Although the holiday officially started today, tomorrow would be the first day of the seven-day long break.
Lo Ye finished the content he planned to update for the day by 4 p.m. in his dorm.
He glanced at his phone and saw that he had messages. However, they weren't from Su Bai Zhou, but from Tang Enqi.
She asked if he was going home. If he was, she would be going too, and they could travel together.
In the past, Lo Ye would have been thrilled by this message and immediately agreed. But now, his mind was occupied by thoughts of the "fairy" senior, Su Bai Zhou, and some strange things Gu Mingxuan had said earlier, so he simply declined the offer.
Apart from Tang Enqi, Xu Xiaojia also messaged Lo Ye. Although Xu Xiaojia wasn't a high school classmate of his, they both came from Beijing, so if they were heading home, it would be convenient.
Xu Xiaojia also asked if Lo Ye was going home.
Lo Ye couldn't help but sympathize with her. It seemed that she liked Li Haoyang, but she didn't know that the "coach" had already been taken by Liu Bingxin. Lo Ye wasn't sure how to break the news to her.
This girl had come all the way from Beijing to study in this distant place, and because she was talkative, she didn't have many friends. On the first day of school, when she was carrying her heavy luggage and it was raining, she happened to run into Li Haoyang, whom she thought was a senior welcoming new students. It wasn't until the class meeting before military training that she realized Li Haoyang was actually her classmate.
Since Li Haoyang was the class monitor, and Xu Xiaojia had a tendency to get into trouble, she often relied on him for help. Over time, she developed a crush on the dependable class monitor.
But now, that class monitor was already taken by a long-legged girl.
What a pity.
Lo Ye also told Xu Xiaojia that he wouldn't be going back home.
He then left the dorm to take a walk around.
When leaving the school, Lo Ye's phone rang again.
He looked at it and saw that Su Bai Zhou had finally replied.
Su Bai Zhou: "I don't really want to go home."
Lo Ye thought for a moment and typed: "If you don't want to go, then don't."
Su Bai Zhou was silent for a while, then replied: "My mother's health isn't good."
Lo Ye finally understood why Su Bai Zhou always went home during the holidays. It made sense now, why she always stayed up late doing online freelance computer work to make money.
Not long after, Su Bai Zhou sent a few more messages.
Su Bai Zhou: "I bought the ticket, I'll leave tomorrow."
Su Bai Zhou: "You can stay at the teacher's dorm after I leave."
Lo Ye read these messages thoughtfully.
Gu Mingxuan had mentioned on the phone that there were many rumors about Su Bai Zhou at her home, which made her not want to go back. Every time she did, she had to endure the judgment of relatives and friends.
It must be painful for her to go back home each time.
Lo Ye sent her a simple "Okay" in response, then quietly began searching online for tickets to Su Bai Zhou's hometown.
Her home was near Jiangcheng, in a city called Hangcheng, which was a part of the Jiangnan water town region. It was less than 200 kilometers away from Jiangcheng, and by high-speed train, the journey would take about an hour.
However, once he reached Hangcheng, Lo Ye had no idea where Su Bai Zhou's house was. He couldn't just ask her, as they had only known each other for a month, and their relationship wasn't at the point where they shared personal details like home addresses.
But the thought of her possibly feeling sad made Lo Ye restless.
No matter what, he couldn't stay in Jiangcheng, doing nothing. If something happened to her, he wouldn't be able to help. But if he went to Hangcheng, at least he could be there quickly to accompany her if she needed him. If nothing happened, then that would be great.
If Shen Qiao were here, he would probably call him a "puppy dog."
But there was nothing wrong with being deeply affectionate. Without the courage to gamble everything, how could one experience that truly precious love?
At least, if you gave it your all and the result wasn't as expected, you would have no regrets when you look back in the future. You would know that you tried your best.
Having made up his mind, Lo Ye bought a ticket for the evening train, then returned to the dorm to pack a few sets of clothes. He then headed to the school gate and took a taxi to the train station.
While waiting for the taxi, Lo Ye ran into Liu Bingxin and Tang Enqi.
Both girls were there, with Liu Bingxin holding luggage, seemingly ready to head home, and Tang Enqi only carrying a small bag. It was obvious that she was helping Liu Bingxin with her things.
Upon seeing Lo Ye, Tang Enqi was puzzled. "Lo Ye, didn't you say you weren't going home?"
Lo Ye replied, "Hmm, I'm going to Hangcheng for a couple of days."
Before Tang Enqi could respond, Liu Bingxin added, "Hangcheng, huh? It's been developing really well these past few years. Maybe one day, Haoyang and I will go there too."
Tang Enqi poked her playfully and pouted, "I've already told you, no more showing off your relationship."
"Ha ha, you're the same! Didn't you go out with that handsome senior last weekend?"
"He kept asking me out, but I didn't want to go. He even camped out under my dorm building until I agreed. It really pissed me off."
While saying this, Tang Enqi glanced at Lo Ye, noticing that he didn't react to the conversation at all.
For some reason, Tang Enqi felt a bit sad, as if something that once belonged to her had been completely lost.
But what right did she have to feel sad?
Tang Enqi gave a bitter smile and said, "Lo Ye, I hope you have fun."
"Yeah, I hope you have fun too."
Lo Ye got into the taxi and headed toward the train station.
Watching the taxi drive off, Liu Bingxin casually asked, "Qiqi, do you really not like that handsome senior?"
"Well... he's asked me out many times, but I just don't feel anything. Last Saturday, he was even waiting outside my dorm. It was only because you told me to give him a chance that I agreed to go. But honestly, I just didn't feel anything."
As another boy appeared beside her, Tang Enqi realized that her youth had always been attached to the image of a sunny boy.
That boy had always been there, never leaving her side.
But she had never once turned around to look at him.
One day, when she finally did, she realized that the boy was no longer there.
That was when she understood how important he had been.
There are many ways to determine what is important to you, but the most direct way is to lose it.
When she came to Jiangcheng, she finally understood just how much courage a boy needed to accompany her to a strange city. From the moment Lo Ye enrolled in Jiang University because of her, it meant that he would stay there for at least four years.
But she, the one who had brought Lo Ye to Jiang University, had abandoned him here.
And beauty, it seemed, wouldn't sink because of her abandonment.
Beauty would be found by someone else, picked up, cherished, and treasured.