By the time Chi Yao finished packing everything, Lin Zhexia had stopped crying.
Throughout her life, she had cried in front of Chi Yao countless times.
But this was the first time Chi Yao didn’t know the real reason for her tears.
Chi Yao carried her backpack as they walked toward the school exit. “Scaredy-cat, want some milk tea?”
Lin Zhexia walked behind him. “…Don’t want any.”
“If you insist on treating me,” Lin Zhexia deliberately pretended nothing had happened, “you can give me the cash instead, just pretend I drank it. I’m short on allowance this month anyway.”
The atmosphere immediately relaxed.
Sure enough, Chi Yao turned his head while waiting for her to catch up. “Dream on.”
“…”
After returning, Lin Zhexia just wanted to get home quickly, but as she was about to leave, Chi Yao grabbed her heavy winter uniform collar, as if carrying an object, and pulled her into his home.
Then she watched as Chi Yao put down his backpack and casually took off his coat, tossing it onto the sofa.
Underneath, he wore only a sweater, still hanging loosely on his body, looking very different from his proper school uniform appearance. He seemed much more relaxed and unrestrained, even giving off a subtle sense of intimacy.
He took out paper and a pen, roughly writing down the math problems they’d taken in the exam. “The last problem, a function problem.”
“The third-to-last problem, solid geometry.”
Twirling his pen, he said, “Go home after you’ve listened.”
Lin Zhexia responded with an “Oh” and obediently sat beside him, listening to his explanations.
Perhaps because she had cried today.
Chi Yao explained the problems more thoroughly than usual. Though his handwriting on the paper was sharp, Lin Zhexia felt an unusual gentleness.
“Do you understand? If not, I’ll explain again.”
Lin Zhexia had actually looked at example problems in her textbook after leaving the exam. Still, she listened attentively, then said, “I understand. I won’t make those mistakes again.”
Next time, she wouldn’t cry.
And she wouldn’t think about these feelings anymore.
She would carefully hide them away.
Because they would be advancing to their senior year after next semester, they were given so much winter homework that there was no time to go out and play. The words “winter vacation” seemed to have been erased this year.
The only time Lin Zhexia went out during this winter break was due to a phone call from He Yang: “Are you free tomorrow? Bring Brother Yao along. My treat. I’ll take you both to see a movie.”
Lin Zhexia’s first reaction was suspicion: “Why are you being so nice?”
He Yang: “I’ve always been this generous.”
“You have a problem with your self-perception, and your memory might also be somewhat disordered,” Lin Zhexia said. “Da Zhuang, you should visit the hospital sometime.”
He Yang: “…”
He Yang: “I’m treating you. It just feels like we haven’t gotten together in a long time.”
Lin Zhexia decisively made a demand: “I want popcorn and cola too.”
“…” He Yang was silent for a moment. “Fine, tomorrow at 2 p.m., meet at the entrance of the neighborhood.”
If she had known what day tomorrow was, given another chance, she wouldn’t have gone even if He Yang had bought her double portions of popcorn.
But life has no “if only.”
The next day, she, Chi Yao, and He Yang set out from their neighborhood and walked to the cinema.
Just as they arrived at the entrance of the cinema, they saw a huge poster standing at the door.
Pink, with a big heart, with words saying: 2.14 Happy Valentine’s Day.
…
The cinema was crowded with people coming and going, most of them couples.
Lin Zhexia looked at the poster and questioned: “Da Zhuang, explain yourself.”
He Yang, who had just collected the tickets, played dumb and chuckled a couple of times.
Lin Zhexia: “What did I say yesterday? I knew something was wrong when you were being so nice.”
He Yang just continued to chuckle.
Lin Zhexia: “But I didn’t expect the problem would be so serious.”
She closed her eyes briefly and spoke with restraint: “What were you thinking? Let’s hear it. Although I’m not a doctor, I might still try to understand your thoughts.”
He Yang finally spoke up: “Well, watching a movie is just watching a movie, why care about what day it is? Is this kind of insignificant holiday really important?”
After he finished, he noticed both Lin Zhexia and Chi Yao silently staring at him.
Especially his Brother, Yao.
With that face, appearing at this place on this particular holiday, passersby couldn’t help but glance over.
“Alright, I’ll just tell you the truth.”