Lin Qingle was somewhat afraid of Zhang Yikun. He had a bad reputation among Jiang Shuyi and her friends. If he latched onto her, given his usual behavior at school, he would definitely make things difficult for her, both openly and behind the scenes.
So when she saw him, her first instinct was to ignore him and leave quickly.
“Hey, hey—why are you running so fast?!” Zhang Yikun clearly wasn’t going to let her go that easily; he grabbed her by the clothes with just a few steps.
Lin Qingle panicked, “What are you doing!”
Zhang Yikun stared at her, “Nothing much, just thought we could chat a bit since we ran into each other.”
Lin Qingle tried to pull his hand away, but no matter how much she tugged, she couldn’t free herself. “Are we close? There’s nothing to talk about. Let… let go of me!”
Zhang Yikun held her tightly, almost like she was a little chick. “Come on, I’m just asking your name and what class you’re in. Why are you so scared?”
“I don’t want to tell you!”
Zhang Yikun raised an eyebrow, his tone turning cold, “What if I insist?”
“I—”
“Zhang Yikun.” As the two of them were locked in a stalemate, another voice interrupted.
They both turned toward the sound and saw a tall, handsome boy in athletic clothes standing nearby, watching their interaction with a frown. “What are you doing now? Let go of her.”
Zhang Yikun actually listened; he let go as soon as he heard the boy’s words. “Oh, it’s you, Jiayou.”
It was Yu Jiayou, the star of their school who Jiang Shuyi talked about every day.
“Isn’t it class time? What are you doing here?” Yu Jiayou walked over.
Zhang Yikun replied, “It’s self-study. Came down to grab something to eat.”
“Why are you grabbing onto a classmate from my class while getting food?”
“Your classmate?” Zhang Yikun chuckled, “Oh, so she’s your classmate.”
Yu Jiayou’s frown deepened, “Zhang Yikun, stop bullying people at school. Otherwise, I won’t cover for you with your father anymore.”
“Tsk, what nonsense are you talking about? I wasn’t bullying her,” Zhang Yikun said sarcastically, glancing at Lin Qingle. “I just saw that she was close with Xu Tingbai and wanted to get to know her.”
Yu Jiayou paused slightly at the mention of Xu Tingbai but didn’t ask further. He only turned to Lin Qingle, “Are you okay?”
Lin Qingle neither nodded nor shook her head; she just kept staring at Zhang Yikun.
“Hey, I wasn’t bullying her,” Zhang Yikun protested, waving a hand. “Fine, fine, classmate, you don’t need to stare at me. I’ll leave, okay? I’m going now.” With that, he turned and went into the convenience store.
Yu Jiayou, still concerned, asked Lin Qingle again, “Did he trouble you just now?”
Since transferring to this school, this was her first time speaking to Yu Jiayou, despite being in the same class.
“…No.”
“Good,” Yu Jiayou replied. “Zhang Yikun always stirs up trouble. If he ever bothers you again, you can let me know.”
Lin Qingle’s grip on her water bottle relaxed a bit, and she murmured, “Thank you.”
Yu Jiayou said, “No problem, we’re classmates.”
“Still, thank you…”
“Are you heading back to the track now?” he asked.
Lin Qingle nodded. “Shuyi is still running; I need to give her this water.”
“Alright, let’s go back together. I bought water for a few of the guys in class too.”
“Oh, okay.”
As Jiang Shuyi had mentioned, Yu Jiayou was indeed easygoing and pleasant to talk to. He spoke in a way that didn’t make people feel uncomfortable or defensive; his words, carrying a faint smile, made one feel as if they were basking in a spring breeze.
“In the last weekly test, you scored first in math. That last big problem was tough, but you managed to solve it. That’s impressive.”
Along the way, they mostly chatted about academics. Lin Qingle was a strong student, so it was natural that Yu Jiayou had noticed her early on.
Lin Qingle replied shyly, “It was actually just a coincidence. I’d done a similar problem in a workbook I bought.”
“Really? What book was it? Could you show me? I’ll get a copy myself,” Yu Jiayou said. “Math is my weakest subject, and I can never finish the big questions.”
Yu Jiayou’s overall scores were top in their grade, so his “weak” subject was still unattainable for most students. But as a top student, he always strove for improvement. Lin Qingle didn’t hold back and said, “Sure, I’ll show you the cover when we’re back in class.”
“Great, thanks.”
“You’re welcome… after all, you just helped me too.”
The distance from the convenience store to the track wasn’t far. As they neared the track, Yu Jiayou suddenly asked, “Zhang Yikun said earlier that you’re close with Xu Tingbai?”
Lin Qingle glanced at him, “Why?”
Dai Rong… this was her second time hearing her name.
Looking at the people running on the track in the distance, Lin Qingle asked, “Are she and Xu Tingbai close?”
Yu Jiayou paused, “That, I’m not sure.”
“I see.”
“And you?”
“Hm?”
“I mean, how did you and Xu Tingbai meet?”
“I’ve known him for a long time,” Lin Qingle looked sideways at him without any attempt to hide. “He’s my best friend.”
When Lin Qingle returned to the track with the water, Jiang Shuyi was nearing the finish line.
“Shuyi, over here.” Lin Qingle waved.
Jiang Shuyi had already spotted her and took a few steps over before collapsing to the ground.
Lin Qingle reached out to pull her up. “Don’t sit; get up and walk a little.”
Jiang Shuyi, too tired to get up, asked with a pale face, “Did you come over here with Yu Jiayou?”
“How did you know?”
“I saw you two walking over from afar.”
Lin Qingle explained, “We ran into each other at the convenience store, and he asked me some questions about studying, so we walked over together.”
She left out the minor episode with Zhang Yikun.
Jiang Shuyi remarked, “See? Didn’t I tell you? Yu Jiayou is really friendly and speaks so gently.”
Lin Qingle replied, “He does seem like that…”
“What do you mean, ‘seems like’? You, little rascal, don’t feel anything at all?”
“I do,” Lin Qingle thought for a moment and then said seriously, “But I’ve met someone even gentler.”
Jiang Shuyi playfully slapped her. “Yeah, right.”
“It’s true…” Lin Qingle opened the bottle of water and handed it to her. “Alright, drink some water and rest; then we’ll head back to class.”
Every Saturday, Lin Qingle would wait for Xu Tingbai at the street corner, but this Saturday, he didn’t show up.
The rice noodle vendor uncle said that sometimes Xu Tingbai would skip class, so it wasn’t unusual for him not to appear.
Unable to wait for him, Lin Qingle decided to leave, thinking she could tell him next time that the remark he made—about not being the same person as in her memories—didn’t really matter.
They would both grow up, and it was normal to change. But friendship shouldn’t be something that changes so easily.
However, she didn’t see him for the entire following week.
Outwardly, she kept telling herself he must just not want to attend class, but deep down, she was uneasy. Being visually impaired meant facing countless dangers in daily life.
In the end, overwhelmed with worry, she went straight to his house one day. Standing at the door, she knocked for a while, but there was no answer.
“Xu Tingbai?”
“Xu Tingbai, are you home?”
“Xu Tingbai!”
…
The quieter it was inside, the more anxious she felt, but no matter how much she knocked or called, it was like her voice vanished into thin air.
“Xu—”
“Who are you?”
Suddenly, an elderly woman appeared at the top of the stairs, likely drawn by her voice. Lin Qingle pointed to the door, “I’m a friend of his…”
“A friend of Xiaobai’s?”
“Yes.” Lin Qingle said urgently, “Ma’am, do you live here?”
The elderly lady nodded. “I live downstairs.”
“Do you know if Xu Tingbai is home? He hasn’t been to class recently, and I’m a bit worried.”
“His father came back.”
“What?”
The elderly woman continued, “His father returned a few days ago. That’s probably why he hasn’t been to school.”
“He should be.”
Lin Qingle frowned. “But why isn’t anyone opening the door?”
The woman replied, “His father’s a strange person and doesn’t like visitors. Young lady, you’d better go.”
Lin Qingle had met Xu Tingbai’s father when she was younger, but he was in and out quickly and hadn’t left a strong impression.
Even if he didn’t like visitors, he could at least open the door to see who it was… why wouldn’t he even open the door?
Feeling uneasy but left with no other option, Lin Qingle reluctantly went home that day.
She couldn’t shake her anxiety, probably because Xu Tingbai was visually impaired, and unless she saw him with her own eyes, she couldn’t be at ease.
After much deliberation, she decided to go again during the break before Monday evening study session. She hailed a cab, got out at the street corner, and sprinted all the way to Xu Tingbai’s building.
But when she got upstairs, no one answered her knock.
She stood outside for a long time, her spirits sinking as she slowly made her way back downstairs. Just then, she ran into the same elderly woman from before.
“Ma’am.”
The elderly lady looked at her, surprised. “Young lady, why are you here again?”
“Has Xu Tingbai been out in the past few days?”
“Well… no, I don’t think so.”
Lin Qingle asked in confusion, “Why not? What about his father?”
“I haven’t seen him either, so I’m not sure if his father is still around.”
“That’s odd… I knocked several times, and he wouldn’t open the door. Could it be that he doesn’t want to see me?”
“Ma’am, could you… knock on the door for me? I just want to see him for a second, nothing else.”
“Oh, I can’t do that. I still don’t know if his father is there. He’s quite fierce, and I wouldn’t dare, old as I am.”
“But…”
“Actually, it wouldn’t be hard to get in. Sometimes I feel sorry for him and help clean his place once in a while. There’s a key stashed between the second and third boxes stacked beside his door…”
Lin Qingle was stunned, her eyes brightening as she turned to head back upstairs.
But the elderly woman quickly grabbed her, looking somewhat regretful for revealing the information. “Young lady, maybe come back in a few days. His father really dislikes anyone barging in. When he’s not around, I take a peek to check on the child. How about this: I’ll keep an eye out, and as soon as I see his father leave, I’ll let you know. Leave me your number.”
“It’s fine, ma’am; I’d like to check now.”
“Hey—”
The elderly lady couldn’t hold Lin Qingle back at all, and the young girl dashed upstairs in a flash.
She watched Lin Qingle’s figure disappear and slowly shook her head.
Since his father disliked intrusions, she’d just sneak a quick look. Even if she got caught, she could apologize right away, and he likely wouldn’t give her too much trouble.
With her mind on Xu Tingbai, Lin Qingle couldn’t wait any longer. She found the key exactly where the elderly woman said it would be and quietly unlocked the door.
As the door slowly opened, she saw that the living room lights were off, with only a half-drawn curtain allowing some of the sunset light to filter in. She glanced around but saw no sign of any adults.
His father wasn’t home…
“Xu Tingbai?” She stepped inside, gently closing the door behind her.
The living room was small, and a quick glance confirmed no one was there.
Lin Qingle walked over to his bedroom door, which was slightly ajar, and carefully pushed it open.
She knew he must be in his room, but she hadn’t expected to find him on the floor.
He was sitting on the floor against the wall, one leg bent, head lowered, seemingly lost in thought.
The room was dim, and aside from his silhouette, she couldn’t make out any details.
Frowning, Lin Qingle walked over and squatted in front of him, asking softly, “What’s wrong? Why didn’t you open the door when I called? I… I was really worried about you.”
The person in front of her shifted slightly, as if just realizing she was there.
Slowly, he raised his head. His right cheek was slightly swollen, and there was a bruise at the corner of his mouth. In the dim light, his eyes appeared cold and unsettling, with a touch of numb indifference.
He “looked” at her and said in a flat voice, “Get out.”
Author’s note:
This is the unluckiest male lead I’ve ever written. Hugs!