Give me the phone.

For the past two days, Jiang Ci has been working a temporary job as a waitress at a noodle shop near her school.

She figured that this job would help her get by until the time came for mandatory evening study sessions. Once the schoolwork became more intense and her schedule tighter, she might not have the time to juggle both work and studies.

"Jiang Ci, take this to table fifty-eight, quickly!"

Jiang Ci wiped her hands and swiftly delivered the noodles to the designated table.

"Jiang Ci, someone over there wants to order, go check it out!" Another waitress, who was just as busy as she was, scurried past with a tray, clearly unable to handle another task.

Jiang Ci replied with an "okay," and walked toward the direction indicated, head down. She stopped by the table, pen in hand, and asked, "Hello, what would you like to order?"

"The house special beef noodles." Zhang Heyu propped his left cheek up with one hand, tilting his head to look at her. His voice was languid, carrying a hint of a smile.

Jiang Ci paused; she hadn't expected to run into Zhang Heyu here.

Zhang Heyu did not disturb Jiang Ci while she was busy working. Watching her, he felt a sense of resilience and unyielding spirit.

It was very unique.

It was something he had never seen in any other girl.

Not long after, the beef noodles Zhang Heyu ordered were ready. Jiang Ci served them to him personally and offered a small smile. "Please enjoy your meal."

"Hmm."

Time ticked by, and Jiang Ci was dizzy with work. She only found a moment to rest after the peak dining hours had passed. She had told her grandmother in advance that she wouldn't be coming home for dinner, which allowed her to work at the shop with peace of mind.

Her shift ended at nine in the evening. Jiang Ci took off her uniform, locked it in her locker, and left.

"Jiang Ci."

Hearing the voice, she turned her head and saw a familiar silhouette standing under a streetlamp.

The boy was still wearing the same blue and white short-sleeved school uniform he had on during the day, revealing the cold, fair lines of his arms. A halo of light rested on his head, while half his face was hidden in the shadows.

Just by the sound of his voice, Jiang Ci knew exactly who it was.

"Zhang Heyu." She walked toward him until his features became clear.

"Yeah." Zhang Heyu glanced at the time on his phone. "Shift ended at nine?"

Jiang Ci nodded. "Yes, nine."

Zhang Heyu looked down at her, then asked offhandedly, "Have you eaten yet?"

"...No." Jiang Ci had headed straight to the noodle shop after school, planning to go home and cook something simple after her shift.

"Alright then." Zhang Heyu raised his eyebrows, hands stuffed in his pockets. "Let's go get something to eat."

Jiang Ci was stunned and blinked at him. "Me?"

"Otherwise?" Zhang Heyu dragged out his tone, retorting, "Is there someone else here I can't see?"

Jiang Ci: "..."

That sounded rather eerie.

Jiang Ci followed behind him, the two walking one after the other. Suddenly remembering something, she quickened her pace. "Zhang Heyu, were you waiting for me just now?"

He didn't deny it, casting a faint glance at her.

Jiang Ci knew the answer.

Under Zhang Heyu’s lead, they arrived at a small congee shop. As soon as Jiang Ci sat down on a red plastic stool, she saw the owner come out from the kitchen.

"Xiao Yu?" The owner was an outgoing middle-aged man who recognized Zhang Heyu the moment he stepped out.

Zhang Heyu nodded and looked down at Jiang Ci. "What do you want to eat?"

Jiang Ci looked up at the menu posted on the wall. Having never eaten here before, she felt a bit stuck.

Perhaps sensing her hesitation, Zhang Heyu told the owner to bring her a serving of what he usually ate.

Jiang Ci looked at Zhang Heyu, feeling a bit dazed.

"What are you thinking about?" While she was lost in thought, Zhang Heyu had already sat down across from her, casually picking up a pair of disposable chopsticks and tearing open the packaging.

Jiang Ci looked at the chopsticks he handed over, hesitated for two seconds, then took them. "Do you come here often?"

"Yeah, the food here isn't bad." Zhang Heyu replied flatly, his eyes revealing no particular emotion.

Jiang Ci said "Oh" and lowered her head, lost in her own thoughts.

A little while later, the owner brought over a plate of fried noodles and a bowl of century egg and lean pork congee. It looked incredibly appetizing.

Jiang Ci hadn't eaten all evening; the moment she smelled the fragrance, her stomach rumbled uncontrollably. The shop was empty, so there was no doubt he had heard it.

"Eat if you're hungry." Zhang Heyu ladled a bowl of congee for her and set it aside to cool.

Jiang Ci swallowed hard and, unable to resist the temptation, lowered her head to eat.

Halfway through the meal, Jiang Ci realized that Zhang Heyu had no intention of eating; he kept his head down, eyes lowered, looking at something on his phone.

"Aren't you eating?"

"I've already eaten."

Jiang Ci remembered he had ordered beef noodles at the shop earlier.

After finishing, Jiang Ci stood up to pay. She had just pulled out her phone when she realized it was dead.

The owner stood by the register and smiled. "No need to pay, Xiao Yu already took care of it."

Jiang Ci paused, clutching her dead phone, and turned to look at the figure standing outside the shop.

She thanked the owner and walked toward Zhang Heyu. He had a tall, lean build, standing about 1.85 meters; Jiang Ci had to look up at him. "My phone is dead. How about you add me, and I'll send you the money when I get home?"

"No need." Zhang Heyu looked down, answering lazily.

Jiang Ci felt it wasn't right; she didn't like owing people. She spoke gently but with an irresistible sense of urgency, "Zhang Heyu, give me your phone."

Besides, she and he weren't even friends yet. She definitely couldn't owe him.

He seemed surprised by her words. Zhang Heyu arched an eyebrow, let out a cryptic laugh, and calmly took out his phone, handing it to her.

Jiang Ci looked at him, her eyes seemingly asking if it was okay to open it. Zhang Heyu didn't speak but tilted his chin, signaling her to go ahead.

With his permission, Jiang Ci opened his phone immediately; it turned out he didn't have a password set.

Jiang Ci opened WeChat, went to the "Add Friend" page, entered her own number, found her account, and added herself. Throughout the whole process, Zhang Heyu didn't say a word, letting her handle his phone as she pleased.

"There, done. I'll accept it when I get back." She returned the phone to him.

Zhang Heyu took it back and said calmly, "I'll see you home."

It was past eleven when they reached her place. Her grandmother was already asleep, so Jiang Ci entered as quietly as she could.

Back in her room, she plugged in her phone and grabbed a set of clothes for a shower. When she came out, the phone had charged to thirty percent. She turned it on and opened WeChat.

At the same time, Zhang Heyu appeared at a bustling late-night snack spot.

"Brother Yu, where were you tonight? You ran off before we even finished two games of pool." The bleached-blonde guy sitting in the corner saw him and asked excitedly.

Zhang Heyu replied casually, "Too bored, didn't want to stay."

Huo Chensi was used to his demeanor. "Isn't that how Brother Yu always is?"

"Yeah, yeah, true," the blonde guy laughed.

Zhang Heyu had no appetite, sitting in his chair just drinking cola, his posture languid and indifferent, like a man who walks through a field of flowers without a single petal clinging to his clothes.

"I heard that Brother Yu’s new deskmate is that pretty girl in the top five of our grade. Is that true?" The speaker was a boy from the liberal arts class in the same school.

Zhang Heyu took a sip of his cola, listening indifferently to their chatter.

"Yeah, her name is Jiang Ci," Huo Chensi said. "She’s pretty. I have to say, she’s truly my goddess; I felt my heart skip a beat the first time I saw her."

"Come on, Huo Chensi, when do you *not* say your heart skips a beat? You'd say that even if you saw a stray dog on the street."

"Hahahaha, that's hilarious!"

"Brutal, absolutely brutal!"

Huo Chensi rolled his eyes at them. "Seriously, knowing you guys is my misfortune." He added, "If you don't believe she's pretty, just ask Brother Yu. He’s the one with the most authority on the matter."

The topic shifted back to Zhang Heyu, and everyone looked at him.

Zhang Heyu paused, his thin lips curling slightly as he said quietly, "She's pretty."

Everyone was stunned.

Zhang Heyu was never short of company; the girls who got close to him were seductive, charming, and sexy—every one of them was a beauty. But he treated every girlfriend with indifference and apathy, as if no matter how beautiful they were, they could never catch his eye.

This was the first time they had heard Zhang Heyu call a girl "pretty," which only made them more curious.

Just as he finished speaking, his phone on the table buzzed.

Zhang Heyu didn't pick it up, just swept a glance at it and saw the WeChat friend request had been accepted. The next message was a transfer from Jiang Ci.

Zhang Heyu ignored it, just took a look, and finished the rest of his cola.

*

There was a P.E. class on Thursday afternoon, and it happened to be shared with Yu Xijin’s class. Both classes were taught by the same teacher.

After the warm-up, the teacher told them to run a lap around the track before they could break for activities.

Jiang Ci had barely started running when Yu Xijin snuck up behind her.

"Ci, what are we doing later?" Yu Xijin ran to her side. "Want to go watch basketball?"

Jiang Ci turned her head in confusion. "Why do you suddenly want to watch basketball?"

"Because there's a show to watch today." Yu Xijin smiled slyly, lowering her voice as she ran. "That girl we ran into at the cafeteria last time? Turns out she's in my class! And I overheard them saying they were going to confess to Zhang Heyu today."

Confess to Zhang Heyu.

In an instant, Jiang Ci felt a sharp pain in her heart, as if someone had squeezed it.

She tried hard to stay calm, but her hands tightened involuntarily, her nails digging into her palms.

Knowing she couldn't show her true feelings, she forced a smile. "Oh, I see..."

"Ci, are you coming?" Yu Xijin just wanted to watch the drama.

Jiang Ci was about to answer when the bright sunlight made her squint. In that split second, her left foot tripped, she lost her balance, and her vision blurred.

The sudden fall caused her knee to slam mercilessly into the red plastic track. She gasped from the pain, tears welling up in her eyes.

Yu Xijin was startled, and the students running behind them stopped to watch.

"Ci, are you okay?" Yu Xijin crouched beside her, seeing the blood oozing from the scrape on her leg. "You're hurt! I'll go call someone."

The pain hit her, leaving Jiang Ci unable to speak, her brows furrowed tightly.

Just as Yu Xijin stood up, she bumped into someone.

"I'll handle it."

A deep, hoarse, and typically cold voice.

Hearing the familiar sound, Jiang Ci looked up abruptly, meeting the boy’s deep, dark eyes.

Zhang Heyu’s face was expressionless. The summer breeze blew past, stirring the stray hairs on his forehead and revealing his clear, fair brow.

He knelt on one knee beside her, his voice low. "Can you stand?"

A faint, clean scent drifted into her nose—the smell of laundry detergent from his clothes.

Jiang Ci bit her lip, the tears she had been holding back threatening to spill. She shook her head.

"Then, excuse me." With that, Zhang Heyu bent down, wrapped his arms around her slender waist, and with a slight exertion of strength, easily lifted her up.

Jiang Ci was caught off guard and startled. By the time she gathered her senses, he was already carrying her toward the infirmary.