“Dad, you’re back in the country.” She whispered. Only when he returned, would her father remember to give her a call.
“Xiao Mi......” Her father’s sighing. “Why didn’t you tell me about transferring school, and why transfer so far? You even changed your number. If not for Hao Yang, are you prepared to cut off all contact with your father?”
“No, I thought Dad could only return in November. I didn’t want to disrupt your work.” Xiao Mi’s tone was very formal. “Here, changing my number is cheaper and more worthwhile. I intended to contact Dad after you returned.”
“Xiao Mi, it’s been half a year, don’t......”
“Dad!” Xiao Mi interrupted him. “Have you been well recently? Did anything interesting happen in Guinea?”
“I’m fine, don’t worry.” Her father hesitated, and finally let out a sigh. “The weather in the North is very different from the West. You must take care of yourself over there, don’t get sick. Don’t make Dad worry about you.”
“Mm.”
“I’ll be setting off to Iraq in a few days; it’ll be about three to four months.”
“It seems chaotic over there, Dad, you must be careful.”
“Okay. The both of us must take care of our health respectively.” A pause. “Xiao Mi, do you have enough money with you? Before Dad leaves, he can wire some money to you.”
“It’s fine. There are many children from poorer, less developed countries who need them more. I have enough here.”
“Xiao Mi, Dad has let you down.”
“Dad, what are you talking about?” Xiao Mi smiled. “I’m very proud to have a father like you. You’re just like an angel, caring for so many people who need you. Besides, I’m already grown up. I won’t cling onto Dad and make a big fuss like when I was young and unreasonable.”
The receiver on the other end stayed silent for a long while. Xiao Mi seemed to hear his father sigh.
“Dad, what is it? I really am well, you don’t need to worry.” She reassured him, smiling.
“From now on, Dad will give you a call fortnightly, is that okay?”
“Mm, okay.”
Then, the two of them suddenly found themselves with nothing to say. Since she was seven, after her mother passed away, this phone call has already lasted a much longer duration than the past half year.
“Xiao Mi, Hao Yang is beside me. He wants to talk to you.”
“Hao Yang?” Xiao Mi was stunned, and then hastily spoke. “Don’t, I’m a little busy now......”
But a voice has already barraged into her ear.
“Xiao Mi!”
A low, painful groan, carrying the nightmarish memories of the past, barricaded into Xiao Mi’s eardrums.
“Xiao Mi, can you hear me? I’m Hao Yang!”
Xiao Mi shut her eyes, struggling to let all her memories settle. She tightened her grip on the highlighter, and exhaled.
“Hao Yang......”
“You really did run away! You don’t even bother with a greeting now?! Do you know how hard I’ve searched for you! I thought you were missing, and in trouble! With a serious matter like transferring, why didn’t you discuss with me?!”
Xiao Mi bit down on her lip. “I’m sorry, Hao Yang......”
“He’s already dead! Xiao Mi, he’s dead!” That voice grew into a roar, as if dying to emerge from the phone to grab and shake her violently.
“Zheng Hao Yang......” Xiao Mi’s face was off-colour.
“Yi is dead! In the hospital’s mortuary, you too touched his corpse! Purplish from the cold, without a sign of life! He’s dead! He has completely passed away! That person can’t be Yi! Even with Yi’s heart, he isn’t him! Won’t you wake up? Could it be that you’ve really gone insane!”
Xiao Mi’s body started to tremble. The agitated voice on the phone accompanied by the ebony night sky was like a savage demon’s claw, swallowing her into a tenebrous nightmare.
“Xiao Mi, come back, Yi is already......”
“Say that word again.” Xiao Mi’s whispered. “If you say that word again, Zheng Hao Yang, I swear you’re no longer Yi and my friend.”
A deep breath on the other end.
“Xiao Mi......”
“Zheng Hao Yang, you obviously know Yi is still alive, he’s still living in this world! As long as he’s here, doesn’t matter if it’s a finger, a hair, I’ll be there by his side! Wherever I go, how I am, I don’t have to tell you. I love Yi, no matter if it’s a thousand or ten thousand years, the one I love is still only Yi. You—should just forget about me.”
‘Piack.’ With that, the phone was shut. She clamped down on her lips, her body trembling sporadically. The scent of Gardenias suffusing the room made it hard to breathe.
Yi......
Why do they all claim you’re dead? You are clearly alive, you’re still living well. I can hear you breathe; I can see your smile, feel your warmth. You’re alive, I know you are, I know you’d never, never bear to leave me......
But.
Why do the tears keep dispersing on my face......
Salty tears, running all over her face; moist pale lips. Her heart was cold; she tried to inhale, but air didn’t enter. It seemed as if the icy tears have surged into her heart, without interval for breathing......
Xiao Mi collapsed onto the desk.
She couldn’t hear the sound of crying. Her shadow was distended long and thin by the table lamp. The gardenia flowers quietly puffed whiffs of fragrance. The ivory of the petals were so white, they seemed bloodless.
“Ding dong~~”
The ringtone rang again.
Xiao Mi covered her ears. She doesn’t want to listen, listen to those ridiculous words!
The phone made a commotion with its persistent ringing.
She grabbed it, prepared to pluck the battery out so it would never ring again. Then, she saw the incoming number on the screen—
“Yi Tang Yao”
When did she save it? Amidst her tears, her mind was a blank.
“Hey! What took you so long to pick up!”
“......”
“Say something!”
“......”
“Are you crying?” Yi Tang Yao’s voice was momentarily flustered, then angered. “Who bullied you, tell me!”
“No, I just......” Xiao Mi hurriedly wiped away her tears, and released a few coughs, to get rid of the lump in her throat.
“Just what?”
“I want to see you......” Xiao Mi closed her eyes, her voice light.
“......” Yi Tang Yao started for a while. “Hey! We just met in the afternoon, and I’ll be busy at night. I don’t have time.”
“...... Heehee, I was joking.”
“Really?”
“Mm.”
“Then, I’ll meet you at the gate at 8pm.” Yi Tang Yao spoke stiffly.
“......”
“I’m only giving you twenty minutes! Whatever you have to say, say it fast! I’m hanging up!”
The phone reverberated the tone of an ended call.
The gardenias’ scent mildly drifted by.
Before the desk, Xiao Mi strained to breathe hard, telling herself to get her spirits up! She pinched her cheeks, flashing a vibrant smile in front of the mirror. Even though that smile still hid the remnants of tears.
* * *
The night sky was scattered with twinkling constellations.
The court within the Business Faculty was lit with dim streetlamps. A few guys were playing soccer, fooling around in the midst of it. The running track’s colour is no longer distinguishable at this time of night. Meanwhile, conversations, music and laughter constantly travelled from the open-air theatre nearby.
Xiao Mi ran round after round on the track.
Sweat percolated from her body. She ran extremely slow; as the night breeze fanned her, a new layer of sweat coated the skin that had just been dried. Her body was hot from running, yet sweating itself gave her the refreshing feeling of getting free. Everyone has limited water content in his body, should they all turn to sweat, there wouldn’t be any left for tears.
She ran slowly.
The smile on her lips was seemingly transparent, like an angel’s wing under the night sky.
At the fifth round, a shadow emerged from under the streetlamps along the track. This figure was long and slender; hair moist as if out of a shower, freshened, as water droplets off the tips of his hair glittered with the luminescence of stars. The diamond on his nose sparkled with a stunning splendor. Under the curtain of night, at that moment, he really seemed to be glowing. Even the stars could not outshine him.
He stared at Xiao Mi, and hooked his finger.
Xiao Mi hurried over, bewildered.
“I told you to wait at the entrance, so why are you running here?! Do you want to die?!” Yi Tang Yao’s eyes blazed. Damn it, he didn’t even have time to dry his hair after shower, and here she is, leisurely taking off on some stupid run!
“Ah, it’s already eight? I thought......” She fished out her phone, flustered, glancing at the time—
7:40
She scratched her head in embarrassment. “Sorry, I think the time’s slow on the phone. Then...... have you waited for very long?”
Yi Tang Yao’s face was rigid, wordless. He would never give her the chance to find out that he had rushed out after shower, and had not even noticed the time.
Xiao Mi stole a glance at him. “Thanks.”
“For what!”
She laughed lightly. “Nothing, just thanks.” Only at the sight of him, with him by her side, would her frantic, fearful heart regain its calm.
Yi Tang Yao stared at her.
Weird woman!
He reached out a hand to grab at her chin, lifting it into the light. He scrutinized her face with a frown.
“Why did you cry?”
“I didn’t......”
“Say it!”
“It hurts......”
“Your eyes are red and swollen, you think I’m an idiot?! Tell me, who bullied you! Is it that......” He suddenly cut off.
“Who?” Xiao Mi forgot her pain, and urged him on inquisitively.
“Cough! Yang Ke Wei.” His expression was slightly odd. “Was it her?!”
“Why would you think it’s her?” Now, she’s even more curious.
“You just have to say yes or no! Cut the bullshit!” He growled, his expression increasingly strange.
“Have you gone out with Yang Ke Wei?” Upon recollection, the first time she met him in class, Guo Guo mentioned that Yang Ke Wei and Na Lu were his girlfriends.
“No!”
“Then, why would she bully me?” She blinked. “That, you seem to slightly look down on girls.”
He glared at her with a foul expression.
“Even if you rejected her, she might not bear hatred towards me. You’re too conceited. Yang Ke Wei may not like me, but she never did anything to me. I do find her an adorable girl.” Her smile was sweet, eyes curved in arches.
“Conceited?”
“Heehee.” She scratched her head guiltily. Shit, she really said that word, didn’t she?
“You said I’m conceited?!” He was on the verge of losing it.
“Ah...... that......” She deliberated, racking her brains for something to salvage this. “That...... ah! Right! Has it been twenty minutes?”
“What twenty minutes!”
“You said you could only meet me for twenty minutes. She glimpsed at her phone, her smile candid. “It’s about to be twenty minutes, you can return now, heehee.”
“Mi Ai—“ He ground his teeth viciously.
A perilous atmosphere......
Xiao Mi gingerly stepped back.
“Piack!”
A flick exploded on her forehead! She squealed in pain. Ugh, she wasn’t able evade it after all.
“Do I look like someone you can call out, and dismiss according to your whims? Do you wish to die!” Yi Tang Yao stared at her. “I refuse to leave!”
“...... Oh.”
Xiao Mi massaged her forehead. If you don’t want to go, don’t; why resort to violence.
“...... Does it hurt?”
His tone was rigid.
She moaned. “It’s painful.”
“Piack!” Another blow across her brow!
It hurt so much tears almost stream from Xiao Mi’s eyes. Ugh, Yi Tang Yao you violence maniac.
“I’m asking you, does it hurt?!”
He was dangerously close to raising his finger, preparing its intimate contact with her forehead.
“...... You...... want me to say it hurts...... or doesn’t......” She peeked at her carefully through the gaps of her fingers.
“Tell the truth!”
“That...... it seems a little painful......”
His finger hooked in, as if to mercilessly hit her any second.
“But, in actuality, it doesn’t hurt at all! Eh, it really doesn’t!” Xiao Mi rattled in a flurry. “It doesn’t hurt! It doesn’t hurt! How strange!”
“Mm.”
He seemed contented with this, as his huge hand supported her forehead, massaging firmly. What great strength, it hurt so much Xiao Mi’s eyes watered, yet she dared not let out a single cry. Yi Tang Yao you big idiot!
The idiot Yi Tang Yao abruptly held her head between his hands.
Under the streetlights.
His face gently inched closer.
Xiao Mi’s eyes widened.
His lips were right in front of her. Her head spun under the dazzle of his diamond.
She nervously shut her eyes, not daring to breathe.
Then—
A gentle breath, slightly warm, yet a little cold. It came very close to her forehead, just like a feather; it was so, so light.
Her eyes flew open in shock.
His eyes carried a fervent passion, and maladroit embarrassment. Seeing her stunned gaze, he growled. “What’re you looking at?! Close your eyes!”
At that, she dared not look anymore.
Yi Tang Yao chuckled. He enjoyed being harsh to her and ill-treating her, occasionally rendering her, who had a feline wit about her, into an adorable little mouse. He couldn’t recall which book narrated this, that if a girl likes another, then no matter how you mistreat her, she wouldn’t feel pain. That must be a lie, since her forehead has swelled into a red patch.
“Hey......”
Xiao Mi secretly glanced at her from the gaps of her lashes. Is he laughing, his lips are twitching.
“What!” He straightened his face.
“I want to go back.”
“Why.”
“It’s a little cold.” The sweat has completely evaporated from her body, and she was shivering in fits in the wind. She has just recovered; she wouldn’t want to get sick again.
“But, I don’t feel like leaving!”
“Ah......” Xiao Mi’s face collapsed in despair.
Under the night sky, music and laughter floated by from the open-air theatre near the field. Yi Tang Yao turned his head, and abruptly spoke.
“Let’s watch a movie.”
Night hung low.
The sky was dotted with stars.
The movie screen is a white wall. With the light from the projector cast on, the protagonist couple started to fall in love passionately. Separation, and love again......
The students sat on tiers of steps, in twos or threes; weeping at times, applauding in others, and sometimes stunned into silence.
Yi Tang Yao and Xiao Mi sat the back, on the highest step. The night breeze blew across him and her. His hair was already dry, his body infused with the refreshing scent from a bath. His arm sturdily held the shivering Xiao Mi, his voice stiff. “With this, you aren’t cold, are you?!”
His strength was so huge that she was instantly pulled into his arms, close to losing balance.
But—
Because of that, she could hear his heartbeat.
“Bam—“
His beating heart was right beside her ear.
“Bam—“
His heartbeat was aligned with hers.
“Bam—“
She could even feel his heart’s warmth, and the coursing of blood through its vessels.
Time dispersed with the night, as if nothing had changed. She was still her, he was still him. As long as there’s him, there would be her. Only with her, would there be him.
Yi......
I know, you have never left all this time......
* * *
The second class of World Commerce gradually got accustomed to Yi Tang Yao attending class. Even though he came late every time, and still kicked the door open.
The class also got used to Xiao Mi copying notes for Yi Tang Yao every day. Whenever the teacher called Yi Tang Yao to answer, she would whisper it to him; when Yi Tang Yao fought with classmates, she would burst forward to pull him away and apologise for him. Even when Yi Tang Yao bullied her, her face always bore a heedless smile.
Thus, during Human Resource lesson, when Yi Tang Yao handed up his thesis, and answered Professor Bo’s questions regarding it smoothly, the class only widened their eyes. No one gasped openly.
Are Yi Tang Yao and Xiao Mi dating?
There was once an ex-girlfriend from the Law faculty who came to Yi Tang Yao’s class, and looked Xiao Mi over for an entire five minutes with contempt. With a nasal voice, she confronted her regarding their relationship.
And her outcome was a book tossed by Yi Tang Yao, which knocked her recent made-over nose crooked.
With that, this question was no longer prompted.
Until one afternoon—
“This is Zheng Hao Yang, who transferred here from Qing Yuan. Everyone, please welcome him.” The civics tutor smiled as he introduced a new transfer student on the stand. He sported a height of close to 1.9m, his hair ebony along with his eyes, which reflected the astuteness of an eagle.
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