The dim, narrow alley was littered with debris.
Sheng Qingxi lowered her gaze, taking in the familiar scene. These scattered items had all appeared in her memory before. This was the alley where they had met in their previous life. Lin Ran had come here looking for someone.
Sheng Qingxi didn’t know how long he had been searching.
She sighed softly, “Lin Ran, do you remember what you said? You promised me you wouldn’t hurt yourself anymore.”
Lin Ran tried to suppress the storm of emotions inside him. His adrenaline was still surging, and the light punches from earlier hadn’t been enough to extinguish his anger.
From Sheng Qingxi’s perspective, she could only see Lin Ran’s sharp jawline. He was still breathing heavily, his emotions clearly in turmoil.
Sheng Qingxi had stopped a few steps away from him, but slowly, she drew closer. Just like on that night during the blackout, she reached out and hugged him tightly from behind.
Lin Ran froze. His Adam’s apple bobbed, and his body tensed involuntarily.
Sheng Qingxi’s voice was soft, but her body was warm. She spoke quietly, “Lin Ran, give me some time. Once I’ve figured things out, I’ll tell you whatever you want to know.”
Lin Ran understood.
The way they were now wasn’t sustainable. If they kept forcing themselves to stay close like before, they would only grow further apart. And then… they wouldn’t have a future together.
Lin Ran wanted a future.
Because of Sheng Qingxi, he wanted to keep living.
He closed his eyes, his voice cold and hard. “There are still two left. Once I’ve found the people I’m looking for and finished what I need to do, I’ll go back to school. We’ll talk about the future later.”
But the indifference was just a front.
Lin Ran secretly hoped Sheng Qingxi would take her time, because he was afraid of what he might hear from her about their fate.
After they left the alley, Sheng Qingxi called He Mo from a nearby payphone. He Mo said they would come right away to pick up Lin Ran.
In the faint light outside, Sheng Qingxi glanced at Lin Ran’s hands. He wasn’t injured, but his knuckles were red and swollen, a sign that he had hit hard during the fight.
Satisfied that Lin Ran wasn’t hurt, she released his hand.
Once they were out of the alley, neither of them spoke.
Sheng Qingxi turned and slowly began walking in the direction of Shengkai, while Lin Ran followed silently behind her.
For a brief moment, Lin Ran felt a sense of déjà vu. On the first night of the school term, when he had gone looking for her, it had been the same. She had walked alone in the darkness, and he had followed quietly behind her.
Memories from the past surged in.
From the very beginning, Sheng Qingxi had never lied to him. She had always come for him.
At eleven o’clock at night, the streets were quiet. Other than the occasional bus, the only sounds were from late-night electric scooters.
She walked along the dimly lit sidewalk, her figure frail and slender.
Lin Ran could almost imagine how those three thugs had spotted her, chased her, and cornered her in the alley. The thought of what they had done to her made him want to kill them.
The rage he had just suppressed started rising again.
After walking through a few empty streets, they arrived at the Shengkai Welfare Home.
Sheng Qingxi paused near the bus stop and spoke softly, “They’re really worried about you. Don’t run off again.”
Lin Ran gave a gruff acknowledgment.
Another moment of silence passed.
Sheng Qingxi stood still for a few seconds before continuing forward. She didn’t plan on staying to wait with him.
Lin Ran didn’t follow. As soon as Sheng Qingxi disappeared from his sight, his eyes turned cold again.
He had been searching for those three thugs for a month.
Their faces were blurry in his memory. He had to rely on fragmented recollections to have someone sketch their likenesses. Then he sifted through people of a certain age in specific locations to narrow it down, but there hadn’t been any results yet.
Tonight, Lin Ran had come out on his own to search. He checked every shop and scrutinized every man drinking at the bars.
Luck must have been on his side because he finally caught one of them tonight.
Not long after Sheng Qingxi left, He Mo and Xie Zhen arrived.
They had brought two motorbikes, knowing they were there to pick up Lin Ran.
The first thing He Mo and Xie Zhen did when they got off their bikes was to check if Lin Ran had gotten into another fight. Seeing that he was unharmed, they both let out a sigh of relief.
Xie Zhen, panting, his small eyes filled with worry, said, “Brother Ran, you scared the hell out of me and Mozi. Why can’t you just tell us what’s going on? Why do you have to carry everything by yourself?”
He Mo stayed silent, still angry with Lin Ran.
Lin Ran took out a cigarette, gesturing with his hand. “Give me my phone.”
Xie Zhen pulled Lin Ran’s phone out of his pocket and tossed it to him.
Lin Ran bit down on the cigarette, lowered his eyes, and sent three images to their group chat.
Both He Mo’s and Xie Zhen’s phones buzzed. When they opened the messages, they saw three sketches of young men, all looking to be in their early twenties.
Lin Ran glanced at He Mo, who still wore a sullen expression, and explained, “I came here tonight to find these guys. I only found one. The other two will probably turn up by the end of this week. Keep your schedules open for the weekend.”
He Mo felt a little better hearing Lin Ran explain things. “Brother Ran, what did these three do?”
Lin Ran didn’t answer, but his expression darkened.
He Mo then made the connection—Lin Ran had specifically come to the western part of the city, and it was Sheng Qingxi who had found him tonight. It was obvious this had something to do with her. He Mo lowered his head and took another closer look at the sketches.
He Mo had a bad feeling about this.
Xie Zhen muttered under his breath, “They don’t look like good people.”
He Mo hesitated before asking, “Brother Ran, are they… Is the fairy okay?”
Lin Ran stood by the bus stop, finishing his cigarette.
He exhaled deeply and, whether to reassure He Mo or himself, said, “She’s fine. It’s late. Let’s head back.”
—
Saturday after school.
As soon as the bell rang, Lin Ran and his group left.
Xie Zhen had gathered some people to wait by the school gate. To avoid scaring the other students, he had made sure they all wore long sleeves to cover up their tattoos, and none of them were allowed to wear earrings if they had piercings.
So, a group of delinquents sat glumly by the school gate, chewing gum.
In front of them, a neat row of motorcycles lined the sidewalk.
When Lin Ran and his group finally appeared, the delinquents perked up, straightening their backs and looking at him expectantly. One of them immediately asked, “Brother Ran, can we go beat them up now?”
Lin Ran cast a brief glance at them but said nothing.
Xie Zhen strode over and scolded them right away, “What are you talking about? We’re still at the school gate! What beating people up? We’re doing this for the bright future of our great nation, don’t you get that?”
“Friendly exchanges don’t count as beating people up, right?”
The group squatting down looked confused: Why was it so hard for them to do something bad these days?
Not far away.
Cheng Jiayue was hiding behind the bus stop, watching Lin Ran surrounded by his group. This was her first time seeing Lin Ran in person.
She had searched for him on the No. 1 High School’s social media account, piecing together information about him from various comments. People used to call him a “big shot,” but this semester, the name that came up most often in connection with Lin Ran was someone else’s—Sheng Qingxi.
Cheng Jiayue thought to herself, ‘That must be the girl he likes.’
She had seen boys like Lin Ran before—guys with poor relationships with their families, looking after a younger sibling, spending their days fighting and riding motorbikes. The kind of boy who’s most vulnerable to a girl who isn’t afraid of him and treats him with kindness.
Cheng Jiayue wasn’t delusional enough to think she could make Lin Ran fall for her. That would be dangerous for both her and Lin Youcheng.
Guys like Lin Ran valued blood ties above all else.
She wouldn’t court disaster.
So, Cheng Jiayue decided to approach Sheng Qingxi instead.
She stole a quick glance at Lin Ran before looking away. Today, she was here to wait for Sheng Qingxi.
This wasn’t her first time at No. 1 High. For the past few Saturdays, she had come to observe for a while. Sheng Qingxi took the bus home every week, right here at this stop.
Ten minutes later, after Lin Ran and his group left, Sheng Qingxi came out of the school.
As soon as Sheng Qingxi reached the bus stop, she felt the weight of a gaze on her.
The person watching her made small, cautious movements, filled with anxiety, yet they couldn’t hide the secretive curiosity in their eyes.
Those nervous movements were deliberately put on.
Sheng Qingxi lifted her eyes and saw a girl standing not far away, around twenty years old.
The girl wore a pale yellow shirt that had started to pill, paired with jeans faded from too many washes. Her once-white sneakers were now a dull gray.
Noticing Sheng Qingxi’s gaze, the girl anxiously tugged at the hem of her shirt, as if wanting to say something but hesitating.
Sheng Qingxi lowered her eyes and, as usual, slowly made her way to the nearby bench and sat down.
Moments later, the girl approached, her voice hesitant, “Excuse me, are you Sheng Qingxi?”
Sheng Qingxi turned her head to look at her.
Seeing Sheng Qingxi respond, Cheng Jiayue felt a bit of relief.
Although clearly embarrassed, she gathered her courage, her breathing slightly uneven, “Can I borrow just a little of your time? I have something to say… something about… about Lin Ran.”
The moment she mentioned Lin Ran’s name, Cheng Jiayue noticed a subtle change in Sheng Qingxi’s expression.
The two of them ended up sitting at a nearby milk tea shop.
Cheng Jiayue seemed anxious. Not long after sitting down, her eyes turned red as she said, “I went to find Lin Ran before, but he refused to see me. I asked around, and someone told me to talk to you. I’m sorry for taking up your time.”
Holding her cup of tea, Sheng Qingxi asked softly, “What is it that you want to talk to me about?”
Stumbling over her words, Cheng Jiayue explained the situation, “I’m really grateful to my sponsor, and I’m sorry for the trouble I’ve caused his family. I was hoping to explain things to Lin Ran, but his father really is a good person.”
“I didn’t know about this until after his father stopped sponsoring me, and ever since, I’ve been feeling uneasy.”
*He Wanqiu.*
That was Lin Ran’s mother.
So that explained Lin Ran’s odd behavior back in late April.
He had said he would tell her everything after she returned from the competition, but they hadn’t had the chance yet.
After quietly listening to Cheng Jiayue, Sheng Qingxi finally responded, “I’m sorry, but I can’t help you with this. Lin Ran and I aren’t in the kind of relationship you’re imagining, but I will keep this matter confidential.”
Without lingering any longer, Sheng Qingxi stood up and left.
By the time Cheng Jiayue realized what had happened, Sheng Qingxi was already gone. She was stunned—had the things she read online all been fake?
Neither Sheng Qingxi nor Cheng Jiayue noticed someone passing by the milk tea shop and discreetly taking a photo of them. The person taking the photo was a junior on Lin Ran’s basketball team.
Excitedly, he opened his chat with Lin Ran.
[Son of Hanamichi Sakuragi: Bro, guess who I just saw.]
[Son of Hanamichi Sakuragi: I saw saozi (sis-in-law)!]
[Son of Hanamichi Sakuragi: Look!]
By the time Lin Ran received the message, it was half an hour later, and they had just stopped outside an apartment complex in the western part of the city.
After getting out of the car, Lin Ran casually took out his phone to glance at the message. The photo showed Sheng Qingxi, pushing the door open as she left a milk tea shop. Her pretty face looked indifferent.
Lin Ran’s gaze swept across the entire photo, but then he suddenly paused.
Inside the milk tea shop, behind Sheng Qingxi, someone was watching her through the glass window.
She was biting her lip, her expression slightly distorted.
It was Cheng Jiayue.
The car that had just been turned off was restarted.
Lin Ran handed the matter over to Xie Zhen and He Mo before driving off.
He didn’t head anywhere else but went straight to the bus stop near Shengkai Welfare Home, waiting for Sheng Qingxi at the stop for Bus 113.
He checked the timestamp of the photo and matched it with the bus schedule for Route 113, roughly estimating when Sheng Qingxi would arrive home. At most, she should have arrived at that stop within half an hour.
But half an hour passed, and Sheng Qingxi didn’t show up.