Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It was Qi Ji, the new transfer student.

With the light behind him, his eyes looked bright and clear. Wrapped in his school uniform jacket, with the faint scent of laundry detergent clinging to it, my heart pounded wildly.

After that, he went to find a teacher.

And after that, Qi Ji started walking me back to the dorm building every day since it was on his way.

There was an osmanthus tree downstairs from the dorm. When autumn came, it turned a brilliant gold and filled the air with a rich, sweet fragrance. He would always stop beneath the tree and say, “This is as far as I go.”

On the last day before winter break, he walked me all the way to the building where I lived.

Back then, my family still lived in an old residential complex. The lights in the stairwell had been broken for years, and no one had ever bothered to fix them. Once night fell, it was frighteningly dark. Qi Ji took out his phone, switched on the flashlight, and shone it on the path beneath my feet.

“Here is fine,” I said. “I’ll go up.”

He nodded and turned the flashlight even brighter. It wasn’t until I reached the third floor that I saw him turn and leave.

I leaned against the shadow beside the door and waited until that beam of light vanished completely around the corner.

Only then did I turn to go inside-straight into Chen Shuyan’s eyes, which were bright with undisguised malice.

I had no idea how long she’d been standing there. Arms crossed, leaning by the window, she glanced downstairs with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile. “Boyfriend?”

My brow twitched, but I looked at her expressionlessly.

“A friend.”

“Someone like you can have friends?” Chen Shuyan laughed, her voice soft and sharp. “How rare.”

I ignored her, knocked my shoulder into hers, and squeezed through the door.

Some time later, Qi Ji messaged me and asked if I wanted to go to the riverside to watch the New Year’s Eve fireworks.

I stared at the screen for a long time before replying with one word: “Okay.”

When I left the house, Chen Shuyan followed me.

She was wearing an ivory cashmere coat. Her hair, which she’d been growing out for more than half a year and now just brushed her shoulders, was worn loose. She had light makeup on, making her look pure and innocent.

“Mom and Dad told me to keep an eye on you.” She curved her eyes at me in a smile. “If you don’t take me, don’t even think about going out.”

I couldn’t help gritting my teeth. “Chen Shuyan, what are you trying to do?”

“I want to see the fireworks too. What’s wrong with that?” She shrugged. “Anyway, Mom already said yes.”

Before I could say anything else, the car had already stopped at the entrance to the complex. Chen Shuyan walked ahead of me, opened the door, and got into the back seat.

Qi Ji lifted his head. When he saw Chen Shuyan, he froze for a moment.

“Hello, I’m Chen Xi’s older sister.” Chen Shuyan smiled, her eyes curving. “I hope I’m not interrupting you two?”

“Not at all.” Qi Ji quickly recovered. “The more, the merrier.”

I didn’t want to sit next to Chen Shuyan, so I turned and got into the front passenger seat.

The riverside was packed. When the fireworks exploded overhead, everyone tilted their faces up and cried out in amazement.

Chen Shuyan stood beside Qi Ji. Suddenly, she sneezed.

Almost instinctively, Qi Ji took off his coat and draped it over her shoulders.

Chen Shuyan pulled the coat around herself, lifted her face to look at him, and her eyes shone with the reflected fireworks. “Thank you.”

Qi Ji pressed his lips together. In the night, the tips of his ears flushed a faint, almost imperceptible red.

I stood two steps away from them.

The wind off the river was so cold my fingers had gone stiff.

The fireworks were still going, one burst after another, lighting up half the sky.

It was unbearably noisy.

I turned around. Without saying goodbye to either of them, I pushed through the crowd and walked back.

Behind me came Chen Shuyan’s laughing voice. “Qi Ji, look at that firework. It’s so pretty.”

I didn’t look back.

After school started again, I never spoke to Qi Ji again.

Our classrooms were next to each other, so I often saw him. He was always there, like a shadow at the edge of my sight, but he never called out to me again either.

The bullying continued. Those girls would corner me in the stairwell, slap me, kick me in the knees. I leaned against the wall, never fighting back, never crying.

A general on the march doesn’t stop to chase rabbits.

I was going to record every single debt, one by one, and put it all on Chen Shuyan’s tab.

Qi Ji came down the stairs.

His steps faltered slightly. Then he lowered his head and quickly passed through the hallway behind me.

Those girls burst into loud laughter behind him.

I heard people say Qi Ji was pursuing Chen Shuyan.