Ye Shaowen had brought a deck of cards and drew eight cards from it, two from each suit. Each group of students from different departments was assigned a suit based on the card they drew.
After the draw was complete, the group of students reported their department names according to their assigned suits, and Lin Xiche recorded it in her notebook.
While Lin Xiche was writing down the last department name, she received a call from Xufang. She glanced at the phone and saw his name but didn’t rush to answer. Instead, she smiled at the girl in front of her and said, “We’re done, thank you.”
She put down her pen and answered the call, asking, “What’s up?”
The other end of the phone had some background noise, which made it a bit noisy.
Xufang’s voice came through the line, slightly lowering his tone and speaking with a Beijing accent, sounding nonchalant, “I’m going back alone?”
Hearing this, Lin Xiche was extremely puzzled, “You called just to ask that?”
“Yeah.”
“Are you implying that I should accompany you back?”
“…”
Xufang’s silence made Lin Xiche interpret it as an agreement.
She furrowed her brow and scolded, “You’re both adults, and you still need someone to…”
Before Lin Xiche could finish her sentence, the call was abruptly hung up, and she heard the cold beeping sound. She put down her phone in silence, looking utterly perplexed.
Seeing her reaction, Ye Shaowen sympathetically asked, “Is that your boyfriend or something?”
Lin Xiche remained silent for a moment and then said, “Why do you have such terrifying thoughts?”
“…”
On the other side, Xufang slowly put down the phone from his ear, his expression unchanged. He said calmly, “You might have mistaken me for someone else. I don’t think there’s anything like that.”
Xindan felt stiff all over, kept her head down, her eye sockets turning red, gradually filling with tears.
Xufang had walked to the side to make the call, so Xindan didn’t know what he had said to Lin Xiche. During the wait, she kept thinking that she should leave and not embarrass herself any further, but she still held on to that tiny glimmer of hope.
Hadn’t she mentioned Xufang to Lin Xiche before…?
Lin Xiche should understand, right…?
But her hopes were instantly shattered. The outcome was as expected; the lie had been exposed.
Lin Xiche hadn’t helped her.
At this moment, even though the other party hadn’t said anything insulting, Xindan felt utterly humiliated.
Xufang didn’t bring up what she had said earlier and didn’t linger. He didn’t take her words seriously and simply said, “Have a pleasant holiday” before leaving quickly.
Afterward, Lin Xiche and Ye Shaowen had a meal with their classmates, and they didn’t talk much about what happened. They all went their separate ways.
Lin Xiche didn’t want to go out again that evening, so she took a detour to the cafeteria. She remembered that both Nie Yue and Xindan had gone home, so she sent a message to Chen Han: “Xiaohan, I’m at the cafeteria now. Do you want me to get you some food?”
Chen Han replied, “No need, I have a department gathering tonight.”
Chen Han added, “I might be back to the dormitory late.”
Seeing this, Lin Xiche replied with a “Okay” and went to one of the windows to get herself a meal. She then headed towards the dormitory.
On her way, she suddenly remembered about her living expenses. Afraid that Xufang would go home and completely ignore her, leaving her to starve at school without any support, Lin Xiche immediately messaged him: “Pipi, give me three days’ worth of living expenses.”
She thought for a moment and added, “Since it’s the holiday, can you give me a little extra?”
This time, Xufang readily transferred 1,000 yuan to her. When Lin Xiche saw the amount, her eyes widened in disbelief. She couldn’t help but jump around in place. She was just about to call Xufang and shower him with praise when her phone rang.
The incoming call displayed “Mom” on the screen.
Lin Xiche’s smile froze for a moment as she glanced at her phone. She answered the call, her voice sounding cheerful as she said, “Mom, what’s up?”
“Xiche.” Her mother’s voice was gentle but carried a hint of weariness. “Are you coming home for Mid-Autumn Festival?”
“I probably won’t,” Lin Xiche replied casually. “I have some department activities, and it’s only three days, so I don’t feel like going back.”
“Ah, I just ran into Aunt Xu outside,” her mother said with some regret. “She mentioned that Xufang is going home today. I thought you might go back together.”
“I have some things to do…”
The mother and daughter hadn’t had a proper chat in a long time. They continued to talk about various things, and time passed quickly.
Without hearing any other noise, Lin Xiche’s tightly strung nerves gradually relaxed, and she was chatting happily. However, when she reached the dormitory door, her phone suddenly rang again.
The caller ID displayed “Mom.”
Lin Xiche took a deep breath and answered the call. Her mother’s voice came through, “Xiche, I changed my mind. I hope you can come back for Mid-Autumn Festival. It would be nice to have the family together.”
Lin Xiche’s heart sank a little. She looked at her dormitory door but decided not to enter just yet. She replied, “Alright, Mom. I’ll try to make it back.”
Her mother’s voice softened with relief, “That’s great, Xiche. I’ll prepare your favorite dishes.”
After saying goodbye to her mother, Lin Xiche entered the dormitory, but what she saw was just like what she had heard on the phone earlier: broken porcelain, water, and glass shards scattered everywhere behind her chair, a complete mess.
That incident involved a cup that she and Xufang had bought together off-campus.
Lin Xiche stared at the floor blankly, silently squatting down. She pursed her lips and reached out to pick up the larger shards, her mind filled with memories of different people saying things to her.
It was her mother saying, “Xiche… could you stay at your grandfather’s place for a while?”
It was her father, looking worried, asking, “Do you want to study abroad for university?”
It was that person saying fiercely, “I warn you, don’t come back during the holidays. I feel disgusted when I see you.”
None of them wanted her to come back.
Finally, it was her usually proud and assertive younger sister, for the first time not opposing her, with tears streaming down her face. She stood in front of her, her voice hoarse and unpleasant as she shouted at their parents, “Why are you treating my sister like this! I’ll tell you…”
Lin Xiche suddenly threw the shards in her hand back onto the ground, tears falling unexpectedly. She looked at the broken pieces on the floor, as if she had found a vent for her emotions. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, her voice choked.
“Who did this…”
After transferring money to Lin Xiche, Xufang hadn’t received a reply from her until late in the evening. As he thought more about this ungrateful person, he became increasingly angry.
During dinner time, Xufang came downstairs.
Since he hadn’t been home for a month, his mother had prepared a large table of dishes and set them on the dining table. Seeing him coming down, she immediately put on a smile and called him to come eat.
He was about to go over when his father in the living room also called him, “Son, come here.”
Hearing that, Xufang changed direction and walked towards the living room.
His father pointed at the coffee table in front of him, “Take these things to Uncle Lin’s house. I’ve been busy for the past few days and almost forgot about it. Since Xiche hasn’t come back, you can tell them about what you’ve been doing at school.”
Xufang looked at the coffee table, which had several gift bags filled with mooncakes, tea leaves, and red wine. He pursed his lips, his expression turning unpleasant. He walked back to the dining table and said, “I’m not going.”
His father immediately sat up straight and glared at him, “You’re not going?”
Hearing the commotion outside, his mother, holding a ladle, came out from the kitchen and also gave him an angry look, “Who are you being rude to?”
“It’s not a big deal,” his father’s arrogance disappeared, and he picked up the gift bags, “If you don’t want to go, I’ll go myself.”
Xufang’s mood worsened considerably at the thought of the family next door. He had dinner absentmindedly, with a feeling of foreboding.
After dinner, Xufang was invited by Jiang Zhengxu, who had returned from school, to go out for a drink. He changed his clothes and sat on the bed, absentmindedly playing with his phone.
Jiang Zhengxu called again to urge him.
Xufang immediately hung up the call and then scratched his head. He dialed Lin Xiche’s number.
It rang for more than ten times without an answer.
Xufang suppressed his temper and continued calling.
After five or six calls, Lin Xiche finally answered. Her side was noisy, with deafening music, making it impossible for Xufang to hear her clearly.
Soon, the music stopped.
On the other end of the phone, Lin Xiche’s voice, with a heavy nasal tone, came through in a dazed manner, “Hmm?”
Her tone caught Xufang off guard. He softened his voice and asked uncertainly, “Are you sleeping?”
“No,” Lin Xiche replied slowly, sounding a bit sluggish. “I came back to Xicheng. I missed it a bit, so I came back.”
This answer was unexpected to him.
Xufang paused for a moment before asking, “Where are you?”
Lin Xiche’s response was not what he expected. Her voice sounded muffled, “My grandfather sleeps early, and it’s too late now. I can’t disturb him.”
“…”
After waiting for a while.
It seemed like he hadn’t heard him speak the whole time, so Lin Xiche spoke again.
“Why did you call me…”
Xufang closed his eyes and, with a hint of annoyance in his voice, asked again.
“Where are you right now?”
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