Jingle, jangle, clatter.
Evening self-study came to an end.
Xiao Ye and Huang Li walked back to the dormitory together. You could say their paths were deeply intertwined; they had been in the same class since kindergarten and, after becoming desksmates in the first grade of primary school, had been partners in crime ever since, never parting ways. Although their personalities were not entirely identical, over so many years they had rubbed off on each other quite a bit. They understood each other better than they understood themselves—it would be no exaggeration to say they knew each other inside and out.
When they returned to the dormitory, only the two of them were there.
The dorm was designed for ten people, but there were only three of them. Aside from Xiao Ye and Huang Li, the remaining girl was an art student who had not yet returned due to a rehearsal.
"Sigh! Lizi, where are my cards?" Xiao Ye, who had already finished washing up, was ransacking boxes and cabinets on the top bunk of her bed.
"How should I know! What do you want cards for? Didn't the head teacher explicitly ban messing with those things? You're still defying the wind to commit a crime—tired of living?"
"Won't I be bored to death tomorrow night otherwise?" Xiao Ye pouted slightly, her aggrieved expression making it hard for anyone to stay mad at her.
Yet for Huang Li, who had grown up alongside her and knew her tricks inside and out, it had no effect at all. "No way!" Huang Li said coldly.
"Lizi~" The grievance on her face deepened just a bit more.
"Be a good girl, listen to me!" Huang Li said, unmoved.
"Who are you telling to listen?!" Xiao Ye threw what she was holding in her hand and feigned anger.
"My bad!" came the completely insincere apology.
Click.
Just as the two of them were up to their usual antics, their roommate Li Ruoya returned. She was wearing a red crop top and a white miniskirt beneath an oversized autumn school uniform. Her waist-length hair was woven with a few small braids and pinned back with a pretty hair clip, and her face was delicately and prettily made up. She looked lovely, though still falling short of the natural beauty possessed by Xiao Ye and Huang Li.
"You're back," Huang Li greeted her out of politeness.
"Yeah." And that was the end of it.
Whether it was just Xiao Ye and Huang Li's imagination or not, they always felt that Li Ruoya didn't seem to like them very much. Ever since the term started, she had never once taken the initiative to speak to them.
The two of them exchanged an innocent glance and quietly packed their things, getting ready for bed and sleep.
The night passed without dreams.
In the morning, at 5:50.
"Yezi, time to get up!" Huang Li yawned as she patted Xiao Ye, who was completely buried under the covers fast asleep.
"Mm~ give me five more minutes~"
Five minutes later.
"Yezi!"
"Ngh... I don't want to~"
Half an hour later, the two of them hurried into the classroom right on the bell for morning self-study.
"Lord Xiao, Sister Li, do you two ever dare to arrive even a second early?" Liu Yiqian teased.
"Ha! If your Lord Xiao's five minutes were the same length as our five minutes, never mind a second, I'd have been here a thousand seconds ago!"
Xiao Ye pouted slightly and said with a wronged expression, "Lizi, are you sick of me?"
Huang Li smiled faintly. "Is being sick of you a one- or two-day thing?"
"..."
The morning slipped away amidst the teachers' diligence and the students' concentration.
As soon as class was dismissed, Yao Na'er hooked her arms through theirs on either side, dragging Xiao Ye and Huang Li toward the playground.
"Why are we coming to the playground?" Both of them wore blank looks.
Yao Na'er said excitedly, "To watch the rehearsal!"
"What's so great about a rehearsal? I want to eat!" Xiao Ye protested.
"Rehearsals aren't great, but Brother Yi is!"
Huang Li also looked entirely resistant. "Can't you just watch the actual performance tonight!"
"How are you supposed to see anything with so many people? All you'd see is a sea of bobbing heads!"
That made a lot of sense.
"Look, look! He Yi, He Yi!" Yao Na'er suddenly bounced up and down with excitement, pointing eagerly in a certain direction.
Following the direction she pointed, a tall and upright figure came into view. He was wearing a white hoodie underneath an oversized autumn school uniform, paired with black long pants and black skate shoes—simple and clean. The mildly warm sunlight shone down on him, casting a golden glow over his entire person and making his naturally fair skin appear even whiter.
His delicate facial features looked all the more breathtaking in the sunlight, his cherry-colored lips curved slightly upward, and his gaze lowered gently. One of his hands was tucked into his school uniform pocket while the other held a few sheets of paper. As he read them, he tilted his head slightly, listening to what the person beside him was saying.
Quiet and serene, like a painting.
Many years later, when Xiao Ye looked back on this moment, she still felt that the years were peaceful and quiet.