Confession to You in Early Summer - Chapter 2

Yan Wei stared at the line of text for a while, then heard the sound of high heels tapping against the floor outside the restroom. She closed the diary, tucked it back into her bag, wiped her face, and used her pinky finger to brush away the moisture at the corner of her eye. Stepping out of the restroom, she rejoined Zhou Xiaoxiao, who had come looking for her.

“Are you okay?” Zhou Xiaoxiao asked with concern.

This seemingly carefree old classmate was surprisingly perceptive, which caught Yan Wei off guard. Seeing Yan Wei remain silent, Zhou Xiaoxiao walked over and patted the back of her hand. “We rarely get together like this. Don’t dwell on unhappy things.”

“Mm,” Yan Wei nodded. “I’m fine. Maybe it’s just the cold weather lately—I might be catching a cold.”

“Then why are you wearing so little?” Zhou Xiaoxiao fussed like a mother hen. Yan Wei had no choice but to let herself be dragged along.

In the KTV private room, Yan Wei drank a little. Truthfully, it wasn’t much at all, and she’d only had two glasses before Zhou Xiaoxiao stopped her. Zhou Xiaoxiao unceremoniously shooed away a male classmate who tried to keep urging her to drink. “Go on, get out of here! The goddess has a cold and can’t drink!”

After dealing with him, she turned back and placed a glass of honey water in front of Yan Wei. “Honestly, if you’re not feeling well, why drink? Have this instead!”

Yan Wei agreed. Just then, Zhou Xiaoxiao’s song came up, and she was called away by her husband. Surrounded by the noise, Yan Wei suddenly felt drowsy.

She leaned back in the corner of the sofa to rest, never expecting to fall asleep as soon as she closed her eyes.

A sharp, urgent ringing sounded in her ears—unfamiliar yet distant, like the wake-up bell from high school.

Yan Wei turned over, instinctively pulling the blanket over her head.

…

…………

A blanket? Wasn’t she at KTV?

Yan Wei opened her eyes. Above her was a mottled ceiling, decorated with heart-shaped cutouts and stars and moons made from cardstock—all part of the artsy dorm room decor. Everything felt so familiar, yet strangely foreign.

This dream felt too real—so real that she could clearly see the cobwebs in the corner that hadn’t been cleaned and the mathematical formula some senior had scribbled by the head of the bed.

She zoned out for a while until a roommate called out to her, “Yan Wei, if you don’t get up soon, you’ll be late for morning reading.”

Morning reading?

Yan Wei gripped the edge of her bed, staring in disbelief at her busy roommate below.

The one who had spoken was packing her small bag while glancing up at Yan Wei in the upper bunk. Her youthful, round face still carried a hint of baby fat, and her familiar features overlapped with the grown-up Zhou Xiaoxiao. Yan Wei felt a wave of disorientation.

Just an hour ago, Zhou Xiaoxiao had been talking to her about married life!

Their high school dorm room had eight people. Seven were already up, bustling around and getting ready. Two had risen early and were already in the classroom. Only Yan Wei, who used to be the earliest to leave, was still in bed.

Seeing the top student act so out of character finally struck her roommates as odd. Noticing Yan Wei’s unusually pale face, Zhou Xiaoxiao asked worriedly, “Yan Wei, are you sick? Not feeling well? Should we ask for leave so you can rest in the dorm?”

The vivid scene, the familiar surroundings—it all felt unnervingly real.

Yan Wei pinched the pad of her finger hard.

It hurt.

“No need, you go ahead. I’ll get up right away!” Her delayed reply came out shaky from shock.

Zhou Xiaoxiao suddenly stood up, stood on tiptoe, and reached out to feel Yan Wei’s forehead.

Yan Wei: “…”

“Good, no fever.” Zhou Xiaoxiao breathed a sigh of relief. “Don’t push yourself. If you’re not feeling well, take a sick day and rest.”

So, Zhou Xiaoxiao had been taking care of her like this even back in their school days? Wait, this is clearly just a dream!

After her roommate left, Yan Wei quickly got out of bed and splashed some water on her face at the sink, trying to wake herself up.

Through the water-streaked mirror, Yan Wei saw a delicate oval face, thick eyelashes dotted with droplets, looking a bit youthful and naive. Her bangs were also damp, with water droplets trickling down strand by strand.

Yan Wei looked around. On the drying rack, colorful clothes hung from several different types of hangers. Outside the window, a rusty wire mesh was installed. Students passed by downstairs in small groups, laughing and chatting. The air was filled with the scent of laundry detergent mixed with the fragrance of early spring flowers and grass.

This wasn’t a dream.

She was at school, in high school.

Why was this happening? Could it be that her college entrance exam failure, repeating a year, and the gathering with classmates during her second year of graduate school—were those the dreams?

Impossible. If they were dreams, how could she remember them so clearly?

Then how should she explain what was happening now?

Before Yan Wei could figure it out, she encountered the dorm supervisor clearing the rooms. The supervisor was about to lock the door when she suddenly noticed someone still inside. Surprised, she called Yan Wei out and told her to hurry to class.

Yan Wei couldn’t remember what morning reading session was scheduled for today. She went back, put on her school uniform jacket, grabbed her insulated cup standing by her pillow and a few books tucked under it, and prepared to leave. Before heading out, she glanced down at the cover of the textbook in her hand.

Second semester of the second year of high school.

On the way to the teaching building, she felt dazed. Worried about being late, classmates quickened their pace, passing Yan Wei one after another. A male classmate recognized the girl from behind and ran up with a grin, intending to pass her on the left but deliberately tapped her right shoulder instead. “Yan Wei!”

The books in Yan Wei’s hands clattered to the ground.

The male classmate was startled and hurriedly apologized, “Oops, sorry, sorry! Let me help you pick them up!”

But Yan Wei didn’t look at him. She froze in front of the teaching building, staring at the scrolling time on the LED banner above.

March 28, 2013.

“Yan Wei?” The boy waved his hand in front of her eyes. “What’s wrong?”

Yan Wei took the books from his hands, muttered a “thank you,” and hurried off without even seeing who he was.

She walked into the classroom just as the bell rang. The morning reading teacher hadn’t arrived yet. Standing at the classroom door, Yan Wei spent a few seconds trying to recall where her seat was while looking at the noisy students inside.

As if guided by fate, Yan Wei’s gaze swept over the back rows and inadvertently met that of a girl sitting in the corner by the window before quickly looking away.

The girl, with a neat student haircut, quickly lowered her head, pretending to write something on her draft paper with a pen.

The boy from earlier caught up, looking confused and about to speak when the crisp sound of high heels tapping the corridor floor echoed.

Yan Wei snapped back to reality and glanced at the boy blocking her way. “Excuse me, thank you.”

The boy instinctively stepped aside, and Yan Wei quickly walked back to her seat.

“What are you standing there for?” The English teacher appeared behind the boy, frowning sternly. “Have you memorized the text? You’ll be the first one I check later.”

The boy: “…” On the verge of tears.

Yan Wei’s seat was in the front three rows with the best view. Her deskmate, Zhou Xiaoxiao, watched her walk over and casually pulled out the chair for her. “You didn’t take leave? Did you have breakfast?”

“No, there wasn’t enough time.” Yan Wei set down her books and thermos, then glanced back toward the window in the back row after sitting down.

Jiang Youyi remained in her writing posture, not looking up. Her long, straight bangs covered her eyes, and Yan Wei couldn’t make out the expression on her face.

Turning back, she found an Alpenliebe candy on her desk.

“New flavor,” Zhou Xiaoxiao said before burying her head back in her book to study.

Yan Wei thanked her, unwrapped the candy, and popped it into her mouth—cola-flavored Alpenliebe, a taste from long ago.

During her student days, she had a habit of taking notes. Yan Wei had added special marks before the chapter numbers of the texts she needed to memorize. Although she had forgotten the content, she had continued using English all the way through graduate school, so picking it back up wasn’t too difficult.

Hearing her deskmate reciting the text, Zhou Xiaoxiao looked utterly shocked.

“What’s wrong?” Yan Wei mumbled, the candy still in her mouth.

“Oh, nothing. It’s just surprising that the top student didn’t prepare the text in advance,” Zhou Xiaoxiao replied, lowering her head to mark up her book.

Yan Wei smiled but didn’t respond, her gaze returning to the textbook.

All morning, Yan Wei felt distracted. It took two classes for her to gradually settle down. During that time, she repeatedly tried to snap herself out of this dream, but bumping her head on the desk hurt, biting her tongue hurt—the more it hurt, the more awake she felt.

Zhou Xiaoxiao watched her deskmate’s erratic behavior with concern. “Yan Wei, what happened? Don’t do anything rash!”

During the last math class’s pop quiz, Zhou Xiaoxiao had watched in disbelief as Yan Wei turned in a test paper mostly left blank, leaving her utterly bewildered.

Yan Wei slumped weakly over the desk, answering Zhou Xiaoxiao’s question for what felt like the umpteenth time. “I’m fine.”

She was just forced to accept an unbelievable reality.

She had returned to the past, with her memories intact.

Today was the day after Jiang Youyi’s birthday. Last night, she had just rejected Jiang Youyi’s confession.

There was still one year and three months left until the college entrance exam.

Besides feeling uneasy, there was also a hint of relief.

During the long break, there were about ten minutes left before class.

After mentally preparing herself, Yan Wei stood up.

Jiang Youyi happened to be passing by. Seeing the classmate suddenly standing in her way, her expression turned slightly odd.

“Move,” Jiang Youyi said.

Yan Wei didn’t budge. She pursed her lips and asked stiffly, “Where are you going? The restroom?”

Jiang Youyi finally looked up, her dark, glass-bead-like eyes meeting Yan Wei’s gaze.

Yan Wei rested one hand on the desk, her thumb nervously pressing against the edge.

Half a minute later, the chemistry teacher walked into the classroom carrying a teacup, placed the test papers on the podium, and waved to a girl nearby. “Class representative, come hand these out.”

“Class rep, the teacher’s calling you.” That was Jiang Youyi’s second sentence.

Yan Wei sighed and stepped aside. Jiang Youyi walked past her up to the podium, glancing at the chemistry test papers.

The top one was Yan Wei’s.

Full marks. Tsk.

Jiang Youyi left, and Yan Wei picked up the test papers from the podium. Several boys rushed over to help, and the class monitor also came to take a small stack. He seemed to want to strike up a conversation with Yan Wei, but she didn’t notice him.

The fourth period was P.E. class. Early in the semester, it was rare for no teacher to take over the class. The P.E. teacher had the class monitor organize everyone for a few laps, then dismissed them for free activities.

Three laps in total, and just after completing two, someone in the girls’ line suddenly collapsed, causing a commotion.

“It’s Yan Wei! Yan Wei fainted!”

As soon as the cry rang out, a figure rushed over like a gust of wind, picking up Yan Wei before any of the boys could reach her, and dashed toward the school clinic.

When Yan Wei woke up, her deskmate Zhou Xiaoxiao was by her bedside.

“You’re finally awake!” Zhou Xiaoxiao stood up. “Still feeling dizzy? Should I call the school doctor to check on you?”

“I’m fine, no need,” Yan Wei replied, her gaze sweeping around the empty school clinic. “Was it you who brought me here?”

“Not me, it was Jiang Youyi. She even told me not to tell you,” Zhou Xiaoxiao cheerfully betrayed the classmate who had just asked her to keep it a secret. “So weird! It’s not like I was the only one who saw it. Why do a good deed and not let anyone talk about it? I just won’t listen!”

Yan Wei’s mood suddenly brightened, and she couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re so rebellious.”

“You’re the rebellious one!” Zhou Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes. “You have low blood sugar, and you still skip breakfast in the morning?”

Yan Wei smiled, brushing it off. “It’s not that serious.”

“You fainted, and you say it’s not serious?” Zhou Xiaoxiao was furious. “You have no idea how frantic the boys in our class were just now! I bet starting tomorrow, someone will definitely bring you breakfast!”

“It’s not that exaggerated,” Yan Wei said, feeling rested. She glanced at the wall clock. “Let’s go. Lunch is on me.”

Just after gym class, they arrived at the cafeteria a few minutes earlier than students from other classes. After getting their meals, Yan Wei and Zhou Xiaoxiao spotted Jiang Youyi sitting alone, eating.

Yan Wei carried her tray over, but Jiang Youyi put down her chopsticks and stood up before Yan Wei could say a word, walking away without a glance.

Most of the food on her plate remained untouched.

Yan Wei: “…” Maybe she had thought too simply.

It couldn’t be that bad, really.