“I want to go back to school.”

“How can you go back to school looking like this?”

Xie Ci stared at her profile, raising his eyebrows slightly. “Why don’t I take you back right now to find—”

Before he could finish speaking, the phone Xu You was clutching tightly rang again.

She lowered her gaze and glanced at the caller display.

After a long moment.

Xu You sniffled, coughed a few times, composed her voice, and pretended to answer nonchalantly.

She said “hello” in a low voice.

Fu Xueli’s voice was very anxious, asking hurriedly: “You You, why aren’t you answering your phone? Did something happen?”

The background noise on her end was very chaotic, with many people’s voices mixed together.

“Nothing… I…” After saying two words, Xu You was about to choke up again.

Xie Ci snatched her phone in one swift motion and put it to his own ear. “Xu You is with me, don’t worry about it.”

“Where are you guys right now?! I just called you, why didn’t you answer? I’m fucking worried to death.”

Fu Xueli went on a tirade on the phone.

She had originally wanted to go find Xu You herself just now, but since she wasn’t very familiar with the parking garage location, she had asked Xie Ci to go pick Xu You up. As a result, once he went down there it was ages—Xu You was nowhere to be found, her phone couldn’t be reached, and Xie Ci also didn’t come back for quite a while.

Then, having no choice, she hurriedly rushed to the parking garage planning to look herself, but as soon as she exited the elevator doors, she was stopped by two security guards.

Fu Xueli was already anxious, and being blocked made her even more furious. Her temper flared up as she demanded loudly: “What are you doing? I’m looking for my friend, get out of the way!”

The two security guards wouldn’t let her pass, explaining very politely: “Sorry miss, there’s a situation being handled inside.”

“What situation?! My friend is still in there!”

As Fu Xueli was dealing with them, she vaguely heard a few weak wails from the empty parking garage.

Being someone who knew her way around, she knew something wasn’t quite right, so she stood there continuously calling Xie Ci and Xu You frantically.

After calling for about ten-plus minutes, Xu You’s phone finally connected.

“I’ll take her back to school in a bit.” Xie Ci answered unhurriedly, his eyes glancing to the side.

Fu Xueli was furious, practically shouting: “Take her my ass, you bring Xu You back and I’ll accompany her back to school myself.”

Xie Ci clicked his tongue. “My car’s already on the road.”

Fu Xueli asked him: “What exactly happened?”

“Nothing happened.”

“You think I’m stupid?”

Fu Xueli was too lazy to waste words with him and said coldly: “Why is the parking garage sealed off? What’s going on inside?”

Xie Ci took his time, casually making things up: “Oh, just when Xu You and I were coming out, we ran into a group of thugs and got into a bit of conflict. They had more people so we couldn’t beat them, so I took her and ran. After running away I was still angry, so I called my brother to bring people down to have a little exchange with that group…”

Fu Xueli: ……

“Alright, that’s it then.” Without waiting for her to speak, Xie Ci directly ended the call.

After hanging up, the car was silent again.

Xie Ci bent one hand and rested it on the window edge. The back of his hand propped against his head, he lowered his eyes and casually played with Xu You’s phone.

After some time passed, he suddenly asked: “Hey, you didn’t save my number?”

Xu You turned her head and silently took back her phone. Her eyes looked weary, her voice hoarse: “Thank you for today.”

After a pause, Xu You continued: “Don’t tell Xueli.”

“Mm.” He agreed.

“Don’t tell anyone else either.” She added.

Xie Ci lazily hummed in acknowledgment. His head tilted back slightly, resting against the seat as he looked her up and down.

After a while, he opened the small drawer in the car and took out several hundred-yuan bills.

“Wait for me.” After giving this instruction, he opened the car door and got out.

Xu You turned her head.

The car door slammed shut with a bang, the car body shook violently, causing her body to tremble as well.

He crossed the street, his whole body dirty with grime and dried bloodstains. Xie Ci turned into a twenty-four-hour convenience store without looking back, raising the car keys in his hand.

Sitting in the car, Xu You heard a click as the car lights flashed.

The car was locked.

Almost simultaneously, the phone in her hand vibrated. Xu You picked it up—the contact “Xie Ci” had sent a text message:

—Afraid you’ll run away.

Xie Ci didn’t take long to return, holding a T-shirt and two packages of wet wipes in his hands.

He got in the car, closed the door, and tossed a pack of wipes into Xu You’s lap.

She sat there without any movement until Xie Ci asked: “Want me to wipe you down myself?”

“I want to go back to school as soon as possible.”

“I know.” He said.

“I need to go back to school.” She repeated again.

Xie Ci really had no temper left after being worn down by her.

He lowered his head to unwrap a pack of wipes, pulled one out, and said while wiping the dirt off his fingers: “It’s six-thirty now, right? I’ll deliver you to the school gate at exactly eight o’clock, okay?”

Very quiet. No one responded.

Xie Ci tried again tentatively: “Pretty please?”

The car was stopped near the sidewalk. Occasionally elderly people and children taking walks passed by, casting curious glances into the car.

The night breeze passed through the vehicle, bringing a wave of coolness.

Xu You sat there. Her tears had run dry, but her mind was suddenly very quiet. She couldn’t think of anything—it was just blank.

The dried tears on her cheeks made her skin feel tight and uncomfortable.

Xu You was too tired to think about anything more or argue about anything. She silently picked up the mint-green package of wet wipes on her lap.

Xie Ci was leaning against the steering wheel, his gaze lingering on her for a moment. Only after confirming she had tacitly agreed did he relax and smile, clearing his throat. “Turn your head away for a second, I need to change clothes.”

Xu You looked at him quietly, then turned her head toward the car window.

The window on the other side slowly rose, isolating the noise from the outside world.

He crossed his arms and pulled his shirt over his head, exposing his lean waist. His voice muffled from inside, he said: “Don’t secretly turn your head back and take advantage of me.”

“Got it.”

She responded slowly.

—

This city was especially lively at night—neon lights flashing brightly, endless streams of traffic.

They walked along with the crowded flow of people, aimlessly wandering through the nearby night market.

Music with a strong rhythm flowed out from two-yuan accessory shops. Seafood restaurants, small noodle shops, street stalls displaying grilled gluten and lamb skewers—many unknown food aromas mixed together.

Xu You wore the oversized black jacket, zipper pulled all the way up, completely enveloping her slender body. She quietly followed beside Xie Ci, taking small bites of the red bean paste bread in her hand.

“What do you like to eat?” Xie Ci’s black short hair stood messily on his head. Hands in his pockets, he led Xu You wandering around freely and casually.

Xu You chewed twice, swallowed the food in her mouth, and said softly: “This is good enough for me.”

“You can get full on just that?” Xie Ci looked down at the thing in her hand and said skeptically: “Even the little dog at my house eats more than you.”

“Mm.” She made a sound of acknowledgment and said nothing more.

They continued on their way, walking to a small river at the night market.

That was the liveliest spot. Various children gathered there playing games, there was an old man selling sugar figurines, and young people sat on the grass chatting and laughing.

Xie Ci’s eyes wandered around until he suddenly spotted a place.

He raised his eyebrows and pulled Xu You by the wrist, squeezing toward that spot.

At a street stall, there was a mass of people crowded in front—more than half were adults bringing children to play.

“Boss, how much to play this once?” After Xie Ci positioned himself, still not letting go of Xu You, he used his height advantage to shout toward the busy boss inside.

The stall owner was a pudgy middle-aged man currently busy collecting money. Without lifting his head, he said: “Look beside you, it’s written on the sign.”

The stall had everything displayed—small items like rotating music boxes and ceramic Doraemon figures, to large brown teddy bears over a meter tall.

A whiteboard stood nearby with crooked writing in thick blue marker:

Ten yuan for ten rings, hit it and take it home.

The boss over there was still hawking his business.

Xie Ci looked down and said to the girl beside him: “Hey, watch this—today I’m going to make this boss go bankrupt.”

After confidently declaring this, without caring whether Xu You was willing or not, he forcibly pulled her over.

“Boss, give me ten rings.” Xie Ci fished money out of his pocket and handed it over.

The boss glanced at him, passed over the rings, then lowered his head to make change.

“Boss, how can I ring the bear with such small rings?” Xie Ci toyed with the thin wire rings, somewhat puzzled.

The boss gave him his change, thinking to himself that this tall, thin young man looked quite handsome—how could he be so dim-witted? He rolled his eyes and said irritably: “Who told you to ring the bear?”

“But I want it.” Xie Ci said matter-of-factly, then got a bit angry. “Why display it if you’re not selling?”

“Hey, you little punk.”

The boss got impatient and shouted at them, pointing at a white line drawn with chalk beside them. “See that? You stand here and throw. If you hit that water bottle at the very back, you can take the bear. If you can hit any of the ones in front, take those too!”

Xie Ci seriously estimated the distance and complained again: “That far?”

He wanted to argue more, but Xu You couldn’t help reaching out to tug at the hem of Xie Ci’s shirt. “Hurry up, there are people waiting.”

When everything was finally ready.

People crowded around them, everyone excitedly pressed together.

A young mother holding a child pointed at Xie Ci and said: “Watch big brother throw things for big sister.”

The child flailed about, shouting loudly: “I want the little goldfish, I want the little goldfish, I want to throw too.”

…

Xie Ci was quite serious, standing in place and even doing some stretches to limber up.

Seeing him like this, the people around thought he must be pretty good.

Xu You quietly stood to the side.

Before throwing the first one, Xie Ci turned his head and asked her: “What do you like?”

Xu You, seeing him acting like a little kid, couldn’t help but shake her head and say: “Just hurry up.”

Then he decided on his own. Standing at the white line, bending slightly at the waist, he concentrated and extended his arm to throw the first ring.

Missed.

The crowd let out a chorus of disappointed sighs.

The second one.

Missed again.

Third, fourth, fifth…

Xie Ci threw all ten in succession without hitting even the closest target.

After finishing, he stood there empty-handed.

Standing in place, silently making eye contact with Xu You. Actually, thinking about it, it was quite embarrassing—when had the tyrannical big boss of No. 1 High ever lost face like this?

Xie Ci, unwilling to accept defeat, went to buy another ten rings from the boss.

When he came back, Xu You saw his eager-to-try expression and let out an imperceptible sigh.

She shook her head, walked over to stand beside Xie Ci, took the rings from his hand, and said in a low voice: “Let me do it.”

Then.

Xu You stood there, eyes on the small items before her, quiet for a moment.

She made her move, tossed, and ringed a small gift box.

Another ring—she got the goldfish bowl.

Exclamations of amazement rose from the crowd.

…

The last ring—Xu You weighed it in her hand for a while. The evening breeze blew gently, lifting her loose black hair. The hem of her pure white dress flapped against her calves.

The thin wire ring left her hand, flying straight forward in a perfect arc.

With a ding, it landed steadily around the water bottle at the very back.

The surrounding crowd erupted in cheers, applause breaking out.

This was a true master among the common people!

Xie Ci was completely stunned, staring blankly at everything happening before him.

The boss, looking rather displeased, took out the big bear and handed it into Xu You’s arms.

Xu You took it with one arm, thanked him quietly, then negotiated: “I don’t want the other things—can I have the little goldfish?”

The boss naturally had no objection.

Xu You nodded, walked forward and crouched down to pick up the little goldfish.

She looked up, searched around, and spotted that young mother.

Xu You walked over and personally handed the item to that little child. “The little goldfish.”

—

After finishing their stroll through the night market, it was almost eight o’clock.

They retraced their path back. Xu You walked in front holding the bear, silently walking.

Xie Ci, hands in his pockets, followed slowly behind.

Reaching the roadside, the sky gradually darkened, streetlights stretching her shadow long.

“Hey, you’re full of hidden talents.” Xie Ci suddenly laughed, quickening his steps to catch up with her. “Didn’t see that coming, Xu You.”

Xu You made a sound of acknowledgment. She said: “Because you’re too stupid.”

Xie Ci sucked in a breath and continued listening to her.

“That kind of ring has an uneven distribution of center of gravity—the front is heavier. Plus with the wind, you can’t throw directly at the target. You have to shift the angle slightly to the side and also consider the height of the arc.”

She looked at him. “You don’t study properly at school, so you don’t know anything.”

Xie Ci stared at Xu You, teasing her: “A top student is a top student indeed. I’m impressed.”

He had that frivolous, unserious look again. Xu You couldn’t be bothered to respond and looked away, continuing forward.

Xie Ci chuckled and lazily continued following behind her.

After walking a few steps.

Xu You suddenly stopped.

Xie Ci’s footsteps also halted. Just as he was about to ask what was wrong, he saw her turn back.

She held out the big bear she’d been carrying in the crook of her arm to Xie Ci, tilting her head up slightly to look at him, saying seriously: “This is for you.”

People flowed past them in both directions.

Xu You looked up, her dark, clear eyes quietly meeting his gaze.

Light and shadow of varying depths swept across her.

Xie Ci’s breath caught.

For the first time in his entire life, his face turned red.