CS - 29

After hanging up the phone, Lin Zhe Xia carefully climbed out of bed.

She hadn’t changed her clothes—she was still wearing pajamas with cartoon patterns, and her hair was messily draped over her shoulders.

Then she tiptoed to quietly open the door and slipped out.

“I feel like this is a bit sneaky,” after going downstairs, she spotted Chi Yao waiting at the building entrance, ran over to him, and said, “I felt a bit guilty when I came out just now.”

Chi Yao looked at her: “Why would you feel guilty about coming out to see me?”

Lin Zhe Xia couldn’t help but emphasize: “At this time, everyone in my house is asleep.”

Chi Yao responded indifferently: “So do you think we’re having a secret rendezvous?”

She didn’t mean it that way at all.

“Who’s having a secret rendezvous with you?”

For some reason, Lin Zhe Xia felt her ears heat up after hearing that word from Chi Yao.

Perhaps to cover it up, or maybe because her mind was tangled in that moment, she blurted out without thinking: “Even if I were to have a secret rendezvous with a dog, it wouldn’t be with you.”

After saying that, the atmosphere seemed to freeze for an inexplicable second.

One second later, Chi Yao swept his usual condescending glance over her, then put away his phone, turned around, and started walking: “Then go have your secret rendezvous with a dog.”

Lin Zhe Xia jogged after him: “Why would I have a secret rendezvous with a dog?”

Chi Yao: “You said it yourself.”

Lin Zhe Xia: “I was just joking. Don’t you understand jokes…?”

Chi Yao suddenly paused mid-step.

Then he extended his hand and pointed to a stray dog near the trash can by the roadside: “Here’s one. Think about it.”

“...”

This person could really be so childish sometimes!

Lin Zhe Xia caught up with him, and the two walked along the path in the residential area, turned out of the neighborhood, and strolled to the lake she often visited.

As she walked, she felt her tension gradually easing without her realizing it.

Summer, a gentle breeze on the lake surface, cicadas chirping.

And the dark night sky filled with stars visible when she looked up. The stifling but familiar wind.

And...

The person beside her.

Lin Zhe Xia: “The view here at night is really nice.”

Chi Yao hummed softly.

Lin Zhe Xia continued: “Actually, I couldn’t sleep tonight not because I was nervous—it’s just that young people like us tend to stay up late.”

Her response was another emotionless “Hmm.”

Lin Zhe Xia: “Can you say more than one word?”

Chi Yao coldly replied: “Hmm hmm.”

Lin Zhe Xia gave up: “You might as well keep quiet.”

Chi Yao was wearing a black windbreaker with a structured cut that made him look even taller. One hand was casually tucked into his jacket pocket. Realizing she had fallen behind, he slowed down his pace to wait for her.

The two walked forward, and Lin Zhe Xia, feeling a bit thirsty, said: “I want to drink water. Let’s check out the mall ahead.”

The mall still had more than half an hour before closing, and when they entered, there were hardly any people inside.

The first-floor lobby was empty except for the occasional passerby.

She looked around, searching for a bubble tea shop.

But Chi Yao took a few steps forward and stopped in front of several white claw machines, telling her: “Come here.”

“What is it?” Lin Zhe Xia walked over. “A claw machine?”

Chi Yao: “Are you going to play or not?”

Lin Zhe Xia: “Yes, I’ll play.” She quickly added, “If you’re treating me, I’ve already spent all my allowance this month.”

While Chi Yao was pulling out his phone to scan the payment code, Lin Zhe Xia noticed the name of the claw machine: Lucky Claw Machine.

“If I win, will it mean I’ll get lucky tomorrow?” Lin Zhe Xia casually remarked.

Chi Yao handed her the coins and basket he purchased together.

“Which one do you want?”

Lin Zhe Xia scanned the options.

She was about to say, “That little bear over there looks okay,” but Chi Yao bent down to examine the bottommost claw machine.

The bottom machine was packed full of small white rabbits. Each was tiny, about a third of the size of a palm, and attached to keychains, making them easy to carry around.

Then she heard Chi Yao say: “Let’s go for this one.”

Lin Zhe Xia had developed a special feeling for “rabbits.” They reminded her of that bedtime story from the other night and Chi Yao’s frequent teasing term, “coward.”

With a strange mix of emotions, she deliberately tried to avoid the rabbit and asked: “Why? I think the little bear above looks pretty good too.”

“Because I paid for it.”

“...”

Fair enough.

Reasonable argument.

Lin Zhe Xia crouched down with the basket full of coins: “Since you paid, you decide.”

She took two coins from the basket and inserted them. As soon as the machine lit up, she suddenly called out: “Chi Yao!”

Chi Yao also crouched down, but even squatting, he was still much taller than her.

Chi Yao: “?”

Lin Zhe Xia operated the joystick: “My talent for claw machines can’t be hidden anymore. Let me show you what a true claw machine expert looks like.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the claw grabbed nothing.

Chi Yao praised her expressionlessly: “This is the talent you can’t hide.”

Lin Zhe Xia: “It’s been a while since I last practiced—I’ve gotten rusty. The next one will definitely work. Watch closely.”

As she spoke, the claw in the machine closed under her control, briefly touched the rabbit keychain, and then missed again.

Chi Yao tilted his head and looked at her: “Impressive. I’ve never seen such an amazing claw machine expert.”

Lin Zhe Xia felt a bit defeated: “...Don’t talk like that with sarcasm.”

She tried many times.

By the end, only two lonely coins remained in the red basket.

This time, she hesitated: “What should I do? I feel like I might not be able to grab it.”

Lucky Claw Machine.

If she couldn’t grab it, it seemed like bad luck for tomorrow.

Just as she hesitated, a hand reached out from the side. That hand inserted the two remaining coins, and the colorful LED lights on the machine instantly lit up. Then the hand reached over and joined hers on the joystick.

The space to grip the joystick was limited.

Inevitably, their hands touched.

“You can grab it,” the owner of the hand said.

Lin Zhe Xia gave him a skeptical look: “This is our last chance. Where does your confidence come from?”

Chi Yao’s calm voice came from beside her ear: “Because I’m also an expert.”

She wanted to mock him but glanced sideways, catching sight of the silver glint of the earring on the young man’s ear. Then she felt the joystick move slightly under her hand.

The claw inside the machine hovered in midair, slowly moving toward the dispensing chute.

Chi Yao had chosen a rabbit stuck near the chute. In front of that rabbit was another rabbit closer to the chute. If it were up to Lin Zhe Xia, she might have chosen the closer rabbit.

She was about to say, “You won’t be able to grab it like this,” when the claw suddenly dropped straight down.

The rabbit was briefly hooked for two seconds. Just as it was lifted, the closer rabbit was nudged, its head tipping downward and falling into the chute.

“Click.”

The rabbit slid down the chute, tumbling all the way to Chi Yao’s side.

He let go of the joystick, picked up the keychain with one finger, and held it out to Lin Zhe Xia.

“I’m different from certain experts,” he said, dangling the rabbit keychain. “Even grabbing such an easy rabbit takes forever for some people.”

“Coward,” Chi Yao said as Lin Zhe Xia dazedly accepted the rabbit, adding before standing up, “You shouldn’t have too much bad luck tomorrow.”

The small plush rabbit lay quietly in her palm.

In that moment, she had completely forgotten the nervousness that had kept her awake just half an hour ago.

________________________________________

The next day.

The weather was beautiful, sunny and bright.

Lin Zhe Xia ate a lot for breakfast. Wei Ping kept piling food onto her plate, and she ate everything he gave her.

Wei Ping: “I figured you didn’t eat much yesterday, so I prepared a few extra dishes for you this morning. Eating more is the right thing to do—you’re still growing. How can you not eat?”

Seeing her in good spirits, Lin He also felt reassured: “Don’t be nervous this afternoon. Just perform normally—we don’t have to win anything.”

Lin Zhe Xia nodded, put down her chopsticks, and said, “Mom, I’m going to school with Chi Yao.” Before leaving, she suddenly remembered something and went back to her room.

When she returned home late last night, she placed the rabbit keychain next to her pillow and fell asleep.

She picked up the rabbit from her bedside and stuffed it into her bag.

That afternoon, most of the sophomores were selected to attend the speech competition.

After lunch break, the contestants gathered backstage to prepare in line.

Tang Shuxuan borrowed lipstick from a classmate and had Lin Zhe Xia hold up a mirror for her while she applied it.

Lin Zhe Xia: “Isn’t this a bit excessive?”

Tang Shuxuan: “You don’t understand—the woman adorns herself for the one who appreciates her.”

Lin Zhe Xia: “There will be so many people in the audience later. Will you even be able to see him?”

Tang Shuxuan: “As long as he can see me, that’s fine.”

After finishing applying the lipstick, Tang Shuxuan asked: “How do I look? Doesn’t it make my complexion better?”

The kind of lipstick that teachers wouldn’t notice was very light in color.

But Lin Zhe Xia still said: “The four words ‘radiant and enchanting’ describe you perfectly. He’ll definitely fall for you at first sight.”

The speech competition began soon after. From backstage, they could hear the voices of the judges and the host.

And the exaggerated applause from the audience—more than a thousand people clapping together made the entire backstage tremble.

The sound made even Tang Shuxuan, who wasn’t originally nervous, start to feel tense.

This time, it was Lin Zhe Xia’s turn to comfort her: “It’s fine. Think about your senior. Stay calm.”

Tang Shuxuan: “How are you so calm?”

Sometimes, Lin Zhe Xia unconsciously mimicked Chi Yao’s tone to sound cool: “Oh, unlike you, I remain calm in times of crisis.”

Tang Shuxuan immediately recognized the similarity in tone.

Tang Shuxuan glanced at her: “Why does your voice sound like Chi Yao’s?”

“...”

Tang Shuxuan went onstage before her.

She had experience after all, and being naturally social, she quickly adjusted her state, stood tall, and confidently walked out from backstage.

From backstage, Lin Zhe Xia heard Tang Shuxuan’s voice through the microphone. However, separated by a wall, the sound became heavy and muffled: “Hello everyone, I am Tang Shuxuan from Class Seven, Grade Two—”

About twenty minutes later, the heavy velvet curtain backstage was pulled open: “Next contestant, get ready.”

The person outside the curtain checked the stage situation and said:

“You can go. Next contestant, please step onto the stage.”

Before stepping out from backstage, Lin Zhe Xia exhaled softly.

To say she wasn’t nervous would be a lie. Facing so many people, how could she not be nervous?

But before stepping onstage, she lowered her head and glanced at the small rabbit she had secretly brought in and concealed in her palm.

She realized there wasn’t much to be nervous about.

Holding this rabbit, she seemed to draw an unexpected strength from deep within—a small yet warm force that was enough to face anything.

The stage was huge.

For seventeen-year-old her, this was a very, very large stage—a stage so big it was terrifying.

After the host finished their lines and stepped down from the center of the stage, the vast stage was left with only her.

In the front row sat teachers and school leaders from various grades.

Behind them stretched a sea of heads—nearly a thousand people sitting in the audience. At this moment, everyone was watching her.

She couldn’t quite describe her feelings at this moment. No fear, no desire to retreat, no thoughts—or perhaps all thoughts were pushed aside by one particular thought: Chi Yao was also in the audience.

Among these people, Chi Yao was there.

Realizing this, she no longer felt afraid.

Unconsciously, she began searching for his position among the crowd.

The seats were arranged by class, so she easily identified the specific location of the sophomore students and scanned the area nearby.

Before going onstage, she had said to Tang Shuxuan, “With so many people in the audience later, will you even be able to see him?”

She didn’t know if Tang Shuxuan could see him earlier, but she found that she could.

She could spot him at a glance among the layers of overlapping people.

Lin Zhe Xia’s gaze traveled across the crowd, landing on a corner in the back rows of the audience.

In that corner, the lighting was dim.

The young man’s figure was slim, leaning casually against the backrest.

Lin Zhe Xia’s heart raced as she gripped the microphone tightly: “Dear teachers and fellow students, hello. I am Lin Zhe Xia from Class Seven, Grade Two. The topic of my speech is ‘youth.’“

Her voice carried a forced calm.

Then, she saw that figure shift slightly.

Their eyes seemed to meet for a brief second.

It was just like that day—there were many people in the living room, and in the crowd, she and Chi Yao exchanged a glance.

Around them were the familiar cheers and encouragement from childhood friends.

Standing in a place where she was watched by thousands of people, Lin Zhe Xia’s heart began to beat irregularly.

But the forced calm in her voice unknowingly faded, and the script she recited wasn’t the previous cliché-filled draft full of nonsense. Instead, she switched to the new version she rewrote last night: “My youth might be a bit different from everyone else’s because for me, it has a starting point. That starting point is very special—it’s three words: Nanxiang Street.”

Her voice began to grow firm.

“My youth began there.”

…

For Lin Zhe Xia, the world after growing up was filled with all kinds of strange monsters.

It wasn’t like when she was a child, when she could recklessly throw punches with ignorance and fearlessness.

People unconsciously become timid, become cowardly.

Even when facing things they could actually accomplish, the first step is often self-imposed limits.

But when she encountered those numerous difficult tasks in life that required courage to face, there was always someone who believed she could do it. And when she tried to summon her courage, that person gave her the strength to do so.

Thus, she discovered that the imagined storms and rains weren’t capable of soaking her at all.

Because of this.

She seemed to become braver than before.