Jiang Ling's sole wish for the gaokao was simple: to get into the same university as Su Rou. So when she said, "I don't know," it felt like a cold splash of reality. He'd been pushing and pleading, asking her to decide this and that—as if she owed him anything.
"Rou, if you figure out where you're going, promise me you'll tell me," he said.
She looked up at him. He was serious; there was something in his eyes she didn't fully understand. "Why are you so set on going to the same school as me?" she asked. Their relationship wasn't the kind that usually warranted that kind of insistence. If they were best friends it would make sense, but they weren't. At most, they were study partners—rivals, even.
"Is that a problem?" Jiang Ling lifted an eyebrow.
"It's not that it's a problem..." Su Rou hesitated. "But this is the fifth time this month you've asked me."
"The fifth?" He sounded surprised. He hadn't thought he'd been pestering her so often—every time she gave an evasive answer, he worried again.
Su Rou sighed. "I might change my mind at any time. I don't know what I'll choose. But if I decide to study abroad, I'll tell you."
Jiang Ling watched her for a long moment before speaking slowly. "Alright. But I hope you'll go abroad... with me."
With him? The look in his eyes was suddenly so intent that something clicked in Su Rou's chest. She understood.
He didn't bother hiding it. "Yes. I like you. I want to be at the same university as you." The thought behind it was practical—abroad, they'd both be strangers in a strange place. If she had at least one familiar face, it would be easier to accept him, easier for him to be close to her.
Su Rou didn't know any of that. She'd never once wondered what he hoped to gain.
She stared at him without speaking for a long beat. "What's wrong?" he asked, hopeful that she would answer.
She smiled faintly, then shook her head. "Sorry. I already... like someone."
His face froze. "When did—who is it?" He was bewildered. He hadn't heard a word from Xiao Yun or Yu Fei about this.
"That's none of your business." At the mention of it, her expression hardened; the subject clearly made her uncomfortable.
"How is that none of my business? I like you too." Jiang Ling moved closer. "Are you with him?"
"Please stop." Su Rou frowned. The question touched a raw nerve.
"Then you are together?" he pressed, ignoring the way she tightened.
She stood up abruptly. "Are you done?" she snapped. "How many times do I have to say—don't ask!"
"Rou..." He had never seen her so sharp. Usually she was patient; this prickly edge was foreign.
She ignored him and walked out of the classroom in a hurry. The air around her seemed thick with something unsaid.
Xiao Yun and Yu Fei had been lingering nearby, chatting, but saw Su Rou leave and exchanged a look. Xiao Yun hurried after her, half outraged, half protective. "What did you say to make RouRou so mad?" she demanded when she reached Jiang Ling. In her mind, anyone who hurt Su Rou deserved a piece of her mind.
Jiang Ling held up his hands. "I just asked if she's already with that guy. She said she likes someone, and I asked if they're together. Isn't that normal?"
Xiao Yun sighed. "That's the problem—it's not normal. RouRou's feelings are one-sided. She's had a crush for a long time on someone who can't—and won't—return it. Everyone knows it. Asking whether she's 'with him' was like rubbing salt in a wound."
"Rubbing salt?" Jiang Ling blinked. "But she said it herself..."
"Still," Xiao Yun said, flopping onto a desk and patting him on the shoulder, "it's private. Don't push. Besides, I can tell you this much: she doesn't have a boyfriend."
The slump of disappointment that had settled over Jiang Ling a moment ago lifted like fog. She doesn't have a boyfriend. Even if it was unrequited, even if the other boy was out of reach, she wasn't actually taken. That detail sparked something stubborn and hopeful inside him. "Okay. I won't push her. We'll wait until after the gaokao. It's only five months—I'll wait."
Xiao Yun smiled. "You might still have a chance."
...
Su Rou ditched the afternoon classes. The day had dragged her down into a sour mood; school felt stifling, so she wandered the campus paths until she felt impatient with the smallness of it. She slipped out through a side gate and found herself on the main street, where the bustle did little to lift her spirits. She rarely went out alone—her guardian, Su Youze, had been worried ever since she'd come close to being abducted as a child—and honestly, shopping was never her idea of fun. But aimless walking soothed her frayed edges, so she called Su Youze.
He answered on the second ring, surprised. "What's up?"
"Nothing. I want to come home," she said flatly.
He glanced at the clock. "It's only mid-afternoon. Studying get to you?"
"Yeah." She sounded small, the way disappointment makes you.
"Okay. Wait there. I'll pick you up."
As she headed back toward the school, she spotted a familiar figure across the street—Su Ziqi. She almost waved, but then noticed the woman draped on his arm. The woman was extravagantly made-up and dressed to attract every eye; she clung to him like a barnacle.
Su Rou's greeting stuck in her throat. Su Ziqi said a few words to the woman, who cooed and pouted and nuzzled his arm. He pulled his arm free just as Su Rou came up.
"Rou?" he blinked. "Aren't you supposed to be in class?"
"Hi, Ziqi." She forced a smile. "I went out for a walk."
The woman by his side tightened her hold on his arm and turned to Su Rou with a mock-innocent tilt of her head. "Ziqi, who is she?"