CH 4

Happy? Disappointed?

Chen Qi did not know how to describe her feeling at this moment.

Her whole body was like being thrown into the deep sea. She could not hear anything, her chest was stuffy, she had difficulty breathing, and she could not open her eyes.

She cried out in the deep sea, begging for help, but no one heard her voice.

From the moment she heard Lin Shu’s first sentence, Chen Qi became silent. She thought it would not be so coincidental. How could it be possible?

But when she heard Lin Shu describe that male student, Chen Qi was sure that was the person she was thinking of.

She did not know he was in grade 11.

Indeed, it would be strange if no one noticed such a perfect person like him.

Suddenly, she felt selfish.

That guy had nothing to do with her, but for a moment she felt betrayed and angry.

Yet she even wanted to hide him away from everyone else.

Just like when Chen Qi saw a teddy bear that she liked at a toy store when she was young, but her mother did not let her buy it, so she kept lying in front of the glass cabinet, staring at the teddy bear.

Suddenly, someone bought that teddy bear in front of her.

Even though that teddy bear did not belong to her, for a moment she felt as if her belongings had been taken.

Not knowing when it started, she had considered the teddy bear her own.

However, the teddy bear clearly did not belong to her.

Never did.

He was so outstanding that many people liked him, Chen Qi should be happy for him.

But she felt that the treasure she had kept for so long was eventually discovered by others one day.

At that time, the teddy bear she liked was bought by someone because it did not belong to her.

Now, the person she liked did not belong to her either because he did not like her.

They did not even know each other.

Chen Qi hated herself.

She suddenly felt like a selfish and ugly beast.

“Qi Qi? What’s wrong? Why are you crying all of a sudden?” Yu Xiao Tong hurriedly pulled out a tissue.

Chen Qi finally returned to her senses. Hearing Yu Xiao Tong’s words, she was stunned for a moment and raised her hand to wipe her face, which was wet with tears.

Chen Qi did not want to cry, but her emotions overflowed, and she could not control herself from crying.

Lin Shu also seemed a bit confused, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Chen Qi replied, her voice sobbing. She did not like this voice at all, it sounded too fake, “Seeing myself ugly makes me want to cry.”

“Huh?” Lin Shu was bewildered.

Yu Xiao Tong understood Chen Qi well. Chen Qi was not someone who liked to cry. She quickly thought about what had just happened.

Nan Li High School, male student.

Could it be…

Yu Xiao Tong immediately reacted, then she casually said a few words to Lin Shu, trying to end the conversation.

“Qi Qi…” Yu Xiao Tong then turned around, wanting to comfort her.

At the same time, the school bell rang.

“Xiao Tong, what time does Nan Li High School finish school?”

“Huh?” Yu Xiao Tong was dumbfounded, “If it’s grades 10 and 11, it should be at 8:30 p.m. after the evening self-study class.”

8:30 p.m.?

Chen Qi looked at the clock on the wall. It was half an hour before 8:30 p.m.

Chen Qi immediately packed up her things and ran out, leaving only one sentence behind, “Xiao Tong, see you tomorrow.”

“???” Yu Xiao Tong froze. Hold up, don’t tell me she’s going to Nan Li High School to wait in front of the school gate?!

“Chen Qi!” Yu Xiao Tong also hastily packed up and ran out the door.

Chen Qi ran on the road recklessly.

She complained that she was cold this morning, but now she was sweating from running.

She did not know what she was doing. Even if she did this, it would be a waste of time.

Running to others’ schools at night and waiting for people to finish school…

…Everyone would see her as a pervert.

Chen Qi knew all these things.

But she just wanted to see him.

It seemed that as long as she saw him, everything could be solved easily.

Chen Qi was considered a good child by many adults. She was not intelligent but very obedient and never disobeyed adults.

Even the teddy bear she dreamed of, Chen Qi did not stubbornly cling to it or ask her mother to buy it.

She only quietly lay in front of the glass cabinet, looking at the teddy bear.

Chen Qi had always been very rational.

But right now, she had completely lost her mind.

She missed him a lot.

On the road shrouded in darkness, the lights flickered on the side of the road. It was crowded with people and full of traffic.

In the crowd, the weak and lonely figure of the girl ran wildly on the road.

On the way, a child held his mother’s hand and innocently asked, “Mom, why is that sister running so fast?”

“Because,” the woman pondered for a few seconds and smiled, “That sister wants to meet her crush.”

The city was prosperous and brightly lit all night, like a young girl who was not afraid of the long years, wholeheartedly running towards the person in her heart.

Chen Qi did not know how long she had been running until she saw the four words ‘Nan Li High School’ in front of her, and she even forgot to breathe.

In ten minutes, he’ll be out of school.

Chen Qi was panting. She did not know if she would see him or if he would come.

As long as there was a glimmer of hope, she would still try.

It seemed to be colder at night. Perhaps because she had just sweated running, and now the chilly wind was blowing, Chen Qi felt she was about to catch a cold.

8:45 p.m.

Nan Li High School’s school gate slowly opened.

The students came out one by one, coming and going, and everyone around was crowded to leave.

Many people noticed the girl wearing Su Cheng High School uniform on the side of the road and subconsciously glanced at Chen Qi.

But Chen Qi did not notice it. Nervousness swept through her whole body.

Suddenly, there was a very small commotion in her ears. Chen Qi seemed to have some kind of radar installed and raised her eyes sharply.

It’s him.

The male student’s slender fingers held the phone as if he was saying something. His eyebrows slightly raised, and his eyes were as deep as the dim night.

He unexpectedly looked up, and his eyes suddenly stopped on Chen Qi. Those eyes of hers seemed to have thousands of sparkling stars.

Just like a cluster of fireworks appearing in the deep dark night.

Illuminating the night sky.

In the crowd, their eyes met.

Like a couple who just reunited after a long absence, like a young couple who was about to go through life and death separation, and like a couple who valiantly liked each other in their youth.

They were far apart and looking at each other from afar. The whole world seemed to be just the two of them.

Chen Qi saw him walking toward her but had not hung up his phone yet. When he came to her side, not knowing if it was accidental or intentional, he lightly touched Chen Qi’s shoulder.

The warm touch made Chen Qi’s back stiff.

The male student seemed to stop and was silent for a moment. Just when Chen Qi was about to breathe a sigh of relief and leave contentedly, the person behind her suddenly said in a low voice,

“Happy winter solstice.”

Chen Qi instinctively turned around and saw the male student’s back, still holding the phone in his hand.

“…” That did not seem to be said to her.

However, she had not heard that voice for a long time.

Just like the warm sunshine in winter, the fragrance of flowers in spring, the cool watermelons in summer, and the yellowed cornfield leaves in autumn.

All the things about this guy, she could never forget.

…

End of the year.

The results of the monthly exam were announced, and her classmates were either happy or sad. As for Yu Xiao Tong and Chen Qi, they were in the happy group.

“Qi Qi, lemme tell you, this time in Physics, we’ve done one-third of the questions. I doubt Mr. Liu took the wrong medicine this time. The questions he gave were so easy!” Yu Xiao Tong said excitedly.

Chen Qi stayed up late last night to do homework, and right now, her eyelids were still closed, so she just simply nodded her head.

“Oh, right,” Yu Xiao Tong changed the topic, “That male student in Nan Li High School, I asked my friend a few things about him.”

Speaking of this, Chen Qi immediately woke up.

“How was it? Did you find him?”

“No, there were too many people.” Yu Xiao Tong shrugged.

Chen Qi lowered her eyes in disappointment.

Meanwhile, the girls at the next table were chatting wildly loudly. Due to the close distance, their conversation reached Chen Qi and Yu Xiao Tong’s ears.

“Oh gosh, not only is he handsome, but his name is so nice too!”

“Lin Shu, if you two get together in the future, remember to tell us!”

The protagonist of the topic was clearly Lin Shu.

These words successfully aroused Yu Xiao Tong’s curiosity, and she turned her head to the side.

Lin Shu smiled shyly, “No way, maybe he just caught a glimpse of me.”

“Nah, he definitely likes you.” The other girl retorted.

Another girl also added, “I think so too, otherwise it can’t be such a coincidence that every time you look at him, you two make eye contact.”

“Then, do you think I should take the initiative to ask for his WeChat?” Lin Shu hesitantly asked.

“Of course, you should!”

Yu Xiao Tong could not hold back any longer and pulled Chen Qi over to sit with the girls, “What’s up? Is there something going on?”

A female student answered, “Lemme tell you, Lin Shu is gonna be taken soon!”

“How come?”

Lin Shu sulked a little, then softly said, “Well, the guy I told you guys last time…”

Chen Qi and Yu Xiao Tong had not yet reacted.

“A few days ago, I went to extra classes,” Lin Shu said, “Then I met him. You know, I was so shocked at that time. I didn’t expect us to be so predestined.”

Chen Qi was stunned for a few seconds. Her face was expressionless.

Yu Xiao Tong paused for a while, observing Chen Qi’s expression while listening to Lin Shu’s words.

“Besides, every time I peek at him, somehow I always make eye contact with him. I feel he also has feelings for me, so I want to ask for his WeChat.”

After a few seconds of silence, Chen Qi acted calm and nonchalantly asked, “What’s his name?”

“His name is super nice,” a female student sitting next to her replied, 

“Jiang Yan Yi.”