Who said you could call her Zijin?

Wang Xiaoliang froze.

He had imagined countless answers. She might hesitate, refuse, or need time to think.

But he had never imagined that Wei Zijin would respond like this, so quickly and so directly, slapping the grand promises he had just made right back into his face.

Be her first interview subject?

It was simply... perfectly logical, yet completely unexpected.

He looked at her outstretched hand, fair and slender. Under the café's soft lighting, there was unmistakable strength beneath its softness.

Instinctively, Wang Xiaoliang reached out and shook it.

Her hand was a little cold, but her grip was firm.

"Okay."

That single word squeezed its way out of Wang Xiaoliang's throat.

What else could he say? He had talked himself up; now he had to make good on it, even if it killed him. Besides, Wei Zijin also needed a "stranger" with enough of a story to tell who was completely safe to approach.

He was the perfect candidate.

An unreserved smile finally blossomed on Wei Zijin's face, seeming to brighten the whole café.

"Thank you, Wang Xiaoliang."

She released his hand and settled back into her seat, as though she hadn't been the one acting so solemn just moments before.

"Then, eight tomorrow morning, outside your dorm building. Does that work?"

"No problem," Wang Xiaoliang agreed readily. "But I have things to do tomorrow morning. I might be running all over the place."

"Perfect." Wei Zijin picked up her phone and gave it a little wave. "What I need is to document your daily life. Whatever you do, I'll film."

She paused, then added, "Without getting in your way, of course."

The next morning, Wang Xiaoliang appeared outside his dorm building on time.

He hadn't dressed up specially and was still wearing the same ERKE outfit.

He rode a cargo tricycle with ten cases of drinks loaded onto it.

As soon as he emerged from the dorm entrance, he spotted Liu Xinyu.

"Xiaoliang, did you go pick up stock?" Liu Xinyu hurried over and casually lifted a case. "Call me if you need help."

"Didn't want to interrupt your dreams of getting married..."

Before Wang Xiaoliang could finish, Liu Xinyu abruptly froze.

His gaze passed over Wang Xiaoliang and fixed on a figure standing a short distance behind him.

Wang Xiaoliang turned around.

Wei Zijin stood there in a simple white tracksuit, her long hair falling over her shoulders. She held up a phone mounted on a small, professional-looking stabilizer. The lens was pointed straight at them.

Liu Xinyu's mouth formed a perfect O.

Of course he knew who Wei Zijin was.

But why was she here?

And why was she filming Wang Xiaoliang?

"Um...?" Liu Xinyu's tongue seemed to tie itself in knots.

Amused, Wang Xiaoliang stepped aside and introduced them without hesitation.

"Xinyu, let me introduce you. This is my good friend, Wei Zijin."

Then he turned to Wei Zijin and made the same introduction. "Zijin, this is my good friend, Liu Xinyu."

Liu Xinyu felt as though his brain had crashed.

Good friend?

Wei Zijin?

She's become your good friend, Wang Xiaoliang?

He looked at the perfectly composed Wang Xiaoliang, then at Wei Zijin smiling behind the camera, and felt as though the world had stopped making sense.

Wei Zijin gave Liu Xinyu a polite nod in greeting, then continued filming, showing no intention of stopping.

Completely bewildered, Liu Xinyu sidled up to Wang Xiaoliang and asked urgently, in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Bro, what's going on? Who said you could call her Zijin?"

Wang Xiaoliang didn't know whether to laugh or cry. All he could offer was a vague answer. "Friends. Just ordinary friends."

Ignoring Liu Xinyu, who was still reeling, he carried his load straight toward his room.

Wei Zijin followed silently behind him.

The room was very tidy.

The windows gleamed, and there wasn't a single stray item on the floor. Wang Xiaoliang's bed was especially immaculate, with the quilt neatly folded and not a single wrinkle in the sheet.

Wei Zijin slowly swept her camera around the room before settling on Wang Xiaoliang's clean desk.

A computer and books, without a speck of dust.

Wang Xiaoliang had gradually grown used to being filmed and no longer felt as awkward as he had when they first met.

He emptied all the drinks from his plastic bags and backpack onto the floor and began repacking them.

He took out a larger travel bag, stacked the drinks neatly inside, zipped it up, and slung it onto his back.

Throughout the process, his movements were brisk and efficient, and he didn't waste a word.

Wei Zijin said nothing either. She simply adjusted her angles, faithfully recording everything.

They left the dorm and headed straight for the Library.

People streamed in and out of the Library entrance. Wang Xiaoliang expertly found a spot where he wouldn't block anyone, took the drinks out of his bag, and got down to business.

The first two bags of drinks had all been ordered in advance.

He barely spoke throughout.

Sometimes Wei Zijin stood far away, filming his busy figure through gaps in the crowd; other times she moved close, pointing the lens at his payment QR code and the hands passing out drinks.

She was nothing more than a faithful observer, barely noticeable yet everywhere at once.

The first two bags of drinks were soon delivered.

Without pausing, Wang Xiaoliang hurried back to his room, filled another bag, and returned to the Library.

This time, he took the initiative, placing small cards in front of the students.

The drinks sold quickly, bottle after bottle.

At noon, the two of them had a simple meal in the campus cafeteria.

After selling another round of drinks,

they went to the campus café.

"All right, Mr. Wang Xiaoliang," she teased. "Now we can begin the formal interview."

The interview went deeper than Wang Xiaoliang had expected.

It lasted more than an hour.

Wei Zijin asked him plenty of questions about his past, his family, and his plans for the future.

"I have one more favor to ask."

"Go ahead."

"I know you're good at calligraphy. I'm moving soon, and I'd like you to... write a piece for me."

Wang Xiaoliang was a little surprised.

"I hope you'll let me film the process and use it to end the first video."

Wang Xiaoliang considered it for a moment, then nodded.

"Sure. What would you like me to write?"

"Anything. Whatever you feel like writing."

Over the next few days, Wang Xiaoliang didn't see Wei Zijin again.

His life returned to its previous routine: selling drinks and earning money every day, then spending all his remaining time studying for the upcoming makeup exams.

He had no idea how Wei Zijin's video was coming along or whether she had posted it. He felt too embarrassed to ask, thinking it would make him seem overly invested. Besides, it would feel too much like checking up on her work.

Time flew, and several weeks passed in the blink of an eye.

The makeup exams arrived.

They were held on Thursday and Friday afternoons.

The exams went smoothly. The questions weren't particularly difficult. Fortunately, Wang Xiaoliang hadn't slacked off and had reviewed all the material thoroughly; Feng Yuan's list of key topics wasn't very comprehensive.

When he walked out of the exam room after the last exam, Wang Xiaoliang felt certain he had passed both courses.

Beside him, however, Li Jun looked utterly dejected, his whole body drooping.

"I'm done for, Xiaoliang. I might have failed today's exam again." His face was miserable. "The materials Feng Yuan gave us weren't complete."

Wang Xiaoliang patted his shoulder, unsure how to comfort him.

That was reality. When an opportunity was placed in front of you and you failed to seize it, all you could do was accept your bad luck.

On Saturday, Wang Xiaoliang treated himself to a rare lie-in.

By the time he woke up, it was already ten in the morning.

He picked up his phone and glanced at it out of habit.

A WeChat message sat quietly on the screen.

It was from Wei Zijin.

There was no extra text, just a shared video link.

The video's cover showed him from behind, selling drinks outside the Library, with the setting sun stretching his shadow far across the ground.

The title was simple, just three Chinese characters.

"Song of Ordinary People."

The subtitle read,

"Interviewing one hundred university students about to graduate."

Wang Xiaoliang's heartbeat began to quicken.

He opened the link.

The video wasn't short. Its displayed runtime was 11 minutes and 23 seconds.