OS - 5

It was too dark the previous night to see clearly, so Zhou Yu only went to look for the motorcycle key in the roadside drain the next day. After finding it and washing it clean, she waited until the afternoon for someone to come and take the motorcycle away.

Although Yan Ci was an adult, the motorcycle wasn’t his.

After finishing dinner at five o’clock, Zhou Yu packed her water bottle and Cheng Yuzhou’s phone into her backpack and headed to the supermarket.

This time of day brought many customers, most of whom paid in cash. If there were any calculation errors or counterfeit bills, she would have to cover the losses herself. She had to be meticulous, and it wasn’t until seven o’clock that she could finally sit down for a rest.

Sweat broke out on her forehead, and the scraped skin on her palms began to sting.

“Do you have any band-aids?” A pleasant voice sounded above her head.

Zhou Yu looked up at Cheng Yuzhou standing in front of the cash register. It took her a moment to regain her composure. “...Yes, just a moment.”

These commonly sold items were kept at the counter. She took out a box.

“How many do you need?”

“One for now.”

Technically, they couldn’t sell them individually, but Zhou Yu still peeled one off and handed it over.

Cheng Yuzhou picked up the band-aid, tearing open the plastic packaging slightly.

“Give me your hand.”

Zhou Yu mechanically extended her right hand, which wasn’t injured.

Seeing her expression, Cheng Yuzhou realized she hadn’t yet understood why he wanted the band-aid, and he almost chuckled.

“The other one.”

Zhou Yu snapped back to reality. Realizing how foolish her earlier action was, she tried to subtly retract her left hand from the counter.

“Don’t move. I don’t have anything to scare you with,” Cheng Yuzhou said as he gently pulled her wrist toward him.

Zhou Yu’s mind flashed back to a male classmate from middle school who once asked her to extend her hand, only to pull out a centipede from behind his back. But this time, her limbs and nerves seemed to disobey her brain entirely.

He had just washed his hair and hadn’t fully dried it. She could faintly smell a subtle fragrance in the air.

Today, he was wearing another plain white T-shirt, seemingly no different from yesterday. However, her keen eyes noticed something new—a tiny pink flower embroidered on the cuff.

Aside from the brief moment when he held her wrist, he didn’t touch her skin directly. He simply applied the band-aid to her wound, but she could feel the warmth of his fingertips.

“What about my phone?”

“It’s here.” Zhou Yu averted her gaze and took his phone out of her backpack. “Please check it.”

The band-aids came in a box with a price tag. New payment codes were pasted at the counter, and his phone battery was running low. Cheng Yuzhou ignored the unread WeChat messages, casually stuffing the remaining band-aids into Zhou Yu’s open backpack before scanning the code to pay.

As Zhou Yu stared at the box of band-aids in her backpack, Cheng Yuzhou anticipated that she might immediately take it out and return it, even ripping off the one already on her hand. So, he explained, “It’s to thank you for bringing me my phone.”

She responded, “You’re Wanyue’s brother. It’s a small favor—no need to thank me.”

“She makes me pay heavily even for handing her chopsticks.”

Zhou Yu couldn’t help but laugh. “Then let me buy you a soda.”

Cheng Yuzhou didn’t refuse. “Alright.”

The supermarket had just restocked in the morning. After paying, Zhou Yu went to the back to fetch the same Bingfeng soda he drank last time. “Cold or room temperature?”

His gaze swept over the orange keychain on her backpack. “Cold.”

“What about Wanyue?”

“She’s not home. She went out.”

Zhou Yu nodded. “Oh.”

She didn’t know what else to say, but luckily, a customer walked in to buy something.

Cheng Yuzhou picked up the soda can. “I’ll leave now. You get back to work.”

Zhou Yu waved at him. “Goodbye.”

Cheng Yuzhou pushed aside the curtain and walked out. The customer wanted batteries but couldn’t specify the model. Zhou Yu quickly refocused, pulling out pairs of various models for the customer to choose from.

At nine-thirty, after finishing her shift, Zhou Yu returned home. Her grandmother hadn’t gone to bed yet and was pacing around the courtyard, muttering, “Where did all the apricots on the tree go?”

Zhou Yu first checked the pillbox inside to ensure Liu Fen had taken her evening medication before heading to take a shower.

The band-aid got wet, so she dried it and replaced it with a new one after drying her hands.

Cheng Wanyue had invited her classmates two weeks in advance for her birthday. With her parents’ restrictions at home making it hard to relax, she decided to invite everyone to the grandmother’s house. She bought a lot of snacks and fruits from the supermarket the day before and secretly hid a few bottles of beer in the drink box. It took Cheng Yuzhou and Cheng Yanqing three trips to carry everything.

Cheng Wanyue had many friends, and since Cheng Yanqing was also celebrating his birthday, people started arriving at four o’clock in the afternoon.

The grandmother took a pot of floral tea and went to play chess at the neighbor’s house. As soon as she left, Cheng Wanyue went upstairs to change into her newly bought spaghetti strap dress. At her age, she didn’t need any makeup—her natural beauty was dazzling enough.

When Cheng Yuzhou and Cheng Yanqing were young, they often fought. Back then, their grandfather was still alive and didn’t favor either of them. They would roll around in the mud, stand up, brush off the dirt, and reconcile shortly after. Although Cheng Yuzhou spent most of his time outside the county town, the twins visited him during winter or summer vacations before high school, maintaining a good relationship.

He also knew some of their friends.

There were plenty of drinks on the table, but someone happened to grab the Bingfeng soda from the fridge.

By the time Cheng Yuzhou noticed, the person had already opened it and started drinking.

Cheng Wanyue had just come downstairs. “Who told you to touch this Bingfeng soda?!”

The boy froze. “Can’t I drink it? Didn’t you just tell us to help ourselves?”

“There are so many other drinks on the table, and you chose this one. It belongs to my brother—he wouldn’t even give it to me. And now you’ve drunk it!” This particular Bingfeng soda had been sitting in the fridge for a while. Every time Cheng Wanyue felt thirsty, she tried to open it but failed.

A single drink wasn’t a big deal, and the boy didn’t think much of it. Out of politeness, he apologized to Cheng Yuzhou, promising to buy a whole case and deliver it later.

Cheng Yuzhou didn’t say anything and turned to walk out.

Cheng Wanyue searched everywhere, inside and out, but couldn’t find Yan Ci. She asked Cheng Yanqing, “Didn’t you invite Yan Ci?”

Cheng Yanqing replied, “I thought you did.”

“Of course, it’s your responsibility to invite him!”

“Forget it. If no one invited him, then so be it. Anyway, Zhou Yu will come soon. It’s better if he’s not here.”

Cheng Wanyue dragged him out of the crowd. “How is that better? Our house is so lively today—he must have heard. Neither you nor I invited him. Wouldn’t he feel forgotten by his best friend? Grandma has reminded you several times to care more about him. Is this how you show concern?”

She knew Cheng Yanqing too well.

Qin Yun, sitting on the sofa playing Dou Dizhu, was the object of Cheng Yanqing’s constant attention. But Qin Yun liked Yan Ci.

Cheng Yanqing found her nagging annoying. “Fine, I’ll go call him now.”

Yan Ci lived in the family building across the street. Cheng Yanqing went upstairs and knocked on the door. After waiting nearly ten minutes, Yan Ci finally opened it.

“Were you sleeping?”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t sleep anymore. Come to my grandma’s place to hang out.”

Yan Ci prepared to close the door. “No thanks.”

Cheng Yanqing acted swiftly, sticking his foot in to block the door. “It’s my birthday today. Isn’t it only proper for you to come eat a piece of cake? Besides, I’ve already woken you up. You can always come back to sleep tonight.”

He pulled Yan Ci out of the apartment, grabbing the keys from the shoe cabinet as he left.

When Qin Yun saw Yan Ci and Cheng Yanqing walk in together, she greeted him and asked if he wanted to join their card game. Yan Ci ignored her, rummaged through the pile of snacks, grabbed a beer, and went to a quieter spot to sleep. Although the air conditioning was on, people kept coming and going, leaving the door open. Qin Yun grabbed a fan and sat beside him, fanning him. His skin was extremely pale—she was considered fair among girls, but compared to him, she was still a shade darker.

Zhou Yu could only come after her shift ended. It was still scorching outside between five and six o’clock, so she took the narrow alleyway.

She hadn’t brought her phone today and was worried about being late. But when she saw Qing Hang helping sort out recyclables, she knew she wasn’t too late.

Cheng Wanyue wouldn’t make her birthday wish and blow out the candles without Qing Hang.

Qing Hang was a student sponsored by the county magistrate, starting from fourth grade. From the time he moved from the village to County No. 1 Middle School, he would continue to be supported until he went to college.