“Yan Wei? Who are you looking for?” The girl opened the dorm room door, surprised to see the person standing outside.
Yan Wei peeked through the crack in the door. “Is Jiang Youyi here?”
“She went to the bathroom. Do you want to come in and wait?”
“Thanks.”
Yan Wei waited by Jiang Youyi’s bed for two minutes. Jiang Youyi emerged from the bathroom pale-faced, clutching a pack of tissues under her arm. When she slid open the glass door and saw Yan Wei, she paused. “What are you doing here? Lights out is soon.”
She didn’t move forward, leaning against the doorframe to relax her numb limbs.
“Came to thank you, and also to get my clothes back.” As she spoke, Yan Wei picked up her school uniform jacket from Jiang Youyi’s bedside and tossed two palm-sized heating pads onto Jiang Youyi’s small desk, along with a small box of motherwort tea. She smiled meaningfully. “A gesture of goodwill.”
The lights-out bell rang in the hallway. Yan Wei waved her hand. “Get some rest early. I’m heading back.” With that, she opened the door and left.
Jiang Youyi steeped the motherwort in half a cup of hot water. After drinking it, the cramping pain in her lower abdomen eased a bit, and her hands and feet seemed to warm up too.
Muttering, “Who needs heating pads in this weather?” she tore open the heating pad packet, stuck it over her pajamas onto her stomach, then climbed into bed, curling up under the blankets.
Don’t sprint a hundred meters during your period—a lesson learned in blood.
The next day, Yan Wei ran into Jiang Youyi between classes and greeted her, casually adding, “Don’t go to the track tonight. Go back to sleep early.” After all, Jiang Youyi had good athletic reflexes; even without practice, she could place well. She was still on her period and should rest properly.
Jiang Youyi didn’t say anything, just hummed in acknowledgment before turning back to her classroom.
As soon as the evening self-study bell rang, Yan Wei and Zhou Xiaoxiao went to the track to run together, and this continued for three days straight.
Before they knew it, the weekend arrived again. Jiang Youyi packed her bag to leave, but Yan Wei intercepted her halfway. “Where are you going? The internet cafe?”
“What’s it to you?” Jiang Youyi seemed unhappy, her tone stiff.
Yan Wei was taken aback. Had she accidentally offended Jiang Youyi again?
“What’s wrong?” Yan Wei asked.
“Nothing.” Perhaps realizing her earlier tone had been too cold, Jiang Youyi turned her face away, took a deep breath, and softened her voice. “Not going to the internet cafe today, heading straight home. I didn’t go back last week, and my mom called Teacher Xu. Teacher Xu is going to take me home herself later.”
Yan Wei knew Jiang Youyi’s mom and Teacher Xu had known each other before, but she hadn’t realized they were this close.
“If you don’t want to go home, why not ask Teacher Xu to arrange weekend boarding for you?” Yan Wei lowered her voice, puzzled.
With Teacher Xu speaking to Jiang Youyi’s mom, the boarding procedures should be easy to handle.
Jiang Youyi didn’t answer. After a two-second silence, she changed the subject. “Everyone’s gone. If you don’t go to the cafeteria soon, there won’t be any food left.”
Her resistance was too obvious. Yan Wei’s second attempt ended in failure. She didn’t push further; continuing the topic might lead to an argument, and besides, she was probably overstepping.
But she still didn’t understand why Jiang Youyi was upset.
“Alright, let’s head downstairs together.” Yan Wei shrugged and picked up a stack of practice exams from her desk.
As they reached the bottom of the stairs and were about to part ways, Jiang Youyi suddenly spoke up, “Midterms are next week. Have you finished reviewing?”
It was rare for Jiang Youyi to show concern about her grades, so Yan Wei felt a pang of guilt and dodged the question, “Sort of.”
“What do you mean by ‘sort of’?” Jiang Youyi was skeptical about Yan Wei’s recent study habits.
For over half a month now, the once diligent student who used to stay an extra twenty minutes in the classroom every day had been leaving evening self-study right on time. On weekends, she read novels and comics, and even went out to wander around visiting friends.
Although Jiang Youyi might have played a tiny, one-percent role in encouraging this, and Yan Wei had earnestly insisted she wasn’t a model student, Jiang Youyi still found it odd and worried about Yan Wei’s grades.
How could things go on like this?
“You’re worrying too much,” Yan Wei said awkwardly, giving Jiang Youyi a light push on the shoulder. “Hurry up, or Teacher Xu will be waiting.”
Jiang Youyi didn’t say anything more. Adjusting her backpack strap, she turned and walked away.
Once Jiang Youyi was gone, Yan Wei suddenly felt a sense of emptiness.
Lately, they had seen each other constantly, exchanging a word or two here and there, and Yan Wei had almost forgotten the lonely days without Jiang Youyi.
Now, with Jiang Youyi just going home, Yan Wei felt as if the entire campus had become vast and empty. Even the April breeze against her face no longer felt gentle, carrying instead a chilly coolness that matched her subdued mood.
She missed her a little.
Persuading Jiang Youyi to stay on campus over the weekend might not have been entirely selfless.
Whether it was an obsession or not, she couldn’t quite tell.
She just wanted to see her all the time.
With no appetite, Yan Wei went to the cafeteria, ordered a vegetable dish with rice, took a few bites, and returned to the dorm. The other students staying over the weekend had gone out to have fun, leaving Yan Wei alone in the room. She set up a small desk and focused on solving problems.
Zhou Xiaoxiao returned just as Yan Wei finished a set of math practice papers. Seeing Yan Wei so deeply immersed in studying after such a long time, Zhou Xiaoxiao felt both surprised and relieved.
Finally taking things seriously—after all, a top student was still a top student. What student truly didn’t care about their grades?
Yan Wei had no idea what went through Zhou Xiaoxiao’s head all day, but the way she suddenly grinned and chuckled while staring at her seemed a bit odd and unsettling.
Yan Wei abruptly put down her pen, picked up a bag of chips, and shook it with a rustling sound. “Want some?”
“Offering something for no reason—there must be an ulterior motive!” Zhou Xiaoxiao narrowed her round eyes, scrutinizing Yan Wei suspiciously for a few seconds.
Yan Wei looked sincere, the dorm light reflecting in her pupils like shimmering autumn water.
Zhou Xiaoxiao suddenly felt her vocabulary was lacking, her mind going blank for a moment, unable to think.
She grabbed the chips, tore open the bag, and started munching in one smooth motion. “Alright, what do you want?”
As she ate, one of her cheeks puffed up with each crunch, making her look like a little hamster storing food for winter.
Yan Wei leaned over the desk and said to Zhou Xiaoxiao, “I want you to help me ask what Jiang Youyi is doing right now.”
The snack in her mouth suddenly lost its flavor. Zhou Xiaoxiao’s eyes widened. “That’s it?”
“Yeah,” Yan Wei blinked, clasping her hands together in a pleading gesture. “Please~”
Zhou Xiaoxiao lowered her head, popped another stack of potato chips into her mouth, then took out her phone right in front of Yan Wei. She typed out a message, skillfully pressing a string of words that began with “Yan Wei asks you…” The contact was Jiang Youyi. Send.
Buzz—
A reply came just seconds after the message was sent. It was very brief, only two words. Even though Zhou Xiaoxiao hadn’t intended to read the specific content, she caught it at a glance.
She handed the phone to Yan Wei. “Here, she replied. See for yourself.”
Busy.
Yan Wei: “…”
Yan Wei stared at Zhou Xiaoxiao’s phone screen, falling into a long silence.
Jiang Youyi was still angry. Yan Wei felt a bit frantic—when had she managed to upset this easily ruffled kitten again!