Ruan Yu hurried inside. As she entered, her backpack swung in a small arc, brushing against Tang Yi’s arm. She glanced at him and held her bag closer.

Tang Yi showed no reaction and closed the door.

“Go straight upstairs. That kid is playing games in his room,” he walked to the bar counter and poured himself a glass of water.

Ruan Yu nodded and headed upstairs.

Tang Hao’s door was slightly ajar. She knocked gently.

“Who is it?”

So he was indeed home, deliberately pretending not to hear her knocking, wasting so much of her time.

Ruan Yu felt irritated.

“Ruan Yu.”

“Come in,” this time he responded promptly.

Ruan Yu pushed the door open silently. The door was heavy, and as she applied a bit more force, a basin of water suddenly tipped down from above, drenching her completely before she could react.

The basin clattered to the ground with a bang, and time seemed to freeze.

Then came an explosive burst of laughter.

“Hahahahaha…”

Tang Hao, sitting on the bed, doubled over with laughter while holding up his phone to record a short video for Douyin.

In an instant, feelings of humiliation, rage, and shame overwhelmed Ruan Yu. She felt her dignity falling to the ground along with the water dripping from her clothes.

Her eyes stung with tears, but she held them back, not wanting to appear more pathetic.

Tang Yi rushed upstairs at the sound, unprepared for the scene before him.

The girl stood at Tang Hao’s doorway, soaked from head to toe. Her ponytail clung to her neck, a thin black hair tie barely holding onto her messy hair ends. Her white shirt, drenched with water, had become almost transparent, the shape of her bra visible beneath… She bit her lower lip, hands clenched into fists at her sides, her whole body trembling – perhaps from cold, perhaps from something else.

“Tang Hao! What madness are you up to now!”

Tang Yi shouted, taking off his jacket and draping it over Ruan Yu.

“Are you alright?” he asked her.

Ruan Yu didn’t answer. Head down, she turned and walked away quickly.

“Wait,” Tang Yi tried to grab her, but she forcefully shook off his hand.

Her retreating figure was stubborn and thin, that dark jacket draped over her shoulders like a heavy burden that might crush her at any moment.

Tang Yi took a deep breath. Instead of immediately chasing after her, he strode toward Tang Hao on the bed. Tang Hao instinctively tried to hide his phone, but Tang Yi snatched it away.

“Brother…”

Without a word, Tang Yi deleted the recently recorded video, threw the phone back at Tang Hao, and ran downstairs.

In the living room, a long trail of water marked the floor, along with that black hair tie – a thin, fragile streak of black particularly noticeable against the white tiles.

Tang Yi picked up the hair tie and rushed out the door.

Dusk had fallen, darkness settling in unnoticed. The wind carried early autumn’s chill in waves.

He looked around but saw no sign of Ruan Yu, so he ran toward the community entrance.

Not seeing her along the way, Tang Yi asked the gate guard, who pointed to the bus stop at the intersection, saying she’d gone that way.

When Tang Yi reached the bus stop, route 527 was just pulling away.

He saw Ruan Yu in the bus compartment, standing with her back to him, still wearing his jacket, standing perfectly straight.

There were many empty seats in the compartment, but she didn’t sit down. She just stood there.