Chen Ling hadn't shown up at school for nearly a month.
Yaxi couldn't dig up any news about him and decided to approach Xu Xiaoyi instead. However, Xu Xiaoyi was always surrounded by a tight circle of friends who guarded her fiercely. Rumors spread around campus that Xu Xiaoyi had dumped Chen Ling to avoid trouble, but her friends vehemently defended her, insisting it was Chen Ling who had been heartless and misunderstood her, leading to their breakup.
From afar, Yaxi kept an eye on Xu Xiaoyi. She had lost weight, her face pale and her eyes red-rimmed. It was rumored that her grades had plummeted recently, prompting the principal to pile extra tutoring sessions on her already heavy workload.
Clearly, Xu Xiaoyi likely didn't grasp the tangled reasons behind Chen Ling's decision to leave her, while the principal continued pressuring her relentlessly. But Chen Ling, convinced that breaking up was for her own good, had acted unilaterally—a move far from mature.
Truly, when two fragile souls enter a fragile relationship, they can barely weather the storm.
The milk left on Chen Ling's desk had been cleared away repeatedly. Some sighed at Xu Xiaoyi's devotion, claiming that despite her father's interference, she still waited for Chen Ling, sending him milk every day.
Chen Ling's misfortune only emboldened many girls who secretly admired him; countless feelings once concealed now spilled forth in bold declarations. His desk overflowed with letters of encouragement and gifts. Every time Yaxi came to deliver milk, she found it amusing—someone as broken as him still found people eager to lift him up.
Yaxi wasn't immune to envy where Chen Ling was concerned. Since falling for him, she had become just another face in the crowd.
Conflicting waves of comfort and despair washed over her. Deep down, she still hoped he would remain remarkable, unable to extinguish the lingering spark of expectation she held for him.
Not having seen Chen Ling for so long, her nightmares grew increasingly bizarre. They no longer revolved around making love with him but shifted to fleeing together, being chased, or caught in shootings. In one recurring dream, she watched a bullet pierce his chest.
At that moment, tears streamed down her cheeks, jolting her awake, leaving her unable to fall back asleep.
Headaches plagued her daily, forcing her to rely on sleeping pills just to get through the night. Her aunt had access to excessive amounts of medication, but Yaxi restrained herself. On sleepless nights, she turned to scrapbooking. She printed photos she had secretly taken of Chen Ling, along with those obtained from Xu Xiaoyi, and pasted them onto her wall. Slowly, a photo wall emerged.
She painted a one-square-meter section blue. Countless images of Chen Ling adorned the surface, calming her restless mind. Within the blue expanse, Chen Ling appeared safe, untouched, invulnerable. If he was secure, so was she.
One night, after studying late, she pulled a cigarette from her drawer and headed toward park.
Lu Ziyang, acting strangely lately, also studied until ten o'clock and insisted on tagging along to park.
By the lake, he watched in horror as Yaxi held a cigarette between her lips and lit it. In the flickering flame, her usually dull lips glowed crimson, almost sensual.
"You… you're a good student. How could you smoke?"
Her vacant gaze made his heart race.
With a lazy smirk, she hooked the cigarette with her finger and leaned closer. Fragrant smoke swirled into rings, drifting across his face. Through the haze, her red lips hovered tantalizingly close, giving him a fleeting illusion that she might kiss him.