Chapter 052: Destiny

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“The beginning was us singing together, the end is us parting ways, dearest you, like a landscape in a dream, you said you’d leave when the dream ended, but I believe you. The carefree face is my youth, the eyes untouched by time’s anxieties…”

On September 1st, 1997, Binhai No.1 High School welcomed its new students. This year’s intake was particularly outstanding, so the school attached great importance to the occasion. The welcome ceremony was grand and festive, with colorful flags fluttering and banners stretching across the campus.

As the melodies of “Youth Without Regret” by Lao Lang and Ye Bei drifted through the spacious, beautiful grounds, the new students brimmed with excitement—this was the grandeur of a provincial key high school.

“Why haven’t Yang Tian and Huang Juan arrived yet?” Chen Ming and An Qi stood at the school gate, glancing anxiously in all directions.

Chen Ming wore a blue and white checkered shirt and sky-blue jeans, looking fresh and neat, though his old pair of glasses still perched on his nose.

An Qi, meanwhile, had donned a rose-red dress, snowy white socks, and crystal sandals; her two pigtails remained unchanged, lending her a simple innocence.

It was the first day of school. Both were so excited they had taken the school bus at dawn. Yang Tian and Huang Juan’s families had also arrived, yet there was still no sign of the two. A sense of worry hung in the air—they knew Yang Tian and Huang Juan had come by motorcycle, and couldn’t help but fear something might have happened on the road.

“We should have made them take Ergou’s minibus instead—those two kids…” Yang Tian’s mother, Li Xiuying, said anxiously.

“Exactly! It’s enough to make someone worry to death!” Huang Juan’s mother, Zhong Hehua, agreed.

“It’s just that Huang Juan gets carsick! Don’t worry, they’ll be fine. I trust Yang Tian’s judgment.” Huang Biao, sporting a protruding belly, tried to reassure everyone. That summer, following Yang Tian’s advice, he had gone to the city to discuss the industrialization of jujubes with Zhong Bangcai and Zhong Qian. To his surprise, the venture succeeded, and now every harvest, all he had to do was deliver the jujubes to the food factory to receive a generous payment.

“They’re here! Look!” After a moment, Yang Xueling exclaimed in delight. She, too, was supposed to report to school that day, but had pleaded with her parents to let her go in the afternoon so she could play in the city and see Yang Tian off.

She wore a pink dress, her bare feet slipped into little sandals, and she clutched a handful of White Rabbit candies.

Zhang Xinyu had wanted to come as well, but with her parents away on business, she had to stay obediently at home.

“Xiaotian, Xiaojun, what took you so long? And… what happened to your hair?” As Yang Tian drove up with Huang Juan on the back of his motorcycle, Yang Bao first let out a sigh of relief, then suddenly cried out in surprise—both had new haircuts, Yang Tian with a classic crew cut, and Huang Juan’s hair curled.

“Did you get into a fight? What’s with the hair…” Huang Biao was utterly confused.

“It looks terrible, doesn’t it? We just came from the salon. I told him not to, but Xiaotian insisted!” Seeing everyone’s astonished expressions, Huang Juan, wearing a black ruffled dress and sporting her elegant curls, grew nervous.

“Why did you do your hair? What happened to your nice, normal style?” Zhong Hehua stroked her daughter’s head, her face full of concern.

“I remember that girl Zhong Qian had a similar style, didn’t she? It’s so trendy!” Huang Biao clicked his tongue in admiration.

“No, I think it looks great! Sister Xiaojun’s hair looks like instant noodles, and brother’s like a loaf of bread!” Only Yang Xueling burst out laughing, and soon everyone joined in.

“An Qi, does it look terrible?” Huang Juan pinched Yang Xueling’s nose, then turned nervously to An Qi.

“Not at all, it’s really fashionable—this style is all the rage this year!” An Qi replied with envy. Getting such a haircut cost dozens of yuan; her family couldn’t afford it.

“Yes, your style is like Maggie Cheung’s, and Yang Tian looks like Andy Lau!” Chen Ming laughed as well.

“Maggie who, Andy who! Look at this hair—doesn’t look like a student at all!” Li Xiuying touched Yang Tian’s head with a wry smile.

“What do you know? This is keeping up with the times! They’re not kids anymore; young people should look like young people!” Now that he realized Yang Tian and Huang Juan had done this on purpose, Yang Bao’s worries vanished and he burst out laughing.

High school registration was more formal and straightforward than junior high. There were ten classes in the first year, so ten large tables were set up in front of the teaching building, each with a homeroom teacher seated behind it, and a bright red banner indicating Class One, Class Two, and so on, making it easy for students to find their class.

Yang Tian and his friends quickly found theirs. To his surprise, he, Huang Juan, Chen Ming, and An Qi were all assigned to the same class—Class Eight—and their homeroom teacher was none other than Bao Yuehong.

As they approached the registration table for Class Eight, Bao Yuehong greeted them with a beaming smile. Yang Tian immediately understood—Bao Yuehong must have had a hand in this. The classes were supposedly assigned by academic performance, but before the final roster was confirmed, she still had the power to adjust some placements.

“Miss Bao!” Huang Juan, Chen Ming, and An Qi greeted her, all excitement. None of them suspected Bao Yuehong’s intervention; to them, it was serendipity, though Yang Tian felt that was fate enough—after all, every encounter is fate.

“You’re all here! Huang Juan, you’ve grown prettier; An Qi and Chen Ming look the same as ever. Yang Tian… seems a bit darker! Got a new hairstyle? What is it, trying to look like Andy Lau or Aaron Kwok?” Bao Yuehong laughed heartily, causing the students nearby to exchange bewildered glances—what was the relationship between these four and the homeroom teacher, to be chatting so freely on the first day?

The students of Class Eight were even more curious. When they heard that the boy in front of them was Yang Tian, who had scored a remarkable 671 points and ranked first in the class, admiration instantly appeared on their faces.

“But he really does sing Andy Lau’s songs well; yesterday he sang ‘Fate in the Next Life’ for me—it was so good, so moving!” Overcome with excitement at seeing familiar faces, Huang Juan accidentally let slip their “little secret”—that when they were alone, Yang Tian often sang to her.

The moment the words left her lips, she regretted it, standing there blushing furiously.

“Oh, so Yang Tian is romantic, singing love songs now? Not bad!” Bao Yuehong gave Yang Tian a knowing look, smiling.

“You sing love songs together all the time, do you?” Chen Ming and An Qi teased, making Huang Juan even more embarrassed. She quickly smacked An Qi on the arm, exclaiming, “Stop it, you’re being ridiculous!”

“Singing well is no bad thing—there’s a singing competition at No.1 High every year. Yang Tian, get ready to win a prize!” Bao Yuehong smiled wisely, swiftly filled out their registration forms, and directed them to pay tuition and collect their textbooks.

As they joked and laughed, Yang Tian just shook his head with a smile, offering no explanation. Now that he was in high school, he no longer wanted to just sing love songs to Huang Juan in secret—he wanted to sing them to her in public as well.

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