Chapter 24: The Birthday Gift from Shen Jia Yan

The school announced that due to bad weather, evening self-study was canceled, and students were dismissed right after afternoon classes. Homeroom teachers from each class notified the parents.

The downpour lasted through two periods.

Fortunately, by the end of the last class, the rain had lightened considerably.

However, with nearly two hours of heavy rainfall, the water accumulated on the school roads had already exceeded 20 centimeters deep.

This meant that without rain boots, shoes and even pant legs would be completely soaked.

In fact, no one had come to school in rain boots, so everyone had to wade through the water to reach the dorms or leave campus.

On normal early dismissal days, Shen Jia Yan didn’t usually walk with Wen Wan Ning.

Since each class had different schedules and they could always stay in touch, they didn’t make plans to leave together.

But today, with the bad weather, Shen Jia Yan was worried and decided to wait at the entrance of the teaching building.

Before long, she spotted Wen Wan Ning and Lü Yue at the door.

“Jia Yan, why haven’t you left yet?” Wen Wan Ning asked her.

Shen Jia Yan pulled out two umbrellas she had prepared in advance. “I was afraid you didn’t bring one, so I waited for you.”

One was her own, and the other she had forcibly borrowed from Xia Yuxin.

Xia Yuxin had glared at her countless times while planning to share Jiang Yufei’s umbrella.

“As expected from your best desk mate, so caring,” Lü Yue teased.

Wen Wan Ning took out her own umbrella. “It was cloudy this morning when I left, so I brought one.”

With the current weather, whether they had umbrellas or not didn’t seem to matter much anymore. The rain was very light now, and some students had even run out without opening theirs.

The real concern was wading through the water.

Especially for Wen Wan Ning, who had a longer walk than Shen Jia Yan.

“That’s good,” Shen Jia Yan said. She lowered her head to look at her own shoes, then glanced sideways at Wen Wan Ning’s—she was wearing the pair Shen Jia Yan had given her.

The three of them stood at the entrance, pondering if there was a path with less flooding.

Suddenly, a girl walked up to Wen Wan Ning. “Wan Ning, haven’t left yet?”

“Yeah, about to go.”

“Oh.” The girl rolled up her pant legs while speaking, then took off her shoes and socks.

She picked up her shoes and said to Wen Wan Ning, “Then I’m off, bye-bye.”

“Bye-bye.”

That was a good idea.

Wen Wan Ning rolled up her own pant legs and began untying her shoelaces.

Shen Jia Yan quickly grabbed her hand. “You’re taking off your shoes?”

“Yeah.” Wen Wan Ning responded naturally.

She just didn’t want to get the shoes wet. After all, it was quite a distance, and soaking them the whole way might ruin them.

These were the birthday gift from Shen Jia Yan, and she didn’t want to damage them.

If she’d known there would be this much flooding, she wouldn’t have worn them out today.

Shen Jia Yan looked at the murky water ahead and said firmly, “No way!”

Wen Wan Ning stood up, frowning. “Why not?”

Shen Jia Yan lifted her chin toward the water. “It’s so murky—who knows what’s in there. What if there’s something sharp and it cuts your foot?”

That made sense.

Wen Wan Ning thought for a moment but still bent down to continue untying her laces.

“Wen Wan Ning!” Shen Jia Yan raised her voice slightly, gripping the umbrella tighter.

She knew Wen Wan Ning didn’t want to ruin the shoes, especially since they were a gift from her. But she’d already told her it was unsafe, and she was still choosing to go barefoot.

“It’s really not safe. If you’re worried about the shoes getting ruined, I’ll just buy you another pair, okay?” Shen Jia Yan tried to stop her, her tone urgent.

Wen Wan Ning turned to look at her, frowning with a smile, then slipped off her shoes and held them in her hand.

“It’s fine, look.” She pointed to a classmate nearby holding their shoes and wading through the water. “Everyone’s doing it. It’s okay, don’t worry.”

Before Shen Jia Yan could respond, she grabbed Lü Yue’s wrist, ducked under her umbrella, and turned back. “Jia Yan, we’re heading out first. You go soon too—don’t wait until the rain picks up again.”

Without giving Shen Jia Yan a chance to reply, the two quickly left.

Wen Wan Ning hurried away to prevent her from stopping her again, thus protecting the gift she’d given her.

Shen Jia Yan was so frustrated her temples throbbed. She watched as Wen Wan Ning stepped into the murky water barefoot, her school uniform pants rolled up to her knees, revealing her slender ankles.

All for the sake of those shoes—she had to take the risk.

She really had no idea how worried she was.

※

Steam filled the bathroom, and the changed school uniform still carried the earthy smell of rainwater. Shen Jia Yan mechanically dried her hair, but the scene from dismissal kept flashing in her mind.

Wen Wan Ning’s retreating figure, shoes in hand, soaked pant legs clinging to her calves.

So silly…

She picked up her phone, opened WeChat, and hovered her fingers over the keyboard, typing and deleting.

[Did your feet get hurt?] — Too deliberate.

[Home safe?] — Too cold.

[Was it worth it for a pair of shoes?] — The cursor blinked after the last word.

She thought for a moment, then locked the screen and placed the phone face down on the table.

Outside the window, the rain eased, droplets tracing paths down the glass like her tangled thoughts.

She was clearly angry, but the worry overshadowed it.

Her phone suddenly vibrated.

She snatched it up instantly, only to see it was just a weather alert. In that split second the screen lit up, the unfinished message lingered in the chat box.

She retyped: [You okay?]

Her fingertip hovered over send, then pressed it.

Soon, a new message popped up.

Wen Wan Ning sent a photo.

In it, the shoes Shen Jia Yan had given her sat on the windowsill, padded with an absorbent towel underneath, laces neatly spread out to dry. Moonlight filtered through the sheer curtains, making them gleam as if they’d never been in the rain.

Shen Jia Yan felt both exasperated and amused.

[I’m not asking about the shoes—I’m asking about you. Did your feet get hurt?]

Wen Wan Ning sat at her desk, lips curving up as she replied: [Both me and the shoes are fine. Don’t worry.]

Just those simple ten words made Shen Jia Yan’s heart clench, sour and swollen.

She really treasures the shoes I gave her…

Outside, the post-rain sky glowed with faint orange. Shen Jia Yan typed: [If it rains tomorrow, no taking off shoes. I can carry you—I’ve trained for it. (muscles.jpg)]

Wan Ning: [Hahaha, okay. (You’re awesome.jpg)]

※

Time sped forward like a fast-forwarded tape. The first digit on the high school entrance exam countdown on the classroom’s back wall changed from three to two.

The atmosphere in the classroom shifted subtly.

During breaks, no one laughed loudly anymore; instead, there was the rustle of pens on paper, occasionally interrupted by a stifled yawn.

Towering walls of books piled up on every desk—workbooks and mock exams accumulating like fallen leaves, obscuring the students’ lowered profiles.

Senior year had arrived.

Shen Jia Yan’s grades remained in the middle of her year group. Getting into a decent university wasn’t an issue, but Shen Yan and Jiang Jing had always hoped she’d aim higher.

Then their homeroom teacher, Sun Yan, offered a suggestion.

Shen Yan and Jiang Jing made time to visit Shen Jia Yan’s school and meet with Teacher Sun Yan.

In the reception room, Sun Yan placed two cups of water in front of them and analyzed, “Jia Yan is very smart. Her math scores have always been at the top of the class, but her comprehensive liberal arts scores have been hard to improve.”

“Actually, improving liberal arts isn’t difficult—most points come from memorization—but…”

“But what, Teacher Sun? Please speak freely,” Jiang Jing asked gently.

Sun Yan smiled. “It’s just that it’s already senior year. If she hasn’t solidly mastered the previous material, cramming from scratch now might not be so simple.”

Shen Yan sat frowning on the sofa, silent.

Jiang Jing’s interlaced hands tightened.

Seeing neither spoke, Sun Yan thought for a moment and continued, “However, I have a suggestion you might consider.”

Jiang Jing’s eyes lit up. “What is it, Teacher Sun?”

“During the school anniversary celebration, I saw her drum set skills were at a high level, so I had her perform onstage. I’m not an expert on drum sets, but she played exceptionally well, and the live feedback was great. I wondered if she could take the art exam route.”

“With her current academic scores plus the art exam boost, she could definitely get into an excellent university.”

Shen Yan and Jiang Jing didn’t respond immediately.

Their thinking was somewhat traditional—they’d always hoped their child would take the standard academic path to a satisfactory university like most people. They’d never considered her entering as an arts student.

Back then, Shen Jia Yan had insisted on learning the drum set; originally, they’d wanted her to play piano to build her willpower and patience.

They’d even planned her future: following in their footsteps into politics—stable and secure.

After returning home, they discussed Teacher Sun Yan’s suggestion carefully and consulted a few experts in art exams.

In the end, they decided to let Shen Jia Yan pursue the art exam.

When they told her, she agreed smoothly. She did love the drum set, and getting into a better university this way didn’t seem bad at all.

But she had one condition: no training camp.

From other art candidates in her class, she knew seniors had to leave school for long periods for unified training.

She was confident in her drum set level and didn’t think she needed much training time. Plus…

She was reluctant to be away from Wen Wan Ning for so long in their final high school days.

Shen Yan and Jiang Jing had no strong objections. Staying on campus would still help her academics.

For training, they could hire the most professional teacher for one-on-one guidance.

With agreement reached, Shen Jia Yan began preparing for the art exam.

Aside from going to bed later each day and occasional weekend leaves to practice at home, not much changed.

She could still wait for Wen Wan Ning after school every day and continue her “chance encounters.”