OS - 38

Cheng Wanyue felt very conflicted. Whether it was Cheng Zhou or Yanci, favoring one felt like betraying the other. So, she simply favored Zhou Yu, sensing that Yanci had been acting a little strange lately.

“We still have to go to the bookstore, right, Ayu?”

Zhou Yu nodded. “Mm-hmm.”

“Then I’ll head back first.”

Yanci now lived on Changchun Road, so Cheng Yanqing’s way home wasn’t convenient for him.

Zhou Yu and Cheng Wanyue walked towards the school. The bookstore was very crowded today. Cheng Wanyue couldn’t even finish her homework, so she wouldn’t buy any extra exercise books, just casually flipping through novels.

“Ayu, I want to dye my hair.”

“The teachers will scold you.”

“They probably won’t notice if I wear a hat, right?”

“If they can’t tell, why dye it? Just wait a bit longer. After the exams, you can do whatever you want.”

“That’s true. I really wish the exams would be over quickly. This past half year has been exhausting,” Cheng Wanyue’s thoughts came and went quickly. She pulled Zhou Yu inside and quietly asked, “Did Yanci go through some kind of trauma? Every time he looks at you, I think he’s about to cry.”

She had seen Yanci’s tears before. On the night Yanci’s parents were being resuscitated at the hospital, Yanci, who never believed in Buddha or gods, cried and prayed outside the emergency room.

But it was to no avail.

Zhou Yu didn’t know how to explain, only saying, “He might not have slept well.”

“No wonder his eyes are red. Ayu, I’ll only be back the day before school starts. Wishing you a happy New Year in advance.”

“You too.”

Cheng Wanyue still had to go back and pack her luggage, so she didn’t stay at the bookstore for too long. Zhou Yu passed by the convenience store entrance and saw a public phone on the table, so she went in and asked the owner if she could use it.

Cheng Yuzhou had just come out of the hospital, preparing to go home, shower, and eat. Qin Yiming even specially came to pick him up.

As the two walked towards the exit, Cheng Yuzhou’s phone vibrated, displaying an unfamiliar short number.

“You go ahead and get a taxi.”

Qin Yiming looked at him with a half-smile. “Oh, my, shy! What, are you two going to talk about things I can’t hear?”

Cheng Yuzhou’s expression didn’t change. “Yeah, isn’t that how all couples in love are?”

“Damn, heartless,” Qin Yiming grumbled as he walked away. This guy, surnamed Cheng, always had such an ugly look on his face after successfully getting what he wanted. He even changed his game ID.

Cheng Yuzhou pressed the answer button.

“...It’s me.”

“I guessed it was you. Where are you calling from?”

“Just this convenience store near the library,” Zhou Yu had been worried he wouldn’t answer a strange number. “My phone broke, and I haven’t had time to fix it. Did you send me a text message? I didn’t see it, I’m sorry.”

Cheng Yuzhou had bought a last-minute ticket and called her on his way to the station. When it didn’t go through, he sent a text message. “It was nothing, just to let you know I went back to Nanjing early. My mom is fine, it’s just my dad overreacting and wanting to cause trouble for others. If no one stops him, he’ll make something out of nothing.”

“Uncle and Auntie have a really good relationship.”

“Last month they were still arguing about getting a divorce. My dad has too many flaws. You’ll slowly see my bad side too: timid, selfish, jealous, greedy, possessive... and so on, many.”

There was only the sound of horns on the other end of the phone. Cheng Yuzhou smiled. “Why aren’t you speaking? Scared?”

“No, I’m very brave,” Zhou Yu just couldn’t imagine what those things he mentioned would be like on him.

“Then if I hope you don’t go to his house alone, would you be angry?” He then explained, “I know you two have known each other since childhood and understand each other well, but... what if?”

Zhou Yu thought, how could this be a bad side?

Her house was full of women, and they had experienced incidents like a drunk single man coming to their house. If Liu Fen hadn’t become harsh and unreasonable towards outsiders after getting sick, driving people away with a knife, they would have certainly suffered a loss that time.

“I understand. I’ll ask the neighbors for help if anything happens.”

The less than half a month’s holiday passed quickly.

“See you after school starts.”

“Okay.”

________________________________________

Before the Spring Festival, the house was still the same as usual. Zhou Yu went out to buy couplets and also to fix her phone, but she wouldn’t be able to pick it up until the next day.

The streets were crowded with people every day, selling and buying New Year’s goods. Businesses didn’t close until Chinese New Year’s Eve.

Dumplings were to be eaten on the first day of the New Year. In the evening, Yanci called Zhou Yu, asking her how to wrap dumplings.

He couldn’t even manage the first step of making the dough, let alone wrapping dumplings.

Grandma and Liu Fen went to bed early. The neighbor’s little sister came over to call Zhou Yu out to set off fireworks. Zhou Yu accompanied her for a while. Every year at midnight, the county government would organize a firework show in the square to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new. It would be very noisy then, so she simply stayed awake.

Several children were scrambling for toys. Zhou Yu watched and smiled from the side, then turned around and saw Yanci,愣ing for a moment, not knowing how long he had been standing there.

No one spoke. Zhou Yu went inside, cooked a bowl of dumplings, and brought them out. Yanci ate them in silence. In the end, they were actually a bit cold, but he didn’t leave a drop of soup.

A bold and mischievous boy threw a lit firecracker near Zhou Yu. Yanci extended one foot and kicked the firecracker away.

Zhou Yu felt a bit suffocated in this tense atmosphere. “Yanci, I’m not capable of being responsible for your life. Many times, I’m powerless even over my own life.”

“Didn’t you say I’m the same in your heart as Cheng Wanyue and Cheng Yanqing?”

She knew Qing Hang later. Qing Hang’s taciturn personality was somewhat introverted to begin with. Even though they were deskmates, their relationship wasn’t particularly close.

“...It’s the same.”

“Then why are you leaving me out?” He said calmly, “I just want to tell you that I cooked a very successful pot of noodles today. I didn’t ask you to do anything for me.”

Zhou Yu looked down at the firecracker on the ground. “I like Cheng Yuzhou.”

Yanci paused for a second, as if he hadn’t heard anything, and continued to speak to himself, “It wasn’t cooked enough at first, so I poured it back into the pot to cook again. When I tasted the first bite, I found I’d put too much salt, and after adding water, it became bland...”

“I’ve liked him for a long time. You don’t need to compare yourself to him.”

“It was too bland to taste good, so I added all the seasonings I had at home. I couldn’t finish it, and it felt wasteful to throw it away...”

“Yanci,” Zhou Yu interrupted him for the second time, “I only see you as a friend, so I will never be as pained as you when facing you.”