Tap you
"Hey, does anyone have Bai Yixia's contact information?"
"Her? Forget about it. How long can you tolerate a girl who can get along with anyone?"
"I agree. Otherwise, why wouldn't that guy, Zhou Qingchi, who's so close to her, be with her? He must feel insecure, hahaha..."
Buzz—
The phone, under the white plush stars, suddenly lit up, and the alarm clock rang softly. A hand reached out from under the covers and quickly turned off the alarm.
The air conditioner's outdoor unit was whirring, the window was only slightly ajar, the room was well-cooled, and all four of them were fast asleep.
Bai Yixia forced her eyes open and glanced at the time: 6:55.
Her memories were hazy, but snippets of gossip she'd overheard in high school surfaced. Before Bai Yixia could even process them, her frustration slowly dissipated. Her eyelids drooped, and she burrowed deeper into the covers, clutching her phone, silently thinking: Just five more minutes of sleep, I'll just doze off for five more minutes…
Perhaps the most frightening moment for people is the five minutes after hearing the alarm clock and falling asleep.
Bai Yixia suddenly opened her eyes, turned on her phone, and saw it was 6:57. She breathed a sigh of relief; thank goodness, she hadn't slept until 10:00.
Startled by her own words, she was no longer sleepy. She slowly propped herself up on the bed, quietly dressed, got out of bed, and carefully went into the bathroom to wash up in the quietest possible time.
The photography equipment was prepared last night; all we need to do is take it with us when we leave.
Bai Yixia opened the bag and checked the supplies. Everything was fine; nothing was missing.
It's Friday today, and someone asked her to do a photoshoot. She happened to have no classes today, so she was happy to go out for a stroll. So she picked up her bag, hung up her camera, and headed out.
At seven o'clock in September, it was already bright outside, but the dormitory was still quiet, with the roommates all fast asleep with their curtains drawn.
Bai Yixia had no intention of disturbing their sleep, but the old doorknob of the dormitory showed her no mercy, clicking loudly as it opened, especially noticeable in the quiet room. Bai Yixia froze instantly, holding her breath, her ears practically perked up. Fortunately, no complaints came from inside.
Bai Yixia quietly pushed open the door and walked out slowly. She had just exhaled the breath she had been holding when she heard a creaking sound from the bed near the door, followed by a dissatisfied click of the tongue.
She still couldn't exhale. Bai Yixia froze for two seconds, pursed her lips, puffed out her cheeks, and then let out two silent screams, startling the classmates who were passing by.
Even after venting her anger, Bai Yixia still needed to close the door. She wanted to slam it shut, but her two roommates were completely innocent. So she put the bag at her feet and closed the door as if opening a safe. The moment the latch clicked slightly, Bai Yixia wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but she thought she heard another dissatisfied click.
"Xiaxia, are you alright?" The classmate who happened to be passing by recognized her and stopped to ask when he saw her expression.
Bai Yixia waved her hand weakly.
Fang Jing glanced at the door panel and whispered, "Why don't you just tell the counselor you want to change dorm rooms? Her behavior is affecting you too."
Bai Yixia nervously took her hand and led her away from the door of her dormitory. She sighed and said, "There are no doors, only me."
"Huh?" the classmate asked, puzzled.
"Never mind, never mind." Bai Yixia had no intention of telling too many people about what happened in her dormitory, and just waved her hand wearily.
Seeing her like this, Fang Jing didn't press the matter further, so she changed the subject and asked, "I'm going to the library anyway, do you want to come with me?"
"Hmph~" Bai Yixia shook her head and held up her camera to her. "I'm not going today. I have an appointment with my teacher to take pictures."
After saying goodbye, Bai Yixia skipped downstairs, awkwardly stuffed her earphones into her ears, and then opened WeChat to make a video call to her pinned contact.
The volume in her earphones wasn't adjusted, and the sudden ringtone made Bai Yixia's head buzz, but fortunately, the person on the other end answered the phone quickly.
"Bai! Yi! Xia!" A slightly hoarse female voice came from the receiver. She paused, perhaps getting up, accompanied by a rustling sound. After a while, she spoke again, albeit vaguely: "Ancestor? You called me so early in the morning just to show me your dark pockets? Spare me."
There weren't many people on the road early in the morning. After looking around, Bai Yixia whispered a series of "Ahhhhhh!"
Nie Jiayuan was so overwhelmed by her wailing that her mind went blank for a moment. She asked in confusion, "What's wrong with you? Did Zhou Qingchi talk again?"
He regretted it as soon as he said it, because Bai Yixia let out another wail: "When did this happen?!"
"I was just kidding. I'm busy with school and don't have time to follow his school gossip." Nie Jiayuan seemed to be brushing her teeth, so her voice was a little unclear.
Bai Yixia calmed down temporarily before remembering the purpose of her call. She pouted and began to complain: "Let me tell you, Jiajia, this morning I practically put cotton padding on my feet. I put everything I needed to bring in a cloth bag, making sure there wasn't a single unnecessary sound. The whole packing process took less than ten minutes! And she still thought it was noisy!"
Nie Jiayuan was still a little sleepy, but her long string of words completely woke her up. "Who? That Lucy?"
“It’s Lucy…” Bai Yixia muttered.
Nie Jiayuan offered her advice: "Why don't you just move out? Your aunt and uncle will definitely agree. I feel like you're going to have a nervous breakdown if you keep going like this." She turned out of the bathroom and added in a low voice, "Your other two roommates are natural night owls with super sleep quality. It's unrealistic to expect them to empathize with you. Besides, it's not good to talk about this openly, lest you become the one who gets scolded."
Bai Yixia hummed twice, finally pulling out her phone and holding it to her face. She'd just gotten her bangs trimmed a couple of days ago; soft, wispy hairs fell over her eyebrows, revealing a pair of pitiful eyes. She stammered, "Uh, but she...she also..."
Having anticipated her hesitation, Nie Jiayuan was unsurprised. She glanced at her across the screen and retorted, "This is the thirty-second time, Bai Yixia. Posting this online will only get you accused of being a saint."
Since the start of her freshman year, Bai Yixia has complained to Nie Jiayuan many times about her incompatible schedule with Lu Xi, but without exception, there have been only complaints and no follow-up.
There was no other reason than that Lucy's family situation wasn't good. Besides attending classes, she usually worked part-time, and since they weren't in the same major, she wasn't very familiar with almost anyone in her dorm. C University didn't stop providing electricity at night, but Lucy had classes during the day and only went out to work in the evenings, inevitably returning home late. Often, while she was washing up, Bai Yixia was already dozing off, but several times she was startled awake by the sudden sound of the hairdryer.
“She may be miserable, but it’s not your place to feel sorry for her,” Nie Jiayuan said. “No matter what, you live together, she still has to consider her roommate’s feelings.”
Bai Yixia understood this principle, of course, but every time she planned to talk to Lu Xi, she felt uncomfortable when she met Lu Xi's calm and unchanging eyes, so she could only change the subject by talking about something unimportant.
Nie Jiayuan and Bai Yixia were childhood friends. They had fought over a bottle of milk and shared a bowl of rice, and their relationship was as close as sisters. She was already used to Bai Yixia's personality and knew her soft-hearted nature, so she didn't pressure her. She only said, "I hope there won't be a thirty-third time."
"Hehe, I'll try my best." Bai Yixia smiled and squinted her eyes. She had cut her hair short before summer, and now it had grown to her collarbone. But she thought it was too hot to go out, so she just tied it into two small braids, which hung down beside her neck and swayed with her movements, like two cat toys.
Nie Jiayuan was held captive for two seconds before asking, "Going out to play?"
Speaking of this, Bai Yixia smiled and nodded, "Yes, two beautiful babies asked me to take pictures with them!"
Bai Yixia has an incredibly wide range of interests, dabbling in all sorts of circles, but she's not an expert in anything, except for painting and photography, which she's persisted with until now. She has a dedicated photography account, which isn't very popular, and occasionally a few followers or strangers who come across her profile will ask her to take photos.
Of course, the teacher only accepts orders within the same city.
The two chatted for over twenty minutes, and Bai Yixia had already gone outside the school to wait for her car. Nie Jiayuan sighed insincerely, "I really envy people who don't have classes on Fridays. Xiaxia, I have to go to my 8 AM class now. Be careful on your way, and send me a message when you get there."
"Mmm." Bai Yixia nodded, and said goodbye to Nie Jiayuan several more times. Just as the other end finally reached for the hang-up button, she suddenly called out, "Wait a minute." After fidgeting for a while, she whispered, "Jiajia, is there anything going on with Zhou Qingchi lately?" Her voice grew softer with each word.
Upon hearing this, Nie Jiayuan closed her eyes as if in a deathly silence, and then abruptly ended the video call.
Bai Yixia wasn't sure what she meant, so she stood in front of the bus stop and moved the props she was holding from left to right, and then from right to left. After three or four minutes, her phone rang. She picked it up and saw that Nie Jiayuan had sent her two messages.
-Add one more Yuan: Living Father.
-Add one more Yuan: He glanced at it, but didn't talk.
The bag slung over her shoulder seemed a little lighter, and Bai Yixia was so happy she almost dropped her phone, typing a reply to Nie Jiayuan.
- Kiss: Thank you, Jiajia!
- Kiss: [Love you.jpg]
Nie Jiayuan replied with a sweating soybean emoji, along with the comment "Stubborn love-struck."
Bai Yixia looked at those four words and couldn't laugh anymore. Even if you're going to be love-struck, you have to actually be in a relationship first.
Just then, the bus finally arrived. It was the first bus from the school gate, and it was still early in the morning, so there were hardly any people. Bai Yixia boarded the bus, protecting her camera, and found a window seat. Leaning against the window, she looked outside, her breath creating a small mist on the glass. She stared at it for a while, then leaned in and breathed on it again.
Now that the area was larger, she quickly drew a cat's head and then took a picture with her phone.
I hesitated for three stops before opening my phone and sending it to another person I had pinned to the top of my chat list.
-Give me a kiss: [Image]
- Kiss: Look, look, it's a kitten!
The chat background was a piece of scrap paper covered with numbers, with an origami heart on it, its tip held by a hand. The picture Bai Yixia sent obscured the entire hand. She paused, lost in thought, her fingertips hovering above the screen. With the bumps of the vehicle, she tapped the chat interface twice.
Worried about damaging her camera, Bai Yixia quickly sat up straight and placed it between her legs. When she looked down at her phone again, her mind went completely blank.
A line of black text appeared on the screen: I patted "Zhou Qingchi" and said I love you, I love you so much!
Bai Yixia turned her head to look out the window, staring at the ground and pondering the possibility of jumping out of the car.
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