He swung around, took his bicycle, and caught up with me. He grabbed the shoulder strap of my school bag and said, “Get on!”


  “I’ll walk back by myself!” I said in a fit of pique.

  “Xiachun, get on!”


  Dongyu seemed very persistent and added, “Don’t make me lose my temper!”


  His words made me even more indignant.

  Lose his temper?

  What right did he have to be angry!?

  Did I do anything wrong!?

  Why could he have a girlfriend while I needed his approval to date other guys?!

  Why should it be that way?!

  I felt indignant and turned away without looking at him.

  He was about to say something else, but I saw Su Qi approaching on his bicycle. He saw Dongyu too, and as if on purpose, he didn’t brake until he was right next to me. The tire of his bicycle jammed up against that of Dongyu’s bicycle, like some kind of defiant confrontation.

  When Dongyu saw him, his expression turned even uglier. “Get lost.”


  Su Qi ignored him and said to me, “Hop on.”


  Dongyu said angrily, “Su Qi, what did I warn you about!?”


  Before he could finish, I had placed my bag in Su Qi’s bicycle basket, got into the backseat, and slipped my arms around his waist. Ignoring Dongyu’s anger, I said to Su Qi, “I want a soda.”


  “Okay, I’ll buy you a drink.”


  Su Qi said as he glared at Dongyu. Then under his icy gaze, Su Qi turned the bicycle around and cycled away.

  I didn’t look back.

  Dongyu did not come chasing after us either.

  He must be disappointed in me, I thought.

  That night, after we left the karaoke room, Su Qi sent me home. Before I walked off, he grabbed the back of my hand and pulled me to him with a broad smile on his face!

  “Are you leaving left just like that? No other expression?”


  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  He lightly scratched at the bridge of my nose. “No kiss?”


  I blushed and turned around shyly. Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw someone standing at the balcony of our home.

  I looked up and caught the figure leaning against the railing, looking down.

  It was too dark to see clearly, but I could guess who that was.

  I bit my lip and suddenly turned around to look at Su Qi.

  Initially disappointed, Su Qi’s expression instantly brightened up when I turned around.

  “Idiot!” I groaned.

  Then, I walked up to close the gap between us. I tiptoed and put my arms around his shoulders, offering him a kiss.

  He was too tall. Next to his 1.8-meter frame, my 1.6-meter height made me look petite in comparison.

  …


  After Su Qi left, I turned around. The figure on the balcony was gone.

  When I got home, I walked past Dongyu’s room. I stopped in my tracks , suddenly realizing my earlier behavior was terrible.

  I didn’t know why I did that, whom I was trying to provoke, and even what that would achieve.

  I then walked to the balcony and stood where Dongyu had been. From this angle, he would have seen everything clearly.

  My only intention was to show that I could do without him.

  Ever since that incident, the distance between Dongyu and I grew

  I wasn’t sure who between the two of us was trying to keep a distance from the other. More than once, I laughed at how the camaraderie between us was evident even in this moment.

  Sometimes, after school, I would deliberately walk past the school gate of number 1 key high school. From afar, I would see Dongyu and Lin Li walking home together.