Ye Qingli turned around. The young man reached up and pulled off his hood, revealing slightly long black hair. The warm yellow streetlight slanted across his face, glinting off his ear stud.
Xiao Yu slowly stood up, hands in his pockets, his expression indifferent as he looked at her. His face was abnormally red. Ye Qingli was about to speak when she heard him take a deep breath and ask again, "Where did you go?"
An hour earlier, Xu Qingsong, bored, was lying on his dorm bed scrolling through posts on the forum. He had never realized how interesting the forum was—people breaking up, cheating on multiple partners, it was all ridiculously dramatic. He was enjoying himself when suddenly he let out a "Holy crap!" that startled the other two. Liu Xu put down his perpetually crossed legs and sat up, shooting Xu Qingsong an annoyed glance. "What are you yelling about from scrolling posts? Did you see someone's nudes?"
Xu Qingsong stared at his phone without looking up. "I didn't see nudes. I saw Huang Xu."
Liu Xu genuinely thought he was overreacting and lay back down. "Tch, that bastard posts every day, doesn't he? He'd probably caption a foot wash. What's so special?"
"No, I saw Ye Qingli in his video. She was sitting with his mom, chatting and laughing."
Xiao Yu's fever hadn't completely broken. He was lying in bed half-asleep, spacing out. Upon hearing this, his fingers froze.
"What? Ye Qingli went to see him in the hospital?" Liu Xu jumped out of bed and rushed over to Xu Qingsong's bed, not even wearing slippers. Xu Qingsong frowned and kicked him, but didn't manage to move him. "Your feet are black—don't jump on my bed."
"Hey, don't blame me. The floor was just mopped, my feet aren't dirty." Liu Xu wasn't taking the blame. He grabbed Xu Qingsong's phone and looked at it. As if in disbelief, he zoomed in with two fingers. His heart sank—that was indeed Ye Qingli.
Liu Xu bit the dead skin on his lips and nudged Xu Qingsong with his elbow. "Hey, are they together now?"
"I don't understand her either."
Didn't Xu Yan tell them last night that Ye Qingli had gone back to Gu Cheng to find Xiao Yu? Why did she go see Huang Xu? And now she's chatting with his mom? Could they be discussing marriage? Liu Xu's mind suddenly jumped to that thought.
Just then, the bed across from them stirred. They looked over and saw Xiao Yu squatting on the ground tying his shoelaces. Xu Qingsong frowned. "A Yu, why are you getting out of bed? Your fever hasn't broken yet."
Xiao Yu stood up straight, as if he hadn't heard. He turned and grabbed a jacket from the rack, then walked out.
"Is he... angry?" The door slammed shut with a bang. Liu Xu closed his eyes in fright, then glanced at Xu Qingsong. Xu Qingsong shrugged. "Looks like it. He's definitely going to confront Ye Qingli."
So it seemed Xu Qingsong knew him better.
Xiao Yu walked up to her step by step until his toes touched hers. At nearly 1.9 meters tall, he looked down at her, exuding overwhelming pressure. Ye Qingli felt like a little chick. He hooked a finger under her chin, forcing her to look up, unable to move.
"I went to the hospital to see Huang Xu," she said after a moment.
Not bad—she wasn't lying.
"Why see him? Did you forget what I told you yesterday?" Xiao Yu squinted, his large hand covering her neck, his thumb tracing the faint veins beneath her pale skin. His tone was harsh, as if he could snap her neck at any moment. Why did she go to Huang Xu? He was upset.
Ye Qingli lowered her eyes. "I wasn't the only one who went. Most of the Youth Association went. They brought it up in the group chat to visit Huang Xu. You're not in the group, so you didn't see it. And I went because I wanted to..."
"You said 'most,'" Xiao Yu interrupted, releasing his grip and stepping away. Suddenly disappointed, he tiredly pinched the bridge of his nose, staring blankly at the fallen leaves on the ground. "So why couldn't you be one of the few?"
In the end, he didn't trust her.
Ye Qingli listened quietly. In that moment, she felt like crying. She had gone to the hospital to tell Huang Xu in person that she wanted to leave the Youth Association. Earlier, someone in the group had mentioned that his parents were corporate executives and must be very busy. She hadn't expected to run into them today, only to be mocked by his mother in veiled ways for not bringing flowers.
Huang Xu didn't deserve respect, so why should she bring flowers?
Ye Qingli stared at her own toes. Her nose was stinging, her eyes burning. She felt so wronged.
Occasionally, a car sped by, and the occupants would glance at the two of them—a boy and a girl standing apart, the girl wiping her tears while the boy stood with his back to her, unmoved. Anyone who saw them would think they were a couple, and the boy was a heartbreaker.
"So you think I shouldn't have gone, right? You think I ignored what you said?" Ye Qingli cleared her throat and wiped the corner of her eye.
"What else? I already told you..." Xiao Yu turned and froze. The girl was crying, her eyes red, her lips bitten white, her plain face full of grievance.
Xiao Yu hadn't expected her to cry. He didn't think he had said anything too harsh, and he didn't think Ye Qingli was the type to cry easily. But it was happening right in front of him—she was really crying.
In that instant, Xiao Yu felt something inside him collapse.
"I'm sorry," he said after a long pause, uttering words he had never thought he would say in his life.
Ye Qingli's eyelashes fluttered. She didn't react. So they both stood in silence. She had wanted to explain, but because he didn't believe her—because of this apology—all her grievances suddenly lodged in her chest. Now she couldn't explain even if she wanted to. She was too tired.
Just last night, they had been laughing and talking, watching the first snow of the year on the train.
Suddenly, it all felt unimportant.
Ye Qingli looked up, her face still marked with undried tears. Xiao Yu watched her glistening eyes, his heart aching. He lifted his arm slightly—he wanted to hug her.
But just then, Ye Qingli composed herself and looked at him, her eyes full of bitterness. "Xiao Yu, you know what? If our roles were reversed today, I would have chosen to believe you without hesitation."
"Without asking why," she emphasized.
Xiao Yu was stunned.
"I didn't want to play the emotional card, but I still want to tell you that I didn't take your words lightly." She wiped the corner of her eye again. "It's late. Even feeding cats has to be timed. You should head back to school early. I'm leaving now." Ye Qingli stepped back, waving goodbye. "Goodbye."
She turned and walked away, her back thin and frail, her shadow stretched long under the streetlight, sorrowful and resolute. Xiao Yu stood there watching her. The temperature had dropped quickly these past few days. He clenched his stiff hands—they were ice cold.
Xiao Yu was truly annoyed inside. His life was a mess, full of disappointments. If he dwelled on every one, he'd go crazy. That was why he had become indifferent to everything. This was the first time he had so desperately wanted an answer. But it seemed he had messed up again.
It felt like life was against him.
Just like now—he wanted to pull out a cigarette from his pocket, but he hadn't brought any.
...
Ye Qingli didn't go straight back to school. She stayed outside for a long time before returning. Recently, dorm inspections hadn't been strict. She happened to walk in just as the lights went out.
Xu Yan poked her head out from under the covers. "Qingqing, why are you back so late? I saw the girls who went with you come back a while ago."
"I was hungry since I didn't have dinner, so I went to a noodle shop for a bowl of noodles." Ye Qingli mumbled casually, her voice thick with nasality. She shivered as she took off her jacket.
Jiang Mo sensed something off and frowned. "Did you catch a cold?"
The room was dark, so they couldn't see her swollen eyes. Ye Qingli went along with it. "A little."
"Then make sure to take your medicine. Don't let it get worse."
"I know."
As Ye Qingli climbed into bed, Xu Yan picked up her phone and messaged Xu Qingsong: "Didn't you say Xiao Yu went to find Qingqing? Did they fight? I feel like she's unhappy."
Xu Qingsong was startled when he saw the message. He turned to look at Xiao Yu, who was sitting on a chair, lost in thought. The guy had been in that same position since he came back, sitting in the dark like the Grim Reaper. Creeped out, Xu Qingsong looked away. "Seems like it. Ask Ye Qingli if she's really with Huang Xu."
"Huh?" Xu Yan's eyes widened. Those were all Chinese characters, but she couldn't understand the sentence. She typed a row of question marks and sent them. "What are you talking about? Qingqing doesn't like him."
"Didn't you see the post Huang Xu made?"
"I did. He only posted it to make people misunderstand. Only someone as clueless as you would believe it."
Xu Qingsong was indignant. "Then why did Ye Qingli go see him? From what I know of Xiao Yu, he must have told her to stay away from Huang Xu. But she still went to see him. How could they not fight?"
"Qingqing went to the hospital to tell Huang Xu in person that she was quitting the Youth Association!"
Xu Yan sent that message, then turned off her phone and set it aside. Xu Qingsong was too annoyingly persistent. If she kept responding, he'd nag her all night, and nobody would get any sleep.
Xu Yan was easygoing. She fell asleep soon after putting down her phone. But Xu Qingsong bombarded her with question marks and emojis nearly a hundred times without a reply, muttering to himself in frustration.
Liu Xu was busy playing a game job, immersed in it. Xu Qingsong was chattering like a grumpy old woman—Liu Xu could hear him even with headphones on. During a moment when his game character died, he pulled open the bed curtain and asked, "Are you possessed? Which bastard pissed you off like this?"
Half-asleep, Xu Yan kicked out and missed.
Xu Qingsong replied, "Good grandson," then looked at Xiao Yu on the lower bunk. He was still in the same position, motionless. Probably still feverish, lifeless, like he was about to die.
Xu Qingsong couldn't stand seeing him like that. The guy had never been this down since childhood. But today, because of a girl, he was wilted like a frosted eggplant—it wasn't like him. Xu Qingsong pursed his lips and whistled at him. "Hey, A Yu, Xu Yan said Ye Qingli quit the Youth Association?"
Xiao Yu seemed not to react. After a long while, he raised his stiff neck. "When did that happen?"
"Xu Yan said Ye Qingli went to the hospital to tell Huang Xu clearly. She probably wanted to cut ties once and for all." He even polished it a bit.
Of course, Liu Xu, ever tactless, managed to drive a knife into Xiao Yu's heart even while gaming. "Didn't you two meet? Didn't she tell you?"
With that one sentence, the air was silent for a full two minutes.
He was wrong.