Almost one o’clock.
He wondered if Cen Jin was resting in the car. They had parted on bad terms, and he didn’t dare disturb her, but thinking she might be like that night, tilting her head to doze in the cramped seat, he felt negligent and unable to bear it.
At noon, light and shadow flowed silently, and outside grew quiet.
The dorm fell silent too. Cheng Rui and Lin Honglang each climbed back to their beds, cultivating sleepiness.
Meanwhile, Ran Feichi had snuck out of the dorm building again, seizing the chance to meet his girlfriend privately.
Cheng Rui lay flat, able to see Li Wu at his desk with just a glance down. His posture was straight, like a soldier in training, without any hint of slouching.
The dorm suddenly had a new person, quite different from the rest. Unconsciously fresh and excited, he made two small sounds to attract his attention.
Li Wu turned back to look for the source.
Cheng Rui sat up with a creak, asking softly: “Why aren’t you sleeping?”
Li Wu pressed his lips together: “Not tired.”
Cheng Rui asked: “Do you have class this afternoon?”
Li Wu shook his head.
Cheng Rui asked: “Starting classes tomorrow?”
Li Wu nodded.
“Are you in our Class 10?”
“Mm.”
Cheng Rui smiled as if getting his wish, about to speak when a long snore sounded from the opposite bed.
Cheng Rui stopped, raising one finger: “Shh.”
Lin Honglang smacked his lips, mumbling some curses.
After exchanging glances for a moment, Cheng Rui suppressed his laughter, looking like a peashooter from Plants vs. Zombies.
Li Wu’s lips curved up too. He turned back, lowered his eyes to look at the first name in his contacts list for a while, then turned off the screen and tucked it back under his books.
—
At one-thirty, Li Wu had already packed his books, planning to meet Cen Jin at the Wenzhilou building.
Cheng Rui and Lin Honglang were still sound asleep; they were used to returning to class at the last minute.
Li Wu quietly closed the door, only speeding up as he ran downstairs. Just as he left the stairwell, he ran into Ran Feichi returning to the dorm.
The boy waved and walked over, squinting in the sunlight: “Where are you going?”
Li Wu slowed his pace: “Something to do.”
Ran Feichi seemed to love smiling: “I thought you were heading to class so early.”
Li Wu said: “I start tomorrow, Class 10.”
“Good,” Ran Feichi’s eyes curved: “Welcome in advance.”
After saying goodbye to him, Li Wu continued toward the Wenzhilou building.
The sun was bright, and more people appeared on the main road—students returning to school, some pushing bicycles, others walking together. Moving among them, he was like a drop of ink falling into clear water, gradually becoming one with it—the campus was both a physical space and an atmosphere, allowing him to no longer be confined by himself.
Reaching the Wenzhilou building, there was still a quarter-hour until two, but he wasn’t anxious, waiting patiently.
Soon, someone walked over from afar; he recognized Cen Jin.
Li Wu walked toward the woman, quickly lowering his eyes when he stopped in front of her, avoiding her gaze.
Cen Jin held a black paper bag, dangling it from her fingers as she held it out to him.
Li Wu didn’t know what was inside but could only accept it first.
“Did you get some sleep?”
“Did you take a nap?”
They asked each other simultaneously.
Cen Jin broke first, looking up at him with a smile: “No, I went to the nearby mall to buy you a digital watch.”
Li Wu looked at her in surprise.
“You can’t keep checking your phone for time during classes and exams,” she said casually. “It happened to cost two thousand yuan, so you have to accept it now since it’s a necessity.”
Li Wu was somewhat dazed because the triumphant light in the woman’s eyes was too captivating. He had never met someone like her, with gentle yet unyielding bones, refusing to give up until she had the upper hand.
He felt himself being tamed by her, and this realization carried a strange yet alluring sweetness.
Li Wu’s face grew slightly warm, his gaze warming too. His throat moved once as he hurriedly looked elsewhere.
Cen Jin was still immersed in the joy of turning defeat into victory: “You’re not going to get angry about this too, are you?”
Li Wu was quiet for a moment before responding: “Not angry.”
“That’s for the best,” she adjusted her bag, then pointed her chin at the thing in his hands: “The time’s already set. You can read the manual back in your dorm about how to use it, I won’t explain it in detail. Now, let’s go meet your homeroom teacher.”
Li Wu’s thoughts swayed, led by an invisible thread as he followed behind Cen Jin into the building.