OS - 45

Cheng Wanyue had another nosebleed.

She was squatting on the balcony, wiping bloodstains off the floor. Qian Shu was the first to notice and was extremely distressed.

“Wanyue, are you having heatstroke?”

“I don’t know, my head feels so dizzy.”

Cheng Yanqing thought she had been looking at something inappropriate again and tried to cover for her, “This is a post-gaokao side effect. Many people are like this. Cheng Wanyue has practically slept through this whole week. Besides eating and going to the bathroom, she’s been lying down the entire time. It’d be strange if she weren’t dizzy.”

Qian Shu was still worried, “Once we move to the city, we must go to the hospital and get a full physical examination for all three of you.”

“The school has physicals at the beginning of the semester.”

“That’s different. The school only tests basic things. Wanyue, don’t move things anymore. Go wait in the car first.”

Most of the luggage had been sent off yesterday; the rest was being taken by car. Cheng Yuzhou ran up and down four or five times.

They drove off, not passing through Zhoujiawan Road.

________________________________________

The apricots on the trees weren’t fully ripe yet, but some were already edible. The fruit skins were half-green, half-yellow, not that sweet. Zhou Yu got up early and picked a basket.

The neighbor’s little sister watched eagerly. Zhou Yu cracked one open, discarded the pit, and the sister held it with both hands, biting into it, getting juice all over her face.

Liu Fen asked, “The Cheng family is moving?”

“Mm, I’m going to see them off.”

“What’s there to see off? They’re getting promoted and getting rich, going to live a good life. They don’t care about these things.”

She always spoke like that. Two days ago, she had an argument with someone. The neighbor’s little sister was a bit afraid of her and never dared to come pick apricots alone, only coming to play when Zhou Yu was home.

“I’ll be back in an hour.”

Zhou Yu didn’t argue with Liu Fen. After taking the neighbor’s sister home, she went to the Cheng family’s house.

They were still moving boxes. Only Cheng Wanyue was idle. Zhou Yu didn’t go upstairs; she just talked to her downstairs.

“Wanyue, didn’t you sleep well?”

“I got a beating, but it wasn’t just me. Cheng Yuzhou and Cheng Yanqing got beaten too.”

Cheng Guoan had found out about them drinking alcohol the night after the exam. Although Cheng Wanyue had only drunk a little, she couldn’t fool him. As Cheng Yuzhou carried the last box downstairs, Cheng Wanyue quietly told Zhou Yu, “Later, you should touch his butt. He definitely won’t be able to resist.”

Many people came to see them off. Zhou Yu couldn’t do something like touching his butt in public.

Cheng Yanqing also came downstairs. The two of them walked over together.

Cheng Wanyue deliberately put her arm around Zhou Yu, “A-Yu, are you going to miss me more, or miss Cheng Yuzhou more?”

Zhou Yu smiled, “Of course, it’s you.”

“Did you hear that, Cheng Yuzhou? You’re no good. A-Yu still likes me best. You, who appeared out of nowhere, can’t win against me.”

Cheng Yuzhou glanced towards the intersection, “Cheng Wanyue, your secret crush is here.”

That one sentence significantly reduced Cheng Wanyue’s combat power. Before she left, she still wouldn’t give up, instigating Zhou Yu to vent her anger for her, “Pinch his butt, embarrass him!”

Yan Ci was far away and didn’t come closer. Cheng Yanqing went over to talk to him first. Cheng Wanyue explained that she had cast a wide net back then, catching whoever she could, and hadn’t only sent a love letter to Yan Ci. Sending it to the wrong person was just fate.

Cheng Yuzhou stood, blocking the sun for Zhou Yu.

“What bad idea did she give you just now?”

Zhou Yu subconsciously glanced at his butt, “Really want to know?”

Although she quickly looked away, Cheng Yuzhou caught her, “Your standards are quite high for the two of you.”

“...We were just joking, it’s not like that,” Zhou Yu’s face was quite calm. Anyway, he always heard them whenever she and Cheng Wanyue played around.

He handed her a hair tie.

“How did you get this?”

“It fell on my bed and got washed with the sheets in the washing machine.”

“I don’t want it anymore, throw it away.”

Cheng Yuzhou was even calmer, stuffing it back into his sweatpants pocket, “Then I’ll keep it.”

The driver drove the car over. Cheng Guoan rolled down the window and chatted with Zhou Yu for a couple of sentences, also waving to Yan Ci.

Cheng Yanqing was the first to get into the car. Cheng Wanyue ran over and hugged Zhou Yu. Cheng Yuzhou, just like her, opened his arms, waiting for Zhou Yu to hug him.

He never avoided it in front of his family.

A very ordinary hug, but at the moment of departure, it seemed especially precious.

“We’re leaving.”

“Mm, have a safe trip.”

The few cars drove further and further away, finally disappearing completely at the intersection. When Zhou Yu came to her senses, she unexpectedly met Yan Ci’s gaze.

On graduation day, if it hadn’t been for the fact that it might be the last time everyone gathered at the Cheng family’s, he probably wouldn’t have gone. Qing Hang was the first to leave Baicheng. It was too easy for Cheng Yanqing and Cheng Wanyue to leave Baicheng; they could do so anytime they wanted. Their departure today was already the result of a long delay. And Cheng Yuzhou, he never belonged here in the first place.

Zhou Yu looked at Yan Ci like this, feeling both strange and familiar. She couldn’t remember when they had last spoken.

The sun was so bright, yet his eyes held no warmth at all.

A group of people walked over from the opposite side. The man leading them had a cigarette in his mouth, both arms covered in tattoos, and even his neck showed no trace of its original skin color.

Yan Ci turned and left first, and Zhou Yu also walked towards her home.

________________________________________

In a place she couldn’t see, Yan Ci was pushed into an empty alley.

Zhang Qiang also dropped out of junior high school before finishing. He was a few grades above Yan Ci. After dropping out, he hung around Baicheng for two years, then followed others to another city. Tang Qian also went out with him but came back after a short stay.

“Couldn’t find you anywhere, I thought you were dead. Finally ran into you on the street today. You know why I’m looking for you, right?”

Yan Ci felt annoyed, “Not really.”

“Not really? Everyone outside is saying you slept with that slut Tang Qian and put horns on my head. You yourself aren’t clear? Are they slandering you, or are you a coward who only dares to take off his pants but not admit it?” Zhang Qiang grinned, “That slut liked you when she was in school. The more you ignored her, the more she liked you. What a cheap whore. If you don’t let me vent today, I’ll go find that little student named Zhou just now.”

He pushed Yan Ci with his hand, and cigarette ash fell on Yan Ci’s clothes.

Yan Ci finally looked him in the eye, “Try it. If you dare go near her, I’ll fucking kill you.”

“Oh, you don’t value your life more than I do, huh?” Zhang Qiang suddenly became interested, “Shouldn’t you hate her? Your parents are dead, and your uncle is in jail.”

Yan Ci’s face showed no emotion, “It’s none of your business.”

“Just chatting first. If you like it direct, that’s fine too,” Zhang Qiang threw the cigarette on the ground and stomped it out with his foot, “If I get my anger out, whether you really slept together or not, this matter will be over. But if you fight back even once, I’ll go find little Zhou. However you fight back, that’s how I’ll treat her. Don’t worry, I’ll rub her nicely afterward. But honestly, little Zhou is getting prettier every year. Big breasts, tiny waist. No wonder you can’t let her go...”

Yan Ci picked up a brick and emotionlessly smashed it towards Zhang Qiang’s head.

Zhou Yu walked past the corner and suddenly stopped.

She remembered who that tattooed man she saw at the intersection just now was. After Tang Qian dropped out of school, for a while, she loved to ride a motorcycle and cruise around the school gate, calling the motorcyclist Brother Qiang. Back then, he didn’t have tattoos, his hair was dyed very yellow, and he was idle all day. Every time, he would curse at the school security guards, and he was even locked up for more than ten days for fighting and causing trouble.

What did he want with Yan Ci?

And he brought so many people.

Could it be because Yan Ci called the police on New Year’s Day, and Tang Qian was taken away by the police station...

It was daytime now, and the streets were full of people. He shouldn’t be too excessive, right?

But Yan Ci’s temper was bad now, and he spoke very impolitely. Would he resort to violence?

Voices kept reminding her in her mind not to get involved, not to get involved, but her legs had unconsciously returned to the original path, walking faster and faster, running desperately back.

Zhou Yu ran through the winding narrow paths, not daring to stop for a moment, both hoping to find Yan Ci quickly and hoping that she was overthinking things, that Zhang Qiang wasn’t looking for Yan Ci at all.

Until she saw Yan Ci.

“Yan Ci!”

The fist raised high in the air stopped, stained with blood. She didn’t know whose blood it was.

The people Zhang Qiang brought were his old buddies. They had little contact and weren’t involved in gang activities anymore. They were just giving him face; no one was truly willing to risk their lives. They had already run away.

Only Yan Ci and Zhang Qiang were left in the alley.

Yan Ci looked up in a daze, watching Zhou Yu, standing in the light, run in and pull him away from Zhang Qiang.

She didn’t blame him but kept comforting him.

“It’s okay, it’ll be okay.”

Even though her own voice was trembling and she was the one who was scared, she kept telling him not to be afraid, over and over again.

“He found trouble with you first. You were just acting in self-defense. First... first let’s go to the hospital. It will definitely be okay.”

Zhou Yu didn’t have her phone. She found his in his clothes and dialed 120 for an ambulance.

In a small place like the county, an ambulance would definitely arrive within ten minutes.

Zhang Qiang’s painful gasps were mixed with curses.

Yan Ci seemed not to hear. He only saw his blood on Zhou Yu’s clothes, dazzlingly red.

“I didn’t sleep with her.”

Zhou Yu didn’t hear clearly, “What?”

Yan Ci said, “How could I sleep with her?”

Zhang Qiang covered his still bleeding head, cursing Yan Ci and then Tang Qian.

Zhou Yu, conversely, was relieved that he could still curse, instead of lying on the ground without even breathing.

“I won’t believe his words.”

“Do you believe me?”

“Mm.”

The ambulance siren sounded from not far away. The car couldn’t enter the alley. Zhou Yu ran out to call the doctors. The doctors carried Zhang Qiang on a stretcher to the ambulance. Yan Ci was helped into the ambulance by Zhou Yu.