7. She’s Not My Friend.

Zhong Ling’s question nearly made Qin Zhaoyi drop her phone, and her eyelids trembled along with it. It wasn’t a good sign.

After a long silence, Qin Zhaoyi denied, “Nonsense.”

Zhong Ling’s intonation elongated, asking mysteriously, “Is it?”

“Otherwise?” Qin Zhaoyi retorted, “I’ve only been away from Jiayi for two days. Who would I be in a relationship with?”

Zhong Ling replied, “Mhm, who knows?”

Qin Zhaoyi: “…”

Qin Zhaoyi always felt like her inner secrets were being exposed, and the things she had been trying to hide these past two days seemed to be surfacing. They were even starting to sprout.

“If you say it like that, you obviously don’t believe me,” Qin Zhaoyi said, “Then believe whatever you want.”

Her voice was cold and indifferent, completely different from the slightly raised tone when she answered the call.

Zhong Ling quickly became alert on the other end, “Zhaoyi, what’s wrong? Are you angry?”

“No,” Qin Zhaoyi denied, “It’s not worth getting upset over such a small matter.”

Although she said it wasn’t worth it, after more than ten years of being with her, Zhong Ling had already figured out her temperament. She knew that something was bothering her.

Zhong Ling then changed the topic with a smile, “I just wanted to ask where you are. I have a holiday coming up and I thought about going on vacation.”

Qin Zhaoyi declined, “You go on your vacation. Why do you want to find me?”

Zhong Ling replied, “Of course, I want to hang out with you.”

Qin Zhaoyi: “…I don’t want to.”

Qin Zhaoyi was always straightforward. “I go out alone to have some quiet time. Don’t come.”

Zhong Ling was taken aback and after a moment, softly saying, “Is it another writer’s block?”

“No,” Qin Zhaoyi hesitated for a moment, then said in a low voice, “It probably isn’t a writer’s block.”

A writer’s block meant being unable to write anything, but Qin Zhaoyi was different. Even now, sitting in this room, she still had inspiration and creativity. It just wasn’t in line with the market.

However, she wanted to be in sync with the market and tell others that she wasn’t incapable of writing about emotions.

Qin Zhaoyi had never felt so frustrated about anything before.

After a while, she said slowly, “I need to think about whether I should change my path.”

Zhong Ling listened for a long time and couldn’t find comforting words to say.

Qin Zhaoyi didn’t expect comfort from others; she knew she was a bit competitive, but she didn’t think it was a bad thing. She wanted what she wanted, and she aimed to be the best at what she did. That’s how Qin Zhaoyi reached her current level.

However, she hadn’t expected to be unsatisfied with her current situation.

“Do you want to stop writing?” Zhong Ling asked.

The mention of these two words made Qin Zhaoyi’s heart skip a beat, but she hesitated and said, “Maybe.”

If she couldn’t find an answer within three months, she would face the dissolution of her studio and announce her retirement.

“Sicily” shouldn’t shine the brightest when she was at the height of her career and have to compromise her principles when she was struggling.

Qin Zhaoyi shivered at the thought of all these things and didn’t even notice when Zhong Ling hung up the phone.

But once Zhong Ling hung up, Qin Zhaoyi didn’t bother calling back. She put her phone away and walked out of the house.

The afternoon sun was warm, and standing on the steps of Luo Yue’s house, she could see the coastline in the distance. She stood there in a daze.

Her thoughts were in disarray, so she sent a few more messages to her grandmother and made a phone call. Still, there was no response.

When it came to contacting her grandmother, Qin Zhaoyi had an unusually high level of patience.

However, Qin Zhaoyi had made a decision. If she couldn’t contact her grandmother within three days, she would leave the Moon Island.

Coming to the Moon Island had been an impulsive decision, hoping to meet her grandmother and discuss her current predicament with her. She hoped that her elderly grandmother could provide some guidance to her in her confusion.

But she hadn’t expected to be unable to contact her.

In that case, she would have to find the answers on her own.

She felt that the answers were not on Moon Island.

As for where they might be, she would probably have to visit several places to find out.

Qin Zhaoyi had always felt like she had a lack of romantic feelings, never experiencing a moment of infatuation.

When she was in middle school, she watched girl groups with Zhong Ling. She would only glance casually and then bury herself in a book.

Her reading materials were quite diverse, mostly horror, supernatural, and mystery novels. Agatha Christie’s books were nearly worn out from her reading.

It was well-known that mystery novels didn’t feature real romantic couples.

Zhong Ling thought she didn’t like girl groups, so the next year, she reluctantly watched boy groups with her.

Qin Zhaoyi, however, furrowed her brows and said, “Is this a comedy show or something?”

Zhong Ling: “…”

Zhong Ling thought she was the funny one.

Qin Zhaoyi didn’t argue with her about that.

While others were busy dating during their college years, one girl in her dormitory broke up and got back together with her boyfriend seven or eight times. Every time they broke up, she would cry all night.

Once, Qin Zhaoyi was rushing to meet a deadline, and the girl’s crying was so annoying that she got into an argument with her. She even scolded her boyfriend.

So, in her sophomore year, Qin Zhaoyi moved out of the dormitory.

Since then, she had become even more reluctant to interact with people.

She rarely went to school, except for attending classes and meetings.

Just as Qin Zhaoyi’s thoughts were scattered, her phone suddenly chimed with a new message.

There was a new message.

Qin Zhaoyi collected her thoughts and saw that it was a message from Zhong Ling.

They had a unique understanding between them: for unimportant matters, they used WeChat, for more important matters, they sent text messages, and for the most important matters, they wrote letters.

【Z0: The most beautiful you I’ve ever seen is the you writing on paper, the you typing rapidly on your computer. Sometimes when I hear the sound of you typing on the keyboard, it ignites my fighting spirit.

Let me tell you a secret: back in high school, I only wanted to goof off because you worked too hard and were too outstanding. I didn’t want to drag you down, which is why I got into the film academy. I wanted to become a director, hoping that someday I could film your works.

We’ve known each other for so many years, and I won’t get sentimental. I just want to say, don’t give up easily. Have fun and take your time to think. If you find a towering mountain in front of you that you can’t cross, then let’s just lie down at the foot of the mountain.

After all, Sicily has already become an era. —Zhong Ling】

Zhong Ling’s words were sincere.

Reading this message made Qin Zhaoyi feel a kind of sadness that she couldn’t describe.

She could only continue to stare at the coastline.

Not long after, Zhong Ling sent a WeChat message, not mentioning the text message she had just sent but asking: 【Send me your address.】

Qin Zhaoyi thought she hadn’t given up yet and replied: 【Don’t come to find me.】

Zhong Ling: 【… I bought you a gift and I’m going to send it to you.】

Qin Zhaoyi: 【Send it later.】

Zhong Ling: 【No. Give me your mailing address, and I promise not to come find you.】

Qin Zhaoyi: 【…】

Unable to resist Zhong Ling’s persistence, Qin Zhaoyi had to tell the truth: 【I’m on a remote and desolate island. Express delivery probably won’t work.】

Zhong Ling: 【You tell me, and I’ll try placing an order.】

Worried that Zhong Ling might suddenly come looking for her, Qin Zhaoyi also warned her: 【If you come looking for me, we’re done.】

Zhong Ling: 【Mua! Can I still use my notebook for next year’s planning? Since you’re not here, I won’t take a vacation. I’ll keep working.】

Qin Zhaoyi: 【Working so hard?】

Zhong Ling: 【What else can I do? You’ve started already, so I have to work hard too. If you end up on the streets someday, I can at least give you some alms.】

Qin Zhaoyi: 【… Get lost.】

Longtime friends don’t need too much comforting.

However, within a few minutes, Zhong Ling suddenly sent a message: 【Damn! The place you’re staying is the registered address of my ex-girlfriend.】

Qin Zhaoyi: 【?】

After a few moments of silence, Qin Zhaoyi asked: 【Is it the girl from the police school?】

Zhong Ling: 【…Who else could it be? I only dated that one.】

Qin Zhaoyi: 【Oh, happy breakup.】

On Zhong Ling’s end, there was a long pause with “the other person is typing,” and eventually, she sent an emoji [Go die.jpg].

---

Moon Island Elementary School was located on the east side of Moon Island, precisely in the direction of the sunrise.

In the afternoon, Luo Yue had two classes, English and physical education.

As the homeroom teacher, she was responsible for the children’s music, physical education, and art classes.

This year marked Luo Yue’s fourth year of working at Moon Island Elementary School, where education was not well-developed. She and Cheng Shiyu were among the few miracles there.

As class ended, the children filed out of the classroom. Luo Yue arranged their chairs neatly, preventing them from bumping into each other before going outside.

As she stepped out of the classroom building, she bumped into Cheng Shiyu.

The girl in a police uniform looked full of spirit. Her eyes were sharp, her posture upright, and she was holding a small bean sprout.

Luo Yue recognized the child; he was from her class.

“Big sister Luo,” Cheng Shiyu let go of his hand, and the little bean sprout immediately hid behind Luo Yue, looking scared.

“What’s wrong?” Luo Yue asked. “Why did he skip school today?”

“This guy wanted to take a boat and leave Moon Island,” Cheng Shiyu gestured “firing a gun” with her hand. “He sneaked onto the ship and hid in the warehouse. It was only when Lizi ge went to get something that he was discovered.”

Luo Yue glanced at the cowering little bean sprout behind her and gently patted his head to reassure him. “Go and play with your classmates.”

The little boy seemed even more scared, and his sparkling eyes blinked as if to say, “Will you let me off the hook?”

“After school, wait for me,” Luo Yue said gently.

The little boy replied dejectedly, “Okay.”

After he walked away, Cheng Shiyu pressed her temples. “Why do kids nowadays have such big ideas? They just run away as they please.”

“He has special circumstances,” Luo Yue said. “You know that.”

Cheng Shiyu looked even more worried. “But there are more than just him, there are other left-behind children on this island.”

“He’s close to his parents,” Luo Yue said. “Granny Qi has a bad temper, and he doesn’t want to stay here.”

Cheng Shiyu sighed. “But…”

“I’ll take a day off another time and talk to Granny Qi,” Cheng Shiyu said. “These kids are going through their rebellious phase ahead of time.”

Luo Yue chuckled. “Aren’t you afraid of being scolded along with me?”

“Ha,” Cheng Shiyu straightened her back. “I am an honored People’s Policeman.”

After saying that, she hurried to the door and brought down a box from the police car. “Here, your delivery.”

Luo Yue took it and checked the weight. It was sent by Jiayi, and it was quite heavy.

Cheng Shiyu, curious, glanced over but didn’t dare to look too obvious, but she could guess who it was from.

“Is it your dad again?” Cheng Shiyu asked.

Luo Yue made a soft sound of agreement, hugging the box and heading back.

Cheng Shiyu noticed that Luo Yue didn’t seem very excited and tried to change the topic. “By the way, I saw a girl on your doorstep just now. Do you have a friend visiting?”

Luo Yue was about to explain, but Cheng Shiyu continued, “She’s quite pretty but seems a bit cold.”

Luo Yue exclaimed in surprise, “Really?”

Cheng Shiyu nodded. “But she looked like she was feeling down, just staring at the sea.”

“Oh,” Luo Yue denied, “She’s not my friend.”

“Then who is she?”

Luo Yue hesitated for a moment. “A girl I found by the beach.”

Just as she finished speaking, she heard a clear and cold voice from behind her. “Luo Yue.”

Luo Yue’s back stiffened, and she turned around slowly. She saw Qin Zhaoyi standing not far away, wearing a thin black shirt.