7. The plum, half green and tinged with a hint of yellow.

Page 1/3

“My grandmother’s birthday is today.”
…
Xu Jiarou.
Chen Ze’s first female classmate he met after arriving in Jinmen.
At that time, they were both fifteen years old.
Chen Ze had just finished the second year of middle school before coming to Jinmen. His father had taken him there to visit relatives for the New Year and arranged for him to attend the best public high school in Jinmen at the time.
However, when it came time to transfer his household registration, strict new checks revealed several discrepancies in Chen Ze’s records.
Although resolving the registration and exam scores was manageable, the school enrollment record was a major obstacle.
Since the education committee directly oversaw this matter, to attend that high school, Chen Ze had to have studied in Jinmen from the second year of middle school.
His options were to either repeat the second year or enroll in another school. The school, being responsible, provided an alternative.
Though it wasn’t part of the top-tier schools in Jinmen, it was still a key municipal high school.
That became his alma mater: Huachen No.47 Middle School in Beichen.
When Chen Ze entered the third year, he sat just behind Xu Jiarou, admiring her ponytail for a whole year during the most youthful and innocent period of their lives.
Because he had some naive romantic experiences back in his hometown, he had certain thoughts at the time.
But Xu Jiarou was a top student and disliked discussing anything unrelated to school or studies.
More importantly, Jinmen’s key high schools were not like the ordinary public schools in counties or villages.
If you tried to date or cause trouble here, you’d be in serious trouble.
At that time, Chen Ze was still afraid of his father, as he was something of a left-behind child. His father was strict and scary, naturally making Chen Ze dread any calls home.
Back home, being called by parents was no big deal—it was mostly his grandparents who came, and he would just get scolded.
But in Jinmen, being called meant facing his father, who wouldn’t hesitate to punish him harshly.
Later, when he moved from middle school to high school, fate had it that he and Xu Jiarou remained classmates, still sitting one behind the other.
They were both maturing physically.
Of course, Chen Ze had some feelings, but he dared not act on them...
Because the homeroom teacher was Xu Jiarou’s mother.
In the first semester of the second year of high school, he once made Xu Jiarou cry and was moved to the back row after a minor incident involving stepping into the classroom with his left foot.
By the third year, Xu Jiarou moved to the advanced class, and their classmate bond ended there.
Chen Ze’s household registration was settled in Beichen. Though they had a property deed, the house was not yet built, so his father rented an apartment near the school for his mother to take care of him.
Coincidentally, it was in the same community as Xu Jiarou—directly across from her building. He even bought a telescope, though he never saw anything significant through it.
He only knew when she turned off the lights, drew the soft pink curtains, and when she nudged him to go to sleep on QQ.
After class divisions in the third year, he occasionally chatted idly with friends at the school gate, watching her ponytail sway in the morning sun, and handed love letters written to her by others to the homeroom teacher.
Later, a once well-behaved and sensible girl named Li Yao squeezed into his world for reasons of her own.
He treated Li Yao well partly out of spite—a deliberate performance.
“See how happy you’d be as my girlfriend…”
As the third year’s workload increased, his deliberate conversations at the school gate were eventually stopped. He found himself counting the stones along the edge of the path in the pale early spring dawn.
In the second semester of the third year, he received an offer from Northeast University, but he felt out of place among his classmates.
That year was the best year for his relationship with Xu Jiarou, but also the busiest, to the point he sometimes skipped school.
By the time he had free moments, the college entrance exams were already counting down…
After graduation, classmates parted ways, and Li Yao replaced the feelings of youthful innocence that Chen Ze once had.
Later, Chen Ze worked in Yanjing and heard that Xu Jiaxin also stayed in Yanjing and had joined the Douyin Group.
Shortly before his rebirth, he heard she was getting engaged at year’s end, her fiancé a doctoral student.
How wonderful.
“What are you doing… staring at me like that?”
Lu Jingzheng slowly stepped back as the train headed in the opposite direction from Chen Ze, and the glaring sunlight gradually faded.

Page 2/3

“Oh…”
Chen Ze snapped out of his daydream and quickly grabbed his water bottle to hide his awkwardness. He blurted out jokingly:
“It’s grandmother’s birthday—I almost forgot.”
Xu Jiarou, initially a little unnerved by his gaze, instinctively lowered her eyes and rolled them upon hearing this.
What a thing to say.
Someone who doesn’t reply on QQ and has moved away as if she’s forgotten her grandmother’s birthday.
Two years apart, he really had changed a lot.
Chen Ze took a sip of water to ease the awkwardness, deftly tightened the bottle cap, smiled, and asked:
“How old is grandma turning this year?”
“Eighty-eight.”
He hadn’t changed.
Still making jokes at her expense.
“Eighty-eight, the grand longevity celebration. It must be a big event. I still remember grandma’s tofu—it was exceptional, so delicious.”
Hearing this, Xu Jiarou’s eyes darkened slightly, then she looked up and burst into laughter:
“Wasn’t that the time you threw up?”
“Did I throw up?”
Chen Ze remembered—he had.
He had eaten something called salted egg tofu, a specialty from her hometown, thinking it was just plain tofu.
He took a few bites and felt something was off.
Later he learned it was brought over by the old lady when she first came to Jinmen, stored in a jar and never eaten. Chen Ze, coming over for tutoring, didn’t hesitate to eat it.
Maybe he should have sniffed and tasted first, then eaten with a steamed bun to settle his stomach, but he took several pieces at once…
Xu Jiarou smiled silently at his denial until their eyes met.
The wild grass outside might look beautiful, so she turned to admire the view out the window, clutching her book tighter.
Chen Ze looked at her profile, taking in the face he hadn’t seen in so long.
Though she no longer had a ponytail, her shiny black hair flowed behind her. She wasn’t as mature or poised as in the photos.
She was still a twenty-year-old girl.
Though he didn’t know if someone else had plucked his childhood sweetheart, at least the peach blossom was still fresh and intact.
[Strong longing detected in the host’s desire. Please choose one of two indulgence options.]
[Option 1: Pluck the peach blossom and consume it, giving her a perfect ending and putting a true full stop to youth. Completion rewards: 10 attribute cards.]
[Option 2: Since sixteen-year-old her is the most beautiful, let her remain forever sixteen in memory. Completion rewards: 10 attribute cards.]
The endless summer cicadas will end.
But youthful love never fades.
…
“Tongzi, don’t force me to slap you.”
“Always choosing, choosing, choosing—how presumptuous.”
[Successful hand-holding: 3 attribute cards.]
[Marriage altar: 3 attribute cards.]
[Fruit of love: 3 attribute cards.]
[A lifetime farewell kiss: 1 attribute card.]
[Please enter Stage One within two years; if not completed, rewards will be forfeited.]
Chen Ze knew attribute cards were precious.
If these were miraculous elixirs available to all, selling them to the wealthy would start at a billion.
But before this, he never realized sometimes earning 10 attribute cards could be so easy.
All it took was becoming strangers to her.
Simple—just turn around and walk away.
Yet, he had to admit that both options—Option 1 and Option 2—were questions he had considered, real dilemmas.

Page 3/3

But Tongzi was like a soft persimmon he could squeeze.
Some things can be regained if lost, but some missed chances last a lifetime.
“You’re in America…”
“You’re in Yanjing…”
As the elder brother listened intently, a chorus of voices echoed from nearby, causing him to glance over.
Hey, isn’t this more entertaining than the Spring Festival Gala?
The elder brother realized this kid was simply smitten, trying to woo a girl.
“Are you with her?”
“If you’re not, then I am.”
Listen to that logic.
After understanding, the elder brother wanted to hear how this genius planned to charm the girl, and indeed it was something else.
Though he didn’t quite get his brother’s moves, the girl did respond.
But then something felt off—how did they really know each other? Where did it go wrong?
And the more he watched, the more captivating it became.
Old classmates reunited? Or was there more to the relationship…?
…
“How’s America?”
“Not bad. Learned some things, broadened my horizons, but not much better than back home. What about you? You got into Renmin University, such a good school, yet you don’t even throw a proper dinner.”
Chen Ze twisted open his bottle cap again. Xu Jiarou, slightly distracted, picked up the pig-shaped water bottle from the bedside.
She sucked on the straw with her lovely cherry lips, lowering her eyes and clutching her book tighter with her left hand, murmuring in annoyance:
“I didn’t even know where you moved to…”
Chen Ze was momentarily stunned.
He had been preparing to study abroad since the second year of high school. The apartment was rented, so naturally, he didn’t rent it after graduation.
After starting to date Li Yao, WeChat had become popular, and he stopped using QQ.
Later, after family troubles, he quit gaming, WeChat was more convenient, and with frequent phone upgrades, he never even downloaded QQ again, let alone remembered his account or password.
“You really did throw a dinner? That’s on me. How about I make it up to you with a meal sometime?”
“Make up for what?”
“Wishing you success at Renmin University.”
“Pfft.”
Xu Jiarou laughed, looking at the somewhat matured yet still unruly person before her, and casually said:
“I’ll be finishing my sophomore year soon, going into junior year. If you really cared, why didn’t you do this earlier?”
“Back then, your dinner was probably hosted by your uncles and aunts with many guests, but this time it’s different.”
Chen Ze finished speaking. Xu Jiarou pursed her lips gently, grabbed the pig water bottle again, bit the straw, and asked:
“What’s different?”
“This time, it’s just you and me. We won’t invite anyone else. You eat whatever you want.”
“Are you sure that’s what you said?”
Xu Jiarou closed the bottle cap, raised her head proudly, but quickly lowered it again when she caught sight of the elder brother.
Chen Ze didn’t mind, smiling and added:
“Honestly, since it’s grandma’s birthday today, want to invite me over? I’m free tonight.”
Placing the pig water bottle back on the window sill, the sunlight at that moment was warm and generous. Xu Jiarou blinked her clear, beautiful eyes; two faint dimples appeared on her oval face.
The light chasing the train outside spilled onto her, making her seem dazzling in Chen Ze’s eyes.
“I… welcome you anytime.”