After the proposal ceremony, the film shoot had to proceed as scheduled. The set needed minor adjustments, so the extras had a fifteen-minute break.
The students scattered, sitting on the bleachers and sipping the ginger tea provided by the crew, chattering excitedly about what had just happened. The girls kept saying, "Our high school owes me a mutual crush," but Xu Huaishi was the only one sitting in a corner of the bleachers, crying her eyes out.
She was genuinely moved to tears when a voice abruptly ruined the moment: "Xu Huaishi, why are you bawling like an idiot?"
Xu Huaishi looked up and saw Zhao Yi standing right in front of her. At over six feet tall, he loomed over her like he was ready to crush her at any moment.
She wiped her tears with her sleeve and glared at him. "Who’s the idiot here?"
Zhao Yi clicked his tongue. "Are you even a girl? Don’t you carry tissues with you?" He pulled a pack of tissues from his pocket and handed her one.
Xu Huaishi took it but retorted, "Are you even a boy? Carrying tissues around?"
"I just—" He laughed in exasperation. "I knew you’d be crying like a fool tonight, so I came prepared."
The word "fool" made her pause mid-wipe. She tossed the tissue aside indignantly. "What kind of cheap tissue is this? So rough."
"Rougher than my hand?"
She froze, not immediately understanding what he meant, until Zhao Yi raised his hand and brushed his thumb against the tear streaks under her eyes. As he gently wiped them away, he sighed dramatically. "Should’ve just used my hand instead of buying these, then."
Xu Huaishi stiffened. When she snapped out of it, she slapped his hand away and scrambled to her feet. "Of course your hand is rougher!" Clutching her skirt, she hurried down the bleachers, nearly tripping on the last step.
"Hey, aren’t you night-blind? Why are you running around?" Zhao Yi caught up in a few strides and grabbed her arm. "Where are you going?"
She shook him off, her cheeks burning where he’d touched them. Covering her face, she snapped, "To wash my face! Your hands are so rough, I’m gonna get scars!"
"..."
Zhao Yi watched her disappear into the women’s restroom under the bleachers and stopped at the entrance. He turned to leave but hesitated—it was late, and with so many outsiders on campus, he didn’t feel comfortable leaving her alone. So he sat down on the steps.
Sitting there reminded him of the first time he’d met Xu Huaishi in this very spot.
Back in their first semester of high school, before the arts and sciences division, they weren’t even in the same class.
His class had more boys, rowdy and restless. Once, after a dispute during a PE basketball game, they’d ended up brawling here after class.
He was on the winning side, but his fighting skills had made him a target, leaving him with a few scrapes. After it was over, he sat fuming on these steps when he noticed the women’s restroom door crack open. A single eye peeked out, saw his scowling face, and quickly retreated.
It took him a second to realize—this girl had heard the fight in the men’s restroom next door and had been hiding, too scared to come out until things quieted down.
He called out, "Hey, classmate, what’s the panic? It’s over already!"
A voice, trying to sound brave, came from behind the door: "If it’s over, why are you still standing there like a guard?"
Amused, he stood and walked closer. "What, can’t I?"To his surprise, as soon as she heard his voice getting closer, she let out a startled scream, "Ah! Don't come in! There are three mops in the women's restroom. If you dare enter, I'll swing them at you!"
He laughed in exasperation, "Classmate, I don’t hit girls."
"Then why aren’t you leaving?"
"You come out first, then I’ll leave."
"You leave first, then I’ll come out."
"You come out first."
"You leave first."
The standoff continued until he lost patience and grabbed the door handle. "Come out. I promise I won’t hit you. I just want to see what you look like."
She clung to the door from the inside, refusing to budge. "Do you think I’m stupid? If you see my face, how am I supposed to survive after this?"
"...Have you been watching too many dramas?"
He started pushing the door forcefully, and she began shouting, "Help! Is anyone there? Help—!"
This attracted the attention of a nearby P.E. teacher, forcing him to give up and slink away. At the time, he had no idea the person inside was Xu Huaishi.
He only found out later—purely because she slipped up herself.
A week later, on the same Wednesday, after the same P.E. class, he was carrying a basketball back from the field when he passed a group of chattering girls near the bleachers, gossiping about some celebrity.
The girl leading the conversation was animatedly telling a story, but the moment she spotted him, she abruptly fell silent.
The other girls urged her, "And then? How did your Shican Gege respond?"
She clamped her mouth shut, her face turning ghostly pale, and hurried past him.
Puzzled, he glanced back just as she turned to look at him.
Their eyes met, and it suddenly dawned on him—she must be the girl from the restroom last time, afraid he’d recognize her voice.
But truthfully, he had already forgotten the incident entirely, let alone remembered her voice. Now, though, he got a clear look at her face.
She was interesting—and not bad-looking either.
After that, he started asking around about her and learned her name. Not long after, during class selections, he discovered she had chosen the humanities track.
Since he wasn’t particularly fond of studying anyway, he figured the humanities might be easier. With a stroke of his pen, he followed suit, deciding to see where this interesting soul would take him.
At the start of the next semester, luck was on his side—they were placed in the same class.
Their homeroom teacher was the Chinese literature instructor, and since Xu Huaishi excelled in the subject, she was assigned roll call duty on the very first day. When she reached his name, she announced with solemn dignity, "Zhao—Tie!"
No one responded.
Three seconds later, he raised his hand through gritted teeth. "Classmate, you’re the Chinese rep—can’t you read? It’s Yi, ‘Yì’ as in ‘chariot loses its way.’"
The entire class burst into laughter.
She lifted her head from the roster, clearly startled when she saw his face, but she bravely retorted, "Chinese reps aren’t allowed to be nearsighted?"
Thinking of this, Zhao Yi let out a scoff, then sighed as he recalled how, thanks to her, he’d been called "Zhao Tie" by his classmates for two whole years.
Just then, he noticed the restroom door crack open slightly.
Hearing his laugh, Xu Huaishi peeked out and asked, "Hey, you’re still here?"
He stood up. "What, you finally finished dawdling?"
"No, not yet..." Her voice dropped as she glanced around nervously. "Zhao Da, do you have your phone with you?"
She called him "Zhao Tie" when things were fine but switched to "Zhao Da" the moment she needed something. Zhao Yi was used to it by now and answered from a distance, "Yeah, why?""My phone's not with me, can you lend me yours to make a call?"
"Sure, come out then."
"Just lend me your phone first."
"Why do you need to make a call in the bathroom? Come out."
"I just... ugh, will you lend it or not? If not, go get my sister-in-law for me!"
Zhao Yi paused, thinking for a moment: "What's wrong with you?"
She stomped her foot impatiently: "I just need to talk to my sister-in-law!"
He rubbed his nose, said "Oh," as if vaguely understanding something, took out his phone, unlocked it, and handed it to her, stepping back as he said: "Then I'll wait by the door."
Xu Huaishi didn't respond, turning quickly to rush back into the bathroom. Unable to recall Ruan Yu's number, she could only dial Xu Huaisong's: "Brother, are you still at school? Is sister-in-law with you?"
She had switched to calling him "brother" quite quickly, probably pleasing Xu Huaisong, as his tone was agreeable: "Yes, what's up?"
"Pass the phone to her."
Ruan Yu answered with a "Hello," and she whispered: "Sister-in-law, do you have a pad with you? My period just started..."
"Ah, no, I don't. I'll go buy some and bring it to you. Where are you?"
"The bathroom under the bleachers."
"Okay, wait for me."
The call ended, and Xu Huaishi, clutching her slightly aching stomach, waited in the dimly lit bathroom. After what felt like forever with no sign of anyone, bored out of her mind, she unlocked the phone with her fingerprint.
Then she saw a completely unfamiliar wallpaper.
She froze.
Oh, the cramps must be messing with her head—this was Zhao Yi's phone, not hers.
She pressed the lock button again, but the moment she did, she suddenly froze in place.
If it wasn't her phone, then why could her fingerprint unlock it?
Author's note: Two days apart feels like six autumns—are you happy to see the extra chapter? (#^.^#)
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