Chapter Forty-Three

Sunlight streamed obliquely through the window, gilding the temples of her mother with a golden edge, but her voice was as cold as ice: "Ah Li, we're moving. We'll be transferring to a school in Nancheng next week."

Xu Li's pen fell to the ground with a "thud," the cap rolling to the edge of the podium. Looking at the fine lines at the corners of her mother's eyes, she suddenly remembered that for the past six months, her mother had always answered phone calls behind her back, and the room light had been on late into the night.

"Why so suddenly?" Her voice sounded particularly weak in the empty classroom.

"Dad's job transfer has been approved." Mom tucked the stray hairs that had fallen across her forehead behind her ear.

"We've already made contact with a top high school over there; their college entrance rate is much higher than here."

Xu Li didn't say anything, but bent down to pick up the pen. When her fingertips touched the cold tiles, she suddenly remembered that Tan Yuze always said her hands were like ice cubes in winter, and that he would put her hands in his school uniform pockets to warm them every morning.

Friday's class meeting was changed into an impromptu parent-teacher meeting. The homeroom teacher said on the podium that the teaching schedule would be adjusted, but Xu Li's mother stayed behind alone after the meeting.

When they returned to the classroom, everyone was gathered around Zhu Yu looking at his new game console. Bai Chuan was taking pictures of the snow outside the window, while Lu Yi and Leng Yuxuan were discussing a newly released mystery novel.

Tan Yuze was sleeping on the table, his face buried in his arms, a snowflake clinging to his hair.

"Xu Li, come and see this!" Zhu Yu shouted at her, holding up a game console. "Tan Yuze just said he wanted to team up with you to beat the game."

"I'm transferring schools next week." Xu Li interrupted him, her voice as soft as falling snowflakes, "To the southern part of Beijing."

The noise in the classroom instantly disappeared, with only the sound of the wind outside the window swirling snowflakes and tapping against the glass.

The game console in Zhu Yu's hand fell to the ground with a "thud," cracking the screen. Bai Chuan's camera lens cap wasn't properly closed, and with a "click," he captured the frozen moment.

Tan Yuze's face gradually paled. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Lu Yi nudged his arm: "Say something!"

Tan Yuze suddenly raised his head, his eyes still dazed from just waking up. When he saw Xu Li, his eyelashes trembled: "Really? You're willing..."

"Otherwise what?" Xu Li forcefully broke free from him. "Didn't we break up a long time ago?"

She hopped on her bicycle and dashed into the snowstorm, not daring to look back. The wind rushed into her collar, making her teeth chatter, and tears fell onto her scarf, quickly freezing into tiny ice crystals.

"When did this happen?" His voice was hoarse, like sandpaper scraping. "Why didn't you say so sooner?"

"It was decided just a few days ago." Xu Li lowered her head, looking at her intertwined fingers. "My mother has already completed the formalities."

Leng Yuxuan suddenly stood up, the chair legs scraping against the floor with a harsh sound: "The southern part of Beijing is more than a thousand kilometers away from here, how can you just leave like that?"

“I…” Xu Li’s eyes suddenly welled up with tears, “I don’t want to leave either.”

When school was over, Tan Yuze locked his bicycle next to Xu Li's bike, with the silver chain wrapped around it several times.

He leaned against a pillar in the carport, snowflakes landing on his eyelashes and quickly melting into water: "I'll go tell your mother not to take you with her."

"It's no use." Xu Li unlocked her car. "My dad has already bought a house over there."

Tan Yuze suddenly grabbed her wrist, the force so strong it hurt: "Then what have we been doing all these days? Is this how you're going to say goodbye to me?"

He knew that transferring schools meant breaking up with her.

On the day I transferred schools, the classroom was filled with the mixed smell of mothballs and chalk dust.

Xu Li stood on the podium, clutching the fever-reducing patch that Tan Yuze had secretly slipped to her; the packaging was worn shiny from being rubbed. "Xu Li, I haven't returned your physics notes yet."

Lu Yi suddenly rushed up, his denim jacket still stained with iodine from the last lab class. "Xiao Lizi, who's going to tutor me now that you're gone?"

"Xiao Li, I haven't collected enough of your little bunny sticky notes yet." Zhou Chen placed a jar of rainbow candy on the podium. Inside the glass jar lay seven sticky notes with little bunnies drawn on them—corresponding to the seven subjects Xu Li tutored him in.

Bai Chuan suddenly stood up from the back row, his shoulder bag strap slipping down to reveal half of a bandage. Xu Li remembered how her hands trembled as she bandaged Bai Chuan's ankle during the basketball game last week.

"Xiao Lizi, here's your 'Five Years of College Entrance Examination, Three Years of Simulation'." Zhu Yu held up the well-worn textbook, a train ticket fluttering between the pages—it was bought by Tan Yuze when he took her to the amusement park last week, and the back was still stained with cotton candy from the Ferris wheel.

Leng Yuxuan suddenly shoved the headphone cord into Xu Li's hand; Tan Yuze's blue hair tie was wrapped around the remote.

"Ah Li, how am I going to listen to music now that you're gone?" The hair tie was left behind by Tan Yuze when he tied Xu Li's hair at last week's sports meet. As Xu Li turned around, she saw Tan Yuze standing under the sycamore tree outside the classroom.

The third button on his school uniform was already sewn on, and his tie was crooked, as if he had tied it himself. He clutched the crumpled transfer application in his hand, the ink having smudged into a flower shape.

"Ah Li, after you transfer schools, I won't go back to carrying bricks." Tan Yuze suddenly shouted, his voice cutting through the gaps in the sycamore leaves.

"Once I've saved enough for medical expenses, we'll go to the amusement park and ride the Ferris wheel!" Xu Li suddenly tore open a fever-reducing patch and stuck it on Tan Yuze's forehead. The tape stung a little against his hair, much like their current relationship—it was stuck so tightly, yet there was still a layer of paper separating them.

"Xu Li." Tan Yuze suddenly grabbed Xu Li's backpack strap, the metal pendant making a crisp sound.

He recalled the last message Xu Lifeng sent him last Saturday when he sneaked out to work a part-time job: "Tan Yuze, there are iodine stains on your school uniform."

"Little Li, I'm waiting for you." Tan Yuze suddenly pushed his younger sister Tan Yuqi in front of Xu Li.

“You can come back to see him later.” Xu Li touched the wound on Tan Yuqi’s head and suddenly remembered the firelight in the lab class last week. She suddenly understood that some farewells are not goodbyes forever, but are for a better reunion.

During lunch break, Zhu Yu ran in carrying a basketball, his school uniform collar covered in grass clippings: "Xu Li, Tan Yuze got hit in the face by a ball and is bleeding a lot!"

Xu Li's hand holding the pen trembled suddenly, and the ink smeared a blot of blue on the exercise book.

She looked up towards the playground. There were many people gathered at the entrance of the teaching building. She could vaguely see Tan Yuze being helped by Bai Chuan towards the infirmary. There was a glaring red stain on the sleeve of his white school uniform.

"Aren't you going to take a look?" Zhou Chen appeared beside them at some point, holding food he had just gotten from the cafeteria.

"He clearly saw you by the window when he shot, but he was distracted and that's why he got hit."

Xu Li lowered her head and continued working on her problems, the tip of her pen poking a small hole in the paper: "It has nothing to do with me."

She couldn't concentrate on the lesson all afternoon; the image of Tan Yuze being hit kept flashing before her eyes. During the last self-study period, she made an excuse to go to the office to ask a question, deliberately taking a detour past the infirmary.

The door wasn't closed properly, and you could hear Bai Chuan saying from inside, "Are you serious? Catching a basketball with your face?"

"I just wanted to see if she would come," Tan Yuze said, his voice a little muffled. "If she does come, I'll apologize to her."

Xu Li's steps seemed to be nailed to the spot, and she only hurriedly ran back to the classroom when the school bell rang.

The seat next to her was empty; Tan Yuze hadn't returned from the infirmary yet. The succulent plant she kept was lying askew on the corner of the table, probably knocked over while cleaning that morning.

She crouched down to straighten the flowerpot and found a note under the pot, written in Tan Yuze's handwriting: "Lin Wei's father was a firefighter who died fighting a fire last month."

It started snowing when evening self-study ended. Xu Li walked out of the teaching building and found a gray scarf in the bicycle basket.

It wasn't her pink one; the yarn was exactly the same as the one Tan Yuze was wearing. She hesitated for a moment, then stuffed the scarf back into the guardhouse.

"Excuse me, wait a minute," the gatekeeper called out to her, handing her a thermos.

"That boy from the Tan family asked me to give this to you. He said you have a bad stomach and need to drink some hot porridge."

The warmth of the thermos wafted through Xu Li's palms. Standing in the snow, she looked at the light on in the window on the third floor of the teaching building. Tan Yuze's figure flickered on the curtain and then quickly disappeared.

On Monday morning, Xu Li's seat was empty.

Tan Yuze stared at the clean desk, which still bore faint pen marks—the traces of her pen tip forcefully tracing mathematical formulas.

The pink thermos cup in the drawer of the table was gone, replaced by a succulent plant with plump, jade-like leaves. He had specially bought it from the flower shop yesterday, and it was exactly the same as the one she had grown before.

“Her train is at five in the morning.” Bai Chuan threw his backpack on the table, his eyes red like a rabbit’s. “Her dad drove her to the train station, but she insisted on carrying her own suitcase, saying she didn’t want to trouble them.”

Zhu Yu walked in, munching on a steamed bun, then suddenly stopped halfway through: "Didn't she say when she'd be coming back to visit?"

“She said she’d leave something for us after the college entrance exam,” Leng Yuxuan pushed up her glasses, the lenses fogged up.

He took out five envelopes from his schoolbag, each with a name written on it in neat handwriting.

Tan Yuze's letter was the thickest, with a crookedly drawn basketball on the envelope and a little dog sticking out its tongue next to it.

The bell rang for morning reading. The homeroom teacher walked in, her gaze lingering on the empty seats for two seconds before she sighed softly: "Xu Li has transferred schools due to family reasons. I hope everyone will focus their energy on their studies."

Tan Yuze's fingers trembled as he held the envelope. Inside, besides the letter, was a mint wrapped in cellophane, the kind of lemon-flavored one he used to give her.

The handwriting on the letter was somewhat blurred, probably because I cried while writing it:

"Tan Yuze, I'm sorry, I heard everything outside the infirmary that day. Actually, I already knew about Lin Wei, but I was angry that you didn't trust me, angry that you would rather bear it all by yourself than tell me. I left your scarf and thermos with the gatekeeper. Your stomach isn't good either, so don't always eat cold food. Winters in the south are colder than here, but I still miss the sweet soy milk from that soy milk shop near the school gate."

The snow outside the window has stopped, and sunlight shines through the clouds, casting bright spots of light on the letter paper.

Tan Yuze suddenly covered his face, his shoulders shaking violently. Lu Yi in the front row handed him a tissue, his own eyes also red.

During the morning exercise break, familiar music played over the loudspeaker. As the group passed the bulletin board in front of the teaching building, the list of city-level outstanding students was posted. Xu Li's name was first in the list. In the photo, she was wearing a clean school uniform, and the corners of her mouth were curved into a beautiful smile.

"So she was selected after all." Zhu Yu's voice was muffled. "She told me yesterday that she might not be selected."

Bai Chuan suddenly ran to the corner of the playground, where there was an easel under the camphor tree, which Lu Yi had specially moved there.

Lu Yi is good at sketching. He spent an entire night drawing a portrait of Xu Li. In the painting, she is looking down at a book, and sunlight shines through the leaves onto the tips of her hair.

“Let’s send this to her.” Leng Yuxuan took out her phone from her pocket. “I’ve written down the address of her new school.”

Tan Yuze stood in front of the portrait, his fingers gently tracing the cheek of the girl in the painting.

He remembered yesterday at the train station, when he hid behind a pillar and watched Xu Li walk into the ticket gate with her backpack, then turn around and wave in his direction, as if she knew he was there.

During the last self-study period before the final exams, the classroom was so quiet that the only sound could be the scratching of pens on paper.

A new potted green ivy has been placed on Xu Li's seat. It was brought from home by Tan Yuze every week, and its leaves are lush and green thanks to the heating.

"Hey, Tan Yuze, this physics problem..." Zhu Yu stopped mid-sentence, looking at Tan Yuze's workbook, where a small smiley face was drawn in the spot where Xu Li used to sit.

Bai Chuan was organizing his notebook of incorrect answers when he suddenly exclaimed, "Ah!": "There's a photo tucked inside the notebook Xu Li gave me!"

The photo was taken during the sports meet. Six people were crammed onto the podium, with Xu Li standing in the middle.

Holding the trophy that won first place in the team overall score, Tan Yuze quietly put his hand on her shoulder, while Lu Yi and Leng Yuxuan made faces behind her, and Zhu Yu took a picture of himself in the shot.

“Let’s go see her in Nancheng during winter break?” Lu Yi suddenly said, almost dropping the pen he was twirling in his hand. “I checked, the high-speed train only takes two hours.”

Leng Yuxuan pushed up his glasses and revealed a rare smile: "My aunt is a teacher at Nancheng University, I can borrow her car."

Tan Yuze tucked the photo into his textbook. On the title page, there was a line of small print: "Class 7, Grade 12, Nancheng No. 3 Middle School, Xu Li." That was the address he had gotten from his homeroom teacher.

As school ended, the setting sun cast long shadows of the school building, and Tan Yuze was the last to leave the classroom.

He walked to Xu Li's seat and slipped a note into the crack of the desk. It read: "When you come back, I'll still be keeping your 'Three Good Student' certificate for you."

As he locked the classroom door, he glanced back. The empty seats seemed especially quiet in the twilight, and the leaves of the pothos swayed gently in the breeze, as if nodding in agreement.

The radiators in the corridor were still hissing, keeping the cold winter outside, while spring was just around the corner, waiting for all those who missed each other to reunite.

The last page of the second semester of senior year was turned gently on this winter day, leaving faint ink marks, like an unspoken goodbye, or a promise that will eventually be fulfilled.

The day Xu Li left, Xu Song took her and Xu Sheng there.

[Xu Li] "Xu Song, I'm leaving. Will you miss me?" Xu Li asked Xu Song with her hands on her hips, a little proud.

[Xu Song] "I've thought about it. Okay, I'll take good care of myself."

[Xu Li] "Okay, Xu Sheng!!! Remember to pick me up." She waved her little hand.

[Xu Sheng] "Alright, ancestor, you can go now."

[Xu Song] "How can you talk to your sister like that and drive her away? Go take care of yourself, don't wrong yourself, and tell your father if anything happens."

[Xu Li] "When are you going?"

[Xu Sheng] "It won't be long. Once these two days are over, it will be over. Remember to pick us up then."

[Xu Li] "Okay, sure. I'm leaving now, bye-bye. I'm leaving."

She pushed her suitcase toward the plane.

After Xu Song and Xu Sheng left, Tan Yuze arrived at the airport. He spotted Xu Li immediately, rushed over, grabbed her, and kissed her. "You..."

"You're leaving now, take care."

"Mmm." She kissed him on the lips. "Let's go."

After arriving in Beijing, Xu Li saw Tan Yuqi's post on WeChat Moments: "I have a very good friend, so good that I can't see the end of this friendship."

Xu Li smiled slightly and gave her a thumbs up.