Su Rao ultimately took the contents of the boxes back that untouched.
After dinner, Su Qing called Jiang Sui, but he didn't answer.
Without a second thought, Su Qing sent a text message.
[Did you go see your leg?]
She had secretly saved Mei Yeqin's phone number, but she didn't seem to be planning to call her.
Although the boy didn't answer her call, he was quite quick to reply.
[Already see and checked, no bones broken.]
Without a second thought, Su Qing dialed Jiang Sui's number. This time, after two beeps, the call was answered.
The cool evening breeze blew. It was late autumn, and even with the window open, it was still a bit chilly.
After a long pause, Su Qing spoke first.
"Jiang Sui, I ate well. I had a bowl and a half of rice tonight. I've finished my exercises and washed up."
Like a report, detailing every detail, a shallow voice drifted softly into Jiang Sui's ears in the wind.
She didn't ask about his situation first, wanting to wait for him to speak.
"Su Qing, you're annoying, you know that?"
The boy's voice was low, his emotions indistinct.
She was a little sad, but fortunately, although she was indifferent and didn't care about anything, she did have a very good attitude.
"Really? Then I'll be even more annoyed. I hope you don't mind. Of course, even if you do, it's useless."
Without giving the boy a chance to reply, Su Qing stopped him from retorting immediately. She found it amusing to imagine him getting frustrated.
"Su Qing, are you bored?"
The boy's voice was a little impatient, low and a bit hoarse. It was quiet over there, and Su Qing guessed he was probably home.
"Jiang Sui, I'd be upset if you did that."
Su Qing spoke the truth, lowering her eyes. Her hand fell on the notebook the boy had given her. She had already finished all the questions in it.
"Now I sleep."
Just as the boy was about to hang up, Su Qing stopped him.
"Jiang Sui, you can't hang up!"
Her voice was a little anxious, and the boy's fingertips paused, still not pressing the screen.
"Jiang Sui, don't go play basketball anymore. The college entrance exam is almost here."
"Didn't you promise me..."
From where he lay on the sofa, Jiang Sui could feel the girl's sweet face, her eyes gazing at him eagerly, aggrieved, hoping for his consent. Jiang Sui's fingers tightened around the phone.
"Su Qing, I can't promise you."
He can't promise her...
Su Qing pursed her lips, biting her lower lip, her fingers pausing.
"Why?"
She knew he would give a hurtful answer, but she still wanted to hear him say yes. However, the boy wasn't like usual as him. He gave a ridiculous answer, one he didn't even believe.
The boy's answer at this moment was deeply unsettling.
"Su Qing, it's impossible for us. I need to go back to Jiangcheng."
Each word fell into Su Qing's ears, but she seemed to have heard nothing.
A long, long time passed. After hung up the phone, Su Qing set her alarm as usual.
She also lay on bed, but couldn't fall asleep.
In her mind, only those few words remained: He was going back to Jiangcheng.
He was leaving.
It seemed as if he didn't belong in Wuzhen anymore.
In a daze, Su Qing wasn't feeling very well. After a sleepless night, she went to school.
As usual, Jiang Sui didn't attend class. Instead, Hu Yifan, who usually didn't attend classes, did.
He'd somehow moved his seat behind her.
This reminded Su Qing of when she'd first arrived at Wuzhen No. 1 Middle School, where her seat was right in front of Jiang Sui. He'd either tug at her braid or poke her in the back with a pen. It was so annoying.
She wondered how such a handsome boy could be so mischievous.
He didn't look like that. Later, Su Qing realized that he really wasn't like that. He only acted that way towards her.
"Su Qing, don't be too sad. Brother Sui, he might be hiding something."
Su Qing nodded as Hu Yifan spoke to her, her movements as if nothing had happened, a straight line between the two places.
School, home.
She was still a solitary person, as always.
The only difference was that someone had started stuffing rotten apples into her drawer and then slowly smeared her bench with glue.
A series of pranks.
Su Qing's forbearance led many to believe she was compromised.
Even Hu Yifan stood up to support her, though in front of him, those people were very well behaved.
However, Hu Yifan's curriculum was different from Su Qing.
It was just that afterward, some of the mischief escalated.
The only difference was that Hu Yifan had actually bought some micro-video recorders and recorded all the pranks.
In the principal's office, the parents of the students repeatedly assured their children that they would not do it again.
Among them were all strangers Su Qing had never seen before; not a single one was familiar to her.
From that moment on, Su Qing's life became nothing but studying.
Jiang Sui's phone remained off.
Hu Yifan would occasionally say something about where Brother Sui was taking an exam, or where he'd won first place in a competition. These words fueled Su Qing's enthusiasm for study.
She studied with fervor, as if energized by a shot of chicken blood.
The final exams were approaching.
The long period of silence had finally been broken.
On the day of the outbreak, Su Qing received a call from Tian Shasha.
"Su Qing, do you know what happened to you at Jiangcheng No. 1 Middle School? If you don't want to be exposed, come find me here."
What happened at Jiangcheng No. 1 Middle School was like a nightmare to Su Qing.
Before Su Qing could ask how Tian Shasha knew, she hung up.
She received a photo in her phone.
The face clearly showed her.
Her clothes were in disarray, and there were photos of her father being taken away—many, many photos—Su Qing felt numb in an instant.
That day, she had a hearty meal, and it was a rainy night.
Su Qing thought her life was probably over.
The place Tian Shasha had asked her to meet was the same one she had been to before, the shattered house.
But just as she was about to reach it, a large hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her behind the tree.
"Su Qing, you're going to kill yourself! How dare you come to this hellhole alone?"
The young man, whom she hadn't seen in a long time, looked very thin, his jaw tense, his face a look of nervous anger.
The young man, wearing a black raincoat and holding an umbrella, grabbed Su Qing's hand and started to walk back.
How could the young man who should have been in Jiangcheng be here? Su Qing's lifeless eyes gleamed, and she tried to pull Jiang Sui's hand away.
"Jiang Sui, let me go...!"