#58

The plane ticket for going abroad was booked for a week later.

The reason it was so soon was that the doctor happened to be at the hospital recently. They would go first to have him assess the situation and discuss a treatment plan.

Two nights ago, Le Ya treated her friends to a meal at a barbecue restaurant.

There weren’t many people—only Su Hui and Xie Qingyu, her two closest friends at school. She didn’t dare invite Chen Yang, fearing that if they met, she wouldn’t be able to leave.

The three of them ordered a lot of food. Even though they eventually felt full, after chatting for a bit, they found themselves eating again.

The barbecue restaurant was very warm, and the three girls’ faces were flushed red.

Su Hui ate heartily, wrapping grilled meat in lettuce leaves and stuffing them into her mouth. Her words were muffled as she said: “You probably don’t know this, but my family and Su Cheng’s family are a reconstituted family. Strictly speaking, he’s my brother, but I’ve never called him that.”

Xie Qingyu was surprised: “Really? No wonder I saw you two coming in the same car—I didn’t dare ask you about it.”

Su Hui pouted: “There’s nothing wrong with asking. He doesn’t say anything, and neither do I. That guy loves to put on airs.”

Every time Su Hui talked about Su Cheng, it sounded like she was describing a completely different person.

Perhaps because they were parting ways soon, Su Hui didn’t hold back much and kept talking more and more. “When Su Cheng first came to my house, he gave me the cold shoulder, so I let him freeze outside for a night. When he got sick, I had to take care of him. Sigh.”

Xie Qingyu slapped the table and burst out laughing. “So that’s how you two are?”

Mentioning this made Su Hui fume. She said: “Now he makes me drink papaya juice every day. Don’t you think he’s crazy?”

What did it matter if someone had an A-cup bra size? It wasn’t his business to worry about.

Le Ya just listened quietly, not saying much. Later, the more she listened, the more something felt off. She shook her head, thinking it might just be her overthinking things.

Speaking of which, Su Hui suddenly remembered something else. “Su Cheng and Su Song are cousins, but their personalities are completely different.”

At this, Le Ya also recalled something Le Yijian had casually mentioned to her: “Su Song seems to be handling transfer procedures too.”

Xie Qingyu was shocked: “Ah, does that mean he broke up with Yu Jiu?”

Just a short while ago, they seemed inseparable. It appeared that Yu Jiu had already won over the bookworm—how could they suddenly break up?

Le Ya shook her head. She didn’t know the details.

As time passed, there were fewer and fewer people in the restaurant.

Xie Qingyu sighed. “Liang Qian told me that these past two days, all Chen Yang has been doing is solving problems and reading books.”

Su Hui asked: “Are you and Liang Qian that close now?”

“Is that really the point here?” Xie Qingyu rolled her eyes. “You’re not even paying attention to the main topic of my story.”

Le Ya paused when she heard them talk.

She still remembered the incident at the hot pot restaurant—someone else had bumped into him, but he thought it was her teasing him.

Even though it had been quite a few days, it felt like it just happened yesterday. She could vividly recall the conversation she had with Chen Yang outside the restroom.

It was the first time she realized how cute he could be.

Xie Qingyu and Su Hui bickered for a long time. When they finally looked up and saw Le Ya lost in thought, they waved their hands, but she still didn’t move.

“Le Ya, what are you doing?”

Le Ya snapped back to reality. “Nothing.”

Xie Qingyu rested her chin on her hand and cautiously asked: “That night… Did you and Chen Yang clear things up?”

Le Ya hesitated before nodding. She supposed they had cleared things up.

But everything hadn’t unfolded the way she had imagined.

Le Ya put down her chopsticks and softly asked: “Do you think someone who’s already married would still obsess over their first love?”

Su Hui replied: “Of course. Otherwise, how do you explain all those cases where classmates reunite once and then cheat on their partners?”

She had seen countless news stories like that.

“Comparatively speaking, the probability is pretty high,” Xie Qingyu nodded knowingly. “Men often idealize their unattainable first loves, treating them like the ‘white moonlight’ in their hearts. Even after marriage, many still remember them—but not necessarily like them.”

Most women only remember their deepest relationship.

Le Ya fell silent.

She didn’t know the exact nature of Fang Yuan and Chen Mingwu’s relationship or why it had escalated to the point where they disregarded societal norms and stayed together without divorcing.

It was nauseating.

By the time they returned from the barbecue restaurant, it was already late at night.

Her flight was scheduled for the next evening. In the afternoon, Le Ya went back to school to pick up some things. She refused her father’s company and only brought the driver with her.

When they arrived, classes were in session.

To be honest, after these few days, she had calmed down significantly. Though she no longer felt as overwhelmed as she initially did, emotionally she still believed it was better for both of them to take some time apart to process everything.

To be honest, she hadn’t expected Le Yijian to arrange things so quickly.

She had only mentioned it one night, and within two days, everything was set up—even the appointments were made. She couldn’t refuse.

If her hearing could be cured and she could return afterward, of course, that was her hope.

Le Yijian had already informed the school about her departure. The reason was good enough, and given her excellent grades, the school naturally hoped she would return to take the college entrance exam.

As for the early admission slot, it would be given to someone else.

Since she would need to change her SIM card abroad, Le Yijian had already arranged everything for her in advance. The new card was placed in her phone, though it wasn’t usable yet.

On one side of the hall downstairs was a bulletin board. Since the monthly exam had just concluded, the top 200 names were posted in red.

At the very top was Chen Yang’s name.

His score gap with the second-place student was significant, making his position unshakable. From freshman year to senior year, it had never changed.

Because of her absence during the exam, her name wasn’t on the list this time.

Le Ya reached out and touched the glass, but quickly pulled her hand back as if it had burned her, afraid the driver nearby might notice her actions.

She didn’t want her father to find out anything.

In truth, Le Yijian probably knew that she and Chen Yang were in adjacent teaching buildings, but he hadn’t said a word because he didn’t want them to meet.

Ironically, fate had brought them together anyway.

Le Ya pursed her lips and smiled faintly before heading upstairs.

Her belongings were still on her desk, untouched by anyone. The driver quietly retrieved them from the back door.

Inside, math class was in session, and everyone’s attention was focused on the lesson.

Xie Qingyu, sitting in the back, had red-rimmed eyes and whispered softly: “Are you really leaving so soon?”

Le Ya nodded. “Mm.”

She didn’t dare speak much, fearing she might burst into tears.

Most of her classmates from Class One cared deeply for her—not just because of her hearing issues but genuinely.

There were too many books and materials, so the driver took some of them downstairs first.

Xie Qingyu asked: “Do you want to go to Class Seventeen?”

Le Ya didn’t respond.

Xie Qingyu raised her hand directly. “Teacher, may I step out for a moment?”

The math teacher, understanding her intentions, quickly nodded: “Go ahead.”

Su Hui and Xie Qingyu stepped out together, and the three of them stood at the stairwell, lowering their voices to discuss a few matters.

“Ah, if I have time off during the holidays, I can visit you over there,” Xie Qingyu said. “I’ll ask my brother to take me with him.”

Her words always revolved around her brother.

Su Hui asked: “So, are you coming back?”

Le Ya replied: “I’ll return before the college entrance exam. If everything goes smoothly, maybe I won’t need to come back, but for now, it’s still uncertain.”

Everything depended on what the doctor would say.

Xie Qingyu wiped her eyes. “It would be wonderful if your hearing could be cured. Yueya, someone as lovely as you deserves to live without any troubles.”

She had long felt heartbroken over Le Ya’s hearing issues.

The three of them talked for a long while. The driver came back upstairs to carry the second load of belongings, then left. Afterward, Su Hui said: “There are only five minutes left until class ends.”

Xie Qingyu glanced at the classroom across the way. Seeing that Le Ya appeared indifferent, she asked: “Do you want to go over and take a look?”

Le Ya froze, saying nothing.

Xie Qingyu hugged her gently. “If you want to go, just go.”

Did she want to?

Of course, she did.

When Le Ya arrived outside Class 17, they were in the middle of a math lesson. From the hallway, she could see many students dozing off, and some were even playing on their phones.

The teacher on the podium clearly saw everything but didn’t intervene, continuing to explain the math problems on the test paper enthusiastically.

It was probably the monthly exam paper. Since she hadn’t participated, she wasn’t sure exactly what questions were on it. She could only guess based on how the teacher shook the papers.

Le Ya remembered writing something on Chen Yang’s math test with a pencil, which she later erased out of fear of being discovered.

She didn’t know if Chen Yang had noticed.

And there was that time when she had returned his test paper, curious about what “Chen Yang” looked like.

She didn’t realize that the boy standing in front of her was him.

She hadn’t taken him seriously. Thinking about those strange feelings now made her want to laugh. If it had been her, she might have burst out laughing already.

The sun was shining today. The winter sunlight felt comfortable, even though the wind was a bit chilly. The classroom door was slightly blown open by the breeze.

The back door seemed not to be fully closed.

Le Ya watched as the gap in the door slowly revealed an empty space.

Standing at the intersection of the corridor, she caught sight of half of a profile leaning against the wall inside. Beside him, Liang Qian handed over a candy.

Long, slender fingers accepted it, then carelessly tossed the transparent wrapper into the trash behind him without even turning his head.

Le Ya’s lips curved faintly.

Liang Qian didn’t have such skill. He quietly peeled the candy wrapper and turned around to throw it away. Just as he was pulling his hand back, he suddenly spotted Le Ya standing there.

He froze.

Liang Qian hadn’t processed what he saw, thinking he might have been mistaken.

Le Ya was startled. She hadn’t expected to be seen. Though it was only Liang Qian, she knew he would surely tell Chen Yang.

Reacting quickly, she turned and walked into the corridor ahead.

This pathway ran between Classes 17 and 18, leading all the way to the experimental building at the back. She would go down from there.

For a fleeting moment, she thought it might be nice if he saw her. But she knew that if that happened, it would only make things harder for both of them.

Perhaps sensing someone outside, Chen Yang tilted his chair backward, preparing to turn and look.

When Chen Yang glanced over, he saw nothing.

Something felt off. He glanced at Liang Qian, then returned his attention to the desk. He had lost all motivation to continue solving the problem halfway through.

It seemed that Le Ya was leaving this week.

Liang Qian swallowed nervously, hesitating before speaking: “Just now… I think I saw Le Ya outside the classroom.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, he saw Chen Yang shove his chair aside and rush out through the back door in less than a second.

The screeching sound of the chair scraping against the floor echoed sharply.

The math teacher on the podium was stunned, instinctively calling out: “Chen Yang! What are you doing? If you’re not attending class, where are you going?”

He only managed to catch a fleeting glimpse of Chen Yang’s figure disappearing, wondering if he could even compete in a race.

Once outside the classroom, the cold air hit him full force.

Chen Yang stood at the entrance of the corridor, staring at the deserted experimental building. It was as if Liang Qian’s earlier words had been an illusion.

Outside the classroom, the occasional sound of teachers scolding students could be heard.

At that moment, the bell rang, signaling the end of class. Instantly, the corridors were flooded with students, filled with continuous noise. Le Ya’s heart pounded like a drum as she stood at the stairwell.