The girl’s parents were stunned, the scolding they were about to unleash caught in their throats. The situation had reversed so quickly that no one present had expected it.
“Young lady, are you sure you were with Xie Ci at that time?” someone asked seriously. “This isn’t something to joke about.”
“I’m sure… cough cough” Xu You’s face was pale as she brought her loosely clenched fist to her mouth and coughed softly.
As she coughed, her thin shoulders trembled slightly, and her loosely tied ponytail slid forward over her shoulder.
Xie Ci was more than a head taller than Xu You. Standing close to her, he instinctively wanted to support her arm. But just as he moved, his father shot him a fierce glare.
He awkwardly withdrew his hand.
Xie Dongyun’s tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed somewhat.
He took out his phone and dialed someone’s number. As soon as the other side picked up, he immediately said: “Get me the security footage from the Zhengda Plaza underground parking lot for the afternoon of October 17th.”
“……”
“What?!” Xie Dongyun stood up from the sofa and quickly walked to the corridor outside.
The remaining people in the office looked at each other awkwardly.
After a moment of silence, the girl’s mother started yelling at Xu You, “You think we’ll just believe whatever you say? Show us the evidence first. Oh, my poor daughter, getting caught up in something like this…”
She continued crying and making a scene.
Xu You remained silent, but the grade director stepped in to mediate, “Since they mentioned there’s video footage, Mrs. Liu, please don’t worry. Whether our school’s students were involved is still under investigation.”
After all, if such matters got out, it wouldn’t look good for the school. The administration preferred to resolve things quietly.
After more arguing, Xie Dongyun returned from his phone call.
He first glanced at Xie Ci, then said gravely: “The mall has footage of my son in the elevator at 5:20 PM, and the surveillance shows he only drove out of the mall at 6:15 PM. During the time your daughter’s incident occurred, my son has solid evidence of being elsewhere…”
Upon hearing this, most people in the room let out a sigh of relief.
Leaving the principal’s office, Xu You walked in front, while Xie Ci followed silently behind, eyes fixed on the ground.
Nearly December, the temperature had dropped suddenly. Despite the bright afternoon sun, the wind still cut painfully against their faces.
Walking past the fountain, she gradually slowed down, staring absently at the spurting water jets.
“Um…”
Xie Ci’s sudden voice startled Xu You.
He tilted his head, leaning in very close.
“Please move back a bit,” Xu You tried to push him away.
Xie Ci neither spoke nor moved back, just staring at her, “Why did you help me today?”
“……” Xu You looked away.
But he persisted stubbornly, as if determined to get an answer.
“Don’t you hate me?” Xie Ci kept asking.
Xu You remained silent. She was just tired and walked around him to sit on a nearby wooden bench.
Xie Ci stood still in his original spot.
Xu You stretched out her legs, hands supporting her on the bench edge, leaning forward slightly with a sigh.
There was still some time before class ended, and going up now would only disrupt the class.
Xu You tapped her fingers on the bench, and after two seconds, she beckoned to him in the distance, like calling a puppy.
“Don’t just stand there.”
Her voice was soft as she patted the spot beside her, “Come sit.”
Xie Ci took a moment to react. He almost thought he was hearing things.
He secretly observed Xu You’s expression, then quietly, obediently walked over and sat down beside her.
They sat very close, their legs almost touching, though Xu You didn’t seem to notice.
For a moment, neither spoke.
“Xie Ci.”
She called his name, asking: “Why did you argue with your father today?”
When Xie Ci didn’t answer, she continued, her voice slow and gentle, “Your parents are worried about you too. When something like this happens, you should discuss it with me, or explain it clearly to them, to avoid—”
“Oh, they don’t worry about me.”
Xie Ci looked away, his voice flat and expressionless as he said: “They divorced long ago, each doing their own thing. Who has time to care about me?”
Xu You was stunned, and after a while said: “I’m sorry, I didn’t know. I’m not good with words, don’t mind me.”
“What, did you help speak up for me just because my dad scolded me?” he turned to her.
Xu You looked up at him seriously and said: “You’re my classmate, and you helped me. No matter what, I couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.”
“Why do we have to just be classmates?” he grumbled dissatisfied.
Seeing her silence, Xie Ci continued: “Do you find me really annoying?”
Xu You shook her head.
“Then can you stop being so cold to me?”
He had been trying to hold back, but now he couldn’t anymore.
That sudden, unavoidable feeling of anxiety and longing.
Really, Xie Ci had never felt so frustrated in his life.
To be so deeply affected by a girl’s every move.
That feeling when he was with her, he couldn’t think enough about it, couldn’t express it in words.
“I’m not doing it on purpose.”
Xu You looked at the clouds in the sky and said calmly: “My life is different from yours, we grew up in different environments, so maybe we treat people differently. You used to make me angry before, but not to the point of hating you.”
She glanced at him and continued, “I used to be quite afraid of you, because your temper was so bad.”
Xie Ci’s face stiffened, “Where the hell is my temper bad?”
“Just not good.”
Xu You shook her head, “And you like to act like a thug…”
Before she could finish, her vision suddenly darkened.
Xie Ci’s face was inches away.
“Your mouth talks so much, why don’t you go do crosstalk1?”
School days passed by, plain and monotonous.
After Xie Ci’s incident was posted on the forum, it was deleted within hours. Clarification posts came out later, and in the end, it didn’t cause much of a stir, and the matter just passed.
That junior female student transferred schools not long after.
The class seating arrangement changed again, but Xu You stayed in the front row.
She had changed from being a boarding student to a day student. She rented a place in the neighborhood near school, not too far, with her mother taking care of her.
Friday afternoons usually didn’t have many classes – one PE class and two study periods before the weekend began.
Xu You hadn’t slept well the night before because of a crying child downstairs, and hadn’t managed to nap at noon. Now her eyelids were heavy.
She forced herself to finish a set of mock exam papers in class, then tossed her books aside and fell asleep on her desk, not even hearing the dismissal bell.
When she woke up, only a few scattered students remained in the otherwise quiet classroom.
Xu You yawned, packed up her books, shouldered her backpack, and left school.
The school gate was crowded with streams of people.
While crossing the street, her mind was still on a function problem she had just solved.
After walking several blocks, Xu You stopped in front of a pastry shop.
She queued for almost half an hour. Winter nights came early, and by the time she came out, the street lights were already lit.
Xu You carried her plastic bag, head down, walking slowly past one street light after another.
The street was nearly empty, barely anyone in sight.
Walking past a slope, she descended two steps. Then she paused.
“Stop following me,” Xu You turned around.
Not far away, a dark figure emerged.
Xie Ci stood with his hands in his pockets, neither too far nor too close.
For almost a week now, since learning that Xu You lived off campus, Xie Ci had been following her home every day after school.
He would always follow silently behind her, never disturbing her.
Xu You had planned to pretend she didn’t know, but gradually, seeing him like that, following her like a stray cat.
He looked somewhat pitiful.
After standing still for a moment.
Xu You couldn’t help feeling sorry for him. She tightened her grip on her bag, went back, walked up to Xie Ci and looked up to ask.
“Where do you live?”
Xie Ci’s mind went blank.
She had lost patience and tugged at his jacket, “Aren’t you cold following me around in winter?”
“Not cold,” he answered quickly.
Xu You asked again: “Then why are you following me?”
Back to this question again.
Her voice was soft and gentle.
Xie Ci didn’t answer, clicked his tongue and looked away.
A cool breeze blew past, making both of them hunch their shoulders against the cold.
Xu You wore a thick coat with her school uniform over it, clearly marking her as a student.
They stood by the roadside, and occasional passersby cast curious glances their way.
The atmosphere was strange.
Xu You felt uncomfortable and turned to walk away.
The person behind her reacted quickly, catching up to walk beside her.
They had nothing to say to each other, and after just a few steps, his phone rang.
Xie Ci answered, and Song Yifan’s loud voice came through: “Hey, have you sent sister-in-law home yet? Look at the time, everyone’s waiting for you here, Ci!”
The voice was so loud and clear that Xu You could hear every word.
Xie Ci walked a few steps to the side, frowning impatiently, “I’m not coming today, don’t bother me.”
Afraid he would hang up, Song Yifan quickly said “Hey, hey!” “Don’t skip out! We…”
Then the call was directly cut off.
His expression was quite serious as he put the phone away, but when he looked up he met Xu You’s gaze.
“Need to stare so intently at a handsome guy?” Xie Ci started teasing again.
Xu You lowered her head, took out a still-warm green rice ball from the plastic bag and handed it to him, “Here, eat this and go home.”
Xie Ci took it without a word but still refused to leave.
True to his stubborn nature.
“Xie Ci, what do you really want?” Xu You was at a loss with him, couldn’t shake him off, couldn’t persuade him to leave.
After holding back for a while, she said: “Stop following me home all the time.”
“Stand still for a moment.”
Xie Ci’s expression was hidden in the moonlight as he looked down at her standing close to him, his thin lips pressed tight.
“Xu You, I’ve been holding back for a long time.”
Before Xu You could react to his words, she felt hands on her shoulders.
He quickly leaned in, lips meeting lips, giving her a quick peck.
Xie Ci’s breath was heavy as he whispered near her ear, “Just let me kiss you once and I’ll go.”
- Crosstalk (??, pinyin: xiàngsheng) is a traditional Chinese comedy form. Crosstalk is a special kind of dialogue and a special kind of performance, typically involving two guys in an entertaining dialogue. ↩︎
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