Qingye quickly picked up her phone and walked away. Xing Wu glanced at her retreating figure, hearing only a “Hello” before she went inside.
After the call connected, both she and Meng Ruihang fell silent for a moment. Despite growing up together, their lifelong friendship had come to a point where they couldn’t even speak to each other.
People often say distant relatives aren’t as close as near neighbors. After their family fell out with their Uncle, the Meng family became closer to them than relatives. Since childhood, Meng’s father had joked that when Qingye grew up, she would marry into their family and truly become one of them.
However, when her father needed to temporarily arrange accommodation for Qingye with the Meng family, they politely declined. With no other choice, Qingye was sent here instead.
She couldn’t blame the Meng family for being practical. After all, when her father first got into trouble, Meng’s father had tried various ways to help mediate. But after her father was imprisoned, the Meng family, being from such an established background, naturally chose to protect themselves. While Qingye could understand the logic, emotionally she couldn’t fully accept it. That’s why she hadn’t even told Meng Ruihang about leaving Beijing.
Meng Ruihang asked over the phone, “How are you? I want to come see you before school starts.”
Qingye clenched her fist tightly, then suddenly released it, responding coldly, “I’m fine. Don’t come see me. I won’t have time to receive you.”
On the other end, Meng Ruihang paused, then called out softly, “Qingye…”
“Is there anything else?” Qingye cut him off coldly.
Meng Ruihang hesitated for a moment before telling her that his father had recovered the money Uncle Feng owed to Qingye’s family. Uncle Feng had agreed to repay it in three installments. Though it wasn’t much, thinking that Qingye might need money while living alone, Meng’s father had asked Meng Ruihang to contact Qingye and give her the first payment.
This Uncle Feng was a former neighbor who had fallen on hard times in business and often borrowed money here and there. Although Qingye didn’t want any connection with their former neighbors, she knew the money needed to be recovered.
When Xing Wu went upstairs, he saw Qingye standing by the window, still on the phone with that guy, hearing her say, “Next time you can just transfer the money directly.”
Xing Wu, who had originally intended to enter the room, suddenly stopped and turned to lie down on the sofa, turning on the TV.
That evening, Xing Wu still hadn’t gone out. While he was lying on the sofa watching a football match, Qingye suddenly called out from her room, startling him. Thinking something had happened again, he went to her door where Qingye asked with a troubled expression, “Where’s my bag of skincare products?”
Xing Wu replied puzzledly, “How would I know?”
Qingye frowned, recalling, “Did I forget to bring it while watching you play the match?”
“Have you looked for it?”
“Yes, it’s not there.”
Xing Wu sighed, “Just buy new ones later.”
As he was about to leave, Qingye suddenly called out to him, “Hey, actually the esports scene in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou is developing well now. There are many famous teams, and I heard you can earn quite a bit if you’re good. More and more investors are paying attention to this industry.”
Xing Wu frowned at her, “What are you trying to say?”
“I mean, given your family’s situation…”
“What about my family’s situation?” Xing Wu’s face suddenly turned cold.
Qingye shrugged and pulled the curtain closed. She wasn’t usually one to meddle in others’ affairs, but perhaps because of the alcohol, or maybe because Xing Wu had taken her out for a walk, she felt conscientious enough to give him some friendly advice. However, Xing Wu had rebuffed her harshly. Fine then, she would never meddle again.
…
The next day at noon, Xing Wu went to Shunyi, tossing a bag he was carrying to the side. Quanya and the others gathered around.
Since that night when Xing Wu had suddenly left their card game in the rain, they hadn’t seen him for over two days. When they called him, he didn’t say much, and the brothers assumed something had happened at home but didn’t want to pry.
When they opened the bag, they found it contained women’s skincare products, all branded items.
Dahei immediately came over, put his arm around Xing Wu, and said with a sly grin, “Wuzi, you’ve got a hidden sweetheart, huh? No wonder you don’t come around at night anymore.”
Xing Wu irritably shrugged him off, “Get away, it’s too hot.”
Then he looked at Quanya, “Any jobs lately? Don’t mind if it’s far, as long as the money’s good.”
Quanya asked in surprise, “Haven’t you earned enough this summer? Where did all your money go?”
Xing Wu lit a cigarette with his legs crossed. Quanya glanced at the bag of branded daily necessities – he wasn’t sure of the exact price, but those branded items would cost at least several hundred yuan per bottle, and there was a whole bag of them.
Quanya remained silent, but Xing Wu casually said, “Who the fuck would think money is enough?”
Quanya responded, “Got it, I’ll talk to my sister about it.”
Xing Wu only stayed for a while before leaving on his Little Angel scooter. When he returned home at noon, Qingye had just finished eating. He tossed the items to her and left, but Qingye ran after him saying, “How much was it? Let me pay you back.”
Xing Wu looked at her and turned his Little Angel around, but to his complete surprise, Qingye suddenly ran out and blocked his path, “I asked you how much it cost?”
Xing Wu looked at her coldly, “Did I ask you for money?”
Qingye took a deep breath and turned her head, then looked back at him with a raised voice, “Xing Wu, what do you mean? Do you think your family owns a bank? Or do you think I can’t afford these things?”
Xing Wu stared at her silently for a few seconds. The sun was strong outside, and Qingye’s nose was sweating. Xing Wu looked away and said two words: “Move aside.”
Qingye suddenly became angry, putting her hands on her hips and glaring at him, “Thank you for helping me buy these things back, but I must pay you. Xing Wu, I don’t want to owe you anything, this has nothing to do with whether you have money or not.”
Xing Wu slowly lowered his gaze, thinking of her matter-of-fact tone last night when she told that guy to transfer money, and now hearing this “I don’t want to owe you anything,” he suddenly smiled mockingly and revved his engine towards her. Qingye was startled and instinctively jumped aside as Xing Wu rode past her and away.
Qingye was so angry she stomped her feet, wishing she could take off her shoe and throw it at the back of his head.
She returned to her room with the items and transferred 3,000 yuan to Xing Wu on WeChat. When there was no response from his end, she kept sending him messages saying “collect the money,” and after the fifth time, she was blocked by Xing Wu. Blocked! Blocked!!
Qingye let out an angry roar, nearly setting Xing Wu’s room on fire.
In the evening, as Qingye grew increasingly angry, she sent a friend request with the message: “If you’re brave, don’t come back.”
And then, he didn’t come back…
In the week before school started, Qingye barely saw Xing Wu. She only heard from Li Fang that Xing Wu had business in the county town and wouldn’t be back for a few days. Qingye couldn’t understand what could be more important than starting school for a third-year high school student.
But to say he hadn’t returned at all wasn’t entirely true. At least one morning when Qingye woke up, she saw that the wardrobe Xing Wu had ordered had been moved to the second floor. Of course, she knew Li Fang couldn’t have carried it up there.
As the first day of school approached, even Huangmao and Panghu, who usually spent their days wandering the streets, hadn’t been seen lately. Qingye felt like a wound-up spring ready for battle.
On the morning school started Li Fang unusually got up early and made breakfast for Qingye, even asking if she needed a ride to school.
Qingye politely declined. Everyone here knew Li Fang was Xing Wu’s mother, and if she went to school, wouldn’t she have to explain her relationship with Xing Wu to everyone? Especially given how he had blocked her for so many days, Qingye didn’t want anything to do with him.
So that morning, Qingye simply shouldered her bag and walked to school. Along the way, she occasionally encountered groups of two or three An Zhong students, all wearing school uniforms. The uniforms here indeed matched their aesthetic sense – white collared short-sleeve shirts paired with hideously green track pants, the same for both boys and girls. The green would have been bad enough, but why add two big red stripes along the seams? Was this the ultimate expression of the “red and green clash horribly” principle?
At school, Qingye kept thinking about one thing: she needed to talk to Teacher Yang Li about whether she could save on the uniform cost since she was about to graduate anyway.
The moment she walked through An Zhong’s gates, the peaceful and beautiful impression in her mind from the past few days was instantly shattered. Before her eyes floated groups upon groups of dedicated followers of rural fashion.
She finally realized that Liu Nian and Du Qiyan weren’t oddities, but mere specks of dust in An Zi County Middle School.
Take these students before her – some wore earrings, others had rolled-up pants, and there were even girls with hair covering half their faces floating around like ghosts from “A Chinese Ghost Story.” Couldn’t a single girl properly tie up all her hair?
Qingye couldn’t help but step back to check the sign at the entrance again, making sure it was indeed a senior high school and not some technical or vocational school.
So among these young people who considered themselves fashionably dressed, there suddenly appeared this pure stream – hair tied in a high bun, perfect hairline framing a clean and full forehead, revealing a long, fair neck, every facial feature precisely arranged to perfection.
Her white lace dress was well-cut and elegant, adding a touch of sophistication and composure rare among local girls. Under the morning sun, it gleamed white as she walked along the main path to the high school section, as if accompanied by background music, drawing unusual glances from everyone.
Although these rural fashion followers might not have considered Qingye’s style trendy, she exuded an untouchable quality from head to toe, clearly standing apart from everyone else at this high school.
But in the next moment, everyone’s attention shifted away from her, heads turning in unison. Instantly, the surrounding students scattered to both sides. Qingye followed the crowd to the roadside, thinking a teacher or principal was driving in, but she heard no car sound.
However, when she turned around, she saw a boy in black sportswear silhouetted against the light, hands in his track pants pockets, riding a Ninebot at high speed through the school gates, his tall figure like a whirlwind.
Even Qingye was surprised – someone here could ride a balance wheel so skillfully? From a distance, that speed made it look like he had wheels of wind and fire under his feet, the whole person flying toward the main path, continuously weaving between various students, face cold and eyes straight ahead.
Gradually, all students on the main path consciously made their way. In the blink of an eye, the Ninebot flew past Qingye like a storm. At that moment, she saw his profile, and although it was just a fleeting glance, that striking horizontal stripe at his sideburns suddenly caught her eye, making her freeze – Xing Wu?
She quickly followed with her bag, but before she could enter the teaching building, she saw that figure brazenly ride the balance wheel into the elevator. She quickened her pace, but the elevator doors had just closed.
Qingye stared at the words “Teacher Use Only” on the elevator doors, completely dumbfounded.