Xu Suiran didn’t think much of it. Waving her hand, she dashed into the cafeteria first.
“Oh! I’ll go grab us a seat then!”
Pu Yu watched her retreating figure, a faint smile curling at the corners of her lips.
She turned and walked toward the small shop at the school gate.
Part of the money Grandma had given her was kept at home, and part had been loaded onto her meal and water cards.
She had only taken two ten-yuan bills and tucked them into her pocket.
The shopkeeper was still the same middle-aged man from yesterday.
He was bent over, calculating accounts, and only glanced up briefly when he heard her approach.
Pu Yu paid no mind to his gaze.
She took a bottle of orange soda from the shelf and picked up a small packet of rainbow hard candies.
“Boss, I’d like to pay.”
She placed the items on the counter.
Then, she fished a ten-yuan note from her pocket and handed it over.
The shopkeeper took the money, this time without saying anything.
He held it up to the light, felt it between his fingers, and after confirming it was genuine, fished out a few coins from the drawer and gave them to her.
When she returned to the cafeteria, Xu Suiran had already gotten their food.
“Xiao Yu, over here!” The girl waved vigorously at her, a bright smile on her face.
Pu Yu walked over quickly and placed the items in front of Xu Suiran. “Sui Sui, these are for you. Thank you for yesterday.”
Xu Suiran let out a surprised “Wow!” but then looked a little embarrassed.
“You really don’t have to be so polite. We’re friends, after all.”
“I do,” Pu Yu said softly, but her tone was firm. “You helped me.”
Seeing the determination in her eyes, Xu Suiran didn’t refuse any further and happily accepted the gifts.
It wasn’t until she twisted open the soda bottle cap that she realized Pu Yu had only bought one bottle.
Xu Suiran paused.
She looked at the soda and candies, then at the simple vegetables and rice still on Pu Yu’s tray, and suddenly understood.
“Wait a moment!”
Xu Suiran suddenly stood up and ran toward the food-serving window.
“Auntie, Auntie, could I trouble you for two disposable cups? Auntie, you’re the best~”
The cafeteria auntie was busy but looked up at the sound of her voice.
Recognizing the familiar girl, she didn’t seem annoyed and pulled two transparent plastic cups from the side, handing them over.
“Thank you, Auntie!”
Xu Suiran ran back happily with the cups.
Under Pu Yu’s puzzled gaze, she carefully poured the orange soda into both cups.
Half for each, filled to the brim.
She pushed one cup toward Pu Yu, raised her own, and clinked it ceremoniously against the rim of Pu Yu’s cup.
“Awoo! A toast to our friendship!”
Orange bubbles danced merrily in the transparent cups.
Reflecting the bright sunlight streaming through the window.
Pu Yu stared blankly at the girl before her, feeling as if something warm had filled her heart.
She picked up her cup and took a small sip.
The sweet, tangy taste of orange, carried by wildly dancing bubbles.
Spread from the tip of her tongue all the way to her tingling heart.
“Good, right?” Xu Suiran blinked proudly. “Let me tell you, the best thing about our school is this soda. It’s even better than the ones sold outside!”
Pu Yu’s eyes curved into a smile. “Mm, it’s delicious.”
After sharing the bottle of soda, the two slowly ate their meal and chatted.
“Oh, right, Xiao Yu,” Xu Suiran mumbled through a mouthful of rice, “What classes do we have this afternoon? I was so sleepy I forgot the schedule.”
Pu Yu thought for a moment and replied, “I think it’s physics.”
“Ah—it’s Old Wang’s physics class again!” Xu Suiran let out a wail, the food in her mouth suddenly losing its flavor. “Whenever I listen to his lectures, I just want to fall asleep.”
Pu Yu was amused by her expression and asked softly, “Then why did you choose science?”
“Me?” Xu Suiran straightened up and grinned. “My parents run a grain and oil shop in town. They don’t have any big ambitions—they just want me to be good at math so they don’t lose money. They hope I’ll go back someday and handle the accounts.”
As she spoke, she even mimed pressing a calculator in the air with her fingers, looking utterly adorable.
Pu Yu watched her, the amusement in her eyes gradually replaced by genuine envy.
She said sincerely, “That’s really good.”
To have a clear place to return to.
To have a stable path laid out by your parents.
For Pu Yu at this moment, such things felt like an unattainable luxury.
“Good?” Xu Suiran was taken aback, seemingly not expecting that reaction. “Actually, I didn’t think so a couple of years ago.”
She lowered her voice and leaned closer to Pu Yu, as if sharing a secret. “Back then, I was pretty rebellious too. I wanted to run away every day, found my family annoying, and never listened to whatever my parents said. I had a terrible temper—my mom was almost driven crazy by me.”
Pu Yu listened quietly without interrupting.
“Later…”
“Later, well… something happened to your deskmate’s family.”
“I watched him go from being so proud and dazzling to suddenly falling into the mud, avoided and gossiped about by everyone.”
“Only then did I suddenly realize that compared to all that, the annoyances of studying and the uncertainties of the future didn’t seem like such big deals.”
After finishing, she stuck out her tongue, as if embarrassed by her own sentimentality. “Ugh, did I get too heavy? Hurry up and eat, or the warning bell will ring soon!”
Pu Yu shook her head, a fine, dense ache spreading through her heart.
To have a noisy but complete family, to have parents who nag you every day but genuinely care for you—that was already an incredible stroke of luck.
It was just a shame that neither she nor Yuan Su had such good fortune.
…
Over the next few days.
Pu Yu gradually adjusted to the rhythm of the town’s middle school.
She was inseparable from Xu Suiran and had also met a few other friendly classmates.
The only thing she couldn’t get used to was—the seat next to her remained empty.
Xu Suiran was admiring herself in a small mirror when she noticed Pu Yu’s gaze reflected in it. She turned and asked, “Xiao Yu, what are you looking at?”
Pu Yu hesitated for a moment before asking softly, “Sui Sui, has he always been like this?”
“Who? Yuan Su?” Xu Suiran immediately understood.
She put away her mirror, wearing an expression of familiarity. “Nowadays, he basically comes and goes as he pleases. The teachers don’t even bother managing him anymore, as long as he doesn’t cause trouble. I bet we probably won’t see him again until the next monthly exam.”
However, just as Xu Suiran finished speaking.
The classroom’s back door creaked open with a “squeak.”
A slender, tall figure walked in slowly, silhouetted against the light from the hallway.
He looked even thinner than a few days ago, with dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep, his hair slightly disheveled. An aura of exhaustion and aloofness surrounded him, warning others to keep their distance.
It was the very person they had just been discussing.
Yuan Su.
The entire class instinctively fell silent for a moment, then turned away, pretending nothing had happened, though whispers quietly began to spread.
Xu Suiran’s words stuck in her throat.
She stared in shock, her mouth slightly agape, glancing at Yuan Su by the door, then at Pu Yu.
Finally, she muttered softly, incredulously:
“…My god, speak of the devil.”