OS - 53

Zhou Yu took Cheng Yuzhou to the cafeteria. Cheng Yuzhou’s haircut made Chen Huan think he had been incarcerated. From robbery, she associated it with murder, and the more she thought about it, the more real it seemed. She didn’t dare go closer to look and just wandered around the library.

The library had air conditioning, and at this time, seats were hard to come by. If you occupied a seat and didn’t use it, your belongings would be taken away.

Chen Huan only seriously pursued Yan Ci for two weeks. Although she didn’t succeed in the end, she had managed to figure out his daily habits.

She walked out of the library and found Yan Ci on the basketball court.

It was exam week, and everyone was studying. The early morning sports field was empty; as far as the eye could see, he was the only one there. The sound of the basketball hitting the ground and the hoop echoed through the empty court.

How could there be such a lonely person?

This unanswerable question crossed Chen Huan’s mind for the countless time.

He had great talent, features meticulously crafted by the goddess Nüwa, and was in the prime of his youth. He should be uninhibited and spirited. Why was he so lonely?

Zhou Yu was already extremely cold towards him. Now that the boy she was waiting for had appeared, she probably wouldn’t pay him any attention anymore.

A chill wind carried threads of rain, seeping into her bones through the fine gaps in the fabric. Chen Huan suddenly felt very sorry for Yan Ci, but actually, she herself was more pitiful. She turned her head, looking at her shivering reflection in a puddle, worse off than the stray dogs on campus.

It was really cold.

Chen Huan sniffled, pulling her down jacket tighter. When the basketball rolled over, she kicked it far with all her might, made a grimace at Yan Ci, put on her hat, and turned to leave.

She intentionally slowed her pace, but even when she was outside the sports field, Yan Ci hadn’t caught up.

Just one glance, Chen Huan convinced herself. She pretended her shoelaces were untied, and as she squatted down to tie them, she secretly looked back. A blurry figure in the hazy mist was far away from her.

He had gone to chase that broken basketball.

She, such a big, living person, couldn’t even compare to that broken basketball.

Her pity was tinged with even more sadness.

This was the consequence of feeling bad for a man! Chen Huan once again warned herself with bitter tears, took out the warm bun she had kept in her down jacket, took a big bite tearfully, and swore that from now on, she’d rather give leftovers to a dog than to a dog of a man.

________________________________________

Cheng Yuzhou was genuinely hungry, and he indeed wasn’t picky. Zhou Yu looked at his noticeably thinner face, feeling as if she had eaten a bitter and astringent plum. She looked away, not wanting to see more, and excused herself to buy another carton of milk.

Chen Huan, who had already eaten breakfast, came to the cafeteria again. Her face was flushed from choking on a bun. She took the milk from Zhou Yu’s hand, opened it, and drank most of the bottle before recovering. “Sorry, I almost choked to death just now. I’ll buy you another carton.”

“It’s okay...”

Before Zhou Yu finished speaking, Chen Huan ran to the store to buy another identical carton. She looked at Cheng Yuzhou, pondered for a few seconds, then handed it over with both hands, almost sticking a straw in and feeding it to him while calling him ‘big brother.’

Cheng Yuzhou chuckled softly, “Your classmate is quite polite.”

Zhou Yu also didn’t know what was up with Chen Huan, “She’s not usually like this.”

Chen Huan wanted to disappear into the ground but couldn’t resist her curiosity. This guy who just came out didn’t seem worse than Yan Ci, but he had a bit of that playboy look. “Hi, I’m Zhou Yu’s roommate. Just a reminder, it’s raining outside. Um... are you Zhou Yu’s classmate or...?”

Cheng Yuzhou’s gaze was perhaps too frank, “Boyfriend.”

“Oh, oh,” Chen Huan nodded vigorously. She really had eyes that could quickly see through affairs... no, true feelings.

“We broke up,” Zhou Yu said calmly, “Are you full? If not, you can buy something else. Here’s my campus card. I’ll go back to the dorm to get you an umbrella.”

It was a hint for him to leave.

The weather was trying to keep him, yet she was still pushing him away.

The smile on Cheng Yuzhou’s face slowly faded.

“I have an extra umbrella here, you can borrow it,” Chen Huan took out an umbrella from her large down jacket and placed it on the table. She looked at Zhou Yu, then at Cheng Yuzhou opposite her. She felt the atmosphere was off. When they had embraced movingly near the library, it was a broken mirror mending; now, only the broken mirror remained.

“Uh, Zhou Yu’s boyfr... ex-boyfriend, don’t be angry. Girls will feel wronged in front of close people, and when they feel wronged, they’ll act out. Zhou Yu’s health was particularly bad when school started. She even fainted during military training, with high fever and incessant vomiting, taking a lot of medicine. People pursued her constantly, but she never flirted with boys, didn’t even give out her WeChat. Zhou Yu is just... too rational, very good at enduring. Were you in Nanjing before? I’m just guessing, because she always secretly checks Nanjing’s weather forecast. All this rambling is just me trying to break the ice; anyway... you can’t use force,” don’t get into trouble again.

Cheng Yuzhou didn’t even hear Chen Huan’s last few sentences.

When Zhou Yu called him and said ‘let’s just end it here,’ without giving him any time to react, Cheng Wanyue got sick. She stayed in the ICU for eighteen days, with the whole family guarding her at the hospital. Then, Cheng Wanyue was transferred to Nanjing, starting various examinations and treatments. When he could finally breathe a sigh of relief, her phone never connected again. She gave up not only on him but also on herself.

However, at that time, he had no idea that Liu Fen had passed away. He only felt that his efforts during the summer had become meaningless.

He could tell her directly that he hadn’t been doing well at all for the past six months, and he was even a little angry with her. But she was different; no matter how bad things got for her, she wouldn’t say a word, because she had learned to internalize negative emotions too early.

“Don’t listen to her nonsense. She’s my roommate, so of course she’ll be biased towards me. I’m actually doing quite well. She’s deliberately making me sound miserable. My classmates are very nice, the teachers are nice, the senior students are nice. At school, I’m actually the one being taken care of. I’m really doing quite well,” Zhou Yu forced a smile, “You should have your final exams soon too, right? We’ve met now. I’ll take you to the station later...”

Cheng Yuzhou turned his head, his voice hoarse, “I’m still hungry.”

“...Then eat a bit more. Do you want something sweet or savory?” Zhou Yu reached for her campus card. She usually used her right hand, but before she could get it, her wrist was grabbed by Cheng Yuzhou.

Her hand was wrapped in two layers of gauze. The doctor said it was to prevent infection.

Cheng Yuzhou carefully unwrapped the gauze. The blisters on her hand had subsided, but her skin was still very red. “I’ll take you to the hospital to get it checked.”

“It’s not serious. The school doctor prescribed two tubes of ointment. It’ll be fine in a few days,” she tried to pull her hand back, but Cheng Yuzhou didn’t let go.

“Did you put medicine on this morning?”

“I did.”

“You don’t tell me a single truth anymore. I don’t believe you.”

Zhou Yu took out a tube of burn ointment from her pocket, “I carry it with me. I didn’t lie to you.”

Her skin was very dry, clearly indicating she hadn’t applied medicine. She herself had forgotten and thought she had.

Cheng Yuzhou twisted open the cap, squeezed a little ointment onto his finger, and slowly spread it on the back of her hand. The ointment had no distinct smell, yet his eyes were reddened.

Zhou Yu didn’t look at him, “It stopped hurting a long time ago. It just looks scary.”

Cheng Yuzhou lowered his head, his slightly cool lips gently pressing against her finger, “Mm, say two more words, and you’ll make me cry.”