That Summer, We Never Confessed Our Love

That summer, Shen Zhu sat to the right of Song Duo, while Wang Hongqiang sat on his left by the window. The ceiling fan swayed, the corners of their test papers curled, and the cicadas’ cries clung to the backs of their necks. They lent each other pens, compared homework, and carried the same bucket during cleanup, in such easy sync that it seemed nothing had happened. He took the longer way just to walk with her and slipped notes beneath her eraser. She sensed how special he made her feel, but pushed her own budding affection away. Then Lü Dongyang teased them, and the whole class turned to look. They both pulled their hands back at the same time. Later, a seating change separated them. The note Song Duo had written dissolved in the wash water in his pocket, while Shen Zhu was called to in the hallway and didn’t look back. They were put in different classes, their schedules fell out of sync, and they stood three rows apart in their graduation photo. Neither ever brought it up, and they lost touch. There was no confession and no villain to fight, just crossed signals, misunderstandings, and the silence each chose, turning what might have been into something that came too late, little by little. Years later, he stopped in his tracks at the sound of cicadas in another city and slipped his hand back into his pocket. This novel and its characters are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to actual people or events is purely coincidental. Do not imitate.