Now that no one was around, she couldn't hide her grievances.
When Chen Yiyang came down, he found Yun Mi squatting in a corner. The girl rested her hands on her knees, her thin shoulders hunched, her eyelashes trembling slightly like cicada wings.
A small lump, crying.
Her injured arm contrasted too strongly with her clean white cotton dress.
So ugly, yet so powerful.
Yun Mi observed the patterned bricks on the ground. The summer night wind made her feel stuffy.
Through blurred vision, she saw Chen Yiyang's sneakers. She said coldly, "Who told you to come down? Didn't I say I wanted to be alone? Chen Yiyang, are you insane!"
Chen Yiyang, scolded, didn't get angry. He crouched down and handed her the milk tea. "Have something sweet?"
Seeing her favorite strawberry mulberry milk, she wanted to smash everything in anger, but couldn't bear to.
Tears fell like a broken string, scalding down.
She lowered her eyes, wiped tears, but more fell. She couldn't wipe them clean. She turned her face away. "It's none of your business."
Chen Yiyang said, "I know."
"But if you cry, it's your brother's fault."
Yun Mi cursed, "What does it have to do with you?"
Chen Yiyang chuckled softly.
A soft laugh from his chest. "I spent some money to get those people out."
"..."
Yun Mi looked up, meeting Chen Yiyang's gaze. The boy's deep, handsome features under the dim streetlight calmly watched her.
Her nose stung, her chest tight, and the more she thought about it, the angrier she got. "Really?"
Chen Yiyang drawled, "Mm."
Yun Mi said, "You're too rich..."
Chen Yiyang asked, "Does it help? Still going to eat later?"
Yun Mi thought she probably would, or else she'd definitely be too disgusted to eat.
She buried her chin between her knees. "Chen Yiyang, do you know why I went to Shanfu?"
Chen Yiyang hummed, indicating he was willing to listen.
"Because I saved that Xu Mingyi. She used to be my senior sister. She loved drinking, so her family bought imported wine and shipped it to the team. But the team clearly forbids bringing in such contraband. She hid the wine box on top of the locker room cabinet, but it wasn't secure, and the whole box came crashing down..."
"I saved her and got seriously injured. But she thought, since I sacrificed, why not sacrifice completely? Why not be her stepping stone?"
"Such absurd demands, and everyone around me thought they were reasonable, all persuading me to be more generous..."
"Haha... No one was on my side."
Yun Mi laughed bitterly, a laugh that was pathetic. But Chen Yiyang didn't laugh with her. She frowned and stared at him. He was crouched in front of her, the boy's long limbs folded, his loose jacket wrinkled. In the dim light, Yun Mi saw Chen Yiyang's dark eyes, his usually cold features much softer, teasing yet gentle.
After saying these things, Yun Mi remembered that she liked him, and she wanted to cry even more. Was she crying ugly? She thought that with his bad temper, Chen Yiyang must be utterly disgusted with her. Would he mock her? Yun Mi sniffled, feeling wronged, trying to hold back tears but couldn't. "They went too far, really too far. How can there be such unreasonable people? What did I do wrong? Or should I not have saved her?"
The self-deprecating words were tinged with despair and confusion.
Before she finished, Yun Mi's eyes widened in astonishment.
Chen Yiyang's fingers were distinct, with prominent blue veins. A dry, warm touch pressed against her cheek as he frowned and wiped away her tears.
Yun Mi's heart skipped a beat.
Chen Yiyang said, "You did nothing wrong. And you're not alone."
The boy's face was inches away, cold but gentle.
"Me, Xie Yue, your good friend Ding Yuan, Zhou Shihui, and others—we're all on your side."
The girl's heart pounded like a drum, suffocating. Her crying eyes narrowed, her lips pursed. After a while, she asked, "What if I really am wrong?"
Her tangled hair fell around her, the tip of her nose red. She heard him say,
"Right or wrong, I choose you."
Yun Mi said, "But..."
"No buts."
She heard his resolute answer.
Chen Yiyang looked at her. She had never seen him so gentle—his high nose bridge, his lowered eyes, only her reflected.
Chen Yiyang told her, "Yun Mi, you can't expect everyone to be as gentle and righteous as you. The blazing sun always burns the narrow-minded. Don't punish yourself with others' mistakes."
He spoke as if joking, softly informing her, "Yun Mimi, even if the whole world thinks you're wrong, I will still keep my most blatant partiality for you."
Author's note: No additional note.