HYSE - 6

At 9:30 PM, Shi Yin sat in her studio, dropped her pen, pushed her drawing tablet aside, hummed a couple of times, leaned back into her chair, and started playing with her phone.

Tomorrow was Sunday, and a new movie was premiering.

Shi Yin crossed her legs, her eyes darting around as she made up her mind.

She casually tossed the drafts aside, slowly stood up, left the studio, closed the door behind her, and trotted to the bathroom to remove her makeup.

After removing her makeup, Shi Yin soaked in a rose milk petal bath, applied a face mask, lay in bed humming, watching videos on her tablet, and sending WeChat messages.

Shi Yin was from City A, where she had many friends and classmates. Her high school bestie, Fang Shu, had just returned from studying abroad in New Zealand and was currently unemployed, spending her days at home waiting for death by eating and drinking. She was an essential companion for fun activities.

Without hesitation, Shi Yin messaged her: [Sister! Sister! Tell me, aren’t we besties?]

Fang Shu replied quickly: [I only have three yuan.]

“...”

A society of cold human relations and rampant material desires.

Shi Yin remained expressionless, her mouth moving slightly. The face mask had been on for about ten minutes and was starting to dry, creating a slight tightening sensation.

She peeled off the mask, threw it into the trash, finalized the meeting time with Fang Shu, bombarded their high school class group chat, and arranged to meet a few long-unseen friends in the evening before getting out of bed to wash off the mask residue.

Shi Yin and Fang Shu were in the same middle school but didn’t get along well then.

Fang Shu was a talented girl, skilled in various arts like music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, excelling in every school activity. She was proud and rarely spoke to other classmates.

Shi Yin was considered a strong competitor during that time.

Surprisingly, they both ended up in the same high school and the same class.

Being in the same class was one thing, but they also became desk mates.

And by chance, Fang Shu discovered that this formidable rival from middle school was actually someone who never stopped talking nonsense.

Fang Shu thought that if Shi Yin were a villain, she would be the epitome of dying from too much talk.

And naturally, Fang Shu was the most informed about Shi Yin’s little high school affairs.

Including Gu Congli.

Sunday was a beautiful day with bright sunshine that made it hard to keep one’s eyes open.

There was no way Shi Yin could finish the original draft, so Teacher Shi Yi decisively gave up—not intending to draw even a single page—and, like a rebellious teenager, started defying Gu Congli.

Her schedule was packed: lunch with Fang Shu, a movie in the afternoon, and a class reunion dinner in the evening.

At ten o’clock, she planned to go home, take a bath, sleep, wake up refreshed the next day, and confront Gu Congli head-on.

Perfect plan, flawless execution.

At noon, the two sat in a Thai restaurant at the mall—one slouching as if boneless, the other sitting upright and meticulous.

Shi Yin lazily poked at the pandan chicken on her plate with a fork, looking listless.

Fang Shu, with an air of stern professionalism, asked: “He is your chief editor now?”

Shi Yin nodded gloomily.

Fang Shu pondered for a moment and rationally asked: “So, did he recognize you?”

“…”

Shi Yin looked speechless: “Did I undergo plastic surgery or something?”

Fang Shu shook her head calmly: “You’ve become much prettier. In high school—” she paused, scanning her up and down, seemingly recalling her past appearance, and finally, with a slight disdain, added, “you were quite ugly.”

“…?”

Shi Yin dropped her fork and angrily raised her head: “What’s wrong with you? Did I come out here to hear you say I’m ugly?”

Fang Shu gave an “Oh” and remained calm: “Isn’t that why? Then what do you want me to say? This is fate between you and Gu Congli. You should seize the opportunity, not miss it, and strive to reconnect with him.”

Her words were cutting, showing no mercy to Shi Yin. Afterward, she waited for the person opposite her to explode.

After waiting for a while, there was still no reaction.

The girl lowered her eyes, her long lashes covering them, bit her lip, and quickly released it.

Then she easily broke into a smile.

Shi Yin picked up her fork again, piercing the chicken with the fork tip, the rich oil oozing out, coating the dark green leaf wrapped around it. Her voice was light and sounded somewhat indifferent: “What kind of continuation is that?”

She speared the chicken with the fork, took a big bite, and found it scalding hot. She had to suck on the chicken piece, hissing and exhaling, mumbling unclearly, “We never had a previous connection.”

After the meal, the two went to watch a movie.

It was a good movie, an interstellar blockbuster. By the end, the male lead died, and the female lead went blind.

Shi Yin cried her heart out, clutching Fang Shu’s thin arm when they left the theater.

Fang Shu was irritated, pushing her twice without budging. Shi Yin cried quietly and intensely, tears sliding down from the corners of her eyes to her lips.

After a while, she blinked, licked the tears away with her tongue, carefully wiped her wet eyes, looked up at Fang Shu with teary eyes, pitifully sniffled: “Is my makeup ruined? Should I reapply?”

Fang Shu looked at her with a complex expression.

Shi Yin nodded and headed to the restroom: “Looks like it’s ruined. Luckily, I brought my cosmetics.”

After university, Shi Yin rarely kept in touch with her high school classmates.

Later, their class monitor organized several reunions, but Shi Yin didn’t attend any. This time, although she initiated it, the moment she mentioned it in the group chat, several avid partygoers immediately took over the organization. Eventually, those responsible for the discussions were all others, making Shi Yin seem like the one being dragged along for the invitation.

The restaurant was famous for Huaiyang cuisine, not far from the mall. Shi Yin and Fang Shu were the second batch to arrive; a few people were chatting at the entrance when they got there.

The young men had shed their childishness, smoking and standing at the hotel entrance, delighted to see old familiar faces from their student days, chatting and laughing heartily.

As soon as Fang Shu got out of the taxi, two people standing at the entrance recognized her.

The man ran over cheerfully: “Oh, our beautiful Fang! It’s been about two years since we last met, right? How’s the air on the other side compared to our homeland?”

Fang Shu grunted twice: “I didn’t pay attention to the air, but the men are better than in our homeland.”

This was her usual personality, which everyone understood. The man didn’t take offense, seeing Shi Yin following behind, turned his head, batted his eyes, and exaggeratedly exclaimed: “Shi Gugu! So glad to see you!”

Shi Yin played along very cooperatively: “Ergou! You’ve grown taller!”

Ergou, the academic committee member whose real name was Gou Jingwen, was a self-proclaimed underdeveloped dwarf in high school.

He was still short now, proving it wasn’t a developmental issue.

As they walked toward the entrance, Ergou joked around, leaned over mysteriously: “Today, we have a mystery guest.”

Fang Shu raised an eyebrow: “How mysterious?”

Ergou clasped his hands together devoutly: “I prayed to Buddha for this.”

Shi Yin laughed: “So it’s a girl.”

Ergou clapped his hands: “Indeed, a girl. Remember Qin Yan from the neighboring class? She debuted in some girl group in our senior year. She’s quite popular now. Didn’t she just appear on some variety show the other day? Happens that I know the program’s planner, and since we were all close in high school, we invited her to join.”

Fang Shu chuckled: “You’re acquainted with all the beauties.”

Ergou waved his hand playfully: “We’re all good friends.”

By this time, the group had entered the restaurant hall. Fang Shu rolled her eyes, looked up, paused in surprise, and stopped in her tracks.

Shi Yin, walking beside her, was still listening to Ergou talk about how fairy-like Qin Yan was now and didn’t notice her.

Fang Shu grabbed her.

Shi Yin stopped, turned her head to look at her: “What’s wrong?”

Fang Shu squinted uncertainly, tilted her chin forward: “Look over there, isn’t that Gu Congli?”

Shi Yin froze, looking over.

The first thing she noticed was his legs.

Gu Congli was tall. Being an art student made her sensitive to human proportions; her estimate was accurate. He was about 188 cm tall, his legs appearing longer than others’, encased in black pants, perfectly proportioned. His shirt was tucked neatly into his waistband, creating crisp folds at the waistline.

Fang Shu whispered in her ear: “Who’s the woman talking to him, the one with sunglasses? Is that Qin Yan?”

Shi Yin’s gaze remained fixed on the man, as if she hadn’t heard.

The restaurant hall was crowded on the weekend, bustling with noise. He stood by the lounge area, seemingly listening to someone.

His profile was sharp and aloof, like the only stillness amidst a boiling world.

As if sensing something strange, Gu Congli raised his head, meeting her gaze directly.

Shi Yin blinked at him.

Gu Congli slightly narrowed his eyes, his gaze deepening.

Ergou was completely unaware of the tension and confidently strode over, loudly proclaiming: “Are all the people here? Who’s missing? Or should Qin Yan lead our Mr. Gu inside?” He lowered his voice humorously, “Otherwise, our national goddess might get mobbed later.”

Shi Yin stayed silent.

From the sound of it, it seemed Gu Congli was brought by Qin Yan.

Upon hearing this, Qin Yan smiled. Her oversized sunglasses covered most of her face, revealing only her rosy lips and a small chin.

She turned her head toward Gu Congli, her voice gentle: “Shall we go in first?”

Gu Congli ignored her.

Qin Yan waited a few seconds, raised her hand as if to pull his sleeve.

Almost simultaneously, Gu Congli straightened up, subtly evaded her hand, and took a couple of steps forward.

Several people had already noticed the commotion and looked over. Qin Yan’s fingers froze in mid-air, a bit awkward.

Shi Yin felt a tiny bit of happiness, though she didn’t know what she was happy about, unconsciously curving her lips, secretly smiling.

Before she realized it, Gu Congli was already in front of her, looking down at her, saying indifferently: “Finished your homework?”

“…”

The smile on Shi Yin’s lips froze.