Chapter 13 Part 2

The car stopped outside Yuncheng No. 1 Middle School. Chi Nuan unbuckled her seatbelt and got out. Gu Ningzi said, “I’ll walk you back to your dorm.”

The path from the school gate to the dorm building had a long stretch that was dimly lit.

Chi Nuan walked in silence until Gu Ningzi took the initiative to hold her hand. Only after they entered the dorm and closed the door did Gu Ningzi let go.

Chi Nuan sat on her bed and offered her chair to Gu Ningzi. Gu Ningzi didn’t sit and instead leaned against the desk. She spotted an enamel little girl doll on it and absentmindedly touched it with her fingertip.

Not long after, Gu Ningzi’s phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID. “Xu Dan?”

“Xu Dan?” Chi Nuan then remembered. “Gu Ningzi, my bag and phone are still there.”

Gu Ningzi nodded and answered the call.

“Oh wow! A historic moment—Gu Ningzi picked up my call!!”

On the other end, after Xu Dan shouted that to the others, she got straight to the point. “Gu Ningzi, our class monitor left with you?”

Gu Ningzi turned on speakerphone so Chi Nuan could hear too.

“What’s going on? All her stuff is still here.”

Gu Ningzi looked at Chi Nuan and said to Xu Dan, “She’s with me.”

“They’re together,” Xu Dan said to those around her, then asked Gu Ningzi, “What did you two do that made you leave in such a hurry without taking your things?”

In the background noise, Cao Pinhui’s voice faintly came through. “See? I wasn’t lying.”

Chi Nuan came to Gu Ningzi’s side and spoke into the phone. “Xu Dan, I’ve already returned to the dorm. Could you please bring my things back for me?”

Xu Dan went silent for a moment. There was some rustling on the line, then it quieted, as if she’d gone somewhere secluded to take the call.

“Nuannuan, it wasn’t cool of you to just leave without saying goodbye. Xue Wen kindly took us out to have fun—you don’t know, when you disappeared and left all your stuff behind, her face went pale with worry, afraid something had happened to you. If Cao Pinhui hadn’t seen you leave with Gu Ningzi, Xue Wen probably would’ve turned SEVEN upside down!”

Gu Ningzi lowered her eyes and saw Chi Nuan’s cheek, slightly turned as she listened intently to the call. They were very close, so Gu Ningzi uncomfortably turned her head away.

Chi Nuan’s lips pressed into a tight line. This was something hard to speak about aloud. She was the one who had been frightened, yet the culprit was over there acting like an important witness providing clues.

Even if exposed, he might just say, “Can’t take a joke,” right? Yes, he hadn’t done anything too extreme; all his words and actions could be brushed off as “just kidding.”

“I… I wasn’t feeling well, so I came back first. Xu Dan, please apologize to Xue Wen for me.”

“Got it! …You’re not feeling well? Then rest up. We’re heading back too.”

After the call ended, Gu Ningzi said, “I’ll wait until they get here before I leave.”

Chi Nuan straightened up and looked at Gu Ningzi. Remembering her foot injury, she quickly asked, “Is your foot better?”

Gu Ningzi: “It’s better.”

Chi Nuan: “Don’t push yourself. It’s fine if you don’t participate in the sports meet.”

Gu Ningzi: “Got it.”

Chi Nuan’s voice softened. “…Thank you for today.”

Gu Ningzi looked at the top of her dark-haired head and sighed helplessly.

The roommates arrived quickly, and Xue Wen came with them. Xue Wen asked Chi Nuan with concern, “Where do you feel unwell? Do you need to go to the hospital?”

Chi Nuan said, “It’s nothing. I’ll be fine after resting a bit. …Xue Wen, I’m really sorry. I left in such a hurry I didn’t even say goodbye to you.”

The dorm room wasn’t large to begin with, and with six people crammed in, it felt extremely crowded. Gu Ningzi still leaned against Chi Nuan’s desk while Xu Dan stood next to her and asked, “Who would’ve thought, New Student, you like to have fun too? If we’d known you were at SEVEN, we could’ve gone together.”

Gu Ningzi let out an “Oh.”

Xu Dan: “…” That was too perfunctory.

…

It was getting late; any later and the dorm building would lock. Gu Ningzi and Xue Wen went downstairs together. There were still a few classmates occasionally visible in the hallway, but no one ran up and down the stairs anymore. The four floors meant nearly a hundred steps, and the two walked one behind the other without even exchanging glances.

Xu Dan and Zhao Jingjing leaned out the window to watch them until they were far away. Xu Dan wondered, “Why do they feel kind of weird standing together…”

Zhao Jingjing pondered. “Like their vibes totally clash.”

Xu Dan agreed.

Du Min also poked her head over to look. “Like ex and almost-current girlfriend clashing?”

“…” Xu Dan was shocked. “Goddamn, spot on! Your ability to grasp the key point has improved by leaps and bounds!”

Du Min shushed her. “Quiet. Chi Nuan’s asleep.”

Chi Nuan lay on her bed hugging a thin blanket, eyes closed. Cao Pinhui’s drunken face immediately appeared in her mind. That night, as expected, she dreamed of being chased again, waking up drenched in cold sweat, struggling out of the nightmare.

The dorm was pitch black; dawn hadn’t broken yet, and everyone slept soundly.

Chi Nuan clutched her racing heart, sat for a while, then lit up her phone to check the time.

Just past 3 a.m. The screen showed unread messages.

Gu Ningzi: “Contact me if anything comes up.”

Chi Nuan murmured the words to herself. Those short five characters seemed to carry magic, strangely soothing the terror from her midnight dream.

She lay back down and recalled the bits and pieces of her two months knowing Gu Ningzi. A strange emotion suddenly welled up in her heart.

One that brought faint joy.