50/daylight

At 8 p.m., the TV was on in the living room, broadcasting major news events. The phone screen on the table lit up from time to time, and the flashing message bar all showed the same keyword: college entrance examination scores.

Shen Yu took a bottle of Coke from the refrigerator, twisted the cap, and bubbles were bubbling out of the bottle. The foam flowed down the bottle and onto his hand. Shen Yu placed the Coke in front of Chen Mian, then went to the kitchen to wash his hands. When he came out, he saw the girl who had been hugging her knees and reading the news pick up her phone. Her finger hovered over the screen, which was lit up with a score query interface.

Her fingers didn't move for a moment, nor did she reach for the Coke on the table.

Many messages popped up in my phone's notification bar.

Zhao Lili asked her if she had checked her scores yet. Seeing that she hadn't replied for a long time, she had the same idea as the security guard and started to find some random topics to distract Chen Mian. But in fact, Chen Mian still hadn't checked her college entrance examination scores.

Shen Yu took out a straw, put it into the cola, and pushed it in front of Chen Mian.

"Do you want me to investigate for you?"

He was allowed to go out only after checking his grades at home. The whole family was very satisfied with his scores. The Shen family has never had any idiots or spoiled brats. However, in terms of grades, Shen Yu was still the most outstanding one. His school and major had already been planned. What You Huai said about going abroad was indeed within the plan. He would study at a university in China for a few years, then go abroad to get a prestigious degree, and come back to inherit the family business. The whole plan was predetermined.

While others were looking at majors and universities, Chen Yu hadn't even opened a brochure.

Absolute freedom comes with absolute constraints. His parents never interfered with his relationship with Chen Mian, and he never resisted the path his family had arranged for him.

In Shen Yu's view, it was only natural that they would be in the same school.

"No need, I'll check it myself." Chen Mian refused him, her breathing suddenly becoming heavy, her finger hovering over the screen for a moment before finally falling as if she had pushed away a heavy stone.

The system's peak activity time had passed by this point. Different sounds came from outside the open window: some were calling relatives and friends to share the good news, others were crying and shouting in a suppressed and sullen tone, asking their parents if the college entrance exam represented everything, and still others were having quiet discussions about choosing universities and majors.

Three years of hard study, countless nights spent with lamps and exam papers, all for a score that is both light and heavy.

Chen Mian had imagined this moment countless times. Her college entrance examination score was the key to unlocking a new life for her. When the teacher asked her to write down her ideal university on a piece of paper, Zhao Lili asked her if she had any ideal universities. At that time, Chen Mian's thinking was superficial. Any university with good employment prospects and that could help her escape her current situation and move towards a better life would be fine.

Her homeroom teacher had a talk with her, saying, "Chen Mian, out of so many students in our class, you are my favorite student. It's not because you have good grades or are well-behaved, but because of my purest appreciation. I believe that as long as you are determined, there is no place you cannot reach. But at the same time, I also hope that you can be clear about where you really want to go, what kind of person you want to become, and what kind of future you want to have. I hope that you can use the freedom you hold in your hands to unlock the scenery you most want to see."

Use the freedom you hold in your hands to unlock the scenery you most desire to see.

The page is spinning.

The total score popped up: 680 points.

Then he heard Shen Yu's laughing voice, "Chen Mian, you did a great job on the exam."

As if trapped in a black and white silent film, Chen Mian was speechless and without any thoughts. The only thought that flashed through her mind was: everything is really over.

On the day she went back to school to pick up her files, Zhao Lili stopped her and complained for a long time about the class trip. She said that they went to a nearby tourist city, and the planned route was pretty good. Many people in the class participated, and everyone had a good time. However, on the way back, Chen Ke and Liu Junjie had a fight on the bus. It seemed to be about a small matter like who got on the bus first, but everyone in the class knew that it was actually because of Lin Lin.

Chen Ke and Lin Lin are dating, but Liu Junjie also had feelings for Lin Lin. Chen Ke, being petty, has targeted Liu Junjie several times, both openly and secretly. Liu Junjie is not one to back down either, and the two started arguing in the car, hurling nasty insults at each other. In the end, it was only after everyone pulled them apart and tried to calm them down that the atmosphere eased.

"After this incident, Chen Ke was quite arrogant and even said that Liu Junjie was trash, as if he would let the college entrance examination scores prove him right. However, Liu Junjie performed exceptionally well and scored even better than before, while Chen Ke underperformed."

She opened her phone and showed Chen Mian the class group chat history, revealing the grand occasion from the previous night.

Liu Junjie tagged Chen Ke several times in the group, asking him how many points he got on the exam and asking him to tell him.

Chen Ke pretended to be dead and didn't say a word. It was Lin Lin who came out and told Liu Junjie to shut up.

There's also Chen Mian's story involved.

Someone posted: "I heard that Chen Mian got the best score in our class this time."

The conversation should have ended there, but then Chen Ke posted: Heh.

It's unclear whether this was a response to Liu Junjie's words or a direct attack on Chen Mian.

Zhao Lili said indignantly, "Chen Ke is trash. People with such a narrow mind will never amount to anything."

As they were talking, Chen Ke had already brought the files to the classroom and piled them on the podium. His expression wasn't good. He told the students below, who were sharing their holiday experiences, that the teacher appreciation banquet for tonight had already invited all the teachers and that everyone should attend.

As she said this, she glanced at Chen Mian and emphasized, "Especially some classmates, you're about to graduate, so don't be so antisocial."

Lin Lin was lying on the table playing on her phone when she heard Chen Ke say that. She looked at Chen Mian and smiled, "Maybe she doesn't care to play with us. After all, she didn't come on the class trip but went with the science class instead. Maybe she's not good enough for us."

Zhao Lili was furious when she heard this and wanted to retort, but Chen Mian grabbed her hand.

The man who always seemed nonchalant and indifferent to everything now glanced at Lin Lin with almost contempt before looking at Chen Ke on the podium. "You're graduating soon, so you really have to go. After all, you'll be going to different schools in the future."

Her tone was calm and at first glance, it didn't sound aggressive at all, but Chen Ke's face immediately turned ugly. He immediately realized that Chen Mian was mocking him, mocking him for failing to get into the university she wanted to attend.

The imminent conflict was averted when the teacher entered the classroom.

The evening's teacher appreciation banquet was held in the same location but a different private room as the other classes. While Chen Mian was eating, Shen Yu sent her many messages asking if she would participate in other activities. Zhao Lili saw the messages, and her face was flushed from drinking a little red wine. Slightly tipsy, she pointed to Shen Yu's name and asked Chen Mian when she was getting married.

Chen Mian poked Zhao Lili's soft face with her hand and whispered to her, "We won't get married."

Zhao Lili was a little confused and kept asking her why.

Just then, someone shouted, "Let's all toast the teacher!" Chen Mian stood up with the crowd, holding a glass in her hand.

The person on the other end of the phone sent a timely message, as if they had a surveillance camera installed: You didn't drink, did you?

"You should get married!" Zhao Lili held her glass in both hands, making a gesture as if she were about to swear brotherhood with the wine, and said in a childlike tone, slightly tipsy, "You two! You're such a perfect match!"

When other classmates who were also drunk heard this, they didn't understand who Zhao Lili was talking about, so they started to make a fuss, banging on the table and shouting "Get married! Get married! Get married!"

The homeroom teacher, sitting in the center, looked at the group of kids and rubbed his forehead in exasperation. The PE teacher next to him, whose classes had been taken over for the entire semester, laughed like a fool, waving his phone and asking them if they were already thinking about marriage by the time they reached the age. He was speaking to the English teacher next door, but before he could even glance at her, she slapped his hand with chopsticks.

Some people got emotional, tears and snot streaming down their faces. When they saw the English teacher's chopsticks, they picked up their own chopsticks and grabbed the people sitting to their left and right, saying, "We're all about to graduate, we should become sworn brothers. We don't ask to be born in the same year and month, but we ask to die in the same year and month."

When Shen Yu pushed open the door to the room where Class 3 of Literature was having a reunion, he saw four or five boys kneeling with chopsticks in their hands, facing him.

They banged it a few times, and even shouted that the Jade Emperor was their witness.

Chen Mian struggled to pull Zhao Lili, who was drinking and holding chopsticks and wanted to join in, and coaxed her in a soft voice, "Lili, no, you're not a man, you can't be their brother."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Lili burst into tears, hugging her and wailing as if tomorrow were the end of the world, "Waaaaah, why am I not a man, Mianmian? That way I could be your best man at your wedding, waaaaah! Why, why didn't I grow a penis?!"

Shen Yu: "..."

The science students who had followed behind, also quite drunk, leaned against the door and grinned foolishly inside, "Is this place themed around the Oath of the Peach Garden? Hehe—hehehehe—we're looking for Hua Luogeng over there!"

It's as if all my intelligence was returned to the school after the college entrance exam.

Many men, emboldened by alcohol, confessed their feelings without even seeing who it was. One man, holding up his glass, had just called out "Chen Mian" when someone still sober beside him covered his mouth, saying, "Mian my ass! Chen Yu is here, why are you still sleeping? You should go to sleep first."

The teacher perfectly exemplified turning a blind eye to the excitement, watching one spectacle after another, and even accepting snotty-nosed, tearful thanks from students every now and then.

It was in this atmosphere that Shen Yu walked towards Chen Mian, while Zhao Lili kept pestering her to get married.

Half of the wine glass on Chen Mian's table was missing, indicating that he had drunk some. However, he had a good tolerance for alcohol and was neither tipsy nor drunk. He looked at Chen Yu quite soberly and asked him why he was there.

"I thought you drowned in a beer jar because you didn't reply to my message." Shen Yu leaned on the back of her chair, noticing that the atmosphere at the table was still lively. He casually picked up a beer glass from her table, poured it all for Chen Mian, turned the glass upside down, and nodded at the sports committee member who was carrying a beer bottle and pouring drinks for everyone.

The other person's face was as red as a monkey's bottom. He didn't seem drunk, but he was unsteady on his feet. He immediately saluted Chen Yu and shouted at the top of his lungs, "I guarantee I'll complete the mission!"

Shen Yu again: "..."

Just how bad is this group's alcohol tolerance?

The science class hadn't finished yet. He just came over to check on someone and found that Chen Mian was fine, sitting there obediently winking at him. Perhaps because she was hot, she casually tied her hair into a bun, with some strands hanging down on both sides. Under the warm light, she looked soft and gentle, like Little Red Riding Hood who had been kidnapped by the Big Bad Wolf.

She tugged at his sleeve and asked, "Chen Yu, have you been drinking?"

Shen Yu chuckled and teased her, "You not only drank, you got drunk."

Chen Mian wrinkled her nose, leaned back against the table, and braced herself with both hands behind her, ignoring him.

With a hint of disdain, she said, "You're so annoying."

Zhao Lili, who was standing next to Chen Mian, suddenly sprang to her feet and, as if she were experiencing a brief moment of lucidity before death, asked Chen Mian, "When are you two getting married, Mianmian?"

Chen Mian bobbed like a doll, repeatedly saying, "No knot, no knot."

Judging from Chen Mian's appearance, Shen Yu guessed that she was somewhat drunk, but she didn't show it on her face, so she looked like nothing was wrong.

He had never drunk alcohol with Chen Mian before, so he didn't know that this girl had such a low alcohol tolerance.

Just then, his phone started ringing incessantly. His classmates were asking where he had gone, wondering if he had been kidnapped by some monster. The atmosphere on the other end was also lively, with people banging on the table, knocking on bowls, and shouting for him to come back quickly.

Shen Yu had no choice but to ask a girl next to Chen Mian who was playing on her phone to keep an eye on Chen Mian, and then went back to the science class to deal with her classmates.

Less than twenty minutes later, when I came back to check, the person was gone.

Along with Zhao Lili, who was sleeping on the table, also disappeared, while the girl who was playing on her phone had moved from the chair to the sofa and was fast asleep.

Shen Yu rubbed his temples, feeling a bit of a headache, and went to the entrance of the women's restroom. The girls from other classes who came out of the restroom were quite surprised to see Shen Yu. When asked if anyone was inside, they shook their heads vigorously, saying that no one was inside and that the restroom was empty.

Shen Yu was walking out of the restaurant while making a phone call, when he saw Chen Mian and Zhao Lili squatting at the door.

Chen Mian patted Zhao Lili's back, while Zhao Lili vomited violently into the tree roots.

Only when you get closer can you hear the two of them still talking.

While vomiting, Zhao Lili cried and said, "Mianmian, I miss you so much."

Chen Mian: "We'll meet again eventually."

"But...but then we won't be able to see each other every day." Zhao Lili leaned against the tree trunk, feeling as if three or four Chen Mian were smiling at her. She became even more upset and reached out to grab Chen Mian's arm, but missed. Finally, she rubbed her eyes, bent over, and vomited. After vomiting, she said to Chen Mian incoherently, "Mianmian, I really want to attend your wedding."

Zhao Lili has said this countless times tonight.

Chen Mian was also feeling a little dizzy and asked her, "Why are you so fixated on this?"

Little did she know that Zhao Lili said to her, "Because I want you to be happy. Shen Yu is very good to you. My mother said that people should be more realistic and find a rich boyfriend so that even if there is no love, there will be good material conditions. But, but Shen Yu is rich and likes you."

She kept talking, counting on her fingers as if she were doing math.

"Shen Yu likes you, and you like him too, so wouldn't it be great if you two got together and got married?"

Chen Yu stopped in his tracks.

Seeing Chen Mian shake her head, she sat on the ground and said to Zhao Lili, "That's not how it is."

"Whether I like him or not is not important at all. Feelings are only a part of life. Being with him and becoming his wife is not what I want."

It sounds somewhat profound, even like it's talking about some obscure and difficult-to-understand principles.

Zhao Lili asked, "So what do you want?"

Chen Mian stretched out her hand and saw that all the streetlights on the roadside fell into her palm. She smiled, as if she had captured all the light.

"I want absolute freedom that I can have, the courage to face loss without fear, and..."

What else? She couldn't remember.

Zhao Lili seemed to understand but not quite, yet she still pressed on with the previous question, asking, "What about Chen Yu?"

Chen Mian shook her head, her voice very soft, "No."

You Huai came downstairs to get some fresh air and saw Shen Yu standing there smoking. Following his gaze, he saw two girls squatting there. He squinted and carefully examined them for a while before asking Shen Yu, "That Chen Mian?"

Shen Yu held a cigarette between his fingers.

You Huai was puzzled. "Why did you make her squat there?"

Shen Yu didn't answer him, but lowered his eyes and asked You Huai after a long while, "Are you going to the same university as Chen Yin?"

When this topic came up, You Huai got excited, raising his chin with a hint of pride, "Of course, she insisted on going to the same university as me, and even asked me to give her my student ID and ID card so she could help me fill out the college application. She's quite clingy. I've barely taken half a step out of the house when she calls again. She can't seem to live without me. She's so in love with me, what can I do?"

He deliberately acted like a jerk in front of Shen Yu, but unexpectedly, Shen Yu didn't scold him.

"What's wrong?" You Huai asked Shen Yu seriously, "Isn't she going to the same university as you?"

A breeze is blowing.

Shen Yu saw Chen Mian's coat billowing in the wind, like a bird about to take flight.

"She doesn't want me."

You Huai was a little confused by Shen Yu's tone, which sounded like a puppy abandoned by its owner, and asked, "W-what?"

Shen Yu lowered his head, stubbed out his cigarette, and didn't look at Chen Mian again, but his throat felt bitter.

"Chen Mian said she doesn't want me."

This was You Huai's last memory of that night, because after hearing what Shen Yu said, he lost his balance and fell down.

He landed on his forehead.

In the instant he fainted, he thought: Damn it, my poor brother Shen Yu is so damn miserable.

*

Chen Mian's head still ached when she woke up the next day.

Zhao Lili's mother knocked on the door, placed two glasses of rock sugar pear water on the bedside table, smiled gently at Chen Mian, asked her how she was sleeping and if her head still hurt, but her hand directly slapped her own daughter who was sleeping in an ugly position while hugging a doll.

Chen Mian was a little confused. "Auntie, how did I get here?"

“Last night, Lily’s dad and I came to pick you up. Lily clung to you and wouldn’t let go, so we brought you both back. When we asked for your family’s phone number, you mumbled a number, but when I called, it was a boy’s voice.” Zhao Lily’s mother said, still a little confused, and asked, “Is it your brother?”

Chen Mian lowered her head, completely missing this memory.

Zhao Lili's mother left after delivering the pear water.

Chen Mian took out her phone. Shen Yu hadn't made any calls or sent any messages. The only thing in his WeChat group was a video of last night's gathering.

She clicked on it and saw a video where Shen Yu pushed open a door, stood there stunned by several people kneeling and swearing brotherhood, and then laughed. The person filming wasn't very skilled; the camera kept shaking, and before she could see clearly, it cut to something else. When it shook back, she saw Shen Yu standing in front of her, and she seemed a little slow to react in the video. As soon as she reached out her hand to Shen Yu, he bent down. In the instant the light fell, he probably noticed the camera and glanced in her direction, a smile on his lips and a gentle expression on his face.

The final scene is frozen here.

Someone below said:

—Even though I see him at school every day, I still can't help but marvel at how handsome Shen Yu is.

—The thought that I might not see such a handsome face in college makes me a little sad.

—Who can go to the same school as him? I heard from our homeroom teacher that he's the top science student this year, right?

—Damn, he's handsome, smart, and fucking loyal.

...

"He's really handsome. Although Suizhong doesn't hold any school beauty or school hunk contests, there's never been any suspense that Shen Yu is the school hunk. He can even withstand such a terrible shot, but why did you have to film me? I look so ugly lying on the table next to you guys, sleeping like a dead pig!"

Zhao Lili jumped out of bed, squeezed next to Chen Mian, grabbed the mirror from the bedside table, stared at herself in the mirror, and asked Chen Mian, "Am I ugly, Mianmian?"

Chen Mian shook her head. "You're very cute."

Zhao Lili was immediately appeased, but asked somewhat confusedly, "But... why didn't Shen Yu take you with him last night?" She then hurriedly waved her hand, "Of course I'm happy to live with you! I just don't understand."

Chen Mian was also unsure; she had no recollection of what happened last night and couldn't remember anything for the time being.

At noon, Zhao Lili's mother tried her best to persuade Chen Mian to have lunch at their house, but Chen Mian refused.

She didn't go back to Shengshi Haoting, but instead went back to that old residential building.

Song Ai wasn't home, and the house didn't look like anyone was living there. Aunt Zhang, who had just returned from buying groceries, saw the door open and Chen Mian standing inside. She went over to her and said, "Mianmian! Why are you back? Weren't you staying at your relatives' house? Oh, look at my brain! The college entrance exam is over. How did it go?"

Chen Mian smiled and said it was not bad.

Aunt Zhang immediately cheered for her. Seeing Chen Mian searching the room, she said to her, "Don't bother looking. Your stepmother ran off with a man a long time ago. She's a bit bald. She used to live here a lot, but after your father passed away, she packed her things and left. When I asked her if she was coming back, she said no."

Chen Mian was somewhat stunned.

Chen Mian declined Aunt Zhang's invitation to stay for dinner and pushed open the door to her room.

With a creak, dust was kicked up the moment it was opened.

The inside is still messy, just like when I left. The wardrobe is open, clothes are stuffed in there, and there's a musty smell.

During this time, Chen Mian went to Chen Song's room, and the property certificate was still in the drawer; Song Ai hadn't taken it.

She turned eighteen and followed the steps taught online to complete the property transfer. She then found a real estate agency to list the house for sale. During the waiting period, she cleaned the room and waited for her college admission notice while also waiting for news from the real estate agency.

During this time, Shen Yu never contacted her.

Unexpectedly, You Huai contacted her once, somehow obtaining her phone number. Chen Mian answered and heard a long silence on the other end, as if the phone was being passed around. Finally, You Huai's voice came through, asking her with some helplessness, "Chen Mian, what exactly do you mean by A Yu?"

Chen Mian died immediately.

The package arrived in mid-July.

The admission notice was delivered to her doorstep. The courier was responsible for this area and knew everyone in the building. When he saw Chen Mian open the door, he smiled and congratulated her.

The admission notice from the University of Political Science and Law.

—Chen Mian, a freshman majoring in law, class of 2015.

Chen Mian pushed open the window of her room. The garbage station downstairs was still full, emitting a foul stench.

The phone rang, and the real estate agent told her that someone had taken a liking to their house.

After the darkness ended, it seemed that only good things came, so good that it was almost unreal.

After the property transfer was completed in August, a large sum of money was deposited into Chen Mian's bank account. She called Song Ai, who laughed and told her on the other end of the phone that it was only a few dollars and she didn't care about it.

After saying that, he sent her a WeChat message as proof: a gold bracelet, a gold necklace, and gold earrings.

Song Ai: These days, men can be relied on, so what's it to you?

At the end of August, Chen Mian reorganized all her luggage at a nearby hotel. A small suitcase contained everything, and her train ticket to Beijing was also in her wallet. Only when everything was settled did it feel like she had finally pressed the pause button on her life, which had been so busy that she couldn't even think about anything else.

A light rain began to fall outside the window.

Chen Mian changed her clothes, opened an umbrella, and went to a nearby convenience store on this rainy night to buy bread and water for the train the next day.

The ground was completely wet, and people on the road hurried along. The raindrops gradually became denser, and it looked like it was about to turn into a downpour. Some people started running.

"What kind of weather is this?"

"It's almost September, why is it still raining?"

Chen Mian walked slowly, and as she entered the convenience store under the eaves and put away her umbrella, she caught a glimpse of a familiar figure not far away.

However, when I looked up again, I realized it was just an illusion.

There was no one there, only the relentless downpour.

The rain continued into the next morning.

Chen Mian hailed a taxi to the train station. The driver was a very enthusiastic person. Seeing that Chen Mian was dragging her suitcase alone and that her destination was the train station, he asked her if she was going on a trip or what.

Chen Mian said, "Go read a book."

"Going to university?"

Chen Mian nodded.

The driver laughed and asked, "Where do you read it?"

"Beijing."

"Hey, Beijing, that's a big place, a metropolis, you've got potential, kid!"

Chen Mian chuckled, took out her earphones from her bag, put them in her ears, and lowered her head, a gesture that indicated she refused to talk to him anymore. The driver assumed that Chen Mian was sad about leaving Suibei to study in such a far place, so he didn't talk to her anymore, but simply turned off the news and switched to the music channel.

There is no sound in the headphones.

Chen Mian heard a female voice singing "Heartbeat" from the car stereo.

She glanced out the window, then looked down again, finally opening WeChat on her phone. She scrolled down the message screen until she saw Chen Yu's black profile picture. The last message she opened was from June.

—You haven't been drinking, have you?

She did not reply.

Then they never spoke again.

I will arrive at the station in thirty minutes.

I dragged my suitcase forward, the wheels making a rumbling sound on the ground.

She was surrounded by people just like herself, except that everyone had someone with them, their parents holding their hands and saying words of advice.

Chen Mian was all alone.

She kept moving forward.

Just as I was about to go inside, I suddenly stopped.

Chen Mian turned her head and looked outside.

Suibei.

Her entire life over the past decade or so has taken place here—from birth to school. Every inch of this land is a camera, recording her less-than-ideal past.

Now that she can finally leave, she has even made up her mind never to come back.

However, she stopped in her tracks.

I can't explain why, it's like I'm waiting for something, but I can't quite put my finger on what I'm waiting for.

Behind me were many footsteps, all hurrying forward. These footsteps were all similar, each heading towards a different future.

But in that instant, in that moment, it happened like a flash of lightning.

Chen Mian turned around for no apparent reason and saw Shen Yu a dozen steps away.

He was wearing a black hoodie, black trousers, and a black hat, looking as hazy as the weather outside the window.

At this moment, Chen Mian realized that last night was not an illusion, not rain, she really saw Shen Yu.

The announcement for the train's boarding process came over the loudspeaker. Chen Mian didn't speak; she just watched him quietly.

The eye contact seemed to last a long time, yet it also felt like it was only a fleeting moment.

Then, as he had done countless times before, Shen Yu walked towards her and stood in front of her.

I didn't ask her where she was going or what university she was going to attend; I just asked her, "When did you make that decision?"

Chen Mian understood what the seemingly random words were saying.

When was the decision made?

Regarding his decision to leave and embark on his own future.

"Very early."

"How early?" Shen Yu's voice was like the rain outside the window, falling coldly to the ground and then disappearing in an instant.

Chen Mian gripped the suitcase handle tightly, her tone remaining calm as she said, "At the beginning of senior year."

"At the beginning of senior year."

Shen Yu repeated it with a cold laugh.

"So, when we lived together, read books together, studied together, went to the mountains to enjoy the breeze, and celebrated birthdays together, all you ever thought about was... leaving me?"

Her voice was choked with sobs, and her eyes were fixed on Chen Mian.

It seemed that something unusual was about to emerge from her calm exterior.

However, it didn't happen.

She remained calm and detached throughout, her expression no different when looking at him than when she looked at countless passersby.

No answer is needed anymore.

Silence is the best answer.

"Chen Mian, you're something else, you're fucking amazing."

"And what about me?"

The boy lowered his head, his whole body radiating desolation, like a drowning dog, yet he still reached out and grabbed her wrist.

It felt like eating a lime.

A sour taste welled up in her throat, and her nose stung. Chen Mian turned her face away and looked at the subtitles on the big screen that showed she was waiting to board the train.

She didn't answer Shen Yu's question, but simply said to him, "Shen Yu, my car has arrived."

They stopped here.

Its excellent external conditions attracted the attention of countless people waiting for their trains.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, the seemingly aloof and arrogant young man held her wrist, like a stubborn child who refused to give up even after falling down. He lowered his eyes, chuckled, and asked her, "Chen Mian, what exactly do you take me for?"

Is this important?

"I need to know at least what the hell you were thinking when I liked you so much, when I was thinking about how we could have a better future together, besides constantly thinking about leaving me!"

He finally lost control of his emotions, but even at this moment, his good manners kept him in a low voice.

She is a completely different person from Chen Song, a completely different person from Chen Ke, and a completely different person from everyone she should have met.

If it weren't for Suibei Senior High School, if it weren't for that rain in her first year of high school, if it weren't for the hand he reached out to her.

They should have been two parallel lines that never intersected.

"Chen Mian, what exactly do you take me for?"

He should have always been dazzling, always admired, but instead, he used this tone and this posture to pull her along, to pester her, demanding an answer he already knew.

Chen Mian looked at her wrist being gripped, feeling as if an electric current was coursing through her from the soles of her feet to the top of her head, sending chills down her spine. However, she managed to break free from Chen Yu's grip on her wrist.

Then she looked up at him, her words cold and cruel.

"—My dog."

The rain stopped at that moment.

Someone exclaimed in surprise, "The sky has cleared up!"

The rains that lasted from spring to summer in northern Suiyuan came to an abrupt end at the station where people left northern Suiyuan.

The end of August, the beginning of September.

Chen Mian boarded a train bound for northern Beijing, amidst the rapidly rewinding scenery.

Suddenly, he reached out and covered his eyes.

She slowly lay down on the small table.

His shoulders were trembling, and sobs escaped through his fingers.

The aunt sitting next to her thought something had happened to her, so she hurriedly took out a tissue and handed it to her, asking, "Little sister, are you alright?"

Chen Mian shook her head.

She's fine.

But in this rainy season that has finally ended, she completely shed all constraints, and the only hand that reached out to her.

Heading towards that unknown future, but one filled with the spirit of freedom.

Daylight streamed in through the car windows.

Subtitles are flashing on the train.

—The destination of this train is northern Beijing.

/

High school is finally over, and I have such high expectations for the synopsis. To be honest, I just wrote it randomly back then. The overall tone isn't angsty. I don't know if everyone will like it, but I hope you will!

The groundwork has been laid since around age 45, and it would be even better if people could understand the reason why Chen Mian left Shenyu.

Then comes university life. I hope you enjoy this chapter, which is nearly nine thousand words long!

(The additional paid chapter is just to see if it can get on the reader recommendation list. If you've already read it, you don't need to buy it again. I hope everyone can give it more pearls, and leave comments. Encouragement and feedback are quite important.)

Mianmian has been thinking about this for a long time. She consulted others about whether people with criminal records in their families can study at political science and law universities. If it doesn't involve national civil service, it's possible. She just can't become a civil servant. It's okay, there are many paths to Rome.

Happy reading!