January 2nd.
"Ellie, can you get in touch with William?"
"No."
"Alright, if Ellie, you can get in touch with William, be sure to send me a message."
"Okay."
Ellie told him that she had obtained the qualification to participate in the New Dance Cup in City A, and the time was January 8th, in the largest theater in the city.
This might be her last time performing on stage, and she hoped he could come.
But he didn't reply.
...
In the evening.
The three of them still couldn't get in touch with William.
Ellie, Daniel, and Hao Ming went to William's house, only to find that the entire floor was isolated by an iron gate, with a large lock on it.
Daniel said, "Why is it locked? Doesn't William still live here?"
Ellie looked through the iron gate at the entrance, the red lanterns were gone, and she said, "Perhaps he moved back and hasn't had time to tell us yet."
Daniel said, "Why wouldn't William tell us in advance?"
Hao Ming said, "Maybe his phone broke, and he hasn't had time to buy a new one yet."
The three looked at the iron gate, all with complicated expressions.
...
January 3rd.
Daniel was anxious to call the police.
Ellie and Hao Ming also agreed to call the police.
The three went to the police station, but the police, after listening to their statements, just laughed and said, "According to what you said, your classmate lives alone and might have gone to a relative's house. A seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy, how could he just disappear at home? Go back and wait for news."
Daniel went back angry and said, "Damn it, we came to the police station because we can't get in touch, and he thinks we're playing a joke on him."
Ellie didn't speak, but opened the message again.
He didn't reply.
Still no reply.
...
January 4th.
Ellie still hadn't received any news about William.
She and William's chat interface was still on the first day of the Lunar New Year when she asked him if the dumplings were delicious.
She patted William's avatar.
Ellie just put down her phone when she heard the Instagram message sound.
She opened her phone, and it was a message from William.
[William]: Sorry, my phone broke.
She typed a few words, then deleted them, and finally sent a message.
[Ellie]: I have something for you.
William also replied quickly on the other side.
[William]: I happen to have something to find you for.
A few minutes later.
William sent a message.
[William]: I'm downstairs.
Ellie took the elevator down and saw William downstairs. He was dressed in black, wearing a scarf, with only a pair of eyes exposed.
She walked up to William and said, "How did your phone break?"
"Accidentally."
Ellie always felt that William was a bit different today, but she couldn't say where.
She handed the book to William and said, "You've finished that set of questions, and I'm here to give you a new one."
William, however, did not take the things from her hand.
"No more tutoring from now on." The young man's voice was a bit hoarse.
Ellie's hand holding the book was a bit stiff, she looked up at William's house and said, "Why?"
"No reason, just don't want to study anymore."
"But your grades have been improving, and you might be able to get into the middle range next semester."
William listened to her words, his fingernails embedded in his flesh, he looked at Ellie and said word by word, "Leave me alone, Ellie."
Ellie met his gaze, the young man's eyes were a bit darker, and now there was no emotion in the bottom of his eyes, which looked somewhat distant.
Just like.
Just like when they first met for the first time.
He rarely called her name.
This time he called her full name.
Ellie wanted to ask him why.
Why, when she was almost pulling him out of that state of decay, he was falling back.
She still asked, she said, "Why? Why leave me alone?"
Facing this pair of clear eyes, William was afraid that he would surrender in a second more, he averted his gaze and said, "Please, don't ask why, give up on me."
Just let him rot in the ditch like this.
Leave him alone.
Don't ask him why anymore.
One more question and he would want to tell her why.
He couldn't.
He himself was living in the mud.
Why drag her down too?
She was the moonlight he dared not desecrate.
Ellie was still holding those books in her arms, a bit heavy, she was silent for a long time, moved her lips, and said, "Okay."
Watching Ellie leave with the books, William turned and left.
Ellie looked back at him walking fast and continued to move forward.
William looked back at her, then left.
...
William didn't dare to take off the scarf around his neck.
The wounds on his face had scabbed.
The long wound on his neck was still quite eye-catching.
...
"Can this phone still be fixed?"
Watching the man shake his head, William put the phone back in his pocket.
He had run many places that day, and all he got were no's and headshakes.
William, holding the phone, saw a mobile phone repair shop in a small alley.
He still went in.
"Come on, come on!"
"I'm so bad!"
The boss was squatting on the ground playing games, and when he saw someone come in, he said, "Wait a moment, I'm almost done."
William was not in a hurry and sat on a chair in the shop.
He wanted to repair the phone just to retrieve the photo of Ellie he had taken before.
"Lost again, damn it! Incompetent teammates!" The boss cursed, threw his phone on the counter in front of him, and said to William, "What phone do you want to fix?"
William took out the broken phone from his pocket and said, "Can it be fixed?"
The boss picked up the phone, looked at it a few times, and said, "There must be something very important inside, right?"
William nodded.
"No problem, leave it to me."
"How much does it cost?"
The boss smiled and said, "Naturally, if it's not fixed, there's no charge. You can come to pick up the phone tomorrow or in the evening."
William asked him, "How long will it take to fix?"
"About three hours, maybe."
William said, "I'll wait here."
As the sky darkened.
William was still waiting in the small shop, staring at him fiddling with various parts inside the phone.
The shop had air conditioning, it was not cold.
The boss saw William staring and said, "There are instant noodles in the box over there, if you're hungry, just take any flavor you want."
William shook his head: "I don't eat."
After another hour of busy work, the boss stretched and said to William, "Okay, you see what important things are inside, hurry up and transfer them out for backup."
William took the phone handed to him and said, "Okay."
He transferred those few photos and the video Daniel sent to the new phone, and then backed up a copy.
"Hey, young man, what's in here that's worth you waiting for me for three or four hours?" The boss looked at him playing with his phone and asked out of curiosity.
William looked up at him, his eyes a bit complicated, he said, "A very important person but I dare not approach."
"The person you like?"
"Mm-hmm."
"Ah, handsome guy, if I looked like you, I would dare to chase any girl, why are you still feeling inferior?"
William was silent for a while, lowered his eyes and said, "She is too excellent, very obedient, very beautiful, and very kind-hearted."
She was the moonlight he dared not touch.