#38: Like

The dismissal bell had just rung, and the hallway was packed with people.

As Cheng Mi stepped out of the classroom and walked towards the second-year floor, gazes continuously poured in from all directions.

Cheng Mi had grown up under the scrutiny of others, but the gazes now fixed on her were different from the admiring and envious ones she had known since childhood.

Curious, spectating, disgusted.

All kinds of strange looks converged on her.

How long had it been since she felt this way? This feeling of everyone shunning her like a plague.

She had thought she was immune to such exclusion, but when it resurfaced after having disappeared, she still felt a little uncomfortable.

It was as if she was suddenly pulled back to those dark, hazy days from before.

Only now it wasn’t like then. Back then, it was too late to stop anything; everything teetered on the edge of the abyss, then quickly spun out of control and plummeted.

At that time, she was too proud, nothing mattered to her, and Chen Zhaochi’s tricks seemed like child’s play.

Until Chen Zhaochi, that pervert, personally destroyed Li Chu and Jiang Xunzhi.

He didn’t destroy her; he destroyed the people around her, making her watch, constantly torturing her.

Relying on the memories that resurfaced with little effort, Cheng Mi found her way to Class 9 on the second-year floor.

In the classroom, textbooks were stacked high on every desk. People hadn’t all left yet; two or three students were sweeping the classroom.

In the third row of the first group, a girl with a ponytail was diligently doing her homework.

Cheng Mi walked in and went straight to her desk.

The sunlight was slightly blocked by Cheng Mi, casting a shadow on the workbook, and the girl looked up.

Behind thick glasses, the girl’s features were neat and proper, looking gentle and introverted.

Seeing Cheng Mi, a flash of surprise crossed her face, immediately followed by a hint of guilt.

Still too green.

She couldn’t even pretend, immediately giving herself away.

It was definitely her who had leaked the news that she and Si Tingyan lived in the same building.

Cheng Mi wasn’t enraged or contemptuous. She simply raised a hand and calmly tapped on her desk: “Come out for a moment.”

Without waiting for the girl to say yes or no, she walked straight towards the back door of the classroom.

Her demeanor made the girl feel unpredictable. The girl was a little afraid of Cheng Mi, and without thinking, her feet followed her out.

Cheng Mi walked ahead, heading upstairs. The rooftop was on the sixth floor. After climbing three flights of stairs, she pushed open the rusted iron door.

The rust produced a grating sound, long and deep, echoing in the stairwell, finally dissipated by the wind on the rooftop.

The rooftop was vast and empty, the concrete floor slightly rough.

Cheng Mi walked to the railing and turned to wait for the girl to come. Under Cheng Mi’s gaze, the girl’s steps were hesitant but dared not stop, walking all the way to stand in front of her.

Cheng Mi said: “You spoke quite boldly online, so why are you afraid of me now?”

Face to face, her personality was so gentle and quiet, but online she spoke boldly. Perhaps the nervous tension of being confronted had eased a bit, and now she tried to compensate. The girl’s gaze behind her glasses was a little shifty: “It wasn’t me who said you live with Si Tingyan.”

“How did you know what I was talking about? I didn’t mention a thing.”

Falling into Cheng Mi’s trap, the girl instantly fell silent, pursing her lips.

Cheng Mi said: “Why didn’t you consider that I would remember your face? Even if you didn’t, you should have thought that in our building, there are only three students from Fenggao.”

What’s more, every time the girl’s mother encountered Si Tingyan, she would always pull him aside to introduce her daughter, hoping her daughter would become friends with him to improve her grades. And every time, Si Tingyan’s rather cold attitude would make her mother roll her eyes behind his back.

Cheng Mi looked at her: “Or are you saying you thought I wouldn’t bother with you?”

The girl lowered her head, not saying a word.

Cheng Mi got straight to the point: “I can let this slide now that you’ve said it.”

Spilled water cannot be un-spilled; pursuing it further would be a waste of effort and futile. Cheng Mi didn’t want to waste time on such things, and this girl wasn’t worth it.

“But in the future, it might be different. We always run into each other in the building, so you must have seen more than others.”

Because of Cheng Mi’s personality, people who hadn’t seen them interact in private would definitely think her pursuit of Si Tingyan this time was just a game, just like her casual approach to Li Zhiyu’s feelings.

But Cheng Mi and Si Tingyan were much more intimate at home than at school. Si Tingyan wasn’t as indifferent to her as everyone thought. This girl must have known a little something.

Her eyes never left the girl: “About what’s between Si Tingyan and me, remember not to blurt things out for temporary satisfaction in the future.”

“Otherwise, I will definitely come for you.”

Originally, Cheng Mi had planned to prevent Chen Zhaochi from even noticing Si Tingyan. Her pursuit of Si Tingyan was no secret, and Chen Zhaochi would find out sooner or later, but as long as she cut off the loose ends before he knew about it, everything would be fine.

But now, at this crucial moment, Si Tingyan had been pushed into the spotlight by them. It was impossible for Chen Zhaochi not to notice him.

She could only hit the brakes in time. Fortunately, for some reason, Chen Zhaochi might currently believe, like everyone else, that her pursuit of Si Tingyan was just a fleeting interest and a game.

Cheng Mi did these things not because she feared Chen Zhaochi; she was not afraid of death, nor was she afraid of Chen Zhaochi.

Chen Zhaochi knew this, which was why he threatened the people around her, dragging them down to make Cheng Mi live a lifetime of pain and guilt.

The hatred between her and Chen Zhaochi began with just one sentence she uttered.

Cheng Mi used to frequent bars to play music, often meeting like-minded friends, which is how she and Chen Zhaochi met. Chen Zhaochi could play guitar, drums, and DJ, and the girls around him changed like clothes.

At first, they got along very well and could be considered friends. Cheng Mi even knew about Chen Zhaochi’s twisted thoughts.

His father died when he was young, his mother remarried, casting off everything from their past, including the son born from her passionate love with her ex-husband.

At merely five or six years old, she treated him as if he were dead.

Beating, scolding, not caring whether he lived or died.

The accumulated whip marks and blood scars festered into a knot in his heart, love consuming itself until it became a hatred-like obsession.

Anyone who mentioned Chen Zhaochi’s mother would hit a nerve.

Cheng Mi’s initial interactions with Chen Zhaochi were friendly enough, but it couldn’t hide the fact that Chen Zhaochi was not a good person. It wasn’t long before he started hitting on her.

Cheng Mi’s face alone, without any need for soul connection, could make men chase after her madly.

Chen Zhaochi naturally didn’t succeed in his pursuit. After ten days to half a month, Chen Zhaochi’s patience ran out, and he resorted to force.

That day, Chen Zhaochi happened to be in a bad mood, with a gash on his head from his mother hitting him with a wine bottle. Cheng Mi, who was pinned on the sofa, didn’t let him succeed. She grabbed a wine glass, smashed it directly on his head, and then kicked him away.

That day, she couldn’t suppress her anger and said a sentence to Chen Zhaochi.

She said, Chen Zhaochi, you bastard deserve your mother not to want you.

That one sentence completely pushed herself and the people around her into hell.

It was only later that Cheng Mi realized she had provoked a madman.

A pervert for whom the world had no right or wrong, only clear distinctions of likes and dislikes, black and white.

She offended him a little, and he returned it a hundredfold.

Even without any reason, whoever displeased him, he would destroy them.

With Chen Zhaochi, no logic existed.

Cheng Mi was also forced to live in a world without much logic.

She no longer had the energy to play with Chen Zhaochi again, or rather, she didn’t have the courage to watch the people around her completely become Chen Zhaochi’s playthings for his catharsis.

________________________________________

After Cheng Mi finished speaking with the girl, she let her go back. A thick cloud covered the sky, yet the setting sun slanted in the west.

Cheng Mi didn’t stand long before her phone vibrated. Si Huiru told her that her uncle’s plane had landed.

Not only Li Yeheng, but Li Chu would also be coming back today.

Si Huiru was genuinely happy. From last night, she had planned for the whole family to have dinner together at a hotel tonight.

Cheng Mi put away her phone and left the rooftop.

Her classroom was on the second floor, the third floor was for second-year students. Passing by the second-year floor, Cheng Mi suddenly remembered what Si Tingyan had said yesterday.

Si Tingyan wanted her to find him.

Cheng Mi knew he would always wait for her.

She thought of it, but her footsteps didn’t stop. She didn’t walk towards his classroom, instead, she left the third floor directly.

________________________________________

The sun set in the west, and the green shade was silent.

The teaching building was empty, a thin layer of dim yellow light lingered on the old walls.

Si Tingyan sat on the steps on the west side of the teaching building downstairs, dressed in his school uniform, neat and crisp, his exquisite features showing a hint of cold, sickly pallor.

He looked like a good student, yet exuded a chilling aura.

Beside his feet, a small silver robot stood silently on the ground. Its master hadn’t tested it to fetch this or that, so it just obediently stood in place.

This was the robot Si Tingyan wanted to give Cheng Mi.

Cheng Mi wanted a robot that she could command to fetch things.

But he hadn’t found her.

She hadn’t gone to the experimental building’s competition class to find him, hadn’t waited for her in his classroom, and wasn’t in her own classroom either.

That person was back, and she went to find him.

She didn’t know how much time had passed. A phone vibrated in the air; there was no one else around.

Si Tingyan answered the call. Si Huiru’s voice came through: “Xiao Yan, why aren’t you here yet? Mom sent you the hotel address via text message this morning, did you see it?”

Si Tingyan hummed in response.

Si Huiru said: “Uncle and the sisters have all arrived and are waiting for you. Where are you now?”

Aside from Si Huiru speaking, there was no other sound on that end; they were likely all listening to Si Huiru make this call.

Si Tingyan knew Cheng Mi could also hear.

His voice was a little cold and detached: “At school.”

Still only Si Huiru’s voice: “Why are you still at school? Was there something going on at school today?”

“Mhm.”

“Is it resolved now?”

Si Tingyan was direct: “No.”

Si Huiru probably heard the coldness in his words, paused, and for a moment didn’t know what to say: “Xiao Yan...”

Not only could Si Huiru hear it, but Cheng Mi on the other end could too.

A man’s voice sounded on the other end, likely speaking to Si Huiru.

Si Tingyan vaguely heard “Let Xiao Yan take care of his own business. Come over when he’s done, no rush.”

He directly hung up the phone.

The thick cloud in the sky began to drop rain, but the western horizon still held the glow of twilight.

Rain slanted through the twilight.

Three years ago, Si Tingyan was hospitalized in Jiashan.

The day Cheng Mi first spoke to him was also this kind of weather.

________________________________________

• Her name is Cheng Mi, and she came to the ward again today.

• The person in the next bed went for a walk. She asked me if I knew where the person in the next bed went. This was the first time she spoke to me.

• She gave me a can of Wangzai Milk. It wasn’t too bad. I hate drinking milk the most.

• She stood by the window, waiting for the person in the next bed for a long time.

• The doctor told the person in the next bed that he could be discharged soon. I wouldn’t see her much longer.

• He’s not here, so she won’t come.

...

Due to complications from a congenital heart surgery performed shortly after his birth, Si Tingyan’s health had always been poor. Three years ago, his heart condition relapsed.

Jiashan was not particularly far from Fengxun, and its medical facilities were significantly better than Fengxun’s.

Si Huiru took Si Tingyan there for treatment.

At that time, the hospital’s planning wasn’t particularly advanced, and coupled with a shortage of beds, patients in Si Tingyan’s double room were mixed. The patient in the next bed had a different illness from him; it wasn’t a heart condition but due to overwork.

And the person in the next bed at that time was Li Yeheng.

Unexpectedly, Si Huiru also knew Li Yeheng.

Si Tingyan and Si Huiru were actually from Jiashan. However, Si Huiru later moved with him to Fengxun due to some matters. She and Li Yeheng had known each other from their time living in Jiashan. Moreover, Li Yeheng had helped Si Huiru resolve some tricky issues, which is how they met.

Li Yeheng had handsome features and a tall build, a successful man.

A forty-year-old man, gentle, refined, mature, and reserved—any woman could easily fall for him.

Si Huiru and Li Yeheng’s relationship quickly warmed during that period of time together.

And during his hospitalization, Si Tingyan saw Cheng Mi every day.

Cheng Mi would come every day, arriving at the hospital right after school.

To visit Li Yeheng.

Li Yeheng’s daughter never came to the ward once, but Cheng Mi never missed a day.

Every day, she would peel an apple for Li Yeheng. She was very skilled at peeling apples. After peeling, she would always bring it to Li Yeheng’s mouth.

This was a somewhat intimate gesture.

It was impossible for someone like Li Yeheng not to notice.

But each time, Cheng Mi was met with Li Yeheng’s helpless smile, like an elder: “You’re a grown girl, that’s not good.”

A single sentence clearly delineated the innocent feelings of a young girl into the realm of a junior, sharply dividing the lines between elder and junior.

That evening, a light rain fell. Cheng Mi also came to the ward right after school.

The ward was quiet, only Si Tingyan was inside, leaning on his hospital bed doing homework.

Cheng Mi pushed the door open and glanced at him. Their eyes met, then they silently looked away.

The person in the next bed, Li Yeheng, was not there.

Only Si Tingyan was in the ward. Cheng Mi asked him: “Hello, do you know where the person in the next bed went?”

• Hello, do you know where the person in the next bed went?

That was the first time Cheng Mi spoke to him in the ward.

Si Tingyan would always remember how Cheng Mi spoke to him that day.

Outside, a light rain fell. Her fluffy long hair was loose behind her, the ends slightly damp.

Her eyes curved a little when she smiled, gently smiling at him.

Si Tingyan originally didn’t want to respond to her, but eventually, he spoke, his voice low and cold, telling her he had gone for a walk.

Cheng Mi smiled again, not at all reserved, and handed him the can of Wangzai milk she was holding: “Thanks.”

After that, they didn’t speak anymore because Cheng Mi went to the window, a spot where she could probably see Li Yeheng and Si Huiru walking in the corridor downstairs.

Cheng Mi stood there for a long time, saying nothing, and later left without waiting for Li Yeheng to return.

She never looked at the other person in the ward again.

Later, Si Tingyan continued to see Cheng Mi every day, until the day Li Yeheng was discharged.

Si Tingyan never saw her again after that.

That year, Cheng Mi spoke two sentences to Si Tingyan, totaling eighteen characters.

But she didn’t remember a single one of them.

...

The sun set in the west, the faint light in the sky like a dying candle flame, flickering for a few seconds before completely extinguishing.

The teaching building stood silently. After a brief shower, a small patch of the open ground became damp.

Dusk turned into dark night, and the figure beneath the teaching building was still there.

Si Tingyan and the robot remained under the eaves as before.

Cheng Mi didn’t come to find him.