"Xiao Yu!" a girl shouted from not far away.
This wasn't a dream.
Ye Qingli walked quickly to him and glanced at his clothes. He was still wearing the same hoodie from the day, not even a jacket.
Gu Cheng's temperature was a few degrees lower than Xi Zhou's. She couldn't imagine how cold he must be, wandering around in just a hoodie on such a freezing day.
"Why aren't you wearing a jacket?"
Ye Qingli frowned. Xiao Yu didn't answer the question; instead, he looked into her eyes and asked, "Why are you here?"
Right, why was she here?
She only remembered that after talking with Xu Yan, she grew increasingly restless. Thinking that Xu Qingsong had said Xiao Yu went home, and that he was in a bad mood after fighting Huang Xu, she felt she should come see him.
By chance, there was a high-speed train to Gu Cheng departing soon. Acting on impulse, she made up an excuse to Zhang Luan, asked for leave, bought a ticket, and hurried back.
Of course, Ye Qingli was just trying her luck. After all, they had a fleeting encounter in Gu Cheng before. She only knew Xiao Yu was here, not where he lived.
She never expected to actually run into him.
Caught off guard by his question, Ye Qingli couldn't just confess the truth. She lowered her head and touched her nose. "Um... my family is in Gu Cheng too. My mom suddenly needed me for something, so she asked me to come back."
Xiao Yu hadn't studied psychology, but he had seen videos about it. Touching your nose usually meant you were lying. He had found that ridiculous at the time and swiped away, never expecting to witness it firsthand.
Besides, her tone didn't sound honest, either. She spoke hesitantly, as if afraid he wouldn't notice.
Xiao Yu didn't call her out. He just went along. "Oh."
The surroundings were lively, but they felt like outsiders, unable to blend in. After a moment of silence, Xiao Yu asked, "Are you free? If you're not in a hurry to go back, would you like to take a walk with me?"
"Is that okay?" he added.
In his calm tone, Ye Qingli detected a plea... and humility.
That shouldn't happen to someone like him, of all people.
"Sure." Ye Qingli nodded immediately. She pointed across the street. "There's a mall over there. Let's go there."
He wasn't even wearing a jacket; they couldn't stay outside any longer.
Xiao Yu understood. "Okay."
Gu Cheng was actually quite big. This area was the city center. In winter, the small trees along the road were strung with colorful lights, looking fresh and festive.
The mall had large glass doors. Ye Qingli ran ahead to push one open, extending a hand inside and smiling at Xiao Yu. "Milady, please come in."
"Milady?" Xiao Yu was confused.
"Aren't you Xiao? 'Xiao' sounds like 'miss'?" Ye Qingli explained, rare in teasing him.
But she actually made him laugh.
Xiao Yu's lips twitched. He obligingly tugged at the hem of his hoodie.
Ye Qingli couldn't help but smile either. She wondered, if Xiao Yu were a girl, would he be rather charming?
The ceiling lights were bright. They walked side by side, sleeves touching briefly before parting. Xiao Yu kept his hands in his pockets, looking around. He used to think shopping was boring, but now it didn't feel that way.
In fact, it even relaxed him.
The girl beside him curiously observed the shops around them. Suddenly, she tugged his sleeve and pointed at one. "Xiao Yu, shouldn't you buy some clothes?"
Xiao Yu was about to say no, but Ye Qingli pinched the corner of his hoodie and reminded him, "It's dirty here."
The boy paused and looked down. The stain was small and light, almost invisible unless you looked closely.
Ye Qingli pulled him along. "It's dirty. Buy a new one to cover up."
Actually, he had gotten some dust on it when she pushed the door. She had deliberately smeared it on just now. Xiao Yu was a clean freak; now that he knew, he wouldn't be able to stand it.
But unexpectedly, Xiao Yu stopped, shaking his head. "Forget it. I have plenty of clothes at school. I wouldn't be able to wear them all."
In one day, he had been torn from a life of comfort, fallen from heaven to hell. The halo around him dimmed, and he became ordinary and dull.
He had spent lavishly for years. He still had some money left, but he had to pay for school. He might even have to work to cover tuition. His fight with Xiao Qu had been serious; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they'd cut ties. He used to think it was only right to spend Xiao Qu's money, but not anymore. He would never spend the Xiao family's money again.
His future depended on himself. He could no longer act recklessly or arrogantly.
Of course, Ye Qingli didn't know what had happened to him. Xiao Yu's clothes were all branded. She was taken aback, thinking he was used to a luxurious life and didn't care for things from small cities.
Ye Qingli nodded and didn't press him.
They wandered aimlessly. According to the mall directory, there was an arcade on the fourth floor.
Ye Qingli asked him, "Do you want to play?"
"You want to?"
Xiao Yu hadn't been to an arcade in a long time. The last time was in middle school with Xu Qingsong. There were only a few machines, and it wasn't much fun.
He wasn't very interested, and neither was Ye Qingli, but she thought any bit of happiness would help. So she nodded.
"Then let's go."
It wasn't busy at this hour. Most machines were empty, and the noisy music poured into their ears. Ye Qingli looked around, then turned to follow Xiao Yu to the counter to buy tokens.
The clerk brought a price list: 10 yuan for 20 tokens, 20 yuan for 50, and 50 yuan for 140. The more you bought, the cheaper it got. While Ye Qingli was still debating which one to get, Xiao Yu directly bought the 50-yuan package.