His change
After an unknown amount of time, the books on the other side had been neatly arranged.
Tingyue's voice broke the silence: "Qi Xu, Hao Nan, let's go."
The two people sitting on the stools stood up and joined them. Tingyue was about to introduce Jiang Hui to her friend when Jiang Hui spoke first, simply calling out, "Hao Nan."
"You two know each other?" Tingyue asked in surprise.
Hao Nan's dejection was almost palpable; everyone could see it clearly.
“Hmm.” Jiang Hui’s gaze swept over Qi Xu beside Hao Nan, then turned to Hao Nan, “That day in the infirmary, she…”
"It's all in the past, don't talk about it anymore." Hao Nan interrupted in time, his voice carrying a barely perceptible hint of bitterness.
Qi Xu interjected, "We just happened to run into each other in the infirmary."
Tingyue and Tingxubai exchanged a glance, nodded, and didn't ask any more questions.
Jiang Hui's gaze swept around the room before finally settling on Hao Nan.
Hao Nan's gaze, however, was fixed intently on Qi Xu.
Qi Xu noticed the gaze and turned to meet it: "Am I wrong?"
Hao Nan gave a faint smile and responded with an "Mm," acknowledging her statement.
They walked in silence. Hao Nan's reddened eyes could not be hidden from anyone, but this was ultimately a matter between him and Qi Xu, and it was not appropriate for others to interfere.
When I returned to the classroom, it had already been cleaned up.
The homeroom teacher stood on the podium, explaining the arrangements for tomorrow's exam: "This final exam is very important; your scores will determine your class placement. Do your best and try to get into your desired class. Also, I wish you all a happy summer vacation in advance."
Cheers erupted in the classroom instantly.
As soon as the bell rang, everyone grabbed their schoolbags and rushed out of the classroom.
Qi Xu followed Wan Xiaoyi and Han Xue, preparing to leave. Hao Nan glanced at her, hurriedly packed his things, and tried to follow, but was stopped by the homeroom teacher: "Hao Nan, you've made great progress this time. Keep up the good work."
But Hao Nan's gaze was fixed on Qi Xu, who was about to disappear ahead, and he didn't hear what the teacher said at all.
After the teacher finished speaking, he took off running out of the classroom, only to bump into Xu Sheng, who had just come out of the back door.
"Where are you taking me?" Xu Sheng was being pulled forward by him, completely bewildered.
"Find someone." Hao Nan's voice was filled with anxiety.
The two ran for a long time, but they couldn't even see a trace of Qi Xu and the others. It was as if they had never appeared and had completely disappeared into the crowd.
Hao Nan suddenly stopped, the light in his eyes gradually dimming.
“We’ve all been abandoned.” He suddenly blurted out a sad sentence, leaving Xu Sheng stunned.
"You... were you traumatized? How can this be considered abandonment?" Xu Sheng asked cautiously, unsure of himself.
"I'm leaving." Hao Nan didn't explain further and walked straight towards home.
Xu Sheng sighed softly and was about to turn around when he bumped into Qi Xu, Wan Xiaoyi and Han Xue on the way.
He glanced at Qi Xu, said nothing more, simply said goodbye, and hurriedly left.
The exam went exceptionally smoothly, and time flew by.
Since that afternoon, Qi Xu has completely disappeared from Hao Nan's sight, as if he had never existed in Hao Nan's world.
Whenever Hao Nan thinks of Qi Xu, he always has a strong thought in his mind: to become stronger, strong enough to shield her from all the storms, to let her let down her guard, to stop living such a tiring life, and to truly feel the sweetness of life.
What he didn't know was that Qi Xu only took the Chinese, math, and English exams; she didn't participate in the other subjects. She had a guaranteed admission spot, so she didn't need to care about these exam scores at all.
Even without the guaranteed admission, she had already made her decision.
That night, she told Han Cheng and Han Xue that she wanted to go out and see the world during the summer vacation and find a job, but that was just an excuse.
In fact, she had already boarded the train and arrived at the company that had previously extended the invitation to her.
As soon as I exited the station, a sophisticated woman in sunglasses approached me. She took off her sunglasses and gently confirmed, "Excuse me, are you Teacher Qi Xu?"
"It's me."
Upon receiving an affirmative answer, the woman smiled: "My name is Li Mo. You have great potential, and I look forward to seeing you create even better works."
Qi Xu smiled slightly and said sincerely, "I am able to create good works without the support of your company."
"It seems that Teacher Qi Xu is very knowledgeable." Li Mo smiled and helped her put her luggage into the trunk.
Qi Xu got into the back seat, and the car drove straight to the company.
Looking at the spacious, imposing, and somewhat luxurious company building in front of her, she couldn't hide her admiration.
Li Mo gave her a brief tour before leading her to her accommodation.
The room was clean and spacious. Li Mo said, "This will be your place from now on. Tomorrow, a teacher will teach you how to draw on a computer."
After Li Mo left, Qi Xu began packing her things. While packing, a red gift box suddenly caught her eye, lying quietly in the corner—it was a pair of butterfly earrings that Hao Nan had given her.
She picked up the gift box and opened it; the silver-white butterfly shimmered under the light.
She herself couldn't explain how the earring ended up here, yet it had truly become a part of her life.
She closed the box and put it back in her suitcase, then continued packing. Once everything was in place, she looked around; this might be where she would live for the rest of her life.
This summer vacation was destined to be extraordinary. Hao Nan's city had been experiencing torrential rain for days; despite it being the height of summer, it always felt damp and chilly.
Meanwhile, on Qi Xu's side, the sun was blazing, so hot that no one wanted to step out of the room.
Hao Nan locked himself in his room for the entire summer vacation, frantically studying humanities subjects and researching painting.
He sets strict tasks for himself every day, and he won't stop until he completes them all and meets the standards.
Sometimes, he would secretly search for beauty and skincare tips, study hairstyles and outfits, and even write down techniques on how to approach girls he liked in a notebook.
But when he scrolled down to the comments, he frowned again. Some of the methods looked greasy. Qi Xu was so special; if he used these methods on her, he was afraid it would annoy her.
He tossed his phone on the table, sighed softly, and stared blankly at the ceiling, trying to fill the emptiness in his heart.
Just then, Hao's mother, who had just finished washing up and was about to apply a face mask, couldn't find it after searching everywhere. She said to Hao's father, "Have you seen my face mask?"
"I haven't seen it," Mr. Hao said as he helped her look for it.
Hao Nan had just come out to find some snacks because he was hungry. Seeing the two of them rummaging around, he asked in a daze, "What are you looking for?"
"Face mask, son, can you help me find one?"
Upon hearing the word "face mask," Hao Nan's snack, which he was about to put in his mouth, froze in mid-air.
Hao's mother suddenly called out to him, walked up to him and looked him over carefully: "Has your skin gotten better? It's even a bit fairer?"
Hao Nan looked away, quickly stuffed the snacks into his mouth, and tried to slip away calmly, but was stopped by his mother.
Mr. Hao also came over to examine him closely: "It really is true, our son is handsome."
Hao's mother looked at him, picked up her phone and placed another order. While buying face masks, she also added face wash and lotion for Hao Nan, saying, "Just tell me if you want to use face masks. It's fine if you use them."
Hao Nan and his father were both surprised by her reaction.
Mr. Hao was displeased: "Why don't you get angry when he uses your face mask, but you get angry when I use it once?"
Hao's mother kicked him: "What do you mean 'him'? If you behaved yourself and didn't waste it, would I not let you use it?"
Speechless after being rebuked, Hao's father obediently sat down on the sofa, glanced at the snacks in Hao Nan's hand, snatched them, and stuffed them into his own mouth.
Helpless, Hao Nan grabbed another bag and sat on the sofa, eating and watching a movie.
After placing the order, Hao's mother turned around and instructed, "Don't stay cooped up in your room studying all the time these days. Eat on time, don't go hungry."
Hao Nan nodded slightly.
“I’ve noticed you’ve become obsessed with painting lately. I’ll enroll you in a professional training course so you can brush up on your humanities subjects while you’re at it.”
Hao Nan didn't object. Even if he was tired, it was only physical, and compared to the emptiness in his heart, it was nothing.
The family sat in front of the television, creating a rare and heartwarming scene.
On the other hand, Qi Xu diligently reviewed the computer drawing techniques taught by her teacher every night.
The next day, as usual, the teacher first had her review what she had learned, then explained the parts she hadn't mastered in detail, before teaching new things.
Li Mo would occasionally come over to check on Qi Xu and see if he met the company's expectations and had the potential to become a promising stock.
After observing for the past few days, Li Mo had already made up her mind: Qi Xu was indeed a good prospect, with strong learning ability and his own ideas and opinions.
The teacher taught Qi Xu some new content and asked her to practice on her own. When she looked up, she saw Li Mo standing in the corner waving at her.
The teacher walked over and leaned against the wall with Li Mo, her gaze falling on Qi Xu, who was working diligently. Her tone was full of appreciation: "Not bad, our company has struck gold this time."
"She's a real gem. I heard she won first prize in the provincial art competition and is eligible for direct admission to the Central Academy of Fine Arts."
"Aren't you afraid of ruining her life by poaching such a young girl?"
"Do you really think she's just a little girl?"
The two exchanged a smile and said nothing more. The teacher turned back to Qi Xu and patiently helped her correct her operational errors.
As night fell, Hao Nan, having nothing to do, picked up his phone, which he hadn't used in a long time.
Upon opening WeChat, the first person's name caught his eye, and this person was none other than Qi Xu in his heart.
I opened the chat window, paused repeatedly on the keyboard, typed a few lines, deleted them, and then typed them again.
It seems that no matter what you say, he feels it's not good.
Then he typed out three words and sent them.
【What are you doing. 】
The three words were prominently displayed in the chat interface.
Qi Xu was returning home from get off work when she went straight to bed and fell into a deep sleep as soon as she lay down, her eyelids so heavy that she couldn't keep them open.
The message Hao Nan sent remained quietly in the chat box.
Hao Nan lingered on this screen for a long time, waiting patiently. When the screen went out, he turned it back on and kept clicking back and forth, afraid of missing her reply.
He waited until midnight because he knew that Qi Xu would stay up late, and that was the latest he would go to bed.
Hao Nan didn't receive a reply from Qi Xu, but he still wanted to wait a little longer.
Because I missed the time to reply to her message last time, I missed the chance to go to the library with her.
She rejected herself; it was her choice, her own life.
Pursuing one's own aspirations is one's own choice.
Time is so vast, there's still time for everything.
As long as you maintain a proper balance, taking things slowly can still yield good results.
When it was 1 a.m., Hao Nan turned off the lights and drifted off to sleep.
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