Zhou Wan didn't reply immediately, first changing Lu Xixiao's contact name.
The two were worlds apart, and at school, probably no one would ever associate them together.
On such a quiet night, Lu Xixiao sent her a message. A notification popped up at the top of her phone screen, showing that "Lu Xixiao" had messaged her.
Those three characters—"Lu Xixiao"—felt like some kind of taboo, tearing a gash through the surrounding tranquility, letting in a chilling, blood-tinged wind.
It made the entire night feel saturated with his unique aura.
He had that kind of ability—to leave a deep mark on someone's heart with just a gesture or a word.
Zhou Wan first changed the contact name to a single character—"Lu."
But after staring at it for a while, she felt it still wasn't enough and changed it to the number "6."
Looking at the "6" in the chat box, she finally let out a relieved sigh and replied: [Are you hurt?]
He sent a voice message, only one second long.
Zhou Wan turned the volume to the lowest setting and buried herself under the covers, afraid that anyone might hear it.
"Mm."
The boy's deep, husky voice came through. He had been drinking, and his lazy drawl was even more pronounced. Even that single syllable carried his unmistakable stamp.
Zhou Wan had overheard his phone call earlier and knew he had gone to fight.
After a pause, she sat up and typed:
Is there a pharmacy near you? You could ask the pharmacist to help...
She didn't finish. Zhou Wan thought that with Lu Xixiao's personality, he probably wouldn't bother asking someone else to tend to his wounds.
She deleted the line and typed again:
Go to the pharmacy and buy disinfectant alcohol, cotton swabs, and large bandages. Like today, I...
Again, she didn't finish. Lu Xixiao directly called her.
This time, Zhou Wan was completely stunned.
She never expected Lu Xixiao to call her.
Her phone fell onto the bed, buzzing and vibrating frantically. She was at a loss, unsure whether to answer or what to say if she did.
Just then, her grandma's cough sounded from outside the door. Worried she might wake her, Zhou Wan hastily swiped to answer.
Still catching her breath, she brought the phone to her ear and tried to calm herself.
Lu Xixiao didn't speak, but she could hear the howling wind on his end, proof that the call had indeed connected.
Zhou Wan gripped the phone tightly, steadying her breathing, and whispered, "Lu Xixiao."
He laughed, his voice magnetic and rough.
Zhou Wan didn't understand. "What are you laughing at?"
"Were you asleep?"
Lu Xixiao was laughing at the sleepiness in her voice.
He had disturbed her rest, yet he showed no remorse—instead, he seemed amused.
Zhou Wan pressed her lips together.
Sometimes she felt Lu Xixiao was just an immature boy who liked to tease, but other times, he seemed to possess a maturity and detachment beyond his years.
"I'm awake now," Zhou Wan said slowly. "Did you bandage it?"
"No."
Zhou Wan heard the sound of him lighting a cigarette, then he added, "I don't know how."
Just like this afternoon.
I don't know how.
Was he expecting her to go over and bandage it for him now?
Zhou Wan stayed silent.
"It hurts a bit," he said, a faint smile in his voice, casually adding another weight to her heart. "If I don't bandage it, will it get infected tomorrow?"
"..."
If it were any other girl who admired him, hearing those words would have sent her rushing to him in the middle of the night.
But Zhou Wan had grown accustomed to all kinds of illnesses and pains from her father and grandma, so she didn't make a fuss over such things.She recalled the wound in the photo he had just sent and replied softly, "It probably won’t. Just avoid touching it and keep it dry."
Lu Xixiao sat on the steps of a bustling street, the wind sweeping through his hair and clothes, outlining his sharp and formidable figure. The crimson glow between his fingers flickered as he laughed amidst a haze of bluish-white smoke.
It was as if he had heard an extremely amusing reaction, his laughter shaking his chest.
"Zhou Wan," he said with a laugh. "You’re really something, aren’t you?"
As the day of the Physics Competition drew closer, Zhou Wan no longer even had her midday self-study time—it was taken over by Competition Class sessions in the lab.
Test after test was administered, and Zhou Wan never managed to surpass Jiang Yan again, consistently ranking second. Fortunately, the gap between her and Jiang Yan was small, always within five points.
After explaining the final problem from last year’s Competition papers, the blackboard was densely covered with steps to the solution.
Zhou Wan finished copying her notes, propped her head in her hands, and gazed out the window, letting her mind drift to rest.
"Zhou Wan," Jiang Yan stood beside her. "Do you want water? I’m going to get some."
Zhou Wan thanked him. "I’ll go myself."
"It’s fine, stay seated." Jiang Yan picked up her water cup from the desk.
Everyone in the Competition Class ranked among the top few hundred students in the entire grade. Even during the five-minute break, the atmosphere remained orderly, with no loud commotions—quieter, in fact, than the noise from the boys playing basketball outside the window.
Zhou Wan noticed that Lu Xixiao was among them.
He stood tall and straight, with long legs and a lean, athletic build. Dribbling smoothly past defenders, he shot and scored, earning cheers from the crowd.
Zhou Wan hadn’t seen him for several days.
She didn’t know whether it was because she was too busy or because he simply hadn’t been coming to school.
Their last contact had been that midnight voice call.
He hadn’t returned to the Arcade either.
Although Zhou Wan had thoughts of getting closer to him, she had no experience in such matters, especially when it came to Lu Xixiao. It felt like anything she did would be seen through by him.
Zhou Wan recalled what he had said before hanging up that night.
"Zhou Wan, you’re really something, aren’t you?"
Had he gotten angry because she didn’t go to see him?
But his tone at the time hadn’t sounded angry.
Just then, Zhou Wan caught sight of a girl running across the playground toward the basketball court. She stood at the edge of the court, holding a bottle of mineral water.
Some of the boys teased, all turning their eyes toward Lu Xixiao.
The girl waved at him, a radiant smile on her face, unscrewed the cap, and handed the bottle over.
Lu Xixiao took it, tilting his head back to take a gulp.
Zhou Wan’s eyelashes fluttered slightly, and she pressed her lips together.
A sudden realization struck her—Lu Xixiao’s periods of being single were never long. He had already been broken up for some time.
So, was this girl his new girlfriend?
If she really was his girlfriend, all of Zhou Wan’s original plans would be canceled.
Although she wanted revenge on Guo Xiangling, she would never go about it this way.
She didn’t want to hurt anyone other than Guo Xiangling.
"What are you looking at?" Jiang Yan placed her water cup, now filled with warm water, back on the corner of her desk and followed her gaze.
Zhou Wan didn’t notice the flicker of disgust in his eyes, only hearing Jiang Yan say, "Some people have everything but never cherish it."
"Who are you talking about?" Zhou Wan asked.
"Lu Xixiao."
Zhou Wan was taken aback.
Jiang Yan wasn’t the type to gossip behind others’ backs. To be precise, his social circle was small, and he spent every day buried in textbooks and test papers.
This was the first time Zhou Wan had seen him voluntarily comment on someone.
"You don’t like him?" Zhou Wan asked.Jiang Yan shook his head. "Zhou Wan, he's simply not the same kind of person as us. He squanders his family's money every day, wasting his life away. But if he were to lose his family's support, he'd be nothing."
Zhou Wan remained silent.
He continued, "Believe it or not, Zhou Wan, in twenty years, we'll be thousands of times more successful than him. He'll be trampled under our feet."
Jiang Yan made no attempt to conceal the harshness in his words.
Zhou Wan paused.
She didn't actually agree with what Jiang Yan said.
In today's world, academic performance doesn't determine everything.
For a person to succeed, academic achievement is only a small part of it. Vision, opportunity, personality, friends, and courage—all of these are indispensable.
And what he just said—
That Lu Xixiao would be trampled underfoot.
Zhou Wan thought, even if someday in the future he truly fell into hardship, he could never be trampled upon.
He was arrogant to the point of conceit, full of pride, sharp-edged, unrestrained, and unyielding.
Someone like that, even if his entire life were reset to zero, even in death, could never be humiliated.
In the end, Zhou Wan simply smiled and asked, "Jiang Yan, what kind of person do you want to become?"
"Successful and accomplished," Jiang Yan replied. "What about you?"
"I haven't thought about it carefully," Zhou Wan said softly, gazing at the blue sky and white clouds outside the window. "But I hope that in the future, I can at least become a kind person."
Jiang Yan laughed. "For you, that counts as a dream?"
Zhou Wan smiled but neither confirmed nor denied it.
At 5 p.m., the school bell rang throughout the campus.
What followed was a seven-day National Day holiday—and piles of homework.
Zhou Wan was called over by the physics teacher.
"Zhou Wan, I'm aware of your family situation, so seeing you achieve what you have now has always been a source of pride and relief for me," the physics teacher said. "But this competition might just be the key that changes your life. You must devote yourself to it."
Zhou Wan nodded. "Yes, I understand, teacher."
"Don't just say you understand and then forget to act on it," the physics teacher said, pulling a stack of papers from the drawer. "These are prediction questions I compiled after reviewing past years' competition papers. Take them home and study them carefully. Time is running short—use the National Day holiday to master them. The other copy, you can give to Jiang Yan later."
"Okay, thank you, teacher."
Leaving the office, Zhou Wan had to pass through a long corridor to return to Class 1.
As she passed by Class 7, her steps faltered.
The girl she had seen on the basketball court at noon was now leaning against the windowsill, elbows propped forward.
And sitting by the window was none other than Lu Xixiao.
"A Xiao, do you have any plans for the National Day holiday?" the girl asked.
Without looking at her, he lounged lazily in his chair, openly playing on his phone. "Why?"
"What else? I want to ask you out," the girl said bluntly. "What are you doing for the holiday?"
"Sleeping."
As he said this, he lifted his eyes and happened to meet Zhou Wan's gaze. She quickly averted her eyes, pretending not to recognize him, and walked straight ahead without a sideways glance.
He smirked faintly, a hint of amusement tugging at his lips.
Zhou Wan hurried past the door of Class 7, recalling the girl's words.
She was probably Lu Xixiao's new girlfriend—or at the very least, they were in the ambiguous stage right before getting together.
If that was the case, then let it be.
Those dark thoughts she had harbored before were finally put to rest at this moment.The desire for revenge against Guo Xiangling was real, but the relief she felt at this moment was equally genuine.
...
Every autumn arrived punctually with the National Day holiday.
Each autumn rain brought a deeper chill.
Zhou Wan put on her jacket, slung her backpack over her shoulder, and headed to the arcade.
After deciding not to provoke Lu Xixiao anymore, she had returned to being the studious Zhou Wan of old—shuttling between the arcade, library, and home in a fixed routine.
Lu Xixiao hadn't sought her out again either.
But that was only natural. Someone like him, favored by the heavens, had more friends than he could count—why would he remember her?
Zhou Wan had once overheard one of his ex-girlfriends complaining to a friend about how Lu Xixiao was too capricious and free-spirited, coming and going as he pleased. If you didn't reach out to him, it seemed he would simply forget you existed. A relationship couldn't tie him down.
The happiness was real, but so was the constant anxiety.
Even his girlfriends were treated this way—someone like Zhou Wan, who had only crossed paths with him a few times, was even less noteworthy.
Zhou Wan pushed open the arcade door, took over her shift from the previous attendant, and sat down to work on her physics test papers.
Just as she finished one side, someone called out to her:
"Miss, this machine is out of Arcade Tickets!"
Zhou Wan acknowledged them, fetched the keys and Arcade Tickets, and refilled the machine.
When she returned to her seat, her phone screen was lit up, showing a message from "6."
Zhou Wan froze for a moment.
Realizing who "6" was, her heart skipped a beat.
Holding her breath, she opened the message.
[6: At the arcade?]
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