OS - 52

Liu Fen’s funeral had been a simple affair, and it was normal that people living in the county later heard about it. The Cheng family’s unawareness was also normal.

It was only when the coal mine owner’s family wanted to meet the victim’s wife that Zhou Yu mentioned Liu Fen had passed away; otherwise, she wouldn’t have brought it up, especially not in front of Liang Tian.

First year of university classes were packed, with half a month of revision time before final exams.

Zhou Yu always brought many books and materials to the library. With her hand burned, everything was inconvenient.

After Chen Huan clarified things with Yan Ci, their interactions became more natural than before. Whenever Zhou Yu prepared to study, Chen Huan would text Yan Ci in advance, and Zhou Yu would see Yan Ci waiting by the dorm entrance when she came downstairs.

He wouldn’t speak, silently taking all of Zhou Yu’s belongings and placing them in the bike basket, waiting for her to sit on the back seat of the bicycle.

“Yan Ci, I can manage on my own. Don’t come to my dorm anymore.”

“When you can truly manage, I won’t come even if you don’t say anything,” Yan Ci glanced at her bandaged hand, “The library only reserves seats for half an hour. You can walk if you want, I’ll take these books over first.”

There were many people coming and going at the dorm entrance, and they would all look over. Although Zhou Yu didn’t care, the constant gossip was annoying.

“I’m not going to the library; I’ll study in the dorm... Yan Ci!”

Before she finished speaking, Yan Ci had already put on his headphones, pushed off on the bicycle pedal, and ridden far away. It was cold, but he was dressed lightly, his thin jacket billowing with wind, his short hair also disheveled.

Zhou Yu followed behind, jogging but unable to catch up.

She thought of Cheng Wanyue.

Cheng Wanyue bought a bicycle in her second year of middle school. At first, she couldn’t ride it, so she asked Yan Ci to teach her. Her novelty for things was very short-lived; she didn’t want to learn after a while. At that time, she was bold. Yan Ci rode her to play. There was a very steep downhill path by the river, and the brakes failed. Fortunately, Yan Ci reacted quickly, steering the bike into a sand dune. In the end, the bike was fine, Yan Ci was fine, and only Cheng Wanyue scraped her knee and had a swollen face. That night, afraid of being scolded when she got home, she lied and said she fell while climbing a tree to pick apricots at Zhou Yu’s house. Later, Yan Ci did her math homework for a week before she forgave him.

Before reaching the library, her phone rang in her pocket. Zhou Yu thought it was her roommate, who had gone early to reserve a seat, asking her to bring breakfast. Her bandaged hand was extremely clumsy, and she answered the call as she was taking the phone out of her pocket.

That year of senior high, she and Cheng Yuzhou had sent too many text messages. She hadn’t saved his contact name because she was afraid Liu Fen would see it, but she had long ago memorized Cheng Yuzhou’s phone number.

Zhou Yu looked at the flashing number on the screen, her first instinct was to hang up.

Hearing his voice would make her soft.

It would also make her feel wronged.

Whether it was pain or exhaustion, she could endure it, but feeling wronged would make her vulnerable.

She clearly missed him deeply, but before speaking, reason triumphed over that little bit of longing in her heart, “Is something wrong?”

“Yes,” he asked, “Were you about to hang up on me just now?”

“...No,” he had said it last time too, that even if she broke up with him, she would still be Cheng Wanyue and Cheng Yanqing’s friend.

“I’m right outside your school library,” Cheng Yuzhou exposed her, “Look to your left, the person standing by the lake is me.”

Their gazes met for a few seconds in the cold wind. Zhou Yu came to her senses and instinctively tried to run.

“Although I’m so cold I’m almost falling into the lake to feed the ducks, I’m not that far away. Catching up to you won’t be hard; you’re just running for nothing,” Cheng Yuzhou started walking, “Then let’s go to the cafeteria. I’ll follow you. It’s too cold outside; my tongue is freezing from talking.”

His voice had originally come from the phone. After Zhou Yu hung up, his voice was still in her ears.

Her hand was grabbed, and she was forced to stop.

Cheng Yuzhou walked in front of Zhou Yu, holding her hand to his mouth and blowing warm air on it. He didn’t care how many people were watching.

“I didn’t lie to you, I’m really cold. I didn’t sleep all night, came straight to your school after landing. It was only four when I got here. I really wanted to call you, but I also wanted you to sleep a little longer. I thought and thought, and it was six. It wasn’t even light at six, so I thought I’d wait a bit more, and then it was seven. At seven, there were more people at school, so I walked around, hoping to run into you. And just like that, it’s eight. See, I caught you,” Cheng Yuzhou said deliberately, wanting her to know, “Are you feeling both heartache and touched? Do you want to reconcile with me?”

Zhou Yu shook her head.

Cheng Yuzhou, annoyed, turned to leave, but didn’t go far before returning.

“Even if we don’t reconcile, having breakfast together isn’t too much, is it?” He felt she was about to shake her head again, “Zhou Yu, try to annoy me one more time. If you annoy me enough to be full, I won’t need breakfast.”

Zhou Yu was amused by him, letting out a chuckle.

She already had a slight cold, and her voice had a hint of a sniffle, “At school, we can only eat at the cafeteria.”

“I’m not picky. Buns or pancakes are fine,” Cheng Yuzhou rubbed his hands warm before wiping her tears. He couldn’t wipe them all away, so he just unzipped his jacket and pressed her face into his chest, “There, now you owe me a piece of clothing.”

Zhou Yu mumbled, “Why did you shave your head?”

Although he was wearing a hat, it was still very noticeable by his ears.

“I won’t tell you,” Cheng Yuzhou had wanted to see her burned hand earlier, but she wouldn’t let him, “Let you be stubborn. You’ll regret it.”

Zhou Yu was about to step back, but the next second he pulled her back into his arms.

“Don’t do that, many people are watching.”

“Let them watch. I’m not ugly; I won’t embarrass you,” Cheng Yuzhou ruffled her hair, “Your eyes are all red. If your classmates see you, they’ll think I dumped you. Listen, aren’t they calling me a scumbag? How wronged I am.”

Chen Huan, wrapped in a down jacket, stood at the intersection watching from afar, with another roommate, both looking bewildered.

Because of Yan Ci’s presence, they had assumed Zhou Yu didn’t have a boyfriend.

Moreover, in their eyes, Zhou Yu didn’t seem like someone who would fall in love early. She didn’t socialize, didn’t participate in activities, only went to class or stayed home. She even refused boys who wanted her contact information just to be friends, showing no interest in dating at all.

“I told you Zhou Yu wasn’t simple! Look at that guy; he’s radiating ‘official boyfriend’ vibes. So Yan Ci has been trying to poach her all these months! What a sin, what a sin that I even helped him!”

“His side profile looks quite handsome, huh? His hair seems shaved! Has he been inside?”

“No... way?”

“In such cold weather, what normal person would shave their hair that short?”

“Tsk, tsk, no wonder Zhou Yu has been in such a bad state these past six months, like she’s lost her soul, and she’s always gone from the dorm during holidays.”