As the sky darkened, Yang Ke hurriedly walked through the school gate, glancing at his watch and sighing with relief, realizing he still had a quarter of an hour before class.
Passing by the front square of the school, Yang Ke noticed a merchant holding a promotional event and curiously stopped in his tracks. Several ropes were set up on one side of the square, adorned with colorful paper strips. Yang Ke realized these were riddles written on the papers and eagerly joined the crowd, trying to solve one. Suddenly, he finally solved one and reached for the paper, but another hand reached for it at the same time.
Surprised, Yang Ke turned to see a beautiful girl staring at him. She was Tong Tong, Leaf Xun's roommate. Tong Tong had been curious about Yang Ke's appearance since last week but never imagined the person before her was the "Nanke Yimu" she had chatted with several times online.
Yang Ke smiled and said, "Ladies first, it's yours!"
"No, you saw it first, you should have it!" Tong Tong replied.
"How about this, you guess first, if you get it right, it's yours. If not, I'll try, okay?" Yang Ke suggested.
Tong Tong smiled and agreed. They went to the prize booth together, and Tong Tong handed over the paper.
"The riddle is 'children of the sun', guess the word. What's your answer?" the attendant asked.
"Is it the surname of a name?" Tong Tong asked.
"Wrong!" replied the attendant.
Tong Tong was puzzled, but Yang Ke, who had been lost in thought, softly said from behind her, "Children of the sun should be 'day born'!"
"Oh!" Tong Tong suddenly understood and blurted out, "It's the character 'star' in 'stars'!"
The attendant smiled and handed Tong Tong a gift list to choose from. Tong Tong picked a wind chime but when she turned back, Yang Ke was already gone, leaving her searching in the crowd, but she couldn't find him anywhere.
Yang Ke entered the classroom for the elective course "The Art of War." Many students were already seated, and the teacher was making final preparations at the front. Yang Ke searched for a seat, finding two vacant ones at the back. He sat down, not realizing it was where he always sat. Just then, his phone rang. It was a friend inviting him to meet on the third floor of Tianyi Pavilion.
"I have class tonight!" Yang Ke replied reluctantly. "Let's talk another day!"
After listening to the reason, Yang Ke frowned, pondered for a moment, then stood up from his seat. As he walked out of the classroom through the left door, Tong Tong, holding the wind chime, entered from the right door and sat beside where Yang Ke had just been sitting.
The bell rang, and the teacher took attendance, calling out names.
"Leaf Xun!"
"Here!" Tong Tong raised her hand, a smug smile on her face, a hint of cunningness visible.
Late at night, Tianyi Pavilion, bustling during the day, gradually quieted down. Yang Ke and his friend left Tianyi Pavilion, parting ways downstairs. Looking up at the night sky, Yang Ke felt a chill in the air, the gentle breeze brushing against people's clothes and cheeks. Feeling cold, Yang Ke realized he had left his coat upstairs and turned to go back to the third floor.
Inside Tianyi Pavilion, with candles still burning, Yang Ke picked up his coat, then noticed a girl lying on a table in a corner. Her delicate face seemed familiar—she was the girl he had seen in class last week (Leaf Xun). Yang Ke gently shook Leaf Xun's arm, but she didn't respond. He smiled wryly, then remembered something. He took out a packet of tissues from his coat pocket and placed it on the table.
Leaf Xun woke up in a daze, struggling to open her eyes. The candlelight reflected off the wine glass and foam on the inner wall, piercing her eyes, while a headache tormented her. Suddenly, she saw the tissues on the table, shocked, instantly sobering up. Grabbing the tissues, which still seemed warm, she saw a figure disappearing at the door. Leaf Xun got up from the table, staggering as she chased after.
Just as Yang Ke reached the bottom of the stairs, he was bumped aside by Leaf Xun rushing down from upstairs. When he turned to look, Leaf Xun had already disappeared into the crowd, leaving him with a blurry, indistinguishable figure. Yang Ke picked up his fallen coat, only to find a broken bracelet underneath.
Leaf Xun ran far away but couldn't find any trace of her boyfriend, stopping in frustration.
"Did I see it wrong? Wasn't it him? He never came to see me!" Leaf Xun muttered to herself, wiping away her tears, only to find the bracelet her boyfriend gave her missing. Frantically, she ran back to Tianyi Pavilion, searching hastily all the way, until she reached the third floor. At that moment, Yang Ke turned around from the other side of the wall, looked around, then put the bracelet in his coat pocket.
"The bracelet is already broken. Who else would come back to look for it?" Yang Ke said before turning away.
Back in the dorm, Tong Tong found Leaf Xun staring blankly at the empty jewelry box, lost in thought.
"Leaf Xun, the teacher took attendance tonight, but it's okay, I was there!" Tong Tong said with a smile, but seeing Leaf Xun's absent-mindedness, she asked concernedly, "Leaf Xun, what's wrong?"
"Nothing!" Leaf Xun replied evasively.
As Tong Tong was about to inquire further, her phone rang. She opened it and walked to the balcony.
"Yuanyuan, what's up?"
"Do you have time this weekend? It's my birthday, and I want to treat you to dinner!"
"I'll definitely come. Who else will be there?"
"They're all good friends, and I'll also introduce someone to you. You must seize the opportunity!" Yuanyuan joked.
Tong Tong closed her phone, then turned back to see Leaf Xun still staring at the empty box, sighing softly. A gust of wind blew, and the wind chime on the balcony rang crisply, capturing Tong Tong's unwavering gaze.
"Introduce someone? Who could it be?" Tong Tong muttered to herself.
Alone in his off-campus house, Yang Ke was studying when someone knocked on the door. Opening it, he found a male student of similar age and appearance but with unmistakable traces of a student's life on his face.
"Are you...?" Yang Ke asked.
"Did you post this poster?" the student raised a poster in his hand.
Yang Ke took a look; indeed, it was his. He had posted it because the rent for his current house was too high, and he wanted to find someone to share the two-bedroom apartment.
"Hello, I'm Yang Ke. Come in!"
The student walked in, saying, "I'm Dai Qiang. I came today to see the house and inquire about the rent!"
Yang Ke showed Dai Qiang around the rooms, introducing each one.
"The house has three bedrooms, a living room, a bathroom, a kitchen, and a balcony. My bedroom is on the east side. If you move in, your room will be on the west side. We'll share the other rooms, and split the rent equally!"
Dai Qiang nodded and said, "Alright! Tell the landlord I'll move in in a couple of days, and I'll pay the rent for this month as soon as possible!"