In late spring, not many venues in Olympic Forest Park were open, so they rented two bicycles and rode around inside.
Outside stretched a vast expanse of open grassland, dotted with only a few patches of flower fields. After finishing their work, some sanitation workers sat by the grass, slurping noodles with audible breaths. Steam rose from their bowls, adding a touch of everyday warmth to the scene.
They rode a full lap without finding much to see, so they simply stopped by a bench. Rong Ting noticed an automatic vending machine nearby and went to buy two bottles of mineral water, bringing one back for Ran Jiu.
Ran Jiu was thirsty. Though she didn’t sweat much, it didn’t mean the exercise didn’t consume water and energy, so she drank half the bottle in one go.
They rode a while longer before finally finding something worth seeing—a simulated geothermal spring. Water flowing down the mountain met the spring, creating a hazy mist.
Watching the water gently lap against the stones, Rong Ting hesitated for a moment before taking out her phone. “How about we take a photo together here?”
She felt nervous suggesting it. Ran Jiu seemed indifferent to everything, but it was clear she wasn’t fond of group activities and often lacked enthusiasm for certain things. Rong Ting wasn’t sure if her suggestion would be met with disdain.
To her surprise, after a brief silence, Ran Jiu simply nodded. “Sure.”
Rong Ting breathed a sigh of relief. They found a suitable spot for the photo, and Ran Jiu waved her over.
Rong Ting switched her phone to camera mode and waited a while before finding a passerby to ask for help taking the picture.
The two were initially just standing side by side, but the passerby gestured, “Come on, you two, get a bit closer.”
Before Rong Ting could react, a pale, slender hand tugged her arm, and they stayed close for a few seconds.
When she got her phone back, Ran Jiu leaned in to look at the photo with her.
The picture had a lovely atmosphere. The geothermal spring provided enough warmth to make them appear enveloped in a thick mist. Ran Jiu had her arm around Rong Ting’s shoulder, secretly flashing a peace sign.
Her windbreaker reached up to her chin, hiding her slender neck, but she was smiling beautifully, the corners of her eyes crinkling upward.
Inside the park, there was an area designated for visitors to picnic. As it neared 11 o’clock, Rong Ting spread out the picnic blanket she had prepared in advance on the grass, and they both sat down.
Remembering something, Rong Ting sent the photo they had just taken to Ran Jiu. Ran Jiu blinked her long lashes, reminiscing. “It reminds me of the snowy mountains near my hometown.”
Rong Ting let out a surprised sound. She remembered Ran Jiu mentioning during her introduction that she lived by a lake. “There are snowy mountains there too?”
“Yes, but they’re not very big, nothing compared to the ones in Xinjiang. Still, you can see the foot of the mountains.”
Rong Ting was a bit confused. “So, do you live in yurts or regular houses?”
Ran Jiu smiled nonchalantly. “I’ve lived in both.”
Rong Ting’s eyes lit up. “Have you ever herded cattle?”
Ran Jiu’s lips twitched slightly. “Yes, I have.”
Rong Ting, not noticing she was inching closer to Ran Jiu, asked, “What do you do while herding cattle?”
“Play on my phone.”
“Is there signal on the grassland? How do you charge it?”
Ran Jiu unscrewed her bottle and took a few sips of water. “Of course, there is. You set up the Wi-Fi on the cattle’s horns.”
“What if the battery runs out?”
“If it runs out? Plug the charger into the cow’s rear. If there’s no power, just give the cow a smack on the backside. When it runs, it’ll charge your phone.”
Rong Ting: “…” Listen to how crude that sounds. Is that something a beautiful girl should say?
She deeply suspected Ran Jiu was just brushing her off.
Ran Jiu suddenly tapped her head lightly. “You dare ask but not believe? What’s online is true too. Our streets are full of cows and sheep; if you want meat, just grab one. The kitchen at home has three pipes: one for tap water, one for purified water, and one specifically for milk, though you have to pay 200 yuan a month to use the milk faucet.”
By now, Rong Ting was highly skeptical. “Really?”
Ran Jiu: “Fake.”
Rong Ting was a bit annoyed: Didn’t want to talk, wasting time, wasting emotions.
She moved aside, intending to give Ran Jiu some time to reflect on her terrible behavior.
After a long while, Ran Jiu smiled and leaned over to coax her. “But the lamb shaomai from our area is really delicious. You might not like lamb or scallions, but the meat is incredibly fresh and generous, the oil is fragrant, and the shaomai wrappers are super tasty.”
Rong Ting silently swallowed.
Ran Jiu turned her face slightly. “And there’s beizi—do you have that where you’re from? You can stuff all sorts of things inside; if you’re willing, you can add over ten yuan worth.”
Rong Ting: “What can you stuff?”
“Like spicy tofu skin, fish balls, marinated eggs, sliced sausage, grilled sausage, fried mushrooms…” Ran Jiu suddenly paused. “I went back last year, and you can even add potato spirals now. The pickles are especially good too; there are seven or eight kinds you can choose from.”
Rong Ting felt the meal she’d just eaten might have digested already. She was getting a bit hungry again.
When they left the park, they passed that open grassy field again. Rong Ting vaguely wondered if grasslands looked like that.
Someone nearby was refueling—a tour bus with a chattering group of tourists inside, pulling her thoughts back to reality.
Ran Jiu had already scanned a shared bike and was waiting for her. Thinking something was wrong, she came over to find her. But Rong Ting pointed at the distant small peak of the geothermal spring, now out of sight. “Does that look like the snowy mountains where you’re from?”
Ran Jiu looked over. The steam was too thick to make out the landscape’s outline, but it really could be imagined as endless snowy mountains. A clear smile spread in her eyes. “Yeah, it does.”
At Rong Ting’s insistence, the two still took the subway back. Luckily, the subway wasn’t crowded, and they found a quiet corner to sit.
Originally, both were on their phones, but Rong Ting gradually grew drowsy. When she woke up, she found herself leaning on Ran Jiu’s shoulder.
It seemed Ran Jiu had deliberately relaxed her right shoulder to let Rong Ting rest comfortably. She sat upright, her thin eyelids slightly closed, holding both their bags in her arms.
As the subway neared their stop, Rong Ting received a notification in her class group chat. It said the evening English class had been moved to 3:30 p.m. due to the teacher’s reasons, and students not on campus should hurry back because attendance might be checked.
The group chat erupted in complaints. Some were still outside the city, some had just made plans to hang out with friends in the afternoon. Moreover, everyone was unhappy that the teacher was changing the class for personal reasons and still checking attendance.
Rong Ting calmly checked the time—it was only 2:30. If they headed back to campus now, they should make it.
Sensing her movement, Ran Jiu slowly opened her eyes and asked what was wrong.
“It’s nothing, the class asked us to hurry back to school. There’s a class this afternoon that got rescheduled.”
Ran Jiu’s voice was a bit hoarse: “Moved earlier?”
“Yeah, originally it was at six in the evening, but now it’s been changed to three-thirty.” Rong Ting frowned; truth be told, she wasn’t too happy about it either. She had planned to go home first, cook a meal to share with Ran Jiu, and maybe even catch a short nap afterward. But now she had to head straight to school.
As they neared the station, Ran Jiu said, “I’ll walk you there.”
“Huh?” Rong Ting was taken aback for a moment before understanding her meaning. “No need, I can just ride one more stop, get off, and walk a few steps to get there.”
Without another word, Ran Jiu leaned back, not getting off at the originally planned stop. “It’s fine. There’s a snack street near your school. I can grab something to eat on my way back.”
Rong Ting roughly understood her reasoning. Ran Jiu seemed to think that spending time with her on the outing was some kind of time exchange, and in return, she had to compensate her with more time. This bizarre logic left Rong Ting both amused and exasperated.
When they exited the station, the crowd was so dense that someone bumped into them. Rong Ting’s first reaction was to check if she had lost any money, and she quickly urged Ran Jiu to see if her wallet and phone were still there.
But when she called out to Ran Jiu, she saw her eyes icy cold, fixed on the person who had just bumped into them. The man was startled too, stumbling as he hurriedly pushed his way through the crowd to escape.
Rong Ting grew concerned and gently tugged at her sleeve, asking softly, “What’s wrong?”
It seemed like a long time passed before Ran Jiu’s expression finally softened. “It’s nothing, let’s go.”
After leaving the station, Ran Jiu subtly patted the clothes around her waist, as if she had touched something utterly disgusting.
Sure enough, there was a snack street after getting off the bus. With half an hour left before class, they passed by and bought chestnut cakes, fried milk, and traditional chicken skewers from Daoxiangcun.
Rong Ting gave most of the snacks to Ran Jiu, who obediently followed her, munching on the skewers as they walked. By the time they reached the school, they had finished everything.
Passing by a print shop, Rong Ting remembered she hadn’t printed her homework yet. Luckily, she had saved it on her phone. She asked Ran Jiu to wait outside while she squeezed inside. When she came out, the shop was even more crowded than before, and she struggled to make her way through, accidentally bumping into someone in the process.
She looked up and met Chen Saiyu’s equally startled gaze. Standing beside her were the other two girls from their dorm, likely also there to print assignments.
Chen Saiyu awkwardly called out to her, assuming she was alone, and asked if she wanted to walk to the classroom with them.
Rong Ting shook her head, saying someone was waiting for her outside.
Wan Sang was the first to glance outside, not recognizing anyone from their class. She snorted coldly, “Who are you trying to impress?”
Rong Ting couldn’t be bothered to retort, treating it like a dog bite. When she stepped outside, Ran Jiu was still standing there. Perhaps to avoid drawing attention, she had pulled up the hood of her windbreaker, conveniently hiding her striking hair color.
Rong Ting took the things from her hands. “I have to go to class now. You should head home and rest. I’ll cook for you when I get back tonight.”
Ran Jiu nodded and was about to leave when she noticed Rong Ting’s face had turned a bit pale, pausing her steps.
The girls from the print shop came out, the first one radiating hostility, her sharp gaze unabashedly directed toward the two of them.
Rong Ting was definitely aware of it but chose not to respond. Instead, Ran Jiu looked back indifferently, with a hint of curiosity.
Her face was sour, likely from being spoiled and overindulged for too long, or perhaps overly protected, having never truly encountered the malice of the world. That was why she didn’t bother hiding her arrogant and disdainful expression.
Ran Jiu was curious about what she was thinking.
Chen Saiyu tugged at Wan Sang’s arm. “Alright, let’s go early so we can grab a good spot. Otherwise, we’ll have to fight with those people for the back row again.”
Only then did Wan Sang shoot them a glare before stomping away resentfully.
Ran Jiu turned to Rong Ting and asked, “Who were those people just now?”
Rong Ting understood that she must have noticed something and sighed, “Roommates.”
“Oh.” Ran Jiu thoughtfully pinched her chin. “So, you’re looking for a place to move out because of these trashy people?”
Rong Ting let out a faint, mosquito-like hum. “It’s not entirely because of them. We just don’t get along.”
She had to admit that her overly laid-back attitude toward relationships and her neglect of others’ emotions had led to this situation. To put it bluntly, flies don’t bother with an uncracked egg.
“Maybe it’s just because you’re not part of their interest group.” Ran Jiu sighed and tugged at her braid. “Does the majority bullying the minority make it justified? One kind of wrongdoing can never be legitimized by another.”
The wind rustled past, and the air fell silent as if electrified.
It collapsed—that was the only thought in Rong Ting’s mind at that moment. Wan Sang, the others in the dorm, what they said or did—none of it mattered anymore. Bubbles of emotion gurgled in her heart, drowning out the noise around her. The walls she thought were solid crumbled layer by layer.
For a long time, she had been searching for an excuse for her poor relationships, but the reality was right there. Everyone could see she was the one being pushed out. Even though she was filled with grievances and complaints, she knew deep down that no one would truly understand.
Explaining too much would only make things worse, even alienating others. She’d rather blame herself to achieve some psychological balance.
Now, Ran Jiu had given her an outlet for her emotions, allowing her to finally face her troubled past and reconcile with the world.
“Let’s go.” Ran Jiu suddenly took her wrist, a cool sensation spreading thread by thread across her skin.
Rong Ting was startled by the touch, taking a moment to react. “Aren’t you going home?”
Ran Jiu shrugged indifferently. “I’m off today. Besides, I’ve always wanted to see how top students attend classes.”
Halfway there, Rong Ting asked softly, “Why?”
Ran Jiu patted her head and sighed. “You don’t want to be with them, right? I’ll keep you company in class.”