We ordinary people also need to fall in love.

On Sunday afternoon, December 3rd, at 2 PM, Zhong Jianjun and Wu Changguo used their weekend afternoon study time to take students from two classes on a field trip.

Li's father dropped Li Mubai off at the back gate of the school and then left.

Li Mubai looked up at the sky. It was a rare sunny day, as if the sky knew they were going on a picnic today.

The sunlight fell on his shoulders, warm and comforting, dispelling most of the early winter chill. He looked away, dragging his suitcase into the school gate.

"Seriously? What drinks did you guys bring? Coke? Sprite? Orange juice? I usually drink these. You're asking me what this is? It's alcohol!"

"This is ridiculous! They're just passing off a bottle of pineapple beer as regular beer. I guess I'm just a free spirit in this world~"

Li Mubai pushed open the door, interrupting the excited crowd.

"I can't believe you have a suitcase!" Zhao Feng was the first to react.

"Yes, I've always had it, but I didn't use it often before because I didn't have much luggage."

Li Mubai put down his suitcase and took out the snacks inside.

"Hey, wanna get a bottle?" Yang Kun asked, holding up a yellow tin can. "Let's drink and sing! Life is short!"

"I'm not drinking anymore."

"Sigh—people my age drink carbonated beverages, fruit juices, and milk tea; me? Beer, and that's just…"

Yang Kun sighed, but the others ignored him; they were used to his behavior.

Cuiping Park is right next to the Confucius Temple across from the school. There's no need to take the school bus. Zhong Jianjun and Wu Changguo led the students through the underground passage to the park entrance.

The rare sunny day in early winter attracted residents from the surrounding area to come for a walk, and passersby curiously glanced at the two long lines.

"Everyone stay close and don't fall behind." Lin Xinle walked along the side of the group, glancing back every now and then.

Without stopping along the way, after walking several hundred meters, we finally arrived at our destination – Golden Avenue.

A long, blue stream flows through the middle, dividing the two banks into two colors.

Across from them was a maple forest with reddish-yellow hues, while on their side lay a vast expanse of ginkgo trees, their golden leaves carpeting the ground, soft and silent underfoot.

"Stay here. Tell the students not to wander off. They will gather at four o'clock to return to school," Wu Changguo instructed Xie Shu.

"Okay, teacher."

Zhong Jianjun said a few words in front of the 18th class and then dismissed them.

"Changguo, you even brought your family?" His gaze fell on the girl with a ponytail next to Wu Changguo.

"Yes, this is my daughter, Wu Peishan. She's in her final year of junior high and will start school tomorrow, so I brought her here to relax a bit." Wu Changguo patted his daughter's shoulder. "Xiaoshan, say hello to Uncle Zhong."

"Hello, Uncle Zhong." Wu Peishan stood up straight and greeted him politely.

"Not bad, not bad," Zhong Jianjun rarely showed a smile. "Xiaoshan, you're taking the high school entrance exam next year, right? Would you like to apply to our school?"

"This child wants to go to No. 1 Middle School," Wu Changguo chimed in, smiling. "But it's still quite a distance from No. 1 Middle School. I told her that if she can't go to No. 1 Middle School, No. 6 Middle School is also a good option."

"No. 1 Middle School got a new principal at the beginning of this year," Zhong Jianjun suddenly said.

"Really? I haven't been paying much attention." Wu Changguo was somewhat surprised.

"The new principal is named Tang Ke. Previously, the school's educational philosophy focused on academic performance, but the new principal wants to promote all-round development." Zhong Jianjun frowned. "The school's purpose is to supply talent to universities, and students' academic performance is what matters."

"Yes, yes." Wu Changguo smiled and nodded in agreement, but he may not have fully agreed in his heart.

Two elderly men were chatting nearby, while Wu Peishan quietly laid out a picnic blanket and arranged the snacks she had brought.

She looked up and observed the senior high school students, her gaze finally settling on a boy and girl chatting and laughing...

"Deng Yi, could you take a picture of me and Li Mubai?" Xie Shu took out a small instant camera from his bag.

Deng Yi glanced at Chen Qiuhe, who was unpacking a cake box, took the Polaroid camera, stepped back a few paces, and pointed the lens at them.

"Li Mubai, smile, don't be so serious," she said.

In the shot, Li Mubai twitched the corner of his mouth, his smile appearing somewhat stiff.

Deng Yi clicked her tongue and shook her head: "Just be natural, think about how you usually laugh... Yes, that's it."

She raised her hand again and said to Xie Shu, "Shu Bao, move to the right a little, and tilt your head slightly. Okay, I'll say three, two, one."

Click!

A photograph slowly emerged from the machine, and Deng Yi handed the Polaroid back to Xie Shu.

Li Mubai leaned closer, wanting to see the effect.

"Wait a moment," Xie Shu said softly.

She held the photograph in her palm, and soon the two of them gradually appeared in the photo, with Xie Shu leaning slightly as if resting on his shoulder.

"Let's eat cake first!" Chen Qiuhe had already arranged four cakes neatly on the picnic mat. "If you leave them out for too long, they'll attract bugs and get dirty."

"Shu Bao, Deng Yi, Li Mubai." She handed the cakes to them one by one.

"It tastes great! Did you make Qiuhe yourself?" Deng Yi asked.

"yes."

"Wow, that's amazing! You could open a cake shop!"

Chen Qiuhe scratched her head a little embarrassedly.

Today is truly wonderful, not only the weather, but also the location.

Li Mubai gazed at the maple forest on the opposite bank, where leaves were falling one by one onto the green stream, drifting slowly away with the ripples. Sunlight fell on the water's surface, shattering into countless tiny points of light.

"Li Mubai," Xie Shu suddenly called out to him.

He turned his gaze and saw that she was holding a ginkgo leaf in her hand, pinching the stem, and holding the leaf up in front of him.

"Look, doesn't this leaf look like a folding fan?" She held a ginkgo leaf in her hand.

"picture."

"Then I'll fan you." She gently shook the leaves twice, her movements very light.

"Xie Shu..." Li Mubai couldn't help but laugh, "Why are you acting like a child?"

"Then I won't slap you anymore," she said, trying to pull her hand back.

"Actually, it's quite hot outside," Li Mubai quickly said.

"I won't fan you anymore because it's hot," Xie Shu said, turning her head away, her cheeks puffing out slightly as if she were angry, "because you don't have a childlike heart."

"Who said that?" He picked up the leaf. "I'm the most childlike person."

"Then prove it to me." Xie Shu turned his head, holding a spoon in front of him with a small piece of cake and cream on it. "Xiao Bai, open your mouth and take a bite of my cake, and I'll believe you have a childlike heart."

"Ahem..." Li Mubai turned his head away with some difficulty. Wouldn't Xie Shu feel like he was going to die?

"Hurry, the cream on the cake is melting," Xie Shu urged.

He glanced around quickly, as if no one was paying attention, then swiftly put the cake in his mouth and pulled it back before he could even chew it properly.

Xie Shu's lips curled up slightly as she took the spoon back.

"Cough cough." Two more light coughs were heard, from Deng Yi.

Li Mubai pretended not to hear and turned his gaze to the opposite bank.

Melodious music drifted over from across the stream; a band was playing some tune, the sounds of woodwinds and strings mingling together, carried across the entire river.

"You need to tell your daughter to be careful not to fall in love too early, and not to let some boy steal her away," Zhong Jianjun said half-jokingly.

"That's right." Wu Changguo glanced at Wu Peishan, who was staring blankly into space, and said, "Xiaoshan, Uncle Zhong is talking about you."

"Yes, yes, I shouldn't be in a relationship so early. I'll focus on my studies." She looked away and gave a perfunctory smile.

After Wu Peishan finished speaking, her gaze unconsciously drifted to the ginkgo tree in the distance. Golden leaves were scattered all over the ground, and sunlight filtered through the branches and leaves, falling on the two people.