Confession to You in Early Summer - Chapter 5

Yan Wei returned to the classroom to organize her notes, unconsciously humming the song Jiang Youyi had sung that night.

She didn’t sing the lyrics, just softly hummed the melody, but she truly had no talent for music. Zhou Xiaoxiao couldn’t make out what tune she was humming at all, so she leaned in and asked, “What song is this?”

“Cai Minyou’s ‘I Can,’” Yan Wei replied without looking up.

Zhou Xiaoxiao seemed quite interested. “Oh, it’s this one! No wonder it sounded familiar! Do you like this song too?”

Yan Wei nodded. “Yeah, I like it. It’s really nice.”

Although the original version was good too, she preferred Jiang Youyi’s rendition.

When singing, Jiang Youyi’s voice was a bit different from usual—softer, more delicate, very gentle, and also… magnetic.

Of course, in Yan Wei’s memory, Jiang Youyi singing to her was already seven years ago. It was possible that the impression of her singing had been beautified by her subconscious.

Zhou Xiaoxiao noticed Yan Wei’s eyes curving into a smile after she said the song was nice, and she couldn’t help but smile too. It seemed she really did like it a lot.

She lowered her head, using her desk drawer to hide her phone, searched for the song, and added it to her playlist.

Now she had the same song that Goddess Yan liked. Hehe.

Jiang Youyi walked into the classroom just as the class bell rang. As she passed by Yan Wei, her bangs fell down, covering her eyes. Yan Wei stopped humming and didn’t look up. The two acted like strangers, as if the brief exchange in the corner of the rooftop had never happened.

The next two days passed uneventfully. Yan Wei gradually found her rhythm with high school studies again. Although the short-term results weren’t impressive, after all, it was knowledge she had learned and mastered before. With proper time management, there was still hope of returning to her normal level before the college entrance exams.

The day before Qingming Festival was a Wednesday. The school organized a hiking and outing activity, and both first-year and second-year classes had to participate.

The event was held in the suburbs at a relatively famous scenic spot near the school called Yue Dong Lake. Students participating in the activity started from the designated starting point, walked around the lake, and reached the destination to complete the task.

Zhou Xiaoxiao had looked it up online—the greenway around Yue Dong Lake was about 17 kilometers in total.

For the first-year students participating in the hiking activity for the first time, these 17 kilometers were probably just a meaningless number in their minds. But for the second-year students who had already taken part in the activity last year, these 17 kilometers were nothing short of a nightmare.

Still, students who quickly forgot past pains were still enthusiastic about the outdoor activity that allowed them to escape the “cage.”

The first-year students set off in the morning, while the second-year students, under the teachers’ strict supervision, restlessly endured half a day of classes. In the afternoon, led by their homeroom teachers, they boarded the chartered buses rented by the school and headed to the event location.

Although the first few students to reach the finish line would receive generous rewards, with the top three even getting certificates, the vast majority of students had no interest in competing for rankings. They just wanted to take advantage of the rare opportunity to relax, thanks to the school’s unusual generosity.

Teacher Xu counted the students on the bus. As soon as the bus stopped, a few boys near the door dashed off and disappeared in a flash.

Yan Wei waited until the hurried students had mostly left before unhurriedly following them off the bus. She looked up at the bright, clear sky, and her mood lifted along with it.

At some point, Jiang Youyi had already disappeared. Zhou Xiaoxiao and Yan Wei walked together, chatting with other classmates as they strolled along.

The scenery around Yue Dong Lake was beautiful, with green mountains and clear waters lining both sides of the road. Groups of seventeen- or eighteen-year-old boys and girls walked in twos and threes, their laughter and cheerful voices filling the air. The sight before them was a vibrant and youthful picture.

But as they walked on, Yan Wei lost her mood for admiring the scenery.

Perhaps it was just as Zhou Xiaoxiao had said—all her skill points were allocated to studying. Not only did she have no talent for music, but her athletic ability was also quite poor.

Later, in college, because of her outstanding appearance and demeanor, she often faced unwanted advances from men. To deal with this, she specifically enrolled in a free combat class for a while, which eventually improved her physical fitness. But now, during her high school years, her constitution was weak, plagued by various issues. After just a few steps, she was already panting.

Zhou Xiaoxiao turned to look at her. “Tired? Do you want to take a break?”

“It’s fine,” Yan Wei waved her hand.

The class monitor and a few male classmates walked ahead, occasionally glancing back. The boys nudged and pushed each other, urging someone forward. Before long, the class monitor was pushed out. Blushing, he walked up to Yan Wei and mustered his courage. “Yan Wei, is your backpack heavy? Do you want me to carry it for you?”

The boys cheered, “Let him carry it! Let him carry it!” Yan Wei felt a bit speechless. Anyone who didn’t know better might think they were witnessing a confession, urging the heroine to say yes.

So childish.

“No need, thank you,” Yan Wei politely declined. “It’s not heavy. I can manage it myself.”

The boys sighed in disappointment. The class monitor’s face turned even redder, his ears practically burning. He mumbled something Yan Wei couldn’t quite catch, but before she could ask, he had already run off.

It was late spring, almost summer. Though it wasn’t particularly hot, after walking for a while, Yan Wei began to sweat. She took off her school uniform jacket and draped it over her arm.

Watching the boys laugh and run off into the distance, Zhou Xiaoxiao suddenly whispered, “The class monitor seems to like you.”

Yan Wei, of course, could tell. Even if she hadn’t understood such things back in her sophomore year, the Yan Wei who had returned from the future certainly did.

“I don’t like him,” Yan Wei replied clearly and firmly. She didn’t like him, and even if someone overheard and repeated her words verbatim to the class monitor, her stance wouldn’t change.

She thought that perhaps it was because she hadn’t made it clear to the class monitor back in her school days that there was no possibility between them that he had kept waiting.

Hearing her decisive response, Zhou Xiaoxiao chuckled and teased, “The class monitor is handsome and nice. A lot of girls in our grade like his type. Are you really not considering it, Goddess Yan?”

“Considering what?” Yan Wei shrugged. “We’re all still students. Early romance violates school rules.”

Even setting that aside, the class monitor—a polite, shy, and earnest boy—hadn’t caught her attention seven years ago, and he certainly wouldn’t now, seven years later.

“Goddess Yan truly is a model student,” Zhou Xiaoxiao laughed. “So, does that mean you won’t date anyone before graduation?”

Yan Wei hummed in agreement.

Just as she finished speaking, Jiang Youyi, who had disappeared earlier, suddenly walked past her, holding a bottle of cola and sipping as she went.

So, she had gone to buy water.

That meant Jiang Youyi had likely overheard the conversation Yan Wei just had with Zhou Xiaoxiao.

At that moment, the class monitor, who had already walked away, returned. Blushing, he handed Yan Wei a bottle of mineral water. “It’s unopened.”

Yan Wei smiled at the class monitor. “Really, there’s no need, Monitor. I have some. Keep it for yourself.”

With that, she called out to Jiang Youyi, “Youyi, pass me the water.”

Jiang Youyi had been secretly observing from a few steps away. Caught off guard by Yan Wei’s sudden call, she instinctively handed over the bottle of cola she had just been drinking.

By the time she realized something was off, it was already too late.

Yan Wei took the cola, unscrewed the cap, took a sip, and closed it again—all in one smooth motion.

Jiang Youyi: “!!”