GT - 6

The next morning, the sky was foggy.

There had been a torrential downpour in the middle of the night, and the sound of heavy rain lashing against the windows hadn’t stopped all night.

It continued for several hours until dawn, when it finally began to subside slightly, but the rain was still pouring down.

Cheng Mi came out of her room, and even with the windows tightly shut, she could hear the pattering of rain outside.

Si Huiru was busy in the kitchen early in the morning, having already prepared two bowls of noodles on the dining table. They were steaming hot and fragrant, topped with scallions, thin oil, fried eggs, and tender meat.

She was coming out of the kitchen with bowls and chopsticks when she saw Cheng Mi and smiled at her: “You’re awake?”

Cheng Mi nodded, returning a smile: “Mhm.”

“Are you done washing up?”

“Yes.”

“Then come quickly and eat. Breakfast is ready.” Si Huiru placed the chopsticks she was holding on the rim of a bowl.

Cheng Mi walked over and sat down. Soon after, Si Tingyan also came out of his room.

He pulled out the chair opposite her and sat down.

Cheng Mi looked up at him, her elbow propped on the table, her fingertips loosely holding her chopsticks.

Si Tingyan picked up his chopsticks and broke his fried egg.

Only then did Cheng Mi notice that his fried egg looked different from hers; it was entirely white, with no yolk.

She withdrew her gaze, and both ate in silence.

As she ate, an umbrella appeared beside her hand. Cheng Mi paused her chopsticks.

Si Huiru sat down next to her: “This rain outside won’t stop anytime soon. You’ll need to take an umbrella to school.”

Although the tag had been removed from the umbrella, its fabric was impeccably clean, indicating it was new.

Cheng Mi smiled at her: “Okay.”

Then she heard Si Huiru say: “When you leave later, Xiao Yan will take you to the bus.”

Cheng Mi had always walked to school. She asked: “Because of the rain?”

Si Huiru nodded, saying softly: “Although our home isn’t far from school, the rain is heavy, and even if you walk with umbrellas, your clothes will definitely be wet by the time you reach school.”

Cheng Mi said nothing more, just nodded.

After eating, Si Tingyan took his school bag and put on his shoes by the door. Si Huiru called out to him: “Xiao Yan, wait for your sister.”

Cheng Mi didn’t glance at him and wasn’t in a hurry.

She pulled out a tissue, pressed it to her lips, and placed it on the table. Then she stood up, grabbed her school bag that was placed nearby, and said to Si Huiru: “Then we’ll be going now.”

“Okay, be careful of cars on the way. There’s a lot of standing water on the ground now, and cars might splash you.”

Si Tingyan had already opened the door and gone out.

Cheng Mi glanced at his back, then turned to Si Huiru and gently replied: “Okay.” Only after saying this did she walk out the door.

________________________________________

By the time she reached the doorway, Si Tingyan had already walked a short distance.

The corridor only had light at its two ends, making it dim as if it were evening. The old window at the end was dilapidated, and after last night’s wind and rain, the long gray concrete floor of the corridor was wet and muddy.

Si Tingyan didn’t wait for her, walking ahead. Cheng Mi followed at a steady, unhurried pace. Turning into the stairwell, they were separated by a few steps.

The stairwell was eerily quiet, with only the muffled sound of rain outside. A coolness permeated the surroundings.

They walked one after another, their footsteps overlapping, then separating, then overlapping again.

Soon they reached downstairs. Cheng Mi was half a step behind Si Tingyan, watching him open his umbrella and step out of the building.

She maintained her original pace, casually unfolding her neatly folded umbrella, and then stepped into the rain herself.

Even with the torrential rain, life continued unabated. Despite the pouring rain, the human world was bustling, with commuters and students constantly brushing past each other.

Amidst the crowd, Cheng Mi and the black-and-white school uniform figure ahead remained silent.

The bus stop was only a two or three-minute walk from home. When they arrived, the peeling green-painted shelter was packed with people, including a few wearing Fenggao school uniforms like Cheng Mi and Si Tingyan.

Cheng Mi followed Si Tingyan to the bottom of the stand. People stood between them, and water dripped continuously from their umbrella edges.

More and more people arrived, but no bus came for three or four minutes, making everyone increasingly restless, and complaints arose.

After a while, a bus arrived, and a crowd rushed aboard. Si Tingyan didn’t get on, and Cheng Mi also stood still.

Another bus followed closely behind, Bus No. 5. Cheng Mi hadn’t told Si Huiru before that she actually took this bus to school.

The bus slowly braked in front of the bus stop. Many people took this bus, and as the doors opened, a stream of people squeezed on.

Indeed, after Bus No. 5 stopped, Si Tingyan made a move, walking off the platform with his umbrella.

Cheng Mi also followed him onto the bus.

This bus was always packed like a sardine can during morning rush hour, so even though taking the bus to school took less time than walking, students still disliked taking the bus to school.

Today was an exception. With the heavy rain outside, no one wanted to go to school soaked for a full day of classes, so the bus was even more crowded today, making it hard to breathe.

They both boarded the bus. Si Tingyan was in front. After his bus card beeped on the machine, he walked to the back. Cheng Mi didn’t have a bus card, so she inserted two yuan in cash.

When she looked back, Si Tingyan was gone, but he wasn’t hard to find; his face was instantly recognizable in the crowd. He was by the window, holding onto a handrail, facing outwards.

Cheng Mi lifted her foot and walked towards him. There was an empty spot next to Si Tingyan, but she didn’t stop there. Instead, she stood in front of his window.

The bus window behind her seemed to be fractured by the torrential rain, rain streaks weaving countless cracks. Cheng Mi stood with her back to the window, facing Si Tingyan.

Si Tingyan’s gaze lingered on her face for a moment, then shifted away.

Cheng Mi took in his actions without saying anything.

At the next stop, another group of people crowded onto the bus, filling the interior shoulder to shoulder.

Cheng Mi, with nothing else to do, stared at Si Tingyan, noticing that he was paler than most people, almost glaringly so. But because of his poor health, his skin had a cold pallor.

The lines of his brow bone and nose bridge were sharp but not jarring. His eyelashes were long, his nose prominent, and his pupils very dark.

Up close, his face was even clearer, so handsome it made one want to have improper thoughts.

It was precisely this handsomeness that slightly softened his aloofness.

Cheng Mi stared at him so openly, knowing he surely knew.

But Si Tingyan was undisturbed, not looking at her at all.

The bus was crowded, swaying from side to side with movement. Suddenly, there was a sharp turn, and a few brief gasps erupted inside the bus as people swung dramatically.

In the chaos, Cheng Mi felt a push from behind. She had time to steady herself, but she didn’t. Instead, she used the momentum to be pushed directly in front of Si Tingyan.

The space between them was small; she merely swayed slightly and almost touched him.

Si Tingyan finally looked down at her, but only for a moment.

Cheng Mi could feel his slightly warm breath on her cheek. Her eyes still lingered on his face, moving upwards step by step.

Thin lips, nose, finally stopping at his eyes.

She naturally opened her mouth: “Where do you eat lunch?”

From the dining table until now, they had been silent the whole way.

This was their first conversation.

Upon hearing her, Si Tingyan’s gaze returned to her face, but he didn’t speak.

Cheng Mi asked again: “First floor, second floor, or third floor of the cafeteria?”

He finally spoke, a little coldly: “What for?”

Anyone would know what for.

Another girl might have given up after hitting this wall, but how could Cheng Mi?

She smiled faintly: “What else could a girl want when she asks you to eat? It’s not like it’s a sister looking after her brother.”

Si Tingyan looked at her.

Cheng Mi met his gaze openly and continued to ask: “Or off campus?”

Amidst the swaying, Si Tingyan’s gaze returned to her face again.

The bus unfortunately arrived at its stop at this moment. Students continuously passed by outside the window, their figures blurred into black and white school uniform shapes by the water on the glass.

The back door opened, and the driver shouted from the front that Fenggao had arrived.

A stream of people poured out, continuously squeezing past them.

Si Tingyan’s gaze left Cheng Mi’s face. He didn’t answer her, turned, and walked towards the bus door.

Cheng Mi didn’t immediately follow. After staring at his retreating back for two seconds, she moved her feet and followed him off the bus.

________________________________________

The heavy rain lessened during the morning self-study class but lingered stubbornly. After nearly half a day of furious downpour, it finally subsided during the second class.

But the sky remained overcast.

In Cheng Mi’s class, during the last math class of the morning, a few boys carelessly played mobile games during class, angering the teacher and causing the whole class to be lectured.

The math teacher’s anger was hard to extinguish. She extended the class by scolding them for over ten minutes, and her face was still dark when she picked up her textbook and left the classroom.

Someone from the neighboring class had already returned from eating at the cafeteria. Zheng Hongkai’s deskmate behind Cheng Mi complained: “That math teacher is terrifying, like a machine gun. Damn, the cafeteria probably won’t have any food left.”

A fiery girl from across the aisle retorted: “Who told you to play games in class? Are you looking for death, playing games in her class? Next time, die by yourselves, don’t drag us down.”

“Alright, no more, no more. I won’t play next time, okay, my lord.”

“Why isn’t Zheng Hongkai here today?” the girl asked.

“Don’t you know? He fought with Li Zhiyu yesterday.”

Class monitor Chu Xinhe happened to pass by at this moment. Her gaze met Cheng Mi’s, and she paused. Cheng Mi gave her an extremely friendly smile.

Seeing this, Chu Xinhe nodded slightly and left arm in arm with her friend.

When Cheng Mi withdrew her gaze, she met her deskmate Meng Yin’s gaze, which had just retracted from Chu Xinhe. Meng Yin had also been present when they witnessed Li Zhiyu kissing Chu Xinhe in the small grove behind the teaching building, sharing a secret known only to the two of them.

She hesitated to ask Cheng Mi: “How are things between you and... Li Zhiyu?” She looked quite serious.

Cheng Mi’s black pen was loosely clipped between her fingers, tapping the edge of the desk below.

With a soft click, she smiled at her: “Nothing much.”

Then she put down her pen and asked her: “Want to go eat together?”

“Are you going to the cafeteria today?”

Meng Yin rarely saw Cheng Mi go to the cafeteria; she usually went to off-campus restaurants with Li Zhiyu and his friends.

Cheng Mi gave a soft “mhm” at the end of her sentence, then asked her: “Is it strange?”

Meng Yin shook her head: “No. Then let’s go.”

Outside the cafeteria, tall trees luxuriantly grew, blocking most of the daylight. Today was still overcast and rainy, making the inside appear even darker and damper.

Coincidentally, as she stepped into the second-floor hall, Cheng Mi immediately spotted Si Tingyan.

As she expected, she didn’t need to go to his classroom to find him; he wouldn’t wait for her.

“The sweet and sour pork ribs on the second floor are delicious, but we’re coming so late, they might already be gone.”

Meng Yin’s words pulled Cheng Mi’s gaze back from the table by the window not far away.

The peak dining hour had passed, but there was still a long line in front of the serving windows. Cheng Mi and Meng Yin chatted as they joined the end of a queue.

Not long after stopping, Cheng Mi noticed a gaze fixed on her.

Looking up, she indeed met several pairs of eyes from the front of the line looking at her. They were a few girls and two boys.

Whispering, with smiles in their eyes, as if discussing something about her.

Cheng Mi recognized the girl in the middle at a glance; she had just seen her in PE class yesterday.

A small face with fair skin the size of a palm, black shoulder-length hair curled inwards, one side tucked behind her ear. Her phoenix eyes, with long eyelashes, were smiling.

The school beauty from Senior Two, Qi Yunmiao.

Cheng Mi only glanced over there, not caring, and continued to politely listen to Meng Yin list other delicious foods on this floor.

“Cold mixed kelp, Kung Pao chicken, these are all especially delicious.”

A faint sentence drifted from the front: “She’s not that pretty anyway, not even as pretty as you.”

“And hot and sour—” Meng Yin heard it, and her words suddenly stopped.

That group of people was clearly talking about Cheng Mi.

After realizing, she looked at Cheng Mi. Cheng Mi heard her stop talking and her gaze also looked over questioningly: “Hm? Hot and sour what?”

“Ah, that... hot and sour shredded potatoes.”

“Okay,” Cheng Mi smiled at her, “I’ll order exactly what you said later.”

Meng Yin looked at her expression. She felt that Cheng Mi must have heard it too, but she seemed completely unconcerned.

Meng Yin greatly admired people like Cheng Mi. Their nonchalance wasn’t faked; they truly didn’t care about others’ opinions, unlike herself, who even dared not answer questions in class.

The auntie at the window served food quickly, and in the blink of an eye, the two of them reached the front of the line.

Cheng Mi got a few dishes and took the tray from the auntie.

Upon entering, she had noticed that there was no one sitting next to Si Tingyan. After taking her tray, she prepared to walk over there with Meng Yin.

Midway, however, that seat was taken first by Qi Yunmiao, who had been ahead of them in line, and her group of friends.

Qi Yunmiao was sticking to Si Tingyan and talking to him. Si Tingyan glanced at her but ignored her.

Cheng Mi watched with leisurely interest for a few seconds. Seeing this, she didn’t go forward to spoil their fun and just found a random seat with Meng Yin.

Not long after eating, she saw Si Tingyan pick up his tray and leave.

Cheng Mi poked her rice with her chopsticks and withdrew her gaze.

As soon as Si Tingyan left, Qi Yunmiao’s friends immediately started talking without restraint. Their table wasn’t far from Cheng Mi’s, and they spoke loudly and ostentatiously.

“He’s so cold, I don’t even dare to joke about you two in front of him.”

A boy chuckled: “Joke? He has heart disease, be careful you don’t make him angry enough to die.”

Qi Yunmiao picked up the chopsticks beside her and threw them at the boy: “Go away, shut up.”

The girl who had just said she was afraid of Si Tingyan gave Qi Yunmiao advice: “I think you should ask Si Tingyan out after school. Isn’t there a small cinema above the roller skating rink? We can go roller skating, and you can go watch a movie with him. When the lights go out, just kiss him. No guy can resist that.”

“Yeah, and you’re so pretty, he can’t possibly dislike you.”

Qi Yunmiao said: “Idiots, do you think he’s that easy to ask out?”

The boy next to her continued to pour cold water: “I think he’s almost fed up with you. Why don’t you just give up? You don’t understand, guys don’t fall for that ‘moved’ stuff.”

“Go away,” Qi Yunmiao’s voice sounded indifferent as she played with her hair, “I’ll do whatever I want, you mind your own business.”

Cheng Mi wasn’t actually listening very closely and didn’t pay attention to what else they said later.

Meng Yin ate slowly. Cheng Mi waited for her for a while after finishing her meal, then accompanied her back to the classroom.

________________________________________

On the way back to the classroom, they passed the convenience store. Cheng Mi coincidentally ran into Li Zhiyu and Hong Mao there.

Hong Mao called out to her from afar: “Why didn’t you wait for us to eat lunch together?”

Cheng Mi gestured to Meng Yin beside her: “I went with my deskmate. Classmates should get along, right?”

“Yes, yes, you’re right.”

Li Zhiyu, tossing a drink in his hand, handed it to her: “Just bought it, it’s still cold. Want some?”

She smiled at Li Zhiyu: “Cold things aren’t very convenient for me these few days.”

Li Zhiyu raised an eyebrow, understanding, and withdrew his hand.

They were going to an internet cafe off-campus for their lunch break. Cheng Mi had to return to the classroom, so they parted ways at the convenience store entrance.

During the lunch break, many day students in the classroom were sleeping with their heads on their desks. Those who weren’t sleeping spoke in hushed tones. After Cheng Mi returned, she took a book out of the classroom to get some fresh air in the corridor.

She leaned slightly against the railing, one hand propping up her head, the other flipping through a literary book.

A gust of wind came, and chestnut-colored long hair slipped from her forehead. Cheng Mi raised her hand to brush her hair back, a stray strand caught by the wind, touched her lips.

Her movements were unhurried, like a lazy cat basking in the afternoon sun.

It was in this moment of looking up that she saw Si Tingyan downstairs.

Lush green trees grew everywhere, and he walked through the dappled light and shadow towards the teaching building.

She didn’t know where he had gone after leaving the cafeteria, but he returned to the classroom even later than her.

Cheng Mi’s gaze followed him.

After watching for a while, the hand propping her forehead moved to her chin, fingertips lightly resting beside her cheek, as she continued to observe below at her leisure.

Si Tingyan didn’t look up, passing the bulletin board in front of the teaching building.

Cheng Mi’s other hand reached for her phone beside her. Her eyes finally moved from him, looking at the viewfinder on the phone screen.

The person in the lens walked downstairs. Her phone’s rear camera flash lit up, click.

Si Tingyan noticed. His steps paused, and he looked up.

Cheng Mi’s gaze met his in the lens. Si Tingyan’s eyes, like a deep pool, stared at her, yet they were also exceptionally calm.

Cheng Mi met his gaze for two seconds. Her eyes left the phone, returned downstairs, and met his without any obstruction.

She was remarkably blatant, aiming the photo she took of him with her phone towards him, her tone slightly smiling.

“Looks good, doesn’t it?”

Si Tingyan looked at her.

Cheng Mi, propping her chin, met his gaze.

She couldn’t discern the meaning in his eyes. A few seconds later, Si Tingyan left without saying a word to her.

A smile rippled across Cheng Mi’s lips. Her gaze hadn’t yet withdrawn from downstairs when Meng Yin, who had just returned from the restroom, asked her: “Aren’t you going back to the classroom yet?”

Then she saw the photo on Cheng Mi’s phone.

Cheng Mi knew she was looking and asked: “How’s the photo?”

Meng Yin wasn’t good at compliments and just nodded: “It looks good.”

In school, not only top students were celebrities, but so were handsome guys. Not to mention, Si Tingyan was both, so Meng Yin naturally knew him.

Besides that, she also knew that Si Tingyan was Li Zhiyu’s younger brother. This wasn’t a secret; almost everyone at Fenggao knew.

She paused slightly, then subconsciously asked: “Do you know Si Tingyan?”

Not only did she know him, but she ate at the same table every day, and their rooms were across the hall from each other.

Cheng Mi chuckled softly at this thought, her eyes meeting Meng Yin’s.

“If I pursue him, does that count as knowing him?”