Mid-Autumn was only one day off, but Zhang Ruowei still went home for it. Her mother and father were back from Australia, she said, and there was a family reunion dinner that evening.

After the group meal with Qin Zhiwei, Shen Xinyi and Jiang Yu, Qin Zhiwei suggested going somewhere to look at the moon.

Somebody proposed the Bund. Somebody proposed Sheshan.

But Xu Ye held the power of veto. He thought the Bund would be far too crowded to be worth the trip. Sheshan was too far — two hours there and back from the Conservatory, further still from his own school, and he had class in the morning. So that one got passed over too.

What Xu Ye settled on in the end was Shanghai Expo Culture Park, only twenty-five minutes from the school. It wasn't as lively as the Bund, but it was on the bank of the Huangpu, and the view tonight was bound to be good.

Xu Ye drove, Chen Qingqing took the passenger seat, and Qin Zhiwei, Shen Xinyi and Jiang Yu the singleton sat in the back. The five of them talked and laughed the whole way, and it was no time at all before they reached the Expo Culture Park.

Once the car was parked the five of them strolled the paths together, talking about the funny things that had happened lately, talking about the past, talking about the future, and the time went without any of them noticing. In the end they lay down on a stretch of lawn, each of them with their hands pillowed behind their head, looking up at a moon that was big and round.

"That went fast. We're second-years already. Next time I say that, is it going to be fourth year?" Jiang Yu was the one who started it.

Shen Xinyi said quietly, "I hope we still get the chance to be together like this then."

Qin Zhiwei sighed. "It won't be this easy by then. There's the thesis to do, an internship to find, and a whole run of choices to face on top…