Chapter 127: The Graduation Ceremony

The ceremony was held in the school’s grand auditorium. Fudan Affiliated High School had three grades, with eight classes in each grade. Every class had more than sixty students, which meant that the school was home to roughly fifteen hundred teachers and students.

The students first returned to their own classrooms, then proceeded to the auditorium one class at a time in order to prevent overcrowding and stampedes.

Cheng Xiaoyu and Wang Ou followed at the very end of their class line. By the time they entered, the auditorium was already packed. The first-year students occupied the rear section, the second-years were gathered in the middle, and the third-years were seated at the front. Since Cheng Xiaoyu’s class was among the last few to arrive, they ended up sitting in the very front.

Once they had taken their seats, the noisy auditorium gradually fell silent. Student council officers stood around the perimeter, keeping order.

The student council president stood at the lectern in the center of the stage and announced the beginning of Fudan Affiliated High School’s 2010 graduation ceremony.

“Let us first invite our principal, Uncle Feng, to the stage to deliver a speech.”

Amid the applause, a lean man in his fifties rose from the first row and strode toward the stage.

It was the first time Cheng Xiaoyu had seen the short, sharp-eyed principal. Most of the students at Fudan Affiliated High School affectionately called him Uncle Feng. When he stood behind the lectern, another thunderous round of applause erupted throughout the auditorium. Every student sincerely respected this unassuming, humorous, and approachable principal.

Uncle Feng did not take out a manuscript. He merely smiled at the students below and said in a measured, expressive voice, “You may remember the solemn anxiety with which you walked into the examination hall after cramming desperately before the test. You may also remember the joy of achieving good results. You may remember the stories of this venerable school’s endless pursuit of excellence. You may remember the crush of bodies in this auditorium, as well as the freedom and abandon you enjoyed in the clubs.

“You will certainly remember the breathlessness and exhilaration of cycling up Guoquan Road. You may remember the intoxicating fragrance of hair and osmanthus blossoms in Youth Park, and the purity or allure that kept you lingering by Eyes Lake. You may remember the torment of confessing your feelings to the girl you liked and being rejected, and you will certainly remember the dizzy enchantment of your first kiss.”

At that, a wave of laughter broke out below the stage.

Uncle Feng paused before continuing. “As the years take their toll, your troubles may grow more numerous, and the questions you consider may become increasingly practical. The transformation of your roles may leave you feeling somewhat unprepared. But that is all right. Success is more likely to visit those who have endured hardship and suffering. After all, only a muddy road leaves footprints.”

Amid applause that rose in wave after wave, Uncle Feng’s speech drew to a close.

“I know that you have some especially memorable recollections as well. You will certainly remember push-ups, hide-and-seek, and drinking boiled water. From the commotion and foolishness, you learned to remember justice. You will remember ‘just passing by’ and ‘Mother is calling you home for dinner.’ From apathy and absurdity, you learned responsibility and conscience. You will certainly remember the wild abandon of the sisters and the lecherousness of the brothers. Perhaps one day, those memories will make you ask yourself: Were you once the sisters’ amusement, or the brothers’ loneliness?”

Here, Uncle Feng made a small joke at Cheng Xiaoyu’s expense, provoking another burst of laughter. Cheng Xiaoyu could only smile bitterly and accept the harmless teasing.

Finally, Uncle Feng’s expression grew solemn.

“Of course, you will also remember your alma mater. What is an alma mater? It is the place you curse eight times a day, yet refuse to let anyone else curse.”

With that, Uncle Feng stepped away from the lectern, turned toward the students, and bowed. The applause that filled the auditorium seemed to shake the heavens.

The first graduate to take the stage and deliver a speech was Li Liwei. Today, he had ironed his white school uniform shirt until it was perfectly smooth and combed his hair with meticulous care. He wore his school badge on the left side. His stride was steady and his expression spirited as he walked onto the stage, prompting no shortage of gasps from the girls.

After reaching the lectern, Li Liwei first politely thanked Principal Feng for his speech. Then he cleared his throat and began.

“Today is a solemn and magnificent day. The teachers and students of the entire school have gathered together to celebrate the graduation of the Class of 2010. Here, I would like to thank all the teachers of Fudan Affiliated High School, as well as our younger brothers and sisters in the first and second grades.

“Three years ago, the weather was beautiful and the sunlight brilliant. We, the graduating students of 2010, crossed the threshold of this sacred institution with childish faces and radiant smiles. In the blink of an eye, more than a thousand days have passed. Today, we are about to leave, carrying maturity and the fruits of our labor with us.

“The most precious thing in life is a reunion before parting. Today, I sat alone for a while in an empty third-year classroom, and I felt deeply sad. I realized with painful clarity how much I love you all. I love your outstanding grades, your diligent efforts, your boundless energy, and every one of your strengths. I love you falling asleep in class, secretly playing with your phones, and sneaking into little romances. I love every one of your flaws. Every strength and every flaw became an indispensable color, and together they painted the dazzling, splendid panorama of Fudan Affiliated High School…”

Li Liwei’s speech was down-to-earth and warm, without a single grandiose or empty phrase. It earned another round of enthusiastic applause and cheers.

The speeches that followed were rather formulaic, and the atmosphere was no longer quite so fervent. Then Su Yuxi stepped onto the stage, and Fudan Affiliated High School erupted in a tremendous cheer.

Although her status as the school goddess had seemed somewhat precarious after rumors spread about her and Cheng Xiaoyu, even a goddess who descended into the mortal world remained a goddess. The students of Fudan soon discovered that Goddess Su was still the same as ever: equally imposing, equally cold and aloof, without the slightest change.

In truth, most of the students felt that rumors were merely rumors. Besides, the two of them had never displayed any particularly intimate behavior afterward, and the gossip gradually vanished without a trace.

Su Yuxi was supposed to speak today on behalf of the younger students. She had actually refused, but the teachers of Fudan Affiliated High School regarded her as the student who best embodied the school’s transcendent spirit. They had simply assigned the task to her by force. There was little Su Yuxi could do against teachers willing to plead shamelessly in front of their students, so she had no choice but to take the stage. Even so, she had not begun thinking about what to say until just now. She had prepared no speech in advance.

It had to be said that the summer sailor-style uniform looked exceptionally beautiful on Su Yuxi. In the slightly stifling auditorium, the moment she walked lightly onto the stage, a cool breeze seemed to pass through everyone’s field of vision, its chill sinking from their eyes straight into their hearts. It was as though Su Yuxi were not walking through an auditorium at all, but gliding across a clear, cold lake like a celestial maiden riding the waves.

When she reached the lectern and stood still, the pure white sailor uniform and sea-blue tie set off her face to extraordinary effect. Her skin was smooth and luminous as warm jade, her cherry-red lips bright without cosmetics. Her deep blue-black hair flowed over her shoulders like water. Most striking of all were her eyes—so beautiful that people scarcely dared look directly at them. One brief glance was enough to make their faces flush and their hearts race.

Cheng Xiaoyu had never really understood what people meant by a beauty untouched by worldly dust. He had never experienced anything like it before. Now, at last, he did. He could not put all his feelings into words. He only felt that, to him, Su Yuxi had lost some of her untouchable chill and gained a little of the warmth of the setting sun.

Perhaps to most of the boys at Fudan Affiliated High School, Su Yuxi was the girl who appeared one evening after school, when the setting sun floated between the high-rises and cast its last rays across the classroom desks. She stood beside the window framed by blue sky and white clouds, still wearing her school uniform, and smiled at you.

She was beyond reach, yet she illuminated your youth.

No matter what happened, she would always have a place in your memories.

Su Yuxi first reached out and pulled the microphone closer. The auditorium was exceptionally quiet by then; it seemed that even the fall of a needle could have been heard.

She paused, gathered her thoughts, and gently began to speak. Her warm, tranquil voice echoed throughout the auditorium.

“Today, my teachers asked me to come up here and say a few words on behalf of the younger students. To be honest, I still hadn’t thought of anything before I came onstage. But just now, when I stood here, I saw my older brother. He is graduating today as well, and he is sitting down there in the audience.

“So I thought that, since I have nothing else to say, I might as well talk about my brother. The title is: ‘You Do Not Have to Be Extraordinary.’”