Quiet Place

    It was a pity that when Liang Jingmin finally arrived in Yuecheng, Cheng Jing had already gone to Jingxiang.

    Jingxiang, a county-level city under Yuecheng’s administration, experiences a subtropical continental monsoon climate with distinct seasons and abundant rainfall.

    The children in Cheng Jing’s class buzzed with excitement. They arrived at the Jingxiang campus at noon, spent two hours tidying their beds and rooms, and by 2:30 PM, most had settled in for classroom study.

    Strictly speaking, they were junior high school students, the best among their peers. These students had passed numerous tests and gained admission to No. 1 Middle School due to their exceptional mathematical and scientific abilities. Their stellar comprehensive scores meant they could bypass the junior high school entrance examination entirely.

    Yuecheng No. 1 Middle School is renowned for its outstanding competitions, which rely more on the students’ excellence than on the teachers. The students here possess a strong self-discipline, making them the perfect products of an exam-oriented education.

    Most of these directly promoted students had to choose a competition group and complete the high school curriculum for their chosen subject before the start of high school, where they would begin competition training.

    Despite their superior learning abilities, self-discipline, and efficiency, they would still undergo several assessments in the coming months. Only the top 20% would remain in the competition group. Cheng Jing was one of them.

    All students promoted to the Jingxiang campus came for training, and Cheng Jing’s task was to teach high school chemistry as quickly as possible during the next semester to facilitate their subsequent chemistry competition training.

    He lectured during the day and reviewed high school chemistry material at night. As Lin Shuheng predicted, even after more than ten years without study, Cheng Jing found teaching high school chemistry effortless.

    Unfortunately, apart from his lectures, he didn’t engage with the students like other coaches. He didn’t relish their sincere pursuit of knowledge or eagerly share his learning experiences.

    Cheng Jing once fervently believed in high-intensity training methods. He considered competitions and college entrance exams the pinnacle of life. However, those years felt distant and vague, leaving him with a different mindset. He feared being consumed by the fervor of the students and instinctively avoided them.

    What Cheng Jing didn’t realize was that he had gained considerable fame among the students.

    He naturally exuded a sense of distance. With his tall, slender frame, white hair, and pale skin, he looked almost ethereal in his straight windbreaker. His demeanor appeared indifferent and detached, as if he would never truly connect with anyone.

    Combined with his impressive academic background, this image made him seem like an unattainable figure to the high school students. They perceived him as incompatible with the dilapidated and rural campus.

    Whenever a student passed by him, the unspoken thought lingered in the air: he belonged to a different world.

    Whispers circulated about his illness, his lack of a typical contestant’s appearance, and the remnants of his once-stellar resume.

    If someone had shared these opinions with Cheng Jing, he would have felt confused and surprised.

    He had once been gentle, concealing his good nature beneath a cool exterior. Only under Liang Jingmin’s pressure had he revealed the madness he suppressed.

    Returning to this land, memories flooded back, nearly overwhelming him.

    He recalled the sultry summers of his youth. The spider web in the corner of his shabby bed, the creaking sound it made when moved, the endless exams, the gray-green test papers, and the smell of freshly inked paper in the air. He remembered the ranking lists posted after each exam and the frustrating sensation of his fingertips gliding across the black columns. Countless times, he scanned the same names, watching the fire of ambition quietly extinguish in his heart, mirroring the numb and desolate days he had spent here.

    With a deep breath, he forced himself to push those memories aside.

    The class bell rang, and he stood up, suddenly remembering there was no class during this period. Just then, his phone buzzed, piercing through his thoughts at the most inopportune moment.

    Cheng Jing hadn’t answered a call in ages. When he saw the unfamiliar number from Xijing, his mind reacted reflexively.

    His hands shook with excitement. He quickly silenced the phone but didn’t hang up, letting it vibrate helplessly in his palm, matching the rhythm of his racing heartbeat.

    The call dragged on too long before it disconnected automatically.

    Cheng Jing held the phone with both hands, feeling as if he had been released from some burden. However, before he could catch his breath, it vibrated again.

    The same number. The same familiar pattern. Cheng Jing’s breathing quickened.

    Reason told him it couldn’t be that person. He had cut off all ties and wanted nothing to do with him. Why would he reach out again? Yet, his heart raced—half in excitement, half in fear.

    It must be a spam call. He had registered with many new apps lately, hoping to reconnect with a long-derailed world. So, Cheng Jing hung up.

    The phone finally fell silent, and he exhaled, opening the homework in front of him to begin marking.

    But just seconds later, the phone vibrated again. This time, he hesitated for a moment before picking up.

    A slight exhale came from the other end. Cheng Jing remained silent.

    Finally, the voice broke through: “Cheng Jing.”

    The voice was so familiar, slightly hoarse, possibly from the change in seasons. Cheng Jing closed his eyes heavily. It was him.

    Why was he calling? Cheng Jing felt puzzled. He had clearly taken the initiative to sever all ties, fulfilling that wish without complaints or demands. What more did he want? Why was he reaching out again?

    Cheng Jing’s thoughts spun, and all he could manage was, “Hello, who is this?”

    The voice on the other end sounded irritated, half sneering and half angry. “Cheng Jing, you really have some nerve.”

    Cheng Jing smiled bitterly, then hung up and blocked the number.

    He felt ridiculous for constantly trying to rationalize Liang Jingmin’s actions. The truth was simple: Liang Jingmin was a born manipulator, thriving on the pleasure of controlling his prey. It was a waste of time to try understanding him.

    At first, the realization that he had been played and abandoned had broken his heart, but now, he felt a sense of calm. Cheng Jing pinched his left wrist with his right hand, counting his heartbeats quietly.

    Liang Jingmin sat in the back seat of the car, seething at the sudden disconnection of the call.

    When he called back, the screen showed that Cheng Jing was still on the line, a clear sign he had been blocked.

    He suppressed his frustration and dialed another number. “It’s still active… Yes, I want it now. The sooner, the better.”

    Moments later, Cheng Jing’s location pinged to Liang Jingmin’s phone. He stared at it, a conspicuous furrow forming between his brows.

    The housekeeper, seated in the front, asked, “Mr. Liang, where to now?”

    Liang Jingmin’s expression darkened momentarily, memories surfacing from long ago.

    His emotions felt extinguished by the heavy rain, leaving only damp embers flickering in his chest. “Jingxiang. Jingxiang Campus of Yuecheng No. 1 Middle School.”

    Cheng Jing counted to a thousand before finally feeling his heartbeat return to normal. He set the phone down and tilted his head to look outside, where the rain continued to pour, relentless and endless.

    For several days, the weather had been hot and humid. An orange weather alert popped up on his phone, warning of an impending storm.

    Once the rain fell, the campus paths turned into muddy puddles. Cheng Jing recalled his first day here.

    He closed his eyes gently, certain he could still smell the familiar scents of his youth: the refreshing aroma of rain, the heavy heat waves shimmering under the sun, the earthy smell of dust mixing with droplets on the cement ground. The present felt richer than memory, and the past sprang back to life when one stood in that place.

    Cheng Jing remained in the crumbling high school, seated in the corridor until dark, allowing himself to drift into the past.

    Three Years Ago in Xijing

    Three years ago, Cheng Jing held a prestigious position, and his high salary was the culmination of his background and education. He was perpetually busy, leaving little room for personal time. His only form of entertainment was pausing by the floor-to-ceiling windows in his office area at sunset, watching the bustling streets below.

    Numerous young men pursued him, but he rejected them all, regardless of their charm or sincerity.

    Despite this, after several months of collaboration, he remained reserved. Occasionally, sweet desires flickered within him, but he recognized their origins and where they would lead. He dismissed them easily.

    Only Liang Jingmin was different.

    That man walked in with a smile, his confidence and charm striking Cheng Jing. At that moment, his heart raced, and he felt a restlessness akin to a moth drawn to a flame.

    Cheng Jing became infatuated with Liang Jingmin. As their encounters increased, his feelings deepened until he fell in love.

    This obsession grew stronger.

    Initially, he dismissed it as a simple crush, yet he soon realized it was profound love, impossible to escape.

    He felt trapped, unable to resist Liang Jingmin, his sole fixation. Cheng Jing sought to bridge the gap between them, to dismantle the barriers, but the distance only widened with time.

    The rain lashed against the ground, and Cheng Jing felt his heart begin to race once more.

    Perhaps the pressure had become unbearable, prompting him to step into the downpour.

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