Chapter 24.4| Spring camping

Xing Xiuze rubbed his nose and nudged Hai's shoulder with his elbow. "Nie Hai."

Hai diverted a fraction of his attention to him, the other nine-tenths focused on the commemorative badge in his hand. It was the 90th-anniversary emblem of FHS, specially designed for the occasion and given to returning alumni as a souvenir, not for sale.

"Let's swap badges," Xiuze suggested.

Hai glanced at the badge Xiuze held, then at his own, looking puzzled. "Is there a difference between these two?"

"If there's no difference, why bother swapping?" Xing Xiuze retorted.

"If there's no difference, why would you want to swap?" Nie Hai countered.

"It symbolizes fighting side by side," Xiuze explained earnestly.

Nie Hai remained silent.

As if timing with a stopwatch, the tug-of-war event concluded with the crowd still lingering, hues of crimson and lavender clinging to the horizon and scattering across the sky.

Yin was lost in thought.

"When you first came to FHS, I visited my grandparents for the first time. You were also watching the sunset," Xu Zhiyi remarked.

Yin recalled, furrowing her brows and pointing at the dusk, "Don't you find it romantic?"

Xu Zhiyi looked at Meng Yin against the backdrop of the twilight. Decades later, they would sit hand in hand on a bench by the lake on the outskirts, feeling the evening breeze on their faces, watching the sun kiss the clouds, painting the sky with lingering light.

Reflecting on that scene, he remarked, "Indeed, it's very romantic."

The group enjoyed a hotpot meal amidst the haze. 

Instead of joining the "foodie group" for hotpot, Xu Zhiyi ate less interaction at night. He managed to finish Xing Xiuze's sushi platter that was delivered at noon. 

Zhiyi left the table earlier than the others and was found by Yin playing the ukulele on a high stool. 

"What are you playing?" 

Xu Zhiyi adjusted the tuning and casually played a few notes. 

"What do you want to hear?" 

"That one you've been listening to often recently." 

Zhiyi smiled, "Unfortunately, I can sing that song but not play it. How about I sing it for you?" 

"Then sing 'Young Battlefield' for me." 

"Can be modified like that?"

Yin raised an eyebrow. 

Zhiyi shrugged, "You requested randomly, so I won't sing it." 

"Hey, Xu Zhiyi, you are quite …" followed Meng Yin as they walked.

The elaborate decorative lights on the platform lit up, and the large group divided into three smaller units, each sitting in circles on the grass. A symbolic fire rack was set up in the middle, with a hanging lamp replacing the bonfire. 

Each smaller unit engaged in activities independently. 

Lin Xipei's gaze wandered before settling on Meng Yin, whispering, "Meng Yin, look, Yu Tang and Wu Xiao are over there." Following Xipei's line of sight, Yin saw the two girls, who also noticed him, nodding and waving in greeting. 

"Do you know them?" 

"Sort of. We shared an exam room during the final, chatted a bit," Yin replied, "I think they can go a long way together." 

The dim lights revealed the two sitting close without any overt affectionate gestures, but it was evident that their hands were intertwined under the cover of their knees. 

"I share the same thought," Xipei averted her gaze, "They have something in common with you two, have you noticed?" 

"What commonality?" 

"When Wu Xiao and Yu Tang are together, no one else can intervene, just like you and Bro Yi." 

Meng Yin turned his head to glance at Xu Zhiyi sitting beside her, and from the side, his eyes sparkled brightly.

A lively individual from a FHS would not miss out on this wonderful night. Singing, dancing, comedic rap, and showcasing various talents were all part of the night, truly broadening everyone's horizons. 

Despite the crowd's insistence, Xu Zhiyi and Xing Xiuze declined to perform another waltz, citing it as a "coming-of-age ceremony exclusive." Unconvinced, the crowd orchestrated a role-playing scenario for the two to act out a romantic relationship. Surprisingly, Xu Zhiyi and Xing Xiuze engaged in the act, with Zhiyi taking on a naive and sweet role after failing to outshine the leading role. 

Even after its conclusion, this role-playing scenario remained a topic of lively discussion among the attendees.

Three circles of tents were set up at the campsite, with the outer two circles designated for male students, team leaders, coaches, and medical staff, while the innermost circle was for female students. Each tent accommodated three people. Xing Xiuze, with his persuasive skills, managed to exchange tents and ended up sharing one with Xu Zhiyi, Nie Hai, Meng Yin, Lin Xipei, and Xu Qing.

Exhausted from a day of activities, Xing Xiuze, who originally intended to chat a bit before sleeping, drifted off to sleep as soon as his head touched the pillow, meeting the Sandman without delay.

When Yin emerged from the tent with a flashlight before dawn, a figure approached from a short distance. 

Zhiyi adjusted Yin's collar and asked, "Feeling cold?" The temperature difference in March was significant, especially in the outskirts. 

"Not cold, I have a heating pad on," Yin replied, touching Xu Zhiyi's hand before taking out an opened heating pad from the left coat pocket, frowning as he fake-angrily said, "Xu Zhiyi, your hands are ice cold, what's going on?" 

"I washed my hands with cold water," Zhiyi explained. 

Yin shook his head, then pulled a red bean bun from the right coat pocket and placed it in Xu Zhiyi's hand. The bun was warm, and Zhiyi asked, "Why is it warm?" 

"You barely ate last night, aren't you hungry?" Yin said, "I used the heating pad to warm it up." She also brought meat floss pastries, but they were difficult to heat. 

"Thanks, comrade," Zhiyi said with a smile. 

The red bean bun was put back in the pocket as Xu Zhiyi held Meng Yin's hand and they walked out, their fingers intertwined, each holding a heating pad in their palms, warmth spreading to every fingertip.

Xu Zhiyi and Meng Yin sat on a bench by the lake. 

Yin sipped soy milk from a thermos with small sips. It was instant, prepared by Xu Zhiyi. Suddenly, Yin was fed a mouthful of a pastry filled with red beans. 

"Don't you like red bean paste?" Yin asked, as she remembered Xu Zhiyi did not dislike it. "Save some space for breakfast later," Xu Zhiyi replied. 

Yin tasted the sweet red bean paste on his tongue and indeed, it was sweet enough.

At any time and place, Xuzhiyi's eating manners are always neat and pleasing to the eye. The piece of bread is not large; he takes a few bites and soon the package is empty, folded a few times and temporarily placed in the pocket. 

In the cool morning light, a faint light squeezes out reluctantly from the dawn, and the horizon knows that the temperature on the skin remains unknown. The two individuals sit in silence, waiting for the golden light to spread and the morning star to rise. 

In the atmosphere of silence that is not lonely, a humming melody fills the air. It starts as just a melody, then turns into a lazy hum. "What I hear when you don't say a thing, the smile on your face lets me know that you..." 

Meng Yin unconsciously smiles, looking at the horizon at the end of the lake, opening Xu Zhiyi's hand, gently scratching his palm. 

This is the song hehas been listening to recently, "When You Say Nothing at All." 

Everything is expressed in silence; when you are close to me, all sound suddenly quiets down, and I am certain that you are the one I desire.