This was the second time Qin Ling had heard the word "bird" come out of Li Yuyuan's mouth.
The first time was "Angry Birds."
If nothing unexpected happened, the two times were probably referring to the same person.
However, Li Yuyuan's tone this time wasn't like last time, where he was just saying it for fun.
Qin Ling inexplicably felt a chill for Fei Chaichai and warned, "Don't go messing with that young girl. Can't you tell she likes Yan Ci?"
"Is that so."
Li Yuyuan tilted his head up, gazing at the lone returning bird at the edge of the sky. His voice sounded a bit regretful, but the expression shrouded in the night was unfathomable.
The air fell into silence.
Qin Ling, who was always talkative, rarely became mute.
Li Yuyuan found it rather amusing, letting out a low chuckle. His gaze continued to follow the flying bird as he said lazily, "Don't worry, I have no interest in snatching someone away."
"…"
That made him even more worried.
Qin Ling had known Li Yuyuan for ten years. He couldn't guarantee he understood him a hundred percent, but one thing was certain—
Even if he always did things on a whim, he had always been clear about his goals and driven by self-interest.
Yet today, two things had happened that went against this principle.
First, he had rejected a project that other companies would kill to get.
Second, in order to get a small favor from that young girl, he had owed the old bureau chief a big favor.
The former could still be explained as consideration for the company's future development. After all, cooperating with a big group like the Qu Corporation would inevitably be restricted by a bunch of cumbersome rules.
But the latter?
Qin Ling couldn't figure it out no matter how he thought about it.
Perhaps, long before the alley incident, Li Yuyuan had already seen that young girl. Otherwise, these abnormal things couldn't have happened one after another.
But since he couldn't get the real reason out of him, even if he wanted to intervene, he couldn't. He could only let it go: "Fine, fine, do whatever you want. Anyway, if you end up tasting the bitterness of love and never recover from it, don't blame me for not warning you."
After finishing personal matters, Qin Ling brought up business: "What are you going to do about the old bureau chief? He'll definitely come talk to you again later. I'd like to see how you refuse him when you owe him a favor."
The weary bird returned to its nest.
The sky was left empty, with only clouds.
Li Yuyuan turned his gaze back, glancing at Qin Ling, his voice cool and indifferent: "Just say I tasted the bitterness of love and never recovered."
Qin Ling: "…"
Not only did he brush off his words, but he even mocked him?
So confident he wouldn't stumble in love?
Qin Ling suddenly didn't want to be human anymore.
That girl should really give him a taste of love's colors, let him know what it meant to not listen to the elder's advice and suffer losses right before his eyes!
And the girl he had high hopes for was still sprinting back to school.
The bad news was, she had pedaled her shared bike with all her might, yet still couldn't make it to evening self-study and was stopped outside the school gate.
The good news was, her peaceful days were preserved.
While locking her bike, Fei Chaichai finally saw the message Qiao Xiaoyu had sent half an hour ago—
[Chaichai, just go back and rest well today. I've already asked for leave for you.]
[If you're still in a bad mood tomorrow, I'll tell you some good news. I promise it'll bring you back to life.]
Although Fei Chaichai didn't know why her mood would be bad, for the sake of this seemingly amazing good news, she could inexplicably be in a bad mood.
The next day, she got up early, came to the classroom, and with a "thud," collapsed onto Qiao Xiaoyu's desk, gasping weakly: "Xiaoyu, quick, the… good… good news…"
"…Chaichai, don't you think you're overacting a bit?" Qiao Xiaoyu said with a helpless look.
It was supposed to be a bad mood, but she had turned it into a scene of someone who would die from poison the next second if she didn't get the antidote.
Fei Chaichai let out an "ah," propped herself up, muttered "Is it?" and worriedly asked, "Then is my good news gone?"
"It's there." Seeing that she wanted to hear the good news even while acting, Qiao Xiaoyu imitated her way of putting the cart before the horse, pulling out a thin piece of paper from her book and placing it on the desk.
Fei Chaichai looked closely.
It was actually—tickets to the National Summer Swimming Championships!
Qiao Xiaoyu added information: "It's the one your new crush, No. 99, is competing in. By then, the college entrance exam will be over, so you can freely pursue love."
The moment those words were spoken, Fei Chaichai's brain was instantly filled with No. 99 wearing only a pair of swim trunks.
Her little face instantly turned bright yellow. She grabbed Qiao Xiaoyu's hand and said with emotion: "Xiaoyu, thank you for adding bricks and tiles to my love life!"
Qiao Xiaoyu shook off her goosebumps: "How are you still addicted to acting?"
"This time it's genuine!" Fei Chaichai raised one hand to swear while drawing circles on the desk with the other, stammering, "It's just that… I might not be able to use this ticket. Actually, I signed up to be a volunteer for the Summer Championships a long time ago, so… why don't you come see my new crush too!"
This surprised Qiao Xiaoyu a bit.
A person who never made plans had actually learned to plan ahead this time. Interest really was the best teacher.
She was happy for Fei Chaichai's growth, but declined: "I won't go. I can't handle the battlefield of old and new crushes."
Old flame?
"Who?" Fei Chaichai asked, full of curiosity, as if she were listening to gossip about someone else.
Qiao Xiaoyu: "…Number 66."
"…Oh!" Fei Chaichai remembered.
The reason he was called an old flame was because Number 66 had long been out of the picture.
But his appearance wasn't entirely meaningless.
The day she crossed him off, heaven took pity on her and fatefully brought her to meet his teammate, Number 99.
Even though she had long forgotten what happened back then, she still clearly remembered that flutter of excitement.
Seeing that her "oh" led to nothing more, Qiao Xiaoyu reminded her: "What if you run into Number 66 that day?"
"If I run into him, I'll say hi—" Fei Chaichai blinked, starting to doubt herself at such a common-sense question, and switched her tone mid-sentence, "—I guess?"
"…"
Oblivious as she was, she probably had no idea what the question was really getting at.
Qiao Xiaoyu spelled it out directly: "Normal people usually choose to avoid their old flame when they meet them."
"Is that so…" Fei Chaichai scratched the back of her head, a little embarrassed. "Then I guess I'm pretty unusual, huh."
"…"
Qiao Xiaoyu stopped worrying about it.
She believed that even if the King of Heaven himself showed up, Fei Chaichai could handle it just fine with that unusual brain of hers.
Having heard the good news, Fei Chaichai returned to her seat at ease.
Her desk was still exactly as she'd left it yesterday.
The sketchbook sat on top.
Yesterday at the police station, to avoid being held accountable for her rude remarks, Fei Chaichai had deliberately not mentioned the sketchbook.
But she never expected Li Yuyuan to let the "defective goods" comment slide, instead latching onto an irrelevant "thank you."
When in fact, the thing she should have said to him most was "I'm sorry."
Clearly, this person had some serious issues with his thinking.
Fei Chaichai, seeing someone else's flaws and reflecting on her own, decided to be a person of her word and asked: "Xiaoyu, do you know how to give a gift?"
Qiao Xiaoyu was used to her leaps in thought, didn't ask why, and answered succinctly: "If you want to avoid mistakes, give the other person something they need."
"Something they need…"
Fei Chaichai propped her chin on her hand, repeating softly, and began to think about what Li Yuyuan might be lacking.
She thought for three days.
On the weekend, Fei Chaichai finally had a stroke of inspiration and found the answer. She traveled far and wide to prepare a "generous gift" and carried it with her at all times, just in case.
But ever since they parted ways at the police station that night, Li Yuyuan had vanished into thin air, just like Number 108.
Fei Chaichai never ran into him again.
Gradually, she forgot about the whole thing, spending her days enjoying life in the colorful world.
Life was rich and varied, and time flew by.
Mid-June.
The annual college entrance exam came to an end, and the four-day Summer Championship arrived as scheduled.
Fei Chaichai got her wish and became a volunteer.
According to the rules, volunteers were forbidden from contacting athletes privately.
So for the first three days, she worked diligently, doing her job—hauling equipment, delivering starting pistol bullets—and held back her restlessness until the last day.
Because no one was watching anymore.
Once the competition ended, Fei Chaichai finished wrapping up her work and rushed into the arena with everyone else.
Earlier in the stands, she had already locked onto Number 99's position, so all she had to do now was head straight toward her target.
But the arena was full of guys—young in age, but big in every other way.
Fei Chaichai couldn't help getting distracted. Under the brim of her cap, a pair of glassy eyes darted around busily, completely unaware that in the empty stands, a gaze remained fixed on her the entire time.
In just fifty meters, Fei Chaichai walked until she was dizzy, her heart racing. She wanted to stop and catch her breath, but a furious shout rang out: "Fei Chaichai!"
She flinched, thinking the discipline director had come to catch her, but quickly realized the voice was the wrong gender and turned around boldly.
The guy who called her stood not far away, wearing the swim team uniform, surrounded by a crowd of people.
Eh…
Number 66?
Fei Chaichai felt a pang of shame.
To avoid accidental contact, she had wrapped herself up tightly, yet Number 66 could still recognize her at a glance. Meanwhile, all he'd done was put on clothes, and she almost didn't recognize him.
Good thing Qiao Xiaoyu had guessed the question right.
Fei Chaichai wasn't flustered at all. She pushed up the brim of her cap, revealing her eyes, and waved at him: "Hello!"
Her carefree, grinning face was especially glaring.
Number 66 didn't respond. He said "sorry" to the fans waiting for autographs and photos, then walked toward her.
As the distance between them shrank and he showed no sign of stopping, Fei Chaichai quickly backed away, raising a hand to stop him: "Just say it from there! My hearing's great!"
Back then she'd tried every trick to make physical contact with him, and now she was avoiding him like the plague.
Number 66 let out a cold laugh: "Is messing with me fun?"
Fei Chaichai: "…"
She hadn't meant to love him and leave him either.
The problem was, back then she'd chased him for three months, and the moment she finally got to hold his hand, it swelled up like a pig's head. How could she dare get anywhere near him again!
Fei Chaichai's brows were nearly tied in a knot from her predicament, and unwilling to lie, she explained sincerely, "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, but I swear, I absolutely wasn't playing you. Before I discovered that our bodies weren't compatible, I genuinely really liked you!"
No. 66: "…?"
Bodies… not… compatible?
His face darkened as he tried to ask for clarification, but another wave of spectators surged forward.
By the time he pushed through the crowd, the girl had already vanished.
However, Fei Chaichai wasn't running away—she had spotted No. 99, remembered the main quest, and chased after him at full speed, nearly following him into the men's restroom.
Noticing the strange looks from passersby, she stopped abruptly, walked calmly to a corner, pulled out her phone, and pretended to be busy, sending a voice message to Qiao Xiaoyu: "Xiaoyu, you're really wise—running into an old flame is definitely something to avoid."
After reporting the bad news, she shared the good: "The good news is, I'm about to meet my new love soon!"
Whoosh.
The voice message sent successfully.
Fei Chaichai hugged her phone, waiting happily, unaware that a light, calm voice had fallen from somewhere, cutting through the noisy clamor to remind her: "Your old flame is catching up."
"…"
What! The!
Fei Chaichai's smile froze, and she instinctively turned her head to check No. 66's distance.
But the moment her neck moved, the "kind soul" pointed her in another direction: "Turn left up ahead, and you'll find the stairwell."
Fei Chaichai: "!"
It seemed the situation was quite dire.
She wasn't afraid of No. 66, but she was afraid of allergies. She said "thanks" and, with great reluctance, abandoned her new love and bolted, not noticing anything amiss.
Turning left really did lead to the stairwell.
Fei Chaichai hid inside without hesitation.
Just as she was about to breathe a sigh of relief, the safety door in front of her suddenly stopped a second before it was about to close.
A hand from outside held the door in place.
The hand had knuckles so perfectly defined.
As it exerted force, the tendons buried beneath the skin surfaced one by one, ending at a wrist bone so smoothly contoured it was almost sharp.
Continuing downward were only blue veins and a wispy, smoke-like tattoo.
Fei Chaichai started, immediately looking up.
In the last sliver of light, she met a pair of eyes she hadn't seen in a long time.
Dark and heavy, their gaze deep and profound, fixed on her with a directness that made her heart race, as if they might swallow her whole at any moment.