Chapter 57

Chapter 57

Man's Struggle with the Waves (Part 1)

Yu Manyi did not leave Song Qi’s house on the night the clothes were burned. As for how the book labeled “Radio” was returned the next day, she didn’t inquire too deeply. However, she did notice that several pages inside were torn out.

"Should I buy a new one?" Yu Manyi asked him.

"It’s available but has no market," Song Qi replied.

She nodded, then, after a moment, had a sudden thought:

"How about I go to the Business Printing House and find one for you? When I went for the exam that day, I only visited the publishing house and saw many books. Once I go for the training at the headquarters, I’m sure there will be more materials. What kind of one do you want? I can help ask."

Yu Manyi genuinely wanted to do something for Song Qi, just like she told him when she first came to Shanghai: "You don’t always have to be so alone. When something comes up, we can face it together."

However, Song Qi placed the torn book back into the drawer and, unusually serious, spoke to her: "Don’t mention these things to anyone, and don’t look for anything related to radio yourself. Do you understand?"

The things that could make Song Qi serious were only a few, and Yu Manyi had experienced all of them since coming to Shanghai. Familiarity bred comfort; she was no longer hurt by the way he spoke to her.

"You swear to me," Song Qi said, still uneasy, "Don’t go looking. It’s being strictly investigated now."

"Why is it being investigated so strictly? Isn’t the radio just the one that Uncle Qi loves to listen to? Could listening to the radio really be illegal?"

"Yes, it’s the radio," Song Qi continued, following her understanding. "There are some yellow channels, and if you listen to them, you’ll be arrested, so the police are cracking down hard."

Yu Manyi’s expression changed. "Ah—Song Qi, you really can’t judge a person by their appearance!"

After saying this, she hurriedly ran back to her room to pack her things, leaving Song Qi speechless. He didn’t know whether to clarify or to stay silent. Sometimes, Yu Manyi really could get on his nerves.Regarding the move, Yu Manyi eventually decided to stay at Aunt Ping's place for a few days, as only Aunt Ping agreed to extend her rent, while the hostel wouldn’t. It turned out that aunts had good hearts, and even with previous tenants, they showed some leniency. The strictness was just a survival trait they developed from long years of city life.

This was the happiest break Yu Manyi had experienced so far. She passed the Business Printing House exam, and Liu Fengyan’s people had left Shanghai. She stayed in a lively Shikumen alley, paying a little more each month, and Aunt Ping would cook extra meals for her.

She hadn’t bought any new ready-made clothes, as she couldn’t afford the price. But she managed to get some fabric scraps at a very low price from the tailor shop in the alley. With nothing else to do, Yu Manyi stayed at the house for several days and made herself three new summer outfits. As for autumn and winter, she would have a salary by then.

Song Qi and Fang Qian occasionally came to eat with her, and she even managed to catch them at their summer graduation ceremony. These two had spent nearly their entire last semester at their respective companies, and when they returned to school, they almost felt like strangers. The campus was full of young faces, and they had already become graduates.

“It feels like it was just yesterday,” Fang Qian remarked with emotion.

Yu Manyi, squeezed in the middle, didn’t feel out of place. Her age was about the same as the newly enrolled students, but she was already a working person. She followed Song Qi around, seeing the university’s library, the ginkgo trees, the wide avenue in front of the teaching building, and professors coming and going in long robes or suits.

“Too bad I only did correspondence courses,” she said wistfully, “Too bad I never went to university.”

“There may be a chance in the future,” Fang Qian said.

“I’ve already passed the exam for the Business Printing House and will start working soon.”

“Who can say for sure about the future? This time last year, you were still dead set on marrying your cousin,” Fang Qian replied.

“Even earlier, the year before, she said my cousin was bad and even threatened to hit me in the cellar,” Song Qi added.

So, Yu Manyi once again chased after him around the campus.

Later, Yu Manyi also saw their graduation certificates. The material didn’t seem much better than her correspondence diploma, but the signature was very valuable....President of the University of Transportation...Dean of the School of Mechanical Engineering...

There was also another diploma, still in English, with an elegant cursive design, and the president's signature at the bottom. What Yu Manyi envied the most about these diplomas was that their photos had graduation caps, with a tassel hanging down on the left side.

During the ceremony, they needed to verify their identities. Yu Manyi didn't enter, but when Song Qi came out, he told her there was nothing special about it. The graduates just lined up, one by one, to have the president move their tassels. He flicked the tassel back, bent down, and asked Yu Manyi to do it again.

"How embarrassing," Yu Manyi muttered as she quickly moved the tassel back, enduring the gazes of the other students.

Graduation was an important moment in one's life. Many local students in Shanghai had their parents present, but no one from Song Qi's family came. Yu Manyi rarely asked about his family, only remembering that Huo Shiwen had vaguely mentioned that his father had encountered an accident last year.

"Didn't your family come?" She asked, for the first time, taking the initiative.

"No," Song Qi replied casually, not bothered. He had never actively mentioned his family to her, and the number of times he did was even fewer than Fang Qian's teasing. However, when they returned to Shanghai this time, Fang Qian didn't tease him either. When she was around Song Qi, she would avoid talking about her own family.

At times, Yu Manyi would feel that she and Song Qi had some similarities, that they both embodied some unspoken commonality in each other. She understood herself very well, but even to this day, she knew very little about Song Qi, so she couldn't pinpoint this commonality with words.

This was the first complete summer she spent in Shanghai. She would later experience many more summers in Shanghai, some with Song Qi, some without.

When the weather got even hotter, it was also time for Yu Manyi and her batch of art department trainees to report for duty. Song Qi came to have a meal with her the day before, promising to accompany her to the Business Printing House headquarters the next morning—on the first and last day in a new environment, one always hopes for someone to be there with them.

Their new lives were slowly unfolding, and that night, Yu Manyi tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep the whole night. Her luggage was already packed, and tomorrow, after bidding farewell to Aunt Ping, she would be able to move into the dormitory of the Business Printing House.

Meanwhile, Song Qi, holding a fish that Aunt Ping had insisted on giving him, walked slowly back to the apartment in the night. He had a slight headache; he didn’t know how to deal with the fish. Perhaps he could give it to Uncle Qi?

He slowly walked home, holding the fish he couldn’t handle. When he arrived, Uncle Qi wasn’t standing by the door as usual. He had faithfully stood guard all summer, but now, he was nowhere to be seen. Instead, there were two unfamiliar men.

Song Qi stopped in his tracks.The fish's mouth was pierced by the hook, its eyes were about to burst. Song Qi let out a slight sigh, looking at the two men who straightened up when they saw him. His tone was cold and indifferent.

"An English manager brought in a radio transmitter," he assessed their cold, lifeless faces for a moment, then continued, "You don't dare touch foreigners, so you come to bother me instead?"