stories: Fleeting Youth, Fading Love
The cicadas sing their monotonous tunes in the trees, enjoying their brief summer. In the classroom of my second year of high school, endless quizzes and exams, overwhelming piles of test papers, and nerves stretched taut create a mountain of study materials. The walls are adorned with motivational quotes, and Einstein gazes helplessly at the diligent students striving to match his genius.
This is a battlefield without gunpowder, where even the air is filled with agitation. I’m weary of the monotonous routine of dormitory-cafeteria-classroom. My playful heart, like a garden full of spring blossoms, cannot be confined.
“Who left this pomegranate?” Xiang Mu looked around and saw Fu Zi smiling. Xiang Mu first got to know Fu Zi during a Chinese class review session, where Fu Zi’s witty reply to a classical phrase made the whole class burst into laughter.
The pomegranate placed by Fu Zi made the fiery red persimmons lose their color and the sweet apples lose their flavor. Fu Zi’s presence added some color to Xiang Mu’s otherwise dull academic life. Xiang Mu knew she couldn’t escape this time.
While others buried their heads in intense preparation, Fu Zi and Xiang Mu discussed Jin Yong and martial arts novels, and rode bicycles through the streets and alleys. Fu Zi gracefully carried Xiang Mu to watch the sunset, and Xiang Mu would marvel at the beautiful sunsets of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
One day, as Xiang Mu entered the classroom, she heard Qing Wu say, “Did you hear? Fu Zi got into trouble.” Her classmates looked at her differently. Xiang Mu was puzzled and asked Cheng Zi, who shared a dormitory with Fu Zi. Cheng Zi reluctantly told her, “Fu Zi was caught stealing something. I don’t know many details.” “Where is he?” Xiang Mu asked. “He’s gone,” Cheng Zi replied. Just like that, without any explanation, Fu Zi left.
Xiang Mu believed Fu Zi wouldn’t leave without an explanation. She consoled herself, thinking he would come back once the issue blew over. She also blamed him for not telling her the truth. She poured her longing, resentment, and concerns into her diary, treating it as a silent Fu Zi.
Amidst this emotional turmoil, Xiang Mu received a letter, sent to the village school and delivered by her teacher. The letter was full of complaints and accusations, without a signature, but Xiang Mu recognized the style and wording as Fu Zi’s.
Yet, the unclear content baffled her. “Who cares?” Xiang Mu said. “I’ve endured so much, and you send me a senseless letter? I’ll give you a piece of my mind.” Xiang Mu angrily annotated the letter with harsh comments and mailed it back. Venting her frustration, she no longer thought about the letter and her longing for Fu Zi faded.
After evening self-study, Xiang Mu and her friends didn’t return to their hot dormitory, strolling around the campus instead. “Xiang Mu, someone is looking for you at the school gate!” Ping shouted. “Hurry, hurry,” Mei urged. “Is it Fu Zi?” Xiang Mu ran to the gate, only to find a person who resembled Fu Zi but wasn’t him.
The person asked, “Are you Xiang Mu?” Xiang Mu realized she didn’t know him. The young man explained that he wrote the letter, received her reply, and rushed from the city, walking thirty miles at night to find her, only to discover it was a case of mistaken identity.
“If only Fu Zi were like him…” Xiang Mu sighed, realizing they were both lovesick individuals meeting by mistake due to a wrongly addressed letter. The young man left disappointed, having to walk thirty miles back home. Xiang Mu, touched by his sincere love, still wondered why Fu Zi couldn’t be like him, further diminishing her longing for Fu Zi.
As quietly as he had left, Fu Zi came to find Xiang Mu one evening. She brought the diary that had accompanied her through her anguish, wanting to show Fu Zi her pain and longing, and to make him understand why she liked the song “Do You Miss Me in a Foreign Land” despite not liking music, showing him that all her love stemmed from hate.
They wandered the familiar streets and alleys again. Xiang Mu talked non-stop, not noticing Fu Zi’s silence or questioning his lack of explanation. After all, if Fu Zi came back, explanations no longer mattered. When Xiang Mu finally stopped talking, Fu Zi slowly said, “Xiang Mu, I understand everything you’ve said. None of it matters now.
What matters is that you must work hard for the upcoming exams. When you get into college, I’ll come for you.” Xiang Mu wanted to give Fu Zi her diary, but it was lost somewhere.
After Fu Zi left, Xiang Mu devoted herself to her studies with relentless effort, tackling the college entrance exams with her classmates. Having experienced more, she cherished and understood the value of effort more than others. When she received the acceptance letter from a vocational college, she realized Fu Zi’s good intentions and knew he wouldn’t come for her anymore.
Xiang Mu attended a good university, using all her connections to find Fu Zi. She wanted to say things to him that she had never said before and ask if he remembered their promise. A few days later, Mei wrote to say Fu Zi had enrolled in a TV university, providing his exact address and sending blessings that gave Xiang Mu hope in love.
During the May Day holiday, while her roommates went on trips, Xiang Mu, with a ticket in hand, went to the city where Fu Zi was studying without telling anyone. When Xiang Mu appeared in front of Fu Zi, he was busy organizing a class outing. Surprised, he treated Xiang Mu like an old friend he hadn’t seen in years.
Xiang Mu decided not to say the prepared words. It wasn’t necessary. In the new environment, Fu Zi, like herself, viewed past experiences with a light heart. Growing up means continually forgetting, just as Xiang Mu and Fu Zi pretended to forget their promise.
It’s over, all over… Back at school, Xiang Mu inexplicably cried a lot, but from then on, her heart was unburdened.
Thank you for reading! ” Sitestorys “
