“Xu You, do your homework, you’ve been spacing out for almost half an hour.”
Her deskmate quietly reminded her. Xu You finally came back to her senses, smiled embarrassedly, picked up her pen, and absent-mindedly read the questions.
Her mind continued to think about how to resolve the family issues.
“Xu You, come out for a moment.” After a pause, the homeroom teacher walked around in the corridor, looking at her with hesitation.
As soon as Xu You stepped out of the classroom, her classmates started discussing.
“Is it about another recommendation spot for university1?”
“Possibly.”
“I’ve noticed Teacher Wang keeps calling out students with good grades to talk, it must be about that.”
Outside the classroom.
Wang Xiadong frowned and told her, “Your mother just called, the hospital called saying your grandmother is not doing well, they want you to go to the city center hospital.”
Like a bolt from the blue, Xu You didn’t know how to react.
Sometimes heaven is really unreasonable, almost all blows happen overnight. Not caring whether people can bear it or not.
The whole process of going to the hospital was a nightmare. The grandmother who had raised her since childhood, an elderly person she had deep feelings for.
Xu You stayed with her grandmother all night.
The elderly woman’s eyes were half-open, half-closed, unclear whether she was awake or sleeping. Sometimes conscious, sometimes confused. When lucid, she would say a few words to Xu You.
“A Chai ah…”
“I’m here, Ama.”
Xu You lay on the hospital bed responding, holding her grandmother’s hand, moving her lips, holding back sobs saying: “Ama, have a good sleep, you’ll be better tomorrow, A Chai will sleep with you.”
Following their hometown customs, family members removed the elderly’s old clothes. Chen Xiuyun wiped her mother’s body, personally changed her into burial clothes, muttering, “Mom, don’t worry, Xu You is sensible.”
Ama seemed to be smiling, mumbling: “I know, A Chai is obedient… Ama is waiting for A Chai to get into university, Ama still wants to cook mung bean soup for my A Chai…”
“Yes, I’ll definitely get into university, Ama don’t worry.”
The younger family members by the side couldn’t help turning away, though they all knew the elderly woman probably wouldn’t make it through the night.
Xu You’s tears pooled in her eyes, tremblingly falling, not daring to cry out loud.
The elderly woman, whose life was like a dying lamp, had a shriveled yellow face, her hands rough and thin from a lifetime of hard work. Her appearance was somewhat frightening at first glance.
But Xu You wasn’t scared at all, she was just afraid dawn would come too soon, and she would have to say goodbye to Ama forever.
Grandmother still couldn’t make it through that night, passing away at dawn. Chen Xiuyun broke down crying, while Xu You’s aunt consoled her.
The family contacted the funeral home and began handling the aftermath in an orderly manner.
Grandmother had died, and the younger generation had to observe mourning for three days.
Those days the family situation was chaotic. Xu You took leave from evening self-study to kneel for several hours at the memorial hall. Although physically and mentally exhausted, she still had to force herself to go to school for classes.
Kneeling for so long each day, her body actually couldn’t take it anymore. Just standing for a while would make her legs weak.
Xu You asked Song Yifan to tell Xie Ci that something had happened in her family, and asked him not to wait for her to go home together anymore.
Actually, she didn’t want to deliberately avoid Xie Ci, she just didn’t want to cause trouble for her family at such a crucial time.
But habits are really scary things. Walking home alone, Xu You would occasionally feel lonely.
Walking on the road, she would have an illusion that someone was beside her. Thoughts of Xie Ci were just fleeting, as the busy preparation for college entrance exams left no room for more thinking.
Days were torturous in the battle preparation for college entrance exams. As Spring Festival vacation approached, time became tighter day by day.
Looking back at that period later, it was particularly difficult to endure, yet passed particularly quickly.
One evening during self-study, Xu You kept coughing, suddenly feeling unbearable abdominal pain.
This month she had been under too much pressure, coupled with lack of sleep, and hadn’t taken care of her usual cold uterus condition, making her period pain excruciating.
Xu You held her stomach with one hand, burying her head in her arm. She lay on the desk, while her deskmate looked at her with concern, “You look really unwell, are you okay?”
Xu You waved her hand, but a sudden sharp pain in her lower abdomen made her bite her lip, “I’ll ask for leave to buy some medicine, if there’s an exam tonight, please put my paper in the drawer.”
In the office, seeing her pale face without any color, Wang Xiadong immediately wrote her a leave slip.
“What’s wrong, can you get back by yourself? Do you want a classmate to take you, or should we call your parents?”
Xu You took the leave slip with both hands, bowing to Wang Xiadong, “No need, I’ll just go buy some medicine myself, thank you teacher.”
“Alright then.”
Wang Xiadong was a male teacher and couldn’t say too much. He put down his pen, “Be careful going by yourself.”
—
After leaving school, every step was torture. Xu You felt more discomfort in her lower abdomen, the pain almost making her stomach cramp.
That night it was snowing lightly, making the road slippery.
Fortunately, the pharmacy wasn’t far from school.
She barely managed to support herself almost to the pharmacy entrance when she couldn’t hold it anymore, finally leaning against a tree and crouching down to vomit.
Stomach acid surged straight up, making Xu You so uncomfortable her vision blurred with spots, even passersby couldn’t help but stare.
She clenched her fists, cold sweat beading on her temples, without any strength in her body. Just then, a hand firmly gripped her wrist.
Xie Ci bent down, half pulling half dragging, letting Xu You stand up using his strength.
His worried frown appeared in her vision.
“Why are you here?” she asked with a pale face, only after catching her breath.
Xie Ci half supported Xu You, her shoulder in his embrace, as they went to the pharmacy to buy pain medication. The female pharmacist wearing a white coat, seeing Xu You looking half dead, went to the water dispenser nearby to get her a cup of hot water, “Your period pain is this severe? You probably don’t take care of yourself at all usually, right?”
With Xie Ci present, Xu You’s face couldn’t help but turn slightly red at the pharmacist’s direct question.
Seeing her too embarrassed to speak, the pharmacist asked Xie Ci beside her, “Are you her boyfriend?”
Xu You was shy, but Xie Ci was thick-skinned. He smiled and said, “Yes.”
“As a boyfriend, you need to take care of your girlfriend.”
Xie Ci smiled even more happily, but didn’t dare show it too obviously, only nodding, “I know, I know.”
—
The pain medication worked quickly, with the adrenaline secretion suppressed, Xu You basically returned to normal after a while.
The light snow hadn’t stopped, drifting all over the city. Xu You and Xie Ci walked slowly along the road, neither speaking.
He wore a white jacket, blue jeans with rolled-up cuffs, and black sneakers. His tall, slender figure and handsome features attracted the gazes of passersby.
Passing the first streetlight at the corner, she finally turned around.
A nearby shop was playing Faye Wong’s music, the casual female voice mixing with the neon lights. Cars flashed past them as Xu You said, “You don’t need to accompany me anymore, go home early.”
Xie Ci remained composed, “What’s wrong with you lately, did something happen?”
“Something did happen.”
Her hair was slightly messy from the wind, “So I can’t meet with you for a while.”
“What do you mean?” Xie Ci felt somewhat at a loss, vaguely sensing her concealment.
The yellow streetlight cast a halo around Xu You’s figure, her plain face softened by the light, though weariness lingered at her brows and eyes.
“Can we talk about us after my college entrance exam?” Xu You lowered her head, feeling her fingertips turn cold.
Although she had thought of countless ways to say it, face to face with him, she couldn’t say any extra words.
“You mean you want to break up with me.” He stated flatly.
“No.”
He kept quiet, and Xu You turned to leave first, walking away step by step, stopping after about ten meters.
She couldn’t leave as she wished, as Xie Ci grabbed her hand from behind. His palm was burning hot with sweat, and Xu You could faintly feel him trembling.
“I know you’re in your senior year, isn’t it fine if I don’t disturb you? Don’t talk about ‘later,’ I don’t like hearing it.” He seemed to be persuading her, or more like persuading himself, “It’s not any different anyway—”
Xu You said nothing, turned around, stepped forward and hugged Xie Ci tightly.
She hugged him so tight that Xie Ci suddenly froze, his mind blank, not daring to move.
Xu You only reached his shoulder in height, and Xie Ci could even smell a hint of jasmine shampoo from her hair.
Another moment of silence.
She said, “Wait for me, okay?”
Without realizing it, Xu You had grown to care more and more about Xie Ci, considering how he would feel about everything.
She cared so much that she didn’t even want to tell him about her parents’ situation.
Just this one seemingly random sentence, yet Xie Ci didn’t ask anything more, only agreeing, “Okay, I understand.”
At that time, neither Xu You nor Xie Ci knew.
They were both so young, thinking feelings would never change, thinking there was still plenty of time ahead, but who could be certain about what tomorrow would bring.
—
Back home, her father sat on the sofa smoking heavily, while Chen Xiuyun sat silently in a chair beside him.
Seeing Xu You return, her father spoke first, “Your teacher just called me, what’s wrong with your body?”
Xu You spoke without blinking, while taking off her shoes, “My stomach hurt, so I went to the pharmacy to buy medicine.”
“What’s making you unwell, why haven’t you told us?”
Seeing her mother’s still-red eyes, Xu You didn’t know how to feel. She knew her parents must have just been arguing about her again.
“It’s nothing, just my period, the usual problem.”
After confirming she wasn’t seriously ill, her father relaxed, speaking softly to her for the first time in days, “I know you’re busy with studies, but you can’t neglect your health.”
That night, as Xu You sat at her desk working on practice papers, the door behind her clicked softly, and Chen Xiuyun walked in.
She heard the movement and put down her pen, but didn’t look up.
Chen Xiuyun sat at the foot of the bed and asked, “You’re not seeing that boy anymore, right?”
“Mm…” she answered reluctantly, “Mom, you don’t need to worry about me, I’ll handle things well.”
After a pause, Xu You added, “And don’t keep arguing with dad because of me.”
The room was quiet for a long while, with only Chen Xiuyun’s heavy sighs audible, “You never believe what adults say.”
“I can let other things go, but absolutely no dating before the college entrance exam.” Chen Xiuyun held her forehead, feeling her temples throb, “Mom’s health is getting worse and worse, you’re my only support now, if you… don’t forget what you promised your grandmother.”
“I remember.”
“If I see you with that boy one more time, I can’t do anything about you, but I’ll just kill myself then, if I can’t even teach my own daughter well, what’s the point of living.”
“Mom?! Why are you saying such things?! Are you crazy?!” Xu You stood up anxiously.
Chen Xiuyun looked into her eyes and continued, “Xu You, don’t disappoint mom, don’t meet with that boy anymore.”
“Promise me today.” Her mother pressured her.
After a long while, Xu You bit her lip and nodded.
She finally compromised, and had no choice but to compromise.
—
Senior year winter vacation, though called a vacation, was actually just a week off for students to go home and spend New Year with family.
After visiting relatives on the first day of the lunar year, Xu You just stayed at home.
Because her parents had to return to their hometown to sweep the ancestors’ graves, and Xu You’s time was precious, they didn’t take her along.
She stayed home alone, setting an alarm to do practice papers on schedule, and when tired from writing, would take a nap.
Around afternoon, Xu You finally felt hungry. She went to the kitchen planning to cook herself some noodles, only to find nothing left in the refrigerator when she opened it.
No choice but to get dressed and go out shopping.
It had snowed the night before, not yet fully melted, her snow boots making crunching sounds as she walked.
Coming out from the residential complex entrance, the cold wind was piercing, making her ears cold. Xu You adjusted her earmuffs, put on her gloves, and waited for the traffic light across the street.
When the light turned green, Xu You walked across with the bicycles and electric bikes around her. Suddenly someone called her name from behind.
She didn’t stop walking, just paused, looking around, finding no one calling her.
Just as Xu You thought she was hearing things, her fluffy earmuffs were suddenly pulled off. Xu You reflexively turned her head.
To see Xie Ci standing behind her, head lowered, playing with her earmuffs in his hands.
“Why are you here!” She called out in surprise, followed by spreading joy, her heart feeling like little drums were beating inside.
Xie Ci looked at her, saying softly, “I’ve been waiting for you.”
“…..”
They crossed the road. Xu You wanted to speak but hesitated, while Xie Ci quietly watched her, “Do you have time to play with me this afternoon?”
“I…” Xu You struggled internally, hesitating.
“Just today.”
Seeing him appear as usual without any expression, but obvious disappointment in his eyes, Xu You still couldn’t say the words of refusal.
Perhaps heaven was being kind, as the sun also peeked out from above, though without much warmth, it still made people feel cozy looking at it.
Just a few days after Chinese New Year, most shops in the neighboring city had opened their doors.
Xie Ci held Xu You’s hand as they wandered around. He was unusually quiet today, often spacing out while looking at her.
Though Xu You didn’t pay much attention to it.
They revisited old places, going to the night market where Xie Ci had taken her before. During the day it had a food street and entertainment stalls.
Xu You hadn’t eaten and had an unusually good appetite, buying lots of food to hold.
“Are you a little pig? You eat more than me.” Xie Ci teased her on purpose, earning an angry glare. Though he said this, he always rushed to pay before her.
Weaving through the crowded streams of people, Xu You chewed on dates while drinking a cup of pineapple porridge, her eyes darting around looking for interesting things.
Suddenly looking back, she found Xie Ci still watching her, very focused. Xu You panicked for a moment, shyly looking away, secretly complaining in her heart.
What’s so good to look at…
Why keep staring…
“Hey, Xu You.” As they walked, Xie Ci suddenly stopped, pulling her to a shooting gallery stall.
He seemed very interested, asked the owner the price, and casually picked up a gun from the rack, firing wildly at the balloons.
The bullets were quickly used up, but barely any balloons on the wooden board were popped.
People watching on the side were all: …..
This young man’s technique seemed to have some issues.
Xie Ci himself didn’t mind at all, not feeling embarrassed at all as he put down the gun.
“Do you remember before when you threw rings and won me a bear?” Seeming to recall Xu You’s appearance then, he smiled, his voice unconsciously lowering, “Today I want another one.”
“……” Xu You quietly put down what she was drinking, while estimating the distance to the balloons, asking, “What do you want?”
The owner who was loading the magazine paused, looked up at the strange couple in front of him, and smiled saying: “Young man, how can you rely on your girlfriend?”
Xie Ci made an “ah” sound, not feeling anything was wrong, and instead seriously answered, “Relying on my girlfriend is pretty good.”
Meanwhile, Xu You hadn’t said anything, having already chosen a gun. She raised her arm, aiming at the balloons.
She was focused intently, while Xie Ci leaned to the side with a smile playing at his lips.
“So what do you want?”
Bang bang—
Bang bang—
Bang bang—
The owner watched the balloons continuously decreasing on the wooden board with increasingly wide eyes, seeing an almost 100% hit rate, not a single bullet wasted.
Really can’t judge a book by its cover…
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