something, but once, they too had stood like this, face to face, gazing at each other.
And Ji Ting?
She was the one standing on the side.
Between them.
Him, her, and she.
And she was that “she.”
—
¹”Man Han Quan Xi buffet” is a lavish and extensive Chinese buffet inspired by the “Manchu-Han Imperial Feast,” featuring a wide variety of traditional and luxurious dishes from both Manchu and Han Chinese cuisines.