Chapter Title: A Girl Named Tang Ruxin
Autumn arrived quietly.
The ginkgo tree near the school gates had begun turning gold once more, its leaves drifting lazily through the afternoon air whenever the wind stirred.
Nearly half a year had passed since Qingyue left.
Long enough for the seasons to change.
Long enough for students to settle into new routines.
Long enough that most people would have moved on.
Lu Yuan hadn't.
Not really.
The letters arrived regularly.
Not every week.
Not always on the same day.
But they always came.
And whenever they did, the entire world seemed a little brighter.
The drawer beside his desk had slowly filled over the months.
Letters.
Photographs.
Postcards.
Pressed flowers carefully tucked between notebook pages.
Each one preserved with almost excessive care.
Sometimes, on difficult nights when his parents' arguments shook the walls of the house, Lu Yuan would take them out and read them again.
Not because he had forgotten their contents.
He knew many of them by heart.
But because seeing Qingyue's handwriting made the loneliness easier to bear.
It reminded him that somewhere far away, she still remembered him.
And for now—
that was enough.
School remained ordinary.
Classes.
Assignments.
Exams.
The endless cycle continued.
Lu Yuan had changed over the past few months.
Not dramatically.
But noticeably.
He was taller.
More composed.
Less nervous.
The timid child who once flinched whenever someone raised their voice had gradually learned how to hide his reactions.
Most students left him alone.
He wasn't unpopular.
Nor was he particularly popular.
He simply existed on the edges of most social circles.
Watching.
Listening.
Speaking only when necessary.
Many of his classmates assumed he preferred solitude.
In reality, he simply found most conversations exhausting.
None of them felt as easy as talking to Qingyue had.
One afternoon during mathematics class, the teacher called students to the board one by one.
Several groaned immediately.
A few attempted to avoid eye contact.
The teacher ignored them all.
"Lu Yuan."
He stood.
Collected the chalk.
Solved the problem.
Returned to his seat.
Simple.
Efficient.
Without fanfare.
The teacher nodded approvingly.
Several students looked mildly impressed.
Lu Yuan barely noticed.
As he sat down, his gaze drifted automatically toward the window.
The sky was unusually clear today.
For a moment, he wondered if Qingyue could see the same clouds from her city.
The thought came naturally now.
Like breathing.
It happened later that afternoon.
The final bell rang.
Students immediately began packing their belongings.
The classroom filled with conversation and movement.
Lu Yuan finished organizing his books and stood.
A folded worksheet landed on his desk.
He blinked.
Then looked up.
A girl stood beside him.
Around his age.
Long dark hair tied neatly behind her head.
Bright, intelligent eyes.
A confident posture that suggested she rarely doubted herself.
"I think this belongs to you."
She held out the paper.
Lu Yuan looked down.
His name was written neatly across the top.
Apparently he had dropped it during class.
"...Thank you."
The girl smiled.
"It looked important."
He accepted it.
She nodded once and turned away.
The encounter lasted less than a minute.
By the time he left the classroom, he had already stopped thinking about it.
Three days later, he saw her again.
The school library was unusually quiet.
Rain clouds had gathered outside, dimming the sunlight filtering through the windows.
Lu Yuan sat alone near the back shelves, reading.
Or trying to.
His attention drifted repeatedly toward the letter folded inside his notebook.
The newest one.
It had arrived yesterday.
He had already read it six times.
Maybe seven.
A chair scraped softly nearby.
He glanced up.
The same girl.
She settled at a nearby table surrounded by books nearly as tall as she was.
For the next hour, she barely moved.
Reading.
Writing notes.
Occasionally frowning at something in her textbook.
Her concentration was absolute.
Unbroken.
The sight reminded him unexpectedly of Qingyue painting in the art room.
The same focus.
The same determination.
The comparison vanished almost immediately.
The two girls were nothing alike.
Still—
the memory lingered.
A week later, their paths crossed again.
And then again.
Not because either sought the other out.
The school simply wasn't large enough to avoid familiar faces forever.
He noticed she was usually surrounded by people.
Classmates frequently approached her for help.
Teachers seemed to trust her.
Even older students greeted her occasionally.
She handled every interaction with effortless confidence.
The complete opposite of him.
The first actual conversation happened because of rain.
A sudden downpour trapped students beneath the covered walkways after school.
Groups formed quickly.
Friends gathered together.
Conversations filled the space.
Lu Yuan stood slightly apart from everyone else.
Watching rainwater stream across the pavement.
Thinking.
The familiar ache of another letterless week lingered quietly in his chest.
"You're going to get soaked if you stay there."
The voice interrupted his thoughts.
He turned.
The girl stood beside him holding a large blue umbrella.
Up close, she seemed surprisingly approachable despite her confident appearance.
"Do I know you?" he asked.
The question slipped out before he could stop it.
The girl blinked.
Then laughed.
A genuine laugh.
Not mocking.
Just amused.
"You dropped your homework last week."
Recognition appeared slowly.
"...Oh."
Her smile widened.
"I'm Tang Ruxin."
He nodded.
"Lu Yuan."
"I know."
That surprised him.
Tang Ruxin tilted her head.
"We've attended the same school for years."
"...Oh."
There was a brief pause.
Then she laughed again.
"Do you only know how to say 'oh'?"
For the first time in months, Lu Yuan looked genuinely embarrassed.
The rain continued falling around them.
Heavy.
Steady.
The kind that showed no signs of ending anytime soon.
Tang Ruxin glanced outside.
Then back at him.
"Are you waiting for someone?"
The question was casual.
Innocent.
But it struck harder than she intended.
For a moment, Lu Yuan saw another image entirely.
A girl standing beneath a ginkgo tree.
Smiling.
Calling his name.
The memory passed quickly.
Leaving behind only emptiness.
"No."
The answer came quietly.
Too quietly.
Something flickered across Tang Ruxin's expression.
Not curiosity.
Not pity.
Concern.
She didn't ask further.
Instead, she simply lifted the umbrella slightly.
"Want to share?"
Lu Yuan hesitated.
Then nodded.
"...Thank you."
The walk wasn't remarkable.
They talked about school.
Teachers.
Assignments.
Nothing important.
Yet Tang Ruxin discovered something unexpected.
Lu Yuan was much easier to talk to than she had imagined.
And much lonelier.
Not obviously.
Not openly.
But enough that she noticed.
Meanwhile, Lu Yuan learned something too.
Tang Ruxin talked far more than Qingyue.
And unlike Qingyue, she expected answers.
Real answers.
Not just nods.
It was strangely exhausting.
And strangely interesting.
That evening, after returning home, Lu Yuan opened Qingyue's newest letter.
A photograph slipped into his hands.
Qingyue smiling beneath city lights.
Happy.
Bright.
Familiar.
Immediately, the lingering thoughts of Tang Ruxin faded into the background.
Not forgotten.
Simply less important.
Because despite meeting new people.
Despite time continuing forward.
The center of his world remained unchanged.
A girl in another city.
A drawer full of letters.
And a promise written months ago.
I won't forget you.
For now—
that was enough.