CS - 26

Following this train of thought, Lin Zhe Xia came up with many instances of “only.”

Only she could send him messages at any time, about anything.

Only she had a key to his house.

Only…

It seemed that only she was so close to him.

“Focus on the problem,” Chi Yao paused while writing with his pen, interrupting her thoughts. “Where are you looking?”

Caught red-handed, Lin Zhe Xia froze for a moment.

She averted her eyes and after a long pause said: “I was just admiring the earring I picked out.”

“And then, as an aside, wondering who has such extraordinary taste—oh, it turns out it’s me.”

Chi Yao put down his pen and sat back: “Solve the rest of the problems yourself. I don’t feel like explaining anymore.”

“?”

Chi Yao: “No particular reason. It’s just that your brain seems a bit off today. Come back when you’re better.”

After that day, Lin Zhe Xia saw Chi Yao wearing his earring every weekend.

Whether it was when she went to his house, when they went shopping together, or even when he took out the trash—he wore it.

…

After seeing it so often, she got used to it.

The earlier feeling of “what a pity” dissipated completely.

Gradually, she began to think that maybe he was deliberately showing off.

One day, the two had just returned from the supermarket.

Chi Yao walked ahead, carrying bags filled with ice cream.

Lin Zhe Xia finally couldn’t hold back and suddenly spoke: “Chi Yao, I’ve discovered how cunning you are.”

Chi Yao glanced at her.

“What nonsense are you spouting now?”

“Are you deliberately trying to look cool?” Lin Zhe Xia asked. “That’s why you secretly wear the earring every day.”

Chi Yao gave her a look that said ‘mind your own business’: “Then call the police.”

…

Sure enough, it was exactly what she had thought.

It was midsummer, and the cobblestone streets were scorching hot.

Lin Zhe Xia dressed casually, wearing the same pair of slippers she’d had for years and a pair of loose, knee-length shorts. She asked, “Do you think your fridge will have enough space?”

She was referring to the bag of ice cream in Chi Yao’s hand.

Lin He was very strict with her. Ever since she got sick from eating too much ice cream as a child, she wasn’t allowed to eat anything too cold. During summers, it was nearly impossible to have cold drinks daily—Lin He only permitted her to have them once or twice a week.

But fortunately, she didn’t only have one fridge to rely on.

Chi Yao also had a fridge.

Chi Yao: “If it doesn’t fit, I suggest throwing it away.”

Lin Zhe Xia: “…”

After a while, Chi Yao reminded her: “Two per week—be mindful.”

Lin Zhe Xia complained: “Why are you acting like my mom? I’m already grown up, my stomach is healthy, and eating more won’t cause any issues.”

Chi Yao sneered: “Who cares how much you eat? I’m just too lazy to go out and buy more with you.”

“…”

Halfway through their walk, they encountered He Yang sitting outside his door.

He Yang’s eyes lit up: “Give me an ice pop—I’m dying from the heat. I feel like someone who has wandered the desert for ten years. I thought my heart had dried up, but then I met your refreshing spring.”

Lin Zhe Xia and Chi Yao almost simultaneously responded—

Lin Zhe Xia: “If you can’t use metaphors properly, don’t say anything.”

Chi Yao: “If you can’t speak properly, shut up.”

He Yang: “…”

These two always had an unexpected默契 in some strange places.

Lin Zhe Xia rummaged through the bag of cold drinks Chi Yao was holding, handing one to He Yang while asking: “What are you doing sitting outside?”

He Yang: “Don’t ask. My parents—same old story.”

He Yang’s parents loved to argue; they’d been quarreling all these years. When things were good, they were fine, but when they fought, the damage was significant. His father was a quiet man who disliked talking or explaining, while his mother had a fiery temper.

Every family had its own struggles.

Lin Zhe Xia understood and didn’t press further.

Seeing her rummaging for a while, He Yang couldn’t help but ask: “What are you looking for? Is picking an ice pop really that difficult?”

Before her ‘Xia Ge’ could answer, his ‘Yao Ge,’ holding the bag indifferently, said: “She’s looking for the cheapest one.”

He Yang: “…”

Caught red-handed, Lin Zhe Xia felt a bit awkward: “...Some things are better left unsaid.”

He Yang’s expression cracked: “So I only deserve the cheapest one???”

“In the middle of the day, they were fighting, and I got kicked out. And we’ve known each other for so many years—we’re practically brothers who’ve faced life and death together—and I only deserve the cheapest one?!”

After rummaging for a while, Lin Zhe Xia finally found the 50-cent old-fashioned saltwater ice pop at the bottom of the bag: “Here, be grateful you’re getting anything at all.”

He Yang: “…Thanks.”

Lin Zhe Xia: “You’re welcome.”

The three rarely met like this, so they squeezed together on the steps and chatted for a while, just like when they were kids.

He Yang: “Your mom was playing cards at my house yesterday.”

Lin Zhe Xia nodded: “She won quite a bit and was happy when she got home.”

He Yang: “Quite a bit indeed—she won all my New Year’s money.”

Lin Zhe Xia: “Just complain to me—it’s not like I can pay you back. I don’t have money.”

He Yang: “…”

He Yang then turned to Chi Yao and instinctively started: “Your mom…”

He wanted to ask if his mom was doing well recently.

However, before he could finish and realize it might sound weird, Lin Zhe Xia had already nudged him subtly with her elbow.

He Yang immediately swallowed his words.

Chi Yao, seemingly unfazed, said: “She’s busy with work. The factory just received a new batch of parts.”

He Yang bit off the last piece of his ice pop and sighed: “A strong woman.”

They chatted for a while.

Chi Yao was still holding the cold drinks, and Lin Zhe Xia, worried they would melt in the sun, told him to take the bag back first.

After Chi Yao left, she couldn’t sit still either. Just as she was about to tell He Yang, “Alright, I’ll head back—you keep soaking up the sun,” before the words left her mouth, He Yang stood up to throw away the garbage. He must have sat on the steps for too long because when he stood up, his legs were numb, and he stumbled heavily.

He Yang exclaimed: “Oh no.”

Like a wobbling tumbler, he swayed left and right, and finally, leaning toward where Lin Zhe Xia was sitting, he managed to steady himself by placing his hand on her shoulder.

“My brother here got whipped on the legs by my mom with a feather duster before coming out,” He Yang explained as he withdrew his hand. “The reason was that my mom said she thought I was just like my dad. Seeing me makes her angry.”

“So you really had a rough time,” Lin Zhe Xia said. “If I had known, I would’ve given you a one-yuan ice pop earlier.”

He Yang: “Only one yuan?”

Lin Zhe Xia: “One yuan fifty cents—that’s the most I can give.”

When Lin Zhe Xia quietly bought cold drinks outside and returned home, Wei Ping was unpacking a delivery box.

She wanted to help unpack, but Wei Ping patted her shoulder and said: “It’s okay, I’ll do it. You go do your homework.”

Back in her room, as Lin Zhe Xia opened her homework, she suddenly noticed a detail she hadn’t paid attention to before—

Her shoulder.

When she was sitting on the steps, He Yang had also placed his hand on her shoulder.

And now, reflecting on it, she realized belatedly that it was actually an extremely intimate gesture. He Yang hadn’t stood steadily, and the two of them had been very close.

But why did she only realize this now?

Why hadn’t she felt anything strange at the time?

Perhaps there was a bit of awkwardness and unnaturalness, but it was so minimal that it was quickly ignored.

In her mind flashed Chen Lin’s words to her:

—”You’re not being weird.”

—”You’ve grown up and finally realized that Chi Yao is a boy—a boy whose pants you can’t steal anymore. Understand?”

…

But Chi Yao and He Yang seemed different somehow.

Lin Zhe Xia felt that this question appearing in her seventeenth year was harder to solve than the extra math problems at hand.

The only thing she could clearly understand was that the “weirdness” between her and Chi Yao wasn’t exactly what Chen Lin had described.

But what exactly was it? She still didn’t fully grasp it.

________________________________________

Not long after the start of their second year of high school, the school began organizing activities.

Lin Zhe Xia was sitting with Chen Lin making friendship bracelets when the class representative standing at the door called her name: “Lin Zhe Xia, go to Teacher Xu’s office.”

She usually behaved well and was rarely called to the teacher’s office.

On the way there, she kept imagining why Teacher Xu would call her.

Was it because she left too many questions blank in yesterday’s homework?

Only two questions—not that many, right?

Or was it because she and Chen Lin passed notes discussing dessert shops they wanted to visit over the weekend, and Teacher Xu found out?

Lin Zhe Xia couldn’t figure out the reason.

Finally, she sighed and knocked on the teacher’s office door.

A voice inside said: “Come in—”

She pushed open the door and entered.

There were many people in the office, and among them, a familiar figure stood out.

Even though the person had their back to her, she recognized him at a glance.

As she approached, she heard her class teacher speaking to Chi Yao: “You don’t need to do those assignments later—I’ve prepared something else for you. Just focus on those questions...”

“Teacher Xu,” Lin Zhe Xia walked up to Old Xu and said, “You wanted to see me?”

Old Xu, seeing her arrival, set down what he was holding: “Ah yes, I have something to discuss with you.”

Old Xu casually asked: “Do you have any plans for the weekend?”

Misinterpreting his meaning, Lin Zhe Xia blurted out: “I shouldn’t have eagerly passed notes with Chen Lin, discussing weekend plans.”

Old Xu: “…”

Old Xu chuckled helplessly: “You two were passing notes? When did this happen?”

Lin Zhe Xia: “During lunch break.”

Old Xu: “Alright, forget the notes. Here’s the thing: our school is hosting a speech competition next week.”

Lin Zhe Xia: “Huh?”

Old Xu: “There’s plenty of preparation time—you can spend a week preparing. Our class has two spots, and I plan to let you and Tang Shuxuan participate.”

“This doesn’t seem appropriate,” the situation was far beyond her expectations. Thinking of the school’s large auditorium that could hold thousands of people with microphones, her immediate reaction was to refuse. “I… I don’t have any experience with such things, so it probably won’t work.”

Old Xu: “I think you have potential, and it’s a rare opportunity. Isn’t it great to get some practice through this?”

Lin Zhe Xia couldn’t understand which part of her made him see her potential.

But her mind did move quickly.

Perhaps accustomed to the constant verbal sparring with Chi Yao, she immediately began fabricating excuses to make Old Xu change his mind without hesitation: “Teacher, it’s not that I don’t want to—it’s just that I’m naturally shy. Whenever I face more than three people, I stutter when I speak. Not only do I stutter, but sometimes I even struggle to breathe.”

“It’s an old issue of mine—I’ve been like this since I was little.”

“I really want to try, but this competition isn’t just about me—it’s also about the honor of our class collective. So perhaps you should reconsider.”

Lin Zhe Xia delivered this long string of words without pausing for breath. After finishing, she noticed not only was Old Xu smiling warmly at her, but behind her came a faint, familiar snicker.

“…”

Old Xu even applauded for her: “See, you’re quite talkative. I say one sentence, and you respond with ten.”

Lin Zhe Xia: “…”

She had miscalculated.

She should have started pretending to stutter earlier.

Lin Zhe Xia felt like she had been struck by an incredibly unfortunate event. Frustrated by her poor performance, she focused her emotions and found a vent—namely, the person who had just laughed at her.

Old Xu continued explaining the requirements of the speech competition: “This is the tenth annual speech competition at Cheng’an. This year’s topic is ‘youth.’ The speech requirements are as follows: each speech should be at least five minutes long, and the content should be positive and uplifting...”

Lin Zhe Xia let his words go in one ear and out the other.

All she knew was that she and Chi Yao were now standing very close to each other.

The two were practically back-to-back.

She subtly moved her fingers and reached behind her, intending to pinch Chi Yao discreetly to vent her frustration.

However, she misjudged the position. What she touched wasn’t the fabric of his uniform, but a warm, bony surface.

After a brief pause, she realized she had pinched Chi Yao’s hand.

“You’ve been selected to participate in the competition,” the voice behind her paused and added, “...why are you touching me?”