CHAPTER 497: AFTER THE GRADUATION CEREMONY, THE NOON WHEN GOING TO THE FLOWER SHOP

"The 56th graduation ceremony of Goda High School has come to an end. Everyone, please stand."

Teachers, parents, freshmen and sophomores, and school leaders on stage, all stood up.

But the graduating seniors remained seated.

"Seniors, please exit," the hoarse voice of the head of student guidance ignited the emotions of farewell.

First was the 3-4 class; they stood up and bowed to everyone.

The homeroom teacher of 3-4 led the way, with the graduates following behind.

As they stepped out, everyone spontaneously applauded and the Wind Instrument Club began to play the "Goda School Song."

"Yamamura-senpai—" from the line of sophomores, suddenly a girl shouted out.

In the 3-4 class, a girl with a ponytail waved back.

"Shengtian-senpai—" shouted a boy with a crew cut from the group of freshmen.

"Good luck at the competition next year!" called out a boy with a crew cut from the 3-4 line, pumping his fist energetically.

Like the first two drops of a torrential downpour, soon after, the applause crashed down like rainfall.

"Senpai—"

"Yamamoto-senpai—"

"Naomi-senpai—"

At the gymnasium exit, where the 3-4 class was to pass by and disappear, suddenly many balloons came tumbling down.

Originally composed and having agreed on a dignified departure, the seniors covered their eyes with their wrists.

After the ceremony, everyone lingered in the courtyard.

Taking pictures with parents, chatting with underclassmen, discussing where to go have fun later.

Dubian Che, avoiding the crowd, stood alone under the zelkova tree, watching everyone immersed in the uneasy atmosphere of departure.

The scene before him was reminiscent of the "Southampton" port, just before the Titanic set sail—excited, happy, sad, lost.

Saito Keisuke had left for a farewell party at the computer research club, while Kunii Shuichi...

"One, two, three!"

He and the crew-cut boys from the sports clubs were tossing their senior classmates up into the air.

Dubian Che had no club seniors graduating, nor a farewell party to attend.

He thought of Misezawa Village, far away, 400 kilometers distant.

The sky turned darker, tinged with the orange of the mountain ridges;

The dog chasing rabbits through the vast fields of mang grass;

Little Lian, walking along the canal after school, striving to keep her balance;

And that giant white windmill.

A year had passed since he had brimmed with aspirations for the big city, crossing county lines, mountains, tunnels, to arrive in Tokyo.

◇

Dubian Che took a moment to compose himself and started looking for Kiyono Lin.

They had agreed to find a flower shop that day.

A flower shop that genuinely sourced directly from Ota Flower Market, and to ensure they would provide the finest roses, the help of "Lie Detector Lin" was vital.

He walked toward the club building and directly made his way to the fifth floor.

The Human Observation Department, where Kiyono Lin sat by the window.

Spring light filtered through the window, outlining her figure with a soft halo.

Her jet-black, powder-lead hair cascaded down, swaying gently in the breeze that blew through the window.

A scene so familiar, so ordinary, so warm, would one day be out of sight, wouldn’t it? Just like this day two years later.

Hearing the door open, Kiyono Lin looked up.

"You’re late," she said with a chilly tone.

Dubian Che smiled, shedding the pervasive atmosphere of farewells in the school.

"I took an extra moment on my way here," he said.

"Whose legs were you looking at?" Kiyono Lin closed her book and put it in her bag.

"Why does it have to be legs? No, it wasn’t."

"Mr. Dubian has moments when he doesn’t look at legs?"

"What’s with that surprised look? I remember telling you that I’m not always thinking about that sort of thing!"

"I also remember telling you that people don’t stay the same forever. Given your level of deviance, I thought you might be close to thinking about that sort of thing all the time."

"Are you bragging about your memory?"

Kiyono Lin picked up her bag and left the club room, with Dubian Che following behind.

"I don’t know how you’ve come to that conclusion," she said with a sigh, then disdainfully added: "However, from your tone, it seems you think your memory is superior to mine?"

They locked the club room and walked shoulder to shoulder down the deserted corridor.

The sound of their indoor shoes scraping the floor drowned out the noise from the hall windows.

Dubian Che didn’t respond but instead countered:

"’By the veranda of the chamberlain’s quarters, bush-clovers bloomed profusely,’ please continue."

"’Today large black butterflies have come to settle on them, and their vivid hues are mirrored in the water of the pond below. Beneath the veranda, the wisteria trellis has thickened with leaves and hanging vines.’"

Kiyono Lin recited it effortlessly, without any hesitation or pause.

It was her turn to challenge: "’It’s so boring, the end of the Hachiman temporary festival. Why can’t it be like the Hemao Festival where...’"

Before she could finish, Dubian Che spoke:

"’When the Emperor heard this, he said, ’Well, when we return tomorrow, we’ll call for the dances to be performed.’’"

The two of them continued, alternating lines from "Ancient City" and "Zhencaozi," descending the staircase.

When they reached the second floor, they encountered a large group from the Wind Instrument Club.

The club members invited them to join the farewell party, but they declined.

They stood aside to let the Wind Instrument Club pass first.

As they crossed paths, Dubian Che locked eyes with Mayi Asuka, who was holding the tube with her graduation certificate.

Ichiki Aoi stood by her side, begging for the second button from her uniform top.

"Senpai, please give it to me~"

"... I don’t want to ruin the clothes."

"Ah—, Senpai!"

"Ichiki, do your best!"

"Put on a great performance later, and maybe Mayi-senpai will give it to you!"

As the Wind Instrument Club moved past, aware or unaware of their internal jokes, they teased Ichiki Aoi with encouragement.

Kiyono Lin watched the scene with cool detachment, like a young person of modern times uninterested in kabuki.