At midnight, the only light in the room came from a small desk lamp.
Sheng Qingxi sat at her desk, dressed in pale pink pajamas, holding a pencil in her hand, slowly sketching lines on drawing paper. In her headphones, Song Shiman’s chirping voice could be heard, “Xiao Xi, are you really sure you talked to your teacher? Will he talk to our homeroom teacher?”
Sheng Qingxi smiled lightly, “Yes, I’ve talked to Teacher Jiang. He said he’ll speak to your homeroom teacher tomorrow. If all goes well, we can use the study room by tomorrow night.”
Song Shiman, excited, exclaimed, “I’ve never been there before! If we can go, I’ll be able to go home earlier in the future. Ahhh! I’m so happy!”
Sheng Qingxi glanced at the time and reminded her, “Shiman, it’s time to go to sleep.”
It seemed like Song Shiman rolled around in bed for a while, and after a moment, her muffled voice came from under the blanket, “I’m going to sleep soon. Xiao Xi, when are you going to bed?”
Sheng Qingxi softly replied, “I’ll sleep after I finish these notes.”
After a brief acknowledgment, Song Shiman hung up the phone.
Sheng Qingxi’s gaze fell on a jacket hanging by the window. It belonged to Lin Ran.
After nearly ten years, she had brought his jacket back home again.
Under the lamplight, Sheng Qingxi carefully sketched Lin Ran’s figure, capturing his subtle expressions as he leapt into the air. His brows slightly lifted, and his eyes gleamed with a bright intensity, while his lips tightened just a bit.
The strength of his upper body was focused in his arms and waist. His arm muscles subtly flexed, and through the fluttering of his clothes, one could catch glimpses of his slender waist and the smooth lines of his abs.
As Sheng Qingxi continued to draw, she almost lost track of time. By the time she finished, it was already 1 a.m. She silently crossed off her morning jog from tomorrow’s schedule, deciding to move it to the evening instead.
She put the sketch into a folder, planning to give it to Song Shiman tomorrow.
After turning off the light, Sheng Qingxi lay down in bed, her mind calming as the darkness enveloped her, bringing a sense of security. She turned on her side, hugging the plush doll beside her, and soon drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, at 6 a.m.
Sheng Qingxi, holding a folder and Lin Ran’s jacket, ran out of the house with a piece of bread in her mouth. From behind, Sheng Lan called out, “Yuan Yuan! Don’t forget to drink the milk in your bag and eat well at school!”
Sheng Qingxi waved back at Sheng Lan while mumbling with her mouth full, “Got it!”
.
Sheng Qingxi had agreed to meet Song Shiman at the school gate at 7:10 a.m., so she was still early.
The 113 bus was as empty as usual. She swallowed the bread in her mouth and took out the milk and sandwich that Sheng Lan had prepared for her. Today’s milk was strawberry-flavored. Like all the children at the orphanage, she received milk every day.
Just like when she was a child.
Sheng Qingxi had a habit of biting the straw while drinking milk, something she’d tried to change for a long time but never quite succeeded.
She looked down at the sandwich Sheng Lan had made. Recently, Sheng Lan had noticed that she wasn’t eating much meat, so today, the sandwich had only half as much ham as usual.
Fresh, green lettuce wrapped around a small, cute egg yolk, with the tender ham faintly visible amidst the golden hue, and the sweet, fragrant mayonnaise carrying a hint of tartness.
This was her snack for the break after morning exercises.
Sheng Qingxi took a glance, put the sandwich back, and held onto her milk, sipping it slowly. The morning breeze was cool, carrying the light floral scent from the roadside into the empty bus.
Spring had arrived.
At 7 a.m., Sheng Qingxi got off the bus.
She sat quietly on a bench by the bus stop, waiting for Song Shiman. But even by 7:30, there was still no sign of her.
Sheng Qingxi wasn’t worried. She held a small booklet of English vocabulary words, glancing up from her reading every few moments.
When Lin Ran’s motorcycle stopped at the school gate, he looked up and saw Sheng Qingxi sitting alone on the bench by the bus stop. He hadn’t even realized how much attention he had been paying to her.
Lin Yanyan glanced at her brother, who seemed to be staring off into space. She obediently crawled down from the back seat.
Standing on tiptoes, Lin Yanyan followed Lin Ran’s gaze. Her brother—cold, indifferent, unreasonable, and single for seventeen years—was actually looking at a girl.
And not just any girl, but one who was especially beautiful.
Lin Yanyan stretched out her fingertip and poked Lin Ran. “Brother, I’m going to class.”
Lin Ran finally shifted his gaze to Lin Yanyan and patted her head. “Go ahead. I’ll come find you for lunch.”
Lin Yanyan nodded.
After she left, Lin Ran parked his motorcycle under the bike shed. Of the two school jackets he owned, one was in his classroom, and the other was now in the arms of the girl sitting at the school gate.
He lightly twirled his keychain around his long fingers, then stepped back out through the gate.
When Sheng Qingxi had arrived, the school gate was relatively empty. However, over the past thirty minutes, students had started streaming in. By 7:30, the crowd had thinned again.
Some passing students glanced at her curiously, wondering why she was sitting there.
Sheng Qingxi pressed her lips together. She wasn’t sure if Song Shiman had been delayed or had already gone to the classroom. Without a phone to check for any messages from her, she had no way of knowing.
Sighing softly, she decided to wait until 7:40 before heading inside.
Lin Ran watched her absentmindedly flip through the small booklet in her hand. She held the tiny book in her left hand while her right arm clutched his school jacket, occasionally glancing up at the now sparsely populated road.
For the first time, he called her name. “Sheng Qingxi.”
Sheng Qingxi was startled for a moment. She turned to look behind her and saw the tall, aloof boy gazing down at her. He didn’t seem interested in striking up a conversation, just glancing at the jacket in her arms.
Sheng Qingxi hurriedly put away her booklet and instinctively held out the jacket.
As Lin Ran took the jacket from her, he felt something else besides the soft fabric—something like a folder.
He raised an eyebrow. The girl might say she wasn’t interested in romance, but her actions spoke otherwise.
Sheng Qingxi tilted her head up and politely thanked him, “Lin Ran, thank you for the jacket.”
The morning light softly illuminated her fair face, casting a faint glow on her long, delicate eyelashes. Her eyes were especially captivating.
Lin Ran responded with a simple “Mm,” then raised his wrist to check his watch—a bold, personal style. He casually asked, “There are fifteen minutes before the bell rings. Why are you sitting here?”
Sheng Qingxi replied, “I’m waiting for Shiman. We agreed to meet here.”
Lin Ran let out a short laugh. Last semester, Song Shiman had once confidently declared that she would bring him breakfast every morning. Lin Ran hadn’t taken her seriously, but later, he occasionally noticed her name on the tardiness list in the disciplinary records.
Out of six school days, Song Shiman had been late five times. He had yet to see a single breakfast from her.
Lin Ran raised his chin slightly. “How long have you been waiting?”
Sheng Qingxi replied, “Twenty-five minutes.”
Lin Ran asked, “How long are you planning to wait?”
Sheng Qingxi looked at him with her dark, clear eyes and answered earnestly, “Until 7:40.”
Seeing that she had made up her mind, Lin Ran didn’t say anything more and simply muttered, “Let’s go.”
Sheng Qingxi watched as Lin Ran’s figure disappeared from sight. She then took out the small booklet she had stuffed into her pocket, feeling a vague sense that she had forgotten something. It wasn’t until five minutes later, when she saw Song Shiman hurriedly getting out of a car, that it finally hit her.
She looked down at her empty hands, holding only the booklet.
“…”
She had handed over the sketch along with Lin Ran’s school jacket.
Song Shiman, panting, rushed to Sheng Qingxi’s side, her cheeks flushed, and she seemed a little embarrassed. “Xiao Xi, I was just too excited last night, so I stayed up a bit late. This morning… I accidentally turned off my alarm. I’m so sorry.”
Sheng Qingxi shook her head and tentatively asked, “Shiman, can I give you the sketch after the second period?”
Of course, Song Shiman didn’t mind. She linked arms with Sheng Qingxi as they walked toward the school gate, happily chatting. “Xiao Xi, I told my parents about this yesterday. They said that if I can pass the undergraduate entrance exam, they’ll let me stay in the country!”
She was clearly pleased with herself. “That way, I won’t have to go abroad all alone.”
—
First class, morning reading.
He Mo glanced sideways at Lin Ran. Ever since the morning reading bell rang, Lin Ran had been staring at the piece of paper in his hand. Ten minutes had passed, and he was still staring. What on earth was written on it?
The sketch was of him.
Lin Ran lowered his eyes, gazing at the drawing of himself. In the sketch, he was filled with strength and vitality, an energy that seemed like it was about to burst out of the page. The boy in the drawing had an expression full of life and spirit.
This was how Sheng Qingxi saw him, vibrant and vivid.
For the first time, Lin Ran was certain—Sheng Qingxi really did like him.
The version of him in her eyes was far too idealized.
Lin Ran’s lips suddenly curled into a mocking smile. He was someone who had once faced death—there was no way he could be the Lin Ran depicted in that drawing.
The Lin Ran that Sheng Qingxi liked was not the same as the person he truly was.
At the bottom of the sketch was a small line of text. Lin Ran glanced at it, expecting it to be some kind of confession, but when he read it, it made him doubt whether Sheng Qingxi truly liked him after all.
The text read: For Shiman.
Lin Ran: “…?”
He suddenly remembered last night when Sheng Qingxi had spoken with that guy, saying she and Song Shiman were going to study together in the self-study room. Did Sheng Qingxi even know that she and Song Shiman were rivals in love?
With a dark expression, Lin Ran stuffed the sketch back into the folder.
At 8:30, the morning reading bell rang.
Xie Zhen and He Mo had been goofing around for a bit, and just as Xie Zhen was about to lie down on his desk, he caught a glimpse of someone peeking through the back door—Sheng Qingxi, trying to get a look into their classroom.
Instinctively, he called out, “Brother Ran, someone’s looking for you!”
Lin Ran turned his head, locking eyes with Sheng Qingxi.
He let out a faint snort, grabbed the folder, and walked toward the back door.
When he reached the door, he looked down at Sheng Qingxi, his dark eyes slightly narrowed. Then he asked a question he hadn’t even expected himself to ask: “Sheng Qingxi, do you like me or Song Shiman?”
Sheng Qingxi froze for a moment. “Huh?”
Lin Ran: “…”
He impatiently furrowed his brows, his gaze indifferent. The corners of his lips pressed downward in displeasure. After watching her for a while without receiving a response, he simply tossed the folder into her arms and walked past her.
Sheng Qingxi blinked in confusion. It seemed like Lin Ran was angry.
But why was he angry?