Han Xiao’s leg shifted slightly. In the end, he still did not take that step forward. He stood there, unmoving, staring in the direction where Song Ranran had left.
The friend beside him could not stand it anymore. “If you can’t let her go, then chase after her. What’s with all this hemming and hawing? Are you still a man or not?”
“I really don’t know what you’re thinking. You hang around the School of Computer Science every day just to catch a glimpse of her. Every time you actually see her, you hide faster than anyone else. If you keep dragging this out, she’ll get married. When that happens, you won’t even have a chance to cry.”
Han Xiao clenched his fingers, his gaze restrained and tightly controlled.
After leaving the mall, Gu Qingyue asked, “Was that Han Xiao from our university’s School of Physical Education? Do you know him?”
The School of Physical Education was on a different campus from theirs, so they rarely ran into each other. However, Han Xiao was the campus heartthrob of the sports department and the vice-captain of Jing University’s basketball club. Gu Qingyue had heard classmates mention him when she attended classes in the Integrated Circuits and Integrated Systems program.
Song Ranran looked into the distance. Night had begun to fall, and the neon lights around the mall lit up one after another. Her voice was very soft, as if it would scatter with the wind.
“My ex-boyfriend.” Xu Youning was so shocked her eyes nearly popped out. “When did that happen?”
Song Ranran steadied her emotions. “I’ll explain it properly while we eat.” The three of them found a barbecue restaurant outside the mall. Song Ranran even had the owner bring over a whole case of beer.
She poured beer into a glass, tilted her head back, and gulped down more than half of it. She drank too fast and too hard, choking and coughing a few times.Gu Qingyue and Xu Youning could only watch anxiously, helplessly.
Song Ranran filled her glass again. Her eyes were red, and her voice carried a hint of sobbing.
“We were deskmates in middle school. He was the type with well-developed limbs and a simple mind. Full marks in sports, bottom of the class academically. Because he played basketball well, Beijing No. 1 High School said they could lower the admission score and accept him as an exception.”
“But his grades were really too poor. Even with a lowered score, he still couldn’t meet the requirement. In our third year, we became deskmates. Once during class, I forgot to bring my textbook.”
“The physics teacher was notoriously strict. If she caught you without a textbook, you’d be sent outside to stand as punishment. We were right in the middle of puberty, cared a lot about appearances, and I panicked completely.”
Just as she was at a loss, a physics book was tossed directly onto her desk, startling her. She reflexively looked toward Han Xiao.
Han Xiao was lounging against the wall, sitting in a sloppy, carefree posture. The smile at the corner of his lips was roguish and unruly, making him look like the stereotypical ‘bad student.’
Seeing Song Ranran staring at him, Han Xiao deliberately said, “Don’t bother returning it.” She pressed her lips together. “Then what will you do?”
Han Xiao did not care at all. “I’m not like you, good students.”That day, Han Xiao still did not escape being sent outside by the physics teacher. Through the glass, she saw the boy standing there.
Perhaps because he played basketball, Han Xiao was taller than his peers. Even the loose school uniform could not hide his outstanding physique. Broad shoulders, long legs, and clearly defined, powerful muscles along his arms.An indescribable flutter rose in her chest.
Song Ranran drank as she spoke. Tears swirled in her eyes, and her voice took on a crying tone.
“To thank him, I took the initiative to tutor him. That’s how we became friends. He was actually very smart. In just one year, his grades improved by leaps and bounds, barely making the cutoff to get into Beijing No. 1 High School.”
“He was handsome and great at basketball, a well-known figure at school. There were many girls who liked him, but he always kept his distance from them. Even though we weren’t in the same class, we still went home together after school. Sometimes he would bring math problems to ask me during breaks.”
“He would also bring me breakfast and buy snacks and drinks. In our senior year, he won the national championship and was directly admitted to Jing University’s School of Physical Education.”
The boy wore a white school uniform, holding a basketball under one arm. Sunlight shone from behind him, lighting up his eyes. He looked at her and smiled freely and boldly. “Song Ranran, shall we go to Jing University together?”
Song Ranran smiled too. The girl’s smile was bright and radiant as she agreed without hesitation. “Okay.” Thinking of this, the corner of Song Ranran’s mouth lifted slightly.
Gu Qingyue and Xu Youning felt uncomfortable as well. They wanted to comfort her, but did not know where to start.
The meat on the grill sizzled with oil, pulling Song Ranran’s thoughts back to the present. She opened another bottle of beer.
“On the day the college entrance exam ended, he confessed to me, and we got together. At first, we were like any ordinary couple, happy and sweet, wishing we could be glued together twenty,four hours a day.”
They went shopping, watched movies, and promised to be together forever.
After the honeymoon phase, problems followed one after another. She had thought they could hold hands and walk far together.But reality dealt her a heavy blow.
Xu Youning frowned deeply. “Then why did it turn out like this?”
Several empty beer bottles lay scattered across the table. Perhaps the alcohol had gone to her head. Song Ranran’s words became slurred.
“He liked playing basketball, playing games. Once he got into it, he’d even forget my birthday. I felt he didn’t value me. He thought I was making a fuss over nothing.”
“A week before school started, we broke up. We had planned to travel together, but he stayed up too late watching a game and slept right through it.”
The tears she had been holding back finally slid down from the corners of her eyes. Long-suppressed emotions seemed to find an outlet, and the tears poured out like a breached river.
“He apologized to me, but I had planned that trip for a long time. I made detailed plans and even bought tickets for the attractions. All of it was ruined because he overslept.”
“So in a fit of anger, I broke up with him and blocked all his contact information. At first, he tried every way to reach me. When school started, he even came to our campus to look for me.”
“But back then, I was still holding onto that resentment. No matter what he said, I refused to get back together with him.”
At this point, the smile on Song Ranran’s lips was full of bitterness.“Thinking about it now, it really doesn’t seem like such a big deal. I just don’t understand why I was so stubborn back then.”
If they had each taken a step back, would the outcome have been different?
When Han Xiao came to see her, she had already softened inside. But every time she thought of him ignoring her because of basketball games or video games, anger surged up again.
Her heart, which had just begun to soften, hardened once more. She cared desperately, yet every word she spoke was sharp and cutting.
Gu Qingyue used a tissue to wipe her tears. “Do you still like him now?” In truth, the question was pointless. It was obvious that she still liked Han Xiao.
Song Ranran tipped her head back and continued drinking the beer. She forced a carefree smile, tears shimmering in her eyes. “It’s already over. Who didn’t have a failed relationship when they were young?”