OS - 48

Zhou Yu’s house was near the station, and the nights were always very quiet throughout the year. The train’s whistle as it passed was also very brief.

She could hear the rustle of leaves in the evening breeze, mixed with the clamor of the city night on the other end of the phone, thousands of miles away, now near, now far.

“It sounds very lively where you are.”

Cheng Yuzhou walked along the roadside. He was still pulling his suitcase. He had only intended to find a convenient place to catch a taxi, but he slowed down when he heard Zhou Yu’s words.

“This is considered the city center. There are more people on weekends than on weekdays, and tourists also like to come here to eat and enjoy the night view.”

He talked a lot, telling her everything he saw, even trivial things like a child throwing a tantrum for a balloon were described interestingly. Although she couldn’t see it, listening to him talk like this, she felt as if she was right there with him, watching that little girl, who barely reached his knees when standing, get angry because she didn’t get a balloon, wearing a white dress and carrying a water bottle, her two chubby hands clasped behind her back, so angry she ignored everyone.

“Feeling better?”

Zhou Yu closed her eyes, “...It’s not that I’m in a bad mood.”

She just felt very tired.

Cheng Yuzhou patiently asked, “Worried about your grades?”

Gaokao scores would be released in two days.

“Mm,” Zhou Yu didn’t know how to tell him and chose to evade, “The scores will be out soon. I’m a little nervous.”

“Then I’ll help you check them first.”

“You remember my exam number?”

“I remember. I remember your ID number too. I’ll tell you after I check. Just listen to my tone. If I’m happy, it means you did exceptionally well. A flat tone means normal performance. If I hesitate to speak, it means it’s not ideal.”

She finally laughed out loud, “I don’t believe you, you’re very good at acting.”

Cheng Yuzhou deliberately sighed deeply, “Did Cheng Wanyue badmouth me again?”

Zhou Yu clarified for Cheng Wanyue, “No, she always says those things to your face. You know all of that.”

________________________________________

Ten minutes later, Cheng Yuzhou stopped outside a flower shop. He was carrying his suitcase, ready to go home, but then he went back to the airport.

It was already past midnight when he landed. He waited at the station for the earliest train, needing to transfer once more to reach Baicheng.

There were only a few clothes in his suitcase, and a bouquet of flowers on the other side, still fresh when he took them out after getting off the train.

The weather in Baicheng was good. Cheng Yuzhou saw Grandma alone in the yard, so he put his suitcase aside and went to chat with her.

Grandma didn’t recognize Cheng Yuzhou, but she kept smiling, saying the apricots on the tree were sweet and told him to pick and eat them.

Zhou Yu had fallen asleep very late yesterday and woke up early in the morning. Liu Fen was at her aunt’s house. Zhou Yu went there once and returned to make lunch for Grandma. She didn’t eat herself and fell asleep.

She vaguely heard voices in the yard, thinking she was dreaming.

She slept for a while longer, then got up and walked out of the room. Grandma was standing under the apricot tree, looking up at the person on the tree, rambling about something.

Neighbors occasionally came to pick apricots, so she didn’t pay much attention.

It was only when an apricot fell and hit her head that she looked up at the tree.

The person on the tree reached up to pick apricots from higher branches. His white T-shirt rode up, and a timely breeze blew, lifting the hem to reveal his abs, but it was quickly covered by his shirt again.

After his hat was full, Cheng Yuzhou climbed down the tree trunk. Grandma helped catch the apricots. He turned to look at Zhou Yu, who was still standing there in a daze.

She had lost a lot of weight, visibly so, her face clearly smaller.

Only half a month, how could she have gotten so thin?

Cheng Yuzhou approached first. He hugged Zhou Yu, his hand caressing her face, “Is it a surprise or a shock? Since you’re not talking, I can only hug you to ease the awkwardness. Did you sleep well? Did I wake you up?”

“I only intended to sleep for a while,” her voice was still a bit hoarse, “You’re sweating.”

“These shoes aren’t non-slip; climbing trees is a bit hard,” Cheng Yuzhou lifted his collar with one hand and sniffed, “Do I smell?”

“No, I’m worried you’ll get heatstroke.”

Last night, he was still in Nanjing when they called, hadn’t even gone home. Zhou Yu just took a nap, and when she opened her eyes, he was back in Baicheng, “Are you very tired?”

“I don’t feel tired,” Cheng Yuzhou paused for a moment, looking down at her, “But my heart aches.”

Zhou Yu’s heart twinged slightly. She avoided his gaze, “I... I just had acute gastroenteritis. I didn’t eat much for a few days. I went to the hospital, and I’m fine now.”

“Tell me if you get sick again in the future.”

“Mm,” she looked at his suitcase, “What time did you get back?”

“Not long ago,” Cheng Yuzhou took the green-skinned train from the city to Baicheng. There were no seats, and he stood squeezed for over an hour. She didn’t mind him, but he minded himself, “I want to change clothes.”

“You can change in my room.”

“Can I take a shower?”

“Yes, I’ll go get you a towel.”

Cheng Yuzhou went into the house first, but didn’t take clothes with him.

He had already stripped.

Zhou Yu went to help him get clothes. Opening the suitcase, she saw the bouquet of flowers.

She hadn’t known beforehand and knocked off several petals.

“They’re all clean, just take any set.”

Cheng Yuzhou’s voice came from the room. Zhou Yu collected herself, carefully picked up the flowers, looked at them for a long time, then took a set of clothes, knocked on the door, and handed them in.

“One piece is missing.”

“The pants are underneath,” they were all black, folded together, making them hard to distinguish at first glance.

Before her hand could retract, he grabbed it. He held back a smile, his voice low, “The ones inside need changing too.”

She knew what he was talking about.

“...I’ll go get them.”

Underwear and clothes were kept separately. After Zhou Yu found them and handed them to Cheng Yuzhou, he showered. She arranged the bouquet on the desk and went to the kitchen to cook him a bowl of noodles.

Cheng Yuzhou changed his clothes. He just casually wiped his hair; as long as it wasn’t dripping, it was fine.

“Where’s Auntie?”

“At my aunt’s house. Last summer, the mother of the little boy you saved from the river is my aunt.”

Grandma was still in the yard, not looking inside the house. Zhou Yu was washing vegetables, and Cheng Yuzhou hugged her from behind. He didn’t realize until he touched her, but just by properly hugging her, he could feel how thin her waist was; she barely had any flesh on her.

Zhou Yu was ticklish. Although Cheng Yuzhou didn’t do anything inappropriate, he kept sticking to her from behind.

“You go wait outside first.”

He said, “I’ll watch how you do it, learn a bit, and next time, I’ll cook for you.”

A simple bowl of noodles, he ate it all, leaving not even a drop of soup.

________________________________________

That night, Cheng Yuzhou didn’t return to the Cheng family’s house to stay.

Grandma went to bed early. After Zhou Yu finished washing up and returned to her room, Cheng Yuzhou put down his phone and gently patted the pillow beside him.

The bouquet of flowers on the desk was in water, and there was a faint fragrance in the room.

However, what Cheng Yuzhou smelled wasn’t the scent of flowers, but the unique scent of a girl’s bed.

They had already done more intimate things, so Zhou Yu naturally let herself be embraced by him.

She was the one who initiated, and Cheng Yuzhou was the one who called a halt.

Zhou Yu’s surprise from seeing him during the day only showed itself after the lights were turned off at night.

She rolled over and climbed onto him, mimicking how he kissed her. Just once, she felt his body tense even more.

She whispered, “...It’s okay.”

“No, I can’t hold back.”

She had lost so much weight.

And, he didn’t have a condom.

Cheng Yuzhou closed his eyes with difficulty, trying to think of other things, “In this situation, if you test me, I’m bound to lose every battle.”

He kissed Zhou Yu heavily, holding her tightly to prevent her from moving.

Zhou Yu said, “I’m not testing you.”

He was leaving tomorrow, and she couldn’t bear it. Even though they were already so close while sleeping, she still longed for more intimacy.

Only one part of Cheng Yuzhou’s entire body was soft—his heart. “Then it’s even more impossible. Men are all the same in bed, and so am I.”

“...Then let’s chat.”

Even if she didn’t say it, he was going to say it, “I always feel like you’re hiding something from me.”

Zhou Yu smiled, “What could I possibly be hiding?”

Cheng Yuzhou also smiled, “When I first met you, I felt like you were full of secrets.”

At first, he also thought it was just curiosity.

That night, when he went to find her alone to get his phone, he saw her blocking Yan Ci’s motorcycle, the two of them clashing.

He didn’t get his phone, and afterward, he felt uncomfortable inside, always thinking that it wasn’t worth it for her to like someone who treated her badly. She had someone she liked, yet she still smiled at him under the tree, keeping him awake all night. He cursed himself while also cursing her for trying to play both sides, then at one moment, he suddenly realized his mind had been full of her the entire night.

Zhou Yu asked, “What secrets?”

Cheng Yuzhou sat up and turned on the light, “The night I came back last summer, I saw you in the alley.”

“Then how come I didn’t see you?”

In her memory, their first meeting that summer was at the supermarket.

“Of course you couldn’t see me. You and Yan Ci were hugging that day. What exactly were you doing?” After asking, he turned his head and murmured again, “I even asked you to move aside, and you were still hugging, not letting go.”

“We weren’t hugging... were we?”

“I saw it with my own eyes. Of course, it was too dark that day, and your face wasn’t visible, so I didn’t recognize you. But I remembered the knitted orange hanging on your schoolbag.”

It took Zhou Yu a while to recall, “That wasn’t hugging, he was choking me.”

Cheng Yuzhou froze for a few seconds, then suddenly frowned and began to put on his clothes.

“...What’s wrong?”

“I’m going to find him!”