That was why, even though she knew Su Yang wore a mask, she still wanted to get close to him.
Su Baixue calmed herself, frowned, and insisted, "Even if you're just living from day to day, you have to hold on. Don't die in winter."
"Why?" Su Yang wore an indescribable smile. "I thought... aren't you going to comfort me?"
"It's too cold."
"Hold on until spring. Hold on a little longer. When spring comes and flowers bloom, the soil and the wind will be warm." Su Baixue looked at the withered branches on campus, imagining the arrival of spring.
"At times like this, the last thing I want to do is comfort you." Saying this, Su Baixue stood up and pressed her thumb against Su Yang's forehead.
"Let me encourage you instead!"
Su Yang: "..."
The faint smile on his face vanished instantly.
Just like when he left after the high school entrance exam, Su Yang's fingers twitched, but he restrained himself.
He took something else from another pocket and handed it to Su Baixue. When she didn't take it, he directly pulled her hand open and placed it in her palm.
It was a black stone.
"A Go piece? Why are you giving me this?" Su Baixue picked up the black stone. It was warm, smooth, and pitch-black.
Su Yang looked at her, still with that serious gaze, yet as if seeing someone else through her.
"Keep it safe. It's what I'm giving you today." Saying that, he released her hand.
Then he turned, without any explanation, and strode away.
Still walking as fast as if the wind was chasing him.
Su Baixue felt a bit confused. She watched his thin figure as he walked away. That was the last time she saw Su Yang in high school. Even during the college entrance exam, he never returned to school.
Rumors said he had died from his illness. Other rumors said he had gone abroad for treatment.
This mysterious young man, like a butterfly's shadow, fluttered his wings over her heart and vanished without a trace. It wasn't until college that Su Baixue belatedly realized that had been her strange, hazy first love. And it seemed to be unrequited.
Of course, the current Su Baixue still knew nothing. When she returned to the classroom just in time for the afternoon bell, she was still thinking that if Su Yang was at school tomorrow, she would go talk to him again.
The afternoon class was the homeroom teacher's. Originally scheduled for two periods in a row, but when the computer teacher called in sick, the homeroom teacher clapped her thighs and happily announced that she would teach three consecutive classes!
Amid the wails of the entire class, even the break between classes was completely compressed. Chen Baozhu wanted to ask Su Baixue about Su Yang, but had no chance. She could only send countless messages to Tian Ling, who sat behind Su Baixue, during class. Their frequent interactions got Tian Ling's phone confiscated by the homeroom teacher.
When school let out, Chen Baozhu and Tian Ling came out of the homeroom teacher's office, but Su Baixue had already disappeared. Chen Baozhu blamed Sun Shumin, who had been waiting in the classroom for her.
"Shumin! I told you to stop Su Baixue! How did you let her slip away!"
Sun Shumin handed Chen Baozhu her backpack and said apologetically, "It's only a couple of days. Baozhu, if she really wanted to leave, I couldn't have stopped her."
Chen Baozhu snatched her backpack, annoyed. "Geez. Ugh! Why do I hate Su Baixue so much every time I see her! Tian Ling was right—she's disgusting! She uses her good grades to flirt with everyone."
Sun Shumin smirked. "What, seeing Su Yang come looking for her today made you uncomfortable?"
Tian Ling's eyes widened in surprise. "Yeah, Baozhu! No wonder you kept complaining to me and got my phone confiscated. What are you thinking? How could Su Yang compare to your brother? How could you like him?"
Chen Baozhu turned red with anger. "I don't like Su Yang! I just hate Su Baixue!"
Sun Shumin raised an eyebrow and said to Tian Ling, "See, you don't get it. Of course, big brother is great—he's just too far away for our Baozhu. But our Baozhu is a down-to-earth person."
Chen Baozhu pretended to hit Sun Shumin, and the two laughed, playfully slapping each other as they reconciled. They linked arms and walked out together.
Tian Ling hurried grabbed her backpack to follow. But after a few steps, she saw Chen Baozhu and Sun Shumin walking farther ahead without waiting for her. Thinking about her confiscated phone, she stopped in frustration.
But she only paused for two seconds. Remembering Chen Baozhu's wealth and generosity, she perked up and chased after them again. Last time, she had managed to get an extra ticket for Wei Yun's B-city concert, which earned her reacceptance into Chen Baozhu's circle. And with Wei Yun's recent new endorsement, there would be lucky draws coming up—she couldn't afford to offend Chen Baozhu. As for the phone, she could beg the teacher tomorrow and surely get it back.
*
When school let out, Su Baixue excitedly showed the gift she had received to Su Cui.
"Grandma, I got another gift! A Christmas gift."
Su Cui was organizing her study materials. On the bed were red, blue, and yellow swim floats, goggles, a one-piece swimsuit, nose clips and earplugs, plus some famous weapon magazines from this world: "Famous Guns," "Premium Gun Analysis," "Weapon Science Encyclopedia You Must Know," etc.
Seeing the Santa Claus Su Baixue presented to her, Su Cui nodded appreciatively and said happily for her, "Christmas is over, and our Baixue still got a gift. Not bad!"