Ruqi Bookstore

Xu Changjia watched as those words kept flashing in the lower right corner of the computer screen. She tried her best to ignore the jumping message, but the memory book in her mind also lit up with a small red dot.

According to the memory book, Yunhe will only be abroad for the next few years. To complete her mission of saving him, she can only contact him online and influence him on some major events in his life. That would be considered as her mission to save Yunhe.

She stared blankly at the magnolia flowers swaying in the wind on the bed curtains for a long time without replying to him. So, Yunhe's return to China in the next few years must be related to her, right?

She couldn't figure out how to save him, so she had her memory book retrieve the fragments of their time together from childhood to adulthood. After all, he was her mission target, and she needed to be fully prepared to complete the mission.

Yunhe is still a stranger to her, and the closest she can get is an online friend she has added on WeChat.

This person can only chat online and cannot communicate face-to-face, so you can imagine how difficult it is to complete the strategy.

The chat window that popped up kept shaking, as if urging her to reply.

Xu Changjia really didn't know what to say, so he simply repeated his words verbatim:

The shaking of the window stopped just three seconds after the message was sent.

She breathed a sigh of relief, thinking she could finally have a moment of peace. She pulled the test paper to the side of the computer desk, ready to work on the test in peace, but unexpectedly Yunhe called her directly.

It was a video call made.

The constantly flashing phone on her computer desk was like a hot potato to her; she didn't know whether to answer it or not.

What could she say if she accepted the call? She wasn't Xu Changjia, who had grown up with Yunhe since childhood, and they didn't share those past experiences or sibling-like bonds. But if she didn't accept, she would drift further and further away from her mission to save Yunhe Xingxing.

To answer or not to answer, that is the question.

In the seconds before the video call was about to end, Xu Changjia adjusted the position of the desktop computer, clicked the green answer button with a fake smile, and sat upright in front of her large screen.

Hello, long time no see, Sister Xu!

The overly familiar tone of his voice gave her goosebumps when she answered the video call. She regretted not giving her disobedient hand that had clicked the left mouse button a good whack. She could only force a smile and give a perfunctory reply.

At this time, the computer already had video calling functionality, but the resolution on the computer was not very clear; only a blurry human figure could be vaguely seen.

Based on the blurry figure, Xu Changjia recognized that this was Yunhe from her 15-year-old memories. Her long hair was left on both sides, and her eyebrows were distinct. She thought to herself, "No wonder she is an art student. She is unique and elegant."

Based on the memories provided by the memory book, she called him as before: "Brother Yunhe, it's been a long time."

He was immediately delighted. Sister Xu still remembered him as the good brother from next door, and he immediately started chatting with her.

They talked about art, then about life, then about their parents, and finally about how different education is between China and other countries.

Listening to Yunhe rave about how free and carefree life was abroad, completely different from life in China, all she could think about was how to hang up the phone with a plausible excuse. Wait, how come someone who looks like an elegant, refined gentleman starts talking like a burly man from Northeast China, his little mouth just chattering on and on?

Every time the person on the other end of the phone said a word or two, Xu Changjia would respond with an "uh-huh." She finally understood why she had been willing to follow him around and play with him when she was little.

It turns out that Yunhe is a super chatterbox. Maybe everyone thinks he talks too much and doesn't want to play with him, but only I quietly listen to him finish what he has to say.

It seems that after arriving abroad, he didn't speak the language and didn't make any friends, or perhaps no one was willing to listen to him. Now, he finally managed to find someone to talk to, who is his childhood friend, a younger sister. He has undoubtedly met a kindred spirit, and when the mood strikes, he is full of passionate enthusiasm.

She secretly picked up her phone from beside the computer desk, moved it around where Yunhe couldn't see, and then sat back down. "Yes, Brother Yunhe is absolutely right."

After listening to him talk at length about the customs and culture of H country, her alarm finally rang. She picked up the phone and pretended to talk to the person on the other end.

He gave Yunhe a real demonstration of what it means to "direct and act out": he set an alarm for three minutes later to pretend someone was calling him, and then said he had to go and couldn't video call him anymore.

After completing this smooth and seamless process, she apologized to Yunhe, explaining that she had plans to attend tutoring sessions with a friend and couldn't chat any longer. Under Yunhe's passionate persuasion, she was "coerced" into agreeing to video call him again next week to continue their conversation.

After hanging up on Yunhe's video, she slumped into her chair. The task of saving Yunhe Xingxing was truly a long and arduous one.

The road ahead is long and arduous, but I will persevere in my pursuit.

Zhou Tianruqi Bookstore

After saying goodbye to her mother, Xu Changjia carried the two boxes of pastries made by Aunt Chen and headed towards the Ruqi Bookstore at the Children's Palace. She was used to arriving a few minutes early, and seeing the minute hand pointing to forty-eight, she unconsciously slowed her pace.

To get to Ruqi Bookstore, you have to walk through the piano room via a side path. Xu Changjia took several deep breaths and couldn't help but sneak a peek under the big tree.

Although she had clearly rejected him on Friday, she still harbored some expectations and thoughts as she approached the piano room, which was occupied.

But the little boy sitting there looked no more than seven or eight years old. His figure and back view didn't seem to be the person she was looking for. She smiled and shook her head, walked through the piano room, and went up the wooden stairs to the second floor of the bookstore. At the corner, she saw a super big, super retro wooden clock. She looked at it a few more times, and then found a corner seat to sit down.

This spot is right opposite the stairwell, so she can see them immediately.

The female owner of the bookstore warmly poured her a cup of hot tea and asked, "Young lady, are you Zhang Yuning's friend?"

She paused for a moment, then nodded and said nothing more. She took out her test paper and physics book from her cloth bag, wrote two practice questions, and waited for the three of them to arrive.

The female owner of the bookstore wanted to say something more, but seeing the girl diligently writing her exam paper, she didn't want to disturb her too much. She went to the water station to adjust the water, and when she craned her neck, she saw the girl's focused expression. She lowered her voice and told another employee in the store not to disturb her.

The wooden clock had just struck nine when the wooden staircase began to rattle and creak.

Zheng Ruoqian and Ou Liyao stepped onto the second floor of Ruqi Bookstore one after the other. Xu Changjia paused in his calculations and peeked towards the stairwell. If you listened carefully, you could hear Ou Liyao's silvery laughter.

She watched as the two of them walked towards her corner, chatting and laughing. She picked up the white canvas bag from the seat next to her and made room for them. Then she heard Zhang Yuning say, "I specially asked Aunt Yang to reserve the small private room next door for us. Xu Changjia, you're here so early. Didn't you tell Aunt Yang that you're my friend?"

Before she could react, Ou Liyao put her arm around her shoulder, and the white canvas bag disappeared from her hand. "Jiajia is too shy to speak to people she doesn't know well, she must be waiting for us. Zhang, you academic genius, can you show us the way?"

Xu Changjia was about to say, "Zheng Ruoqian hasn't arrived yet, shouldn't we wait for him?" when he saw what Zheng Ruoqian was doing.

Zhang Yuning put his hands in his pockets, took two steps diagonally in front of her, and then stopped in front of a row of comic bookshelves. He then turned the button on the calendar hanging there.

Now comes the moment to witness a miracle.

The two girls looked at each other, both seeing disbelief and incredulity in each other's eyes.

The moment the book wall was pushed open, someone was already inside to welcome them.

Zheng Ruoqian rose from behind the wall of books to greet them, saying, "You said nine o'clock, why are you all late?"

"I've been waiting for you inside for over half an hour."

"I've been waiting outside for quite a while too." Xu Changjia replied softly, and then Zhang Yuning made a dashing move.

He tossed his schoolbag onto the table, revealing a corner of a few books, and reached out to ask for the test paper.

Ou Liyao, who followed Zhang Yuning in, also casually tossed her bag aside and bumped Zhang Yuning's backpack to the side, revealing several comic books. She couldn't help but speak up, "Wait, the top student came to tutor us today, why did he bring only comic books?"

Zhang Yuning didn't respond to her. He had the three of them sit in a row, then turned a whiteboard up from the wall, took the physics quiz from Zheng Ruoqian, and began the lesson. He only glanced at the quiz before carefully explaining each question one by one.

Ou Liyao wasn't quite in the zone yet. She turned her head to the left and saw a big 30 on Jiajia's quiz paper. Then she turned her head to the right and saw Zheng Ruoqian's 50.

It's not just her who's bad at physics.

With a "bang," Zhang Yuning, standing on the podium, stared coldly at her. His gaze seemed to pierce through her, as if he wanted to kill her. She quickly snapped back to reality and muttered along with Teacher Zhang: "The basic laws of uniformly accelerated linear motion, you must memorize the three basic relationships. This question tests a variation of them."

On stage, the top student, shining brightly, meticulously performed calculations with a three-color marker, speaking eloquently about physics. Below, the young students listened attentively, occasionally lowering their heads to calculate and think, their brows furrowed, only to suddenly gain clarity.

Time flew by unnoticed, and the whole morning passed in the blink of an eye. No one felt hungry until the female owner of the bookstore knocked on their door.