Ruan Yu hurriedly left the cafeteria, fortunately, Teng Yi didn’t follow her out.

Back in her dorm room, she found herself covered in cold sweat. Her dizziness returned, and she lay down on her bed, frustrated at another afternoon where she couldn’t accomplish anything. Teng Yi’s jacket hung at her bedhead. She raised her hand to gently push the sleeve, then pushed it again. The jacket swung back and forth, the hanger making creaking sounds, and her heart grew restless.

Ruan Yu dozed off for a while until she was awakened by her phone ringing beside her pillow.

Looking at the long string of numbers on the screen, she remembered something and sat up in bed to answer the call.

It was a teacher from the school’s finance department, saying they were doing the accounts and discovered her tuition wasn’t fully paid, so they called to ask if she was having any difficulties.

The words were polite, but it was essentially a reminder to quickly pay the remaining fees.

Ruan Yu responded gently, and finally, thick-skinned, asked for another month’s time. She had paid most of the tuition at the start of the semester, and what remained wasn’t much. With one month, if she could find part-time work, she should be able to earn it back.

Though the finance teacher agreed, displeasure was evident in their voice. Understandably so – what should have been neat accounts now had her small outstanding amount, like an inconspicuous stain on an otherwise perfect garment. To others, it might seem easily washable, but for her, it was so difficult. Though not particularly hindering, it was still an irritation and would remain so for quite some time.

After hanging up, Ruan Yu broke into another cold sweat, her throat feeling drier and more painful. But she couldn’t worry about that now, instead opening a part-time job website, just wanting to quickly find replacement work – she didn’t want to go back to the Teng family.

Most online part-time jobs weren’t suitable; some required too much time, and others were too far away. As a student, her primary responsibility was still studying – she couldn’t sacrifice the watermelon for the sesame seeds. And in the evenings, she needed to return before the dormitory curfew, otherwise, she’d have nowhere to sleep.

Too many restrictions and limitations.

Finally, she found a server position at a restaurant carrying plates. The restaurant wasn’t far – checking the route, it was just two bus stops away. The hours weren’t long either; they only needed temporary help during evening peak hours.

Perfect.

Ruan Yu quickly got up, changed out of her wrinkled clothes, washed her face, and rushed to catch the bus at the North Gate. When she arrived at the restaurant, she saw two girls about her age walking out of the lobby, seemingly also there for interviews.

The restaurant manager met Ruan Yu, heard her purpose, looked her over, and apologetically told her all positions were filled.

Discouraged but helpless, Ruan Yu could only thank them and leave.

As she was leaving, she heard a server quietly ask the manager: “Don’t we still need one more person?”

“Look at how pale she is, she doesn’t even look healthy.”

“…”

The door closed, leaving all voices behind.

Ruan Yu privately contemplated whether to go back and try again, to tell the manager she just had a cold, but then thought they certainly wouldn’t want to wait for her to recover.

Autumn winds swept through the streets. She tightened her jacket and dragged her heavy feet back.

By the time she returned to school, it was already dark.

She didn’t go to the cafeteria for dinner – that bowl of mixed noodles from lunch seemed to still sit heavily in her stomach, making her uncomfortable. Even thinking about the taste made her feel unwell.

Past the cafeteria was the girls’ dormitory building.

Before she reached the entrance, she caught a glimpse of a tall figure under the streetlight in the distance.