The road to the bus stop is empty. The streetlights are broken. It’s dark and quiet.
Suddenly, headlights shine from behind, lighting up the road. I jump.
Scenes from the novel flash in my mind. I break out in a cold sweat.
I’m walking on the outside, but I shove Chen Zifeng inward. He grabs me back, almost dislocating my elbow. We both fall into the grass. The pain is so bad, I think I’m ascending to heaven.
When I recover, I check my legs.
All limbs intact. No blood.
I burst into tears.
Chen Zifeng is confused. “Are you hurt? Can you move? If you can, you’re fine. Stop crying. We’re both fine.”
Oh, right. We’re fine.
The driver stops and asks, “Kids, are you okay? Do you need to go to the hospital?”
Chen Zifeng waves him off. “We’re fine.”
I realize this has nothing to do with the novel’s accident.
I dry my tears.
Chen Zifeng feels guilty. He promises to walk on the outside next time.
At home, he’s still guilty. He gives me all the chicken legs and gets my phone back from Mom.
I realize I’d do it all over again to protect him.
After that, Chen Zifeng moves into the dorm too.
What happens next isn’t in the novel.
On exam day, I walk into the test center with Chen Zifeng and Bai Xue.
Chen Xiaofeng, you’re here. You’ll write like a sword unsheathed. You’ll have a bright future.
No wheelchair. No staring at the ceiling for years.
I sit down and glance to the side. There’s a familiar face I haven’t seen in a while. Lin Yuchen looks at me, eyes bright.
He doesn’t say anything, but I know what he’s thinking:
“Buy me ice cream tonight. The 15-yuan kind.”
Epilogue
Chen Zifeng and Bai Xue go on a graduation trip together. When Bai Xue invites me, Chen Zifeng steps on my foot three times until I say, “No, thanks.”
So I stay home, listening to cicadas.
And occasionally, to Lin Yuchen’s nonsense.
One day, I’m scrolling on the couch when my phone buzzes. I run to the window and yell down, “I don’t go out with strangers.”
Lin Yuchen looks up. “Chen Xiaofeng, female, age 18. Always melts ice cream on her hands. If she naps more than an hour, she wakes up mad…”
So annoying.
I’m busted.
I go downstairs. Lin Yuchen is standing by his motorcycle, tall and lean. He looks perfect next to it.
He puts a helmet on me and helps me onto the bike. I wrap my arms around his waist.
In the novel, when Lin Yuchen is upset, he rides recklessly.
But with me, he goes slow. Even electric bikes pass us.
I ask if he ever rides fast without me.
“I don’t dare,” he says, voice light in the summer wind. “Chen Xiaofeng, I don’t dare.”
I believe him.
He’s not the Lin Yuchen who wanted to take his dad with him anymore.
After the exams, he moves out of that “home.” I told him to, and he listened.
I hug him tighter, resting my head on his back. I wish the ride could last forever.
And maybe, just maybe, it will.
END