“I… I…”

“Lu Xi, let’s stop the make-up lessons for the time being.”

Is she blaming me for meddling in her business and causing her to switch to a different table?

Not likely. She didn’t look angry when she mentioned changing seats.

So, did she guess what I was going to say and indirectly rejected me?

Lu Xi remained seated in his chair, his dark brown eyes dimmed.

The weather was always particularly favorable at times like this, suddenly clouds gathered in the middle of winter and raindrops splashed against the windows barging into the house.

The floor at Lu Xi’s feet was wet and coldness invaded his body.

Finally, remembering that there were uncollected clothes on the balcony, he got up agitatedly,and accidentally knocked over the glass.

He quickly lifted up the cup, but most of the water had spilled out. Pulling the tissue, he wiped the water on his cuff.

While the water on the table dripped down on the ground.

He wiped and wiped for a long time, even until the tissue shrank into a ball, yet he repeated the mechanical movement over and over again with his eyes down.

The ball of paper was scraped, and the fine slag stuck to the dark cloth, a little embarrassed.

‘Crap!’

Lu Xi threw the badly worn out paper lumps into the trash can and grabbed the mobile phone in the drawer.

He had to finish his sentence today.

His long and slender finger quickly typed the words on mobile keyboard, with the determination that fit the description of ‘Not looking back, until you hit the south wall.’ 

[TN: to be stubborn and refuse to give up or repent until one has experienced failure ]

Like this, a complete sentence was typed before being sent.

Lu Xi clenched his teeth and waited with the mobile phone in his hand.

But contrary to Zhou Sisi’s reply, what came next was Ms. Xu’s series of  complaints, who had just come home from her shift.

“Why didn’t you close the kitchen window? Brat, don’t close the balcony window—why haven’t you collected your clothes? Huh?”  

“Squeak! Lu Xi! What are you doing in your room?”

“Hey you bastard, you’re too stupid to play with your phone and don’t know it’s raining? What are you doing standing there like a pillar?” Xu Xuelin angrily raised her hand and twisted his ear.

Having no choice but to bow his head in accordance with the force, “Let go.” Lu Xi uttered.

“Is there something wrong with your ears?” Xu Xuelin hummed, “Can’t you hear what I said?”

Lu Xi replied weakly, “I heard that. Yes, I forgot to close the window and put away the clothes.”

“What’s the matter with you?” Xu Xuelin let go of her hand, a little worried she added, “not feeling well?”

Lu Xi: “No.”

“Not enough money?”

“No.”

Xu Xuelin: “Then why do you look like a water-deficient cabbage?”

Lu Xi: “Mom, you go out, I want to rest.”

“Okay, take a rest.” Xu Xuelin added, “After taking enough rest, you need to read books and complete your homework.”

“Oh.” With that, Lu Xi closed the door.

Turning off the weekend lunch alarm, Zhou Sisi noticed the notification bar, prompting three WeChat messages.

Lu Xi: I like you (12:13)

Lu Xi: Zhou Sisi (12:15)

Lu Xi: Give me a reply, okay? (14:13)

It turned out to be as she had vaguely guessed.

Zhou Sisi half pursed her lips, not knowing how to reply for a while.

She would not be foolish enough to think that the “like” he was talking about was a like between siblings or friends.

As if the wind had swept away the hidden veil, some strange and trivial things that she hadn’t noticed and didn’t look deeply into before, were explained.

She accidentally laid down on the table and fell asleep while supplementing English, and the warmth on her face was so short that she suspected it was an illusion…

The dimly lit alley, he drove her through it again and again with his bicycle…

All kinds of warm breakfast lying on the classroom table in the morning…

One of the family’s children was playing skipping above the house, a smoldering thud from the ceiling covered Zhou Sisi’s unusual heartbeat.

No, this was not possible.

Not to mention that they were in high school and under 18 years old, she was still half his sister. If Auntie Xu knew he liked her…

“Don’t like me.”

Typing out one word at a time, Zhou Sisi’s fingers rested on the “Send” button for a moment.

Then she slowly pressed backspace to delete.

The other end of WeChat.

Lu Xi looked at the “The other party is typing…” that finally appeared at the top of the chat box, and couldn’t help himself from breathing lightly. But after a while, the prompt disappeared and no message from the other party was received.

Every minute and every second of waiting was infinitely difficult.

He even had the urge to make a voice call directly.

Zhou Sisi: Sorry

Lu Xi replied quickly: “What are you sorry for?”

Zhou Sisi: I don’t like you.

Zhou Sisi: From now on, you can find someone else for your make-up lessons.

“Heh—” Wasn’t she typing very fast?

Lu Xi grabbed his forehead hair, put his hands on his brow bones and half-closed eyelids. He leaned his head back against the cold and hard wall.

He knew that the possibility of being rejected by her was 99.9%… Why was there such a blockage in the throat and heart when this moment arrived?

After this rain, it did not rain for a long time.

The sky was gray, the air was dry and cold as the days passed faster and faster.

The red lanterns were hung on the roadside street trees and the entrance of the community to brighten up the monotonous winter.

The new year was about to come.

On the second day of New Year, the first day of her aunt’s visit, Zhou Sisi caught a cold.

Instead of telling Chen Cui, who was busy working overtime, she drank Banlangen twice and drank several cups of hot water, but her symptoms were still severe.

Dizziness, nasal congestion and frequent coughing made Zhou Si Si’s chest and abdomen painful.

Putting on the padded clothes and wrapping the scarf tightly, she coughed and opened the door, ready to go to the community hospital for medical treatment.

Her temples swelled up and down, by the time she turned around after locking the door, she met Lu Xi who had come out of the house at some time.

It was past 5 o’clock in the afternoon, but the sky was already darkened and the corridor was a bit dark.

The door of his house was left open, the sparse light was spilling out, dividing the light and shade in the corridor.

Most of his body sank into the shadows, tall and heavy, with no expression on his face.

Zhou Sisi nodded slightly at him, then immediately looked away and walked towards the stairs.

“Ahem…cough cough…” Coughing uncontrollably.

“Are you sick?” There was a hint of hoarseness in the young man’s clear voice.

Zhou Sisi answered by coughing. “I have a little…cough, cough…a little cold.”

Lu Xi frowned, his drooping eyelids covered his emotionally surging pupils. “I’ll take you to the hospital.”

Zhou Sisi subconsciously refused: “No, I can…”

“How long are you going to hide from me?” Lu Xi suddenly took a step forward.

Zhou Sisi’s shoulders stiffened, she pursed her lips, “No…”

Although she and Lu Xi lived in the same community and had the same high school, their classrooms were located in different buildings. In addition, she lived on campus from Monday to Friday, rarely went out on weekends, and went to school on Sundays at different times. Logically speaking, the two rarely met each other.

“No?” Lu Xi pulled the corner of his lower lip, “Liar.”

Forty-eight days, he hadn’t seen her this close for a total of forty-eight days.

Several times, just as he was about to walk in front of her, she would quickly leave from another direction. As if he was some kind of scourge.

Zhou Sisi: “…”

She did avoid him a little.

Lu Xi: “Wait, I’ll change into a pair of shoes.”

Zhou Sisi: “You don’t need to…”

Lu Xi: “Do you dare to try?”

Zhou Sisi covered her nose and lips with her hand and coughed again.

Lu Xi returned home, and soon came out, hooking a string of keys in his hand, “Let’s go.” He went down the stairs first.

To the bottom garage.

Seeing that Lu Xi was holding the remote control lock in his hand, he turned on a white car.

Zhou Sisi frowned slightly, and stopped him: “You don’t have a driver’s license. Let’s change to the tram, I brought my keys.”

“Riding a tram is very windy,” Lu Xi said.

Zhou Sisi coughed a few times. “It’s okay.”

“Coughing like this, and yet you still dare to face the wind?” Lu Xi’s face was a little cold. He flipped out the phone in his jacket pocket, and operated it with one hand for a few times. “I called a cab.”

“Well, thanks.” Zhou Sisi added with a warm voice, “You go back first.”

Almost unable to resist grabbing her wrist, Lu Xi tightened his jaw angrily, “I told you, I’ll take you to the hospital.”