starry sky
Chapter 3: Starry Sky
After the lunch bell rang, the teaching building gradually became quiet.
Bai Ke sat in the classroom, her exercise book spread out before her for a long time without turning a page. Her fingertips unconsciously traced a small pattern at the footer, but her mind drifted out the window.
Ever since that conversation with Chen Yiyu in the rain last Friday, her heart had been like the surface of a lake with a stone thrown into it, ripples forming constantly. The boy she'd met by chance in the rain in junior high school was actually Chen Yiyu; and the umbrella she'd casually offered him had been treasured by him to this day.
"What are you thinking about?" Deskmate Lin Xiaoyu came over and looked at her curiously, "You've been absent-minded the whole class."
Bai Ke came back to his senses and gently closed the exercise book: "Nothing, just thinking about the theme of the next issue of the literature club."
Lin Xiaoyu obviously didn't believe it, but she didn't ask any more questions. Instead, she took out a small gift box from her schoolbag and asked, "Help me see if this is a suitable birthday gift for Li Meng?"
Bai Ke opened the box and found a silver bracelet inside with a small basketball-shaped pendant.
"Very attentive." She smiled. "When did you pay so much attention to Li Meng?"
Lin Xiaoyu blushed and quickly snatched the box back: "It's just... a gift between ordinary friends."
Bai Ke looked at her friend's shy expression and suddenly understood something. Adolescent love always sprouts silently, growing quietly in corners unnoticed.
Just like her attention to Chen Yiyu, since when, it has gone beyond the distance of ordinary classmates.
After school, Bai Ke went to the library as usual. This was the volunteer activity she had signed up for - every Wednesday afternoon, she helped the library teachers organize the newly arrived books.
The library was quiet. Sunlight streamed through the tall windows, casting dappled shadows on the floor. Bai Ke pushed a cart between the rows of bookshelves, returning the books to their original places.
At the corner of the literature district, she saw that familiar figure.
Chen Yiyu stood in front of the bookshelf, holding a book in his hand. He lowered his head slightly, and the loose hair on his forehead covered part of his eyebrows. He was immersed in the world of pages, as quiet as a painting.
Bai Ke subconsciously slowed down her movements, not wanting to disturb him. But just as she was about to leave quietly, Chen Yiyu raised his head.
The moment their eyes met, Bai Ke's heart skipped a beat.
"On duty?" Chen Yiyu closed the book and spoke softly, as if he was afraid of disturbing the tranquility of the library.
Bai Ke nodded and pointed to the cart in front of him: "Return the books and organize them."
Chen Yiyu's gaze lingered on her face for a moment, then he turned around and took out a long and thin object from his schoolbag - a neatly folded dark blue umbrella.
"Here," he handed over the umbrella, "I've been wanting to find a chance to return it to you."
Bai Ke recognized this umbrella; it was the one she had given him three years ago. It was clean and meticulously folded, showing how much its owner cherished it.
She took the umbrella and gently stroked the ribs with her fingers. Carved into the handle were two small characters: Bai Ke. She had carved them there on a whim when she was in junior high school, and she had never expected that after all these years, the characters would still be clear.
"You kept it?" Her voice trembled.
"Yeah." Chen Yiyu's eyes fell on the umbrella, then raised it to look at her, "It has accompanied me through many difficult days."
Bai Ke gripped the umbrella handle tightly, feeling the warmth still lingering on it. She didn't know what to say, but a warm feeling welled up in her heart.
"After that day," Chen Yiyu suddenly said, "I transferred to Chengnan Middle School. At first, I had a hard time adjusting, and my grades plummeted. Every time it rains, I carry this umbrella with me. It reminds me that there is still unexpected kindness in this world."
Bai Ke looked up at him and found a softness in his eyes that she had never seen before.
"You always carry this umbrella with you?" she said.
Chen Yiyu raised the corner of his mouth slightly: "Because I want to wait for the day when I can return the umbrella to you in person and say thank you."
At this moment, footsteps were heard at the library entrance. Bai Ke subconsciously took a step back, putting some distance between him and Chen Yiyu.
"Chen Yiyu!" Qiu Luodi's voice rang out crisply, "Sure enough, you're here. I've been looking for you for a long time."
She walked over quickly and stood beside Chen Yiyu naturally. She glanced at the umbrella in Bai Ke's hand and frowned slightly: "This umbrella is..."
"Mine," Bai Ke said calmly, putting the umbrella into his bag, "I should go tidy up the other areas."
She was pushing the cart and preparing to leave when Chen Yiyu suddenly called her: "Bai Ke, you will come to the literature club activity on Friday, right?"
Bai Ke turned around and saw Qiu Luodi's face suddenly darken, and the expectation in Chen Yiyu's eyes.
"I will," she replied softly, then turned and left.
Pushing the cart between the bookshelves, Bai Ke's heartbeat was still rapid. She could feel two pairs of eyes staring at her from behind, one hot, the other cold.
After finishing her books, Bai Ke came out of the library. The sun was already setting. She walked home alone, took out the umbrella from her schoolbag, and gently stroked her name on the handle.
This ordinary umbrella witnessed Chen Yiyu's fall from a height and accompanied him through the most difficult times. Now, it has returned to her hands, carrying the traces of time and one person's persistence.
When she walked to the park near the community, she unexpectedly saw Li Meng. He was sitting on a bench with his head down, looking more depressed than ever before.
"Li Meng?" Bai Ke walked over. "Why are you here?"
Li Meng raised his head and forced a smile: "Waiting for you. I heard that Chen Yiyu returned the umbrella to you in the library today?"
Bai Ke was stunned for a moment: "How do you know?"
"Even though Qiu Luodi didn't say it explicitly in her Moments post, everyone could tell she was talking about you guys." Li Meng looked at her, "Bai Ke, are you in love with Chen Yiyu?"
Bai Ke sat down next to him, her fingers unconsciously gripping the strap of her schoolbag: "I don't know."
"Do you know what the relationship between Qiu Luodi's family and his family is now?" Li Meng turned his head and looked at her seriously. "After Chen Yiyu's father's company went bankrupt, Qiu Luodi's group took over part of the business and hired his father as an executive. The relationship between their two families is much more complicated than you think."
Bai Ke remained silent. The setting sun stretched their shadows very long, interweaving them together and then separating them.
"I just feel," she whispered, "that he's not quite what I imagined."
Li Meng smiled bitterly: "Yes, it's different. Not only does he have good grades and is handsome, but he also has such a complicated background and past. How attractive."
"That's not the case." Bai Ke shook his head, "I just... can understand his feeling of loneliness."
Just like her, although she is the class monitor and seems to get along well with everyone, few people can really get into her heart. She knows what it feels like to stand in the middle of a crowd and still feel lonely.
Li Meng stared at her for a long time: "Okay, I won't persuade you anymore. But you have to be careful of Qiu Luodi, she is not someone you can easily mess with."
Bai Ke nodded, but in her heart she remembered Chen Yiyu's eyes when he returned the umbrella - clear, firm, and with an indescribable tenderness.
Back home, Bai Ke gently placed the umbrella on her desk. She turned on the desk lamp and, under the light, carefully examined the umbrella that had accompanied Chen Yiyu for three years. The ribs were intact, the cover was neat, and even the traces of the folds appeared to have been carefully crafted.
She opened a drawer, pulled out her junior high school diary, and flipped to the page that described that rainy day. The childish handwriting captured a girl's innocent kindness, and now, that kindness had returned to her in a way she had never imagined.
My phone vibrated. It was a notification from the literary community: Friday's activities will continue as usual, and Chen Yiyu will continue to share his appreciation of modern poetry.
Bai Ke put down her phone and gazed out the window at the deep blue night sky. The stars dotted the sky like broken diamonds. She remembered Chen Yiyu saying that after that rainy day, he often took this umbrella for walks alone at night.
"Maybe we have seen the same starry sky." She whispered to herself, and the throbbing feeling in her heart became clearer and clearer.
That night, Bai Ke had a dream. In the dream, she and Chen Yiyu were walking side by side in the rain, he was holding a dark blue umbrella, above the ribs, there was a sky full of stars.
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