The midday sun hung high in the sky, and a silent youth sat on a stone in the grass.
Bei Yao couldn’t help but laugh when she glanced at him—the idea of crushing a cicada to death was both hilarious and awkward. She guessed he remembered that one summer during their childhood when Chen Hu led the neighborhood kids to catch cicadas from the big trees. Once they caught one, they would tie a string around its legs, and as it flew around, it would chirp incessantly. The children found it incredibly fun.
Bei Yao had joined in such games when she was little, but Pei Chuan, who never quite fit in, had never played like that.
He had crushed the cicada to death.
How much strength did that take?
Bei Yao’s eyes still glistened with tears of laughter. Afraid he might get annoyed, she didn’t bring it up. Pei Chuan’s survival skills were genuinely impressive; they even had lunch sorted out.
The broadcast announced: "Day Two of Survival. Remaining participants: 7. Eliminated: 3." This time, it didn’t specify who had been eliminated.
Bei Yao glanced at her wristwatch. "Pei Chuan, let’s head out."
"Hmm?"
Bei Yao cleared her throat softly. "Staying in the jungle is really inconvenient. There are mosquitoes at night, and the sun beats down during the day. Most importantly, going to the bathroom…"
"…"
Besides, in this scorching heat, there was no place to bathe. Probably only someone like Jin Ziyang—rich and inexperienced with the wilderness—would find this novel and fun.
Pei Chuan didn’t hesitate either. He pressed his red rescue button.
Soon, a teacher arrived to escort them out.
The teacher noticed that both he and Bei Yao were clean, except for a torn shirt, and they had gathered food and even found a tent. Clearly capable of locating the treasure, they had given up directly on the second day. But the teacher didn’t dwell on it.
"I’ll take these two students out."
Once out, they had a place to stay. The winery even had a beautiful fountain and a goldfish pond. Bei Yao enjoyed a refreshing bath and rested well that night. The food at the winery was truly excellent.
Surprisingly, five people had been eliminated already.
Bei Yao only knew Pei Chuan and Ji Wei, whom they often mentioned.
Ji Wei was sulking and questioning his life choices. He had been tricked into coming by Jin Ziyang, originally eager to learn and exchange ideas, only to end up in some wilderness survival game. On the first day, he nearly passed out from heatstroke!
Noon of the fourth day.
Jin Ziyang finally emerged. The five people who saw him nearly spit out their drinks.
Young Master Jin looked like a ragpicker—his clothes stained yellow and black, his usually immaculate hair a tangled bird’s nest. Stubble had sprouted on his face, and he appeared utterly disheveled, with several mosquito bites visible on his arms.
Dejected, Jin Ziyang’s eyes lit up with fury when he spotted Pei Chuan sitting and drinking tea. "Holy crap! Brother Chuan, you’re already out?!"
Pei Chuan frowned. "Stay away from me. You stink."
Jin Ziyang, a grown man, nearly burst into tears. He had wanted to quit on the second night when he couldn’t find a tent, but then he thought—what if Zheng Hang and Brother Chuan were still in there? Wouldn’t it be embarrassing to give up? So he stubbornly held on until the fourth day, only to find out Pei Chuan had left ages ago!
In comparison, he felt like an idiot.
However, after a shower, Jin Ziyang quickly regained his spirits—Zheng Hang was still inside, after all! A true warrior dares to face a bleak life; he still couldn’t bear to come out.
A headcount revealed only three people remained inside.
Jin Ziyang scratched his head. "What’s going on? Wei Wan hasn’t come out yet? No way, how can a girl last this long?"Bei Yao was also puzzled.
Pei Chuan didn’t speak. He tapped the table, his eyes half-narrowed.
In fact, the team leader had also noticed something was wrong. However, the dot representing Wei Wan had been moving over the past few days, and no distress signal had been sent.
It wasn’t until last night that her dot suddenly stopped moving and remained stationary until morning.
Alarmed, the team leader finally realized something was amiss and hurried into the jungle to search for her, eventually finding Wei Wan collapsed on the ground.
Her clothes were torn to shreds, her face was filthy, and her skin was swollen from insect bites.
Wei Wan had been dressed lightly, and her body reeked of a foul odor. The team leader didn’t hesitate and quickly brought her back.
Jin Ziyang was stunned. “What happened to her?”
“She fainted from hunger and exhaustion. Don’t worry, it’s nothing serious.”
Jin Ziyang leaned in for a closer look but recoiled from the stench. “Where on earth did Wei Wan go? She smells awful…”
Fortunately, Wei Wan was still unconscious, or she would have been furious at his remark.
The team leader explained, “When we found this student, her wristband was broken and couldn’t send a distress signal. However, since the magnetic strip inside was still intact, her location data remained active. It’s strange—this is the first time in years that a wristband has malfunctioned. How could this happen?”
In the corner, Pei Chuan curled his lips into a cold smile.
Just then, the last two students returned.
Zheng Hang took a step back as soon as he entered, wrinkling his nose at the smell. When he realized it was Wei Wan, he reacted more tactfully than Jin Ziyang, exclaiming in surprise, “Wei Wan? Wei Wan?”
Wei Wan remained unconscious and was taken to the doctor.
When she finally woke up, the first person she saw was the boy gazing at the blue sky by the window.
Pei Chuan was dressed in black, and even under the August sun, he exuded a chilling aura. The tall youth turned around, and Wei Wan’s pupils contracted sharply.
She nearly screamed, lunging forward as if to attack him. “Why did you do this to me? Why!”
As she rushed at him, he made no move to stop her.
But when something cold pressed against her waist, she froze.
It was an electric baton.
As Wei Wan looked up at him in disbelief, he smiled. “Do you know what to say now?”
～
Facing the concerned gazes of her classmates, Wei Wan clenched her fists. “I… I fell, and my wristband hit a rock. It broke.”
After speaking, her eyes involuntarily drifted to another girl.
A fifteen-year-old girl, innocent and lovely.
Bei Yao believed she had no grudge against Wei Wan. She fetched a bowl of porridge and quietly placed it by Wei Wan’s bedside once she had calmed down. Bei Yao didn’t like this person, but she had no reason to dislike her either. If it were her, forced to survive in the jungle for five days, she would surely be terrified.
Wei Wan began to tremble, almost on the verge of sobbing.
The person she had once wanted to be with was actually a cold-blooded, vicious devil. He had even threatened her to prevent the girl he adored from discovering his true nature.
At that moment, Wei Wan felt no jealousy toward Bei Yao. What had Bei Yao done wrong? Nothing. She had done nothing wrong.
In fact, she was even more unfortunate than Wei Wan—to have caught the attention of such a madman.
Wei Wan finished the porridge, closed her eyes to rest, and said nothing about Pei Chuan.
On the day they left, the mountains were shrouded in mist, and soon it began to rain. There weren’t enough umbrellas to go around.
Pei Chuan stuffed his hands into his pockets and walked alone in the rain."Pei Chuan—" Bei Yao made a small megaphone with her hands and called out to him with a smile. He turned around.
At that moment, the mountain mist hung thick in the air. Holding a transparent umbrella, she jogged toward him.
The boy with his prosthetic leg was too tall; she had to stand on tiptoe, straining to shield him from the rain.
The girl's fragrance wafted over, making him momentarily dazed.
Yes, he was no longer alone.
He took the small umbrella and held it over her.
Bei Yao said, "We can get in the car soon. Don't catch a cold from the rain."
When they were children, Pei Chuan often fell ill, so she was always afraid he would suddenly develop a fever again.
However, she might not know that he rarely got sick after growing up.
The boy's black hair was already slightly damp. Bei Yao was extremely troubled—if she had run faster, he wouldn't have gotten half-soaked.
The car finally arrived, swaying and bumping along the way as it drove back to the city.
Wei Wan got off early, looking distraught with pale lips.
Bei Yao watched her retreating figure from the car window and frowned slightly.
Suddenly, she wanted to prove something.
The residential area soon came into view. Summer flowers bloomed along the edges of the flower beds, and Bei Yao noticed that Pei Chuan had actually returned to live here too.
"Bei Yao."
"Hmm?"
"September." After a moment of silence, he asked, "Shall we go to school together?"
Bei Yao was also momentarily stunned. She still remembered how, a year ago, he had left her alone in the September morning rain. Yet she bore no grudge and nodded with a smile, "Sure!"
A faint smile appeared in his eyes.
Upstairs, the nearly four-year-old Bei Jun had been sent to kindergarten.
After much hesitation, Bei Yao dialed the number she had noted down from the registry.
After the dial tone, a voice answered, "Hello?"
"Wei Wan, this is Bei Yao." Bei Yao hesitated. She knew she shouldn't doubt him, but Wei Wan's behavior had been too strange. Previously, she had seemed very attached to Pei Chuan, yet when recounting the incident, she hadn't even glanced at Pei Chuan beside her.
Bei Yao asked softly, "Was your wristwatch broken by Pei Chuan?"
After a long silence on the other end, Wei Wan hung up.
Bei Yao's heart sank. She remembered back in middle school when she thought Pei Chuan had made his first other friend. Though she felt a bit lost, she was also happy for him. Unexpectedly, when she went over, she saw the large yellow dog rushing out to bite Pei Chuan and Shang Mengxian.
At the time, she was only panicked, but later she realized: Grandma Zhou clearly locked the door every day, and Pei Chuan knew that. So why did the dog still run out?
She thought the child she had protected and raised had simply not escaped the misery in his heart, but she had forgotten that the document referred to him by the code name "Devil."
What a terrifying title.
She hadn't been able to protect him, and he was still slowly walking down that path.
It was like watching a treasure she had cared for for years gradually tarnish, powerless to stop it. She had thought he had friends, was living a life he liked, and growing happier.
~
Bai Yutong said, "Mom, why is he always like this? So arrogant, suddenly running off and then suddenly coming back."
Cao Li was also annoyed: "Can you just mind your own business? Focus on your homework. Your grades are so poor—what are you going to do about the college entrance exam?"
Bai Yutong felt utterly wronged: "I'm just thinking about our future. Look, even Uncle Pei can't control him. Pei Chuan's clothes are torn—did he go work in some disreputable place again?""Be cautious with your words and actions! How many years have I taught you and you still haven't learned! Go pour him a glass of water right now!"
"Mom..."
"Go!"
Bai Yutong was fuming inwardly but didn't dare disobey. She poured a cup of hot water and brought it to Pei Chuan's room.
She knocked on the door for a long time before a cold voice finally responded: "What is it?"
"I brought you some water."
The young man's voice remained indifferent: "Not needed."
He didn't even intend to open the door for her. Fuming, Bai Yutong carried the water away.
Pei Chuan removed his prosthetic leg and lay back on the bed.
His severed limb was somewhat swollen. Every instance of overexertion placed significant strain on it. Each time he experienced this pain, it served as a stark reminder that he wasn't a healthy, normal person.
Technology advanced year by year, with prosthetic technology becoming increasingly sophisticated. In just a few years, there was hope for realistic prosthetics controlled by electrical currents that could provide sensation and full mobility, just like a real leg.
Yet no technology could ever bring them back.
~
Early September brought the rare occurrence of rain only at night. Schools at all levels - elementary, middle, and high school - were starting their new terms.
Remembering his promise to Bei Yao, Pei Chuan went early to wait for her at the bus stop some distance from their neighborhood. This promised meeting was a year overdue.
He watched the gloomy sky, sensing an impending storm.
Every September, the rain would pour incessantly. Yet because he had returned to her side, he felt unexpectedly at peace.
But bus after bus bound for No. 6 High School came and went, with no sign of Bei Yao appearing.
The light in his eyes gradually dimmed.
When his phone rang abruptly, he answered it almost instantly.
The girl's voice came through: "I'm sorry, Pei Chuan, I can't come today." She apologized, "Something came up."
The young man's eyes turned cold, though his voice remained calm: "Oh, what is it?"
"It's... not really convenient to say."
I see.
He said: "Take your time, I'll wait for you."
"But I really can't come today." Bei Yao sounded anxious. "Could you please go to school first?"
Why couldn't she come? Was it because last year, I made you wait through a rainy morning? Then let me wait for you all day today, okay?
The next moment, a clear young male voice said from the other end: "Bei Yao, could you help me with this?"
The call disconnected.
Pei Chuan's lips twisted in a bitter smile. That boy's voice sounded sunny and bright - even through the muffled connection, it was clearly different from his own deep, somber tone.
The downpour began instantly.
Pressing his lips together, Pei Chuan stepped forward into the rain.
But under the leaden sky, aside from the splashing raindrops, the girl never came to hold an umbrella over him.
This was probably the first time the knife of growth had left him with a dull, aching wound.
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