Chapter Twenty: She Remains the Same

“Tomorrow at eight o’clock sharp, Xiao Qiao will be singing for the first time. Everyone, please try to come—there are so many unknowns ahead.” After leaving the teahouse, Su Tong sent out a microblog post and prepared to head home.

He looked up and was momentarily stunned. He had spent ages searching before he found this place, and now he had no idea where he was. He pulled out his phone, which he had just put away, and opened Baidu Maps.

The map hadn’t even fully loaded when Su Tong’s eyes widened—his phone was out of battery!

He stared blankly at the unfamiliar street, feeling utterly lost. To him, every city and every street looked the same; he hated finding his way. He was certain he’d been here before, but he had no impression of it whatsoever. If there was anything familiar, it was only because every street he passed looked identical.

He hadn’t brought much money today; some had already been spent on taxis while searching for people. He’d promised Xiao Yu and Xiao Xiao to buy two Häagen-Dazs to take home, and wasn’t sure if he had enough left.

“Driver, please take me to the starting station of Bus Route 1 at Jinshi Beach.” With no other options—lost and without a map—Su Tong had to hail another cab.

He’d just settled into the passenger seat and stated his destination. The driver, who looked about thirty, paused and glanced at him oddly, but said nothing and started the car.

After about a hundred meters and a turn, the car stopped.

Su Tong hadn’t even fastened his seatbelt yet. He looked outside and his mouth fell open.

“Ten yuan,” the driver said.

Su Tong’s mind was still blank; he instinctively handed over ten yuan.

Just as he was about to get out, he couldn’t help but ask, “Driver, where are you from?”

“Hunan.” Before the door closed, Su Tong heard the answer.

Staring at the taxi speeding off into the distance, Su Tong sat by the roadside, dazed and dejected, feeling as though he had utterly failed at life, that people were treacherous.

“Hey.” At that moment, as Su Tong sat on the curb with his head down, he saw a pair of red platform sneakers appear in front of him. He looked up and said irritably, “Why is it you?”

Standing before him was a tall girl with very fair skin, wearing black-framed glasses with red temples. Her appearance was pure and delicate, strikingly beautiful.

Despite her gentle looks, she was actually quite eccentric—a goddess with a quirky streak, and Su Tong’s high school classmate.

“What’s wrong? It’s not unusual that you haven’t been in touch since graduation, but you’ve been in Yandu for a year and now you’re colder than ever, keeping everyone at arm’s length.” Gao Litong complained, plopping down beside Su Tong.

Still lost in the shadow of failure, Su Tong absentmindedly asked, “Didn’t your family move to the development zone? Why are you back in Jinzhou District?”

Gao Litong snatched the flyer from Su Tong’s hand, lifted herself up, stuffed the flyer under her seat, and sat down again.

Su Tong, half out of it, noticed that a corner of Gao Litong’s skirt was trapped beneath her. Before she settled, he reached out and tugged it free.

Gao Litong jumped, startled.

“Su Tong, you…” Her face flushed crimson.

Su Tong was momentarily confused, but shrugged it off. “Such a miser. Back then, if you’d asked me for help, I wouldn’t have given it.”

Gao Litong’s cheeks burned. “Su Tong, you’ve changed. After a year in Yandu, I didn’t expect you’d turn so bad.”

Su Tong sighed, “Don’t mention it. Do you have ten yuan? Lend me some. I promised my sisters I’d buy them ice cream. That lousy driver—he took me for a hundred meters and charged me…”

Gao Litong paused, then burst into laughter, her smile so bright it made her tiger tooth visible—a feature she tried to hide by pursing her lips, making her smiles even more charming.

“I wondered why you got out of the car so quickly…” Gao Litong was genuinely amused. She’d been close behind Su Tong earlier. His poor sense of direction was legendary in high school—not just in their class, but in the whole school.

“What’s so funny? Everyone’s got their quirks. That tiger tooth of yours is a flaw, so ugly,” Su Tong retorted.

Gao Litong immediately stopped laughing and huffed, “Nonsense. Lots of people say it’s cute. Some wish they had one.” Although she said this, she didn’t really like her tiger tooth herself.

Their playful banter quickly rekindled their familiarity. As they talked, Gao Litong saw Su Tong in a new light. If he’d always been so easygoing and witty, who knows how many good girls he might have charmed away.

“Rich kid, ten yuan—are you going to give it or not?” Finally, Su Tong reached out, eager to hurry home and buy ice cream for Xiao Yu and Xiao Xiao, then cook dinner.

“Here.” Gao Litong could tell Su Tong was about to leave and felt a twinge of disappointment as she took her wallet from her bag.

He was handsome—what girl wouldn’t like him? Especially now, as Su Tong had become even more attractive, his aura completely changed from before.

It was a confidence and talent that seemed to contain a whole world, mysterious and vast, making others want to explore it.

“Will you come back to Haibin after graduation?” Gao Litong couldn’t help but ask before they parted. She was also in university, but studying locally. She was her family’s only precious daughter, and her parents wouldn’t let her apply to out-of-town schools.

If she applied to a university outside the city, her family worried she’d be lured away by outsiders and wouldn’t return after graduation.

Studying locally, with more local students, meant the risk of being lured away was much lower.

“Of course.” Su Tong looked at this street—though, to him, it was as monotonous as any other, but because it was his hometown, it felt uniquely familiar and special. “How could I not? The world outside isn’t as amazing as people imagine. Even if it’s wonderful, it’s never home. Our Haibin City is famous throughout the Great Qin Empire; it’s as good as anywhere else.”

“Mm.” Gao Litong was delighted, and seemed to summon all her courage to say, “Remember, you… have to pay me back.”

Su Tong was surprised. “I said you were stingy, and you really are. It’s just ten yuan. I remember your father is one of the least scrupulous real estate developers, exploiting our hard-earned money—can’t even spare ten yuan for me. Anyway, I’ve got your number now; I’ll top up your phone credit someday. I won’t forget.”

Gao Litong’s cheeks flushed again. She stamped her foot and shouted, “Go away! I don’t want to see you again.”

Her voice quavered with tears as she ran off.

Su Tong scratched his head. Just now they’d been chatting comfortably—she was fine then, so why not now? Clearly, it was just a joke.

After Gao Litong left, Su Tong caught the bus home, then bought two small tubs of Häagen-Dazs at the village supermarket and hurried back.

“Brother, ice cream!” Xiao Xiao exclaimed, delighted as she took the Häagen-Dazs.

“Brother, are we going to sing somewhere else now?” Xiao Yu knew what Su Tong had been up to that afternoon, and asked while licking her ice cream.

“Yes, tomorrow night will be the last at Cool Cool, then we’ll rest a few days and move on to a new place.” Su Tong smiled, always full of vigor, giving Xiao Yu endless energy.

“Starting tonight, brother will…” Su Tong began, but Xiao Xiao spooned him a bite of ice cream, standing on tiptoe to offer it to his lips.

Meanwhile, fans of Nian Nu Jiao were in an uproar, abuzz with excitement.

The spark was the microblog post he’d sent that afternoon.