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In the evening, Lin He brought a glass of milk to Lin Zhe Xia before bed. She knocked on the door and softly said: “Xia Xia, are you doing homework? I’m coming in.”
Lin Zhe Xia replied: “Come in, I’m reading a book—”
Lin He opened the door and entered. She had been sleeping early recently and was already feeling a bit drowsy at this hour.
But she still mustered her energy and asked with concern: “Did you tell your teacher about withdrawing from the competition?”
Lin Zhe Xia took the milk: “No.”
Lin He: “Why not? Are you too shy, or are you afraid the teacher won’t agree?”
“Neither.”
She shook her head and said, “I want to try again.”
Because when she was about to give up, someone told her they believed she could do it.
So, she wanted to give it another shot.
After drinking a few sips of milk, Lin Zhe Xia thought about her earlier conversation with Chi Yao.
—No one thinks you’re incapable.
—Only you think so.
…
It was just a speech competition. So many people participated, and if others could do it, so could she.
Lin Zhe Xia often made impulsive decisions like this, so Lin He didn’t press her further about why she suddenly changed her mind.
But since her daughter had decided to go through with it, she naturally encouraged her: “No matter the outcome, participation is what matters most. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself.”
Lin Zhe Xia hummed in acknowledgment: “You should go to sleep soon. I’ll read for a bit and then sleep too.”
That night, she didn’t sleep very well.
After all, thinking about the competition added to her psychological burden.
She had a dream where she was captured by a group of monsters, and these monsters forced her to give a speech on stage.
In her dream, she performed exceptionally fluently.
But then the monster leader said: “You spoke very well. Give us another speech to listen to.”
…
When she woke up, she rubbed her head, feeling a bit of a headache.
It was 9:00 in the morning.
After quickly freshening up, she made some final edits to her script.
Just as she was hesitating between practicing at home or going to Chi Yao’s house, someone called her name from downstairs: “Big Sis Xia—”
It was He Yang’s voice.
She walked over to the window, leaned out, and looked down to see He Yang and Chi Yao standing side by side below.
Chi Yao squinted his eyes against the sun. It seemed he found He Yang standing too close, so he stepped aside.
He Yang tilted his head back, cupping his hands around his mouth like a megaphone, and his voice echoed up from below: “Big Sis Xia, we need you! Come down!”
This way of calling her name instantly brought her back to her childhood.
Back then, electronic devices weren’t as popular as they were now, and she didn’t have a phone. The activity she did most often was shouting for people to come downstairs and play.
“What is it?” Lin Zhe Xia came downstairs, her hair loose.
“Let’s go,” He Yang said to her. “To Big Brother Yao’s house. We’ve prepared a surprise for you.”
Lin Zhe Xia: “?”
He Yang: “Come on.”
Lin Zhe Xia eyed him suspiciously: “Are you sure it’s a surprise? Why are you preparing something for me? Unsolicited kindness usually hides ulterior motives.”
He Yang: “You’ll know when you get there.”
Lin Zhe Xia followed the two of them to Chi Yao’s house.
Not long after she entered, there was a knock on the door. A tall person wearing black-rimmed glasses walked in: “Big Brother Yao, I’m here.”
Within thirty seconds,
Another person walked in.
“I’m here too, I’m here too!”
“And me—I had something to take care of on the way. We agreed on 9:20, right? I’m not late, am I?”
“Me, me, me, me—I’m here too!”
“…”
More and more people arrived.
Soon, Chi Yao’s living room was packed.
The sofa was full, and those who couldn’t sit crowded around, forming two or three rows.
Most of the visitors were peers from the neighborhood—it was the weekend, so everyone had free time.
Among the crowd, there was even a child.
The child held a lollipop, staring at her wide-eyed, innocently shouting: “Hello, Big Sister!”
Lin Zhe Xia’s expression cracked: “Whose kid is this?”
“This is my cousin,” He Yang said. “Er Ya, come here, sit next to your big brother.”
He Yang explained: “Big Brother Yao said to gather more people. My cousin happened to be at my house, so I brought him along. Don’t look down on him just because he’s only five—he can already understand what people say. Listening to your speech shouldn’t be a problem for him.”
Lin Zhe Xia wondered if she had misheard: “Listening to my… speech?”
He Yang: “Yes, aren’t you participating in the competition? The one with a large audience. How’s that for dedication? We’re here to rehearse for you. Look at our numbers—we’ve got strength in numbers. After rehearsing with us, you’ll definitely be able to handle such a large audience.”
Lin Zhe Xia: “…”
Creative.
Who came up with such a creative idea?
She almost applauded.
He Yang, full of anticipation, asked: “When does your speech start?”
Lin Zhe Xia scanned the room full of people, her gaze finally landing on the most prominent figure among them—Chi Yao sat in the center of the couch, seemingly surrounded by everyone. Everyone else sat stiffly, but he appeared relaxed, casually scrolling through his phone.
When he looked up again, their eyes met.
“Let’s start now,” though the scene was absurd, Lin Zhe Xia had to admit it was a great practice opportunity. “Get ready—I’m starting my speech.”
After she finished speaking, Chi Yao casually put his phone away.
Then, as the initiator of this creative idea, he displayed his leadership.
He leaned back, lazily clapping his hands once.
Following his lead, others began to clap, and soon, the living room erupted in thunderous applause.
Lin Zhe Xia was momentarily speechless, then cleared her throat and began her speech without the script: “Hello, everyone. The topic of my speech is ‘youth.’”
As soon as she finished speaking, someone turned their head and asked: “Big Brother Yao, should we cheer for her here?”
Chi Yao nodded slightly: “Sure.”
The crowd in the living room immediately burst into enthusiastic cheers.
As soon as she announced the topic, loud voices erupted: “Great! Well said!”
“This opening—so fluent!”
“As soon as I heard it, I knew Big Sister Xia was a top contender for the speech competition.”
“…”
Mixed in with the cheers was the innocent applause of He Yang’s five-year-old cousin: “Big Sister, your Mandarin is so standard!”
…
“You guys, quiet down.”
Lin Zhe Xia paused and said, “The audience during the actual competition won’t be as noisy as you. I’m competing in the school auditorium, not a chicken farm.”
He Yang: “What if everyone is so impressed by your speech that they can’t help but cheer? You need to adapt to such unexpected situations. Learn how to remain calm and composed amidst the applause.” He turned to seek validation: “Big Brother Yao, don’t you think so?”
Chi Yao didn’t respond to him: “That situation you described is unlikely to happen.”
Lin Zhe Xia: “…”
In the end, Lin Zhe Xia rehearsed her speech four or five times in front of this group.
Maybe it was her imagination, but today, she didn’t stumble as much as she did yesterday.
The words on the paper seemed to leave the page and effortlessly flow out of her mouth.
Just yesterday, she was on the verge of telling Old Xu she wanted to quit.
He Yang stayed at Chi Yao’s house for nearly an hour and a half. After the crowd dispersed, he prepared to head home.
But halfway, he realized he had forgotten his phone, so he turned back.
“I left something.” He Yang found his phone on the couch.
Just as he was about to leave, He Yang remembered that his mom seemed to be gearing up for another argument with his dad before he left, so he sat back down on the couch: “I’ll sit for a bit longer before leaving.”
Chi Yao didn’t react, tidying up the coffee table that had been messed up by the crowd: “Suit yourself.”
He Yang: “I’ve been meaning to ask—when did you get your ear pierced? I was staring at your ear for a while just now.”
Chi Yao didn’t speak.
He Yang: “You’re already handsome enough. Can you leave some room for the rest of us? If you go to school like that, everyone will go crazy—”
“I don’t know if they’ll go crazy,” Chi Yao said. “But I think you’re pretty crazy today.”
He Yang was used to his way of speaking and couldn’t help but touch his own ear: “What do you think if I get one? I think I’d suit it too, right?”
Chi Yao didn’t lift his head: “Go look in the mirror.”
He Yang: “…”
After a while, He Yang mentioned the rehearsal earlier: “I never expected Big Sister Xia to participate in a competition.”
Mentioning Lin Zhe Xia opened the floodgates for him.
“Speaking of which, didn’t we ride to school together this morning? There was a classmate of mine on the bus who greeted me a few days ago, saying they’d seen me on the bus.”
“He also asked about the pretty girl next to me. It took me a while to realize he was talking about Big Sister Xia. In that moment, I realized that after knowing her for so many years, I had forgotten her gender.”
At this point, He Yang sighed: “I never expected Big Sister Xia to be quite popular. But rest assured, I didn’t give him your contact information.”
“This classmate even asked if I had a crush on her—it scared me, like my hairs stood on end,” He Yang said. “How could that be? She’s my childhood buddy. Am I crazy? With so many girls in the world, even if I liked someone, it wouldn’t be Big Sister Xia. You agree, right?”
The more He Yang thought about this hypothetical scenario, the scarier it became: “Tsk, how awkward would that be? We’d probably have to break off our friendship. What was once a good brotherhood would be ruined.”
Chi Yao listened silently, not saying a word.
But his hand paused while tidying the coffee table.
He Yang moved from one topic to another, switching quickly.
Just as he was transitioning to the next topic, Chi Yao interrupted him.
“Are you done sitting?” Chi Yao said. “If you’re done, hurry up and leave.”
He Yang: “Big Brother Yao, you’re so heartless.”
Chi Yao closed his eyes briefly, then opened them: “Leave.”
“Fine, I’ll leave.”
Before He Yang left, he dramatically pointed his finger at Chi Yao: “You hurt my feelings like this, and next time, I won’t come back.”
________________________________________
The rehearsal over the weekend went well, and Lin Zhe Xia felt a slight sense of relief.
The remaining tension would only ease after the competition ended.
On Monday, Tang Shuxuan saw her in good spirits: “I was worried you’d withdraw from the competition, but it seems you’ve prepared quite well.”
Lin Zhe Xia handed in her homework while replying: “Yeah, I practiced at home all weekend. I did consider backing out, but now I still want to give it a try.”
Tang Shuxuan was happy for her: “That’s good. Just don’t be nervous—there’s still me.”
Initially, Lin Zhe Xia thought she wouldn’t feel nervous.
But the closer it got to the competition day, the less control she had over her anxiety.
The day before the competition, she only managed to eat half a bowl of rice.
Wei Ping anxiously asked: “Why are you eating so little today? Is the food not to your taste? Tell me what you want, and I’ll take you out to eat later.”
Lin Zhe Xia shook her head: “I’m full.”
Her main concern was that if she ate too much, her anxiety might make her nauseous.
Lin He: “The competition is tomorrow, right? Is it in the morning or afternoon?”
Lin Zhe Xia: “Afternoon.”
At 10 p.m., she went to bed on time, preparing to sleep.
She even drank a glass of milk before bed.
However, after enduring a long stretch of wakefulness and admitting she couldn’t fall asleep, she opened her eyes again and saw the time on her phone screen: “11:03.”
The house was quiet—Lin He and Wei Ping had already gone to bed.
Lying in bed, she sighed. Unable to sleep and having nothing else to do, she randomly opened a game.
Her enthusiasm for games came and went quickly. After playing for a while during the holidays, she had quickly set it aside.
She logged in, collected some items, browsed around, and was about to log off when she received a message from a friend.
Little Pig Falling Into Water: ?
Plop: …
Little Pig Falling Into Water: Still awake?
Caught red-handed, Lin Zhe Xia typed back.
Plop: You caught me.
Plop: I secretly logged in to improve my gaming skills.
Plop: I just love the feeling of getting stronger behind my friends’ backs.
Little Pig Falling Into Water: Oh.
Then “Little Pig Falling Into Water” didn’t say anything else.
About two or three minutes later, “Dog Chi” sent a voice call.
“What?” Lin Zhe Xia picked up the call, lowering her voice so as not to disturb Lin He, whispering: “I’m about to sleep.”
Chi Yao mercilessly exposed her: “Coward, can you really fall asleep?”
“…”
Lin Zhe Xia was about to say that given a little more time, she could fall asleep, but the person on the other end of the line spoke again: “I’m downstairs.”
“Now?”
On the other end of the line, besides the familiar voice, there was the faint sound of cicadas chirping.
“Mhm,” he said, “Are you coming down or not?”
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