The dormitory.
Wen Tingxue emerged from the bathroom with a blank expression, wearing Xie Jinyi's clothes. They were a bit large but looked good on her.
"Let me dry your hair for you."
Xie Jinyi took the hairdryer from the table and, without waiting for a reply, gently held Wen Tingxue down to dry her hair.
Wen Tingxue stared blankly at the few pieces of fruit candy.
She hadn't even tasted them yet.
What a shame.
Yu Yahe had doused them with a bucket of water, soiling the clothes he picked for her, and also the candy he gave her.
Those were candies he bought for her personally.
The first candies he ever gave her, ruined just like that.
She hadn't even had time to unwrap them.
Wen Tingxue stared distractedly for a moment, then slowly reached out her hand towards the candy on the table, her fingers white and devoid of color.
"What are you doing!"
Xie Jinyi quickly pushed the candy further away.
"These are all dirty, you can't eat them! If you like them, I'll go buy you some right now."
Wen Tingxue pursed her pale lips and said softly, "I just want to taste them..."
To see if the candies he picked were sweet.
Seeing her like this, the anger in Xie Jinyi's heart instantly subsided.
She softened her tone and said, "I don't have any fruit candy here. How about I peel a milk candy for you to eat?"
She crouched in front of her, her eyes filled with concern.
Wen Tingxue lowered her gaze, her dull eyes resting on Xie Jinyi's face for a few seconds, then she nodded obediently.
"Okay, thank you."
"...Why are you being so polite?"
Xie Jinyi tried to force a smile, but it wouldn't come.
She finally gave up and stood up to find some candy for her.
She didn't like eating candy, and hadn't returned to the dormitory for many days.
She couldn't immediately recall where the candy was stored.
Afraid of upsetting her, she thought of various ways to distract her.
"I put your clothes in the washing machine. Do you need them tumble-dried?"
Wen Tingxue slowly came back to her senses and said hoarsely, "Yes, please."
She couldn't let anyone know what happened today.
Otherwise, Yu Yahe wouldn't leave her alone.
That video...
Wen Tingxue closed her eyes in despair.
She had never hated anyone so much.
She was the one who had made a mistake, so why was she being forced to shut up, forced to let bygones be bygones?!
Why, when she saw hope, saw a glimmer of light, did someone bring her despair?
Why were they so cruel to her...
Xie Jinyi noticed her troubled expression and didn't dare to ask too many questions.
After all, Wen Tingxue hadn't answered her before.
After much thought, she could only try her best to divert her attention and talk about something interesting.
"Tingxue, did you know? This boarding spot was actually arranged by my dad for me. He said I was lazy and could never wake up on time for school, always arriving just in time. So it was better for me to live at school.
"So he booked a bed for me, but he didn't expect me to sleep even more soundly at school. Once I missed morning self-study, and the class teacher called him, which really angered him, hahahaha."
Xie Jinyi chuckled awkwardly, and Wen Tingxue managed a faint smile in response.
Her eyes still held a vacant lifelessness.
Fortunately, Xie Jinyi quickly found the box of White Rabbit milk candies and presented it to her as a treasure.
"My grandma brought these for me during the New Year. Try one quickly. I made a wish when I got them."
Wen Tingxue raised her eyelids, a spark of life returning to her dark eyes.
Xie Jinyi said with a smile, "I wished that the first person to eat a candy from this box would be forever happy, have all their wishes come true. I haven't touched this box of candy."
"Eat it quickly, I'm giving you all my good luck for the year."
Xie Jinyi shook the candies in the box and urged her on.
For many years to come, Wen Tingxue never forgot this moment.
Even when reporters asked her about the definition of friendship, this was the first scene that flashed in her mind.
Wen Tingxue curved her lips and smiled sincerely.
"Thank you."
Xie Jinyi pouted, "Still being so polite?"
Wen Tingxue could no longer force a smile, so she reached out, picked a milk candy, slowly unwrapped it, and put it in her mouth.
It was very sweet.
Just like the taste in her memory.
When she was little, her favorite time was the New Year, because only then could she eat candy without any worries.
Her parents would bring back lots of candy, and her favorite was milk candy.
Soft and sweet, the complete opposite of her bitter life.
She thought she had finally escaped that kind of life and could start anew.
But the truth was that what she thought was a new beginning was just a change of scenery for her suffering.
-
Wen Tingxue and Xie Jinyi skipped the last class.
Wen Tingxue was in no mood, and Xie Jinyi simply wanted to keep her company.
They huddled on the dormitory bed, watching Up, and when the bell rang, Xie Jinyi paused the movie and asked,
"Aren't you going to tell Yu Wenli? He can help you solve this."
"...No need."
Wen Tingxue's hard-won composure shattered once more.
"I don't want him to know, and you don't tell him."
She pleaded with her eyes, and Xie Jinyi had no choice but to nod in agreement.
"I can keep it a secret for you, but your clothes definitely won't be dry by now. At noon, you..."
"I'm not going back."
Wen Tingxue had already thought it through, "You said there's a dry cleaner outside the school. I'll take the clothes there to be dried.
"I can change back into my clothes before evening self-study. As long as I get through today, no one will know."
She said this with a blank expression, her eyes empty.
Just like when Xie Jinyi found her, she had been expressionless, tearless.
As if she was already accustomed to it, and utterly numb.
Xie Jinyi collected her thoughts, "This is a feasible plan, but... it's not easy to hide things from Yu Wenli. Have you thought it through?"
Wen Tingxue nodded, "I know."
She glanced at the time, "Give me ten minutes. I'll go to the classroom to get my phone and call my parents. As for him..."
Wen Tingxue remembered his perceptiveness and said with a shiver, "We'll deal with him as it comes."
Xie Jinyi resigned herself, "Since you've planned it all out, I won't go back for lunch either. We'll both have our midday nap in the dorm today.
"I'll take you to eat at the cafeteria later, I know which windows are good."
Jiangcheng No. 1 High School was the best high school in Jiangcheng, admitting mostly top students from various regions.
Therefore, the dormitories and cafeteria were fully equipped.
After all, there were more boarding students, and day students were comparatively fewer.
...
Ten minutes later, most of the people in the teaching building had left.
Wen Tingxue and Xie Jinyi nervously made their way to Class Four, afraid of encountering Yu Wenli on the way.
Fortunately, the journey was smooth. When Wen Tingxue retrieved her phone from her backpack, she let out a sigh of relief.
Just as she was about to head to the cafeteria, she turned and saw Yu Wenli leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed, his expression faint.
He had clearly been standing there for quite some time.
His gaze towards them was so calm, so calm it made one's heart tremble.
Xie Jinyi gave a forced chuckle, blocking Wen Tingxue and stammering,
"G-Great God, you, you, why are you in Class Four?"
Shouldn't you have left after school?
Xie Jinyi felt like crying.
Yu Wenli ignored her and narrowed his eyes, looking at the clothes Wen Tingxue was wearing.
After a few seconds, he said calmly, "What's going on?"