OS - 3

Cheng Wanyue was the daughter of the county magistrate and Cheng Yuzhou’s cousin. She also had a twin brother named Cheng Yanqing, and Cheng Yuzhou was two months older than them.

She only called him “Brother” when she needed something from him.

“Brother, let’s go to my classmate’s house to pick apricots.”

“No.”

The tree was too tall for her to climb, and without Cheng Yuzhou’s help, she wouldn’t be able to pick many good ones.

“What’s the point of playing basketball all day? Let’s go—it’s not far. We can walk there as a post-dinner stroll. Grandma likes apricots.”

Cheng Yuzhou had no interest in picking fruit or taking a walk with his sister. “Ask Cheng Yanqing.”

“He’s busy—he doesn’t have time for me.”

“What could he possibly be busy with?”

Cheng Wanyue snorted disdainfully. “Busy brown-nosing, working nine-to-five. He’s more diligent than our parents. I don’t know where he picked up such servility.”

“You’re not allowed to talk about your brother like that,” the grandmother scolded, tapping her on the head. “Go out and play, boy. Don’t stay cooped up at home.”

Cheng Yuzhou was dragged out of the house. The sun had just set, but the wind was still hot. The small county town had its own charm—fresh air, green mountains, and clear waters. Although he wasn’t born here, he had spent enough summers visiting that it felt familiar.

Zhou Yu’s house was near the train station. When Cheng Yuzhou returned, he had taken a taxi past her house after getting off the train. It was dark, and his mood wasn’t great, so he hadn’t noticed the apricot tree by the roadside.

“It’s the house up ahead.”

“Did you bring money?”

“She’s my classmate. No need to pay.”

There were still a few pancakes left unsold, and Zhou Yu was minding the stall. Cheng Wanyue waved to her from afar. “Ah Yu, I’m here!”

Zhou Yu looked up and saw Cheng Yuzhou behind Cheng Wanyue. He was replying to a message while walking.

Zhou Yu hadn’t expected him to come and was momentarily stunned. When Cheng Wanyue asked what she had eaten for dinner, Zhou Yu absentmindedly said rice, even though she had actually eaten noodles.

“This is my brother, Cheng Yuzhou,” Cheng Wanyue gestured behind her. When Cheng Yuzhou approached, she introduced Zhou Yu. “This is my best friend, Zhou Yu.”

Cheng Yuzhou put away his phone and was briefly surprised when he met those smiling eyes.

Three encounters in one week.

“Hello,” he greeted first, as if they were meeting for the first time.

Zhou Yu smiled. “Hello.”

Cheng Wanyue was already debating whether it was safer to climb the tree with shoes on or barefoot. Liu Fen came out of the neighbor’s house. From what she said, it seemed the neighbor had borrowed something from their house and broken it. Cheng Wanyue called her “Auntie,” but Liu Fen ignored her, scolding the neighbor before going inside. Her behavior came across as harsh and impolite.

Cheng Wanyue, accustomed to being treated like a spoiled young lady, didn’t take it to heart. “Where’s Grandma?”

Zhou Yu replied, “Inside watching TV.”

Cheng Wanyue pulled a folded test paper from her pocket and winked at Zhou Yu. “There are too many mosquitoes outside. I’ll go to your room.”

“Okay.”

“Brother, pick more. Don’t be polite with Ah Yu.”

Cheng Wanyue confidently headed to Zhou Yu’s room, leaving Cheng Yuzhou to pick apricots.

Zhou Yu asked him, “Are your shoes slippery?”

Cheng Yuzhou glanced down at his sneakers. “They’re fine.”

“Then keep them on. Bare feet can get scratched by branches, and there are some small insects on the tree.”

Cheng Yuzhou tested the branches, using them for support, and climbed up effortlessly.

His phone slipped out of his pocket. Zhou Yu scrambled to catch it, barely managing to do so, though the screen was slightly scratched.

“It’s fine. Just hold onto it for me.”

“Okay.” Zhou Yu wiped the screen clean. When she looked up again, Cheng Yuzhou had already climbed to the second branch. “Be careful.”

The apricots higher up were larger. Cheng Yuzhou tested the strength of a wrist-thick branch, found it sturdy, and climbed another two meters up.

“Are you steady?”

Through the dense leaves, he looked down to see the girl staring at him with bright, sparkling eyes.

“I’ll grab a jacket to catch the apricots below. You can throw them down once you’ve picked them.”

Cheng Yuzhou nodded. “Alright.”

Zhou Yu went inside. Cheng Wanyue was hunched over the desk writing on her test paper. Zhou Yu opened the wardrobe, found a jacket, and, before heading out, glanced at the red string bracelet on her wrist. After a moment’s thought, she took it off and placed it in the wardrobe.

Cheng Yuzhou tasted an apricot—it was cloyingly sweet.

The fragrance was rich, the flesh soft. It was indeed much better than the ones bought at the supermarket.

“Stay still—I’ll throw them to you.”

He was precise when throwing things into the trash bin, and Zhou Yu trusted he would be more accurate than her running around trying to catch them.

Cheng Yuzhou picked more than thirty apricots, each landing perfectly on the jacket. Zhou Yu only had to stand still, looking up the entire time. As he reached for the higher apricots, his T-shirt lifted slightly. A breeze blew, revealing his abs to Zhou Yu, whose sharp vision caught sight of them clearly in the fading light.

Her cheeks flushed under the remnants of the sunset. Zhou Yu looked away, not dodging when an apricot fell and hit her forehead. She winced sharply as pain shot through her.

“I only looked for a moment—not for long.”

“What?” Cheng Yuzhou hadn’t heard clearly. “Did it hit you? That one wasn’t thrown by me.”

Zhou Yu kept her head down, avoiding his gaze. “It’s nothing.”

A leaf fell from Cheng Yuzhou’s neck into his shirt. He shifted his shoulders, the itch causing him to lose balance momentarily. Fortunately, he reacted quickly, grabbing a sturdier branch to prevent falling.

Once steady, he exhaled in relief.

Looking down through the lush foliage, his gaze landed on Zhou Yu’s face, where she stood giggling softly.

“Brother,” Cheng Wanyue called out from inside. “Pick more—they’ll just go to waste otherwise!”

Cheng Yuzhou snapped back to attention. “Got it.”

Most of the apricots were ripe. Leaving them would only result in birds eating them or them rotting on the ground. Cheng Yuzhou picked everything within reach. Cheng Wanyue took what she wanted, leaving the rest for Zhou Yu.

Cheng Yuzhou jumped down from the trunk. Zhou Yu pointed to the pool in the yard. “You can wash your hands over there.”

Remembering how he hadn’t accepted her tissue at the supermarket, Zhou Yu refrained from offering again.

“There’s a leaf in your hair.”

His hands were wet, so he simply shook his neck slightly, and the leaf fell to his feet.

“Are you okay?”

Zhou Yu looked at him blankly. “Huh?”

Cheng Yuzhou said, “Your forehead’s red.”

Zhou Yu touched the spot where the apricot had hit her. “It’s fine.”

His gaze dropped lower.

“Your ears are red too.”

Cheng Wanyue emerged, finished copying the test paper. Seeing the basket full of apricots, she was satisfied. Without washing them, she popped one into her mouth. “Wow, so sweet! Much better than the ones from the supermarket.”

Zhou Yu inexplicably relaxed and helped her select the larger ones. “Take more if you want.”

“Yeah, I’ll take some back for Grandma,” Cheng Wanyue never stood on ceremony with Zhou Yu. “When you finish your English homework, I’ll come back to pick tomatoes. Oh, and on the 18th, it’s my birthday—you have to come.”

Zhou Yu’s cashier job at the supermarket was just part-time. If needed, she could switch shifts. “Alright.”

“Then we’ll head back.” Cheng Wanyue handed the basket to Cheng Yuzhou and shouted into the house, “Auntie, goodbye! Grandma, goodbye!”

No one responded, but she didn’t care.

As Cheng Yuzhou carried the basket and glanced back, the courtyard was already empty.

“Who would come all the way out here to buy pancakes? Why not rent a storefront in town?”

Cheng Wanyue said, “Auntie isn’t doing it for the money—it’s just something to keep her busy.”

“Oh.” Cheng Yuzhou had asked casually. Liu Fen’s peculiar temperament and manner of dealing with people didn’t seem suited for business. “Who’s your classmate dating?”

Cheng Wanyue eyed him suspiciously. “How do you know Ah Yu’s dating someone?”

“Just a guess,” Cheng Yuzhou couldn’t exactly say he’d seen Zhou Yu kissing a guy in a dark alley on his first night back.

Cheng Wanyue rolled her eyes. “How should I know?”

Night fell, and the streets grew quiet.

Cheng Wanyue was sleeping over at the grandmother’s house, so she walked back with Cheng Yuzhou. At the gate, they encountered Yan Ci.

“Yan Ci, have you eaten yet?”

He had just come out of the opposite building, wearing a black T-shirt, black pants, and even black shoes. He looked like he had just woken up but still appeared aloof.

Cheng Wanyue waved the apricots in her hand. “Freshly picked—are you interested? Want half?”

Yan Ci didn’t spare her a second glance and walked past Cheng Yuzhou.

Watching Yan Ci’s retreating figure, Cheng Wanyue sighed. Cheng Yuzhou found it amusing that there was someone else who could endure being cold-shouldered without getting angry, instead adopting a maternal expression.

“Who’s he?”

“The school heartthrob, Yan Ci. He should’ve graduated last year,” Cheng Wanyue stared at Cheng Yuzhou’s playboy face and said seriously, “I think he waited an extra year because he knew you were coming to compete for the title of ‘school heartthrob.’”

Cheng Yuzhou: “...”