Evening self-study at Yizhong was not mandatory for every student.

If one felt more efficient studying at home, they could go home, but they needed to inform the homeroom teacher first, and whether permission would be granted was uncertain.

Shi Niannian had good grades, so when she spoke to Cai Yucai in the evening, he approved.

“Daughters are indeed better. The saying that daughters are like warm little cotton jackets is certainly true,” her aunt said with a smile while stir-frying vegetables.

Shi Niannian tore the vegetables in the sink leaf by leaf, washing them with her sleeves rolled up.

“Where’s the… cook… ing aunt?”

“Her daughter came to see her, so I gave her a day off.” Her aunt asked, “Are you adapting well after the arts and science division?”

Shi Niannian nodded, making an “mm” sound.

“I heard that your homeroom teacher is Teacher Cai, right? He used to be Xu Ningqing’s homeroom teacher, too. He’s quite good, especially considerate of students,” her aunt said.

A person appeared in Shi Niannian’s mind.

Her brother and Jiang Wang seemed to have a good relationship. From what Jiang Ling had said, Jiang Wang was previously in the same grade as her brother. Were they classmates?

“Our class got a, trans… transfer student today,” Shi Niannian said with some difficulty. “He might have been, class… classmates with his brother before.”

Her aunt stopped cooking, turned around with surprise, and asked: “Is his name Jiang Wang?”

Shi Niannian hadn’t expected her aunt to know his name.

She nodded: “Mm.”

“Ah, that child.” Her aunt sighed. “He’s quite pitiful. That incident was such a big deal, resulting in him going to prison, which will greatly affect his future.”

She poured the vegetables onto a plate and sighed a second time. “He was close to your brother. No one knows what exactly happened that time, but fortunately, that person’s life wasn’t in danger. Otherwise, with him carrying two lives on his shoulders at such a young age, his future would be even more difficult.”

Shi Niannian was startled: “…Two?”

Her aunt waved her hand: “I’m not very clear either. I heard Xu Ningqing mention it, but he wouldn’t tell me the details.”

Shi Niannian took the vegetables from the basin. Lost in thought, which was rare for her, the flat side of the knife pressed against her index finger as she cut down.

She quickly let go, making a soft “hiss” sound, instinctively sucking on the wound.

It wasn’t serious, just a small trickle of blood that quickly stopped.

She didn’t tell her aunt, standing on the other side and rinsing it with water for a while. Soon, she was sent to rest. Monday’s homework wasn’t much, and she had mostly finished it during self-study.

By the time her aunt called for dinner, she had completed everything.

She put the pen cap back on, sat and stretched, then left her bedroom.

“Is brother… not com… coming back?”

Her aunt made a “hmph” sound: “He called earlier saying he’s going out with friends tonight. As if he has that many friends.” She pointed at her uncle with chopsticks. “It’s all because of how you spoil him.”

Her uncle smiled good-naturedly.

After dinner, Shi Niannian took out her biology book to preview tomorrow’s content.

After a while, her aunt knocked on her door and came in with a plate of fruit: “Is your study load heavy?”

“It’s pre… view.”

“How is our Niannian so well-behaved?” Her aunt smiled, rubbing her head.

The desk lamp cast a soft and gentle light on the woman’s face. Shi Niannian’s soft hair was ruffled twice, a strange feeling she had never experienced when living with her parents before high school.

“Make sure to balance work and rest. Don’t get too tired. Go to bed early. Aunt won’t disturb your studies anymore.” After saying this, she left the bedroom, gently closing the door.

Shi Niannian stared blankly at the pictures in the biology book for two minutes.

She raised her hand to rub her eyes, her eyelashes tickling her palm as they blinked.

Then she put a piece of fruit in her mouth.

After finishing the plate of fruit, Shi Niannian had completed previewing the next day’s content.

She walked out of her bedroom. The living room was empty. Her uncle and aunt’s bedroom was in the inner section, with the sound of a television coming from it.

She washed the fruit plate and put it in the cabinet.

Shi Niannian changed her shoes, took her keys, and quietly left.

“Hello, sixteen yuan. Cash or scan?”

Shi Niannian took out her phone to pay.

She bought a Magnum ice cream, walked out of the convenience store, tore open the wrapper, and bit into the crispy chocolate exterior.

So sweet.

The girl stood straight and quiet at the convenience store entrance, the summer night breeze blowing through her loose black hair.

Cicada sounds circled overhead.

After finishing the ice cream, she lightly bit the stick between her teeth.

She took out the band-aids she had just bought from her pocket, with Rilakkuma patterns.

She took one and put it on the finger she had cut in the afternoon, then found a trash can and threw away both the stick and the band-aid packaging.

She stood idly for a while.

In the boundless night, she gazed at the sea of lights from countless homes.

The sound of a basketball hitting the ground reached her ears.

Next to the convenience store was the basketball court from before.

Only the area around the basketball court had streetlights, making it hard to see clearly.

“Bang,” “bang,” “bang,” each hit landed heavily on the ground.

Just by listening, one could sense the anger in the heart of the person dribbling the ball.

Shi Niannian looked up.

…

He stood outside the three-point line, sweat at his temples glistening in the dim yellow streetlight, like firelight reflecting on his face.

His chin raised, tracing a clean and distinct jawline.

The ball left his hands, drawing a beautiful parabola in the air.

It hit the backboard and went in, bounced twice on the ground, and returned to his hands.

This repeated.

The muscle lines on his arms showed with exertion, his prominent Adam’s apple, the smooth neck line, and the wrist controlling the ball.

Shi Niannian recognized who it was, watched for a while, then turned to go home.

After walking a few steps forward, she recalled her aunt’s words from the evening.

Her footsteps paused, and she turned toward the basketball court.

The entrance to the court was a sliding iron mesh door. Shi Niannian pushed it, creating a noisy sound.

Jiang Wang caught the ball and stopped shooting.

Those cold eyes met Shi Niannian’s.

Gone was the frivolity and casualness of the daytime; now his eyes were dark, devoid of any emotion.

The girl wore a soft cotton dress with canvas shoes. The white shoelace on her left foot had a bit of dirt, the back of the shoe was stepped on under her foot, revealing a section of rounded, fair heel.

Her hair was down, blown backward by the evening breeze.

The wind brought the fresh, clean scent of someone who had just bathed, wrapping around his nose.

During the days when his ears couldn’t hear, Jiang Wang’s sense of smell and vision had become much sharper than before.

That breeze carrying jasmine fragrance and honey sweetness dispersed much of the hostility in him.

Even the wind coming from the girl was warm.

Sweat slid down Jiang Wang’s jaw, dripping from his chin, soaking into his collar, showing through the fabric of his clothes.

He didn’t speak, looking at her with lowered eyelids.

Shi Niannian walked a bit closer to him, starlight reflecting in the girl’s eyes.

Tilting her head slightly as she looked up, her index finger lightly tapped twice on her jawbone.

Jiang Wang raised his hand and wiped.

Blood.

Shi Niannian looked at him, her gaze direct and pure.

“Who?”

Who hit you?

My father hit me.

Jiang Wang found it laughable.

“What?” he curled his lips in light mockery. “Are you going to hit them back for me?”

Shi Niannian didn’t speak.

She lowered her head, reached into the front pocket of her dress, fumbled for a while, and took out a small box.

She took one out and handed it to him, decorated with Rilakkuma patterns.

Due to the huge height difference between them, her hand was raised high to her forehead.

She pressed her lips together with no expression.

Looking a bit foolishly serious.

Only then did Jiang Wang notice she had the same band-aid on her hand.

He shook his head, meaning he didn’t want it.

He never put such things on his face.

Shi Niannian still held up her hand, not speaking.

After a moment of stalemate.

Jiang Wang held the ball with one hand and took the band-aid from her.

His thumb touched her fingertip.

Shi Niannian put the band-aid box back in her pocket and continued to look up, watching his actions.

Jiang Wang paused, tore off the paper on both sides, and pressed the band-aid onto the cut on his jaw with his index finger.

Shi Niannian’s lips curled up slightly.

She took the black hair tie from her wrist, lightly biting it between her teeth.

She tied her wind-tousled hair low, smiled at him, and waved her hand.

Then she pointed in the direction behind her.

Meaning she was going home.

She didn’t like to talk.

The casually tied hair had a few strands loose outside, caressing her fair neck, moving up and down in the wind.

Jiang Wang stood there for several seconds.

The faint fragrance from the girl still filled his nostrils. He casually glanced at her retreating figure as she ran out of the basketball court, still expressionless.

He indifferently withdrew his gaze.

Only, for some inexplicable reason, he raised his hand and lightly pressed his lips against the thumb that had just touched her fingertip.

Shi Niannian hadn’t walked far when she heard footsteps behind her.

Looking back, she saw Jiang Wang with his hands in his pockets, casually following behind her.

A cigarette between his fingers, silent, his gaze discreetly sweeping over her skirt hem before he exhaled a cloud of white smoke.

Shi Niannian walked forward for a while, with him closely following. When she slowed down, he slowed down; when she sped up, he sped up too. It wasn’t just happening to be going the same way; he was deliberately following her.

She stopped her steps and turned to look at him.

“What… are you doing?”

He wore a black short-sleeved shirt, his face sharp-featured, his figure tall and slender under the lights.

His eyelids drooped, making him look somewhat tired.

Jiang Wang had unconsciously been staring at the girl’s legs for a while, a bit distracted.

Hearing her, he replied with a casual “Hmm?”

Shi Niannian didn’t repeat herself.

He came to his senses and said flatly, “Seeing you home.”

His nasal tone was heavy, his voice hoarse.

Shi Niannian understood. The streetlights on this street back home were broken and, for some reason, had never been fixed. Her brother had also reminded her before to avoid walking alone on this dark street at night.

She didn’t walk side by side with Jiang Wang.

They remained one in front, one behind.

Only the occasional scent of smoke drifting from behind reminded her that Jiang Wang was still following.

After entering the villa district gate, the smell of smoke faded. With a gust of wind, nothing could be smelled anymore.

Shi Niannian walked inward for a while, then looked back.

The night wind howled past, pushing the moon out from behind the clouds.

Jiang Wang had already turned around and was walking back. The wind blew against him, making his loose short-sleeved shirt billow, outlining his distinctly broad shoulders and narrow waist.