Zhou Keke burst out laughing and said: [Brother, that’s what you focus on!]

Zhou Keke: [When are you finally! Going to! Treat me to a meal!]

Qiu Xing had driven to his destination and replied: [Let me know next time you come home.]

Zhou Keke: [Don’t try to fool me, Yiran is about to graduate! I still haven’t had that meal you owe me!]

It was indeed a bit unreasonable. Qiu Xing promised once more, and only then was Zhou Keke satisfied.

After discussing the meal, Zhou Keke circled back to gossip: [But I don’t approve of this young man. He doesn’t seem like a good match for Yiran.]

Qiu Xing glanced at the message but didn’t reply.

He had come out to pick something up and was talking to someone, so he had no time to respond. Besides, this topic was simply too boring for Qiu Xing; he couldn’t be bothered to comment.

He didn’t take it seriously at all—he didn’t believe it.

In the evening, after showering, Lin Yiran sat at her computer to work. The air conditioning in the dormitory was a bit too cold, so Lin Yiran draped a jacket over her shoulders.

Before starting work, Lin Yiran sat in her chair and first sent a message to Qiu Xing: [Qiu Xing?]

She always called his name before speaking, just like when she was with him in person, waiting for Qiu Xing to respond with an “mm” before continuing.

If Qiu Xing replied, it meant he had seen her message. If he didn’t reply, he was busy, and Lin Yiran wouldn’t send more messages.

Qiu Xing had been busy all afternoon, and then went out for dinner in the evening. He had just returned and had also just showered. Seeing her message, he replied: [Speak.]

Lin Yiran sat on the chair with her knees up, thinking about what happened during the day. She still felt embarrassed and quickly typed to Qiu Xing: [Today was so awkward.]

Lin Yiran: [We had a practical activity today, went out in groups for interviews, and I was grouped with a male classmate.]

Qiu Xing pretended he hadn’t seen the photo and replied: [Mm.]

Lin Yiran continued typing rapidly:

[We ended up wearing the same clothes, the same.]

People kept teasing us. Later, I borrowed Xinran’s sun protection coat with an umbrella exchange, which made it a bit better.]

[Such a hot and sunny afternoon.]

She didn’t mention that they were wearing the same shirt as Qiu Xing, nor did she say that she had the same shirt herself. Qiu Xing also pretended not to know.

Qiu Xing replied: [You weren’t wearing a skirt today?]

Lin Yiran: [No, I was worried it might be inconvenient while out.]

Qiu Xing exchanged a few casual messages with her. Today, Lin Yiran felt like sharing and wanted to talk with Qiu Xing. Qiu Xing thought to himself that she was still so honest—if something happened, she would tell the whole story without anyone even asking.

Qiu Xing said: [So what if you wore the same thing? Why worry about it?]

Lin Yiran replied: [People said they were a couple of outfits.]

Qiu Xing: [Let them say what they want.]

Lin Yiran immediately replied: [That won’t do.]

Before Qiu Xing could say anything more, she tapped lightly on her phone a few times and sent: [I have one already.]

What did she have?

Surely not a couple of outfits.

After this message, Qiu Xing didn’t respond, and Lin Yiran didn’t send anything else.

As the agreed-upon time drew closer, although Lin Yiran no longer brought it up directly, she would occasionally test Qiu Xing’s boundaries with slightly provocative comments like this.

She was like a child afraid of being abandoned at school by her parents—fearful of separation, lacking security. Compared to others, she had so very little.

Her reluctance to let go and her caution were quite obvious. In Qiu Xing’s eyes, she was just a little girl afraid of being left behind, who would cry if she was abandoned.

Qiu Xing did truly want to accompany her a while longer. He didn’t want to see her cry.

*

Mao Jun’s relationship prospect had ultimately fallen through; it didn’t work out.

The reason was that the girl’s father looked down on Mao Jun for not having a proper job, feeling that being a mechanic wasn’t respectable. When others asked what his son-in-law did for a living, he wouldn’t be able to answer proudly.

The girl’s mother didn’t say much, only that it was fine as long as they loved each other. But the girl herself probably had reservations too. Once her father tried to persuade her, she made up her mind. Their feelings were still shallow, so letting go wasn’t too difficult.

Mao Jun’s entire demeanor became dejected. His shoulders drooped as he worked day and night without rest.

“If she looked down on mechanics, she should have said so earlier. Isn’t this just wasting my feelings?” Mao Jun crawled out from under a car, his face and body smeared with grease, his hair a mess, as he went to fetch a part from the other side.

Qiu Xing handed him the part, having nothing much to offer as consolation.

“Besides, what’s wrong with being a mechanic? I make decent money fixing cars. Don’t we have college graduates at our factory too? Aren’t college graduates also working at repair shops? They can’t even fix cars as well as I can. Don’t I earn more than many college graduates?”

Mao Jun’s eyes and mouth drooped with sadness.

“Then just focus on making money,” Qiu Xing said.

“What’s the use of making more? No education, no good job,” Mao Jun said self-mockingly.

His pride was hurt, but there was nothing he could do about it. This was a foundation that couldn’t be fixed no matter how hard he worked or how much money he earned.

Qiu Xing couldn’t offer empty consolation, so he just said, “If you make more money, at least people might want you for that in the future. Otherwise, what else do you have going for you?”

“You’ve wounded me!” Mao Jun cried out, “Don’t I have any other good qualities?”

Qiu Xing laughed, and Xiao Zhang chimed in from the side: “Brother Qiu is talking without feeling the pain! He has such a beautiful girlfriend who attends a prestigious university! He doesn’t have to worry about finding someone. He’s just here making smug remarks!”

“What kind of person is he! Kick him out!” Mao Jun said angrily, “Get him out of here!”

Qiu Xing propped his arm on a stack of tires as he sat down, laughing as he said, “What can I say? I’ve got someone.”

Mao Jun threw a half-empty bottle of mineral water at him. Qiu Xing dodged by tilting his head. Just then, a phone call came in. Qiu Xing answered, his smile not yet faded, saying, “What is it?”

Qiu Xing’s tone when answering the phone startled Lin Yiran on the other end. She asked, “What are you laughing about?”

“Mao Mao got dumped,” Qiu Xing said.

Lin Yiran didn’t know whether to laugh or cry: “Why are you laughing if Mao Mao got dumped?”

Mao Jun, who was nearby and overheard, shouted: “He’s showing off that he has a girlfriend! Your boyfriend has no sympathy at all. Don’t be with him anymore—this man isn’t kind!”

Qiu Xing laughed again, and Lin Yiran was infected by his cheerfulness and laughed too.

“What’s up?” Qiu Xing asked Lin Yiran on the phone.

Lin Yiran remembered why she called and said, “Tell me the verification code. I sent you a message, but you didn’t reply. It’s for the account I registered using your phone before.”

Qiu Xing picked up his phone, looked at it, and read it to her.

“689745… verification failed.” Lin Yiran tried again, but it still didn’t work. “Qiu Xing?”

Qiu Xing checked again and corrected himself: “689475.”

“Look how stupid your girlfriend is, don’t be with her anymore!” Mao Jun said again. He was quite familiar with Lin Yiran and wasn’t afraid to joke around.

“I won’t. Why don’t you give some good advice?” Lin Yiran had successfully verified and was looking for information on the website while laughing and talking to Mao Jun, her attention divided. “My boy—”

She suddenly realized what she was saying and paused mid-sentence.

Qiu Xing seemed to be in a good mood today, with a smile still in his eyes.

Lin Yiran couldn’t just leave her sentence hanging, so she lowered her eyes and continued: “My boyfriend is very smart.”

Qiu Xing remained silent. Mao Jun let out an “aiyou” sound and said, “So annoying!”

Mao Jun stormed out with large strides. Qiu Xing asked Lin Yiran, “Have you eaten?”

Lin Yiran answered, “No, I’m not hungry.”

Qiu Xing said, “Go eat.”

Lin Yiran’s emotions were still lingering on the word “boyfriend” she had just uttered. She obediently said, “Oh, okay.”

“Go on,” Qiu Xing said again.

“Okay,” Lin Yiran’s voice was soft. “Shall I hang up now?”

Qiu Xing responded with an “mm,” and Lin Yiran pressed the end call button. She sat quietly at the table for a while, resting her chin on one hand, then took her meal card and umbrella and went to eat.

*

With finals approaching, this was always Lin Yiran’s busiest time. Besides the papers for several elective courses, she also had exams for her major courses.

She had always received substantial scholarships based on her grades, and even for casual term papers, she refused to be sloppy.

Adding to that her monthly translation submissions and her writing, Lin Yiran was so busy during this period that she could barely keep up. Fortunately, as courses gradually ended, she had more time that was previously occupied by classes.

Being so busy, she didn’t have time to contact Qiu Xing, and some days she barely touched her phone.

Eating less and sleeping less naturally made her physical condition worse than usual.

At night, the dormitory had no air conditioning, only ceiling fans running. Lin Yiran felt cold and, checking the date, knew she couldn’t escape what was coming.

The two days before her period were particularly difficult, but her cycle was always regular.

Early the next morning, the alarm rang for a long time, but Lin Yiran couldn’t get up. Normally, she would have been ready and out the door by this time.

Her two other roommates had left with their bags. Li Qianduo called up to her from below, and Lin Yiran responded.

“What’s wrong?” Li Qianduo stood on tiptoe to look up. “Why does your voice sound like that?”

Lin Yiran sniffled, her nose too congested to breathe properly, and her head throbbing dully. She lay curled on her side, her brows furrowed, her voice hoarse: “I think I’ve caught a cold.”

“When we came back last night, we all felt it was too hot, but you said you were cold. I knew something was wrong!” Li Qianduo climbed two steps up the ladder and lifted the bed curtain to look at her. “Do you have a fever?”

“Probably not,” Lin Yiran said. “I don’t feel feverish.”

Li Qianduo kicked off her slippers and climbed up onto Lin Yiran’s bed. She reached out to feel Lin Yiran’s forehead, then her hand. “Doesn’t seem like it.”

Lin Yiran had a headache and a stuffy nose, her face pale. At the same time, she felt a persistent ache in her lower abdomen. Li Qianduo’s small face wrinkled with worry, but Lin Yiran still tried to comfort her.

“Go back to sleep, sleep,” Li Qianduo patted her. “I’ll go find some medicine and buy you some porridge.”

Lin Yiran had an exam in the afternoon, so she had to get up no matter what. When she went to the exam room, she was still carrying a hot water bottle. While others found the air conditioning too cold even with it on, only Lin Yiran, with her pale face, needed a hot water bottle.

When Qiu Xing called, Lin Yiran had just turned her phone back on after finishing her exam. She answered with surprise.

“Qiu Xing?” Lin Yiran’s voice was nasally due to her congestion.

Hearing her speak, Qiu Xing immediately asked, “What’s wrong with you?”

“Not feeling well,” Lin Yiran walked out with the crowd. Li Qianduo was waiting for her at the door, and Lin Yiran said quietly, “It’s miserable.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Headache,” Lin Yiran didn’t say more.

“Do you have anything else tonight?” Qiu Xing’s voice sounded very gentle.

“No, I just want to go back and lie down.” In her current state, Lin Yiran couldn’t do much work; she couldn’t even sit still.

Qiu Xing made an “mm” sound and said, “Then come out. West gate. Let me see what’s wrong with you.”