A Thousand Thoughts

The graduation photo is almost a snapshot of the end of college life.

 

The Telecommunications College’s professional collective photo and formal class photo were scheduled to be taken early in the morning. On this day, male students, who usually wear clothes haphazardly, put on their bachelor’s gowns in a serious manner. The girls looked even more bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, abandoning their casual styles from the past. Even the girls who never put on makeup added a touch of light makeup to their faces. It seemed that the boys were more handsome than usual, and the girls were prettier than usual.

 

This day was indeed special. When Tang Cuo arrived at the cafeteria in the morning, he saw familiar faces everywhere. People were walking in groups, chatting and laughing while carrying their trays. The TV on the wall was still playing the same old morning news, and the attendant was still sitting behind the small table, swaying his head while listening to music. But it seemed like something was missing—he couldn’t spot any junior students around. Everyone who was having their meal was wearing their graduation gowns, as if it were a big reunion dinner held in advance.

 

During the photo session for our major, students lined up to take their turns standing in front of the camera. The first row was occupied by the dean, secretary, and counselors. As Tang Cuo looked at the row of teachers in front of him, he let out a barely perceptible sigh. It was a bit regrettable that Tang Xu was absent from such a meaningful photo.

 

The night before, he had asked Tang Xu, “Will you be sitting there for the big photo tomorrow?”

 

Tang Xu stuffed a very sweet cherry into his mouth, shaking his head with a smile. “I’m just an ordinary teacher and don’t have the qualifications to go to the graduation photo with you guys.”

 

Tang Cuo curled his lips and spat out the cherry pit. “But I want to take the graduation photo with you…Hey, how come you haven’t become a big shot after all these years?”

 

Of course, the graduation photo had to be taken at school, but in their situation, it was impossible for the two of them to go to school together to take the photo.

 

After hearing this, Tang Xu couldn’t help but laugh and cry, and he pulled Tang Cuo over and asked, “Are you criticising me?”

 

Tang Cuo raised his hand and pinched three fingers together, saying, “I’m just a little bit ‘critical’ of you about the graduation photo. Don’t try to reason with me; I don’t want to listen.”

 

Upon hearing this, Tang Xu couldn’t help but feel that this child has really grown up now, daring to say such things. He didn’t say anything and picked a cherry that was light in colour and clearly not ripe from the plate. He glared at Tang Cuo and handed it to him.

 

Tang Cuo’s eyes were fixed on Tang Xu’s face. Without even looking at what was in his mouth, he swallowed it down. After a second, his facial features twisted into a knot.

 

“You…” Tang Cuo covered his mouth. “That’s revenge!”

 

Tang Xu laughed loudly and gave him another particularly sweet one. Tang Cuo remembered the taste but forgot the punishment, and he still didn’t look before opening his mouth to eat it.

 

“Don’t you guys still need to take pictures of your own class?” Tang Xu patted his thigh. “We can run into each other.”

 

The summer sun rises very early, starting at 7 o’clock and ending at 7:30 with a group photo of three majors. By 8:30, the class photos were already done. The class leaders shouted and led their classmates to Building 7. After everyone gathered at the entrance of Building 7, Tang Cuo found a corner without anyone and took out his phone to inform Tang Xu.

 

—We’re at the entrance of Building 7.

 

Tang Xu had been waiting in the office and stood up when he received the message. As they had agreed the night before, he went downstairs to have an accidental encounter.

 

Tang Xu was brought over by the sharp-eyed Lu Hong. As soon as he entered their group, he was pulled to take a group photo by the students. Tang Cuo wanted to stand next to him but found that both his left and right sides had already been occupied by others. This was completely different from the plan he made last night. Tang Cuo stood on the side in distress, not knowing how to pass through the crowd between the two people and squeeze next to him.

 

At this moment, Tang Xu suddenly turned his head and looked at him: “Hey, why did my class representative run to the side? Come here.”

 

He started a conversation, and He Zhong immediately understood. He pulled Tang Cuo over and stuffed him next to Tang Xu, saying, “That’s right, that’s right, Teacher Tang and Tang Cuo must stand in the middle for the group photo.”

 

Amid the shoving and pushing, Tang Cuo ended up standing to the right of Tang Xu. His academic robe collar was a bit askew, and he reached back to straighten it.

 

A student from another class who was helping with the photo-taking pressed the shutter button up ahead, and the cheers merged into the sky.

 

In this photo, Tang Cuo and Tang Xu didn’t make any intimate gestures; they simply stood side by side. But when Tang Cuo saw the photo later, he realised that everyone else had made various poses and lively expressions, while only the two of them stood straight and smiled formally. Suddenly, one photo seemed to separate into two worlds, and they were in tune with each other without any words needed.

 

After taking the group photo, classmates from the same class came to take individual photos with Tang Xu. Some who couldn’t wait for the DSLR camera just took out their phones for selfies. Tang Cuo waited on the side, planning to approach and take a photo with Tang Xu when the time was right, but before he could act out this teacher-student love scene, Tang Xu spoke up first.

 

“Class representative, come here.”

 

As soon as he heard this, Tang Cuo ran to Tang Xu’s side, and although his expression was not so natural, he still called out “Teacher Tang.”

 

Tang Xu looked at him without saying a word, then placed his hand on Tang Cuo’s shoulder and said, “Come on, take a photo of the two of us.”

 

“Wait a minute,” Tang Cuo suddenly said, “I want to put on my hat.”

 

Although he and Tang Xu could have many group photos, there should be only these two taken openly in school wearing this outfit. The class photo didn’t have a hat, so he had to wear one this time, formally.

 

He took two steps, snatched the hat from the crowd, hurriedly put it on his head, and turned back to go. However, he collided with Tang Xu’s focused gaze, which made the surroundings seem quiet and unique amid the clamour. 

 

Although it was bright daylight, Tang Cuo suddenly thought of the dim light. He suppressed his heartbeat and walked over, saying, “Okay. Teacher Tang, let’s take a picture.”

 

Tang Xu smiled, lifted his hands, and knocked on his hat. “You didn’t wear the hat properly.”

 

He straightened his bachelor’s cap and played with the tassel a bit. “If the tassel is on the right side, it means you haven’t graduated yet. If it’s on the left, it means you have Where do you want it?”

 

Upon hearing this, Tang Cuo hesitated for a moment but immediately raised his hand and adjusted the tassel to the right side, saying, “I want it on the left.”

 

Tang Xu understood what he meant and furrowed his brow slightly. “At the graduation ceremony next week, distinguished professors and deans will be there to move your tassel for you.”

 

“No.” The tassel was shaking wildly as Tang Cuo shook his head. He lowered his voice and said, “I want you to move it.”

 

With that, he tilted his chin lightly and made a waiting gesture.”

 

From Tang Xu’s perspective, he could see Tang Cuo blinking his eyes with tightly pursed lips and even imagine the frequency of his breathing at this moment.

 

Tang Xu let out a soft laugh from his throat and asked in a volume that only the two of them could hear, “Do you mind?”

 

Just as Tang Cuo was about to answer, a hand touched the tassel and moved it from the right front of the hat brim to the left front. When it swayed to Tang Cuo’s left side, he heard Tang Xu’s voice.

 

“Congratulations on graduating, my… class representative.”

 

Tang Cuo looked up and saw the proud sun and the person who was just right.

 

He had always thought that he and Tang Xu had only taken two group photos that day. Unexpectedly, when the photos came out, he received a surprise from a girl in their class on WeChat. He enlarged and scrutinized the photo on his phone for a long time, then quickly forwarded it to Tang Xu and replied to the girl with two words.

 

—Thank you!

 

He added an exclamation mark.

 

The girl quickly replied, “Cuo Shen, you intentionally let Teacher Tang move your tassel, didn’t you! How scheming of you! Fortunately, I reacted quickly and captured this precious moment for you!”

 

Tang Cuo rolled around in bed with his phone and praised the girl for taking such a good picture. They chatted for a while, and finally the girl hesitated and said she wanted to say something that she had been holding back for a while.

 

“Although it’s a bit rebellious to say so, but…I think you and Teacher Tang are a perfect match! Literally!”

 

When Tang Cuo saw this message, he felt a bit nervous but also a spark of excitement. He typed and deleted a few times, and finally just sent back a smiling emoji.

 

After closing the chat box, he thought for a moment, opened WeChat again, took a screenshot of the last chat record, and circled the “Literally” with one exclamation mark in red to make it stand out. Then he sent it to Tang Xu.

 

Tang Cuo waited eagerly with his phone in his hand, but he didn’t receive a reply from Tang Xu. He couldn’t sit still and sent another message, asking if Tang Xu didn’t understand their chat history because he was “more mature.” However, he still didn’t get a response.

 

It wasn’t until he came back from eating watermelon with He Zhong that Tang Xu’s message finally appeared on his phone.

 

As soon as the notification sounded, he immediately unlocked the screen. However, the content of Tang Xu’s reply was disappointing.

 

“Sorry, I was working out and took a shower. I didn’t check my phone.”

 

“What is this…” he muttered quietly.

 

Despite feeling disappointed, he still replied to Tang Xu’s message.

 

—Oh, you’ve got a gym membership?

 

Tang Xu’s reply came quickly: “Yeah, I got it just a few days ago.”

 

Tang Cuo was a little disappointed and didn’t want to think about other topics. He continued to ask, “What made you decide to get a gym membership?”

 

After just replying, He Zhong shouted for him to help take a box down from the cabinet. He threw his phone on the table, helped He Zhong with the luggage, washed his hands, and then remembered that he hadn’t finished talking to Tang Xu about the gym. He quickly picked up his phone to check WeChat.

 

The message box popped up on the phone’s desktop, visible without unlocking.

 

“I’m afraid that one day, when I’m old and ugly, I won’t be able to match your handsome face.”