Chapter 28
The final bell rang, signaling the end of the last exam, like a clarion call of liberation. The campus erupted in cheers, screams, and sighs of relief. Su Rui followed the crowd out of the exam room. The sunlight was a bit glaring, and he squinted his eyes, taking a deep breath of the free air. He felt a whole lot lighter.
He was just looking down, wondering if his grandmother had prepared something delicious at home, when a familiar figure leaned against a lamppost not far in front of him.
It was Ling Yao. He actually didn't leave first.
Ling Yao also saw him, expressionless, simply raising his chin as a greeting. He was dressed casually today, in a white T-shirt and jeans, less distant than usual and more youthful and refreshing.
"Have you finished the exam?" Ling Yao walked over with a calm tone, as if he had just completed a trivial task.
"Yeah." Su Rui nodded, feeling a little excited. "What about you?"
"That's it." Ling Yao shrugged, his hands in his pockets, "Let's go."
"Where are you going?" "Just walking around. I'm starving, let's find a place to eat first."
The two walked side by side on the bustling street. Surrounded by newly liberated examinees, their faces brimming with excitement and relief, they blended in without seeming out of place.
Passing by an ice cream shop, Ling Yao stopped and bought two cones, handing one to Su Rui. It was vanilla, Su Rui's favorite flavor. He didn't know how Ling Yao noticed it.
Holding their ice creams and with no clear destination in mind, they walked slowly along the shade of the trees. The summer breeze blew by, carrying the sweet scent of ice cream and the smell of sunshine.
After a moment's silence, Su Rui bit his ice cream cone, hesitantly, and finally asked the question that had been hidden in his heart for a long time: "Ling Yao... why did you take the college entrance examination? I... I always thought you were going to study abroad." He remembered vaguely hearing Azhe and the others mention that Ling Yao's family had planned to send him abroad a long time ago.
Ling Yao licked a mouthful of ice cream and sneered, with a hint of sarcasm and helplessness in his laughter.
"Going abroad? How could my mom really be willing to send me abroad?" He looked at the cars passing by in front of him and calmly exposed the cruel reality. "She's just pretending to show my dad and those relatives how much she cares about my future and how much she's willing to invest in me."
Su Rui was stunned and looked at him in confusion.
"What she really wants," Ling Yao's tone turned cold, as if he was holding a piece of ice, "is to tie me to her forever, to live according to her wishes, and to become a part of her show-off and control. Going abroad? That's too far out of her control."
Su Rui had never heard Ling Yao talk about his mother in such a tone. Beneath the calmness lay a deep weariness and a subtle sadness. He suddenly remembered the cold and elegant woman in the office whose words were as sharp as a knife, and his heart tightened.
He didn't expect that Ling Yao, who seemed to have everything, also had such an inescapable bondage.
The two of them unknowingly walked to a bench in a central park. The setting sun was tinting the sky a warm orange-red.
"Sit down for a while." Ling Yao walked over and sat down first.
Su Rui sat down beside him, the ice cream in her hand slowly melting.
They watched the sunset in silence, neither of them speaking. The sounds of traffic and people seemed to fade away, leaving only the gentle rustle of the wind and their steady breathing.
At this moment, there is no pressure from the college entrance examination, no family worries, no confusion about the future, only the warm sunset in front of me and the person beside me who has taken off all disguises and revealed a little bit of real vulnerability.
Su Rui secretly turned her head and looked at Ling Yao's profile softened by the setting sun. A complex emotion surged in her heart, including heartache, understanding, and an indescribable sense of closeness.
He knew they were different, but at this moment, they were the same.
They are all people who are trapped in a certain fate and are trying hard to take a breath.
Ling Yao suddenly turned his head and met his gaze.
The golden sunset fell into his eyes, melting some of the usual coldness.
The two looked at each other, neither of them looking away.
There was a silent, warm tacit understanding in the air.
After a long while, Ling Yao spoke first, his voice warmed by the setting sun: "The ice cream has melted."
Su Rui looked down and saw, as expected, the milky white ice cream was sliding down the edge of the cone. He hurriedly licked it.
Ling Yao looked at him in a state of disarray and smiled lightly.
The laughter was very light, but like a feather, it gently scratched Su Rui's heart.
The setting sun stretched their shadows very long behind them, and they slowly blended together.
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