Misunderstanding
Yun Mi wondered if she had heard wrong.
Chen Yiyang lowered his eyes and pulled the IV needle out of his skin. Bright red blood backflowed into the tube. He tore off the adhesive tape with a "rip," and the nurse frowned, asking, "What are you doing?"
Chen Yiyang wasn't going to continue the drip.
Yun Mi was still thinking about what he had said.
The girl's delicate hair strands fell loose. She pursed her lips, finding it ridiculous.
It sounded like he liked her.
But how could Chen Yiyang possibly like her?
She couldn't quite believe it, yet she thought, what if, and whispered, "Chen Yiyang, what if I accept Zhou Shihui's confession?"
"You can't."
"Why?"
Because I would be jealous.
Those words never made it out. The cheap "Welcome" chime rang from the clinic door first.
Aunt Qin pushed the door open, saw the two, and slowly forced a somewhat strained smile onto her face.
She settled the bill and sent both children back to school.
At the school gate, Shanfu's white-tiled buildings were bathed in the warm orange streetlight, casting a soft glow.
Yun Mi had already walked into the campus, but Aunt Qin reached out and stopped Chen Yiyang, keeping him behind.
Aunt Qin, at her age, had seen all kinds of storms, yet she still hesitated, "I just got a call from Liangyu. Your dad's business has run into some trouble. But Xiao Yang, don't worry too much."
Chen Yiyang wanted to say, what did it have to do with him.
But then he heard the second half of Aunt Qin's words, "Your dad has always wanted you to take over his business. Knowing you have a chance to be recommended to Beijing, he specially took on a big order over there to pave the way for you. He didn't expect..." Aunt Qin sighed and said softly, "He did it for you."
Chen Yiyang went to the dormitory office to retrieve his phone. The last message Chen Jici had left him was: Xiao Yang, how about sending you abroad to study?
The boys' dormitory building was only separated from the girls' by a greenbelt.
Chen Yiyang stood at the back door and called Chen Jici. The phone rang several times before it was answered.
Chen Jici was clearly drunk, his voice hoarse and heavy, his words loose and sloppy. He only uttered one word: "Who?"
"Me."
Chen Yiyang had had a big fight with his parents over the arts-science split last time. Wen Liangyu couldn't handle him, and Chen Jici's idea was to force him to take the recommendation route even if he chose liberal arts.
Chen Yiyang wasn't used to having any warm pleasantries with Chen Jici. He just asked coldly, "What's wrong with you?"
Chen Jici let out a long breath and said, "Chen Yiyang, how dare you talk to your father like that?"
Chen Yiyang gave a faint, mocking smile: "What did you mean by that message? Sending me abroad?"
Chen Yiyang asked, "Don't you think domestic universities are more prestigious? Want me to fulfill your dream of going to college?"
The flat words reached the other end, and a cold laugh came through.
Twenty-three years ago, Chen Jici and Wen Liangyu were the perfect couple at Beijing Foreign Studies University—same major, senior and junior, both top of their respective years.
Chen Jici had dropped out resolutely to go make his fortune in Shenzhen because of his mother's illness.
"Who told you that? Liangyu?" Chen Jici had been too busy lately to argue. "Chen Yiyang, I'm telling you, this has nothing to do with your mother or with you."
Chen Yiyang replied coldly, "I know you're in trouble. It's tough. But Chen Jici, the old man is leaving. The doctor says it'll be this month."
He didn't want Chen Jici to tell Grandpa about these things.
Chen Jici caught on and snorted, about to curse him, but Chen Yiyang hung up before he could speak.
Not far away, the girls' dormitory building was fully lit. Chen Yiyang suddenly looked up and saw a girl on the sixth floor. She was leaning on the railing with her long hair loose, as if she had been standing there for a while.
Seeing him, Yun Mi gave him a smile.
Xie Yue came downstairs looking for someone, spotted Chen Yiyang, and ran over, saying, "Hurry up, the instructor is in the dorm teaching us how to fold blankets. You're the only one missing."
He slung an arm around Chen Yiyang's shoulder, wondering what he was staring at, and looked up too.
The balcony where someone had been standing was now empty.
Chen Yiyang squinted.
Xie Yue guessed Chen Yiyang couldn't be staring at Yun Mi's dorm, could he? He was so done; he felt his own brain was poisoned. He said, "Zhou Shihui confessed to 'your sister' today. What do you have to say?"
He emphasized "sister." Chen Yiyang's thin eyelids lifted slightly. "What sister?"
Xie Yue led him to the vending machine at the base of the dormitory and bought a bottle of iced cola. With a "clang," the can hit the machine's base. Xie Yue stressed, "Yun Mi is your sister."
Chen Yiyang scanned the QR code for him, put his phone away, and casually denied it, "Not my sister."
Xie Yue rolled his eyes. "Daydreaming again, aren't you? Even if she's not on your household register, she's going into your mom's. What? When Aunt Wen introduces her, oh! This is my daughter, and also my daughter-in-law."
Chen Yiyang put away his phone, looked at him coldly: "You're that confident I can win Yun Mi over?"
His lazy tone held a hint of mockery.