"Uh…"
He glanced at Mo Yachen's face and chuckled. "What a small world."
Mo Yachen's heart skipped a beat.
It seemed that Yu Yuan already knew Ji Yu, and judging from that look—like he wanted to throw a punch—Mo Yachen pressed further:
"You know her?"
"Mm, I do. But just in passing. Still… I know a little more than you do."
Yu Yuan rested his arm lazily on Mo Yachen's shoulder, lowering his eyes slightly. "She doesn't have a boyfriend. The so-called 'boyfriend' you mentioned should be Tang Li, right?"
"That guy's been pestering us to introduce him to girls. So there's no way he's her boyfriend."
Mo Yachen studied Yu Yuan's gaze, finally feeling a bit more grounded. He casually flipped another page and said coolly, "Got it."
"Mm. …And then?"
"What do you mean, and then?"
"You like her, don't you? So what's your next step?"
Mo Yachen's expression softened a little. He slid a bookmark into place, then frowned, as if weighing his words. "I'm just… somewhat concerned. On many levels… concerned."
The words slipped out—and immediately, he regretted them.
That door in his heart, the one he feared and hated, creaked open once more before Yu Yuan.
The clock overhead ticked a few beats. The amplified sound of pages turning pounded in his ears, giving him a headache.
Just as he snapped the book shut, Yu Yuan's voice cut through the silence—
"You're still hung up on that woman, aren't you?"
Mo Yachen froze. Then his cold eyes darkened with anger, as if to smother something beneath it.
But Yu Yuan, after speaking, seemed to drift away in thought. His silver hair swayed gently under the fan's breeze, and for once, his face—usually so flippant and wild—was softened by a trace of tenderness, even yearning.
Mo Yachen had no idea what feelings Yu Yuan was hiding. He only sensed that Yu Yuan, too, had secrets locked away.
"Yes," he admitted at last. "I still can't escape."
Turning his head, he gazed out the library window at a massive bird soaring beyond the clouds, and his thoughts wandered with it.
"Heh…" Yu Yuan chuckled softly, lifting his head to stare at the spinning fan overhead. "So you can be faithful."
The afternoon sun poured over them, hot and uncomfortable.
The whole world seemed reduced to nothing but the whirring of the fan…
Tang Li carried the fainted Ji Yu on his back to the infirmary. To avoid gossip, he even called along the other girl who had been transferred with Ji Yu into the PE department squad.
Once Ji Yu was safely inside, Tang Li slipped away. She had no idea he had sprinted the whole way with her on his back, or even how she had fainted.
When she opened her eyes again, the fan was still whirring overhead, and the sunlight outside still blazed blindingly bright.
The pretty girl sitting nearby set down her phone the moment Ji Yu stirred, her lively smile lighting up her face. "Ji Yu, you're awake!"
Ji Yu turned her head slightly, then, embarrassed, pulled the blanket up to cover her mouth.
"You probably don't know this, but it was Tang Li who carried you here. The instant you fainted, he rushed over before even the instructor reacted, and just took off with you on his back."
The girl's teasing smile left Ji Yu flustered, her face heating with shy embarrassment. She quickly mumbled a thank you, then moved to climb out of bed to return to training.
"Hey, hey, don't!" The girl stopped her. "You finally got a chance to rest—why throw yourself back into that torture? A girl shouldn't be that eager about military drills. If I were you, I'd just shut my eyes and nap a little longer."
Her words only made Ji Yu blush deeper. Sitting at the edge of the bed, she hesitated—should she put her shoes on, or lie back down?
"You're too cute, Ji Yu."
That single word—cute—struck Ji Yu's heart like lightning. It was the first time in days she'd heard it. She had no defense at all. Her face flushed instantly.
"By the way, what's your name? I… live off campus, so I don't really know anyone from our class…"
Skipping out on half a day of drills after fainting pricked at her conscience. But seeing how this girl clearly had no intention of going back, maybe it wouldn't look like she was faking to slack off.
"No worries. I don't know people in my class either. They even put me in another squad for training, so I doubt I'll have much presence in the class these next few years."
She shrugged, as if already used to it.
"I'm Yang Wenhong. I used to go to Guansha High."
Hearing that name jogged Ji Yu's memory. After a pause, she finally recalled her.
They'd never been close. Back in high school, it had only ever been Tang Li who looked out for her occasionally. As for Yang Wenhong—they'd barely interacted.
"What are you spacing out for?"
Yang Wenhong nudged Ji Yu out of her thoughts, her smile glowing in the slanting sunlight.
"Nothing… just a bit dizzy. Go on." Ji Yu felt awkward with the girl's forward friendliness—her mild social anxiety had no idea how to respond.
"Then go ahead and nap a little. That way I can take care of you. No drills for us today."
"We're not slacking," Ji Yu muttered softly. "I really am dizzy."
"Exactly. And I really am taking care of a dizzy little cutie."
Their eyes met, and both laughed. Ji Yu lay back down, and Yang Wenhong tucked the blanket around her. Picking up her phone again, her expression grew animated.
Ji Yu didn't know her well, but anyone from Guansha High would know Yang Wenhong.
Or rather, they would remember the girl who, one crisp April morning during early exercises, had shown up in white shorts and a tee—paired with winter cotton boots.
Everyone had stared. They hadn't understood her outfit, or what she had been thinking.
"You know," Yang Wenhong suddenly said, breaking the silence, "your name's the same as a boy I knew. He was also called Ji Yu."
The air went still. She turned, smiling tensely at Ji Yu, ignoring the messages on her phone.
"I went to high school with Tang Li."
The straightforward words, like her ever-shifting expressions, caught Ji Yu off guard. She blinked her clear eyes and nodded.
"I liked him. Since freshman year. To get closer to him, I pushed myself into the top fifty of the entire grade. I even took up basketball."
Yang Wenhong fell silent, gazing out the window, as if weighing her memories—or maybe waiting for Ji Yu's reaction.
Ji Yu opened her mouth… but nothing came out.
Should I say she's amazing?
In the end, she chose silence.
"But it was useless. Even when my grades drew closer, I barely exchanged a word with him. On the court, he refused to play with girls—not even as opponents."
For Tang Li…?
"Before the college entrance exam oath rally, I confessed. He told me he didn't know me. Not even my name. Ridiculous, right? But that's just who he is. He never lies. He really had never noticed me."
"So after that… I did a lot of stupid things. To punish myself."
Her voice trailed off. She turned back to Ji Yu, her eyes red and wet, fixed on her with an emotion Ji Yu couldn't quite name.
Ji Yu's heart lurched. She hadn't wanted to hear gossip, nor did she have any interest in Tang Li's past admirers. But she understood the meaning behind Yang Wenhong's gaze.
Envy? Maybe. Jealousy? Not quite.
Clear-headed, she regretted that clarity. But she couldn't pretend she hadn't heard. She couldn't fake sleep now.