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Ye Wenyu didn't speak. She knew that everything Cai Wenchuan said was true, but she couldn't be as positive and optimistic as before.

The spring of her life was broken.

Cai Wenchuan tried to persuade her, saying earnestly, "Do you remember your freshman year? Back then, your mother sold the house and remarried, and you were all alone. But you were so sunny, so positive, so strong, and so optimistic. Like a weed, you made it through. You can definitely do it this time too!"

“That’s different.” Ye Wenyu finally spoke, tears streaming down her face. She said slowly to him, “That’s different, that’s different! Please don’t mention my mother in front of me, okay? I beg you—” Her tears flowed freely down her face. She couldn’t bear it when he mentioned her mother. Could freshman year compare to now? In freshman year, she could be strong and optimistic because she knew that although her mother didn’t care about her, she was happy. But now, her mother was dead, in another world. What is death? It’s that no matter how much you miss someone, you will never see them again! Ye Wenyu thought painfully, tears flowing like a spring. Cai Wenchuan was frightened when he saw her like this.

He reached out, wanting to take her hand and comfort her, but Ye Wenyu dodged it. She now realized that Cai Wenchuan couldn't comfort her; his strength was too small, as light as a feather. And her sorrow was as heavy as the earth.

Cai Wenchuan said with utmost sincerity, "I can help you with anything. Please tell me, okay?" His tone was almost pleading.

Ye Wenyu shook her head. She didn't want to say it, because seeing Cai Wenchuan would make her miss her mother even more.

Cai Wenchuan asked her with concern, "Are you planning to stay in the dormitory during the summer vacation? I know it's not a good place to go back to Uncle Wang's place, but it's not safe to stay in the dormitory during the summer vacation either. How about I rent you a place near my house?"

Ye Wenyu shook her head. Her reason for disagreeing was that seeing Cai Wenchuan would make her miss her mother even more.

She just wants to get away from the people and things of the past.

"This is a small token of my appreciation; it might be of some help to you." Cai Wenchuan handed over a thick red envelope, probably worth at least ten thousand yuan.

The sun blazed fiercely, the earth seemed to be baking in the heat, the cicadas chirped louder, and sweat clung to the red envelopes.

Ye Wenyu felt a warmth in her heart, but she shook her head. She didn't need money right now because she had no desires. The problems she was facing couldn't be solved with money.

At this moment, many students began to gather around them. Because Cai Wenchuan was so famous, Ye Wenyu felt like she was standing in the center of the stage. She was overwhelmed with grief and didn't want to be in the public eye. So, she said to him with some annoyance, "You should leave now. I just want to be alone."

Helpless, Cai Wenchuan could only shove the red envelope into her hand and say, "Call me if you need anything," before hurrying away.

Ye Wenyu returned to her dormitory, living each day like a walking corpse. How could her mother, such a warm and cheerful person, have committed suicide by jumping off a building? She recalled the scene when she came to see her; why didn't her mother give her any warning before her suicide? Why didn't she leave her a single word?

Time flies.

She was already a senior, her last year of college. Some of her classmates were busy looking for internships, while others were focused on preparing for graduate school entrance exams. But Ye Wenyu was like a soulless puppet, doing nothing every day. She would go to class when she had one, and when she didn't, she would hang out in the library or wander around the campus. She just lived day by day, doing the bare minimum.

She knew that having lost her mother, she should be stronger than her classmates and make plans earlier, but she just lacked motivation and couldn't muster any energy. She was in a daze all day, as if her life force had been lost with her mother's passing, so she lost the motivation to strive for the future.

Although August, the hottest day of the year, has passed, autumn seems to never arrive. The ginkgo trees on campus are still green, and the lotus flowers in the lake are still blooming frequently. Walking on campus, the fragrance of lotus flowers fills the air.

On this day, Ye Wenyu wandered aimlessly around the campus like a lost soul, forcing herself not to think about the past, her mother, Lin Tingfeng, or the future.

She had no plans to take the postgraduate entrance exam or find a company internship. Her homeroom teacher, who had been with them for four years, couldn't stand seeing Ye Wenyu like this. Once, he called her to his office and talked to her.

The weather was still very hot at the time, and the homeroom teacher's office was not air-conditioned. Large beads of sweat seeped down his forehead, but Ye Wenyu was wearing a long T-shirt and was not sweaty at all.

While others were still wearing shorts and short-sleeved T-shirts, she returned to school and, on the first day of class, wore a long-sleeved T-shirt and long jeans.

The homeroom teacher looked at her with surprise and asked, "Ye Wenyu, it's so hot, aren't you hot wearing so many clothes?"

Ye Wenyu sat quietly in the chair where guests were being greeted, and only then did she slowly reply, "It's not hot, sometimes I even feel cold."

After her mother passed away, Ye Wenyu felt that no matter what season it was, it was always a world of ice and snow.

The homeroom teacher raised his eyebrows in surprise, then nodded, indicating that he accepted her reason for wearing so many clothes. He thought for a moment and asked her with concern, "Do you know why I came to talk to you?"

Ye Wenyu knew perfectly well, but she shook her head. Because she didn't want to talk.

The homeroom teacher sighed and said to her, "You're already a senior now, time flies. I see most of the students in the class are working hard for the future. Some are busy preparing for the postgraduate entrance exam, and some are looking for internships. I only see you, still like a freshman, doing nothing all day long and wandering around the campus. Ye Wenyu, you can't go on like this!"

The homeroom teacher spoke these words, looking at her with a serious expression.

Ye Wenyu lowered her head. She knew that things couldn't go on like this and that she needed to change, but she couldn't do it because she had lost her origins. As for where she would go, she even hoped that she would die soon and perhaps be able to reunite with her mother.

The homeroom teacher said to her anxiously, "If you don't make a plan now, you won't be able to take the postgraduate entrance exam or find a job when you graduate from your senior year. Although we are a prestigious university, every year there are still some students who can't find a job because they don't work hard enough. There are too many college graduates now, and the pressure to find a job is very high. Ye Wenyu, I am very worried about you."

Hearing this, Ye Wenyu's nose tingled, and tears welled up in her eyes. Was she worried that she wouldn't be able to find work, and having lost all her family, would starve to death on the streets, forced to sell her body as a corpse?