#25: Old Dreams

Lin Xingzi had asked Lin Ke for their class schedule and knew that their last class of the afternoon was chemistry, taught by her mother. Nine out of ten times, the class would run over, and Jiang Yan was the class representative.

That year, they happened to encounter educational reform, and the education bureau prohibited extra classes. The school secretly arranged additional lessons only for the senior three students. Due to her leg injury, Lin Xingzi didn’t live in the dormitory and could go home after class. Lin Xudong was busy with work and couldn’t pick her up, and Li Qing had a meeting, so she told Lin Xingzi to wait in the classroom.

Most of the classmates had already left. A few boys in the back row were moving tables together, seemingly preparing for a fight that hadn’t started yet.

When Jiang Yan arrived, Lin Xingzi was lying weakly on the desk, her leg in a cast swinging aimlessly. Jiang Yan watched anxiously, worried she might bump into the table corner—she was so afraid of pain.

“I’m so thirsty, I want a Coke, cold.”

“…I’ll go buy it.”

There were no stores inside the school, so he had to leave the campus to buy it. Lin Xingzi waited and waited but didn’t see him return. She hopped on one foot to the classroom door to look downstairs.

“His dad died long ago from drug use, and his family is dirt poor. I heard the school exempted all his tuition fees as an exception. He can’t even afford a meal and just uses his looks to deceive young girls…”

The classroom door closed. She leaned against the wall while Jiang Yan unscrewed the bottle cap for her. She then said, “Coke makes you fat. You drink this one—I still want yogurt.”

“…Wait for me a few more minutes.”

The young man who had just climbed upstairs without catching his breath didn’t utter a single complaint. Lin Xingzi watched his retreating figure, her heart brimming with joy almost ready to burst out of her body.

He must like me.

Even breaking my leg didn’t diminish how much he likes me.

Recognizing the person coming upstairs as their homeroom teacher, Lin Xingzi quickly wiped the smile off her face, pushed open the classroom door, and said to the blonde-haired boy behind her, “Can you help me?”

The blonde-haired boy didn’t think too much about it.

Just before the homeroom teacher entered the classroom, Lin Xingzi suddenly broke free from the boy’s hand and fell to the ground.

“Ah! It hurts so much, Wang Li… I know rejecting your confession made you lose face, but my mom doesn’t allow me to date early… sob sob, I’ve already sincerely apologized. You don’t have to forgive me, but why did you push me? It hurts so much… My leg… The doctor said if it gets hurt again, it might cause permanent damage, and I won’t be able to dance anymore…”

“Wang Li! Are you bullying female classmates again? Do you want to rebel? Come with me to the office!”

Blonde-haired boy: ?????

…

Lin Xingzi woke up late, her mind clouded from a night of dreams.

The house was quiet. While brushing her teeth, she noticed her eyes looked a bit swollen in the mirror. Before applying makeup, she went to the fridge to find ice packs to reduce the swelling and found a note:

Breakfast is on the dining table. If it’s cold, heat it in the microwave on medium for two minutes before eating.

I’ve gone to Lingcheng to find witnesses.

The guest room door was open, and the bed was neatly made, as if no one had slept there. Even breakfast was prepared, but she didn’t know what time he had left. She had been sleeping soundly and vaguely remembered hearing a knock on the door.

It was good that he left. It would have been awkward if they couldn’t even argue.

Lin Xingzi crumpled the note into a ball and threw it into the trash. With Assistant Chen transferred away, she had to drive herself to the company.

Lin Sang had returned from his business trip, and Lin Ke brought his girlfriend back to Haishi for the Mid-Autumn Festival. He couldn’t stay long and insisted on meeting up with old classmates. He told Lin Xingzi to bring the whole family to meet his fiancée over the weekend.