At the start of the new semester, Qi Qi completely withdrew from their group, with similar excuses each time – finishing homework, teacher looking for her, tutoring classmates. Until one day when Huan’er ran into her in the parking garage, laughing and chatting with another girl as they passed by, she realized all those were just excuses – Qi Qi simply had new friends.
Of course, she would have new friends, but why not just say so directly?
Huan’er sent a somewhat angry message: Qi, you could have just told me you wanted to walk with others.
She didn’t receive a reply until almost eleven at night – I’ll be walking with others from now on.
Just that one sentence, a neither warm nor cold notification.
During break the next day, Huan’er couldn’t help running to the liberal arts building to find her. Qi Qi was being held by two girls, about to walk out. Seeing her, she stopped, “Something wrong?”
As if she couldn’t come without having business.
Huan’er suddenly felt angry, “You’re suddenly like this, are you hiding something from me?”
Qi Qi let her companions leave first, folding her arms, “Don’t you often walk with Liao Xinyan? Does it make any difference whether I’m there or not?”
“Liao Xinyan she…” Huan’er was at a loss for words, suddenly feeling hurt, “How can you say that?”
Qi Qi gave a derisive laugh, “You’re not the Chen Huan’er from before anymore, the Chen Huan’er who only had me as a friend.”
She needed to get back, she’d be late if she didn’t run back now.
But Huan’er’s feet felt nailed to the ground, many words stuck in her chest unable to come out.
“You should head back,” Qi Qi said before turning to catch up with her companions.
Something must be wrong – Qi Qi wasn’t the type to lose her temper for no reason. But Chen Huan’er couldn’t think of a reason no matter how hard she tried, and worse, she seemed to have lost her chance to ask.
Qi Qi stopped answering her calls. She would occasionally reply to messages, but when asked about the reason, always with one sentence: “You’re overthinking it.” Sometimes they’d run into each other on campus, share a smile, and at most ask “How did the exam go” – they went from friends back to classmates.
The most ordinary kind of classmates, only staying at the level of acquaintances.
Chen Huan’er fell into a slump because of this, was listless in class, and was often distracted while doing problems. Unable to find a solution, one afternoon during a self-study break she asked Du Man, “If that exercise leader girl suddenly stopped talking to you, what do you think would be the reason?”
Du Man was eating bread with one hand while still writing with the other, “She wouldn’t. Besides, who suddenly stops talking to people?”
Huan’er doodled on paper, “Exactly, there must be a reason.”
“Did you do something wrong to offend her?”
“No.”
“A misunderstanding that wasn’t cleared up?”
“No.”
Du Man stopped writing, “Then they have their reasons but don’t want to tell you. Don’t think about it anymore.”
Huan’er sighed, “Losing a friend like this, what a shame.”
Du Man casually stuffed half her bread into her backpack and took a couple of sips of water, “You can find new friends if you lose one, but you can’t get back lost time.”
Machine, machine. Huan’er thought, but unconsciously took out her exercise book and started working on problems.
Just then, a boy from another class burst into the classroom panting, “Song Cong, Jing Qichi’s hurt, quick, go to the infirmary.”
Before he finished speaking, Song Cong “swoosh” stood up, and Huan’er, after a moment’s delay, dropped her pen and ran out too.
The provincial first-tier club was organizing selections next week to prepare for the youth super league. A coach from the football school who had trained Jing Qichi since childhood specifically recommended him out of appreciation for his talent and having won the MVP in major competitions, he was determined to succeed. Since winter break he had been hanging out with the football school crew, all his thoughts on this selection. Jing Qichi’s parents were even prepared to transfer him at any time.
Yet he got injured at this time.
In the infirmary, six or seven boys in sportswear, usually the most boisterous, now looked like small flowers ravaged by a storm gathered around the bed with grave expressions. Song Cong pushed through the crowd, “What happened?”
A boy answered for him, “During the match two people collided, and the captain was pressed underneath. Seemed fine at first, but after running a few steps he suddenly collapsed, couldn’t even stand up.”
Jing Qichi’s face was deathly pale, large drops of sweat rolling down his forehead, his expression extremely pained. The teacher applying ice suggested, “Better go to the hospital for an X-ray, see if the bone’s injured.”
Song Cong immediately directed Huan’er, “Go hail a taxi at the gate, we’ll head back first.” Then he lifted Jing Qichi onto his back, saying in a very, very small voice, “Don’t hurt your knee again no matter what.”