Chapter 26 The Bitter Summer: She Had Once Had a Good Day

The winter break at Suzhou No. 1 High School passed quickly, and a new semester began.

Shen Qingli threw herself back into her tedious studies, busy trying to understand every complicated problem, and trying hard not to think about Lin Xiaqing.

But fate was unkind. News of Lin Xiaqing kept reaching her ears through various means. For example, she learned which school he went to for a competition and which competition he won first place in. She also heard that girls from other classes came to her class to ask for Lin Xiaqing's contact information because they saw that he and Luo Yiqiu got along well, but nothing came of it.

According to Chen Chaoxi, Luo Yiqiu didn't give it to the other party, not because she didn't want to, but because she herself didn't have Lin Xiaqing's contact information.

Once, she overheard her complaining that Lin Xiaqing was difficult to get along with. After knowing him for so long, he wouldn't even give her his contact information. When asked, he said he didn't like giving anyone his contact information. Luo Yiqiu naturally didn't believe this excuse and thought he was lying.

Upon hearing this, Shen Qingli paused in her work, which was being done with a black pen.

Thinking back to the contact information she had lost, she felt a pang of sadness. She didn't know what he had been feeling when he gave her his contact information, but because of Luo Yiqiu's words, she was even more certain that Lin Xiaqing would never give her his contact information again.

There's no need to think about asking questions now; to Lin Xiaqing now, she's probably just an insignificant stranger.

Life at Suzhou No. 1 High School continued day by day, and she tried her best to avoid everything related to Lin Xiaqing, just like when she was in elementary and middle school. It seemed that only by avoiding her could she temporarily stop thinking about those unpleasant things.

After the new semester started, everything seemed the same as last year, except that Luo Yiqiu and Zhao Yixiao's relationship did not reconcile as she had imagined.

That year, their contact became increasingly distant, and sometimes they wouldn't even greet each other when they bumped into each other at school.

Chen Chaoxi, who witnessed all of this, exclaimed that she had seen a ghost. She wanted to gossip and find out the inside story several times, but when she asked Luo Yiqiu, the other party just coldly said that it was Zhao Yixiao's decision and she had no right to interfere.

Gradually, rumors began to circulate in the school, and gossip about Luo Yiqiu and Zhao Yixiao intensified, but neither of the parties involved ever came out to say a word.

-

One morning, Zhao Yixiao stood at the door of Class 2, Grade 1. Many people peeked out and guessed that he was there to find Luo Yiqiu, but he just asked the classmate by the window to call Shen Qingli out.

As she walked out of the classroom amidst the gossipy and surprised gazes of many classmates, she stepped out, puzzled, and called out to the other person. When she saw the notes he handed her, she was taken aback.

"Qingli, these are the notes that Qingyun asked me to bring up for you. She originally came by herself, but the teacher called her away at the last minute. She was worried that you would be anxious, and I was just about to come up to ask the teacher a question, so she asked me to bring them to you on the way."

Listening to Zhao Yixiao's explanation, she nodded blankly and took the thick notebook. Only then did she remember that she had told Shen Qingyun before doing the exercises that she wanted to borrow her previous notebook. She just didn't expect her to bring it over so quickly, and she had troubled Zhao Yixiao.

Thinking of this, she thanked him somewhat shyly: "Thank you, Brother Yixiao, for your trouble."

"It's nothing, a small matter. Your sister and I are good friends, so just treat me like Qingyun. Didn't we agree before that there's no need to be so polite?"

The other person's gentle, smiling voice reached her ears. Upon hearing this, Shen Qingli knew that the other person was referring to the incident at the hospital. She forced a smile, but the image of the person standing next to Zhao Yixiao at that time flashed through her mind. She inexplicably felt that the matter between Luo Yiqiu and the other person might be related to that day.

Since enrolling, apart from Luo Yiqiu and the others, Zhao Yixiao has been the person who has helped her the most. Because she is Shen Qingyun's younger sister, he has taken good care of her. Even when the two sisters had a familiar yet unfamiliar conversation, he was the one who mediated and helped.

She gradually began to understand why her sister had fallen for the person in front of her; it was probably hard not to like someone so wonderful.

-

Several sheets of paper were tucked into her notebook, sticking out conspicuously. Zhao Yixiao told her that Shen Qingyun had deliberately placed them there, knowing where her weaknesses lay, so she had circled and highlighted the important points for her to study more.

Listening to his words, she nodded seriously and carefully flipped through a few more pages. Zhao Yixiao had a good memory and conveyed all of Shen Qingyun's instructions to her clearly.

Seeing this, Shen Qingli couldn't help but tease, "Brother Yixiao, you really are a very competent messenger."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yixiao couldn't help but smile as well.

It was during the long break between classes, and there were quite a few people playing around in the corridor. No one noticed that Lin Xiaqing was squeezed in the crowd in the bustling corridor next to them, staring intently in their direction.

He saw the smile on her lips, slowed his pace, and stared at the two people at the door. They seemed to be having a good chat, but their view was mostly blocked by the people in front of them. He frowned slightly in displeasure, but no one noticed his gradually worsening expression.

He pretended not to care, and like every day before, he avoided the people around him. He turned sideways and walked forward, passing the door of Class 2, Grade 1.

"If you have any questions, feel free to ask me. Building a solid foundation in the first year of high school is very important, but don't be too stressed..."

The words Zhao Yixiao and she were chatting drifted into her ears. Lin Xiaqing lowered the darkness in her eyes and continued walking straight toward the classroom door, her pace quickening unconsciously.

Shen Qingli was also distracted at the moment. She didn't hear what the other person said clearly. Instead, she stared blankly at the receding figure in the corridor. He had just passed by her.

Despite being surrounded by so many people and a noisy environment, she seemed to sense something and found Lin Xiaqing immediately.

As he stood amidst the crowd, the first rays of morning sunlight shone through the railings of the front corridor, casting irregularly shaped halos that blurred his vision. He faced that vast expanse of light, his silhouette lost in the scattered groups of people.

She could no longer see him until he walked into the classroom and his figure disappeared into the halo of light.

When exactly did it start, she could only watch his back recede further and further away from her? In the past, she was busy avoiding him, her stubborn pride childishly causing trouble. But she had also felt regret and sadness because they didn't get into the same high school.

When asked why she didn't go to Suzhou Foreign Language Experimental High School, she simply said that she had no choice.

On a similarly beautiful day, he stood in the sunlight streaming through the window and told her to give herself a choice.

Shen Qingli listened to what he said, but when she chose to be brave and go to him again, he had changed. He was very different from the person in her memory, making her wonder if the past was just a dream.

Because of that extra bit of hope and secret joy, she told herself to be brave for once. Shen Qingli knew very well that for someone with her personality, the number of times she could muster up courage would be pitifully small, and once those countless ideas she had made in her heart were shattered, her courage would vanish again.

She had wished countless times that she could be in the same high school as him, so that in that boring and strict school, she could have someone she knew, someone familiar with...someone important.

But at this moment, looking at the figure that had long since disappeared from her sight, she felt for the first time that she was so close to Lin Xiaqing, yet also so, so far away.

The important thing she wanted that summer, she got in the fall but it changed. She now finds it so painful to be in the same school and on the same floor as the other person.

Why would she feel sad just by looking at his back? Maybe it's because he didn't even glance at her, just like before.

-

"Green pear? Green pear?"

Zhao Yixiao's voice reached her ears, and Shen Qingli realized that he was still in front of her. She came back to her senses, met his questioning gaze, and apologized apologetically, "I'm sorry, Brother Yixiao, I was daydreaming just now. What did you just say? Could you please repeat it?"

"Oh, it's nothing." He shook his head, not minding at all, and repeated what he had just said: "I was just saying that if you have any questions you don't understand, and if you can't find Qingyun, you can come and ask me."

After saying that, he glanced in the direction she had been staring at, then asked with some curiosity, "But who were you looking at just now? You seem a little unhappy all of a sudden."

Hearing Zhao Yixiao's words, Shen Qingli silently withdrew her gaze, gave an awkward laugh, and said, "Really...?"

"Maybe I saw it wrong." He noticed her odd behavior but didn't press her for details. Instead, he changed the subject, only glancing casually in the direction Shen Qingli had been looking earlier.

The students walking in twos and threes down the corridor didn't seem to stand out at all. But he didn't tell her that just now, the look she gave in that direction had made her feel particularly bitter and sad.

That look... felt very familiar to him.

-

After delivering the items, Zhao Yixiao planned to go back.

Just then, Luo Yiqiu happened to come back from the teacher's office, carrying a thick stack of test papers. She was a little surprised to see him there. Just as she was about to avoid him, she saw Shen Qingli standing next to Zhao Yixiao.

Upon seeing her, she paused for several seconds before managing a weak smile and greeting Shen Qingli: "Qingli, you're here too. You two chat first, I'll go in first."

After saying that, she didn't give Shen Qingli a chance to reply and ran into the classroom almost as if she were fleeing.

"Hey..." Shen Qingli couldn't stop her, but she vaguely felt that Luo Yiqiu must have misunderstood something. She turned her head and looked at Zhao Yixiao standing in front of her. He was also looking in the same direction as her, and his expression was not good either.

Seeing the awkwardness between the two, she blinked helplessly. Although she shouldn't meddle in other people's business, Luo Yiqiu and Zhao Yixiao had helped her a lot before, so out of a genuine desire for this cold war to pass quickly, she looked at Luo Yiqiu's figure and asked softly, "Brother Yixiao, you two haven't made up yet?"

Upon hearing this, he gave a slight, bitter smile and replied in a hoarse voice, "We didn't quarrel."

"Huh?" She didn't understand the meaning behind Zhao Yixiao's words and asked in confusion, "What...does it mean?"

"It's nothing, you wouldn't understand." He shook his head gently, but the smile on his face became increasingly forced, making people feel sad.

Even so, Zhao Yixiao still didn't want to continue talking, so he said goodbye to Shen Qingli and hurriedly ran downstairs.

Watching the other person's retreating figure, Shen Qingli stood at the classroom door, feeling that in just one year, everything was actually developing in the worst possible direction. She suddenly remembered Luo Yiqiu and Zhao Yixiao when school started. The two of them had always been as close as one person, so no one could have guessed that the two most stable people would suddenly turn out like this.

She walked into the classroom with a heavy heart, and the surrounding gazes and whispers made her frown uncomfortably.

Sometimes she felt that the malice and gossip on campus were inexplicable. For example, like now, Zhao Yixiao and Luo Yiqiu's matter had unexpectedly dragged her into it, even if it was just because Zhao Yixiao had casually delivered something for Shen Qingyun.

So in many people's eyes, this turned into a drama of two girls fighting over one boy. It seems that anything that happens during adolescence can be inexplicably turned into a melodramatic story, which is really absurd.

Shen Qingli returned to her seat, not too happy, and met Chen Chaoxi's gaze from across the table. She saw Chen Chaoxi nod her chin at her, indicating that she should look at Luo Yiqiu.

Realizing that what had just happened might have caused Luo Yiqiu to misunderstand, she was also a little troubled, thinking about how to explain it to her.

But Luo Yiqiu wasn't angry, and their relationship continued as before. Shen Qingli wanted to explain to her, but she didn't want to listen.

She said she had no relationship with the other party, so there was no need to tell her anything about Zhao Yixiao.

After saying that, she began to listen attentively to the lecture, showing no sign of displeasure, which left Chen Chaoxi and Shen Qingli at a loss for what to do.

The bell rang for the end of the last class in the morning, and the students around her stood up and went to the cafeteria in groups. Luo Yiqiu, however, remained silent and motionless. She stared blankly at the test paper on the table. As if thinking about something, amidst the noisy chatter of people moving about in the corridor, she muttered a nonsensical sentence to herself: "If you can get along normally with everyone, then why do you stay away from me?"

These words were spoken very softly, and no one heard them except herself. Just like the question she asked, only she herself knew the answer.