Xu Anhao turned and went into the main room, rummaging through the cabinet for that bottle of medicinal liquor.
She had brought it back from the city, still unopened. A red label was stuck to the bottle, printed with the words "invigorates blood and dispels stasis."
She carried the medicinal liquor back out to the yard and handed it to Xiao Feng.
"Here, rub this on."
Xiao Feng glanced at it and pulled his sleeve down without a care.
"It's just a small injury. No need."
Xu Anhao looked at him.
"Pour a little out, rub it in. It'll heal faster."
Xiao Feng didn't move.
Xu Anhao just held the bottle up like that, without pressing him.
After a few seconds of standoff, Xiao Feng caved.
He took the medicinal liquor, unscrewed the cap, and poured a little into his palm. The pungent smell of the medicinal liquor immediately spread out, strong enough to make him wrinkle his nose.
He pressed the liquor onto his arm and rubbed hard a few times.
It hurt.
But he didn't make a sound.
As he rubbed, he secretly raised his eyes and looked at Xu Anhao.
She was looking down at his arm. Sunlight leaked through the gaps in the jujube tree leaves and fell on her face, making every one of her eyelashes distinct.
His heart suddenly skipped a beat.
His hand slowed.
After hesitating for a long while, he still asked.
"You… still leaving?"
Xu Anhao raised her head and looked at him.
He didn't look up, just kept his head lowered, staring at the towel on his arm.
Sunlight leaked through the gaps in the jujube tree leaves and fell on the side of his face.
That patch of skin was somewhat red from sun exposure—the color cultivated by years of working in the fields—red beneath the black, with a faint mark on his forehead from where a straw hat had pressed.
The fingers gripping the towel were rough, with prominent knuckles. Dark lines ran across his palm—calluses worn from gripping a hoe handle. At the base of his thumb there was still a half-healed crack, revealing pale pink new flesh.
His hands were so rough it was as if the past two years of his life had been ground into his skin.
It made whoever looked at them feel terrible inside.
Xiao Feng had done well in school since he was young. Anyone could see he was cut out for studying.
Xu Anhao wanted to help him, but she couldn't directly say that the college entrance exam would be restored this year.
She was silent for a few seconds.
"Xiao Feng."
"Hm?"
"In the village, every day you just earn work points?"
Xiao Feng was stunned for a moment, not understanding why she suddenly asked this.
"…Yeah."
"Do you still want to study?"
Xiao Feng's brow twitched.
"Study?" He smiled bitterly. "What for? There's no college entrance exam. Even if I finished, I'd just come back and earn work points anyway. It's only a matter of time. And you didn't keep studying either."
Xu Anhao's heart stirred slightly.
That sentence made her even more certain of one thing—part of the reason Xiao Feng gave up high school back then was indeed because the original host hadn't tested in.
She didn't pick up that thread.
She had come back this time to prepare for the exam.
But she couldn't say it outright. News of the college entrance exam being restored hadn't been officially announced yet. Saying it would only cause trouble.
She just looked at him.
At the light that flashed briefly in the depths of his eyes, and the dimness after that light went out.
She lowered her voice.
"In the city, I heard some rumors."
Xiao Feng raised his head.
"What rumors?"
Xu Anhao paused.
"There might be… a restoration of the college entrance exam."
Xiao Feng froze.
He looked at her as if he hadn't heard clearly, or as if he had heard but didn't dare believe it.
"What did you say?"
"There's no confirmed news." Xu Anhao looked at him seriously. "Don't spread it around for now. Don't tell anyone. You're cut out for studying—don't throw away your textbooks."
Xiao Feng opened his mouth.
His head was buzzing, as if something was churning inside.
Restoring the college entrance examination?
Then…
But he didn't ask himself—he looked at her.
"If that day really comes," he said, staring into her eyes, his voice a little tight, "do you want to take it?"
Xu Anhao was stunned for a moment.
She saw a complex emotion in his eyes—anticipation, worry, and a cautious probing.
She thought about it.
The original owner's grades were poor; that was a fact. But she couldn't give herself away in front of Xiao Feng, and she certainly couldn't let anyone think she had suddenly become a different person.
"If there's a chance," she said, "I'll take it."
After a pause, she added:
"I haven't had much to do in the city these past two years. I just like flipping through books. The things I didn't know before—I've pretty much learned them all."
As Xiao Feng listened, the worry in his eyes slowly dissolved, as if something had been lit up.
He opened his mouth, about to say something—
Suddenly, a commotion came from outside.
It wasn't ordinary noise—it was the kind of uproar like a pot boiling over, shouts, footsteps, and people yelling something, all mixed together into an indistinct hum.
It was louder than the sound of their fight earlier.
Xu Anhao and Xiao Feng looked toward the courtyard entrance at the same time.