Wen Li was truly heartbroken.
She wandered aimlessly down the street, her spirits sinking, not wanting to return to the dorm—afraid her roommates would see her like this and pepper her with questions.
Her chest felt hollow, and suddenly she missed home terribly.
Rain began to fall from the sky—at first just a few drops, then heavier and denser, hitting her face with a cold, stinging sensation.
She hadn't brought an umbrella. She stood by the roadside trying to hail a taxi, but one after another drove past her, headlights dragging blurred streaks through the rain curtain. Not a single one stopped.
She had no choice but to walk to the bus stop.
Rainy weather combined with rush hour meant the roads were jammed beyond belief, and the bus was packed shoulder to shoulder. She was soaked through, hair plastered to her face, water droplets dripping from the hem of her clothes.
The middle-aged woman beside her glanced at her several times, looking like she wanted to say something but held back. Finally, she rummaged through her bag and pulled out a pack of tissues, handing them over.
"Miss, wipe yourself off."
Wen Li took them, whispered "thank you," and felt her nose sting with emotion—she nearly burst into tears.
After two hours stuck in traffic, she finally made it home.
Standing at the front door, she suddenly realized she hadn't brought her keys. She raised her hand and knocked—no answer. She knocked again, still met with silence.
Her parents couldn't possibly not be home.
Today really was the worst.
All the grievance bottled up inside her burst forth in an instant. She crouched down against the doorframe and broke down sobbing.
Just then, the door suddenly opened.
Wen Tao stood behind it, looking at her daughter—drenched like a drowned rat—and her heart clenched.
"Lili? What happened to you?" She quickly pulled her inside and felt her forehead. "How did you get this soaked? Didn't you bring an umbrella?"
"Mom." The moment Wen Li spoke, her voice cracked, and tears spilled out uncontrollably. "I did something wrong!"
"It's okay, it's okay." Wen Tao wrapped her arms around her, not caring that she was soaking wet, gently patting her back. "You're home now, it's fine, it's fine."
Wen Li pouted, burying all her grievances—along with the rain and tears on her face—into her mother's shoulder.
In the kitchen, Ji Qingti heard the commotion and rushed out, still holding a spatula: "What's wrong? Who bullied you?"
Wen Tao shot him a look. Though utterly confused, Ji Qingti immediately shut his mouth, relying on years of marital tacit understanding.
"Go take a hot shower first," he said, changing his tone. "You're soaked through—don't catch a cold. I'll make you some ginger soup."
Wen Li nodded and sniffled her way into the bathroom.
By the time she came out after her shower, the table was already laden with dishes—braised pork ribs, stir-fried asparagus lettuce, and tomato egg drop soup. All her favorites.
Wen Tao scooped her a bowl of rice, heaping it full and pressing it down firmly.
"Come on, eat more." Wen Tao pushed the bowl in front of her. "You must be starving."
Wen Li sat down, picked up her chopsticks, and took a bite of rice.
The tears fell again.
Wen Tao sat across from her, watching her daughter like this, her heart aching. She reached for a tissue, and her own tears came tumbling down.
Ji Qingti saw the scene and panicked: "Why are you crying too?"
"Can't I feel heartbroken?" Wen Tao said through her tears.
"If you're heartbroken, then so am I." Ji Qingti's eyes reddened as he spoke.
Wen Li, tears glistening in her eyes, still had an unswallowed piece of pork rib in her mouth. She looked up in bewilderment at her parents crying in each other's arms: "You two… what's wrong?"
"We feel awful seeing you cry," Wen Tao said between sniffles.
"I'm fine, really."
Wen Li swallowed the pork rib, frantically wiping her mother's tears with one hand while handing tissues to her father with the other—flustered and clumsy. In the end, the whole family of three was crying in a heap.
No one knew who was comforting whom anymore.
After dinner, Wen Tao cut up a plate of honeydew melon and brought it over.
"Lili," she began carefully, "what happened? Tell Mom about it?"
Wen Li hesitated, then recounted the whole story—but omitted the fact that she liked Xiao Jinyu, referring to him only as a classmate.
After listening, Wen Tao immediately slapped the table: "How could this possibly be your fault!"
Wen Li: "…"
"Exactly!" Ji Qingti chimed in from the side. "Our precious girl was just being kind—she didn't deliberately deceive anyone. Whether he appreciates it or not is his problem. Why should he blame you?"
The more Wen Tao thought about it, the angrier she got: "And that stepmother of his has issues too."
"Stepmother?" Wen Li was confused.
In Wen Li's simple view of family, she had always believed there was no mother in the world who didn't love her child. Auntie Jin might have deceived him, but her intentions were good—she put real effort into the food, and she spoke so gently and warmly. She didn't seem like a stepmother at all.
"It must be a stepmother," Wen Tao said with certainty. "If she were his real mother, would she be afraid to deliver it herself? If her own son treated her like that, she'd have slapped him long ago—no need to be so ingratiating."
Wen Li thought that made some sense too.
Ji Qingti added: "Exactly. What does their strained mother-son relationship have to do with us? We kindly brought him food out of the goodness of our hearts, and he turns around and gives you attitude. What kind of person is that? Our precious girl has been wronged."
The two of them went back and forth, growing more indignant with each word, as if Xiao Jinyu were standing right in front of them at a criticism session.
Wen Li sat nearby, watching her parents unite in righteous fury, and couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Wen Li said, "Mom, stop it."
Wen Tao: "Alright, alright, I'll stop. I won't meddle in other people's business anymore."
Ji Qingti chimed in: "Exactly. Good intentions, bad results."
As they chatted, Wen Tao brought up other topics—a new dessert shop that had opened downstairs, and how the cat belonging to Aunt Wang next door had given birth to a litter of kittens. Her tone was light, as if nothing had happened at all.
Wen Li responded half-heartedly, and seeing that it was getting late, she stood up. "I'm going to my room."
"Okay, sleep early," Wen Tao said. "What do you want to eat tomorrow? I'll make it for you."
"Anything's fine."
Wen Li closed the door and lay down on the bed. It was still raining outside, the sound of drizzle pattering against the windowsill.
She turned over and buried her face in the pillow. The pillow was soft, carrying the faint, clean scent of the family's laundry detergent.
Home is still the best place, she thought before closing her eyes.
_
Xiao Jinyu returned home in silence.
The door closed behind him. The room was dark, curtains drawn tight, with only a sliver of faint light seeping through the gap in the floor-to-ceiling window, casting the long-uninhabited house in a dim haze.
The air was damp, carrying a faint musty smell.
He walked into the bathroom, stuck his index finger into his mouth, and pressed against his throat.
A violent wave of nausea surged up.
His stomach convulsed, and everything he'd eaten that evening came rushing back up. Stomach acid burned his throat raw. He gripped the edge of the toilet, fine beads of cold sweat forming on his forehead.
After emptying his stomach, he slumped down, exhausted, onto the cold tile floor. Eyes closed, breathing slowly evening out.
His stomach was still spasming, his throat burning, but he felt no pain—as if he'd gone numb.
He raised his hand and flushed away the vomit. Standing up, he walked to the sink. The mirror reflected a pale face, drained of all color, like a ghost come to claim a life.
He stared at himself for a long moment, then called Jin Mo.
She was clearly surprised, her voice betraying delight: "A'yu?"
Xiao Jinyu paused for two seconds, then spoke in a heavy tone: "Why did you have Wen Li bring me food?"
Jin Mo froze for a moment, realizing she couldn't hide it anymore. Her voice dropped: "I'm sorry. I was worried you weren't eating dinner properly. I heard from your department head that you often skip dinner…"
"What does that have to do with you?"
"I'm worried about your health. Your father was a doctor—I know how intense the workload is. He died of stomach cancer at such a young age. You need to take care of yourself. Not eating is no good."
As if finding this absurd, Xiao Jinyu let out a cold laugh. "You're afraid I'll fail my physical exam, aren't you?"
The line went suddenly quiet.
"What do you take me for?" Xiao Jinyu's voice was cold, sharp as a blade. "A blood bank you're stocking?"
"Yo—what are you talking about? I never thought that."
"Then why did you go to such lengths to get close to her, to use her?"
"Don't make it sound so ugly. Where did I use her?" Jin Mo snapped, flustered and furious.
Xiao Jinyu didn't respond, his breathing growing heavier.
"That girl likes you. I gave her a hand, and you get to eat properly—a win-win. There's nothing as sordid as what you're imagining."
"…"
Jin Mo let out a laugh, her voice laced with thorns: "Right, that's just who you are. No matter how good someone is to you, you don't feel it, and you don't feel gratitude. You're just a heartless monster. What a waste of that girl's sincerity."
Xiao Jinyu didn't want to argue. He knew he could never out-talk her.
"My affairs are none of your business. I'm warning you—stay away from her," Xiao Jinyu said, his voice cold as ice. "Otherwise, don't blame me for refusing to sign the surgical consent form."
"You—"
He hung up before she could respond.
The room fell silent again.
He didn't hate Jin Mo, but at this moment, a disgust he'd never felt before welled up inside him. He hated her self-righteousness, hated her "it's for your own good" rhetoric. When she'd taken him away all those years ago, she'd said it was "for your own good." When she'd sent him back to the orphanage, she'd said the same. And now, dragging Wen Li into this, she was still saying "for your own good."
She was always so confident, always so sure her arrangements were right, never once asking whether anyone else wanted them.
What gave her the right?
What gave her the right to dictate his life?
But none of this had anything to do with Wen Li.
The rabbit avatar on WeChat still sat quietly at the top of the chat list. He tapped into it and scrolled up through her previous messages.
Big Pear: [What are you doing?]
Big Pear: [Cat food rankings from best to worst]
Big Pear: [sad puppy.jpg]
Big Pear: [Okay, you go ahead and work]
He knew she'd been deceived. She knew nothing. She was just being kind, unwittingly dragged into someone else's scheming.
He shouldn't take his anger out on her.
He wasn't someone prone to losing his temper. Over the years, he'd grown accustomed to holding things in. But today, looking at her, at those bright, radiant eyes, something he'd been suppressing for so long suddenly broke loose.
He knew it was wrong, but he'd lost control.
He stared at the chat window, his finger hovering over the input box. The apology he wanted to send was stuck in his throat, and he couldn't seem to organize the words.
She probably wouldn't want to talk to him anymore anyway.
Nian Gao came bounding down the stairs and slammed headfirst into his hand. The phone flew out of his grip and hit the floor.
Xiao Jinyu lowered his gaze and saw a fresh scratch on the back of his hand. He muttered to himself with a self-deprecating laugh, "Even you hate me."
"How could she possibly…"
Nian Gao had practically launched himself through the air. After his successful ambush, he landed, drifted across the polished tiles with a tail-whip slide, and made his escape.
_
After going home and getting some sleep, Wen Li felt much better. The next day, after breakfast, she headed back to school.
Jiang Zao seemed to have just woken up. She was sitting on her bed scrolling through her phone when she saw Wen Li push the door open. She looked up and asked, "Why didn't you come back yesterday?"
"I went home." Wen Li tossed her bag onto the chair and answered casually.
Jiang Zao found it a bit odd. "Why'd you go home before the weekend?"
"Something came up at home."
Wen Li brushed it off vaguely, not wanting to dwell on it. Jiang Zao could tell she wasn't in a great mood, so she tactfully didn't press further and went back to scrolling through her short videos.
Over the next few days, Wen Li completely quit her phone. No need to send him messages, no need to wait by the phone for replies. She went to class, trained, and slept—her days passed by in a routine rhythm.
One afternoon, with no classes, Jiang Zao was bored out of her mind and dragged a few girls from the dorm to go stock up at the supermarket.
Wen Li was bent over the dairy section, picking out yogurt, when she caught a figure walking in through the entrance in her peripheral vision.
Black t-shirt, lean build.
Wen Li instinctively looked up. Sure enough, it was him.
Her heart tightened. She set the yogurt back on the shelf, turned, and ducked into the snack aisle next to her.
At the entrance, Xiao Jinyu's footsteps also came to a halt.
Wen Li could feel his gaze drifting in her direction, and suddenly she was overcome with discomfort. What was he looking at her for?
She grabbed Jiang Zao beside her. "Let's go. I'm done shopping."
Jiang Zao hadn't even put down the bag of chips in her hand before she was being dragged toward the checkout counter.
They'd only taken two steps when Fu Qin darted over from behind, slapping Wen Li's shoulder with excitement. "Lili, Lili! I just saw your crush!"
Wen Li didn't slow her pace, her tone flat. "I know."
"Go talk to him!" Fu Qin gave her a shove. "What a perfect chance."
"No."
The two words came out stiff and hard, with a hint of sulkiness.
Fu Qin belatedly realized something was off.
In the past, she wouldn't have needed to urge her at all—this girl would've already scampered after him without a second thought. Come to think of it, she really hadn't heard her gush about her "crush" in a long time.
Fu Qin leaned in. "What's going on? Did you two have a fight?"
Wen Li: "No. I just don't like him anymore."
Fu Qin let out an "ah," almost thinking she'd misheard. "You don't like Xiao Jinyu anymore?"
"Is it that weird not to like him anymore?" Wen Li shot her a glance and said matter-of-factly, "I've recently got my eye on another handsome guy. Warm and outgoing, and he actually provides emotional support. A hundred times better than him."
Fu Qin was a bit stunned by the barrage of adjectives. "Who?"
Wen Li kept her head down and walked forward, her steps a little fast, like she was trying to escape something. As she rounded the shelf, she wasn't paying attention and collided head-on with someone.
She instinctively looked up.
Xiao Jinyu was standing right in front of her.
He looked thinner than he had a few days ago. The supermarket's cold white lighting made him seem lean and austere. He looked at her, his jawline slightly tense, his face expressionless, his gaze as indifferent as ever.
Wen Li's heart gave a sharp squeeze.
They held each other's gaze for a few seconds. He didn't speak, just stared straight at her. Wen Li was the first to look away. She sidestepped around him and walked past without a single word.
Behind her, Jiang Zao and Fu Qin exchanged bewildered glances.
"What's going on?" Jiang Zao whispered to Fu Qin. "Did they have a falling out?"
Fu Qin spread her hands, looking just as confused. "How should I know?"
Cheng Xiling stood a little farther away, taking in the whole scene.
She had some idea of the reason.
Back at the dorm, Cheng Xiling called Wen Li out into the hallway.
At the end of the corridor, the window was open, and the breeze carried a slight chill.
Leaning against the window, she asked, "Did you and Xiao Jinyu have a fight?"
Wen Li didn't want to talk about it. She was about to brush it off vaguely when Cheng Xiling asked, "Is it because of his mother?"
Wen Li's head snapped up, surprise flickering in her eyes. She suddenly remembered what Cheng Xiling had warned her about back in the dorm—"Xiao Jinyu's relationship with his mom is a bit complicated."
"Did you know Xiao Jinyu before?"
Cheng Xiling didn't deny it. She nodded. "We went to the same middle school."
Wen Li: "Then why did you never mention it?"
Cheng Xiling was silent for a moment. She looked up at her, her gaze calm but stubborn. "Because I didn't want to."
Wen Li was taken aback, the words catching in her throat.
Cheng Xiling gave a self-deprecating smile. "Do you think I'm selfish?"
"It's your choice whether to say it or not."
Anyway, Cheng Xiling didn't want to say anything—not about the deaf-mute boy, and not about knowing Xiao Jinyu. She had too many secrets, unlike her, who was practically an open book in the dorm.
Cheng Xiling didn't want to say it not because she wanted to see her make a fool of herself, but because she simply couldn't bring herself to say it.
She knew the other three girls in the dorm all came from well-off families. Jiang Zao was an only child from the Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai region, Fu Qin's family ran a business, and Wen Li went without saying—she was a local, and she'd given her an eight-hundred-yuan dress without even batting an eye.
Although she knew they wouldn't look down on her, her inferiority and timidity were ingrained in her bones, impossible to uproot. She never dared to bring up her family during the late-night dorm chats.
Because she knew they wouldn't be able to relate. After all, their topics were about where to travel during the holidays, what places were good to eat and fun to visit. As for her—her parents had both passed away, she'd been raised by her grandmother, and she had to count every penny of her monthly allowance.
In college, the gap between people seemed small on the surface. Everyone ate at the same cafeteria, lived in the same dorm, and looked no different from one another. But strip away the facade, and the differences in each person's horizons, backgrounds, and accumulated experiences had long since quietly widened.
Cheng Xiling was aware of this gap, but she didn't want anyone to see her embarrassment, nor did she want anyone's sympathy.
All she needed was to pretend she was no different from everyone else.
"This weekend," Cheng Xiling said. "This weekend I'll take you somewhere, and then you'll know."