Chapter 007

The rain continued until noon on Saturday.

Zhu Qing lay on the second-floor windowsill and looked out. Seeing that none of the students below had an umbrella and that the rain had indeed stopped, she signaled He Ye and Wu Yuanyuan to put their umbrellas away.

After wasting some time, the three girls quickened their pace and rushed to the cafeteria.

Due to the distance between the teaching buildings, senior high school students usually enter the cafeteria before the other grades.

The cafeteria has three floors. Except for the small cafeteria on the third floor, where you can order food, the food on the second floor is generally considered to be better.

Zhu Qing, though petite, walked quickly. She didn’t even look at the person in front of her, keeping her head down as she rushed up the stairs.

With a “bang,” someone was bumped into.

Zhu Qing covered her forehead and looked up at Zhou Xiangming’s smirk. “You’re so hungry you didn’t have breakfast?”

Zhu Qing glared at him. “What do you care!”

She then pushed Zhou Xiangming, who was deliberately blocking the way, to the side.

With the gap made, Zhu Qing passed first, and Wu Yuanyuan pulled He Ye through as well.

As they passed, He Ye felt her ponytail being flicked lightly and glared at Zhou Xiangming in annoyance.

Zhou Xiangming had already turned his head away, pretending it was not his doing.

After dinner, He Ye and the two other girls joined a small group of girls from their class.

He Ye had just taken a couple of bites when she saw Zhou Xiangming approaching the table opposite them with Lu Jin carrying a tray.

Seeing the two of them looking over, He Ye quickly turned away.

Zhu Qing whispered, “Why does a top student like Lu Jin follow Zhou Xiangming every day? He’s almost been late several times because of him.”

Wu Yuanyuan replied, “Don’t you think you two are quite similar? One is number 16 in the class, and the other is number 17, but your best friends are both in the top five.”

Zhu Qing immediately looked as if she had bitten into a hot pepper and stared at Zhou Xiangming even more unhappily.

Zhou Xiangming raised his chin challengingly. “Why are you always staring at me? You have to pay for eating with me—five dollars a meal.”

Zhu Qing nearly rolled her eyes. “There’s a mirror in the bathroom; you should look at yourself more often!”

Zhou Xiangming replied, “You seem to be He Ye’s good friend, but why aren’t you as cute as she is?”

Zhu Qing pointed at Lu Jin and said, “You’re not as pleasant to look at as Lu Jin.”

Zhou Xiangming retorted, “No matter how good she looks, she’s already taken. Stop trying to get old, Lu.”

His offhand remark caused the students around him to look at Lu Jin.

Zhu Qing subconsciously glanced at He Ye. Seeing that He Ye was focused on eating, she asked Lu Jin for confirmation, “Do you have a girlfriend?”

Lu Jin replied calmly, “No.”

Zhou Xiangming seemed about to say something else but winced from a pain in his foot. His mouth twitched as he quickly stuffed his mouth with braised pork to avoid saying anything further.

After a moment, Lu Jin looked at He Ye.

She was chatting with Zhu Qing, her eyes clear and a smile on her lips.

It was evident that she avoided topics related to ambiguity.

There was no evening self-study on Saturdays, and Sunday was a full day off. However, boarding students had to return to the dormitory in the evening.

Zhu Qing had already packed the clothes she needed to take home for washing into her schoolbag. After school, she happily took He Ye’s arm and walked toward the school gate. “Do you want to go out and play tomorrow?”

He Ye asked, “Do you have time? You’ll definitely sleep until noon and come back to school in the evening. That leaves you with just one afternoon free. What can you do?”

“We go hiking every weekend morning. Do you want to join us?”

A familiar male voice interrupted from behind.

Recognizing who it was, He Ye didn’t even turn around.

Zhu Qing glanced at Zhou Xiangming, then at Lu Jin, who was two steps behind, and asked suspiciously, “Why did you invite us?”

Zhou Xiangming replied, “We’re all classmates. It’s more lively with more people. You don’t know that Lu Jin is too quiet. Climbing with him isn’t much fun.”

Zhu Qing asked, “Why do you want to climb with him so reluctantly?”

Zhou Xiangming said, “Of course, it’s for physical exercise. I don’t want to lose my abdominal muscles by sitting in the classroom every day.”

Zhu Qing’s eyes moved downward, and her expression clearly conveyed one question: Do you even have any?

Zhou Xiangming was undeterred and lifted up his shirt.

Zhu Qing covered her face and turned her head so quickly that she likely didn’t see anything.

Zhou Xiangming chuckled and said, “So, how about it? Do you want to join us? I’ll treat you to a meal after we climb the mountain.”

Zhu Qing didn’t care about the meal; she was more concerned with the “fate” of being good sisters!

“Do you want to go?” she asked in a low voice.

He Ye shook her head.

If she went, Zhu Qing would likely consider her and Lu Jin “mutual lovers.”

Zhou Xiangming looked at Lu Jin with regret. He had really tried his best to assist!

Lu Jin remained indifferent.

Zhu Qing was waiting for the bus. He Ye glanced at the two boys who chose to walk back to their community and accompanied Zhu Qing to the platform.

“You’re still taking the bus for such a short distance?” Zhu Qing asked.

“The bus is faster,” He Ye replied.

After a while, Zhu Qing’s bus arrived first. She waved to He Ye and squeezed in with her bulging schoolbag on her back.

He Ye was apprehensive about the rush-hour bus. After hesitating for a moment, she walked straight ahead.

The boys, with their long legs, walked quickly, so He Ye didn’t see Lu Jin and the others. When she arrived at the community, she went to the supermarket to find her father first.

“You’re back. How come you took the bus slower than Xiao Lu and the others?” He Yong asked casually while sitting at the cashier counter.

He Ye was surprised. “Have they been to the supermarket?”

He Yong replied, “Yes, they just went for a while and bought four bottles of water and some snacks. They mentioned going hiking tomorrow morning. It’s a good habit. You’re too much of a homebody. You should move around more.”

He Ye muttered quietly, “The mountains are full of mosquitoes. I won’t go. Have you had dinner? If not, I’ll go buy some vegetables and cook at home.”

“No, I know you got out of school early today,” He Yong said.

He Ye went to the farmers’ market in the next community.

She intended to buy food for today and tomorrow. While bending over to choose fish in front of a store, someone suddenly tapped her schoolbag.

He Ye turned around and saw the two boys she had deliberately avoided earlier. They were both wearing white shirts, clean and tidy, which seemed out of place in the slightly chaotic farmers’ market.

He Ye glanced at what they were carrying.

Lu Jin was holding a supermarket shopping bag in one hand and a bag of vegetables in the other, while Zhou Xiangming was empty-handed.

“Are you here to buy things too?” He Ye greeted awkwardly.

Zhou Xiangming replied, “I’m not buying anything. I just came with him. Do you know how to choose fish?”

He Ye nodded.

Lu Jin looked at the vegetables in her hand and asked, “Besides the fish, what else do you need to buy?”

He Ye replied, “Nothing.”

Lu Jin said, “Then let’s go back together.”

He Ye thought she couldn’t avoid this fate after all.

After taking the sea bass that the vendor had cleaned, He Ye walked over to the two boys.

Although the bass in the bag had been through some rough handling, it was still alive, shaking its head and tail.

Lu Jin offered, “Do you want me to carry it for you?”

He Ye declined, “No, it’s not heavy.”

Lu Jin hummed in acknowledgment.

Zhou Xiangming asked curiously, “Lu Jin’s parents are on a business trip, so he cooks for himself. Why does your family need you to buy groceries? Doesn’t Uncle run the supermarket and Aunt work late?”

Seventeen-year-old He Ye still couldn’t answer this question naturally. She lowered her eyes and said, “My parents divorced a long time ago, and I always cook during the holidays.”

Her loneliness was hard to conceal.

Zhou Xiangming regretted asking and wanted to slap himself. He looked at Lu Jin for help.

Lu Jin commented, “I often cook for myself, but my cooking isn’t very good. How are your cooking skills?”

He Ye smiled, “They’re average. Just home-cooked dishes, nothing special.”

Zhou Xiangming suggested, “Why don’t you two have a cooking competition, and I’ll be the referee!”

He Ye glared at him.

The awkwardness passed.

After they parted ways in the community, Zhou Xiangming looked at He Ye’s receding figure and said to Lu Jin, “I was terrified just now. I was really afraid she would cry.”

Some girls are carefree and can joke without restraint, but He Ye is the sensitive and delicate type. If Lu Jin hadn’t had any interest in her, Zhou Xiangming probably would never have taken the initiative to interact with her.

Lu Jin made no comments on the matter.

_

Building 7, 1503.

Dad was at the supermarket, and the house was quiet. He Ye changed into slippers, hung up her schoolbag, and went to the kitchen with the ingredients.

While washing vegetables, some scattered memories surfaced.

The year her father had a car accident, she was six or seven years old and could remember it clearly.

The once tall and cheerful father now lies in bed all day, rarely talking or laughing. The bright and beautiful mother was very gentle at first but gradually became prone to temper and often quarreled with her father.

The following year, the couple officially divorced.

Mom didn’t ask for any property or anything else. She slept with her one last time and then left quietly before dawn.

Dad told her not to blame Mom, explaining that if anyone was to be blamed, it was his prolonged depression that had exhausted Mom’s patience.

He Ye didn’t blame anyone.

Sometimes she missed the home she had before the accident.

It was a rare day off, so He Ye did some laundry and cleaned the house. Surprisingly, she had a busy and fulfilling morning.

At noon, she brought lunch to her father and walked back with the lunch box after he finished eating.

When they arrived at Building 7, they saw Zhou Xiangming lying in front of the unit door, acting suspiciously, while Lu Jin stood calmly beside him with one hand in his pocket.

He Ye paused for a moment before continuing forward.

The boys heard footsteps and looked over.

Only then did He Ye realize that Zhou Xiangming was holding a bottle of purified water with the lid off. The bottle was half full and contained a bunch of brightly colored wildflowers.

Zhou Xiangming chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. “I may have said something wrong yesterday that made you upset. These flowers are what we found during our hike this morning. I’m giving them to you as an apology. It’s completely free, so don’t disdain it.”

He Ye was a bit flattered. “It’s okay, it’s nothing. There’s no need to apologize.”

Zhou Xiangming responded, “Anyway, I picked them all myself. Of course, if you don’t like them, I’ll just throw them away.”

He Ye looked at the flowers again. Among them were a red and yellow tiger daisy and a tender yellow large-flowered coreopsis. Both were beautiful, and it would be a pity to throw them away.

She smiled helplessly. “Forget it, just give them to me. But you really don’t have to take it to heart.”

Zhou Xiangming seemed relieved. Seeing He Ye looking at the bottle, he explained, “This is water from Lu Jin. He knew I wanted to use it to store the flowers, so he wiped and washed the mouth of the bottle several times to make sure it was clean.”

He Ye: “…”

Zhou Xiangming winked frantically at Lu Jin.

Lu Jin then invited He Ye, “How about playing badminton at the community court at four o’clock this afternoon? Join us? Playing badminton regularly is good for your eyes too.”

He Ye, whose eyesight was 1.5, thought, “…”

Zhou Xiangming said, “We’re friends, right? Why do I feel like you still treat us like strangers?”

He Ye bit her lip slightly.

When it comes to being friends, are there different standards for boys and girls?

However, the two of them had sent flowers and invited her to play, all to make up for the problem Zhou Xiangming had caused last night.

“Okay, fine. Just know that I’m not very good at playing,” she said.

“It’s okay. The loser has to eat popsicles,” Zhou Xiangming added.