Ye Wanxian helped him arrange his shoes and brought over the fruit to place on the sofa. “Have some fruit, let Xianxian chat with you for a bit, I’ll go cook.”

Ye Changqing stopped her, “Sister, don’t bother. I’ll just say a few words to Xianxian and then leave. The car is waiting downstairs, and I have to go back to the hotel for a meeting later.”

Ye Wanxian exclaimed, “But I’ve already bought the groceries.”

Ye Changqing smiled, pulled Ding Xian to sit on the sofa, and looked up, saying, “Keep them for the two kids to eat.”

The hour hand in the living room was almost pointing to seven.

Ye Changqing glanced at the clock, straightened his expression, and said to Ding Xian, “There’s no time, so I’ll be brief. There’s an art exhibition in Shanghai, and the organizers sent me two tickets. Didn’t you always want to see an art exhibition? What do you think, do you want to go?”

Ding Xian was startled, suddenly feeling alive again. What was there to be sad about the passing of spring and autumn? Her world wasn't just about them; she still had painting. A little person inside her was defiantly waving flags and cheering.

She nodded solemnly, “Yes.”

Ye Changqing smiled, “Alright, but you might have to take a day off. The exhibition is during the National Day holiday, but I need to go one day earlier. The flight is this Friday. Give me your student ID or household registration booklet, and I’ll have my assistant book the tickets.”

Ding Xian glanced at Ye Wanxian.

Ye Wanxian frowned, “Take a day off? Won’t you fall behind in your studies? Can’t you see the exhibition another time?”

Ye Changqing, “Do you think a master's art exhibition is like buying vegetables at the market? That it’s always available?”

Ye Wanxian wanted to say something more, but Ding Xian interrupted, “The day before the National Day holiday, we have sports day. It’s fine, I can ask the teacher for leave.”

The two of them, ignoring Ye Wanxian, finalized the itinerary, and Ye Changqing stood up and left.

Ding Xian returned to her room and started doing her homework.

Only after she had finished all her homework did she take out the letter paper she had bought at the intersection and the torn letter. She carefully pieced the shredded letter back together, then picked up a pen and, looking at the letter, meticulously copied it out again, stroke by stroke.

You Keke's handwriting was very neat, and the content was sincere, unlike some cheesy, clichéd love letters. Every word felt like it was written with careful thought and effort by a young girl.

“Do you still remember me?”

“We met once in the hallway. Lately, I’ve been thinking of you often. I don’t mean anything else, I just genuinely want to be friends with you. My name is You Keke, from Class Ten. Can I come find you to play after class sometime?”

“I have a friend who used to be in the same competition class as you, named Han Jiacheng. I really envy boys like you who are good at math; tests must be easy, right? Unlike me, I always have to cram at the last minute. Can I ask you for help with math problems in the future?”

“Zhou Siyue, your name is really nice.”

Three pages of love letters, and Ding Xian's hand was about to break from copying. She turned the page, and darn it, there was more.

Will this ever end?

It was just those few sentences, repeated over and over. Was it so hard to just clearly say 'I like you'? Did she have to express her affection in such a roundabout way?

Then she gave another self-deprecating smile:

Who isn't like this?

All girls are.

One in the morning.

Ding Xian finished copying the entire love letter and put it into her schoolbag, gritting her teeth.

Early the next morning, Ding Xian specifically woke up early and went to school with her heavy schoolbag.

In the early morning, faint light penetrated the clouds, casting the first rays. The air was filled with the smell of soy milk and fried dough sticks. Dewdrops glistened on the lawn, and the streets and alleys were bustling with students rushing to school, noisy but radiating a warm atmosphere.

Ding Xian was the first to arrive at the classroom. She slipped the letter into the crack of Zhou Siyue's desk, returned to her own seat, and started morning reading while covering her ears.

Time passed minute by minute, and classmates arrived one after another.

Zhou Siyue and Song Ziqi arrived in the classroom just in time again, with Kong Shadi following behind them.

The three sat down in their seats. No one spoke to her. Ding Xian covered her ears tightly and began to read aloud.

Zhou Siyue had just put his schoolbag inside.

Then a pink object fell out. Song Ziqi glanced back, teasing, “Tsk tsk, I was saying your popularity in high school wasn't as high as in junior high, but someone’s already offering themselves up so soon? Come on, let me see which class beauty it is.”

Saying that, Song Ziqi tried to pounce and snatch it.

Zhou Siyue picked it up first. Song Ziqi wouldn't give up and tried to pounce again. Zhou Siyue pushed his shoulder with one hand and shoved the letter into the desk compartment with the other. Seeing that he couldn't get it, Song Ziqi was unwilling and yelled, “Didn't you always throw away stuff like this before? What's wrong, so nervous about this one? Looks like there's something fishy going on, huh?”

“Scram.”

Zhou Siyue cursed and kicked Song Ziqi. The two boys were making a ruckus in the classroom. Kong Shadi looked back at Ding Xian with a mocking gaze.

Ding Xian didn't lift her head until the bell for morning reading rang.

Zhou Siyue didn't open that letter either; he simply shoved it into his desk compartment.

After the forty-minute morning reading class ended, Kong Shadi didn't turn around to talk to her. Instead, she laid her head on the desk and slept. When a girl asked Kong Shadi to go to the restroom, Kong Shadi lifted her head from the desk, smiled, stood up, and said, “Okay.”

She didn't ask Ding Xian to go with her.

Later, for lunch, Kong Shadi didn't wait for her either, but went to the cafeteria arm-in-arm with another girl.

For the entire morning, neither of them had spoken a single word to her.

Even Song Ziqi noticed the strange atmosphere. He knocked on Ding Xian’s desk, “Did you argue with Kong Shadi?”

Ding Xian didn’t answer, keeping her head down.

Song Ziqi understood. At first, he also thought this girl was strange, but after getting to know her, he found her quite amusing, as scatterbrained as Kong Shadi, just not as utterly clueless as Kong Shadi.

“You girls are always like this, I don’t know what you’re fighting about. Don’t be sad, she often argues with me too. Just ignore her, and when her anger subsides, she’ll come pitifully to make up with you.”

Ding Xian hadn't expected Song Ziqi to comfort her. She had always thought this boy was boisterous and spoke without filter, but he was surprisingly thoughtful. She looked at him gratefully.

“Thank you.”

Song Ziqi gave an indifferent smile, “No problem.”

In the afternoon, Ding Xian went to ask Liu Jiang for leave.

Liu Jiang had been very easygoing lately. He readily signed her leave slip and even smiled as he reminded her not to neglect her studies and to be safe outside.

Ding Xian nodded and bowed, full of gratitude. Who said Liu Jiang was rigid? He was clearly so kind. It seemed Xu Ke’s information wasn’t very accurate.

The next two days were sports days. Kong Shadi didn't come to reconcile with her, and Zhou Siyue still didn't speak to her. Ding Xian felt like she was becoming an invisible person in their quartet.

The letter remained in Zhou Siyue's drawer. Several times, Ding Xian saw out of the corner of her eye that when he pulled out a book, the envelope would come out with it, and then he would push it back in.