It was a beautiful night, in such a quiet and vast campus.
It was a unified area; the difference between a college and a community was not actually that great. Walking here was not much different from walking in a residential area. This feeling made one realize even more that the internal order of the school was precisely the structure of society.
But it was still different after all.
In a high-pressure environment, everyone was an isolated, independent existence, and socializing became a very compact activity. This was a common state of affairs; relatively speaking, the feelings between students were more genuine, and there was much to talk about. He wondered who adults talked to about their innermost thoughts on a daily basis?
At any rate, Simon didn't know who to talk to. Su Xiangli? She wouldn't do; he liked her too much, so there were many things he couldn't say to her.
What if it damaged Someone Lu's image as a wise and mighty figure?
In Simon's memories from his previous life, summer nights in Jiangnan should have been filled with mosquitoes, especially in places with high greenery, where they were impossible to guard against. When he took his college entrance exam, there was a small garden next to the examination room. He sat by the window, and for ventilation, the doors and windows were wide open. At that time, everyone wore short sleeves and shorts. After he finished answering the questions, he waited for the teacher to collect the papers. It was then that he discovered his legs were covered in swollen bites, itching unbearably.
Mosquitoes, these strange creatures, certainly hadn't gone extinct; they were still around. After all, their ecological niche was there; if mosquitoes were gone, other creatures would take over and continue to fight on the front lines of bloodsucking. However, robots would spray insect repellent in the evening, so there was no need to fear fainting from excessive blood loss when strolling outside on a summer night.
In a wide garden, following the neat gray flagstone path, passing through a wall of tall green shrubs, long, dense grass grew on the soft, damp, fine soil. There were only three or four streetlights in the garden; their conical, faint white light was not even as clear as the city lights reflected by the clouds in the sky, failing to illuminate the misty shadows of the place. In the center of the large lawn was a banyan tree, short, sturdy, and unrefined, its grayish-yellow bark in the night resembling the bluntness of pig iron.
Under the lush and luxuriant canopy, hundreds of slender aerial roots hung down, fully laden with wish plaques—wooden, iron, and even electronic ones. Most were tied with red ribbons, suspended in the air, swaying with the wind, occasionally clinking against each other, adding much vitality to this gloomy and cold old tree, and those rope-like aerial roots also took on a graceful and lovely appearance.
Su Xiangli exclaimed, "A Wish Tree! I heard there are three Wish Trees in this school, and I didn't expect one of them to be here!"
Simon said, "Why do I get a strange sense of accomplishment, like unlocking a new map, when you say that? It's just a tree." He was still holding a bento box, drinking a cold red bean milkshake, and the chill permeated from the ceramic bowl, making his fingers feel a bit numb.
Su Xiangli lightly jumped up, swiftly turned in mid-air, stood firm, placed her left hand on her hip, and pointed her right hand at Simon's lips, "You're not allowed to say such a buzzkill thing! Hmph!"
Simon, holding the bowl, found it inconvenient to raise his hands in surrender, so he shrugged his neck and said, "Alright."
The two strolled to the banyan tree, using their phone flashlights to examine the contents of each plaque. Most were wishes for the high school entrance exam, and a few were from couples, making Su Xiangli exclaim, "This one is so mushy!" "This one's good, this one's good!"
She said, "Let's write one too."
Simon said, "Okay, but we don't have a wish plaque."
Su Xiangli scoffed, "I came prepared!" She gracefully pulled an electronic plaque from her jacket pocket. This thing was palm-sized, with screens on both sides, solar-powered, and truly made for wishing. It could store text, images, audio, and even video.
She hadn't just brought a milkshake when she returned to her dorm earlier; she had also put on a light beige jacket, partly because the night breeze was cool, and partly to carry this plaque.
"Aren't you coming to this garden for the first time?" Simon was a little confused.
"I lied to you! I already scouted it out, I was just waiting to hang a wish plaque with you, on your birthday. How about that, aren't I good to you?" Su Xiangli narrowed her eyes, tilted her face up, and smiled, full of happiness and pride.
Simon felt a fierce, electric-like tremor at her words. He placed the ceramic bowl on a banyan root protruding from the ground, turned, and hugged the girl. "Speaking of which, this is the first time you and I have celebrated my birthday. Also, isn't your birthday on the fourth of next month? I'll give you a surprise then too."
Su Xiangli giggled, "No need."
"You must."
"Ahem, what I mean is, you definitely don't know what a surprise is. All these years, the New Year gifts you've given me have been so unoriginal. On second thought, let's just forget it."
"Wow, this time it'll definitely be different from a New Year's gift, it'll totally blow your mind!" Simon said with conviction, though he felt a bit unsure inside. He had made a big promise, and he hadn't prepared any birthday gift, so he would have to go back and think hard about it.
Su Xiangli continued to hum, "Go hang the plaque."
The boy clicked his tongue, "Wow, you didn't even tell me what you wrote. Let me see, oh, 'May Su Xiangli be beautiful forever.' And on the back, 'Su Xiangli's wishes will definitely come true.' Wow, wow, wow, this is too heartbreaking for me! What about me, Simon? Why isn't there anything for me?"
[Lu: I'm a little upset, brother. Is Su Su always this fond of joking? Sigh, never mind.]
One might say that Simon was very childish now, unable to hide his little disappointment. Su Xiangli gave a sympathetic "Oh," like seeing a kitten drenched in the rain by the roadside. She stepped forward, stood on her tiptoes, and opened her arms, intending to embrace the boy.
Simon subtly took two steps back, gazing at Su Xiangli with a deep look, "Why do I feel like you're treating me like a child?"
Su Xiangli tilted her head, her arms wide open, "Come into this rich lady's arms."
Xiao Lu shook his head, refusing. He wasn't M&M's chocolate, he didn't want to go into her bowl. He turned, picked an empty aerial root, and hung the wish plaque.
Su Xiangli closed her eyes, as if stretching, and pouted, just waiting for Xiao Lu to obediently hug her.
Simon fiddled with the electronic wish plaque, returned to the main page, and found a folder containing three files: two.txt documents and one.mp3 audio file.
He clicked on the audio, held it to the speaker, but heard only the girl's soft whispers: "I wish Simon and I can spend our lives together. I want to be beautiful forever, and never be separated from him. Simon, Simon, Xiao Lu, ah, Xiao Lu, I love you."
The recording ended.
Su Xiangli also heard her own voice. She didn't open her eyes, her face flushed. The soft light passed through the intertwined aerial roots, like rippling water, a light veil covering the girl, like the distant goddess of the Luo River in a dream.
Simon took the plaque down again, played Su Xiangli's wish audio on a loop, and held it to her ear, giving her a public execution.
Su Xiangli was furious. She opened her eyes and pounced on Xiao Lu, "You're so mean! Don't play that!"
"Hahahaha! Su Su, you're so cute! Really, I like you so much too!"
The boy held the girl, happily spinning under the shimmering light and the majestic tree.
In their eyes, this world was already the most wonderful place.
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