After hanging up the phone, Lin Zhexia carefully climbed out of bed.

She didn’t even change her clothes, wearing pajamas printed with cartoon patterns, her hair messily hanging down her back.

Then she tiptoed to the door, turned the knob gently, and sneaked out.

“I feel like I’m being sneaky.” After going downstairs, she spotted Chi Yao waiting at the building entrance, ran over to him, and said, “I felt a bit guilty just now when I was leaving.”

Chi Yao looked at her: “What’s there to feel guilty about when you’re coming to see me?”

Lin Zhexia couldn’t help emphasizing: “At this hour, everyone in my house is asleep.”

Chi Yao said coolly: “So you think we’re having a secret rendezvous?”

That wasn’t what she meant at all.

“Who’s having a secret rendezvous with you?”

Lin Zhexia inexplicably felt her ears heating up after hearing that word from Chi Yao’s mouth.

Maybe to cover up her embarrassment, or maybe because her mind was in a knot at that moment, without thinking, she blurted out: “Even if I could have a secret rendezvous with a dog, it still wouldn’t be possible with you.”

After she said this, the atmosphere seemed to strangely and inexplicably freeze for a second.

A second later, Chi Yao glanced down at her as he usually did, then put away his phone, turned around, and walked forward: “Then go have your rendezvous with a dog.”

Lin Zhexia jogged after him: “Why would I have a rendezvous with a dog?”

Chi Yao: “You said it yourself.”

Lin Zhexia: “I was just saying whatever, don’t you understand jokes…”

Chi Yao suddenly slowed his step.

Then he reached out his hand, pointing to a stray dog by the trash can at the roadside: “There’s one right there, consider it.”

“…”

This person sometimes really is!

So childish!

Lin Zhexia caught up with him, and they walked along the path in the residential area, turned out of the complex, and strolled to the lakeside she often visited.

As she walked, she felt the nervousness gradually subsiding without realizing it.

Summer, a gentle breeze over the lake, cicadas singing.

And the dark sky, where stars could be seen if you looked up. The stuffy but familiar wind.

And also…

The person beside her.

Lin Zhexia: “The scenery here at night is nice.”

Chi Yao made an “mm” sound.

Lin Zhexia continued: “Actually, I couldn’t sleep tonight, not because I’m nervous, but because we young people just tend to stay up late.”

The response was still an emotionless “mm.”

Lin Zhexia: “Can you say more than one word?”

Chi Yao said coldly: “Mm-hmm.”

Lin Zhexia was speechless: “Just shut up then.”

Chi Yao wore a black windbreaker, quite loose in cut, making him look even taller. One hand tucked in his jacket pocket, noticing she had fallen behind, he slowed his pace to wait for her.

The two walked forward, and Lin Zhexia became a bit thirsty: “I want something to drink, let’s check out the mall ahead.”

The mall still had over half an hour before closing time, and there were hardly any people left when they entered.

The first-floor lobby was empty, with only two or three people passing by occasionally.

She looked around, wanting to find a bubble tea shop.

But Chi Yao walked a few steps forward, stopping in front of several white arcade machines, saying to her: “Come here.”

“What is it?” Lin Zhexia walked over. “A claw machine?”

Chi Yao: “Want to try?”

Lin Zhexia: “Yes.” She quickly added, “If you’re treating me, because I’ve spent all my allowance this month.”

While Chi Yao was scanning the QR code with his phone, Lin Zhexia noticed the name of the claw machine: Lucky Claw Machine.

“If I win something,” Lin Zhexia casually remarked, “does that mean I’ll be lucky tomorrow?”

Chi Yao stuffed the purchased tokens and the basket into her hands.

“Which one do you want to try for?”

Lin Zhexia looked around.

She was about to say “that little bear over there looks good,” when Chi Yao bent down to look at the bottom cabinet.

The bottom cabinet was filled with little white rabbits.

They were very small, about one-third the size of a palm, attached to keychains, and very convenient to carry.

Then she heard Chi Yao say: “This one.”

Lin Zhexia now had a special feeling about “rabbits.” She easily recalled the bedtime story from that night and Chi Yao’s habitual “coward” comment.

With a strange emotion, she deliberately tried to avoid this rabbit, asking: “Why? I think that little bear above also looks nice.”

“Because I’m paying.”

“…”

Alright.

Reason enough.

Lin Zhexia crouched down with the basket full of tokens: “Your money, your call.”

She took out two coins from the basket and inserted them, and after the machine lit up, she suddenly called out: “Chi Yao.”

Chi Yao also crouched down, but even crouching, he was still much taller than her.

Chi Yao: “?”

Lin Zhexia operated the joystick: “My claw machine talent can’t be hidden; let me show you what a real claw machine master looks like.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the claw grabbed at nothing.

Chi Yao praised her with a blank expression: “So this is your unhideable talent.”

Lin Zhexia: “I’m out of practice, my skills are rusty, the next one will definitely work, just watch carefully.”

After saying this, the claw in the cabinet closed under her operation, briefly contacted the rabbit keychain for a second, then missed again.

Chi Yao turned his head to look at her: “Impressive, this is the first time I’ve seen such an impressive claw machine master.”

Lin Zhexia felt a bit defeated: “…Don’t speak in that sarcastic tone.”

She tried many times.

Finally, there were only two lonely tokens left in the red basket.

This time, she hesitated: “What should I do? I feel like I probably won’t be able to get it.”

Lucky Claw Machine.

Not getting anything seemed to suggest that tomorrow would be very unlucky.

Just as she was hesitating, a hand reached out from the side, that hand put the two coins in, and the colorful light strip surrounding the machine immediately lit up, then that hand reached around from the side and gripped the joystick together with hers.

The space for gripping the joystick was limited.

So inevitably, parts of their hands touched.

“You’ll get it,” said the owner of the hand.

Lin Zhexia gave him a doubtful look: “There’s only one chance left. Where’s your confidence coming from?”

Chi Yao’s calm voice came from beside her ear: “Because I’m also a master.”

She was about to mock him when she glanced sideways, her peripheral vision falling on the faint silver light of the young man’s earring, and then she felt the joystick in her hand move.

The claw in the cabinet hung in mid-air, slowly moving toward the dispensing slot.

Chi Yao had chosen a rabbit stuck near the dispensing slot. There was another rabbit in front of it that was closer to the slot. If Lin Zhexia were to choose, she might have chosen the closer rabbit.

She was about to say “you won’t be able to get it this way” when in the next second, the claw dropped straight down.

That rabbit was briefly lifted for two seconds, and as it was being lifted, the rabbit closer to the dispensing slot was disturbed, its head pointing downward, and it tumbled toward the slot.

“Click.”

That rabbit rolled down through the dispensing slot.

Rolled to Chi Yao’s hand.

He released his grip, picked up the keychain with one finger, his knuckle slightly bent, and presented the captured rabbit to Lin Zhexia.

“I’m different from a certain master.”

He dangled the rabbit keychain and said, “Taking so long to catch such a simple rabbit.”

“Coward,” as Lin Zhexia dazedly accepted it, Chi Yao said one more thing before standing up, “you probably won’t be too unlucky tomorrow.”

The small plush rabbit lay quietly in her palm.

In this moment, she had completely forgotten the nervousness she felt half an hour ago lying in bed unable to sleep.

The next day.

The weather was good, the sun shining brightly.

Lin Zhexia ate a lot for breakfast, consuming whatever dishes Wei Ping placed in her bowl.

Wei Ping: “I guessed you didn’t eat enough yesterday, so I specially prepared several breakfast options for you this morning. Eating more is the right thing to do. You’re still growing, how can you not eat?”

Seeing that she was in good spirits, Lin He also relaxed: “Don’t be nervous this afternoon, just perform normally, we don’t necessarily need to win any place.”

Lin Zhexia nodded, put down her chopsticks and said “Mom, I’m going to find Chi Yao to go to school,” but before leaving, she suddenly seemed to remember something and returned to her room.

She had come back too late last night and had simply placed the rabbit keychain beside her pillow before sleeping.

She picked up the rabbit from beside her pillow and stuffed it into her schoolbag.

That afternoon, most of the second-year high school students were selected to attend the speech competition.

After the lunch break, the contestants collectively went backstage of the auditorium to line up and prepare.

Tang Shuxuan borrowed lipstick from a female classmate, and while preparing, she asked Lin Zhexia to hold up a mirror for her.

Lin Zhexia: “Is that necessary?”

Tang Shuxuan: “You don’t understand, a woman adorns herself for the one she loves.”

Lin Zhexia: “With so many people in the audience, will you be able to see him?”

Tang Shuxuan: “As long as he can see me, it’s fine.”

After applying the lipstick, Tang Shuxuan asked her: “How do I look? Doesn’t my complexion look much better?”

This kind of lipstick that wouldn’t be noticed by teachers was very light in color.

But Lin Zhexia still said, “The four words ‘radiantly beautiful’ describe you perfectly. He’ll fall in love with you at first sight.”

The speech competition soon began, and they could hear the voices of the judges and the host from backstage.

And the exaggerated sound when the audience applauded, over a thousand people clapping together, making the entire backstage seem to tremble.

This sound made even Tang Shuxuan, who hadn’t been nervous before, start to feel anxious.

This time, it was Lin Zhexia who comforted her in return: “It’s okay, think about your senior, stay calm.”

Tang Shuxuan: “How are you so calm?”

Lin Zhexia would sometimes unconsciously use a tone similar to Chi Yao’s to show off: “Oh, I’m different from you, I stay composed in the face of danger.”

This similar tone was immediately recognized by Tang Shuxuan.

Tang Shuxuan looked at her: “Why do you sound so much like Chi Yao?”

“…”

Tang Shuxuan went on stage before her.

Since she had previous experience and was also a social butterfly, she quickly adjusted her state, raised her head, straightened her chest, and walked out from backstage.

Lin Zhexia heard Tang Shuxuan’s voice coming through the microphone from backstage, though reaching her through a wall, it sounded heavy and muffled: “Hello everyone, I am Tang Shuxuan from Class 7, Grade 2—”

About twenty minutes later, the heavy velvet curtain at the backstage was pulled open: “Next contestant, get ready.”

The person outside the curtain looked at the situation on stage, then said:

“Okay, next contestant, please come on stage.”

Before walking out from backstage, she let out a light breath.

It would be a lie to say she wasn’t nervous; facing so many people, how could she not be?

But before going on stage, she lowered her head and looked at the little rabbit she had secretly brought with her, hidden in her palm.

She found that there seemed to be nothing to be nervous about.

Holding this rabbit, she felt a certain power emerge from deep within her heart, a small yet warm power, sufficient to help her face anything.

The stage was big.

For her seventeen-year-old self, this was a very, very big stage, big enough to be frightening.

After the host finished speaking and retreated from center stage, she was left alone on the vast platform.

In front of her, teachers and school leaders from various grades sat in the first row.

Behind them was a sea of dark heads, nearly a thousand people sitting in the audience. At this moment, everyone was looking at her.

She couldn’t describe the feeling at this moment—no fear, no desire to retreat, no thoughts at all, or rather, all thoughts were pushed aside by one thought. That thought was—Chi Yao was also in the audience.

Among these people was Chi Yao.

Realizing this, she was no longer afraid.

She unconsciously wanted to find his position among these people.

The seats were arranged by class, making it easy for her to identify the specific location of the second-year students, and she glanced around that area a few times.

Before going on stage, she had said to Tang Shuxuan, “With so many people down there, will you be able to see him?”

She didn’t know if Tang Shuxuan had been able to see him earlier, but she discovered that she could.

She could find him at a glance among the layers of people.

Lin Zhexia’s gaze penetrated the crowd, landing on a corner in the back row of the audience.

In the corner, the light was dim.

The young man’s figure was slender, leaning somewhat lazily against the backrest.

Lin Zhexia’s heart raced before she spoke, gripping the microphone tightly: “Dear teachers, fellow students, good afternoon. I am Lin Zhexia from Class 7, Grade 2. The title of my speech is ‘Youth’.”

Her voice inevitably carried some forced calmness.

Then, she saw that figure move slightly.

Their gazes seemed to meet for a second.

It was also like this that day, the living room was full of people, and in the crowd, she and Chi Yao exchanged a glance.

Around were the encouraging noises from her most familiar childhood friends.

Standing in a place where over a thousand people were watching her, Lin Zhexia’s heart began to beat irregularly.

But the forced calmness in her voice unconsciously faded away, and the speech she recited was not the clichéd draft she had prepared earlier, but a new one she had rewritten last night: “My youth might be somewhat different from everyone else’s, because for me, it has a starting point. That starting point is a very special three-word phrase; those three words are ‘Nanxiang Street’.”

Her voice began to grow stronger.

“My youth began from there.”

…

For Lin Zhexia, the world after growing up was filled with various strange monsters.

Unlike childhood, when she could swing her fists around with recklessness and fearless ignorance.

People unconsciously become timid become weak.

Even when facing things they could accomplish, the first step they take is self-limitation.

But when she encountered those many, many difficult things in life that required courage to accomplish, there was always someone who believed she could do it, and who gave her courage when she tried to muster her own.

So she discovered that the imagined storms that would come actually couldn’t make her wet at all.

Because of all this.

So she seemed to have become a little braver than before.