Memories are like drops of water.

They fall bit by bit, gathering into a stream.

You can't pick out each individual drop from that stream with any real certainty.

You don't remember those exact words. You can't recall the details of those stories.

You only vaguely remember the people from your youth, those smiling faces, those bitter aches and heartbreaks.

The late-summer wind in Chuzhou carried the last traces of heat, yet it still couldn't burn away a youth beyond saving.

That was a line Lu Huai once wrote in an essay. Back then, he really did feel that his life was hopeless a lot of the time. But now he understood something. There are things you just have to try. If you don't try, how will you know how much lower your youth can still sink?

A tenderness that couldn't last. A hand that couldn't be held onto. A friend who could no longer take that final step forward.

Those were all things that would become regrets, weren't they?

The girl's cheeks were red as she tilted her head up. It made a sharp contrast with the boy, who had his head slightly lowered.

The two of them stood in front of the bus, separated by a distance that made them seem like strangers.

That unexpected little episode didn't lead to some passionate aftermath. It led to a long, long silence, one that lasted until the bus arrived.

Only then did the two young people, both carrying strange and tangled feelings, board one after the other.

Lu Huai still chose his usual seat. There weren't many people on the bus at this hour.

And Yan Ningning, as if it were only natural, sat down beside him.

The scenery outside the window began to slide past in overlapping layers.

Whenever Yan Ningning was by his side, Lu Huai would always slip into a different state.

He could hear the conversations of the people up front with perfect clarity. He could even notice the driver giving his foot a little shake.

And yet somehow, he might not hear a single word from the girl right beside him.

It wasn't because he didn't care.

It was because he didn't want to seem like he cared.

The phrase "trying to hide it only makes it more obvious" fit him perfectly.

In the swaying bus, Yan Ningning finally spoke in a soft voice.

"Lu Huai..."

"Hm...?"

"Summer's about to end."

There was a note of regret in the girl's voice.

Lu Huai looked out the window thoughtfully, at the green leaves, at the ordinary people in T-shirts, shorts, and slippers.

"Yeah."

"But it feels like there are still a lot of things we were supposed to do in summer, and we still haven't done them."

"Is that so..."

"Mm. Like going to the beach once. Like listening to a lively concert. Like watching Chuzhou's summer fireworks. You didn't go last time."

At the mention of that, Lu Huai gave an apologetic smile.

"There were too many people there... Hm? Didn't you say you went later with your friends...?"

Lu Huai remembered that. Yan Ningning had invited him out a few times before. And Chuzhou's annual summer fireworks show was, for many young women in the city, a pretty romantic event.

When she invited him back then, Lu Huai had entertained some unnecessary fantasies. Then his expected refusal was met with her expected acceptance. To Lu Huai, it had been a tacit understanding that was both regrettable and perfectly reasonable.

A mutual understanding where one side knew the other was only being polite, and the other knew he definitely wouldn't go.

"Uh... later... something came up, so I couldn't make it... No, that's not it. I got there too late, so I missed the best part..."

The slightly flustered girl brushed at the hair by her temple, even though it wasn't messy at all, and explained in a voice that rose and fell unevenly.

"I see..."

"Y-Yeah."

"Mm... mm..."

Lu Huai didn't know what to say anymore. When he was facing unique girls like Lin Ruoxing or Xu Wenxi, he could always come up with something to talk about. Sometimes it was a complaint that crossed the line a little. Other times it was just basic survival instinct.

But with Yan Ningning, things always slipped into a strange kind of awkwardness.

Actually, the two of them were familiar enough. Maybe it was because they were familiar that Lu Huai subconsciously believed she would always understand him. So sometimes, even if the conversation fell into silence, he didn't feel all that guilty about it.

That was actually pretty awful, wasn't it...?

It was like knowing your parents would never abandon their child, so you felt free to lash out at them with harsh words, even hurt them.

But with strangers, you'd be perfectly polite and courteous.

"Has anything happened recently?"

Whether Yan Ningning was just looking for a topic or had really sensed something, she asked that question.

Lu Huai grew a little tense.

"Nothing much..."

But Yan Ningning looked at him strangely.

"Why do you look so nervous?"

Whenever this secret came up, the secret Lu Huai had decided not to tell anyone around him, he would unexpectedly gain a kind of stubborn strength.

"I... I've always been this nervous talking to girls... it's not like you don't know that..."

Yan Ningning frowned and leaned a little closer.

Her pretty face, her warm body, naturally drew near the boy just like that.

"But this feels a little different..."

Lu Huai's heartbeat sped up. His cheeks flushed uselessly red. He'd heard that people who blushed easily usually had pretty good skin... wait, what the hell was he even thinking?

"Maybe it's because... you look especially pretty today... so I'm especially nervous..."

"..."

The presence beside him vanished all at once.

The face that had leaned close really had moved away.

But Lu Huai suddenly felt like he'd said something that would bring endless trouble later.

When you're forced to make up an excuse, it doesn't matter whether it's clumsy or not. What matters is how the other person understands it.

She wasn't going to misunderstand, right?

The boy stole a slight glance at the girl beside him.

Yan Ningning was staring at him with wide eyes. That face of hers... it was a face full of healthy color, fair and beautiful, now tinged pink.

She looked at him in disbelief.

Lu Huai felt that something was off. Calling it shyness would be correct, but this shyness... didn't seem quite normal.

"Y-You're acting weird!"

I'm not symmetrical either!

Lu Huai frantically looked away.

"I... I was just joking..."

Please just treat it like a joke! I'm begging you! This isn't some flirting trick, okay?! I just paid attention to this kind of line while looking for writing material, and it slipped out!

But Yan Ningning looked at Lu Huai with complete certainty.

"You meant that!"

"No... I didn't... I wasn't..."

Don't jump to conclusions! Aren't you supposed to be the kind of girl who's been complimented by tons of people?!

But the muttering girl refused to let it go.

"All you've got left is a stubborn mouth. You boys are all like this, aren't you? You're the ones who say things first, but then you refuse to admit it."

Wait... did she mean a playboy?

He absolutely was not!

If a playboy meant the kind of guy whose heart was rotten like trash, then the version of that word that applied to him was probably a guy who could be shattered by reality into glass shards at any moment.

"I... do you have to put it that harshly?"

Then he saw Yan Ningning reveal a sly smile.

"I was joking too. What, you get to have double standards?"

Lu Huai fell silent.

Women really were terrifying creatures, beings that made people love and hate them at the same time.

Seeing the boy rendered speechless, only able to stare out the window and pretend to be calm, put Yan Ningning in a very good mood.

It wasn't that teasing him was what made her happy. It was that this kind of mutual teasing, this back-and-forth counterattack, was what friends were supposed to do. It was way better than letting things go cold.

In high spirits, Yan Ningning pulled Lu Huai into chatting about little things.

Like how stunning Bai Xiaotan's new stage in the latest episode of Youth Creation Camp had been.

Lu Huai gave that his highest approval.

"I think it was amazing too!"

"You watched it?"

"I haven't had time yet..."

"Then what do you mean you think so? You haven't even watched it, so what exactly do you think?!"

"Uh... I was just going along with you."

"Student Lu Huai."

Yan Ningning's serious gaze threw Lu Huai into confusion again.

"I think you've developed some rather unusual feelings toward me. Congratulations, your ideological awareness has risen to a new level."

Lu Huai covered his face.

"Complimenting you really was my mistake..."

Looking at Yan Ningning's bright, happy smile, Lu Huai finally understood why some people were willing to play the clown just to make someone else happy. Of course, he didn't want to become that kind of person. The more insecure a boy was, the stronger his self-esteem often was. That was probably why he always seemed to have so many reservations about everything he did.

Still, just like when he was fifteen, all he wanted was to see a vivid, beautiful Yan Ningning.

It was enough for their relationship to stay right here.

"Then let's have dinner together later, okay?"

At the stairwell, the girl said that to him.

Lu Huai nodded.

"Okay."

If only life could stay this easy and peaceful forever.

The two of them turned in different directions and opened different doors.

Su Xiangrong still hadn't come back yet, and there was still some time before the dinner Lu Huai had agreed to with Yan Ningning.

Unhurried, Lu Huai took out his textbooks, finished his homework, and reviewed today's lessons while he was at it.

The ease brought by a childhood friend was brief. But there was no denying it. Friends really could be powerful pillars that held you up through hard times.

So keep living well...

Goal: top three in the grade!

With that conviction, Lu Huai stayed busy until six-thirty.

His head was starting to ache and feel feverish. He didn't want to go to sleep, though, because he was really hungry. If he couldn't get up later and ended up breaking the dinner promise, he wouldn't be able to stand it himself.

After thinking for a moment, Lu Huai noticed the apples in the fruit plate on the coffee table. Su Xiangrong had bought them.

Then Lu Huai went to the kitchen and found a fruit knife.

He sat on the sofa and began patiently peeling an apple. He didn't have any outstanding talent or exceptional strengths, but at least he was pretty patient.

Lu Huai, who was preparing himself to carefully deal with every one of Xu Wenxi's difficult moments, started practicing peeling apple skin.

He peeled and peeled, the strip breaking every so often.

Without realizing it, Su Xiangrong had come back.

The young woman looked tired today too as she set down her canvas bag.

She took off her baseball cap, let out a long, relaxed breath, and came over to the sofa. Then she saw the boy intently focused on peeling an apple.

She also noticed several apples already peeled on the coffee table... though their shapes had been carved into something not especially pretty.

"What are you doing?"

Caught off guard, Lu Huai jumped in fright.

He had been so focused that he hadn't even noticed the door open.

With Su Xiangrong suddenly speaking beside him, the fruit knife in Lu Huai's hand scraped across his thumb.

The cut opened at once, and blood immediately welled out.

Su Xiangrong froze for a moment, then instinctively reached out a hand.

But the moment Lu Huai saw that movement, he jerked backward, shrinking into the corner of the sofa. Then he quickly stuck his thumb between his lips, trying hard to keep his expression calm.

Seeing that, Su Xiangrong's movement stopped abruptly.

Then she looked at Lu Huai, both annoyed and amused.

"What are you doing? Don't tell me you thought I was going to suck on your finger?"

The boy, looking somewhat blank, stood up at once.

"I need to use the bathroom..."

Then he rushed straight into the restroom.

Even after he ran in there, he could still hear Su Xiangrong's exaggerated laughter from outside.

"Hahahahaha... you're way too cute, I'm dying. Don't hide, little brother Lu Huai. No good, I laughed so hard my sides hurt... come out and save me~"