Chapter Thirty

Because of his good behavior in the hospital, Zhang Yi was discharged early. The nurse, just as before, reminded him not to move his right arm casually; in about two months, it would heal, but until then, he must avoid any strenuous activity—including his current pursuit of taekwondo. Zhang Yi sighed. He had just managed to master some kicks, and now he would have to wait two whole months—a painfully long time. But on second thought, this meant he could rest and skip training for a while. That, at least, was a relief.

On his way home, he thought of Li Li. Or should he call her “the girl”—Zhang Yi understood she simply couldn’t afford the hefty medical bills, so she’d had no choice but to flee the hospital. Sometimes, there really was no other way. If he were in her shoes, knowing his own situation, he’d probably have done the same.

He glanced again at the note Li Li had left behind. She’d taken five hundred yuan from him in cash. Zhang Yi decided to consider it a charitable gesture—a small kindness to someone so pitiable. Still, charity or not, if he ran into her again, he would be sure to collect the debt.

“Until fate brings us together again, little miss,” Zhang Yi chuckled. This interesting character had certainly caught his attention.

…

After finishing a cup of coffee, Huang Feifan began to look troubled. Xiao Jian, who sat nearby, was also frowning. Yu Xingyue noticed and asked, “What’s wrong with you two? Why the long faces?”

Xiao Jian replied, “Brother Yu, this is about Huang Feifan—are you sure you want to hear it?”

“Something about Feifan? We’re all friends here, so why not share it?” Yu Xingyue said with curiosity.

Huang Feifan, his brows knotted, muttered, “You’re sure you want to listen? I’m not expecting any miracles.”

“Go ahead. Maybe we can help you solve it.”

Xiao Jian interjected, “Yu, don’t speak too soon. At least listen to what Feifan has to say first.”

Yu Xingyue turned his gaze to Huang Feifan, who spoke with a complicated expression, “Lately, there’s this woman who’s been staying at my front door. I have no idea what she wants, but she refuses to leave, claiming she forgot something and needs to retrieve it.”

“She probably just wants to see if there’s anything valuable in your house,” Yu Xingyue suggested.

“That’s what I thought at first. But she says she was the previous owner of the house, the one who sold it to my parents. Now she’s come back just to get something she left behind. My parents are away on business, so I was wary of letting her in, thinking she might be a scammer. She’s been at my door ever since, refusing to leave,” Huang Feifan explained.

“So she’s the former owner? Your parents bought the place from her?” Yu Xingyue asked.

Huang Feifan nodded. “That’s right. My parents said her family was desperate for money at the time, so they sold this five-bedroom, three-living-room house to cover a relative’s surgery costs. I don’t know if that’s the whole truth.”

“She sold her house for her family’s sake. Did she say exactly what she came back for?” Yu Xingyue continued.

“She never mentioned what it was. Just that it’s something extremely important to her.”

So, she’d only come back to retrieve something important after all this time? It was suspicious, and without concrete evidence, they couldn’t do anything about the woman at Huang Feifan’s door.

Yu Xingyue asked again, “Did she tell you her name? You must know it, right?”

“She mentioned it, and it’s easy to remember,” Huang Feifan replied.

Xiao Jian, who had been silent, spoke up, “I was there too. She said her name was Li Li—it sounds just like Lin Ling, our senior.”

“Lin Ling, Li Li—just missing an ‘n’ and a ‘g’,” Yu Xingyue mused.

“And that’s what’s troubling us. As long as she won’t leave, Feifan can’t go home. What should we do?” Xiao Jian added.

…

“Aren’t you going to call the police?”

“That’s useless. Apparently, she’s a regular at the police station.”

By now, Xiao Jian had made it clear—she was a frequent visitor, but mostly for minor thefts. The police had already listed her as untrustworthy, and if she was caught again, she’d have to pay compensation.

“Is she still at your door?” Yu Xingyue wanted to meet this Li Li in person—a woman who could wait an entire day at someone’s door, whom Huang Feifan had even nicknamed ‘the watchdog.’

“She leaves at night. She should be gone soon, but you might see her tomorrow,” Xiao Jian said.

“Let me know around noon tomorrow. I want to meet her, make her give up this obsession,” Yu Xingyue said.

“Xingyue, you’re too good to me. I love you!” Huang Feifan threw his arms around Yu Xingyue, and the way he said it was so mushy that both Xiao Jian and Yu Xingyue got goosebumps.

Yu Xingyue protested, “Hey, could you wipe your mouth before hugging me? You’ve got coffee all over my shirt, and it’s expensive!”

…

Lin Zimo gazed ruefully at her reflection, pressing her hands to her cheeks. They weren’t any chubbier than usual. She stepped onto the digital scale—her weight hadn’t even reached a hundred.

“How strange. I’m not gaining weight. Is it just my imagination?” The reason for her self-doubt was Yu Xingyue. Three days had passed since their last game of Truth or Dare, but since then, Lin Zimo had been obsessively checking her weight and her reflection, searching for any changes. When Yu Xingyue had picked her up in a princess carry and complained she was heavy, Lin Zimo had started worrying.

She had no idea how little strength Yu Xingyue actually had. He was thin and frail-looking, and even carrying a toddler would tire him out, let alone Lin Zimo.

Lin Xinxin entered her sister’s room and, seeing her behaving this way, couldn’t help but say, “Sis, what kind of magic did you get into? You’ve been dieting like crazy these past three days.”

“Xinxin, do you think I’ve gotten slimmer?” Lin Zimo asked.

Xinxin was speechless. Her sister had changed so much, and it was all Yu Xingyue’s fault.

Xinxin couldn’t help but say, “You’re so thin, you’re practically skin and bones.”

For the past three days, Lin Zimo had been dieting obsessively to lose weight. To everyone else, she already had an ideal figure for a girl—her idea of dieting was simply eating less and exercising more, which was fine, but she didn’t care about her health, and that worried Xinxin.

“Come on, Sis, let’s eat. If you keep this up, you’ll make Mom and Dad worry.”

“I can’t eat, or all my efforts will be wasted.”

Xinxin grew annoyed. “Did you ever think about how Mom and Dad feel? We get that you like someone, but you only have one body. If you ruin your health, it’ll only give them trouble. Does the person you like even know?”

Xinxin was right—it made no sense to wreck herself for someone she liked. It would only burden her family. Xinxin already knew her sister’s crush was Yu Xingyue. What kind of extraordinary boy could turn her once-tough, tomboyish sister into such a soft-hearted girl?

After listening to her sister, Lin Zimo looked in the mirror again. She realized this wasn’t what she wanted—if he saw her like this, it would only make things worse. No matter how much she changed, he might never even notice. Lin Zimo finally loosened her grip on her obsession.

“Sorry, Xinxin. Am I being foolish? You must think your sister is a failure.”

Xinxin comforted her. “It’s not your fault. Honestly, I’ve never seen you fall for someone before. The only guy who could win you over is probably Yu Xingyue, right?”

“Hey, don’t say things like that,” Lin Zimo blushed.

“My dear sister, I’ve noticed. For three days straight, you’ve done nothing but mutter his name. You can fool others, but not your own sister,” Xinxin teased.

Since her sister already knew, Lin Zimo poured her heart out. “Actually, I noticed him from the very first day of school—when we were registering. Back then, his hair was long and tied in a ponytail, almost covering his eyes.”

“You remember him in such detail. Was he sloppy?”

“Not really. His family situation changed, so he had to leave school. He was already seventeen when he returned to junior high, so he was older than the rest of us by two years. In class, he was always mature and willing to help anyone in need.” That was Lin Zimo’s impression of Yu Xingyue.

Xinxin laughed. “You make him sound so great. Is he really that amazing, or are you just idealizing him?”

Lin Zimo shook her head. “It’s hard to say. He has this aura of mystery. Even trying to know everything about him feels impossible. I’m lucky he’s willing to be my friend at all. I don’t even know when I started having feelings for this straightforward guy.”

“Is it that hard-to-describe sense of mystery?” Xinxin asked.

“That’s part of it. It just makes me want to know more, understand him better. He’s a real treasure of a boy.”

“You praise him so much it makes me want him for myself,” Xinxin joked.

Lin Zimo warned her, “He’s mine. Don’t you dare try to steal him—your sister is determined.”

“Enough of this. For your health, please, just eat something.”

“Fine. I’ll eat, if only to look my best when he sees me again.”

“See? Loving someone really does make you lose your wits. I guess it’s true after all,” Xinxin thought, feeling a touch of envy at the love for Yu Xingyue radiating from her sister. There was no saving her now.

…

When Zhang Yi returned home, his parents wanted to help him to his room, but he insisted he could manage—his right arm was out of commission, but he still had his left. He wasn’t helpless.

Once in his room, Zhang Yi sat in front of his computer, logged into the QQ group chat, and saw that the group was full of lively conversation. Unable to use both hands, he typed awkwardly with his left, making frequent mistakes and correcting them over and over, but finally managed to send, “I’m already discharged.”

It didn’t take long for replies to flood in—messages of “Congratulations on your discharge!” scrolled across the screen.

“It’s great that you’re out. Take care and recover well. We’ll be waiting for your return,” wrote Huang Feifan.

“Feifan is right. Don’t rush things,” added Chen Siyu.

After three minutes of laborious typing, Zhang Yi replied, “Thank you all for your concern. I’ll get better soon.”

“We’ll be waiting for you,” Yu Xingyue chimed in.