Peaches and Plums Don’t Speak – Chapter 96
by Little PandaTwo Places
Anzhi adapted well to university life. Yang Mengmeng adapted even faster—during military training1, she would run over to their college whenever she had free time to gossip with her about the male eye candy in the School of Mathematics, and incidentally check out the boys in Anzhi’s class.
In the first two months of the semester, Anzhi felt that Yang Mengmeng had already woven her own social network. She was a small chatterbox to begin with, with a sweet tongue and a petite, delicate appearance—she really was likable.
Anzhi was dragged by Yang Mengmeng to participate in various club activities and social mixers2, meeting fellow students in her year as well as shixiong and shijie3.
For the university-wide welcome party4, the two of them squeezed out of their respective college seating sections to sit in the best viewing spots.
The School of Literature’s poetry recitation program featured an old professor in a gray scholar’s robe, his face solemn, his tone resonating with indignation:
“If the frogs cannot endure the silence / And the dead water sings its song / This is a ditch of despair / Here is no place for beauty / Better let ugliness cultivate it / See what world it creates!”
The freshmen, full of longing for university life, were completely bewildered. Yang Mengmeng whispered, “What does the professor mean? Is he saying our science university is dead water?”
Anzhi blinked, equally mystified.
At that moment, the professor on stage took a deep breath and addressed the petrified students: “Moved by recent events, I specially offer Mr. Wen Yiduo’s Dead Water to you all. I hope we may encourage each other!”
When the Foreign Language University’s Romeo and Juliet drama took the stage, the atmosphere below lightened considerably. “O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father, refuse thy name…”
Next came the dance club’s hip-hop group performance, combining various street dance styles to drive the atmosphere to its peak.
Among the dazzling array of performances, what left the deepest impression on Anzhi was a song:
“Remembering the days of youth / When everyone was sincere and earnest / Every word spoken was true”
The singer was said to be a senior from the School of Literature. She wore a long white dress, and the stage even used dry ice to create floating mist, making her look like a fairy drifting in a sea of clouds. Anzhi had never heard this song before, but she had heard Yan Xi recite Mu Xin’s5 original poem.
“In the past, the days passed slowly / Carriages, horses, and mail were all slow / A lifetime was only enough to love one person”
The singing was tender and affecting, the singer’s expression wistful.
A tear slowly rolled down Anzhi’s cheek, falling silently to dampen the front of her shirt.
More than two months into the semester, Anzhi and Yan Xi had only spoken a few times on the phone. Anzhi intentionally kept the conversations brief, saying only that everything was fine and that university life was rich and colorful. She no longer lived as she had in middle and high school, when her world consisted of nothing but Yan Xi and her studies. Now she gladly integrated herself into campus life, broadening her social circle.
At least three days a week, she went for morning runs. When she had nothing else to do, she stayed in the library—that was Anzhi’s favorite place. The library at the University of Science and Technology was shaped like a giant academic cap, quiet and spacious, with endless books to read.
Occasionally in the afternoons, she would lift her head and gaze through the long rows of bookshelves, thinking of Yan Xi. How was Yan Xi doing lately? Was her ex-boyfriend still pursuing her? Would they get back together? Did she think of her? Did she notice that she was somehow different?
In November, Yan Xi’s alma mater held its anniversary celebration, and she was invited to give a speech.
In the auditorium, a massive LCD screen projected her face to the gathered students. She wore a full white suit, her hair cascading like a waterfall, her features picture-perfect, the corners of her lips curved in a gentle smile.
Before she even began to speak, many students raised their phones to photograph her. A string of crisp shutter sounds filled the hall.
The host had to ask them to stop. The students protested, “Let us take a few more!”
Yan Xi said softly to the host, “It’s all right.” Then, smiling into the microphone, she said, “All right, shidi and shimei6, I’ll give you five seconds. Go ahead and take your photos—but remember to use a beauty filter for me.”
The students laughed.
“Shijie is beautiful enough—no filter needed!”
“Even the iPhone front camera looks this good!”
“Can we post these to Weibo7?”
The host had to quiet the hall once more so Yan Xi could begin her speech.
Yan Xi was an excellent speaker, witty and humorous, and the students listened with rapt attention. Her topic was campus life and career planning, interspersed with amusing anecdotes from the television station, including some of her own on-air blunders. It was the most popular speech of the day.
The atmosphere was so good that during the Q&A session, a female student gripping the microphone asked, “Yan-shijie, may I ask if you’re married?”
Yan Xi smiled and shook her head.
The female student beamed. “Then would you accept a date invitation from a girl?”
Yan Xi froze. The entire hall of students burst into laughter, followed by thunderous applause.
After the speech ended, Yan Xi left through a side door, still thinking about that question. She smiled to herself and checked her phone.
Beicheng University wasn’t far from the University of Science and Technology—a fifteen-minute drive. Yan Xi thought about it, then dismissed the idea. Anzhi had grown up; she should have her own life, and there would be many outstanding people her age around her.
Yan Xi could contact Yang Mengmeng to find out how Anzhi was doing, just like in middle school. But she held back. Anzhi had been at university for three months now, and she was still acting like a mother hen whose chick had left the nest…
Yan Xi wanted to laugh at her own terrible metaphor. She managed a brief smile, but then her expression fell. She wandered aimlessly across the campus. By noon, students were rushing toward the cafeteria in twos and threes, in small groups, their whole beings radiating vibrant youthful energy. Yan Xi could see traces of Anzhi in them, though Anzhi carried a few more shades of quietness than her peers.
Unknowingly, she strolled onto a bridge over a lake at Beicheng University. This was a famous lake on campus, with a small island at its center planted full of peach trees. When the season came, blossoms upon blossoms—a breathtaking sight.
Too bad it wasn’t flowering season, or she could have brought Anzhi to see it. But her school probably had one too. Yan Xi smiled and shook her head. She would have to break the habit of wanting to share every beautiful scene with Anzhi.
She stood on the bridge for a while, until a voice called out to her: “Yan Xi.”
She turned and saw Gao Jiming. He had been invited as well.
“May I come over?” He looked at her and smiled slightly.
It had been several months since they last met. After Yan Xi had spoken with her family, he had had the sense not to visit again, nor to reach out to her.
The two stood by the lake, watching the wind-rippled water in silence.
“Are you… settling back in all right?” Yan Xi asked him.
“It’s fine. Salary and benefits are nothing to complain about. The food goes without saying—I have to go to the gym every day.”
Yan Xi gave a soft laugh.
“My mother said she wanted to see you,” Gao Jiming said suddenly.
Yan Xi said nothing. She had met Gao Jiming’s mother once—a warm, friendly woman who had liked her very much and had never gotten over their breakup.
“She told me to win you back. She wants you as her daughter-in-law.”
Yan Xi didn’t respond immediately, so Gao Jiming continued, “I told her not to interfere in our business. Don’t worry—she won’t come looking for you.”
Yan Xi nodded, not wanting to comment on the matter.
“As a condition for her agreeing to stay out of it, I went on five blind dates8 last month,” Gao Jiming said helplessly.
Yan Xi smiled. “Any girls you liked?”
Gao Jiming admitted honestly, “One left a good impression. So I’m considering it.”
The dashing youth he had been all those years ago had transformed completely into a mature, steady man. His gaze no longer burned as intensely as when they were in love, but it still held her reflection.
At this moment, on the campus where they had once been together, Yan Xi felt a moment’s disorientation, as if she had returned to the time and space of their youthful romance.
He said, “So, if you don’t accept my pursuit, I really will go pursue someone else.”
Yan Xi raised her eyes to him. “Jiming.”
Gao Jiming gazed at her, hope in his eyes.
Yan Xi said, “I can no longer love you the way I once did. If we force ourselves to be together, I’m afraid we won’t even be able to remain friends.”
Perhaps it would be better to keep the best version of each other in memory.
Gao Jiming’s expression shifted. He shook his head slightly, tried to smile to ease the tension, but couldn’t manage it.
“I’m sorry,” Yan Xi said.
Gao Jiming shook his head again. He exhaled deeply and said, “Yan Xi, loving you is truly something that makes people love and hate at the same time.” She was so tender, so protective, so attentive to the one she loved—that tenderness had been his comfort and longing during countless sleepless nights abroad. Yet her coldness cut like a knife; even the strongest man couldn’t withstand it.
Yan Xi listened silently. She had already spoken the heartless words; she couldn’t very well refuse to accept his response.
“I doubt there’s anyone in this world who could make you fall desperately in love. If there is, I truly would like to see it.”
Footnotes
- Military training (jūnxùn) is mandatory for freshmen at Chinese universities, typically lasting two to four weeks.
- Student clubs (shètuán) are extracurricular organizations at universities. Social mixers (liányi) are organized events, often for dating purposes.
- Shixiong and shijie are pinyin terms for senior male and senior female students or disciples, respectively.
- An event held at the beginning of the academic year to welcome new students, featuring performances by student groups.
- Mu Xin (1927-2011) was a Chinese poet, writer, and painter. His poem 'From the Past' (Cóngqián Màn) reflects on the slower pace of life in earlier times.
- Shidi and shimei are pinyin terms for junior male and junior female students, respectively.
- A major Chinese social media platform similar to Twitter/X.
- Arranged meetings for potential romantic partners, common in China for those seeking marriage.
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