The girl's long hair was blown by the wind. Yun Mi stopped walking. She came straight to the point, her voice calm, hiding a tension she didn't even notice herself: "I have some things I want to ask you."
Chen Yiyang frowned.
Yun Mi asked, "I just saw you walking together with Xu Zhiyu. What did you talk about?"
Xu Zhiyu had come to Chen Yiyang twice today, both times about her grandmother.
The first time was to tell him that the surgery was successful and she had woken up.
The second time was to ask if he could help transfer to a different ward.
The Affiliated Hospital only had single rooms left, which were too expensive. She wanted to move to a triple room to save most of the cost.
But that was someone else's private matter. Chen Yiyang couldn't tell Yun Mi.
Chen Yiyang didn't speak. Yun Mi understood what he meant. She gathered her courage and asked another question: "People at school say that you and Xu Zhiyu were in a relationship. Is that true?"
Chen Yiyang had been walking, but he suddenly stopped. The streetlight cast a long shadow behind him, lonely and distant. He lifted his thin eyelids and glanced at her, asking, "Did someone say something?"
Yun Mi tilted her head up slightly: "It has nothing to do with anyone else. I want to know."
Chen Yiyang remained silent.
Yun Mi took a deep breath and said, "This is very important to me."
A long silence.
Yun Mi forced herself to stay calm. She turned to leave, saying, "Then I'll go ask Xu Zhiyu."
The long, hot summer was coming.
It was late, and there were only a few students on this road. Only the soon-to-close stall owners were chatting about everyday life.
A dim yellow light shone over a barbecue stall with drifting smoke. There were no customers. Silver-gray charcoal crackled, emitting a faint red glow that touched the heart.
The streetlights here were too dim.
They couldn't illuminate the path ahead.
Suddenly, Yun Mi heard someone say, "No."
No.
Really, no.
Hearing the answer, Yun Mi unconsciously lowered her eyes. The string that had been quietly tense all evening relaxed halfway.
She let out a very faint, light laugh to herself.
But the moment she turned back, Yun Mi felt an indescribable bitterness for the first time.
Yun Mi took a deep breath and called his name: "Chen Yiyang."
"One last thing."
The girl's youthful face appeared calm, but the fingers gripping her backpack straps had already turned white. Before coming to Shancheng, Yun Mi had never imagined such a day would come. She raised her eyes, her gaze earnest and stubborn, and spoke her heart to the person in front of her.
"In sophomore year, I want to stay in Class One."