This realization was like a nameless monster that had never before invaded her world, heavily striking her heart.
She and Chi Yao had been together for too long.
And throughout this long time, there had never been anyone else.
This was the first time she felt that there might be someone else between them.
But why did she feel sad?
Why did she feel so sad?
A kind of breathlessness, a stuffed and swollen sadness.
Lin Zhexia slept very poorly that night. The next day, when Chi Yao called to ask if she would go to see the sea in the afternoon, she responded with a dull head.
“Who else is going?” She reacted half a beat late before thinking to ask, “If Old Liu is going, I won’t come. I’m a bit afraid of him.”
Chi Yao: “What are you afraid of?”
Lin Zhexia: “Because he’s the director of education, a student like me from Class 7 feels psychological pressure. You Class 1 people wouldn’t understand.”
“…”
Chi Yao listed a string of names.
Near the end, Lin Zhexia heard him say a “Shen” character, then he paused for a moment before finally pronouncing the name smoothly: “Shen Shanshan.”
Lin Zhexia couldn’t help asking: “Are you close with her?”
Chi Yao: “?”
Lin Zhexia: “…Oh, because I heard you were also classmates in junior high, I was just asking casually.”
After saying this, she was a bit afraid to hear the answer.
After all, they had participated in the competition together, so they would naturally be somewhat more familiar than others.
“Never mind, you don’t need to answer me,” Lin Zhexia said hurriedly, “I need to get up. Goodbye for now.”
Old Liu didn’t come to the seaside.
Only a few Cheng’an No.2 High School students took a car from the hotel to see the sea.
Shen Shanshan wore a white dress today, with her long hair loose, looking much more eye-catching than when she wore her school uniform at dinner yesterday. The dress suited her well, making her entire person appear even gentler.
She stood beside Chi Yao, mustering courage to say something to him.
Chi Yao also responded with a sentence.
The two of them, standing together, looked quite compatible.
Lin Zhexia had been told by Lin He since childhood that she wasn’t like a girl.
And indeed, she had hung around with boys for many years, feeling a bit awkward in front of gentle girls wearing white dresses like this.
She looked at her own unisex Taobao T-shirt and a pair of very comfortable pants.
Then unexpectedly, she was poked from behind by Xu Ting: “Young Lin, why did you stop walking?”
Lin Zhexia blurted out: “Mind your own business.”
Xu Ting was a bit surprised: “Why so grumpy today?”
Lin Zhexia quickly adjusted: “I just wanted to slow down and feel the sea breeze. I think in today’s fast-paced life, people walk too quickly, which isn’t good.”
“Just walking, and you have so many insights.”
“People should be good at thinking.”
Xu Ting: “That’s right, we should experience life more. Not like those two.”
When Xu Ting said “those two,” he pointed at Chi Yao and Shen Shanshan ahead: “We’re at the seaside, and they’re still discussing yesterday’s physics problems.”
Lin Zhexia said softly: “…So they’re talking about physics problems.”
Xu Ting didn’t hear clearly: “What?”
“I said,” Lin Zhexia raised her voice, “they’re certainly more studious than you.”
“Come on, that’s called self-torment.”
Xu Ting’s principle had always been to combine education with pleasure. “I don’t want to continue researching physics after the competition is over. When it’s time to relax, you should relax.”
“By the way,” Xu Ting changed the subject, “when we get to the seaside, let’s stay away from them first.”
Lin Zhexia: “?”
Xu Ting: “I don’t know the specifics, but Shen Shanshan said she wanted to talk to Chi Yao alone. Anyway, that’s what she asked me.”
“Could it be a confession?” Xu Ting speculated, “Shen Shanshan seems to like Chi Yao, and she needs to talk to him alone. Tsk, what else besides a confession would need to be said in private?”
Lin Zhexia knew Shen Shanshan would confess to Chi Yao today.
But she hadn’t thought it would be at the seaside, or that it would be now.
She had thought it would be in a place with fewer people, somewhere more secluded.
Her mind was in chaos, ignoring Xu Ting, who treated her like someone to gossip with and kept talking: “Come to think of it, I think they’re quite well-matched, and they both love physics, having common language is important.”