With one month remaining until the competition, Ruan Mian suddenly developed an extremely severe aversion to the exam.

For three consecutive practice tests, she dropped to the bottom of the class, which startled the teachers who had been cultivating her as a seed player.

It wasn’t as if this situation had never occurred before. The teachers urgently held a small meeting, invited a specialized pre-exam psychological counselor, and had her listen to experiences from senior students who had previously participated in competitions.

In short, they did every effort they could, but Ruan Mian’s state never managed to adjust. For this reason, Zhou Hai specifically gave her a few days off.

“These few days, just play around freely. Put studying and the competition aside for now.” Zhou Hai was also worried her state would continue being this poor and consoled her: “In any case, don’t have any pressure, and don’t have any messy bad thoughts.”

Ruan Mian lowered her eyes and took a deep breath. “I understand, thank you Teacher Zhou.”

Saying more comforting words would be futile. At times like this, she could only rely on herself to ease things. Zhou Hai didn’t say more, only telling her to be careful on her way back.

Ruan Mian didn’t return to the classroom. Empty-handed, she left the school, randomly got on a bus at the school gate, and sat inside swaying back and forth.

Others all thought she was like this due to stress and nervousness, but only Ruan Mian herself knew clearly—she simply couldn’t face the fact that Chen Yi would be going abroad after the competition ended.

She couldn’t get past this hurdle in her heart.

That afternoon, the bus Ruan Mian was on traversed almost half the city. When night fell, she turned to look out the window, tears falling silently.

……

At eight in the evening, the bus stopped at a certain station. Ruan Mian got off and walked for a long time along lively and familiar streets.

During those days off, Ruan Mian turned off her phone and didn’t return to Pingjiang West Lane, instead staying with her grandmother at Nanhu Garden.

One afternoon, the live-in care assistant went to the supermarket to buy ingredients for the evening’s hot pot. Ruan Mian sat with Zhou Xiujun in the room basking in the sun.

The winter afternoon sunlight carried a thin layer of warmth. Ruan Mian sat cross-legged on the floor covered with a plush blanket, her hands fiddling with a Rubik’s cube that had worn down to the point of losing its color.

Zhou Xiujun, lying on the bed, finished watching half an episode of a TV series, raised her hand to turn off the TV, tucked in the blanket beside her, and looked at Ruan Mian. “Mianmian.”

“Mm?”

“Something on your mind?”

The movement in Ruan Mian’s hands paused. She turned her head and smiled. “No.”

“What’s there to hide from Grandma?” Zhou Xiujun said: “These past few days you’ve been here, you haven’t talked much. Whenever you sit down you zone out. If that’s not something on your mind, what else could it be?”

Ruan Mian lowered her eyes, her fingers unconsciously touching the Rubik’s cube.

Zhou Xiujun sighed: “Your temperament is exactly like your father’s. When you encounter something, you’d rather let it rot in your stomach than say it out loud. But Mianmian, you need to know—living like this is very tiring.”

Ruan Mian pressed her lips together.

Zhou Xiujun said: “Then let Grandma guess—did something happen at school? Did a teacher scold you, or did you do poorly on an exam?”

“…Not entirely.” Doing poorly on an exam was true, but getting to the root of it, the problem still lay with a person. Ruan Mian leaned back against the edge of the bed, raised her head to look at the high-rise buildings outside the window, and as if finding an outlet to confide in, slowly began to speak.

She spoke of encountering, of liking, and also of giving up and choosing.

She spoke incoherently without any thread, but Zhou Xiujun understood clearly, grasping what was in her heart at once. She said earnestly: “If you truly can’t let go, then persist. Who can say for sure about the future? Perhaps before long, you’ll meet someone else.”

Ruan Mian stared at the cracks in the floor without saying a word.

Zhou Xiujun raised her hand to touch her head. “The road ahead is still long. For now, just choose a path that won’t make you so sad and continue walking.”

Ruan Mian thought for a long time before giving a low “mm.”

That evening after dinner, Ruan Mian turned on the phone she had kept off for several days. After a brief pause, a huge wave of messages and missed calls suddenly flooded in.

She read through them one by one, replied to each one, then turned off her phone again.

That night, Ruan Mian rarely slept well. When she woke the next day, after eating breakfast with Zhou Xiujun, she decided to return to school early.

From Nanhu to No. 8 Middle School was nearly over an hour’s bus ride. By the time Ruan Mian arrived at school, the class bell had long since rung. Wu Yan stood at the school gate. Seeing her, he said nothing and just waved his hand to let her quickly go in.

Ruan Mian walked in quickly. When turning the corner, she looked back to see Wu Yan blocking several late students from entering.

That day was Wednesday. The Pingcheng Meteorological Bureau had issued a heavy snow warning.

Ruan Mian returned to the classroom. Her seat was still as it had been before she left—the physics textbook spread open, draft papers and test papers piled into a small mountain.

Fu Guangsi leaned over amid the noisy sounds of reading and asked: “How did you get in?”

“I walked in.”

“Wu Yan didn’t catch you?”

“No, he even told me to hurry up.”

“…”

No one cared about her absence these past few days. Everything seemed as usual—no excessive concern, no gossipy inquiries.

There was still competition class in the evening. Ruan Mian rarely walked together with Chen Yi. Going downstairs, Chen Yi pulled out a stack of test papers from his bag and handed them to her. “Test papers from these past few days.”

Ruan Mian received them and said thank you.

Chen Yi hummed in acknowledgment. Several classmates from other classes came up toward them. The stairwell was narrow, so he walked two steps faster, clearing the left side for others to pass.

He wore his book bag on one shoulder. Ruan Mian, walking behind him, saw that the zipper had something like a safety charm pendant attached to it.

But at that time, she only had eyes for the person in front of her and didn’t pay attention to this detail. She hastily withdrew her gaze and quickly followed.

Competition class time was extended by half an hour—the first two hours for the exam, the remaining time used to analyze special question types.

Class ended at ten o’clock. Ruan Mian and Chen Yi were called to the office by Teacher Luo. Passing through a long corridor along the way, Ruan Mian only then noticed it was snowing outside.

Rustling snowflakes drifted in.

Arriving at the office, Teacher Luo brought up the topic of how to adjust one’s mindset before exams again. After going over the same old things for more than ten minutes, she finally let them go.

By then, most people had already left the school. The street lamps on both sides of the road were dim and yellowish. Snowflakes rose and fell in the light and shadows.

Leaving school, they encountered a vendor selling roasted sweet potatoes. Chen Yi stopped and asked for several. After they were packed, he handed one to Ruan Mian.

Ruan Mian was stunned for a moment, her heartbeat clamoring. She reached out to take it, her voice carrying a calmness after restraint. “Thank you.”

Chen Yi said no problem and carried the rest forward.

Ruan Mian jogged to catch up with him. The sweet potato in her hand radiated scalding heat, soothing her anxious and uneasy heart.

When they reached the alley entrance, Chen Yi glanced at the dimly lit alley lane, withdrew the foot he had originally intended to continue forward with, turned around, and walked inside together with the girl.

Ruan Mian’s gaze fell on the ground, listening to the alternating footsteps of the two people, making conversation as if she had nothing to talk about: “…Aren’t you nervous?”

“About what?”

“The exam.”

“Not too bad.” Chen Yi turned to look over. The light was dim; he couldn’t see anything clearly. Remembering her previous failures, he asked: “Were you doing poorly because of nervousness?”

Ruan Mian bit the corner of her lip. “Pretty much.”

Chen Yi seemed to laugh. “What’s there to be nervous about? Even if you don’t do well on the exam, there’s still the college entrance exam. If worst comes to worst, going abroad works too. There are many paths—it just depends on how you walk them.”

Ruan Mian nodded, then remembering he couldn’t see, hummed in acknowledgment and asked: “…After you go abroad, do you plan to come back?”

Just then they happened to walk to a brightly lit area. The boy turned his head back, his smile unrestrained and bright, carrying the spirited vigor of youth.

“Of course.”

—

**Author’s Note:** This is the latter half that I didn’t finish writing this morning, so there isn’t much content.

Tomorrow (Thursday) the update will be delayed to eight in the evening. From now on, every Thursday’s update will be at eight in the evening, with all other times at nine in the morning. I’ll ask for leave in special circumstances.