Chapter 61 – The Summer Between Us

The heat of summer arrived not with a thunderous fanfare, but with the softness of drifting clouds and warm winds brushing across skin. The exams were over. The hallways of the school had returned to silence. Desks were cleared. Blackboards wiped clean. What remained was a lightness, like a breath held too long finally released.

Lin Keqing stood by the classroom window, watching as leaves fluttered on the trees beyond the gate. She had thought she'd feel relieved. Instead, there was only a quiet stillness. A pause between chapters.

"We should go somewhere," Fang Zichen said, stretching his arms and throwing himself dramatically onto the empty teacher's desk. "Before we all get swallowed up by test prep and future panic."

Chen Yuke, slumped in a nearby chair, raised an eyebrow. "You mean like... a group trip?"

"Exactly! A trip to celebrate surviving exams. Beach? Amusement park? Both?"

Le Yahan perked up from where she had been lazily scrolling her phone. "I vote for both."

Fang grinned, eyes sparkling. "Then it's settled."

Keqing looked up, a quiet smile tugging at her lips. Across the room, Gu Yuyan closed his notebook without a word—but he didn't object.

They met at the station early in the morning, five backpacks slung, five pairs of eyes still a little sleepy but shining with anticipation. A train would take them to a coastal town with both an amusement park and long stretches of beach.

The ride was filled with chatter, half-dreamed jokes, and sleepy heads leaning on windows. Chen Yuke dozed off almost instantly, his mouth open slightly. Yahan nudged Keqing and whispered, "Should we draw on his face?"

Fang Zichen, always ready, pulled out a pen. "Already on it."

Keqing, sitting by the window, felt sunlight warming her skin. Gu Yuyan handed her a cold lemon tea without looking her way. She glanced at him, a soft "thank you" escaping her lips. He nodded, eyes fixed on the passing scenery.

Across from them, Yahan began sharing ghost stories from online forums, embellishing the details with dramatic pauses. Fang Zichen listened wide-eyed while sneaking snacks from everyone's bag. For a while, the train car was a little world of its own—disconnected from school, from pressure, from everything that waited in the future.

Their first stop: the amusement park.

Screams echoed from roller coasters as the group sprinted from ride to ride. Fang dragged everyone onto the scariest rides. Yahan shrieked on every drop. Chen Yuke pretended not to be scared, though his grip on the safety bar said otherwise.

Keqing hesitated at first, watching from the side. But Gu Yuyan reached out a hand.

"Come on. One ride."

She stared at his open palm for a moment, then took it.

They sat side by side on the Ferris wheel as it climbed slowly into the sky. From the top, the sea stretched endlessly in blue hues. Silence hung between them—not awkward, but full.

"I used to be afraid of heights," Keqing murmured.

"And now?"

"I still am. But it's bearable with the right person beside me."

Gu Yuyan turned to her slightly, but didn't reply. Instead, he offered the last bite of his ice cream cone.

She laughed.

By late afternoon, the group had reached the beach. Sand clung to ankles, and the air smelled of salt and distant grilled squid.

Yahan and Chen Yuke were attempting to build a sandcastle, though it resembled a misshapen potato. Fang ran into the water fully clothed, screaming about being reborn.

Keqing stood near the edge of the tide, letting the waves lap over her toes. Gu Yuyan stood beside her, silent.

"Everything feels slower here," she said.

"Time always does when you're paying attention," he answered.

They sat down on the sand, a small distance between them. The horizon glowed orange as the sun began its descent.

"Are you scared of the future?" Keqing asked quietly.

Gu Yuyan looked down at his hands. "Not as much as I'm afraid of losing things that matter."

She turned her gaze to him. "Like what?"

He didn't reply immediately. Then:

"People. Moments. Silences that mean something."

A breeze blew her hair across her face. He reached out, gently tucking a strand behind her ear. Their eyes met—briefly, deeply.

No words followed. But none were needed.

They stayed that way for a while, watching waves crash and retreat. Behind them, the sounds of their friends laughing, splashing, playing with fireworks colored the background.

Keqing spoke again, almost to herself. "Maybe... we don't need to know what comes next. Maybe just being here now is enough."

Gu Yuyan didn't respond with words. Instead, he leaned slightly closer, their shoulders brushing.

The group gathered one last time around a bonfire someone else had lit nearby. They roasted marshmallows, passed around cans of soda, and watched the stars blink into life.

Fang Zichen showed them a compilation video he had edited on his phone—clips of their roller coaster screams, sandcastle disasters, and a slow pan of Keqing and Gu Yuyan on the Ferris wheel.

Everyone laughed, groaned, and pretended not to tear up.

As they boarded the evening bus home, the fatigue hit. One by one, heads leaned onto shoulders. Yahan fell asleep against Chen Yuke, who didn't move for fear of waking her. Fang mumbled something about aliens. Keqing closed her eyes, but not before feeling the light touch of Gu Yuyan's sleeve brushing hers.

Before she stepped off the bus, he spoke, barely audible:

"We don't have many summers left like this. Let's make this one… unforgettable."

She turned, meeting his gaze in the dim light.

"I already won't forget."

The doors closed behind her.

And the summer night stretched on—wide, silent, and full of promise.