On this night when Qiu Xing couldn’t hide his sadness, his eyes looked like those of a helpless child. Later, he sat up, and Lin Yiran also climbed to the back, sitting with Qiu Xing in this small space.

Lin Yiran hugged her knees, quietly keeping him company.

“Are you tired?” Qiu Xing asked.

“I’m not tired,” Lin Yiran answered.

Qiu Xing suddenly crawled out, sat in the driver’s seat, and started the car.

That night was very ordinary in summer, ordinary yet not ordinary.

Qiu Xing drove the car off the highway, taking several turns, finally stopping on an unfinished road. The road was already paved very smoothly, with no guardrails on either side. Beside the road was a vast open grassland, the barren alkaline soil growing sparse grass.

Qiu Xing lay down on the grass, flat on his back, looking at the sky.

There were a few stars in the sky, and the clouds were transparent.

Lin Yiran sat beside him, occasionally waving her hand to drive away mosquitoes.

Neither of them spoke, yet they were each other’s only companions in this world. They were both people toyed with by life, acting in a play with unknown endings.

On this night, Lin Yiran directly felt the closeness between her and Qiu Xing. Apart from each other, there was no one in the world closer to them than each other.

They were driven by fate, wandering endlessly without destination.

*

When Qiu Xing went back the next time, he still went to see his mother.

Lin Yiran went too. That day, Auntie Fang was in very good condition, constantly holding Lin Yiran’s hand while talking.

She was thinner than Lin Yiran remembered, much more haggard, but still gentle, speaking in a soft voice.

When she heard that Lin Yiran’s mother had passed away, she stroked Lin Yiran’s face, her eyes full of affection, sympathetically comforting this little girl from the neighbor’s house.

At times like this, she seemed perfectly normal. Lin Yiran hugged her, feeling extremely sad inside.

“When you miss your mother, you can come see Auntie Fang. Auntie Fang will chat with you, and you won’t feel sad anymore.” She smoothed Lin Yiran’s hair, like a kind and compassionate elder.

Lin Yiran nodded with reddened eyes and said to her, “I will come often.”

“Good, Little Boat has grown up.” She smiled, and when she smiled, there were fine wrinkles at the corners of her eyes. She added, “Even Little Boat has grown so big.”

Perhaps because of Lin Yiran, Auntie Fang didn’t fixate too much on Qiu Xing that day, with her attention mostly on Lin Yiran.

Qiu Xing went out to talk to the nurse, and when he came back, he brought two apples, saying they were from the nurse. He washed them and gave one to each of them.

Auntie Fang thought of something and smiled, “Oh right, last time Little Qi said you’re handsome.”

“Which Little Qi?” Qiu Xing asked casually.

“That girl with the big eyes. Last time I said I would introduce her to you when you came.” Auntie Fang turned to Lin Yiran and said, “I almost forgot, I should get Little Qi to come over.”

“Just stay seated,” Qiu Xing pressed on her shoulders to keep her from standing up.

Her mind was confused, mixing truth and imagination, and it was unclear if there was a Little Qi.

Qiu Xing and Lin Yiran kept her company for half the afternoon, and later, when she said she needed to rest for a while, Qiu Xing and Lin Yiran finally left. Lin Yiran reluctantly said goodbye to her, and she told Lin Yiran to take good care of herself and to be strong.

Lin Yiran nodded, hearing her say, “There’s nothing that can’t be overcome, everything will pass.”

Qiu Xing added, “What if it can’t be overcome?”

“If it can’t be overcome, you’ll get sick,” she replied smoothly, then added, “Like me.”

Qiu Xing said bluntly, “So you know?”

Lin Yiran nudged Qiu Xing with her elbow. Qiu Xing lowered his eyes to look at her, and Lin Yiran indicated with her eyes for him to stop talking.

Auntie Fang smiled gently, “How could I not know? I’m sick, I know that, otherwise why would I be staying here?” She said to Qiu Xing, “Take good care of Little Boat.”

The mental hospital was different from what Lin Yiran had imagined, and not as frightening as people had described when she was a child. There were many patients here, but their abnormalities weren’t immediately apparent; most seemed no different from ordinary people.

The hospital was very clean, with plenty of greenery, and quite beautiful.

“You’re here?” Someone greeted Qiu Xing, waving and talking to him.

Lin Yiran instantly knew this young woman must be “Little Qi”; her eyes were indeed big and beautiful.

“Brought your girlfriend to see Auntie Fang?” The young nurse saw Lin Yiran and winked at Qiu Xing suggestively.

Qiu Xing smiled and gave a simple “Ah.”

“Auntie Fang has been doing quite well recently, eating well and sleeping well,” the young nurse told Qiu Xing.

Qiu Xing said, “Thank you for taking care of her.”

The two seemed quite familiar with each other from their conversation. When they parted, the young nurse said, “Alright, you should go now. If anything happens with Auntie Fang, I’ll call you.”

When it was just the two of them, Lin Yiran finally asked, “Is this the Little Qi that Auntie Fang wanted to introduce to you?”

Qiu Xing said, “I don’t know, probably. But her surname is Zhang.”

Lin Yiran blinked in surprise, and Qiu Xing added, “And she’s married.”

Lin Yiran didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Just now, Auntie Fang had seemed like she wanted to introduce a girlfriend to Qiu Xing. Qiu Xing said, “My mom says whatever comes to mind.”

Auntie Fang’s speech did sometimes sound confused, but Lin Yiran still found her very warm and familiar, giving her a sense of comfort.

From that day on, when his mother occasionally called, Qiu Xing would let Lin Yiran answer.

Auntie Fang usually remembered her, but she didn’t always remember why Lin Yiran was with Qiu Xing. Sometimes she would think they were studying together, and would tell Lin Yiran, “If you encounter problems you don’t understand, ask Qiu Xing to explain them to you.”

Lin Yiran would respond with “Mmm” and follow along with Auntie Fang, saying, “I will ask him.”

“If he doesn’t explain it well to you, tell Auntie Fang.”

“He won’t do that,” Lin Yiran smiled, turning her head to glance at Qiu Xing.

“He has a stubborn temper, no patience,” Auntie Fang criticized her son bluntly.

Lin Yiran smiled and said, “He’s very good.”

“He’s not that great as a person,” Auntie Fang’s tone had a hint of disdain, but more of undisguisable love and pride, “but his grades are very good, he’s so smart.”

Lin Yiran blinked gently. She knew that Qiu Xing had been good at studying since childhood. As for why Qiu Xing was now driving a truck instead of going to school, Lin Yiran didn’t dare to ask more. There was no need to ask; reality was right in front of her eyes.

Qiu Xing wasn’t particularly sharp or sensitive about his current situation. It wasn’t that it couldn’t be mentioned or that he would avoid the topic if it came up. He just didn’t bother to bring it up, and Lin Yiran intentionally never talked about it.

She became increasingly unwilling to touch on content that might trigger negative emotions in Qiu Xing. She could always recall that night when Qiu Xing woke up from his dream and looked at her with confused and pained eyes.

She didn’t want Qiu Xing to look at her with such sadness again. It was hard to make Qiu Xing smile, but it was also good for him to live calmly as usual.

*

Every time Qiu Xing secured the cargo with tarpaulin, he would get very dirty. The tarpaulin itself was dirty, and the ropes used to tie it down were covered in dust. Securing the cargo required him to walk around the truck, hooking each rope on both sides of the vehicle, going back and forth many times.

Later, Lin Yiran would actively get down to help him. Qiu Xing would throw the rope over, and although Lin Yiran didn’t have enough strength to hook it on, she would hold it for Qiu Xing so he could secure one end first and then come to her side, without having to go around repeatedly.

This way they both got dirty together. Lin Yiran’s hands were also black, and neither was cleaner than the other.

“Next time, don’t reach out, it’s dirty,” Qiu Xing told her after they got back in the truck.

Lin Yiran held her small black hands carefully, not daring to move them around, but she felt like laughing, saying, “They’ll be clean after wiping.”

She had tanned a bit during this period, not as fair as when she first arrived. Qiu Xing saw her hair casually tied up, wearing a large T-shirt, becoming increasingly rough around the edges like him. Qiu Xing criticized her, “You should do less work.”

Lin Yiran asked, “Why?”

Qiu Xing said, “Once you get used to being dirty, you can’t wash it off. In a while, you have to go back to school.”

He always spoke without emotion, his tone flat, and with his cold face, he seemed completely devoid of feeling.

Lin Yiran silently looked for wet wipes to clean her hands, and also pulled out two sheets to hand to Qiu Xing. Qiu Xing glanced at her, saw her looking down, took the wet wipes, and said nothing more.

After a while, Lin Yiran spoke again, saying, “Dirty hands don’t affect schooling.”

Qiu Xing said, “People will think you’re mistreated at home, forced to do chores.”

Lin Yiran raised her face to look at him and said, “I don’t have a home.”

“You might not have one,” Qiu Xing drove while looking ahead, telling her, “but you can’t let people know that.”

Lin Yiran looked at Qiu Xing, listening as he added, “Don’t tell others you don’t have a home.”

Qiu Xing’s tone was somewhat serious now. Lin Yiran didn’t ask why; she instinctively understood Qiu Xing’s meaning.

Since Qiu Xing had told Lin Yiran not to help, the next time she didn’t get down and sat obediently in the passenger seat.

However, this time the cargo was loaded high, raising the truck bed significantly, making the ropes more difficult to hook. Qiu Xing walked around twice, then leaned out to check the rearview mirror. Lin Yiran was sitting quietly with her head down.

“Lin Little Boat,” Qiu Xing called to her.

Lin Yiran stuck her head out the window: “Hmm?”

“Come help me hold this,” Qiu Xing said.

Lin Yiran didn’t hide her smile, amused at Qiu Xing going back on his word. She opened the door and jumped down, saying, “Coming.”

Qiu Xing handed her the hook, saying, “Don’t let go. If you let go, it will hit me.”

“Okay,” Lin Yiran said.

With the truck bed loaded so high, the ropes weren’t long enough, requiring Qiu Xing to pull hard to hook them on. He would throw one end of the hook over from the other side, and Lin Yiran would help hold it so he could hook one side and then go to the other.

The hook felt heavy in her hand, made from a bent thick steel rod to withstand the tension.

Lin Yiran was afraid she might lose her grip and hit Qiu Xing, so she held on with both hands tightly.

With just two sections left, Lin Yiran’s hands already had marks from the rope, and she feared her strength wouldn’t be enough.

When the rope was thrown over from the other side, Lin Yiran looked up and noticed the direction was a bit off, instinctively dodging to the side. The moment the metal hook hit her shoulder, Lin Yiran closed her eyes, the intense pain striking her bones instantly bringing uncontrollable tears.

When Qiu Xing had thrown it over, two ropes had hooked together, and the other one had been thrown out by inertia.

He didn’t hear the metal hitting the ground, so he called out, “Everything okay?”

Lin Yiran was numb with pain, the sharp ache making her dizzy. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before calling back, “It’s fine.”

Qiu Xing said, “Then throw it to me.”

Lin Yiran picked it up with her unhurt side, gathered her strength, and finally threw it back. Her little strength was barely enough. She used the back of her hand to rub the shoulder and collarbone that had been hit, wincing repeatedly at the touch.

After Qiu Xing had secured his side and come around, he immediately noticed the redness visible outside Lin Yiran’s collar, and a dirty spot on her clothes.

Qiu Xing immediately asked, “Did it hit you?”

Lin Yiran’s face showed no sign of it, and she shook her head saying, “No, it didn’t.”

Qiu Xing walked straight over, pointed at the red area without touching her, and said, “Pull it aside a bit so I can see.”

Lin Yiran said softly, “No need, it’s nothing.”

Qiu Xing frowned slightly, didn’t argue with her anymore, and, without caring about his dirty hands, directly pulled her collar aside a little.

The hit area was already swollen, with a hint of blue-purple in the middle, and it was easy to imagine it would turn even more purple later.

Qiu Xing said, “It almost hit your head.”

If Lin Yiran hadn’t dodged, it would have hit her on the head. She shook her head, saying, “It’s okay, it just hurt when it hit, but I don’t feel much now.”

Qiu Xing’s brow was still furrowed as he said, “There’s alcohol in the truck, clean it later.”

“Okay,” Lin Yiran nodded.

Qiu Xing had actively called her down to help, even warning her not to let go lest he get hit, only to end up giving her a big purple bruise on her shoulder.

Lin Yiran wore a tank top, sitting in the middle, sideways to Qiu Xing. Qiu Xing sat in the driver’s seat, holding medical cotton swabs and alcohol, helping clean her shoulder.

Lin Yiran had taken off her T-shirt; otherwise, pulling at the neckline would have been more awkward.

Her skin was very fair, the line behind her ear continuing in a beautiful arc, her neck thin and long, appearing slightly thin when slightly bowed.

Qiu Xing focused solely on the task, his brows constantly furrowed, his expression fierce.

“I’m sorry,” Qiu Xing said.

They were quite close at this moment. Qiu Xing had thick skin, but Lin Yiran was a girl, not as thick-skinned as he was.

At this moment, Lin Yiran was slightly self-conscious, not raising her eyes, her long eyelashes shading her eyes as she only said, “Really, there’s no need…”

“It’s my fault,” Qiu Xing said.

Lin Yiran didn’t want to hear him apologize and shook her head.

“Don’t move,” Qiu Xing frowned again.

When he spoke, his breath touched the hair near Lin Yiran’s ear. The fine strands of hair brushed against her neck, causing Lin Yiran to slightly contract her shoulder.

Qiu Xing’s hand paused, now realizing they were somewhat close, then moved back to increase the distance.

“That’s done,” Qiu Xing said.

“Good,” Lin Yiran’s eyelashes fluttered lightly as she said softly, “Thank you.”

Qiu Xing opened the door and jumped down from the truck to throw away the trash. Lin Yiran used this time to find a clean shirt to put on, and had just finished dressing when Qiu Xing returned.