The Joy of Love (3)

Fu Songhua could not find the letter he had hung on the tree and felt sad and lost in his heart, so he finally stopped. After crouching stupidly in the tree for a while, he ultimately climbed down slowly.

When he landed, a faint voice sounded behind him. “Tormenting a school plant and it’s even a famous landscape too. You’re not bad.”

Fu Songhua was taken aback and turned his head hurriedly, only to see two people seated on the steps in front of the cultural and sports building. They looked at him together, like meddling aunts from the neighborhood committee who saw a thief late at night.

Ruan Qingmu and his class monitor.

“What are you guys doing?” he muttered quietly. “Appearing unpredictably like a ghost. Scaring me half to death.”

Ruan Qingmu sat on the steps and didn’t get up. “Not as alarming as you. We’re still on the ground, but you’re already flying high in the sky.”

Qin Yuan beckoned at him. “Come sit here.”

Fu Songhua dawdled over, looked at them hesitantly, and sat down on the ground.

The snow on the steps had been dusted away and it was a little cold to sit on, but none of the boys cared.

Qin Yuan didn’t look at him and suddenly said thoughtlessly, “That’ young husband and wife for a lifetime’ is us.”

Fu Songhua was stunned for a few seconds before it dawned on him suddenly. “Fuck!”

“They’re still there. I tied them up together. The knot is very firm,” Qin Yuan added. “When the leaves fell some times ago, I saw them swaying on the treetop.”

Fu Songhua froze for a moment before whispering, “Nothing will last long. The branches will also wither. At that time, it will fall when it breaks off.”

Ruan Qingmu spoke indifferently. “We can hang it up again if it falls. We can still sneakily enter here after graduation. Climbing once every year isn’t a big problem.”

Fu Songhua didn’t say anything.

Ruan Qingmu looked at him. “So, are you worried about Fang Li being alone, or that you guys won’t last long?”

Was that why he came back to the tree late at night, alone, to make sure his confession letter was still there, afraid that that little wish had fallen?

Fu Songhua lowered his head. Only after a long time did he whisper, slightly choked up, “He suffered from having to leave alone in another town. I felt so bad and wanted to accompany him, but he disagreed. He had always been alone… I also wanted to give him more money to bring on the journey, but he also didn’t want it. Why is he so stubborn? If we continue like this, I’m afraid…”

“That’s bullshit! What are you and Fang Li? He’s not even eighteen years old yet. Have you guys got an engagement or had sex?” Ruan Qingmu shouted unkindly. “Since you’re dating, just date properly. Be nice to him now while you still can do it. A lifetime is so long. What’s the point of worrying about longevity now?”

Fu Songhua jumped up with bloodshot eyes under the snowy light. “Of course, there’s a point. I’m not fooling around. I want a lifetime. The problem is that Fang Li and I can’t get into the same university.”

He screamed in despair, “The top-tier capital art schools accept one in tens of thousands. Fang Li said his basic skills weren’t solid enough to get in, so he could only attend a school in a second or third-tier city. As long as he can dance, he’s happy. But what about me? What should I do?”

Qin Yuan frowned. “What nonsense are you speaking? You naturally have to attend the best university you can get into.”

Fu Songhua broke down and held his head. “I don’t want to! I want to get into the same city as him. If not, we will be separated for a whole four years… If I continue pursuing my studies, we will have to be separated for much longer. I can’t do it.”

Ruan Qingmu sneered. “Has Fang Li agreed to this? Are you making assumptions on your own?”

“He’s the one who disagreed. He said if I dared to apply to a bad school to be with him, he would stop going to school and spare me the trouble. You don’t know how stubborn he is when it comes to things!”

“That’s not called stubborn. That’s called making the right choice,” Qin Yuan said calmly. “Fang Li has the right way of thinking.”

“Both of you can say this. Your grades are so good and you can definitely get in together.” Fu Songhua kicked the snow around his feet anxiously. “I don’t believe you guys can be this calm if you have to part.”

Qin Yuan was stunned. “We won’t have this problem.”

That was why his Ruan Ruan studied desperately. He would sneak in here with him to study for a few hours, even on nights when he had just finished his exams. He would always be on his phone talking to himself about exercises, even on weekends when he was off while everyone else was preoccupied with playing games and watching TV.

Although he looked like he studied lazily, he knew he was using all his strength.

Ruan Qingmu was silent for a while before looking up at Fu Songhua. “Parting is naturally something that couldn’t be avoided. Separation isn’t so scary, but giving up is more frightening.”

The joy of love and the pain of parting. There would always be smitten children.

It was the same throughout the ages, whether it was the young woman wading across the river to pick a hibiscus or the contemporary couple amid all the glamor. Love and sorrow, meeting and parting, they were all so common.

How happy they were together, how sad they were when they parted.

But as long as they ran toward each other with all their strength, the reunion after the parting would be even sweeter, making people willing to suffer even if they were torn to pieces.

At that moment of meeting, their bodies trembled as if in their previous life.