The Troubles of Late Summer

In September, the summer heat in Taipei had not yet completely dissipated.

The wind from the Tamsui River blew in through the window, carrying a slightly salty smell, making the stack of sheet music on the desk rustle.

Xia Mo sat in the music room, her fingers ran a scale across the piano keys, then stopped and rubbed her wrists.

The music room belongs to the new school—the junior high school affiliated with Tamkang Private Senior High School in New Taipei City, located at No. 26, Zhenli Street, Tamsui District. It's an old red brick building with arched corridors and vines climbing the walls, making him feel like he had accidentally stumbled into a scene from an old movie when he first walked in.

His mother took care of everything for him.

With her foundation in piano practice since childhood and her music examination certificates, Xia Mo successfully passed the special admission interview for the first music class of Tamkang High School and became one of the first students in this new class.

The class is neither too big nor too small, and its combination of majoring in piano and minoring in cello is unique in the entire grade.

As summer drew to a close, I closed the piano lid, walked out of the music room, and passed through the long arcade.

Sunlight streamed in through the stone pillars of the arcade, drawing diagonal lines on the ground like the black and white keys of a piano.

A few girls walked over from the other end of the corridor. When they saw him, they nudged each other with their elbows, then walked past with their heads down and smiles.

He heard one of them whisper, "That's him," and another added, "He's so aloof."

Xia Mo walked past them expressionlessly.

He didn't know what he had done wrong.

During the school anniversary celebration in the first week of school, the music class was to put on a performance. The teacher called on him to perform, and he couldn't refuse, so he went on stage and played a Chopin nocturne, and then played a piece of "The Swan" on the cello.

After he finished playing, the audience erupted in applause. He bowed and left the stage without lingering for even a second.

But what he didn't expect was that from that day on, his drawer would never be empty.

The first day, it was a pink letter with a heart-shaped sticker on the envelope, and no signature. Xia Mo opened it, read two lines, then folded it up expressionlessly and put it deep inside her schoolbag.

The next day, there were two letters. One was folded into a heart shape, and the other was on scented stationery. When he opened it, the strong floral fragrance made him sneeze.

On the third day, there were four envelopes, each with different handwriting. Some were neat, some were messy, and some had cute little doodles drawn on the back.

He didn't reply to any of them. It wasn't arrogance; he genuinely didn't know how to reply.

During the third week of school, at the end of summer, I was dragged by some boys in my class to play basketball during lunch break.

Back in Japan, he had no teammates for PE class, so he and Asuka would just play basketball together for fun.

They said they were playing together, but actually he was teaching her. Her shooting form was crooked and the ball would hit the instep of her foot when she dribbled. He just watched her chase the ball from the side.

But when he arrived in Taipei, the situation was completely different. His height was above average for a first-year junior high school boy, and although his dribbling wasn't particularly good, his shooting form was very standard—thanks to the feel he developed when he coached Asuka back then.

A group of people played on the playground for half an hour. Xia Mo made five shots, which wasn't the most, but every time he got the ball, there would be whispers and occasional laughter from the girls on the sidelines.

After the game, a third-year student walked up to him and handed him a bottle of water.

The senior student's name is Chen Yijun. She is a student in Class 2 of Grade 3. She has shoulder-length hair and a shallow dimple when she smiles.

She was wearing the dark blue school uniform of Tamkang High School, with the cuffs rolled up twice, revealing a section of her fair wrist.

"Junior, you played well."

"Thank you." Xia Mo took it, unscrewed the cap, and took a sip.

"You're in the music class? You were the one who played the piano at the last school anniversary celebration, weren't you?"

"Um."

Chen Yijun smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Wow, that's impressive. I'm Chen Yijun from Class 2, Grade 3. You can come find me if you have time."

Xia Mo nodded.

He wasn't quite sure why the senior student wanted to tell him his name and which class he was in, but he felt it would be impolite to just say "oh," so he said, "Thank you, senior student."

After Chen Yijun left, Lin Yanting, a classmate, came over and nudged his arm with his elbow, saying enviously:

"Summer's End, you're too strong."

"Um?"

"A third-year student spoke to you first! She even brought you water! Do you know who she is?"

"have no idea."

"Chen Yijun! The most beautiful girl in the third year!" Lin Yanting's tone was filled with shock, as if asking, "Are you from Mars?"

"She even told you her name! Do you know what that means?"

At the end of summer, I screwed the bottle cap back on, placed the water on a bench by the sports field, and didn't take it with me.

He didn't feel that he was any different from before.

When he was in Japan, he was the quiet Chinese student in his class. After class, he would either sneak off to the music room to practice the piano or stay alone in his seat.

In the ensemble, he was the oddball who chose the most difficult instrument, always alone, playing long notes over and over again in front of the music stand every day.

But when he arrived in Taipei, the same man who didn't talk much suddenly became "cool," "aloof," and a "musical prodigy."

It was under this contrast that he started receiving love letters.

--------

One evening in late September, Xia Mo sat at her desk with her homework book open in front of her and a pen in her hand, but she didn't write anything.

The night breeze from Tamsui outside the window carried the salty scent of the sea, causing the curtains to sway gently. He stared at his phone for a while, then dialed Asuka's number.

After ringing a few times, the call was answered, and a very soft voice came from the other end.

"Feed".

"It's me. You're still awake?" Xia Mo leaned back in her chair and put down her pen.

"Hmm." Asuka's voice sounded a little tired, but her tone was still the same indifferent one as usual.

"How have you been lately?" Xia Mo asked.

"Same as usual, nothing special," Asuka said. "Classes, homework, and occasionally going shopping with Hana. What about you?"

Xia Mo didn't answer immediately. He twirled the pen between his fingers twice, then put it down.

"School's started. New school. Tamkang High School, in Tamsui." Xia Mo paused, "It's a very old school, the buildings are all red brick, the corridors are very long, kind of like in the movies."

"Isn't that great? It has a sense of history." Asuka's voice held a hint of interest.

"I've been assigned to the music class, majoring in piano and minoring in cello. My teacher said I'm the only one in my year who's taking two subjects at the same time."

"Congratulations, great musician!" The girl's mischievousness resurfaced, and she began to tease Xia Mo.

"Come on. That's not what I meant—"

Xia Mo paused for a moment, hesitated for a few seconds, and then said, "There's something that's bothering me."

"What?"

"Since the start of the semester, I've received over a dozen love letters. Some are from my classmates, and some are from older students. I don't know any of them."

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone. Then Feiniao's voice rang out, speaking at a normal pace with a hint of teasing:

"Isn't that normal? With your looks, and the ability to play the piano and cello, plus basketball, what girl wouldn't like someone like you? You're exactly the kind of guy that's popular these days—quiet, talented, and reserved. If I were a girl at your school, I might write something for you too—but never mind. Anyway, you're just very popular."

Xia Mo held her phone, listening quietly as she finished speaking. There was no anger in her words, but rather a calmness, as if she were talking about something she had long expected.

But Xia Mo's words just didn't sound right.

"I'm really not bragging," Xia Mo said. "It's genuinely annoying. Every day I open the mail and I don't know whether to throw it away or not."

"Just throw them away, you don't even know them anyway. Keeping them is just taking up space." Asuka's tone was casual, as if she were giving advice to a friend.

"oh."

Xia Mo paused for a moment, then decided to stop dwelling on the topic and shift the focus to what mattered most to her.

"By the way, your selection process... the results are out?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone. Then Feiniao's voice changed, becoming more serious, but her tone remained as calm as possible.

"They're out."

"How is it?" Xia Mo's voice unconsciously rose half an octave.

"Both Hua Hua and I were selected."

"Really?" Xia Mo jumped up from her chair, her voice noticeably higher. "That's wonderful! Congratulations!"

"It's still early, it's just that you've been selected."

The bird chuckled softly, a short laugh like a decorative note on a piano that could be easily missed if you weren't listening carefully.