bid farewell
Chapter 7: Farewell
On Monday morning, Bai Ke arrived at school early on purpose.
In her schoolbag was a beautiful bookmark she'd bought at the bookstore over the weekend—a thank-you gift for Chen Yiyu, thanking him for his tutoring. The unfinished conversation from that first snowy day lingered like a feather in her heart, gently sliding.
However, Chen Yiyu's seat was empty.
First class, second class, until the lunch bell rang, that seat remained empty. Bai Ke's uneasiness spread like ink dropped into clear water.
"Looking for Chen Yiyu?" Li Meng appeared at the door of the liberal arts class at some point, his expression complicated. "He transferred to another school."
Bai Ke's bookmark almost slipped out of his hand: "What?"
"They suddenly completed the paperwork last Saturday night and moved out on Sunday." Li Meng lowered his voice, "His father...something happened."
Bai Ke thought of the phone call that interrupted their date on Saturday afternoon, and his heart sank.
"What happened?"
Li Meng hesitated for a moment, then pulled her to the end of the corridor. "His father was investigated for financial problems and was taken away on Saturday night. Chen Yiyu and his mother moved to a relative's house in a neighboring city overnight."
Bai Ke felt his legs go weak. Could it be that he had just disappeared without a sound?
"Did he... leave any words?" Bai Ke's voice was so soft that it was almost inaudible.
Li Meng shook his head. "Even the homeroom teacher wasn't notified until Sunday morning. He only took the necessary books and documents. Everything else was left in the classroom, and his mother came to pick it up later."
Bai Ke looked down at the bookmark in his hand; the wooden edge hurt his palm.
She didn't listen to a word of the afternoon class. After school, she went to the library alone and sat down in the corner where they used to study together. The sunlight still slanted in from the west window, casting familiar shadows on the floor, but the man sitting across from her, earnestly explaining physics problems, was gone.
“It’s here.”
Bai Ke looked up and saw Qiu Luodi standing next to the bookshelf with a cold look in his eyes.
"You're very proud, aren't you?" Qiu Luodi approached, his voice filled with suppressed anger. "You were the one who stayed by his side during his most difficult times."
Bai Ke remained silent, not knowing how to respond.
"Do you know why he suddenly transferred schools?" Qiu Luodi sneered, "Because my father withdrew his financial support. And all this is because of you."
Bai Ke looked up suddenly: "What do you mean?"
"Chen Yiyu rejected my father's offer." Qiu Luodi's eyes seemed to be filled with poison. "His father was in trouble, and my father agreed to help his family through the difficult times, on the condition that he must be with me. But he refused, just last Saturday night."
Bai Ke recalled Chen Yiyu's complicated expression after he answered the phone, and his hesitation when he said, "There's something going on at home."
"He chose you, and then lost everything." Qiu Luodi's voice trembled. "Now, are you satisfied?"
Bai Ke looked at Qiu Luodi in surprise, feeling as if his heart was being tightly gripped by an invisible hand, the pain was so severe that he could hardly breathe.
"I don't know..." she whispered, "He never told me..."
"Of course he won't tell you!" Qiu Luodi suddenly raised his voice. "He's such a proud man, how could he possibly tell you what he's done for you? But what he gave up for you was his father's freedom and his family's future!"
The other students in the library looked at them and whispered to each other.
Bai Ke stood up and wanted to leave this suffocating place, but Qiu Luodi stopped her.
"You want to run away now? After enjoying the special attention he gave you, now that he's in trouble, you want to just walk away?"
"Get out of the way." Bai Ke's voice was soft, but it was filled with unquestionable firmness.
"I won't!" Qiu Luodi reached out and pushed Bai Ke. "You know, I grew up with him, and our two families have long..."
“That’s enough!”
Li Meng's voice came from the door. He strode over and stood in front of Bai Ke.
"Qiu Luodi, stop it." Li Meng's tone was unprecedentedly stern. "Chen Yiyu's choice is his freedom. It has nothing to do with Bai Ke."
Qiu Luodi's tears finally fell: "You are all the same! You all protect her! What's so good about her? Why does an ordinary girl like her deserve special treatment from Chen Yiyu?"
Li Meng didn't answer, but took Bai Ke's hand and led her out of the library.
As he walked out of the teaching building, a cold wind blew in his face. Bai Ke realized that his cheeks were already soaked with tears.
"Is what she said true?" Bai Ke asked softly, "Chen Yiyu did this for me..."
"Don't listen to her nonsense." Li Meng interrupted her, "Chen Yiyu's family has been in trouble for a long time, and it's not because of you. He rejected the Qiu family's conditions because he didn't want to be bound for life, not just for anyone else."
But Bai Ke knew that this was just Li Meng's way of comforting her.
The next day, Bai Ke took a leave of absence and boarded a bus to a neighboring city. Based on the vague address Li Meng provided, she found the residential complex where Chen Yiyu's relatives lived.
It was an old residential area, and the corridor was full of debris. Bai Ke stood in front of Chen Yiyu's door, hesitating for a long time before gently knocking on the door.
The person who opened the door was a haggard middle-aged woman, and the shadow of Chen Yiyu could still be seen between her eyebrows.
"Hello, Auntie. I am Chen Yiyu's classmate..." Before Bai Ke could finish her words, the woman shook her head.
"Xiao Yu isn't here." Her voice was hoarse. "He doesn't want to see anyone."
Bai Ke took out the bookmark and a folded piece of paper from his schoolbag: "Can you help me pass this to him?"
The woman hesitated for a moment, but still took it.
"Thank you." Bai Ke bowed deeply and turned to leave.
As she was going downstairs, she accidentally looked up and saw the curtains on the second floor swaying slightly, and a familiar figure flashed by. Her heart skipped a beat, but when she looked again, there was no one there.
On the bus back home, Bai Ke watched the scenery pass by outside the window, tears streaming silently. She didn't know if Chen Yiyu was truly away, or if he'd even read her note. She only knew that the boy who'd held her umbrella in the rain, the boy who'd patiently explained physics problems to her in the library, the man who'd hesitated to speak in the first snow, might really be gone from her life.
On the note, she wrote only one sentence:
"I've always kept that umbrella. Just like that rainy day, I'll always remember it."
The bus sped along the highway. The sky outside the window was gloomy, as if it was going to rain again. Bai Ke closed her eyes, feeling the coolness of the tears sliding down her cheeks.
Some farewells are too late to say goodbye. Some feelings are too late to express. The first heartbeat of youth ended quietly before the arrival of winter.
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