Shi Niannian followed her aunt into the house. As she closed the door, she glanced back in Jiang Wang’s direction.

He was still standing there. He raised his hand and waved at her. Shi Niannian pressed her lips together in a smile, then closed the door and went inside.

“Your brother told me that you and Jiang Wang are desk mates?” her aunt asked, pointing to a corner. “You can put the flowerpot there.”

Shi Niannian gently set down the flowerpot. “Yes.”

Her aunt asked casually, “How are his grades?”

“Pretty good. He’s ranked second.”

This was unexpected. Her aunt only knew that Jiang Wang and Xu Ningqing were close friends. Although Xu Ningqing was a slacker when it came to studying, his grades were still above average. She had assumed Jiang Wang would be similar.

“That’s impressive! Then you two can learn from each other as deskmates.”

Shi Niannian responded with a soft “mm,” thinking to herself that she hadn’t seen Jiang Wang study much.

“Ah, such a good young man, but he had to be so impulsive and do something like that back then. Who knows what the reason was? Your brother was so angry at the time that he wanted to go to the hospital to find that person. I had to stop him. When I asked him what the reason was, he wouldn’t say.” Her aunt sighed deeply.

Shi Niannian was taken aback.

The more time she spent with Jiang Wang, the easier it was to forget that he had spent six months in prison before.

It wasn’t just her—the whole class felt the same. After getting to know him, they discovered that Jiang Wang’s temper wasn’t as volatile and irritable as rumors suggested. He rarely got truly angry.

So what was the reason that made him do such a thing?

What else has happened to you?

“Does my brother know… that person?” Shi Niannian asked.

“Hmm? The one who went to the hospital?” her aunt said. “No, he doesn’t know him. I was talking to your brother when he received the call, and I heard him asking about the situation for quite a while.”

Shi Niannian remained silent for a moment, her hand in her pocket tightening around the rectangular box.

“Go to bed now. You still have to get up early for school tomorrow,” her aunt urged.

Shi Niannian went into the bedroom and put down her schoolbag. She didn’t open the box right away. Instead, she took a shower first, then turned off the room light, leaving only a dim night light on. Only then did she slowly take the box out of her school uniform pocket.

She wasn’t someone who liked to take advantage of others, nor was she used to accepting one-sided gifts. But when Jiang Wang took this box out of his pocket, her breathing slowed down. She just wanted it.

She wanted a gift from him.

She pulled the blanket up to her shoulders, kneeling on the bed facing the headboard, and slowly untied the string on the box and opened it.

It was a bracelet.

Simple in style, a rose gold chain with a charm in the middle and two fixed clips.

It was beautiful.

She carefully took the bracelet out of the box, her other hand cupped underneath to catch it if it fell.

She put the bracelet on her left wrist. Her skin was fair, making the colored bracelet look extremely beautiful, giving off a faint, crystalline pink glow in the dim night light.

She looked at it for a while, then took it off and put it back in the box, placing the box neatly in the drawer by her bed.

She didn’t recognize what brand the English words on it represented, but she knew it must be quite expensive. At the very least, she should thank him.

She took out her phone, lay on her side, and found Jiang Wang’s chat window.

“The bracelet is beautiful, thank you.”

Very proper and formal.

Jiang Wang replied shortly after with two consecutive messages.

“Going to sleep?”

“Can I call you now? I want to hear your voice.”

Her aunt had already gone back to her room. Shi Niannian’s room was far from her aunt and uncle’s, and her brother didn’t live at home since he started university.

She hesitated for a moment before replying, “Okay.”

The next second, her phone rang, startlingly loud in the quiet night. She quickly answered and put the phone to her ear.

“You answered so quickly,” he said with a laugh.

“It was right next to me,” she said, pulling the blanket over her head, hiding inside as she spoke. Her voice sounded muffled, and she deliberately kept it low, as if doing something illicit. “Are you, are you home?”

“Just got here.” As he spoke, the sound of a door opening could be heard.

Jiang Wang pushed open the door and entered his apartment. It was empty and devoid of life. He poured a glass of ice water and asked, “Are you wearing the bracelet?”

“No, I put it away. I just… tried it earlier.”

“Why did you take it off?”

“I’m not used to… wearing bracelets.”

Shi Niannian was used to being plain. When many classmates secretly wore bracelets and necklaces at school, she never wore any or bought any. The one Jiang Wang gave her was her first, and she thought it was beautiful.

Feeling that her response wasn’t appropriate, she added, “But it’s very pretty.”

“You like it?” He laughed softly, his voice relaxed.

“Yes.”

“I’ll buy you everything you like,” he said casually.

“That must be expensive. I haven’t even… given you a Christmas gift.”

“Didn’t you already give me one?” Jiang Wang said.

Shi Niannian thought for a moment before realizing that Jiang Wang was referring to the hair tie she had given him. She felt embarrassed and didn’t respond, not knowing what else to talk about, so she fell silent.

She wanted to ask about what had happened to Jiang Wang before, but couldn’t bring herself to ask, feeling it would be too impolite.

“By the way, I won’t be at school tomorrow. I have to train,” Jiang Wang said, standing on the balcony, the breeze lifting his bangs.

Shi Niannian said, “Okay, I should go to sleep now.”

“Sure.”

She was about to hang up when she heard his voice on the phone again. She put it back to her ear and heard Jiang Wang asking her to wait.

“What is it?”

Jiang Wang stood in the breeze, looking at the moon hanging in the sky, remembering the first time they met and the girl’s clear eyes that had illuminated his dark, desolate days in an instant.

“Nothing much,” he said lazily, with a hint of a smile. “Just wanted to tell you that I like you a lot.”

Her heart skipped a beat as she blinked in confusion.

He spoke languidly: “I’m not a good person. About half of the rumors you’ve heard about me are true. But I’ve been a bastard for so long, I’ve decided to wreak havoc on you now.”

“So be good,” he said slowly, then seemed to think of something amusing and laughed casually. “Anyway, if you like someone else, they wouldn’t dare to be with you.”

Her face heated up, and not quite understanding his meaning, she asked along with his train of thought: “Why?”

Jiang Wang was stunned momentarily, gritted his teeth, and said half-jokingly: “I’m the school bully, aren’t you afraid?”

She made a soft scoffing sound: “I’m not afraid at all.”

“Of course you’re not afraid,” he said. “You’re my boss, I’m afraid of you, okay?”

He was being increasingly mischievous, teasing her playfully. Shi Niannian couldn’t handle such heart-racing talk and mumbled: “I need to sleep now.”

“Mm, good night.”

She was too embarrassed to say goodnight back and hastily hung up the phone.

Sleep had been completely chased away. She lay in bed for a moment, then picked up her phone again and sent Jiang Wang a message.

“Good night.”

After the call ended, Jiang Wang didn’t go inside. He remained standing on the balcony, feeling the breeze.

His phone vibrated once. He lowered his eyes, and the corners of his lips gradually curved upward.

For him, a pure and innocent soul like Shi Niannian was a delusion, but he was selfish and domineering. No matter what, he had no intention of letting go again.

Jiang Wang had never truly liked anyone before. Shi Niannian was the first.

The next day, Jiang Wang didn’t come to school, which made Shi Niannian feel relieved.

Last night’s phone call had gotten increasingly strange toward the end. She didn’t know how she would face Jiang Wang when she saw him.

But though she could avoid him today, she couldn’t avoid him tomorrow. On Saturday at noon, Xu Ningqing came home and went straight to Shi Niannian’s bedroom. He knocked twice, waited a few seconds at the door, then pushed it open.

“All packed? I’ll take you over.”

Shi Niannian didn’t know her brother was going too. For a moment, she felt the panic of a teenager whose parents had suddenly discovered her secret relationship.

“…Yes.” She stood up.

Her aunt peeked in behind him: “Why did you come home today? Where are you taking Niannian?”

Xu Ningqing turned his head to look at Shi Niannian, who subtly shook her head twice.

He then said with a straight face, “Their school wants them to buy some books. I need to go out anyway, so I came to pick her up.”

Shi Niannian: “…”

Her aunt didn’t suspect anything. “Oh,” she said. “Will you be back for dinner?”

“We’ll see,” Xu Ningqing glanced at her and pointed. “This girl is all skin and bones. I might take her out for dinner.”

“That’s fine. She does seem to have lost weight,” her aunt said with concern. “Just don’t take Niannian to those places where you and your friends hang out. Go somewhere proper, okay?”

Xu Ningqing snorted with laughter: “I know.”

He turned to look at Shi Niannian and beckoned to her: “Let’s go.”

Shi Niannian followed Xu Ningqing out of the house. His car was parked outside.

Xu Ningqing got in the car and turned on the air conditioning, glancing at Shi Niannian: “Little girl’s all grown up now, even conspiring with me to deceive your aunt.”

It wouldn’t have mattered if they had told her aunt the truth. She wouldn’t have restricted Shi Niannian. But ever since her feelings had changed, she felt guilty and was even more afraid to speak up.

Shi Niannian pretended not to hear and looked out the window, the tips of her ears red.

“But you know, keep things appropriate. You’re only 17 this year, right?”

Shi Niannian corrected him: “16.”

“Oh, right, you started school early. Jiang Wang is already 19. You know, men can be pretty awful sometimes,” Xu Ningqing said casually as he drove. “Don’t believe everything they say.”

Shi Niannian looked at him: “Aren’t you one too?”

Aren’t you awful, too?

“I am, yeah.” Xu Ningqing snickered, turned on his signal, and admitted it frankly. He raised an eyebrow: “Do I look like a good guy to you?”

Shi Niannian nodded. She had always thought Xu Ningqing was good.

He laughed: “Then your judgment is off.”

When they entered the swimming pool, there were already many people around. Some had cameras ready to film. This competition was quite formal, though not of particularly high prestige.

In the past, with Jiang Wang’s abilities, he wouldn’t have participated in this level of competition. But now that he was starting over, he had to begin with lower-level competitions.

Xu Ningqing seemed to have been here before, as he confidently led Shi Niannian to the athletes’ preparation room.

“Wang,” he greeted.

Jiang Wang turned around and looked past him at Shi Niannian, tilting his head: “You’re here.”

Xu Ningqing frowned and punched him: “You can’t see me?”

Jiang Wang laughed: “Why would I want to see you?”

He said this matter-of-factly, without any shame.

Xu Ningqing pointed at him and said to Shi Niannian, “See? Not a good guy. Don’t be fooled.”

Shi Niannian found their bickering amusing and didn’t take those words to heart, the corners of her lips lifting in a faint smile.

There were other people in the preparation room, probably competitors as well. They were quite friendly, waving in greeting. With a room full of boys and so many people, Shi Niannian felt a bit uncomfortable.

Jiang Wang noticed this, and besides, everyone would need to change clothes soon, which wasn’t appropriate for the young girl to see.

“It’s about to start. You two should go to the stands,” Jiang Wang said.

“Alright.” Xu Ningqing raised his fist and bumped it with Jiang Wang’s, simply saying: “Good luck.”

“Mm.”

Jiang Wang stepped forward to Shi Niannian.

She was wearing her clothes today, bundled up tightly, looking small and cute like a fluffy ball.

Jiang Wang bent down and held out his fist to her, asking: “Won’t you wish me luck?”

Shi Niannian paused, then mimicked what Xu Ningqing had done, raising her fist and gently bumping it against his.

Her fist was much smaller than his. His hand was slender and bony, the knuckles pronounced.

“Good luck,” Shi Niannian said.

There were many people in the stands, and it was noisy. They sat in the front row.

Shi Niannian had never known that swimming competitions attracted so many spectators. Xu Ningqing told her that most were family and friends of the competitors. Since Jiang Wang hadn’t told anyone else about the competition, his “support team” consisted of just the two of them.

“Too pitiful,” he said, gloating as he lounged against the chair back. “You should cheer loudly for him later.”

“What about you?”

“I won’t cheer. Handsome guys don’t do that sort of thing,” Xu Ningqing joked.

“Oh.” Shi Niannian turned her head back.

The water in the swimming pool shimmered under the lights. Soon, the doors on the other side opened, and cheers erupted from the stands as the athletes entered.

Shi Niannian looked once and then dared not look again.

They were actually… shirtless.

She hadn’t considered this aspect before coming, completely forgetting that swimming competitions were, of course, like this.

Her gaze fluttered downward, not daring to look anymore.

With the sound of the starting gun, all eight swimmers dove into the water. The man sitting to Shi Niannian’s left immediately jumped up, cupping his hands around his mouth like a megaphone, shouting with great effort.

He was calling Jiang Wang’s name, so excited that his voice cracked at the end.

Xu Ningqing turned his head: “You’re Jiang Wang’s coach, right?”

He had seen him once before and had a vague impression.

“Yes, yes, I am. Are you his friends?” The coach looked over excitedly. “It’s rare for him to bring people to watch his competitions.”

Xu Ningqing glanced at the current situation in the swimming lanes. Jiang Wang was in third place. He asked, “How is his condition now?”

The coach said, “His hearing problem still affects him significantly. He didn’t enter the well. Let’s see how much he can catch up.”

Hearing.

He usually wore a hearing aid, which often gave Shi Niannian the impression that his hearing wasn’t impaired.

After speaking, the coach turned his attention back to the race, continuously cheering for Jiang Wang.

Water splashed in the pool, and the surroundings were clamorous. Shi Niannian’s gaze fixed steadily on the fourth lane, her eyes constantly locking onto Jiang Wang amid the waving colored flags.

It was as if everything around them blurred, leaving just the two of them.

She joined in shouting encouragement.

Jiang Wang.

Jiang Wang.

Xu Ningqing somehow got a megaphone from a girl in the back row and handed it to Shi Niannian: “Use this to cheer.”

That was too dramatic.

She didn’t want to use it, just held it in her hand, cheering alongside the coach.

With a sudden burst of applause, the first swimmer touched the wall at the finish line.

Jiang Wang followed closely, coming in second.

The coach, who had been standing the whole time, finally sat down. He knew Jiang Wang’s abilities better than anyone. In a competition of this caliber, previously, Jiang Wang would have been the overwhelming first place winner.

Although he had only resumed training recently, reaching this level already showed his exceptional talent. But from the beginning of his swimming career, Jiang Wang had always been first.

For such a naturally gifted athlete, hitting rock bottom and bouncing back wasn’t the recommended method.

“Young lady, since you’re his friend, please help me comfort him later,” the coach said to Shi Niannian.

“Comfort him?”

“Yes, this result isn’t good for him. He was once scouted by the national team. Starting over now puts a lot of pressure on him.”

By the time it ended, it was the peak of rush hour. Xu Ningqing went to get the car first while Shi Niannian went to the rest area to find Jiang Wang.

The young man sat with his back to her, a towel draped over his shoulders.

“Jiang Wang,” she called his name from the doorway.

Jiang Wang turned around: “Hm?”

Shi Niannian raised her hand to cover her eyes and turned away: “Put your, put your clothes on first.”

He chuckled softly, grabbed his t-shirt nearby, and put it on, then tapped her head: “Okay, you can turn around now.”

In his white shirt and black pants, he looked clean-cut and handsome, showing no signs of disappointment. Shi Niannian looked up at him for a while.

“Did you cheer for me?” he asked casually.

“Yes,” Shi Niannian nodded. “Did you hear me?”

He pointed to his left ear: “I took out my hearing aid during the competition. Couldn’t hear.”

Shi Niannian’s gaze followed his finger to his ear: “What about now?”

He smiled carelessly for a moment: “Just put it back on.”

The people around them had gradually packed up and left. Only the two of them remained in the rest area.

“Where’s Xu Ningqing?”

“Outside… getting the car.”

Jiang Wang raised an eyebrow: “And he’s comfortable letting you come here alone?”

Shi Niannian thought to herself that her brother had just said Jiang Wang wasn’t a good guy.

Jiang Wang was packing his things. Shi Niannian hesitated before saying: “Just now, your coach asked me to… comfort you.”

He turned around with his bag.

“Because you didn’t… win first place. He was worried you’d be upset.” Shi Niannian looked at him, then added quietly, “But you don’t seem, don’t seem that upset.”

Jiang Wang said: “I am upset, very upset.”

Shi Niannian was taken aback.

He approached with his bag, standing in front of her and bending down, his lips curving mischievously: “How do you plan to comfort me?”

Shi Niannian didn’t understand the hidden meaning in his words. She thought he was genuinely upset but just not showing it. Thinking about his ear, Shi Niannian felt even more sympathetic.

She stepped forward and gently squeezed into Jiang Wang’s embrace.

The young man froze completely.

Shi Niannian hesitantly raised her arms and then lowered them. After a moment, she lightly hugged Jiang Wang’s waist, not daring to use force, her arms loosely around him.

Her voice was very soft, like it would scatter in the wind.

“Then I’ll hug you. Don’t be… upset.”