cover the sky

Chapter 5: Li Xiaoman

The alma mater hasn't changed much compared to before, only the people who came and went, leaving an unforgettable memory with four years of youth.

Under the green shade, beside the lawn, some younger students were quietly reading, very harmonious and peaceful. Ye Fan and the others felt like they had returned to the past, away from the restlessness and noise of the past three years.

After graduation, everyone was busy with life and ideals. Apart from Ye Fan and a few others, almost everyone else had left the city for the first time to return to their alma mater.

The small lake nearby was rippling, and the scenery was still the same. They could still clearly remember the scene of those figures, either melancholic or energetic, holding a guitar and singing campus folk songs by the lake.

Even after many years, whenever the melody played, it always reminded people of the carefree and innocent years, the slight melancholy was both sad and sweet, easily touching people's hearts.

The precipitation of time always leaves a slightly sour taste.

But it's unclear whether those people from back then can still hold a guitar and sing. It's hard to find out where they went after graduation.

"I vaguely heard from a friend that the melancholic guitar master from back then is performing at a bar in another city. After a few years, he's gone through a lot."

"Do you still remember the talented and beautiful lead singer from the school band from back then? She's said to be working at a nightclub now."

Everyone could only sigh.

After graduation, many people encountered the clash between their ideals and reality. Sometimes life can be so helpless, making people feel frustrated and lost.

After a brief silence, the group continued to move forward.

At this moment, Lin Jia walked up to Ye Fan.

She was wearing a blue and white chiffon dress that hung above her thighs, accentuating her long and slender legs. A black waist belt wrapped around her waist, making her curves even more alluring. Her long hair flowed down to her ample chest, and her exotic phoenix eyes were slightly upturned, giving her a special aura.

"Why didn't you tell me you had a car yesterday, even though you knew?" she asked.

"I didn't have a chance to," he replied.

"Are you inviting me to ride in your car today?" she asked with a smile.

"I'd be delighted. I formally invite you, Miss Lin," he said, and they both laughed.

Lin Jia's sudden mention of yesterday's incident was abrupt, but she deftly maneuvered around it and did not dwell on it. She did not put on a false front or try to lower herself to gain favor. Instead, she chose to be natural and straightforward.

This subtle change also occurred in some of the other classmates.

Leaving the alma mater around noon, the group arrived at the food street and climbed up to the restaurant.

Wang Ziwen privately invited Ye Fan to join their table, but Ye Fan just smiled and went over to offer a few toasts before sitting back down with the same group from yesterday.

"Ye Fan, I was talking nonsense when I was drunk yesterday, please don't mind. Let me offer you a toast, bottoms up..." The male classmate who had talked about his fiancée being a high-ranking executive in a bank yesterday, and had lectured Ye Fan, was now explaining himself in a low and humble tone.

The female classmate who had talked about her husband being promoted to deputy general manager of the company yesterday had also changed her attitude towards Ye Fan and was now polite.

"Come on, let's all raise our glasses together."

...

Compared to yesterday, the table where Ye Fan was seated was much livelier today, with everyone clinking glasses and people from other tables coming over to offer toasts. Ye Fan naturally refused to back down and drank with everyone, even going over to Wang Ziwen's table to drink with the people there one by one.

Liu Yunzhi was very calm, and even though he was embarrassed yesterday, he showed no sign of anything unusual today, as if nothing had happened.

"Everyone, I received a phone call from across the ocean last night..."

The speaker was Zhou Yi, a very refined young man whose wealthy family background was no secret among their classmates. Yesterday, Wang Ziwen had been waiting outside Hai Shang Ming Yue City to greet him.

Everyone stopped and looked at Zhou Yi, who had always been easy-going, never showing any arrogance or haughtiness in school or afterwards.

During the gathering, there was a buzz among the classmates as Zhou Yi announced that three of their classmates who were studying abroad had already returned to China.

"After graduation, we have all gone our separate ways and have our own different life trajectories. It's not easy for us to come together like this. By the time we meet again, maybe we'll all be parents and have no idea how many years have passed. With three of our classmates returning, I have a proposal to extend this gathering a bit more," Zhou Yi said.

※※※※※

Back home, sipping a cup of light green tea and looking at the wutong tree outside the window, memories came flooding back to Ye Fan's mind.

Those missed opportunities, those departing footsteps, and those roads that gradually grew distant, were just like the wutong leaves that fluttered lightly in front of his eyes.

Li Xiaoman, the name had long faded from Ye Fan's memory.

After graduation, Li Xiaoman went abroad to study. In the first few months, they kept in touch frequently, but as time went on, the emails and phone calls gradually became less frequent and eventually stopped altogether.

Rather than being separated by the ocean, it was more accurate to say they had forgotten each other across the ocean. A relationship that was not approved by their friends had ended as predicted.

Today, from Zhou Yi's mouth, Ye Fan heard that Li Xiaoman was about to return to China. At first, the name felt unfamiliar to him, but he suddenly realized that it had been more than two years.

※※※※※

The gathering was extended to go sightseeing at Mount Tai, with all expenses covered by Wang Ziwen, Zhou Yi, and their friends. While it may have been a significant expense for ordinary people, it was nothing for them.

Three days later, at the foot of Mount Tai, Ye Fan saw the familiar figure once again. Three years had passed, but Li Xiaoman was still graceful and beautiful, without much change.

She stood tall at 170 cm, wearing a pair of sunglasses and letting her long, black hair sway in the wind. She was wearing simple and casual clothes, with shorts that reached above her knees, showing off her fair and slender legs, while her upper body was clad in a cartoon-patterned T-shirt.

Li Xiaoman was undeniably beautiful, with fair and delicate skin, large eyes with long eyelashes, and a lively and confident demeanor, but not at all ostentatious.

She was calmly and confidently chatting with the surrounding classmates, obviously becoming a central figure, but still approachable.

Beside her was a tall young man who, according to introduction, was her American classmate. In contrast to the smooth and gentle features of the Eastern face, he had a typical Western face with high and straight nose, deep-set blue eyes, and slightly curly blond hair, which was considered handsome from the Western aesthetic point of view.

"Hello, I'm Kade, and I've been looking forward to seeing Mount Tai for so long, and finally...here I am," said the American youth Kade, though his speech was not very fluent, it was enough to express his meaning clearly.

Meanwhile, the other two returnees who had studied abroad had also been warmly surrounded and asked about their life and study overseas.

After three years, Ye Fan saw Li Xiaoman again, feeling as if time and space had changed, with the flow of time.

The two of them remained calm and polite, exchanging greetings without the joy of a long-awaited reunion. There was only a sense of plainness, even a touch of indifference.

Without many words, they brushed past each other gently. Some things need not be said too much, for silence is a kind of outcome.