Zhou Wan didn’t reply immediately, instead first changing Lu Xixiao’s contact name.
They were worlds apart; at school, probably no one would ever connect them.
On this quiet night, Lu Xixiao messaging her, the notification popping up at the top of her phone showing “Lu Xixiao” sent her a message.
The three characters “Lu Xixiao” seemed to carry some kind of taboo, cutting through the tranquility of her surroundings like a sharp wind.
Making this night saturated with his unique presence.
He had that ability, leaving deep impressions in people’s hearts with his every movement.
Zhou Wan first changed his contact name to a single character – “Lu”.
But after looking at it for a while, it still didn’t feel right, so she changed it to the number “6”.
Looking at the “6” above the chat window, she finally let out a relieved sigh and replied: [You’re hurt?]
He sent a voice message, only one second long.
Zhou Wan turned the volume to its lowest, then covered herself with the blanket, worried about anyone hearing.
“Yeah.”
The young man’s hoarse voice came through. He’d been drinking, his languid tone even stronger, managing to stamp his unique mark even on this single syllable.
Zhou Wan had heard his phone call earlier and knew he’d gone to fight.
She paused, sat up, and started typing:
Is there a pharmacy nearby? You could let the pharmacy’s doctor help you…
Before finishing, Zhou Wan thought that with Lu Xixiao’s personality, he probably wouldn’t ask others for help with his wound.
She deleted that line and started typing again:
Go to the pharmacy and buy disinfectant alcohol, cotton swabs, and large band-aids, like today I…
Again before finishing, Lu Xixiao directly called her.
This time Zhou Wan was completely stunned.
She never expected Lu Xixiao would call her.
The phone fell on the bed, buzzing desperately, and she was at a loss, not knowing whether to answer or what to say if she did.
Until she heard her grandmother coughing outside the door, worried about waking her, Zhou Wan hurriedly swiped to answer.
Still catching her breath, she put the phone to her ear, trying to steady her breathing.
Lu Xixiao didn’t speak; she could hear the whistling wind from his end, confirming the call was indeed connected.
Zhou Wan gripped her phone tightly, evening out her breath, saying softly: “Lu Xixiao.”
He laughed then, a magnetic, husky sound.
Zhou Wan didn’t understand: “What are you laughing at?”
“Were you asleep?”
Lu Xixiao was laughing at the drowsy sleepiness in her voice.
Having disturbed her sleep, not only did he not feel sorry, he seemed to take pleasure in it.
Zhou Wan pressed her lips together.
Sometimes she thought Lu Xixiao was just an immature boy who liked to tease, other times she felt he had a maturity and coldness beyond his years.
“I’m awake now,” Zhou Wan said languidly. “Did you bandage it?”
“No.”
Zhou Wan heard him lighting a cigarette, then he continued, “I don’t know how.”
Just like that afternoon.
I don’t know how.
Was he asking her to come over now to bandage it?
Zhou Wan didn’t speak.
“It hurts a bit,” his voice carried a faint smile, casually adding another weight to her heart, “If I don’t bandage it, will it get infected tomorrow?”
“…”
If it had been any other girl who admired him, hearing this they would have rushed over without hesitation in the middle of the night.
But Zhou Wan had seen all sorts of ailments with her father and grandmother, and wouldn’t make a fuss over such things.
She recalled the wound from the photo he’d sent earlier and softly replied: “It probably won’t, just don’t touch it or get it wet.”
Lu Xixiao sat on the steps of the bustling street, the wind blowing through his hair and clothes, outlining his sharp, fierce figure. The crimson between his fingers flickered as he laughed through the blue-white smoke.
As if hearing an extremely interesting response, his laugh made his chest vibrate.
“Zhou Wan,” he said, laughing.
“You’re quite heartless.”
*
As the physics competition drew closer day by day, Zhou Wan lost even her noon self-study time, which was taken up by competition classes in the laboratory.
Test after test, Zhou Wan couldn’t surpass Jiang Yan, always coming in second, though fortunately, the gap between her and Jiang Yan remained small, always within five points.
After finishing explaining last year’s competition paper’s final question, the blackboard was covered densely with solution steps.
Zhou Wan finished copying her notes and propped her head on her hand to look outside, emptying her mind to rest.
“Zhou Wan,” Jiang Yan stood beside her, “Want some water? I’ll get it for you too.”
Zhou Wan thanked him: “I’ll go myself.”
“It’s fine, stay seated,” Jiang Yan took her cup from the desk.
In the competition class, everyone ranked at the top among the hundreds of students in their grade. Even during the five-minute break, everything remained orderly, with no one speaking loudly, not as loud as the boys playing basketball outside.
Zhou Wan noticed that Lu Xixiao was among them.
His figure was tall and straight, long-legged, lean and athletic, smoothly dribbling past others, shooting, winning cheers from the crowd.
Zhou Wan hadn’t seen him for several days.
She didn’t know if it was because she was too busy, or if he simply hadn’t come to school.
Their last contact had stopped at that midnight voice call.
He hadn’t come to the arcade either.
Though Zhou Wan wanted to get closer to him, she had no experience in this area, especially with Lu Xixiao – it felt like whatever she did, he would see through her intentions.
Zhou Wan recalled what he’d said before hanging up that night.
“Zhou Wan, you’re quite heartless.”
Was he angry because she hadn’t gone to find him?
But his tone then hadn’t seemed angry.
At the same time, Zhou Wan suddenly glimpsed a girl running across the playground to the basketball court. She stood at the edge of the court, holding a bottle of mineral water.
Some boys teased, all looking toward Lu Xixiao.
The girl waved at him, smiling brilliantly, unscrewing the cap and offering it to him.
Lu Xixiao took it and tilted his head back for a drink.
Zhou Wan’s eyelashes trembled slightly as she pressed her lips together.
She suddenly realized something – Lu Xixiao’s single periods were never long, and he’d been broken up for a while now.
So, was this girl his new girlfriend?
If she was his girlfriend, all of Zhou Wan’s original plans would be canceled.
Though she wanted revenge on Guo Xiangling, she wouldn’t use this method.
She didn’t want to hurt anyone except Guo Xiangling.
“What are you looking at?” Jiang Yan placed her water cup, now filled with warm water, back on her desk corner, following her gaze.
Zhou Wan didn’t notice the disgust that flashed in his eyes, only heard Jiang Yan say, “Some people have everything yet never cherish anything.”
“Who do you mean?” Zhou Wan asked.
“Lu Xixiao.”
Zhou Wan was stunned for a moment.
Jiang Yan wasn’t the type to gossip behind others’ backs; specifically, his social circle was small, spending every day buried in textbooks and test papers.
This was the first time Zhou Wan had heard him actively comment on someone.
“You don’t like him?” Zhou Wan asked.
Jiang Yan shook his head: “Zhou Wan, he’s not the same kind of person as us at all. He relies on his family’s money to waste his days away, but what would he be without his family? He’d be nothing.”
Zhou Wan remained silent.
He continued: “Would you believe, Zhou Wan, in twenty years, we’ll become people a thousand times more powerful than him? He’ll be beneath our feet.”
Jiang Yan didn’t hide the harshness in his words.
Zhou Wan paused.
She didn’t agree with Jiang Yan’s words.
In today’s world, grades aren’t everything.
For a person to succeed, academic performance is just a small part. Vision, opportunity, personality, friends, courage – none of these could be lacking.
And what he’d just said –
Lu Xixiao would be beneath their feet. Zhou Wan thought, that even if someday in the future he fell from grace, he still couldn’t be trampled under anyone’s feet.
His arrogance reached the point of conceit, with an unyielding spirit, full of sharp edges, fierce and unrestrained.
Such a person, even if life is completely reshuffled to zero, even in death, could never be humiliated.
In the end, Zhou Wan just smiled and asked: “Jiang Yan, what kind of person do you want to become?”
“Successful and famous,” Jiang Yan answered. “What about you?”
“I haven’t thought about it carefully,” Zhou Wan looked at the blue sky and white clouds outside, saying softly, “But I hope in the future, at least I can become a kind person.”
Jiang Yan laughed: “For you, that counts as a dream?”
Zhou Wan smiled, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
*
At five in the afternoon, the dismissal bell rang throughout the campus.
Following came the seven-day National Day holiday, and piles of homework.
Zhou Wan was called by the physics teacher.
“Zhou Wan, the teacher has learned about your family situation, so your current achievements have always been something that makes the teacher very gratified and proud.”
The physics teacher said, “But this competition might just become the key that changes your life’s destiny. You must put your heart into it.”
Zhou Wan nodded: “Yes, I understand, teacher.”
“Don’t just make thunder without rain, don’t just understand but forget to do it.” The physics teacher took out a stack of papers from the drawer, “These are predicted questions I’ve compiled from looking at previous years’ competition papers. Go home and study them well, there’s not much time left. Use the National Day holiday to master it thoroughly. Give the other copy to Jiang Yan.”
“Alright, thank you, teacher.”
Walking out of the office, and returning to Class 1 required passing through a very long corridor.
Passing by Class 7’s door, Zhou Wan’s steps faltered.
The girl she’d seen on the basketball court at noon was now leaning on the windowsill, elbows propped forward.
And sitting by the window was Lu Xixiao.
“Xiao, do you have plans for National Day?” the girl asked.
He didn’t look at her, lounging lazily against his chair, openly playing with his phone, “Why?”
“Why else? Want to ask you out to play,” the girl said straightforwardly. “What are you doing for National Day?”
“Sleeping.”
As he said this, he looked up, meeting Zhou Wan’s eyes, only to see her quickly look away, acting as if she didn’t know him at all, walking past without a sideways glance.
He tugged at the corner of his mouth in an ambiguous smile.
Zhou Wan quickly walked past Class 7’s door, recalling what the girl had just said.
She was probably Lu Xixiao’s new girlfriend, or at least, in the ambiguous stage just before getting together.
If that’s the case, then forget it.
Those dark thoughts from before were finally killed at this moment.
Wanting revenge on Guo Xiangling was true, but the current sense of relief was also true.
…
Every autumn arrived punctually with the National Day holiday.
Each autumn rain brought more cold.
Zhou Wan put on her coat and carried her backpack to the arcade.
Having decided not to provoke Lu Xixiao anymore, she returned to being the former Zhou Wan who studied hard and aimed high, moving between just three points: the arcade, library, and home.
Lu Xixiao hadn’t contacted her again either.
But this was normal – heaven’s favored son like him had countless friends, how would he remember her?
Zhou Wan had once accidentally overheard his previous girlfriend complaining to friends, saying Lu Xixiao was too casual and free, coming and going as he pleased. If you didn’t actively seek him out, he seemed to completely forget about you; love couldn’t constrain him.
The happiness was real, but so was the anxiety.
If even girlfriends were treated this way, Zhou Wan, who’d only crossed paths with him a few times, wasn’t worth mentioning.
Zhou Wan pushed open the arcade’s door, took over from her coworker, and then sat down to work on her physics papers.
After finishing one side, someone called to her:
“Miss, this machine is out of prize tickets!”
Zhou Wan responded, taking the key and tickets over to load into the machine.
Returning to her seat, her phone screen was lit up, showing “6” sent you a message.
Zhou Wan paused.
Realizing who “6” was, her heart jumped for a moment.
She held her breath as she opened it.
[6: At the arcade?]