novelraw Chapter 52
Chapter 52
Chapter 52 From the moment Shen Liang finished his speech until all the students of Class Six had gradually left the sports field, Qin Qing, sitting in the front row, hadn’t uttered a single word.
Wen Yufeng, sitting next to her, didn’t rush her. He just quietly leaned back in his chair, waiting for her to finish her thoughts.
When Qin Qing finally snapped out of her reverie, the vast sports field was almost completely empty, with only a few scattered people remaining in the distance.
“Oh, sorry…” Qin Qing quickly turned to him. “I was lost in thought. Did I waste your time?”
“I’m not in a hurry to leave, it’s fine.”
Wen Yufeng responded, then looked up. “What were you thinking about?”
Qin Qing hesitated for a moment. “I was thinking about whether I should choose the arts or the sciences…”
After a brief pause, Qin Qing looked at Wen Yufeng. “Do you think I should choose science?”
Wen Yufeng didn’t answer immediately. He pondered for a couple of seconds before looking off into the distance.
Across the large sports field, the empty spectator stands on the other side seemed to block all possible paths, leaving no way out.
Wen Yufeng retracted his gaze.
“I remember you telling me that you enjoy the challenge of solving difficult math problems and finding the most efficient or innovative methods, but you also like the satisfaction that comes after memorizing long passages in Chinese or political studies.”
Qin Qing thought back to the time when they first walked to school together in the morning; it was something she had said to encourage Wen Yufeng to study harder.
Qin Qing nodded. “I’ve never had a clear preference or aversion. All subjects seem to me like barriers of different heights—once I get over them, I feel a sense of accomplishment. But as for which subject I’m most drawn to… I’ve never really distinguished.”
“Then you should think about it, consider it carefully.”
Wen Yufeng suggested, “You still have a few days before you have to choose a stream. That should be enough time for you to think this through.”
“…”
Qin Qing hesitated for a few seconds.
Wen Yufeng frowned. “If you have something to say, just say it. You don’t need to hold back with me.”
Qin Qing asked, “Don’t you think… that since I have a clear advantage in science, I should choose the science stream?”
Wen Yufeng chuckled softly.
“Is it hard for you to excel in any subject?”
“…” Although Qin Qing knew he wasn’t intentionally complimenting her, she couldn’t help but blush.
She firmly shook her head.
“Exactly. Since you have the ability to choose, why limit your options to just one path and force yourself to go all in?”
Wen Yufeng smiled as he brushed a strand of hair from her forehead. “Besides, making something you’re not good at into something you excel at isn’t as difficult as people think; it just takes effort. But turning something you don’t like into something you love…”
He sighed, looking at her with a soft smile. “That’s much harder.”
“Love and dislike are things that can’t be forced.”
After Wen Yufeng finished speaking, Qin Qing was silent for a long time.
Then she looked up, her eyes slightly bright, and said to Wen Yufeng, “You’re right. It might be a bit difficult to turn something you’re not good at into something you’re good at, but it’s impossible to turn something you don’t like into something you love.”
“Then there’s only one question left,” Wen Yufeng said. “What is it that you truly love?”
“…”
Qin Qing furrowed her brows, unable to answer.
Wen Yufeng said, “Or let me put it another way. If you were to enter the workforce right now, what kind of job or lifestyle would you most aspire to?”
This time, Qin Qing didn’t hesitate. She blinked and said, “Writing.”
“…”
Wen Yufeng was taken aback for a moment. Then, after a pause, a slight smile appeared on his lips. “I didn’t know you liked writing.”
Qin Qing nodded, her eyes shining. “I really love reading, especially mystery novels. I started writing in middle school, and I have a lot of notebooks disguised as regular ones at home that are actually filled with handwritten stories…”
But as she continued, her voice grew softer. “But my mom doesn’t like me writing stories. She says it’s a waste of time… I used to write during class in middle school, but since I started rushing to catch up with you guys in high school, I haven’t written in a long time…”
Seeing her spirits dampen, Wen Yufeng asked, “And now? Even after all this time, do you still want to write?”
“Of course I do—I’ve wanted to for a long time!”
Her voice unconsciously rose, and when she realized she had overreacted, she blushed and lowered her voice again.
“The last time I wrote anything was in my third year of middle school. I was writing a story during math class, and my math teacher at the time caught me… he tore out several pages, and it broke my heart. And before that, I…”
Qin Qing began to recount her countless experiences of hiding her stories and outsmarting her mother, Li Jinghe, until the sports committee representative came to urge them to leave. Only then did she suddenly realize—
She had been talking nonstop to Wen Yufeng for several minutes…
“It’s fine,” Wen Yufeng noticed her embarrassment but couldn’t help but chuckle softly. “I like hearing you talk about the things you love.”
Qin Qing was startled and looked up at him.
“Because when I see you smile, I can’t help but feel happy.”
After Wen Yufeng said this, he stood up, not noticing her stunned expression. His gaze wandered into the distance, and when he looked back, he spoke again.
“All right, it’s almost time for lunch, and most people have already left.”
Qin Qing snapped back to reality, puzzled. “Do you have something to do?”
—It sounded as if it was something not meant to be seen.
“Yes, I do.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Wen Yufeng crouched down and patted his shoulder, then turned to her with a smile. “Earlier, you didn’t want me to carry you back because you didn’t want others to see, right?”
He turned his gaze back. “Now that no one’s around, hop on.”
“…”
Qin Qing was silent for two seconds, blinked, and then leaned forward to climb onto his back.
Wen Yufeng carried her and headed toward the exit of the sports field.
“—If you really aspire to write, then choose the arts stream.”
“When I saw you talk about writing just now, it was the first time I saw you show your emotions so openly. Compared to when you talked about math… I think the sense of accomplishment from solving problems doesn’t quite qualify as true passion.”
Wen Yufeng’s voice was low, carrying a rare seriousness.
“Passion should be… knowing that you might stumble on this path, but believing that you can get back up and wanting to keep going.”
Qin Qing paused on his back.
After a moment, she wrapped her arms around his chest and rested her cheek on his shoulder.
She looked off to the side, at the spectator stands that blocked all of her view.
“But can I really choose what I love without considering anything else?”
“…” Wen Yufeng paused, standing still for a few seconds.
A few seconds later, he started walking again. “When I was twelve, my mother passed away.”
Qin Qing was stunned, a wave of panic flashing through her eyes. She quickly tried to straighten up, but before she could move, he pressed her back down.
His deep voice continued,”Before I was twelve, I had many dreams… I wanted to take her to climb mountains and see the sea, to travel the world with her, to do all the things that man couldn’t do with her.”
Wen Yufeng’s dark eyes grew distant as he took a silent breath, slowly and repressively exhaling from his chest.
His thin lips curled slightly, but there was no trace of a smile in his eyes.
“But it wasn’t until she was gone that I understood—the most unpredictable thing in this world is fate, because you never know what will happen in the next second. If you don’t do certain things now, you might never get the chance. And the way to find those things is simple—imagine death coming in the next moment. What would you regret not having done the most?”
“…Because in the face of death, all the pretense and glamorous facades are stripped away, leaving only the bare essence. Whether it’s genuine or fake, true to your heart or just vanity—you can’t escape it.”
Wen Yufeng paused again. After a long while, he turned his face slightly to look at the girl resting her head on his shoulder.
He chuckled softly. “So, Sweetie, don’t worry about the things people tell you to care about. Don’t think about whether the ‘you’ in other people’s eyes lives a glamorous or mediocre life—just ask your own heart.”
“Ask it what it wants to do, how it wants to live… It will give you the answer.”
Wen Yufeng gazed at the blocked spectator stands ahead as if there was nowhere else to look.
But actually, just a slight upward glance would reveal the vast blue sky and white clouds stretching endlessly.
He lowered his eyes with a soft laugh, turning to walk down the steps leading out.
“Follow the answer your heart gives you, Sweetie. Only then, when the time comes, you won’t regret that after all these years, you never truly lived as yourself.”
…
Qin Hao always thought that over time, he had mentally prepared himself well enough, that he had accepted the inevitable day when someone would start eyeing his pretty little sister.
But it wasn’t until today at noon when he saw his little sister being carried out of school by a guy he recognized—someone who made his teeth itch—that Qin Hao realized—
Mental preparation is a sham, fake, unreliable.
—He still really wanted to grab a knife from the car and skin the guy who dared to covet his little sister.
So when Wen Yufeng carried Qin Qing to Qin Hao’s car, the first thing he saw was Qin Hao’s face, which had absolutely nothing to do with the word “friendly.”
Before the two could start glaring daggers at each other, Qin Qing spoke first from Wen Yufeng’s back.
“Second Brother, I sprained my left foot during the sports meet today, and he helped me out.”
Understanding the underlying message from his little cousin, Qin Hao redirected his gaze to her foot, frowning. “Should we go to the hospital for an X-ray?”
Qin Qing frowned. “No need, it’s not that—”
“Just to be safe,” Wen Yufeng cut her off as he gently set her down. “It’s necessary.”
Qin Hao opened the car door, just about to turn back to help Qin Qing in, when he saw the guy hadn’t let go, directly lifting her into the car himself.
Qin Hao: “…”
Forcing himself to look away, he got into the driver’s seat.
“I’ll take you to the hospital.”
“Second Brother, no.” Qin Qing refused without hesitation. “I’m really fine, I don’t want to go.”
After putting her in the car, Wen Yufeng had stepped back.
Hearing their conversation, he leaned against the door and bent down, his dark eyes fixed on the girl.
“Go to the hospital for a check-up.”
“But—”
Qin Qing opened her mouth to say something.
A disapproving look shot from those pitch-black eyes.
“…Listen.”
Qin Qing pursed her lips, taking two seconds before slowly nodding.
Qin Hao: “…”
The steering wheel in the driver’s seat was nearly crushed by someone who was clearly overstimulated by this exchange.