Sunday morning.

The sun rose gradually in the east, casting a golden light across half the bed.

Xu Xing first went to the living room to grab the electric kettle and boil some water, then turned and went into the bathroom to wash up. Before long, his parents were up as well.

The Xu family’s weekends always started at 7:00 AM. Xu’s mom would head out early to buy groceries, Xu’s dad went for his morning exercise, and Xu Xing stayed home to study—the only family member who liked to sleep in, Xu Yin, wasn’t home, making the three of them quite harmonious.

Xu Xing, biting into an apple, sat at his desk, organizing the test papers from various subjects. He glanced at the phone that had been face-down on his desk all night and picked it up to check. A few WeChat messages, mostly just Lu Che’s aimless complaints, with the last one sent at 12:05 AM: “Goodnight.”

Xu Xing rubbed his temples, casually setting the phone aside, and started working on his papers.

By late morning, Xu Xing put down his pen, grabbed his phone, and stepped out onto the balcony for some fresh air. After some thought, he sent Lu Che a brief message: “Morning.”

Ignoring someone for half a day wasn’t very polite, after all.

Xu Xing unmuted his phone and returned to his bedroom, tossing the phone onto the foot of his bed before wandering into the living room and then the kitchen to check out what was for lunch.

“Xu Xing,” his dad called from the living room.

Xu Xing came out with chopsticks and spoons to set the table, asking, “What’s up?”

His dad, flipping through a newspaper without looking up, said, “Your phone’s been ringing non-stop, go check it.”

The door to Xu Xing’s room was open, and sure enough, the phone had been going off with a series of “ding ding ding” notifications.

Xu Xing went back to grab his phone and saw that Lu Che had sent him pictures of the school cafeteria—only two out of a dozen stalls were open.

Lu Che: “Class monitor, here’s a glimpse of my miserable Sunday staying on campus.”

Then, Lu Che sent a few more pictures of the cafeteria’s buffet section—the selection was severely limited, and the quality wasn’t great.

Lu Che: “You must really feel bad for me, probably want to invite me over to your house, huh?”

Xu Xing scoffed, about to reply that he didn’t feel bad and wasn’t going to invite him, but then reconsidered. He took his phone to the dining room, snapped a picture of the table full of delicious, beautifully plated dishes, and sent it to Lu Che, adding: “Too busy to pity you.”

Xu Xing lowered the phone’s volume and left it behind to join his parents in the living room for lunch. His mom asked, “Who was messaging you? Anything important?”

Xu Xing sat down at the table, scooping some soup and casually replied, “Nothing much, just Lu Che chatting away, complaining about how the school cafeteria is ‘inhumane’ on Sundays, with only two stalls open. But obviously, there aren’t many students staying on campus on Sundays. The cafeteria’s just trying to avoid waste, it makes sense.”

Hearing this, Xu’s dad thought of his older daughter and said, “Your sister didn’t come home on Sundays either, said she stayed at school to study. She probably wasn’t eating well, either.”

Xu’s mom, feeling bad after hearing that, said, “Xu Xing, why don’t we invite Lu Che over for lunch sometime? The poor kid seems to have it rough.”

Xu Xing nearly choked on his food and replied dismissively, “What’s so pitiful about it? It’s just one extra day of cafeteria food a week. A tough environment builds character, no big deal.”

Xu’s dad and mom, worried about their daughter, took his words to heart. From their perspective as parents, Xu Xing’s comment about Lu Che seemed like he was indirectly saying Xu Yin deserved to suffer a bit.

His dad put down his chopsticks, frowned, and said sternly, “Your sister is serious about her studies because she has clear goals and is willing to work hard for them. You should be learning from her, not mocking other people’s efforts with that careless attitude.”

“…”

Xu Xing quickly realized the point his parents had latched onto and hastily explained, “No, no, I wasn’t talking about my sister! I was talking about Lu Che just now…”

Xu’s dad grew even angrier at Xu Xing’s response: “So, you think it’s okay to mock someone else’s hard work? What’s wrong with you today? You need to seriously reflect on your behavior.”

Xu Xing: “…”

Xu’s mom, seeing that Xu’s dad had said enough, stepped in to ease the situation, saying, “Alright, alright, let’s eat. Once Xu Xing realizes his mistake, he’ll correct it. Next week when your dad picks you up, ask Lu Che if he wants to come over for a meal. Your dad and I would be happy to have him, got it?”

“…”

Xu Xing bit his spoon and nodded obediently.

But inside, his thoughts were raging like a storm—What on earth is going on? How did it suddenly turn into my parents pressuring me to invite Lu Che to our house for dinner? This is insane!

It wasn’t that Xu Xing was stingy about offering a meal, but he knew that if he invited Lu Che over for dinner on Saturday, his parents would definitely suggest that Lu Che stay overnight.

Overnight!

Xu Xing couldn’t handle the thought of that word.

He would much rather have Lu Che just take a cab over for dinner tonight instead—

But then again, if Lu Che went to the trouble of taking a cab, why wouldn’t they just go to a restaurant instead? Why specifically come to his house?

After finishing his meal, Xu Xing sat at his desk, resting his chin on the table, gloomily staring at the string of complaints Lu Che had sent him, including some typical internet jokes like “You don’t love me anymore.”

Xu Xing hesitated for a while before tossing his phone aside and deciding not to respond.

Around 4:00 PM.

Xu Xing was about to head to the nearby park for a run when he suddenly remembered that he had brought back the sports clothes he lent to Lu Che last week, but he had forgotten to wash them.

Xu Xing pulled out the sports clothes from his bag and, with a deliberately picky attitude, inspected them thoroughly. Surprisingly, he found that Lu Che had actually washed them pretty well. Of course, the clothes were already clean to begin with, and it wasn’t like Lu Che had spent the day rolling around in mud.

Xu Xing hesitated for a moment, then took off his own clothes and changed into the sportswear.

Wearing the sports clothes, even though they were his, Xu Xing felt a bit uncomfortable.

He tugged at the collar, lowering his head to sniff the fabric—it had a faint fragrance. It was the same scent Xu Xing always noticed whenever Lu Che got close to him.

Xu Xing wrinkled his nose, shook off his thoughts, and headed out the door.

His mom, who was sitting at the dining table picking through some bird’s nest, called out when she heard him leaving, “Xu Xing, could you grab a bag of rock sugar on your way back?”

Xu Xing, putting on his running shoes by the entrance, replied, “Sure.”

After running a lap around the park, Xu Xing made a detour to a nearby supermarket to buy the bag of rock sugar. While waiting at the traffic light, he happened to catch a glimpse of Liu Peilian in the crowd—she was easy to spot because she still had a red string hanging from her wrist.

Xu Xing and Liu Peilian passed each other briefly, soon heading in opposite directions.

But Liu Peilian didn’t see Xu Xing, and Xu Xing didn’t have time to greet her. However, he did notice that her eyes looked red.

Monday.

During break time, Xu Xing went to the office to get a list from the homeroom teacher. Coincidentally, he saw Liu Peilian walking out of the office.

Xu Xing immediately noticed that the red string around her wrist had faded. It was no longer vibrant and bright; instead, it looked pale, like it had fallen ill and was barely holding on.

Only one side of the office door was open. Xu Xing stepped aside to let her pass, and Liu Peilian smiled, saying, “Thanks, class monitor.”

Her words and expression seemed the same as always.

Xu Xing nodded in acknowledgment and went in to get the list. The homeroom teacher then asked, “Class monitor, do you know what’s going on between Peilian and Meng Jiao? Peilian just told me she wants to move her desk to sit by the podium.”

In other classes, some students had moved their desks to the front or by the water cooler. But in Xu Xing’s class, the number of boys and girls was perfectly balanced. If Liu Peilian moved to the front, Huang Mengjiao would be left sitting alone—and that gentle, shy girl would definitely not want to be by herself.

Clearly, something had happened between the two, and it wasn’t as simple as Peilian saying she wanted to focus on her studies.

Xu Xing shook his head after hearing this.

When he returned to the classroom, his eyes immediately landed on Liu Peilian. She was already packing up her things, dragging her heavy desk through the narrow aisle, struggling on her own.

A group of students stood by, watching—boys and girls alike, including the girls from Liu Peilian’s dorm.

Tang Mian stood at her desk, biting her lip, hesitant.

Xu Xing called out to her from behind, “Tang Mian.”

She turned around at his voice, and they walked outside together.

Xu Xing asked her, “Do you know what’s going on between Peilian and the others?”

Tang Mian hesitated and said, “I heard from the girls in her dorm last night that Peilian stayed on campus on Sunday and smashed all of Huang Mengjiao’s stuff.”

“…”

Xu Xing was speechless. “Did anyone witness it?”

Tang Mian quickly shook her head, saying, “No, but Peilian’s alibi got exposed. I went to their dorm last night and saw that Mengjiao’s skincare products, the ones she kept on her shelf, were almost all broken…”

That pile of skincare products would cost a few thousand yuan, even at half price.

“…”

Xu Xing wanted to comment on how there couldn’t be that much hatred between girls, but as he looked into the classroom, he noticed that the red glow from Liu Peilian’s wrist string had dimmed significantly. It flickered weakly, like a candle barely holding on in the wind.

He then glanced over at Huang Mengjiao and Lin Peisong, noticing that Lin’s eyes were only on Huang Mengjiao. He gently patted her thin back, comforting her in a soft voice.

Xu Xing recalled the moment he saw Liu Peilian yesterday evening, her red eyes crossing the road alone.

This bit of gossip was spreading like wildfire in Class 7. Some whispered about Huang Mengjiao’s character, believing that someone like Liu Peilian would never stir up trouble on purpose. Others speculated that the two girls had fallen out over jealousy—after all, it was obvious to outsiders that Lin Peisong had been entangled with both girls for some time now, even if the involved parties thought they had kept their feelings hidden.

They didn’t realize that love, no matter how hard you try to suppress it, will always leak out in the form of tears.

Lunch break.

A few students remained scattered around the classroom, some resting their heads on desks. Xu Xing finished his homework and went to the front of the room to fill up his water bottle. Liu Peilian, who had been napping by the podium, had just woken up.

Xu Xing noticed her red eyes and wasn’t sure if it was from rubbing them or from crying in secret.

He hesitated, unsure of what to say to her, but eventually just smiled softly.

There were plenty of things he could have said, like asking her why she didn’t rest in the dorm. But he knew that if she went back to the dorm, she’d only be met with cold stares. How could she sleep well under those conditions?

Liu Peilian returned his smile, but she looked exhausted, as if even smiling took all her effort. Her smile was so bitter it almost seemed like she was about to cry.

At that moment, someone walked in through the front door.

Xu Xing glanced over—it was Lin Peisong.

Lin Peisong walked straight to the podium and said, “Peilian, can we talk? I want to ask you something…”

The boy’s voice carried a hint of hesitation, as if he was trying to keep up appearances and speak to Liu Peilian like he used to. But he didn’t realize his brow was slightly furrowed.

Liu Peilian looked up, her voice hoarse, and said, “I really don’t like you. You don’t have to ask.”

“…”

What Lin Peisong had wanted to ask was exactly that: Do you like me?

He had always seen Liu Peilian as just a good friend, never imagining that she might like him.

When Lin Peisong got his answer, he let out a visible sigh of relief.

---

Xu Xing stood nearby and saw with his own eyes that the red thread at Liu Peilan’s heart twisted into a knot because of her words “I don’t like you.” From the glowing shape of the red thread, it seemed to be choking her heart. Meanwhile, the red thread wrapped around Lin Peisang’s ankle began to twist and struggle, yearning for liberation but seemingly nailed down under a sharp sword, unable to escape.

Lin Peisang stood in front of Liu Peilan and asked with concern, “But what happened yesterday? I believe there must have been a misunderstanding between you and Meng Jiao…”

The more the red thread around Lin Peisang’s ankle twisted, the tighter the red thread at Liu Peilan’s heart constricted—Xu Xing suddenly recalled the unforgettable pain he felt when he first tried to break the red thread, which had made him curl up on the ground in agony.

It hurt as if it were crushing his heart.

Liu Peilan’s face turned pale.

The struggling red thread twisted down to Xu Xing’s feet, as if it were softly lamenting, pleading in agony. Xu Xing couldn’t bear to watch any longer, so he walked over silently and grabbed the red thread wrapped around Lin Peisang’s ankle.

He had mentally prepared himself for the red thread to be unbreakable.

But to his surprise, when he pulled, the red thread around Lin Peisang’s ankle easily broke free.

The red thread slipped from Xu Xing’s hand, and the violent tugging stopped. Its movements became gentle and slow, like a wounded patient limping back, finally retreating back to Liu Peilan’s heart.

The red thread could no longer move freely; it twisted into a large lump, piled up above her heart.

It might be suffocating, but it was still better than the agonizing constriction.

Xu Xing, still bent over, picked up a small piece of chalk from the ground and placed it in the chalk box. He said to Lin Peisang, “Let Peilan rest for a bit.”

Lin Peisang turned to look at Xu Xing, who then patted him on the shoulder.

Liu Peilan lay on the desk, the strangling pain abruptly stopping, leaving her covered in cold sweat.