Jinling Art Vocational College is situated by the Qinhuai River, beneath the

    Stone City. Despite being a vocational college, it boasts a history of nearly a century.

    The campus covers an area of over 700 acres, with a total student population exceeding 6,000. It offers more than 20 majors, including painting, sculpture, animation, photography, music, dance, performance, drama, film and television, art education, recording arts, broadcasting, and hosting. Everything here is quite distinct from Clear River High School.

    Upon entering the campus, Liu Yong felt a sense of novelty, much like a little fish swimming into the vast sea, a young foal stepping into an endless pasture, or a small bird soaring into the expansive blue sky.

    It’s not surprising that Liu Yong, who had just graduated from highschool, was at the age of youth and vitality. Although his father, Liu Chengyin, worked at the Provincial Committee’s Agricultural and Industrial Department, he and his mother, Su Hua, didn’t visit Nanjing frequently. In fact, Nanjing was just two words to him— unfamiliar. The feeling of novelty due to unfamiliarity is a common characteristic of young people. For Liu Yong, everything inside the campus of Jinling Art College felt novel,and this was entirely normal.

    In his memory, it was his father who visited Qingjiang more often to see him, his mother, his maternal grandparents, and paternal grandparents. Of course, they would also visit their ancestral home in Xianghe at least twice a year. One occasion was during the annual Qingming Festival when his father would take him and his mother to pay respects to their grandparents and, more importantly, to the ancestral fields in Xianghe to offer sacrifices to their great-grandfather. They would bring offerings, burn incense and paper money, and kowtow a few times, completing the ritual of worship. The other occasion was during the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year), when his father would again bring him and his mother to their grandparents’ home to celebrate and enjoy a family reunion.

    Because he and his mother usually lived with his maternal grandparents, during the New Year, they had to separate from his paternal grandparents. Therefore, in Liu Yong’s memory, this time of family reunion was never truly a complete reunion. It was a reunion for his paternal grandparents but a separation for his maternal grandparents. His parents seemed to have made efforts to bring all four elderly grandparents together for a real family reunion during the New Year. However, despite their efforts, it always ended in failure.

    When he was younger, Liu Yong couldn’t understand why his dearly loved paternal grandparents couldn’t spend the New Year together with his dearly loved maternal grandparents. After entering middle school, Liu Yong seemed to realize that his maternal grandparents lived in a three-story building, and he was unwilling to spend the New Year in the rural area with his paternal grandparents. On the other hand, his paternal grandparents, who believed in the saying “a thatched cottage of one’s own is better than a golden palace of another’s,” were not willing to leave their hometown and travel over a hundred miles to Qingjiang for any kind of family reunion.

    When he was younger, Liu Yong couldn’t understand why his dearly loved paternal grandparents couldn’t spend the New Year together with his dearly loved maternal grandparents. After entering middle school, Liu Yong seemed to realize that his maternal grandparents lived in a three-story building, and he was unwilling to spend the New Year in the rural area with his paternal grandparents. On the other hand, his paternal grandparents, who believed in the saying “a thatched cottage of one’s own is better than a golden palace of another’s,” were not willing to leave their hometown and travel over a hundred miles to Qingjiang for any kind of family reunion.

    The Liu and Su families were clearly from different backgrounds and social classes. However, due to Liu Chengyin’s outstanding achievements, he to some extent compensated for the gap in family background between him and Su Hua. Nevertheless, for Liu Chunyu and Su Youliang, the heads of theirrespective families, being polite when meeting each other was possible, but finding common ground was difficult. A farmer and a deputy county party secretary, they might share some common interests, but most of the time their interests were likely to be different.

    To put it in absolute terms, “similarity” is a coincidence, while “difference” is a certainty. If we were to express this “similarity” and “difference” in terms of a ratio, it’s highly likely to be 1:99.

    This destined the parents’ hopeful aspirations to fall short and their attempts at efforts to fail. For the grandparents and great-grandparents, their deep affection for their own grandchildren, whether they were from the paternal or maternal side, made perfect sense in the realm of moral principles and human kindness; as in-laws, occasionally sitting down for a meal or meeting each other was fine due to the ties of family affection. However, living together for seven or eight days, spending a holiday together, that became difficult, awkward, and uncomfortable for everyone. So, maintaining theirrespective life habits and living spaces actually facilitated a more harmonious and courteous interaction between the two families, and it spared Liu Chengyin and Su Hua unnecessary troubles and worries.

    No wonder people often say that every family has its own difficult “scripture” to recite.

    The makeup atmosphere by the Qinhuai River seemed to suit Liu Yong well. His tall and handsome appearance, coupled with a good singing voice, quickly made him a prominent figure in the Pop Music Class, attracting a lot of attention. Of course, he also became the coveted “little prince” pursued by many girls.

    The art school itself had an imbalance of Yin and Yang, with Yin prevailing and Yang waning. In a class of thirty to forty students, there were only a dozen or so boys at most, and sometimes only a few. The majority were female students. The Pop Music Class that Liu Yong attended was no exception. This situation made Liu Yong feel like Jia Baoyu entering the “Grand View Garden,” constantly surrounded by flowers.

    As a result, in front of the grand European-style marble archway of the school, there were often girls pulling Liu Yong to take photos together. Speaking of the school’s archway, it had its own distinct features among the major universities in Nanjing. These features primarily came from its architectural design. The upper part took on a tower-like pointed roof structure, forming a two-story arrangement. Between the two stories, there were upper and lower horizontal beams, also made of marble. Carved between the beams was the school’s name: “Jinling Art Vocational College.” These eight characters held significant weight, as they were personally penned by Mr. Liu Haisu. The central part of the archway featured an arched design,crowned by a curved marble arch, which not only added to the aesthetic appeal of the entrance but also increased the height of the archway, serving both beauty and practicality. On either side of the arched stone, there were embedded stone blocks creating the appearance of column-like pillars, exuding a sense of antiquity, though they were not true couplets. The lower part of the archway took on a square column- like design, built from stone blocks. The surface of the columns was uneven, providing a strong three-dimensional sense. At the very bottom were pedestal stones extending from one side of the column, two solid blocks ensuring the stability of the entire archway.

    Overall, the archway resembled a traditional Chinese gatehouse. The upper and middle sections were crafted from bright marble with a pale yellow hue, evoking a sense of warmth. The lower part, in contrast, was gray, providing a stable foundation for the entire archway. Behind the archway, several clusters of pine and cypress trees stood, ancient and robust yet full of vitality. The deep green color unique to pine and cypress trees accentuated the archway’s solidity and grandeur. Anyone passing through this gateway couldn’t help but feel a deep reverence for the world of art.

    For Liu Yong and the group of girls who followed him, it wasn’t just in front of the school’s archway, but also in front of the main building where the five-starred red flag stood tall, in front of the art gallery with its exquisite roof structure, along the tree-lined paths, and amidst the lawns, they would capture snapshots of their youthful vitality in front of various stone-carved artworks.

    However, a freshmen performance changed everything for Liu Yong as he broke free from the crowd of followers. He had set his sights on a new target.

    Tie Yueyue, a petite Suzhou girl.

    It is said that she hails from the renowned Mudu Town in Suzhou. This Mudu  Town is an ancient water town that is roughly the same age as Suzhou City, with  a history of over 2500 years. According to legend, in the late Spring and Autumn  period, King Fuchai of Wu built the Guanwa Palace on the top of Lingyan Mountain  to please the beautiful maiden Xi Shi. He also constructed the Gusu Terrace. “Three  years to gather materials, five years to complete,” with a continuous supply of wood, the riverport below the mountain was blocked, resulting in the name “Mudu” (Wooden Blockade) for the town.

    As a vital transportation hub connecting Suzhou City and the vast Taihu Lake, Mudu is truly the gateway to Taihu Lake. Therefore, during the Ming and Qing dynasties, Mudu became the most prosperous commercial port to the west of Suzhou City. Surrounded by famous Wuzhong mountains like Tianping, Lingyan, Shishan, and Qizi, Mudu is also known as the “Treasure Bowl.” Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, famous for his southern tours, visited Mudu Town six times. He not only left behind a personally inscribed imperial dock but also legends of reciting poetry and singing with his teacher Shen Deqian and enjoying tea and chess with his friend Xu Shiyuan.

    Let’s not dwell on those for now. What’s worth mentioning is Mudu Middle  School, where Tian Yueyue studied. In a place like Suzhou, known for its strong  literary culture and advanced education, the fact that Mudu Middle School has been  selected as one of the first batch of national-level model high schools indicates that  it must have unique strengths in education and school management. In the midst of the intense competition in the “thousands of soldiers crossing a single-plank bridge,” it can be said that no school can escape the influence of the “college entrance  examination,” which acts like a “baton.” However, Mudu Middle School advocates  the concept of “cultivating aspirations and valuing practicality” among its students,  making it stand out. It’s as if they’retrying to transform themselves from a chicken  into a crane within the flock.

    It is likely due to the influence of this philosophy that Tian Yueyue excelled not only in her studies but also possessed remarkable skills. She consistently ranked among the top three in the comprehensive exams each semester and even secured the grade-level championship several times. With such outstanding academic achievements, exceptional embroidery skills, and being a key member of the school dance team, isn’t that truly remarkable?

    Speaking of which, when TianYueyue was in middle school, she was petite and delicate, exuding an air of refinement from head to toe. Her features – eyebrows, eyes, ears, nose, and mouth – were distributed and combined on her face in a way that perfectly aligned with the standards of “beauty.” People generally believe that a beautiful woman’s facial proportions should adhere to certain ratios: the distance between the two pupils should be less than half of the face’s width, and the distance between the eyes and the mouth should ideally be about one-third of the length from the hairline to the chin. In these two aspects, Tian Yueyue fully met the criteria. Her facial features were nearly perfect. Additionally, she had longhair, as black as a waterfall, flowing straight down to her waist. Most captivating of all was the little red butterfly bow tied at the end of her braid, which fluttered and danced behind her with her graceful steps, captivating many young men and causing them to pause and forget what they were originally doing.

    Perhaps it was the nourishment from the picturesque landscapes and serene waters of Mudu that cultivated Tian Yueyue’s talent. From a young age, she gained a reputation for her exquisite embroidery skills among her neighbors and the local community. Birds, flowers, fish, insects, as well as the plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum, and the willow and pine trees – nothing was beyond the scope of her embroidery creations. With a slender embroidery needle and a few strands of ordinary thread, she could weave various vibrant lifeforms and bring them to life with her dexterous fingers. It was authentic “Su embroidery” at its finest. The news spread like wildfire, and visitors came in a continuous stream. Some sought her embroidery pieces, while others came seeking her hand in marriage.

    Tian Yueyue was a young woman with dreams and aspirations, and there was no way she would allow herself to be married off before her life’s beautiful canvas had a chance to unfurl. Those visitors undoubtedly came with excitement, only to leave disappointed. It was an unavoidable situation; she had a broad heart, but without someone who truly understood her, there could be no other outcome.

    Not only at home, but also at Mu Du Middle School, especially in the school dance team, where boys and girls often rehearsed together. On major holidays, important visitors, or even significant events in the district, the Mu Du Middle School Dance Team would always play a role. As the “leading lady,” Tian Yueyue naturally had an indispensable role. Solo dances, partner dances, group dances, ensemble dances—sometimes she was involved in almost every dance performance. It might be tiring, but the movement of her feet, the rotation of her body, the stretching of her limbs,brought a sense of relaxation to Tian Yueyue’s inner self, a sense of openness to her body, and a release of emotions. Such a wonderful experience could only be provided by dancing. Despite her youth, Tian Yueyue understood this very clearly.

    Therefore, despite Tian Yueyue not having the physical advantages of a professional dancer, what flows from her heart, what seeps from her very bones, her interpretation and portrayal of each dance piece, the presence, rhythm, and spiritshe exudes, captivates you. Your eyes can’t look away. Even though your eyes are fixed, your heart is stolen. Your heart departs from your body, following her leaps and turns, her fluid movements, experiencing ups and downs, joy and sorrow, merging and transcending. In the presence of this young girl’s dance, you transform yourself into her true captive.

    This is how Tian Yueyue, who appeared almost perfect in the eyes of her parents, teachers, and classmates, faced her first setback in the budding stage of life. She did not succeed in the college entrance examination (“gaokao”).

    Being naturally inclined towards the humanities, and with her skills in embroidery and dance, Tian Yueyue shared the same aspiration as her parents and teachers: to get admitted to Nanjing University and become a talented female student (“ 才女 ”) of Nanjing University.

    However, fate played a rather significant joke on her, adding an extra word to her university dream. This extra word seemed inconsequential, typically functioning as a grammatical particle. Yet, for Tian Yueyue, this particle turned out to be anything but helpful; instead, it hindered her. It transformed the “Nanjing University” she had intended to attend into “Nanjing’s University.” Do not underestimate the change from four words to five, nor overlook the presence of this seemingly innocuous “ 的 ” (de). For Tian Yueyue, it was a monumental shift. This “ 的 ” was akin to the embroidery needleshe often used – small in size yet piercingly sharp. It pricked her heart,causing unbearable pain that she couldn’t simply pluck away.

    During the intense final preparation stage leading up to the college entrance examination (“gaokao”), Tian Yueyue was involved in a car accident, being hit by a truck. This incident seemed to embody the saying, “Just as the moon waxes and wanes, people experience alternating fortunes and misfortunes.”

    Extending outward from Tian Yueyue’s home, there was a rural road leading to the ancient town. It took about fifteen minutes by bike to reach the prestigious Mudu Middle School where TianYueyue studied and earned numerous honors and praises.

    Perhaps readers may question why it’s referred to as “Tian Yueyue’s family mountain.” This involves a lengthy family history, which can only be briefly summarized here. Originally, the mountain where Tian Yueyue’s family house stood belonged to her maternal grandfather’s family. Most families in the village worked for her maternal grandfather, hoping to make a living. However, over time, circumstances changed, and her maternal grandfather not only lost ownership of the mountain he had worked hard on all his life but also ended up with an unfavorable status categorized as one of the “Five Black Categories.” Eventually, burdened by depression and sadness, he left the entire extended family and passed away. Tian Yueyue once proudly told Liu Yong that her maternal grandfather’s family had been wealthy in the past, not just moderately wealthy but extremely wealthy, enough to support a majority of villagers. This is a story for another time, so let’s not delve into it further for now.

    For this rural road that connects her home and school, Tian Yueyue is incredibly familiar with it. She could practically walk it with her eyes closed, and that’s not an exaggeration. Tian Yueyue rode her bike on this dirt road to the town for elementary school, on this gravel road to the town for middle school, and now she still rides her bike on this asphalt-paved rural road to the town for highschool. And soon, she will take the “college entrance exam,” departing from this road to venture beyond.

    But at this critical moment, a speeding medium-sized truck collided with the back of Tian Yueyue’s lightweight bicycle, sending her off the road. Fortunately, the driver of the truck had a basic sense of responsibility and didn’t flee the scene. He promptly took the unconscious Tian Yueyue to the town hospital for emergency treatment. After examination and treatment, luckily for Tian Yueyue, her head only suffered a minor abrasion, with no internal injuries or intracranial bleeding. However, her right leg’s ankle bone was fractured and needed to be treated with a cast and splint. She had no choice but to accept it.

    As she lay on the hospital bed, her right leg suspended in a cast and bandages, she calmly flipped through her textbooks. Her emotions were quite composed, and she even mentioned to her parents, teachers, and classmates that she was craving tea eggs from outside the school gate.

    Speaking of the bustling scene outside the main gate of Mudu Middle School after classes, it was a renowned sight far and wide. Due to strict school regulations, students were not allowed to leave the school grounds without permission. Even more so, the campus was off-limits to unauthorized individuals, including small vendors trying to make money off the students. This created a contradiction: those who wanted to sell couldn’t get in, and those who wanted to buy couldn’t get out. Especially after evening self-study sessions, around 9:30 PM, the few spoonfuls of watery rice eaten for dinner had already turned into a few trips to the restroom, leaving stomachs empty. For this group of middle school students, who were in the midst of their growth spurt during adolescence, the desire to eat was stronger than ever, which was completely normal.

    As a result, those small vendors began conducting their business through the gaps in the school gate’s iron fence. At this point, when students caught the aroma of boiling tea eggs, it’s not an exaggeration to say that they salivated uncontrollably, some even salivating a foot and a half long. It was as if their feet were tied to the tea egg sellers, and they were drawn to the edge of the school gate fence. Beyond theiron fence, in addition to tea eggs, there were various offerings: five-spice items like five-spice dried tofu, five-spice broad beans; fried foods like fried peanuts, fried soybeans; smoked and roasted meats like smoked beef, smoked pork, smoked chicken,smoked duck, smoked goose, and so on—a rich variety of food. Inside the iron fence, the students who came to purchase formed an impressive sight: hundreds of them, holding tea containers and utensils, clutching small change, chattering like a flock of sparrows, searching for food. However, there was one thing that demanded admiration. No matter how chatty and excited they were, the students inside the iron fence maintained remarkable orderliness, forming organized queues. After purchasing their food, some young boys who were incredibly hungry and impatient immediately began devouring their treats on the spot. Upon closer inspection, not a single scrap of waste was left on the ground within theiron fence—everything was impeccably clean. This was probably one of the reasons why the school leadership later tacitly approved of the “iron fence market.”

    During such times, Tian Yueyue was also one of the hundreds of students in the crowd. Taking a bite of a piping hot, fragrant tea egg, the satisfaction in her heart was beyond words. Now, she would be unable to join their ranks for a while. However, not being able to join didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy her favorite tea eggs. Case in point, her classmates who came to visit her almost always brought along a few tea eggs, which greatly moved Yueyue.

    This unexpected accident, whether for Tian Yueyue herself, her family, teachers, or classmates, was quite a shock. Especially her mother, who treasured her dearly, couldn’t help but burst into tears at this moment, saying, “Yueyue, my dear, good girl, you really scared your mommy.”

    “Mom, don’t cry. I’ll be fine.” Tian Yueyue, on the other hand, seemed mature beyond her years, suppressing the pain of her fractured bones and comforting her mother not to be upset.

    As the saying goes, it takes a hundred days to recover from injuries to tendons and bones. “Gaokao” waits for no one, and where would there be a hundred days for Tian Yueyue to receive proper treatment and rest? While undergoing treatment and preparing for her studies to face the “Gaokao” examination, Tian Yueyue endured hardships. Yet, no matter how you put it, this “hardship” could only be borne by Tian Yueyue herself. The two tasks at hand, neither of them could be delegated to others; she had to undertake them herself. Fate seems somewhat harsh and unrelenting towards a blossoming young girl, as if it has become somewhat cruel and heartless.

    When Tian Yueyue entered the examination hall with a crutch, limping along, she won numerous approving glances.

    Unlike Liu Yong’s feeling of “being in one’s element,” when Tian Yueyue stepped into the Golden Plum Art School, she transformed herself into a solitary traveler.

    She entered this “Nanjing’s university” by writing the word “obedience” outside her chosen preferences. This “Nanjing’s university” was still quite distant  from her original dream of “Nanjing University.” The impact of this additional “ 的 ” character on her was only known to the young girl herself.

    After becoming a new student in the Dance Department of Jinling Art School, she “fixed” her path within the school. Dormitory - Dining Hall - Classroom (Practice Room) - Library, then the cycle repeats: Dormitory - Dining Hall - Classroom (Practice Room) - Library.

    Liu Yong saw Tian Yueyue for the first time at a freshman performance showcase.

    I can’t forget the feeling of holding you in my arms

    It’s warmer than the burning passion hidden in my heart

    I’ve forgotten the harshness of the cold north wind outside the window

    Once again, tenderness and lingering overlap

    It’s your red lips that capture everything about me

    It’s your consideration that makes me passionate once more

    It’s your countless gentle emotions that melt the ice and snow

    It’s your sweet words that change the season

    The first snow of2002

    Is a lingering sentiment in Urumqi

    You’re like a fluttering butterfly

    Swaying in the season of snowflakes drifting down

    In a song titled “The First Snow of 2002,” Liu Yong transformed himself into a “Daolang” of the Golden Capital Art School. Beneath his handsome appearance, he unexpectedly unleashed a voice that was so sensitive, rugged, desolate, passionate, and unrestrained, expressing a man’s tenderness and worldly experience through his singing. This performance marked Liu Yong’s transition from being seen as a “Jia Baoyu” to becoming a “Liu Daolang,” as viewed from the perspective of his teachers and classmates. This transformation was attributed to Liu Yong’s accurate grasp and splendid rendition of the song “The First Snow of 2002” by Daolang. The auditorium of the art school was stirred, leaving some students who had previously considered him just an ordinary student in awe, astonished, and speechless.

    However, what truly prompted Liu Yong to undergo this “transformation” was another person and her dance. Therefore, sometimes people say that those directly involved are often confused while those on the sidelines have a clearer view. In reality, the situation may not always be as straightforward. Observers, lacking a comprehensive understanding of those directly involved, may find it difficult to gain true clarity.

    When the dancer Tian Yueyue from the dance class took the stage, the teachers and students in the audience didn’t hold high expectations for this petite girl who seemed to lack inherent advantages in studying dance. However, as the melody began, the small-framed Tian Yueyue started moving, her steps becoming faster and faster, almost imperceptible. Then her body leaped continuously, twisted endlessly, as if the vast stage could hardly contain her. Gasps could be heard from the audience below, as if they were afraid she might fly off the stage. The young girl erupted, transforming herself into a rapidly spinning top, captivating the teachers and students in the audience, their hearts suspended in mid-air.

    In the dance performance of The White-Haired Girl, the portrayal of Xi’er anxiously awaiting her father by Tian Yueyue can only be described as breathtaking. Tian Yueyue vividly conveyed the coldness Xi’er experiences amidst the snowstorm and her intense anticipation for her father’s return on New Year’s Eve. All of these emotions were portrayed to the fullest through the graceful movements of Tian Yueyue’s petite body.

    The applause, like thunderous applause, continued unabated. The veteran artists watching from the audience stood up and applauded, and the entire audience stood up, still with thunderous applause. Tian Yueyue bent down to express her gratitude to the densely packed crowd below the stage. The applause drowned out her gentle weeping, and at this moment, the floodgates of her emotions opened. The frustration of her “gaokao” failure that had been pent up inside her, found an outlet through Xi’er’s dance, pouring out and releasing.

    All of this was observed keenly by Liu Yong, who was waiting behind the scenes. This usually carefree and suave “little prince” witnessed the scene, and his heart seemed to be pricked by something – a mixture of sourness, pain, and a complex array of emotions.

    At first, he thought that such exceptional talent in a young woman from the same school deserved to be acknowledged. After all, he was renowned throughout the school as the “little prince.” As he continued to watch, it was as if he began to see the hidden story within her, as if he had entered her inner world. He felt a sense of closeness,accompanied by a growing ache. His inner hands instinctively reached out towards the petite figure that was sobbing.