Lin Yuchen is already out.
He’s sitting on a bench outside, wearing gray clothes, black pants, and a black baseball cap that hides half his face. He looks like he wants to be left alone.
But I’m not a stranger.
I stand across the street, trying to think of what to say. Just as I open my mouth, Lin Yuchen lifts his head and sees me.
He stands up and walks toward me.
“Why are you here? Who are you looking for?” Lin Yuchen asks.
“You’re so dense,” I frown. “Don’t ask questions you already know the answer to.”
“Know the answer?” Lin Yuchen repeats. His eyes turn red. He looks away. “I understand.”
I pat his shoulder, then remember how he dodged Chen Zifeng’s hand. I pull back, but Lin Yuchen looks almost disappointed.
As we walk to the bus stop, Lin Yuchen suddenly asks, “Have you picked anyone else up before?”
“Honestly, you’re the first person I know who’s been inside. Impressive, right?”
Lin Yuchen: “…”
I realize: Lin Yuchen is testing if he’s special.
So I add, “I’ve never listened to music on a rooftop with anyone else. And no one else has fought for me. You’re the first.”
Lin Yuchen freezes.
I see a fruit stand and stop. “I’m getting a fruit slushie. Wait here.”
When I turn around with my slushie, Lin Yuchen is gone.
I almost sit on the ground and cry.
Wait—I rub my eyes and see a familiar figure through the bookstore window.
Lin Yuchen comes out holding several books.
When he crosses the street, I see what they are: practice test books for every subject.
I stare. “Are you… studying?”
Lin Yuchen looks at me. “For you.”
He bought me study guides.
I’m still stunned when Lin Yuchen asks, “Are you happy?”
I smile. “Yeah.”
Lin Yuchen nods, satisfied. “Good.”
“Oh,” I add, “Tomorrow’s the school rally.”
Lin Yuchen says, “Chen Xiaofeng, I’ll be there.”
Lin Yuchen showed up at Mingde High early on Friday, just in time for the school rally—but I was even earlier, racing to the office to print extra copies of Bai Xue’s speech.
In the novel, Bai Xue, as the top student, is supposed to give a motivational speech on stage. But three minutes before she goes up, her script mysteriously disappears.
That alone wouldn’t be a disaster—Bai Xue could improvise. But, as if the heavens had it out for her, someone slips something into her water, making her heart race and her hands shake the moment she steps on stage. Total embarrassment.
When I hand Bai Xue a stack of scripts, her eyes widen. “Did the printer break?”
“Yep, broke,” I say. “Take a bunch. If one goes missing, you’ll still have one in your pocket.”
Bai Xue nods thoughtfully.
“I washed your cup and filled it with water.”
“I’ll add a tea bag.”
I snap, “No, tea makes the water colored.”
Bai Xue looks confused. “What’s wrong with that?”
“Clear water is healthier.”
She laughs. “You ate two popsicles yesterday.”
“That was yesterday. Yesterday’s business stays in yesterday.”
Bai Xue: “…”
“When you’re waiting backstage, watch your stuff. Especially your cup. In crowds, things go missing.” I sound like a paranoid grandma.
Bai Xue smiles. “You’re more overprotective than him now.”
“Don’t doubt it. It’s genetic.”
After my speech, I go do my duties, dragging a trash bin downstairs. Chen Zifeng happens to be coming up and helps me. As he takes the bin, he asks quietly, “I saw your search history on my phone. What’s going on?”
I freeze. “I forgot to delete it!”
“Duh, I knew you forgot. I’m asking why you went there.”
“Lin Yuchen was there yesterday.”
Chen Zifeng hesitates. “I don’t think he’s as bad as people say, but I still…”
“Still what?”
“Worry he’ll hit you.”
“He can’t beat me.”
Chen Zifeng: “Has he actually hit you?”
“I made it up.”
Chen Zifeng actually hits me.
I dodge. “Oh, Bai Xue said she wants bottled water. After you dump the trash, can you get her some?”
“Is that what you want?”
“If I wanted water, someone would get it for me.”
Chen Zifeng hits me again.
At the rally, Chen Zifeng sits behind me to keep an eye on me, occasionally muttering. I ignore him, watching Bai Xue on stage.
No shaking. No sweating. No stuttering.
Bai Xue delivers her speech perfectly.
I get thirsty and ask Chen Zifeng for water.
He hands me a tea bottle. I guzzle it down.
“This tea is good,” I say, handing it back. Then I notice something. “Why do you have Bai Xue’s water bottle?”
Chen Zifeng: “I grabbed it by accident. I didn’t drink from it.”
“No, I mean, who made the tea?”
“After I got her water, I made some for her. Why?”
I don’t know if it’s just my imagination, but my heart starts racing like it wants to jump out of my chest.
“I need air.” I tell Chen Zifeng.
He nods, eyes still on Bai Xue.
Outside, I regret it immediately. The sun is brutal. The heat makes me dizzy.
Then I hear a thud.
It’s me. I’m on the ground.
As my head throbs, I see someone running toward me. When he stops, I reach out and grab his ankle.
“Chen Xiaofeng?” The usually cool voice is tinged with worry.
I see a blurry figure, but I know who it is.
Before I can answer, I pass out.
The nurse’s office is freezing. I wake up sneezing.
Chen Zifeng is sitting by my bed, looking at his phone.
“Bro,” I say.
He puts his phone away. “The nurse said you had a bad reaction. Drink more water.”
I sit up. “More water?”
Chen Zifeng looks puzzled. “Lin Yuchen had the same reaction. He was weird. He asked what you ate today and insisted on taking Bai Xue’s water bottle.”
“Oh,” he adds, “he carried you here. So I’ve decided—”
“What?”
“Not to talk bad about him anymore.”
“Childish…”
When I find Lin Yuchen, he gives me two things: classroom surveillance footage and a report on the water bottle’s contents.
I’m impressed. “Thank you, thank you!”
Lin Yuchen shrugs. “It wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t hard. You’re not getting off with just a ‘thank you.’”
He always asks for little things, so I’m unfazed. “What do you want?”
“Buy me ice cream.”
I’m shocked. “You don’t like ice cream!”
Lin Yuchen smirks. “I never said that.”
“You liar.”
Lin Yuchen: “What are you gonna do about it?”
He’s got me.
But the real challenge is yet to come.
I confront Fang Meimei. She tries to run, but I block her. “Someone put something in Bai Xue’s water. Did you know?”
Fang Meimei glares. “Not my business. Are you looking for a fight?”
I’ve got evidence. “Want to see your little friends on camera?”
“I didn’t tell them to do it. They do what they want.”
“They’re your lackeys. If you say stop, they stop.” I glare. “If you don’t warn them, I’ll show Chen Zifeng and he’ll report it. No more tricks until after the college entrance exam. No tricks ever. If Bai Xue or Chen Zifeng are affected… No, there is no ‘if.’”
Fang Meimei turns and mutters, “Blame me for everything.”
At the corner, she suddenly goes quiet and speeds up.
It’s contagious.
Because I freeze too.
“Hi,” I say. “Why are you always here?”
“Following you.” Lin Yuchen is casual.
“You think I’ll skip out on you? I’ll treat you tonight.”
“Chen Xiaofeng,” Lin Yuchen changes the subject. “You really care about their exams.”
“Of course.”
Lin Yuchen: “If I do well, will you be happy?”
“I will.”
Lin Yuchen nods. The cold aura around him fades.
Later
With less than thirty days until June, the whole class is tense. Even Chen Zifeng and Bai Xue seem to have “broken up.”
My deskmate is bored. “Are they still together?”
“Top secret.”
“What about you and Lin Yuchen? Still together? Or is that top secret too?”
“Do you like me or something, always asking about my love life?” I pause. “If you want to know, go ask him.”
He laughs, then his smile freezes. “Chen Xiaofeng, you want me dead?”
I laugh so hard, I do two extra problems.
But “dating” is a joke. I really just want my deskmate to find out where Lin Yuchen is. I haven’t seen him in two weeks.
He’s vanished.
Chen Zifeng comes to check my answers. “Do your homework at break. Grandma and Grandpa are coming for dinner.”
“Okay.”
But Chen Zifeng is the one who can’t finish his homework. At 7 p.m., he grabs his bag and drags me home.
Chapter 05
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