Confession to You in Early Summer (GL) - Chapter 1
Another winter arrived, nearing the Spring Festival.
Yan Wei had once again chosen to stay at school and not go home this year. She left the school library and first returned to her dormitory to change clothes.
Before leaving, she opened the diary on her desk and picked up a pen to write the date at the top: “2020.1.17”.
“Now I’m about to leave for the high school reunion. Teacher Xu personally called me this year, so I should probably go and see. But it’s been too long, I’m afraid I won’t recognize anyone. I hope everything goes well.”
The pen tip hesitated on the paper, leaving a small dot, before sliding down heavily.
“If only I could go with you.”
Yan Wei closed the notebook and took out another diary from the most visible spot on her desk, placing it in her shoulder bag.
The winters in the southern cities weren’t that cold. Yan Wei wore a cream-white shirt under a light purple wisteria-patterned sweater, paired with dark blue casual trousers and a light gray long trench coat, which made her look tall and slender, composed yet elegant.
Her naturally falling black hair had slightly curled ends, draped over her shoulders. Combined with her quite distinctive face, she drew frequent glances on the street.
She took a taxi to the city center. As soon as she got out, someone called her name: “Oh! Isn’t that Yan Wei? Even the goddess Yan is here!”
Yan Wei turned her head at the sound.
Two people were walking side by side, a man and a woman. The woman, whose height only reached the man’s shoulder, was the one who had called out to Yan Wei.
Yan Wei returned a polite smile to the woman, casually closed the car door, and spent two seconds searching her memory for a name that matched the woman. As the two approached, she naturally said, “It’s rare to have the time. It’s been a long time since everyone last met.”
Oh, search failed.
“It really has been a long time! You didn’t come to the last reunion either, but it feels like you haven’t changed at all, still so beautiful!” the woman exclaimed, then introduced the formally dressed man beside her to Yan Wei, “This is my husband, his surname is Fu.”
Mr. Fu nodded at Yan Wei and greeted her very gentlemanly, “Hello, Miss Yan. Xiaoxiao has mentioned you to me.”
Yan Wei finally remembered the woman’s name: Zhou Xiaoxiao. They had been deskmates in high school and even dormitory roommates.
Old classmates naturally had a lot to talk about. After some pleasantries, Zhou Xiaoxiao abandoned her husband and ran over to link arms with Yan Wei. The good sisters walked and reminisced, while Mr. Fu was relegated to a bag-carrying background figure.
“When did you get married?” Yan Wei asked casually.
“We got our marriage certificate last month, haven’t held the wedding yet. We plan to have the banquet next spring, and I’ll send you an invitation then!” Zhou Xiaoxiao looked very happy and added, “Goddess’s time is too precious. I heard them say you always decline every gathering. Our relationship is so strong, you can’t refuse this time, you absolutely have to come!”
Having said that much, even if their relationship wasn’t that close, Yan Wei couldn’t refuse. “Okay, definitely.”
As they talked, they soon arrived at the destination. The class monitor, Wen Tan, was acting as a doorman downstairs. The 24 or 25 years old man was neatly dressed in a sharp black suit with an impeccably tied tie. Seeing the approaching group, his eyes lit up, and his gaze fixed on the woman in the gray trench coat on the far left, unable to look away.
“Oh my! After all these years, the class monitor is still hung up on our goddess!” Before they even got close, Zhou Xiaoxiao was blinded by the class monitor’s fervent gaze. She jokingly leaned close to Yan Wei and whispered, “Goddess Yan, why don’t you give him a chance?”
Which person in their graduating class didn’t know that the class monitor waited outside until the gathering started every time, all for whom?
Yan Wei smiled at her and whispered back, “Immersed in studying, no time for romance.”
Zhou Xiaoxiao laughed loudly, “A top student is a top student, only focused on studying, all men step aside!”
Having ascertained Yan Wei’s attitude, Zhou Xiaoxiao cast an “I can’t help you” and sympathetic look at Wen Tan.
“Yan… Yan Wei… you came too.” The man, who had just been mature and steady, suddenly couldn’t speak properly. He blurted out such a meaningless sentence, and a faint blush rose on his fair face, whether from embarrassment or shyness.
Zhou Xiaoxiao was exasperated. If he hadn’t been so useless, would he still be unable to win her over after seven or eight years?
“Class Monitor! That’s not fair! I came with Goddess Yan, and all you can see is the goddess, not us ordinary people!” Zhou Xiaoxiao pretended to complain pitifully, and while doing so, she let go of Yan Wei and linked arms with her husband. “Well, I won’t make myself unwelcome. Class Monitor, you entertain the goddess, my husband and I will go up first!”
Zhou Xiaoxiao slipped away faster than a rabbit, leaving Yan Wei and Wen Tan in awkward silence.
Yan Wei waited for a while but he didn’t speak. Staying any longer would be quite embarrassing, so she interrupted the silence at an opportune moment, “Let’s go up first.”
“Oh, oh, okay.” Obvious disappointment and annoyance were written all over the man’s face. Yan Wei ignored it and maintained a polite two-step distance as she followed him into the pre-booked party room.
Before opening the door, the man stopped and said to Yan Wei with his back to her, “I didn’t expect you to come. I hope you have fun today.”
“Mm, thank you,” Yan Wei replied faintly. After speaking, she seemed to feel her tone was too stiff, so she added, “You too.”
The door opened, and a wave of noise rushed out. Amidst the chaotic laughter and chatter, a few classmates were quietly discussing something, occasionally mentioning a name that caught Yan Wei’s attention.
“It’s Yan Wei! Stop talking! No one mention that matter later!” In the din, someone interrupted their conversation. Yan Wei pretended not to hear.
There were still twenty-odd minutes before the agreed time, but more than a dozen people had already gathered inside. As Yan Wei walked in, more than ten pairs of eyes turned to look at her, and a chorus of exclamations immediately arose.
Yan Wei actually didn’t like crowds. She used to avoid such gatherings whenever possible. This time, she came because Wen Tan had persuaded their high school homeroom teacher to call her. She could decline old classmates’ invitations, but she always had to consider the teacher’s feelings. She had intended to come, sit for a while, and then leave, but she hadn’t expected that after so many years, these old classmates would still remember her.
Six years had passed since their high school graduation. Many of their classmates were already married and brought their families to the reunion. Yan Wei had been the class beauty in high school. Years had passed, and having shed her youthful immaturity, she had become even more mature and beautiful. Being single, she inevitably attracted the attention and inquiries of unmarried men, causing a stir as soon as she entered.
Whether male or female, those who came to greet Yan Wei received polite conversation, even though she couldn’t remember many of their names.
“You guys are really annoying! The goddess Yan just arrived and hasn’t even sat down yet, and you’re already blocking her way! No wonder she doesn’t want to talk to you!” Zhou Xiaoxiao pushed her husband aside and rescued Yan Wei from a group of greasy male classmates, pulling her into the group of women. Yan Wei breathed a sigh of relief and whispered a thank you to Zhou Xiaoxiao.
The waiter brought drinks. Zhou Xiaoxiao asked Yan Wei what she wanted to drink. Yan Wei took a glass of orange juice from the tray. At this moment, a girl asked, “Where is Yan Wei working now? Haven’t you thought about getting a boyfriend?”
“The goddess is immersed in studying, no time for dating,” Zhou Xiaoxiao interjected before Yan Wei could speak, turning to look at Yan Wei. “What year of postgraduate study are you in now? Counting the time, it should be your third year, right? Will you continue for a doctorate after that?”
“Second year of postgraduate study. I might work first,” Yan Wei said calmly.
A girl suddenly chimed in, “I remember, after the accident during the college entrance exams that year, Yan Wei seemed to have repeated a year, right?”
As soon as she finished speaking, the girl next to her nudged her with her elbow. She belatedly realized her mistake and let out a short “Ah,” quickly apologizing to Yan Wei, “I’m sorry!”
“It’s okay,” Yan Wei shook her head, took a sip of orange juice, and smiled. “There’s nothing I can’t talk about. I did indeed study for an extra year of senior high school before getting into university. You’re all my senior classmates now.”
Yan Wei had been an excellent student in high school, never falling out of the top three in the grade in any major or minor exam. However, she suffered a disastrous setback in the college entrance exams, not even reaching the second-tier university cutoff score. She went back to repeat her senior year, a fact that her parents and teachers deeply regretted at the time.
“If it weren’t for…” the girl who had spoken wrongly mumbled softly, leaving the second half of her sentence unfinished, interrupted by the shouts of the male classmates, “Let’s play a round of Werewolf! Call the goddess Yan over!”
Wen Tan came to invite the female classmates to join the game. Zhou Xiaoxiao was the first to jump up, “I want to play! I want to play!” As she spoke, she grabbed Yan Wei’s arm and pulled her over. Yan Wei was absent-minded, and by the time the cards were dealt into her hand, it was too late to refuse.
Yan Wei wasn’t good at this kind of game and was quickly voted out in two consecutive rounds. The classmates laughed and joked non-stop. Zhou Xiaoxiao was dumbfounded and joined in the teasing, “The goddess’s skill points were all contributed to studying!”
A table full of people burst into laughter.
After a while of playing, according to the schedule, they would go to a KTV to sing all night. The private room had already been booked. The class monitor came to say that it was almost time to go. Yan Wei got up to go to the restroom.
Wen Tan walked past her with a half-glass of beer. He had intended to toast Yan Wei, but he didn’t expect her to stand up suddenly, accidentally knocking Yan Wei’s bag off the back of her chair.
The clasp sprang open, revealing the faded edges of a small, light blue notebook with white stripes, which looked somewhat familiar.
“I’m sorry! Let me pick it up for you!” Wen Tan kept apologizing, quickly put down his beer glass, and bent down to pick up the bag he had knocked off.
But Yan Wei was one step ahead of him, pressing down on the diary. Wen Tan’s fingertips brushed the back of Yan Wei’s hand, and he recoiled as if electrocuted.
Yan Wei waved her hand to indicate that it was okay, then quickly picked up her bag, muttered “Excuse me,” and walked through the noisy crowd to lock herself in the restroom.
“Class Monitor! You like Yan Wei so much, why haven’t you confessed yet?!” A classmate nearby jeered. Wen Tan withdrew his absent-minded gaze and shook his head with a wry smile.
Seeing him like this, the classmate indignantly spoke up, “Yan Wei is too aloof. Our class monitor is so outstanding, and she still doesn’t like him.” Everyone could see that Wen Tan liked Yan Wei, from their student days until now. There was no reason why Yan Wei couldn’t see it.
“You can’t say that,” Wen Tan stopped him. He thought of the diary in Yan Wei’s bag, his mood complex. “Back then, when her best friend had that accident, it was a huge blow to her. She has always been unwilling to face us classmates. So many years have passed, I don’t know if she has moved on… Ah, forget it, let’s not talk about this.”
••••
Finally escaping the suffocating noise and gaining a moment of tranquility, Yan Wei leaned against the sink and let out a breath of relief.
She touched up her lipstick in the mirror. When she unclasped her bag, she saw the small notebook again, so she casually took it out.
It was a very ordinary, very common diary from her student days. The cover’s color was mottled, showing a strong sense of age. Even though it had been carefully preserved, the clear traces of time were still inevitably left on it.
On the side binding, the owner’s name was written in ballpoint pen: Jiang Youyi.
The handwriting was as rebellious as the person.
Yan Wei casually flipped through it to the page she looked at most often.
March 27, 2013
She said we could only be friends.
Author’s Note:
New story, new atmosphere!