The blazing sun scorched the sky, cicadas tore through the air with their shrill cries from the camphor tree outside the internet cafe, disturbing the mind. Sunlight filtered through the dense leaves, yet could not ward off a trace of the intense heat.
Shen Yan went to the counter to buy a bottle of mineral water. Just as he was about to pay, he hesitated, then grabbed a bag of sandwiches as well.
“Not going to school?” The internet cafe owner, thinking of the bizarre scene of Shen Yan pulling an all-nighter for homework here, couldn’t help but click his tongue in surprise.
Shen Yan had stayed up all night. Now his head ached badly. He drooped his eyelids, quickly finished the sandwich, twisted the bottle cap, and took a few sips. His Adam’s apple rolled up and down, slightly… stirring.
The boy looked exhausted, his skin pale and cold, features sharp and defined, eyelashes long and slightly curled. He didn’t speak, clearly not in the mood to talk.
“Young man, alright then.” The owner didn’t mind and freely gave him a thumbs-up.
Shen Yan’s eyelids were heavy. He yawned lazily, calculated the time— the locksmith should be arriving soon. “Let’s go.”
With that, he really headed down the aisle.
The owner watched the boy leave the door with relief. After a moment of sentiment, he returned his gaze, landing on the summer homework book the boy hadn’t taken. His gaze froze. He hurriedly chased after him— but caught nothing.
——
Shen Yan hadn’t chosen to live on campus. He stayed alone in the old house. Yesterday, he had forgotten his key when going out, otherwise he wouldn’t have randomly picked an internet cafe to spend the night.
The old house was nearby. After thinking a moment, he decided to walk back.
Stepping out of the air-conditioned room, the heat surged forward. Shen Yan, wearing a baseball cap, pressed his tongue to the back of his teeth, growing even more annoyed. He pursed his lips and walked forward lazily.
Then, without warning, his steps halted.
His light-brown eyes narrowed slightly. He watched a small figure walking toward him, head buried, fingers quickly tapping on a phone, and—bang!—colliding with a lamppost.
Li Shu felt the pain. A red mark instantly rose on her fair forehead. She lightly drew a breath, instinctively touching it.
A faint, mocking laugh came from the air.
She cautiously turned to look, met Shen Yan’s gaze for a second, then slowly withdrew her eyes without expression.
Shen Yan drooped his eyelids, his gaze scanning her ugly school uniform. He lazily yawned again, still unenergetic, and started toward the residential area across the street.
Li Shu didn’t put much thought into the small incident. She glanced at the time—already late.
She walked sluggishly, winding through alleyways, finally reaching the internet cafe Shen Yan had just exited.
Just approaching the counter, about to speak, she saw the owner sighing over the summer homework book.
Li Shu slightly furrowed her brows, softly said:
“Boss, the summer homework in your hands is mine.”
With that, under the owner’s incredulous gaze, she took out her ID card.
“I wrote my name on the first page.”
The owner was stunned, muttered a confused “ah,” verified it, then returned the homework to Li Shu with disbelief.
Li Shu thanked him, didn’t open it, and slipped it into her bag. She slowly walked out of the internet cafe. Even though it was still early, the sunlight was unusually glaring. She closed her eyes briefly, then stepped lightly out of the alley.
Since she was already late, Li Shu wasn’t in a rush.
Last night, Li Maoguo and Shu Xiao argued all night, ending with a few vases smashed and Li Maoguo storming out in anger.
Shu Xiao cried all night. Li Shu felt annoyed hearing it, but also found it ridiculous. Still, she tossed and turned in bed.
She kicked at the gravel on the ground. Even though she had only been back for a few nights, she already missed her grandmother.
Since it was more convenient to take a car from here, Li Shu got into a taxi and fastened her seatbelt before giving the destination:
“Fu Nan High School.”
By the time she arrived, all the senior-year classes were still on the playground. The academic director held a microphone, spitting words wildly.
Li Shu cut through a side path to avoid the playground and returned to the classroom.
On the blackboard were four flamboyant characters: “Welcome Back to School.” Li Shu sat according to the new seating chart, putting down her bag.
Once quiet, she could still recall the scene of Shu Xiao and Li Maoguo arguing loudly in the living room.
“Li Maoguo, you don’t even spare college students?”
Li Shu sighed softly. After seeing such scenes often, she had grown accustomed to them.
Li Maoguo and Shu Xiao were a business marriage, each playing their own way. Li Shu just didn’t understand.
Shu Xiao wasn’t also having a passionate time with someone outside?
So, why was there anything to cry about?
All the same kind of people, why care? In the end, both sides would look bad and there’d be no easy resolution.
Li Shu hadn’t slept enough last night. Now, letting her guard down, sleepiness hit her, unstoppable. She didn’t know how much time passed, groggily hearing noisy footsteps and voices.
Li Shu knew the academic director had finally let them go.
“That mouth can really talk. Is he a machine gun? Wasting my review time for the midterm.”
The words sounded pretentious.
A female classmate with large glasses and a student-style haircut complained. About to return to her seat, she noticed the girl leaning on her desk. She said a few words to her companion before hurrying over, greeting warmly but politely:
“Li Shu, why are you late?”
Li Shu finally opened her eyes. She didn’t like remembering faces—not quite face-blindness, but she simply separated people and things, letting no one in, and didn’t want to go out.
After meeting her gaze, remaining silent for a while, she realized—this was her deskmate for the semester, Qiu Ning.
She usually kept to herself, unused to closeness with others. Slowly, she said:
“There was a little accident.”
Li Shu’s appearance was deceptively cute. Peach blossom eyes, but clean like a lake of water. Cold and distant, yet with a hint of mist, making it hard to see her inner light. Her baby-fat face was soft and harmless, her voice sweet, making people unconsciously overlook her sharpness.
Qiu Ning paused, her smile more genuine than before.
She sat down without any formality, watching Li Shu.
“The class committee already sent the summer homework to the office. You haven’t submitted it yet, right?”
Li Shu lowered her eyes.
If nothing unexpected happened, she and Qiu Ning would be deskmates for the whole semester.
“No.”
Qiu Ning pushed up her large glasses—a clear sign of a top student. Li Shu had transferred last semester, quiet and reserved. Many people commented that she had a strange, difficult personality.
Originally hesitant to greet, she didn’t expect a simple question-and-answer exchange. She obediently wanted someone to reach out.
She restrained the impulse. Suggested:
“Then I’ll go with you to submit it.”
Li Shu was silent for a long time:
“No need.”
Qiu Ning didn’t think much of it:
“Then go now. The teacher is checking, if he catches you it’ll be troublesome.” Her tone rose and fell as she spoke.
“After all, study waits for no one!”
Li Shu paused slightly.
“I didn’t write it.”
“Huh?”
You didn’t write it? And you’re still so self-righteous?
Shouldn’t you be writing furiously, taking advantage of the teacher not losing his temper, getting as much done as you can?
Seeing her soft, harmless, doll-like deskmate, Qiu Ning fell into deep thought.
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