At that time, slanting wind and fine rain, the air soaked with moisture, the sweater stained with water dew, pedestrians walking, Dong Xi breathing.

A car horn sounded by the roadside. Dong Xi gave a start and turned her head away.

A certain indescribable emotion was broken by this piercing sound. She was like someone being rescued, having gained support to escape from this environment of being at a complete loss. Following the car horn, she pulled open the back door of her family’s car. When the car door slammed shut with a bang, Gu Mingdong slowly turned his head sideways and cast a glance toward the sound source where she was.

Rain falling, the car driving away, Dong Xi’s umbrella remaining in place, soaked through inside and out.

***

The next day, still overcast rain.

When Dong Xi encountered Gu Mingdong in the corridor, the early study period bell happened to ring. In her hands she held a stack of test papers prepared to be delivered to the office, while he walked with a steady appearance of being late.

She paused for a moment five meters away from him. After slight hesitation, she continued walking forward. The test papers were blown by the wind with swishing sounds; several pages frequently folded. She pressed down one corner of the test papers.

Gu Mingdong was attracted by the sound of wind blowing the test papers and looked toward her.

Dong Xi acted as if she didn’t see him.

He put his hand into his pants pocket. When the two people brushed past each other, he took something out from his pants pocket and said lazily: “Don’t walk so fast.”

She didn’t pay attention to him.

But Gu Mingdong immediately shook the thing in his hand. Her footsteps stopped because of the sound that thing made. The fingers pressing the corner of the test papers suddenly lost strength; the paper rustled.

She turned her head back.

On Gu Mingdong’s index finger hung the wooden peach ornament that had been left behind yesterday. He shook the ornament; the two wooden peaches on the red string made slight collision sounds. Mixed with the rain sounds, it was fragile as if it would shatter with one drop.

And just when she reacted, this string of ornaments came off his finger because of his overly casual shaking method, hitting the wall with a smack. Dong Xi’s gaze immediately followed to where the ornament fell. Gu Mingdong stared at her while squatting down to pick up the ornament.

“You finally have some living person’s emotion,” he said, tossing the ornament up and catching it. “Ah Qi also has one of these things.”

“I wanted one before,” he continued. “She wouldn’t give it to me.”

After saying this, he put the ornament back in his pants pocket.

With no intention of returning the item to its original owner.

Dong Xi didn’t speak. Gu Mingdong rubbed his nose with his thumb. Probably because she had no reaction, he turned around with peace of mind and continued walking.

But when the class bell rang, she spoke: “You’re only good at using stealing or robbing methods to obtain things you like, aren’t you?”

The wind blew back and forth in the open corridor in a swirling manner.

Gu Mingdong stopped.

It was a very abrupt stop, as if his spine had suddenly been struck.

From when Dong Xi started speaking, the situation also quietly underwent change, from a state where he attacked and she defended entering a state of mutual attack. But the lethality seemed not yet great enough. After a moment of stiffness, Gu Mingdong still recovered to his original carefree state, turning his head to look at her.

“What did you say? I didn’t hear clearly.”

The urgent bell sounded. He pretended to make a helpless gesture of “going to be late,” then walked away. She looked at his back and ultimately didn’t say that sentence a second time.

The classroom after early rest was a bit noisy.

Yan Yan was chatting with the person at the adjacent seat. When Dong Xi entered the classroom, Yan Yan called out to her. She looked over there; Gu Mingdong behind Yan Yan was crossing his legs and spinning his pen.

She didn’t respond to Yan Yan.

After returning to her seat, a small sound suddenly came from Yan Yan’s direction. Gu Mingdong had plucked another strand of her hair. He still laughed like last time. Yan Yan covered the back of her head, somewhat angry, her face somewhat red. Dong Xi turned her head to glance and saw Gu Mingdong’s expression of addicted mischievous smiling.

The class had a peaceful self-study atmosphere. Yan Yan said back to him softly: “Don’t pluck anymore.”

But he replied loudly: “Huh?”

People around the desk looked over in twos and threes. Dong Xi withdrew her gaze, organizing her notes as if it had nothing to do with her.

Yan Yan had another strand of hair plucked.

Dong Xi didn’t turn her head.

When Yan Yan moved her chair forward, another strand of hair was plucked. She was in too much pain to make a sound; still not a single person in the class spoke.

And Dong Xi’s breathing fluctuated once.

She turned her head back a second time. At that time Gu Mingdong was about to continue his actions. She then said at this moment: “All classmates, put last class’s notes on your desk surface. I’m collecting them for the teacher to check.”

Light complaints and tumbling sounds rose and fell throughout the class. Gu Mingdong stopped his hand. Yan Yan quickly tied up her hair and moved her chair forward by a large margin.

Dong Xi started collecting notebooks from the first row. When collecting at Yan Yan’s desk, she looked at the back of Yan Yan’s head. And when collecting at Gu Mingdong’s desk, she saw his desk surface was empty of everything, only several strands of hair collected from Yan Yan.

He crossed his legs, as if deliberately provoking her. The wooden peach ornament hung on his finger; he shook it while staring out the window.

“Notebook.” She said calmly.

Gu Mingdong didn’t respond to her.

“Last class’s notebook.” Dong Xi repeated.

He still didn’t pay attention.

Yan Yan quietly turned her head to look at them. The surrounding noisy sounds also slightly weakened. Dong Xi didn’t speak next. After she quieted for two or three seconds, she suddenly slammed the dozens of notebooks in her arms onto Gu Mingdong’s desk. The tremendous sound produced awakened people in the class and simply and roughly pulled back Gu Mingdong’s attention. Dong Xi stood in front of his desk and said for the third time lightly: “Hand in your notebook.”

Yan Yan was stunned.

Gu Mingdong said: “Yo, alive again.”

The wooden peach ornament was still rotating on his finger.

Before his words fell, Dong Xi suddenly took the ornament from his finger.

The reaction this produced was very large. Gu Mingdong immediately stood up with a thunderous sound, but Dong Xi’s reaction was faster. As soon as she got the thing, she walked away. Gu Mingdong swept dozens of notebooks from the desk to the floor, his voice low as he said: “Give it to me!”

Dong Xi clutched the ornament and left the classroom, turning a deaf ear to his words. Gu Mingdong followed out. Yan Yan closely followed Gu Mingdong and ran out. At the window, the entire class gathered in rapid succession. Students in the walkway scattered to both sides. Gu Mingdong spoke: “Dong Xi!”

It was an extremely terrible tone, carrying about-to-emerge threats and violence. Ten steps away, Dong Xi in the crowd turned her body around, looking at him with a gentle yet unyielding appearance, hiding a courage and provocation of “come on, if you’re coming then come.” When Gu Mingdong walked forward again, Yan Yan grabbed his arm.

Gu Mingdong pulled his arm away. Yan Yan was thrown to the ground by this force.

Two or three more female students surged out from the classroom to help Yan Yan up, and finally several male students rushed out to restrain Gu Mingdong. But Dong Xi still stood in place. Her hair and collar bow swayed with the wind; she pressed her lips together, clenched her hands.

At the same time, twenty meters away from the noise source on the teaching building stairs, there was a person slowly walking, ears plugged with earphones, sleeves rolled at the wrist, sucking on candy, running fingers through hair.

“Are you giving it or not!” Gu Mingdong was blocked by the male students, his voice hoarse as he pointed at her and made threats.

Yan Yan ran to find a teacher. All the students in front of Dong Xi, fearing being implicated, scattered to both sides of the corridor. Only Dong Xi quietly gazed at him.

That person finished walking the stairs, entered the corridor entrance, steps slowly turning toward the western classroom. The sound in the earphones covered the noise from the eastern corridor as she lazily passed by each class’s window.

“Fuck!” Gu Mingdong said.

The leisurely walking speed stopped at this moment. She took off one earphone, chewing candy, slowly turning her head to look.

Those several weak male students could barely restrain the sturdy-bodied Gu Mingdong. Yan Yan loudly called for the teacher. Students around Dong Xi advised her to hide. Dong Xi didn’t respond and made no movement.

When Gu Mingdong suddenly broke free from restraint and walked toward Dong Xi, the surrounding female students were so frightened they cried out. He immediately raised his arm to attack her, but just as Dong Xi turned her head and closed her eyes tightly, Gu Mingdong’s footsteps suddenly stopped in astonishment one meter away. His gaze pierced through Dong Xi, staring toward behind her.

There, a person had just passed through layers of onlookers, pushed aside the last person blocking the way, and arrived at the central area.

While placing her gaze on him, she soundlessly came behind Dong Xi, her long curly hair bound behind her head, one hand hanging in her clothing pocket, sizing him up with a casual attitude of joining in the excitement.

As if struck by a gun, as if a record jamming, as if a fish bone stuck in the most fragile part of the throat.

The entire scene had three or four seconds of held breath. Gu Mingdong stared at Long Qi; Long Qi stared at Gu Mingdong. Only Dong Xi slowly opened her eyes in this sudden quietness, and Long Qi at this moment reached out her hand.

She covered her eyes.

The light Dong Xi was about to see again became darkness. The violent action of Gu Mingdong she was about to see was also blocked beyond one palm. Dong Xi wanted to move, wanted to turn her head to look at the person behind her. Long Qi said: “Don’t move.”

The voice pressed against her ear, gentle yet calm.