Even for Liu Yiyi, going out meant being squeezed in a crowd, and now the autograph signing session was nearing its end.
People were beginning to leave one by one. Aside from the celebrity exit, fans were shouting all around. Liu Yiyi tried her best to walk the long way around, but she still couldn't avoid the shoving.
Just then, she saw a little girl get pushed and about to fall.
Stepping forward quickly, she wrapped one arm around the girl's waist while holding the girl's soon-to-be-dropped autographed album in her other hand. "Be careful," she murmured, and turned to leave, only hearing the little girl's thanks from behind.
As she left, Liu Yiyi muttered to herself that she would rarely come to this mall again in the future—it was too noisy, too crowded, and too annoying.
Shao Qi had also finished his event and was exiting through the celebrity passageway when his foot suddenly stepped on something.
Shao Qi lowered his head to take a look, bent down, and picked it up. It was a photograph of himself, and his own face on the picture had taken a stomp from his shoe. Instantly, black lines of exasperation crossed his forehead.
He flipped the photo over in his hand to look for more "information," and sure enough, there was his own signature on the back, accompanied by a line of text: "To my dear Linlin."
It was that Chinese person who had asked for autographs for a friend. Of course the impression would be deep. Unable to speak each other's language, Shao Qi put the photo in his pocket and left.
Liu Yiyi went to the supermarket to buy some daily necessities and then returned to her residence. She lived at Jinxi Apartment, right next to T University.
Most of the residents in the apartment building were students from T University. Liu Yiyi lived in Room 815 on the eighth floor. Back inside, she put down the things she was carrying.
Thinking of mailing Shao Qi's autographed photo back home to Zhang Lin, she opened her small bag, only to find the signed photo was gone. Recalling what had happened after she got the autograph, she suddenly remembered the little girl—she must have let go of the photo while supporting her, which meant it had been dropped in the mall.
Liu Yiyi lightly tapped her own head, picked up her phone, and called Zhang Lin. "Xiaolin, the autographed photo is lost. When Shao Qi has another signing event later, I'll help you get another one," Liu Yiyi said calmly.
She only heard Zhang Lin screaming on the other end: "You lost my Shaoshao!" Liu Yiyi pulled the phone three inches away from her ear; she knew Zhang Lin very well, or else her ears would suffer again.
Apologizing, she explained, "There were too many people at the scene, I didn't hold on to it securely, but I'll make it up to her later. Besides, Shao Qi is from Country T, so there will be other chances."
Zhang Lin said angrily, "Oh right, Yiyi, did you know Shaoshao goes to the same school as you? He's a sophomore. Help me ask him for another autograph on campus." Just as the words left her mouth, Zhang Lin immediately changed her tune. "No, two! To compensate for my emotional distress. And I want Shaoshao's chat."
In a comforting tone, Liu Yiyi replied, "Fine, if I happen to run into him, I'll try my best to get two for you, but I can't guarantee the chat. Xiaolin, don't forget to take care of Qiqi for me."
Zhang Lin patted her chest to reassure her. "I know, I know. Try your best to get me his chat, and I'll count it as your birthday gift to me this year. Also, Qiqi misses you a lot—he even cried on the day you left."
Liu Yiyi's gaze dimmed, and she said, "Xiaolin, I'm hanging up."
Zhang Lin understood completely. They had been friends for over twenty years, so she had that much tact. "Alright, call Qiqi then. I'm going to go look at my Shaoshao. Bye."
Liu Yiyi hung up the phone and dialed Shu Qiyu's cell phone.
Back home in China, Shu Qiyu was reading a book when his ringtone sounded. Seeing Liu Yiyu's incoming call, he answered it happily and said in a sweet, childish voice, "Yiyi, you haven't called me at all. I miss you so much."
Liu Yiyi replied gently that because she had just arrived in Country T, there were a lot of things she needed to sort out. She asked how his body was feeling, if there was any discomfort, and if he had eaten anything he shouldn't have. She was deeply worried and wanted to know if there had been any other developments during her absence.
Shu Qiyu had congenital heart disease. A while ago, he had begun waiting for a suitable match, recuperating at home and bracing himself for the surgery that could arrive at any time.
With a hint of depression in his soft voice, Shu Qiyu said, "My body is still very stable lately, and I'm eating normally. It's just that I'm all alone and can't see Yiyi."
Liu Yiyi comforted him by saying that once he finished his surgery, she would take him out to play and do all the things he originally wanted to do but couldn't. After that, they chatted a bit more about the details of each other's lives and hung up the phone.
Liu Yiyi loved studying culture, the origin history, and the development history of various countries. She had come to Country T precisely to pursue her master's degree in cultural studies.
School started tomorrow, so she needed to sleep early. The alarm clock rang at seven. She washed up, had a simple breakfast of bread, fried eggs, and milk—the classic trio—and put on the T University school uniform.
The T University uniform was a skirt suit, which wasn't very convenient. Liu Yiyi rarely wore skirts, so she wore athletic shorts underneath. Glancing at the watch on her wrist, it was 8:10; it was time to head downstairs.
She picked up her schoolbag and rode her bicycle toward T University. The first day of school required students to arrive by 8:30, and Liu Yiyi arrived on campus at 8:25, joining in the freshmen orientation activities.