I’ll Be There 31

She quietly gazed out the window.

Cars streamed through the city streets beneath the night sky as the unfamiliar rhythm of Beijing echoed around her. One scene after another, buried in her memories for five years, resurfaced, carrying Song Jia Nan across thousands of miles, back to that distant and unfamiliar city.

The scenery before her kept changing.

It wasn’t until they got out of the car and arrived at the venue that she realized how bitterly cold it really was. The piercing northern wind scattered fallen leaves in every direction, seeming to burrow into every inch of exposed skin. Her hands became stiff, her face numb with cold, and her ears suffered the most.

Yuan Yuan breathed warm air into his hands twice, hopped up and down a couple of times, then turned to complain to Song Jia Nan.

“The messengers that trigger pigmentation don’t only come from the surface of the skin—they originate deep within the dermis, surrounding melanocytes and causing dark spots to form and spread.” What kind of nonsense is that? Are we really supposed to write something like this in the article?”

Song Jia Nan laughed.

“No. For our newspaper, we just summarize this kind of news in a few sentences. The fashion magazines are the ones who’ll be busy with it later. They’ll either ask us to send them a sample issue or forward them the article.”

A young woman from the advertising company came over to register them. After signing in, Yuan Yuan lowered his voice.

“Those girls are incredible. It’s freezing in Beijing tonight, and they’re still wearing skirts.”

Song Jia Nan looked over.

The girls, all in their early twenties, were dressed in white tops and black skirts, smiling naturally despite standing outside in subzero temperatures. She herself was wrapped in a wool coat and still shivering uncontrollably.

“They’re amazing,” she said, shaking her head repeatedly. “Occupational hazard.”

One of the girls happened to meet Song Jia Nan’s eyes.

She paused for two seconds, smiled, and said nothing.

The party was being held beside the ancient city walls beneath the Son of Heaven’s capital. The organizers had invited many famous models.

It was, as always, a glamorous and dazzling night.

And also a decadent one.

Gradually, the atmosphere became increasingly chaotic.

One female model wore nothing more than a black bra on top, while a few tattered strips of cloth around her waist barely covered anything. Under the colorful lights, she swayed her body seductively. Her pale skin was dazzlingly bright.

Everywhere was filled with exhaustion, desire, decadence, and emptiness.

The entire scene had become saturated with sensuality.

After seeing this kind of spectacle countless times, Song Jia Nan had long since grown numb.

Yuan Yuan, however, stared in astonishment before his face turned bright red. He coughed awkwardly.

“Sister Jia Nan… can we leave? This place really isn’t for me.”

She smiled faintly.

“A life of extravagance and indulgence. I didn’t really want to bring you here in the first place. I just thought you’d never seen anything like it.”

His face reddened even more.

“No thanks. I’m really not used to this kind of thing. I’ll wait outside for a while—the air in here is too stuffy. Just call me when you’re leaving.”

Song Jia Nan checked the time.

“I’m leaving too. Yuan Yuan, I still have somewhere else to go. You head back to the hotel first.”

“Where are you going? It’s already so late.”

She smiled.

“Don’t worry about me. I promise I won’t stay out all night.”

The sky was a dull gray, the unmistakable sign of approaching snow.

Perhaps it still needed a little more time. Instead of snow, a light drizzle continued to fall, dampening the ground only slightly and covering everything in muted colors.

She entered through the east gate of Renmin University.

Perhaps because of the rain, very few students were around. Some walked by in pairs beneath umbrellas, while others passed alone without one. The warm orange lights above the entrance illuminated the wet pavement below.

She suddenly remembered something amusing from the taxi ride over.

The moment she’d gotten into the taxi, she’d discovered the Beijing driver singing to himself. Assuming he was perfectly sane, he had to be an incredibly cheerful person. Throughout the ride, he’d sung one song after another.

Every time he made a turn, he’d imitate the announcements on a public bus.

“The vehicle is turning left. Please hold onto the handrail and pay attention to your safety.”

Song Jia Nan had been suppressing laughter the entire way. To keep the conversation going—and learn a little about Beijing—she asked,

“Driver, with the Olympics coming up, I heard everyone’s studying English really hard.”

“That’s right!” the driver replied proudly. “I can speak several foreign languages now. Whenever I see foreigners, I tell them, ‘Glad to meet you!’ It means I’m very happy to see you.”

Song Jia Nan laughed.

“That’s impressive. Can you speak French too?”

The driver shot her a mischievous glance.

“Can you?”

She answered cautiously.

“I only know a little English.”

The driver burst into laughter.

“#@*￥#@! That’s French. It means ‘Welcome!'”

She’d thought about it for a long time afterward and still hadn’t understood a single word he’d said. She’d studied a little French herself, and she was certain whatever he’d blurted out was definitely not Soyez les bienvenus.

Thinking about it now, she’d completely fallen for the driver’s prank.

The memory made her smile unconsciously.

Entering through the east gate, she walked past Qiushi Building, crossed the lawn, and eventually stopped in front of Teaching Building Three.

The classrooms were brightly lit.

She stood downstairs watching them for a while before deciding to go inside.

Two girls walked past her.

“I saw Qian Kun from the Law Department today,” one whispered. “He was studying in my classroom.”

The other girl’s eyes immediately lit up.

“Really? I’m going! I’m going!”

The two linked arms, chatting excitedly as they skipped away.

Song Jia Nan smiled to herself.

Being young really was a wonderful thing.

She still remembered her first visit to Renmin University years ago.

Outside one of the study rooms in this very building, she’d seen that handsome young man quietly holding a cup of water while reading with complete concentration.

Outside, the freezing winter wind raged.

Inside, the classroom was warm enough to make anyone fall asleep.

She pushed open the door.

Only a handful of students glanced up before lowering their heads again.

She climbed the steps and sat in the very last seat.

On the desk lay a copy of Mass Communication Theory.

Smiling to herself, she casually flipped through a page before closing it again.

Then she slowly rested her head on the desk and closed her eyes.

In this peaceful night…

Inside this nostalgic classroom…

She relived the university she’d once dreamed of attending…

And remembered the person she’d once come so close to.

When she opened her eyes again, a stack of books now rested quietly in the seat where he used to sit.

But the person himself was gone.

Strangely enough…

She didn’t feel disappointed.

Instead…

She felt happy.

By the time she walked out of the classroom, snowflakes had begun drifting from the sky.

They landed on the ground…

Melted…

Fell again…

Melted again…

Little by little, more and more white accumulated on the brown earth until scattered patches became an unbroken blanket.

Just then, Yuan Yuan called.

“Sister Jia Nan, it’s snowing! When are you coming back? I’m already at the hotel.”

She smiled so brightly that even her voice became lighter.

“I’m still outside. I’ll head back in a little while.”

“Sister Jia Nan!” Yuan Yuan sounded slightly dissatisfied. “Where exactly are you? If you’re having fun, why didn’t you invite your brother here? Come on, where are you?”

She tried to dodge the question playfully.

“I’m standing in front of a really long corridor. On the way here, I passed a small lake. There’s a rock in the middle, and I think there are stepping stones leading out to it.”

Silence came from the other end.

Taking advantage of it, she quickly said,

“Alright, I’m hanging up now. I’ll be back soon.”

The snow fell harder and harder.

The temperature continued to drop.

Leaving Mingde Building, Song Jia Nan planned to exit through the north gate.

She turned toward the window, lightly tracing a finger across the icy glass.

Tiny droplets trickled down behind her fingertip.

Snowflakes fluttered like white butterflies, colliding against the window before shattering into invisible ripples.

Suddenly, her phone rang again.

Thinking it was Yuan Yuan, she answered without looking.

Instead, she heard a familiar voice.

“Song Jia Nan… are you at Renmin University?”

There was unmistakable amusement in his tone.

Her heart instantly leaped into her throat.

“I… I…”

“Where are you now? Qiushi Building? Mingde Building? Or Baijia Corridor?”

“M-Mingde Building.”

His laughter became even warmer.

“I know where you are now. Go toward the west gate. Don’t hang up.”

“Remember the path from Baijia Corridor? Just keep walking until you reach One Spoon Pond. I’ll guide you.”

“When we took our graduation photos, it was right outside Mingde Building. Our class monitor got everyone lined up and asked the photographer, ‘Where’s your tripod?'”

“So a few classmates dragged over a one-meter-tall trash bin. The photographer rested his arm on top of it and took our picture. Afterward everyone left.”

“Only later did we discover he’d just been a random passerby. The real photographer arrived half an hour late.”

“If you enter through the east gate—the main entrance—and turn left past Qiushi Building, you’ll reach Teaching Building Three. I used to study there all the time. Standing by the windows, you could see the tennis courts and the swimming pool. Everything felt so open.”

The snowfall grew heavier.

Snowflakes danced wildly through the night.

Nearby, several girls squealed with excitement.

Song Jia Nan stretched out her hand happily to catch the falling snow.

The voice on the phone suddenly paused.

Then he asked softly,

“Song Jia Nan… right in front of you is the sports field. The grandstand I’ve mentioned to you so many times.”

“In summer, I liked sitting there quietly at sunset, just watching the sky.”

“But on winter nights, especially when it snowed…”

“I’d sit there alone and listen to rock music.”

She looked up.

At the same moment, she heard the exact same voice behind her.

“Go up and take a look.”

Song Jia Nan spun around in shock.

She stared blankly before lowering the phone.

“Why is it you? What are you doing here?”

He smiled.

“When you took the taxi, did you make sure to tell the driver Renmin University—not the Great Hall of the People?”

Snowflakes settled onto his hair, dusting the strands that fell across his forehead.

His tall figure looked refined and slender.

White mist drifted from every breath he exhaled.

His dark, clear eyes held a hint of warmth beneath their usual calmness.

A faint smile lingered on his lips.

“Go up there for a while.”

“It’s snowing.”

“The seats are all wet now, so we can’t sit anymore.”

Song Jia Nan stared at him in astonishment.

She couldn’t find her voice for a long time.

“Why are you here?”

“How did you know I was at Renmin University?”

Su Li didn’t answer.

Instead, he simply walked up the steps toward the grandstand.

After hesitating briefly, she followed him.

“This is the place I’ve told you about so many times.”

“Mm.”

She answered softly.

Looking at him again, her heart ached faintly.

“If I’d been a little braver back then, I would’ve applied to Renmin University.”

“I wouldn’t have gone to Sun Yat-sen University.”

Yes…

If she’d been just a little braver…

She wouldn’t have secretly exchanged text messages with him.

She wouldn’t have silently transferred into the liberal arts class.

She wouldn’t have invented a fake name just to talk to him.

If, from the very beginning, she’d been brave enough…

Would everything have become so complicated?

But then again…

If she’d truly been that fearless and reckless back then…

Perhaps even now…

She would still be standing here alone.

Su Li smiled.

“I know.”

“That year, hardly anyone did well on the entrance exams.”

“Several of my friends didn’t either.”

“Our homeroom teacher once asked us to write down our dream university and make posters to hang at the back of the classroom,” she said quietly. “I wrote Renmin University.”

“Looking back, I don’t even know why I chose that school.”

“But somehow, Renmin University became like a kind of faith to me.”

“Maybe that’s just how people are.”

“The things they can’t have become the things they treasure most.”

He remained silent for a while before speaking slowly.

“Someone once said…”

“If you love a place…”

“It must be because someone or something there is unforgettable.”

“Song Jia Nan…”

“What do you think?”

She abruptly looked up at him.

He simply wore a faint smile, gazing quietly into the distance.

Yet her whole body trembled.

The same nervousness she’d felt when she first met him surged back again.

She truly felt…

That he was hinting at something.

Yet he never said it outright.

Or was it simply because her own guilty conscience kept her from understanding what he meant?

Perhaps noticing her awkwardness, Su Li smiled reassuringly.

“It’s nothing.”

“I was just speaking casually.”

They walked side by side.

Neither of them spoke again.

Eventually, they stopped in front of a café.

He reached out and pushed open the door.

“It’s snowing.”

“It’s cold.”

“Would you like something hot to drink?”

It turned out to be the famous Water Through Stone Café.

Its interior was elegant and beautifully arranged.

The last time she’d been here, she’d only caught a brief glimpse from outside.

She’d never expected to have another chance to come in.

Su Li was obviously very familiar with the place.

He greeted the owner naturally.

“Two hot lemon black teas.”

“To go.”

There were only a few girls inside eating late-night snacks.

One of them immediately whispered,

“Doesn’t that guy look like Su Li from the Class of 2000 in the School of Business? Why does he look so familiar?”

“He graduated years ago. You’re still thinking about him? We were only freshmen back then.”

“He was just too famous.”

“Why don’t you just go ask?”

One particularly bold girl really did walk over.

“Are you Su Li from the Class of 2000 in the School of Business? I’m your junior—Class of 2004.”

He nodded slightly.

“I am.”

The remaining girls immediately burst into excited whispers.

He smiled politely at them before handing the hot black tea to Song Jia Nan.

“We’re leaving now. Sorry.”

She lifted the lid.

Warm steam billowed toward her face.

The heat mixed with the icy winter air.

Looking at the man beside her, she found him more handsome the longer she looked.

Carefully, she asked,

“Su Li…”

“I never imagined you were this popular.”

“Even girls who were freshmen back then—and should be seniors now—still remember you.”

He answered calmly,

“I don’t really know.”

“I never paid much attention to things like that when I was in school.”

“There must’ve been a lot of girls who confessed to you.”

“Didn’t you know?”

He turned his head and thought for a moment.

“Not that many.”

“I don’t really remember.”

Then he added,

“I didn’t think much about anything back then.”

“Every day was just classes, studying, and listening to music.”

“Four years passed like that.”

He lowered his head, casually tossed his empty paper cup into a trash bin, and said slowly,

“Song Jia Nan…”

“You know exactly how I spent those four years.”

“So why ask me?”

“Is it because there was a blank period of one year and three months in the middle?”

The sky above was a vast sheet of gray.

Snowflakes drifted endlessly before them.

Within that endless whiteness stood the boy she had secretly loved for ten years.

After ten years…

He still looked almost exactly the same.

Her footsteps stopped.

She could no longer take another step.

Something inside her chest seemed ready to burst free.

It was the overwhelming urge to throw caution aside and tell him everything.

She opened her mouth.

She drew one deep breath after another.

Her heart pounded so violently it felt ready to explode.

She heard her own trembling voice carried away by the wind and snow.

No matter how hard she tried…

She couldn’t stop herself.

“Su Li… I…”