“Hey! Student! It’s too late, boarding students aren’t allowed to leave campus!”
Yan Wei jogged all the way to the school gate, only to be stopped by the security guard from the guardhouse. She pulled a leave permit from her pocket and handed it to the uncle on duty. “I’m just going to the small supermarket up the slope to buy some daily necessities. I’ll be back in half an hour!”
The guard looked over the permit. Seeing Yan Wei’s earnest expression and her sweet, well-behaved appearance, his heart softened. He instructed her, “Then be quick about it. You must return before 9:30.”
“Thank you, uncle!” Yan Wei clasped her hands together and bowed in thanks, calling him “uncle” without hesitation.
The guard couldn’t help but smile and waved her off. “Go quickly and come back soon.”
Yan Wei strode out of the school, rounded the corner, and just then, a bus heading to the city center stopped at the station ahead. She ran toward the bus, waving as she went. The driver saw her and kindly waited a moment.
Successfully boarding, Yan Wei thanked the driver, then went to the back and found an empty seat to sit down, finally catching her breath.
Their high school was located in the outskirts of Fudu, where taxis were hard to come by. Students going to the city center could only take the bus. Yan Wei was lucky; if she had missed this bus, she would have had to wait another ten minutes or so for the next one.
It was late April. The days weren’t hot, and occasionally, cool breezes blew at night. After jogging a bit, Yan Wei now sat down with a light sweat on her back.
The bus passed seven or eight stops. Yan Wei grew increasingly anxious as she waited. Once they reached an area with more traffic and people, she immediately got off the bus and switched to a taxi, heading straight for the street Jiang Youyi had mentioned over the phone.
Even though Yan Wei had rushed over as fast as she could, she was still delayed on the road for over half an hour. The sky had turned from a hazy gray to a heavy, oppressive black. The wind was picking up, and it looked like it might rain tonight.
The small street wasn’t wide. Dense plane trees lined both sides of the motorway, and the square bricks paving the sidewalk were unevenly raised here and there. If it rained, water would collect in the gaps between the bricks, and stepping on them would splash mud all over.
Yan Wei had never been here before. Judging by the area, it seemed like an old district, with many small shops side by side. The neon signs of night beer and barbecue joints had incomplete strokes, casting pedestrians’ faces in a riot of colors.
In slightly wider open spaces, groups of elderly men and women gathered under the trees to enjoy the cool air. The dim night couldn’t hide the vibrant life on the street, but Yan Wei wasn’t in the mood to appreciate it.
She found a still-open newspaper kiosk by the roadside and used the public phone to dial a number she knew by heart. After two rings, the person on the other end answered.
“I’m at Yuping Street, at the newspaper kiosk next to Wang’s Barbecue.” Before Jiang Youyi could say anything, Yan Wei blurted it all out in one breath. “Where are you now? I’ll come find you.”
Jiang Youyi was silent for a few seconds. Yan Wei thought she heard her sigh. “Cross the street and walk a few steps toward the red residential building. There’s a phone repair shop. I’ll wait for you outside.”
Yan Wei hung up the phone, crossed the street as Jiang Youyi had said, and walked about a hundred meters along the road before finally spotting Jiang Youyi squatting by the roadside, puffing on a cigarette.
Seeing Yan Wei from afar, Jiang Youyi took the cigarette from her lips, exhaled a smoke ring, then pressed the still-half-smoked cigarette into the ground to extinguish it. She casually tossed it into a nearby trash bin, stood up, and stamped her feet.
By the time Yan Wei approached, the smell of smoke on her was almost undetectable.
“You really didn’t have to come…” Jiang Youyi awkwardly turned her face away. “It’s really nothing.”
Yan Wei didn’t listen and sharply retorted, “If nothing’s wrong, why are you hiding?”
Jiang Youyi: “…”
“Turn your face over and let me see.”
“…”
“Hurry up, my patience is limited.”
Jiang Youyi couldn’t help but complain, “Why do I feel like you’re even more irritable than I am?”
“Exactly! If you don’t turn around, I’m going to get angry!” Yan Wei pressed on aggressively, making it unclear whether she was genuinely upset or just putting on a show. Jiang Youyi had no choice but to turn her face toward Yan Wei.
Yan Wei sucked in a breath, her brows furrowing. “What happened?”
She reached out to touch the swollen side of Jiang Youyi’s face, but Jiang Youyi took a step back to avoid her.
Only then did Yan Wei realize that her attempt to touch Jiang Youyi’s face had been overly intimate.
A bit awkwardly, she withdrew her hand and glanced around. Not far away, there happened to be a 24-hour pharmacy.
“Wait here for a moment,” Yan Wei said, turning to head toward the pharmacy.
Suddenly, Jiang Youyi grabbed her arm.
Yan Wei looked back. “The corner of your mouth is broken and needs disinfecting. I’ll be back soon.”
“No need, don’t go,” Jiang Youyi insisted. “It’s not a big deal.”
She turned her face away again, and Yan Wei saw her lips move as she muttered something quietly. But the street was a bit noisy, and Yan Wei couldn’t make it out.
“What did you say?” Yan Wei pressed.
Jiang Youyi avoided Yan Wei’s probing gaze. “Nothing.”
Yan Wei persisted, determined to get to the bottom of it. “What do you mean by ‘nothing’?”
Just then, the owner of the nearby repair shop waved to Jiang Youyi. “Xiao Jiang, your phone screen is fixed.”
Jiang Youyi replied with an “Okay,” then turned to Yan Wei and said, “I’ll go check it out. Wait here.” Without waiting for Yan Wei’s response, she hurried off as if afraid of being questioned further.
Yan Wei watched as she quickly walked into the shop, retrieved her repaired phone, swapped the SIM card back from the temporary phone, checked the basic functions, and paid after confirming everything was fine.
As she was leaving, the shop owner glanced at Yan Wei waiting on the street and smiled, asking, “Your friend?”
“Yeah,” Jiang Youyi replied without looking up, quickly sending two text messages before slipping her phone back into her pocket. “Everything seems fine for now. I’ll head off first.”
“Alright,” the shop owner saw her out. “Xiao Jiang, don’t mind me saying this, but you shouldn’t always clash with your dad. A family should get along peacefully.”
“Tell him that, not me. It’s useless talking to me about it,” Jiang Youyi said, unwilling to continue the topic. She waved her hand and turned to walk toward Yan Wei.
“Did you break your phone too?” Yan Wei asked, kicking a small stone on the ground with her hands behind her back and glancing at the repair shop. “You seem pretty familiar with the owner?”
Jiang Youyi pursed her lips, looking reluctant to speak, but since Yan Wei asked, she replied, “Not really.”
“Oh,” Yan Wei didn’t press further and changed the subject. “Have you had dinner? Are you hungry?”
Jiang Youyi: “No appetite.”
“So, you haven’t eaten.” Yan Wei said, eyeing the row of barbecue and night beer stalls along the roadside. “Any good places to eat nearby? I didn’t eat much for dinner either, and I’m a bit hungry now.”
Jiang Youyi felt exasperated by her classmate who seemed determined to misunderstand her.
“Let’s go to Wang’s Place, the one next to the newspaper stand,” Jiang Youyi said, leading Yan Wei forward. “Their grilled pork belly and pickled pepper beef rolls are pretty famous around here. I’ll take you to try them.”
Yan Wei blinked. “Is it okay to eat spicy peppers with a chapped lip?”
“Why wouldn’t it be?” Jiang Youyi raised an eyebrow. “Give up barbecue for a tiny little cut? No way.”
Yan Wei laughed.
Just a moment ago, someone had claimed they had no appetite.