The class bell rang, and the lecture hall was instantly filled with the rustling of packing up and chatter.
Yan Yu unhurriedly packed her books and notebook into her canvas bag. Bai Yan’er had already helped her gather her things and waited quietly beside her until she was ready, then they slowly moved out of the classroom with the crowd.
“Big sister is amazing,” Bai Yan’er said, walking slightly behind her at her side.
“Professor Xie asked that question just now, and so many people couldn’t answer it, but you answered it so clearly.”
“It’s just that I happened to have seen some related materials before,” Yan Yu replied softly.
The two walked out of the teaching building with the crowd.
Outside, the afternoon sun had already mellowed, coating the plane trees on campus with a fluffy golden edge.
Bai Yan’er naturally walked behind Yan Yu’s wheelchair, steering her around the occasional students who hurried past.
After a while, Bai Yan’er tilted her head, her tone carrying a hint of cautious probing. “Are you going straight back to your place now, Big sister?”
Yan Yu shook her head, her voice calm. “No, I still need to go to the hospital for a checkup.”
“Checkup?” Bai Yan’er’s steps unconsciously faltered.
“Yeah, I’ve been in poor health,” Yan Yu explained briefly. “I have to pick up medicine every now and then and check on my recovery.”
The air fell silent for two seconds.
The surroundings were filled with noisy students rushing to the cafeteria, library, or club activities, coming and going, the clamor making their brief pause stand out even more.
“I’ll go with you,” Bai Yan’er said.
“I can go by myself.” Yan Yu smiled. “Yan’er, you go do your own thing.”
“No,” Bai Yan’er was unusually stubborn. She took two quick steps, circled to the front of the wheelchair, bent down slightly, and met Yan Yu’s eyes at eye level.
The evening light fell on her face, casting a soft warmth over her exceptionally beautiful features and making her earnestness especially clear.
“Let me go with you. You’re my big sister; it’s only right that I take care of you.”
Seeing Bai Yan’er so determined, Yan Yu opened her mouth but ultimately could say nothing.
She knew that the bond of “sisters” between them was only the leftover product of the misunderstanding when Bai Yan’er got separated from her biological parents.
Yet Bai Yan’er, after becoming the young miss of the Bai family, still cherished this relationship so much, so sincerely and unreservedly including her in the category of “family.”
Yan Yu simply could not bring herself to refuse.
“…All right,” Yan Yu finally gave in, letting out a soft sigh. “Then… I’ll trouble you.”
Bai Yan’er’s eyes instantly lit up, as if fireworks had fallen into them. She straightened up, walked back to the side and behind the wheelchair, her tone lightening a few degrees.
“No trouble at all! Then, after the checkup, we’ll have dinner out too, right? I know a soup restaurant near the hospital. It’s very light in flavor and good for your health.”
“Okay,” Yan Yu agreed, then remembered something. “But I need to tell Xiao Zhen first, so she doesn’t prepare dinner for me.”
“Mm!”
Talking like this, they followed the gradually thinning crowd toward the bus stop outside the school gate.
Bai Yan’er pushed the wheelchair steadily, occasionally lowering her head to speak softly to Yan Yu. Yan Yu tilted her head slightly to listen.
But not far behind them, in the shadow of the teaching building, someone had been standing for a long time.
Dai Feng leaned against the cold wall, her fingertips idly tracing against the pocket of her jacket, but her gaze kept following those two receding figures until they turned at the intersection and completely disappeared from view.
The students who had just been dismissed had long since dispersed. The corridor that had been crowded just moments ago was now so empty that she could hear the wind.
She slowly let out a breath she had been holding in her chest, raised a hand to rub her brow, and a wry, self-deprecating smile curled at the corners of her lips, quickly vanishing.
‘This is… so pathetic.’
‘I only wanted to go say hello, ask her “How was class?” or casually say “What a coincidence, you’re here too.”‘
‘From the moment I saw her, this thought has circled in my mind countless times.’
‘But my feet seemed nailed to the ground, and my throat felt strangled by something invisible.’
‘Watching that dazzlingly beautiful girl beside her, watching her show a smile I’ve never seen before.’
‘Watching them whisper intimately, watching that girl push her away…’
‘All the prepared, casual opening lines stuck on my tongue, ultimately not a single word came out.’
‘I just watched.’
‘Like an irrelevant bystander.’
‘Dai Feng feels she’s being a little presumptuous.’
She raised her head and looked toward the intersection where they had disappeared.
Twilight was gradually spreading, the sky a thick, unblendable orange-red and purple-gray.
“Tch.”
She clicked her tongue in annoyance.
‘This is definitely the last time.’
‘Dai Feng has never been the kind of person to hesitate like this.’
‘Since Yan Yu loves Su Qinghan, since Yan Yu, besides Su Qinghan, also has such a beautiful girl by her side, leaving no place for me at all.’
‘I will absolutely never do such inexplicable things again.’
‘Even if I starve to death, even if I jump off from somewhere, I will absolutely not play this clown anymore.’ 🤡
Just as she thought this, her phone suddenly went ding.
Dai Feng immediately opened her phone. On the screen, an avatar bounced—a message from Yan Yu.
“Miss Dai, did you come to the classroom today too? I think I saw you earlier.”
In an instant.
The determination Dai Feng had just made shattered completely.
“Yes! The class was very interesting. I’ll come again next time.”
Before her brain could react, her fingers had already quickly typed out this line and hit send.