Nian Ueno

It wasn't completely dark yet, and with the last glimmer of sunlight, she retraced her steps back the way she had come.

The mountain roads are rugged.

She was wearing sneakers, but her heels were still blistered.

She gritted her teeth and walked forward until it was completely dark and the last rays of the setting sun disappeared.

The crescent moon hung high in the sky, like the corners of a curved mouth, or perhaps mocking her.

A protruding pebble on the road tripped her.

Jiang Weixi fell heavily to the ground, her knees burning with pain. She used her hands to push herself up.

I don't know where the blood is coming from, but there's a strong smell of blood on the tip of my nose.

The moonlight was cool and thin.

The occasional roars of wild beasts inevitably instilled fear in people.

No matter how strong she is, she is still just a 20-year-old girl.

Jiang Weixi was a little afraid that the smell of blood would attract wild animals.

But it was too dark, she couldn't see clearly, and there was nothing to treat her wound.

She stumbled forward, not daring to stop for a moment.

"Awooo..."

Suddenly, I heard the howl of a wolf.

Jiang Weixi turned around and saw a pair of eerie green eyes in the grass.

She was startled and froze on the spot, unable to move.

My blood seemed to have frozen, and my hands and feet were out of control.

The wolf lurked in the grass, ready to pounce at any moment.

Jiang Weixi forced herself to calm down and did not make any rash moves. She noticed a very tall tree about five meters away.

She clenched her fingers, glanced at the wolf poised to pounce, turned and ran desperately toward the tree, climbing it with both hands and feet.

His hands were raw and bleeding.

Jiang Weixi sat on the tree trunk, breathed a sigh of relief, glanced at the wolf eyeing her menacingly at her feet, and her hatred for Ji Xingzhou reached its peak.

He brought her out, but he didn't take her back.

My head was dizzy.

Jiang Weixi clung tightly to the tree trunk, afraid she would fall.

The buzzing started in my ears again.

She knew she was overwhelmed with emotion and tried to calm herself down.

Jiang Weixi sat on the tree trunk, staring at the wolf, not daring to close her eyes all night.

Until the sky began to lighten with the first hint of dawn.

The wolf finally couldn't hold on any longer and left.

Jiang Weixi waited on the tree for a while longer, then picked up a thick section of the trunk and slowly climbed down.

Fortunately, the wolf really did leave.

She continued walking, traversing rugged paths and braving the biting wind, until she finally emerged from the valley.

There's a gas station up ahead.

Jiang Weixi walked into the service hall, intending to rest for a while.

A kind staff member noticed her chapped lips and gave her a cup of hot water.

She borrowed a phone and dialed Ji Xingzhou's number.

I can't remember anyone else's phone number, but I remember his.

At seven in the morning, Ji Xingzhou was still asleep when the phone rang, waking him up. His tone was irritable, tinged with morning grumpiness: "Feed?"

Jiang Weixi opened her mouth, her voice hoarse: "I'm here..."

She gave her location.

The other side remained silent for a few seconds.

Ji Xingzhou seemed to have just come to his senses, his voice filled with surprise: "Why are you still there? Didn't you come back in another car? Didn't you come back last night?"

Jiang Weixi: "No, you all disappeared after I went to the bathroom last night."

"Then why didn't you call me?"

"I lost my phone."

"What an unfortunate coincidence?"

Jiang Weixi gave a silent, cold laugh. It was indeed very unfortunate, so unfortunate that it seemed almost deliberate.

She didn't say that Xu Manzhen might have taken it. Because it was just her guess, and even if she did, Ji Xingzhou might not believe her.

"Wait there for a bit. I'll come pick you up now."

"oh."

Jiang Weixi hung up the phone and returned it to the woman at the gas station.

Hearing her story, the older sister looked at her with a hint of sympathy.

"Girl, I'm not trying to stir up trouble, but your boyfriend is really unreliable. How could he leave his girlfriend behind while we were out having fun? He doesn't care about you at all."

Jiang Weixi smiled and said, "Yes, I didn't take it to heart at all."

"Why stay together until the New Year if you're not going to break up?"

"We're breaking up right away. We'll break up as soon as we get back."

"That's right, girls, you absolutely mustn't be love-struck..."

About an hour later.

Ji Xingzhou, with messy hair and wearing pajamas, came in and walked up to Jiang Weixi looking travel-worn.

It seems he came over immediately after receiving her call.

The gas station attendant whispered in Jiang Weixi's ear, "Is this your boyfriend? He's quite handsome. I was wondering what you were after by him, and now it seems it's his looks."

Jiang Weixi smiled and did not refute her older sister's words.

Despite harboring many grievances, she was surprisingly calm at this moment.

Ji Xingzhou thought she was about to throw a tantrum. Even the most good-tempered person would get angry after being abandoned in the mountains.

But Jiang Weixi didn't.

She simply glanced at him calmly, then got into the car with him.

The entire journey was speechless.

Ji Xingzhou escorted her to her dormitory building, but she didn't say a word.

The two stopped downstairs at the dormitory building, and she turned to leave.

Ji Xingzhou stopped her, his gaze sweeping over the mud and bits of grass stuck to her shoes.

"I'm sorry about last night. I thought you had already gotten on the bus, but they said you did..."

Jiang Weixi interrupted him, a faint smile playing on her lips: "It's alright."

As always, considerate and generous.

She forgave him so easily, seemingly without being angry at all.

Ji Xingzhou, however, felt that something was not quite right.

Jiang Weixi lowered her eyes to hide the coldness in them.

She roughly guessed what had happened; it was Xu Manzhen and her friends who were behind it.

If he had paid even a little more attention to her, this wouldn't have happened.

Ji Xingzhou glanced at her and noticed the deep red blood vessels in her eyes.

Jiang Weixi looked exhausted, and even her voice sounded weary: "I'm going back to rest now."

"Oh, you didn't lose your phone. I'll take you to buy a new one after you've rested."

"Okay." Jiang Weixi said nothing and turned to go upstairs.

She went back to her dorm to change her clothes, then started catching up on sleep. She slept for a whole day and finally felt refreshed.

Cheng Anuo pushed open the door and came in, carrying several express packages. She placed two rectangular boxes on Jiang Weixi's table.

"Xixi, I just ran into Ji Xingzhou downstairs, and he asked me to give this to you."

Jiang Weixi climbed out of bed, opened the box, and inside was the latest model of a fruit-brand mobile phone.

The other box contained a bottle of perfume, from her favorite brand.

Turn on.

She discovered that the SIM card had been replaced and was already in her phone.

She locked and formatted her previous phone, then logged into her various accounts on this new phone.

The first thing Jiang Weixi did after fixing her phone was...

Delete Ji Xingzhou from your friends list.

Block him.

Ji Xingzhou actually knew everything.

He knew that Xu Manzhen had done this on purpose, so he took the initiative to buy her a new phone as compensation and also gave her an expensive bottle of perfume.

Cheng Anuo looked on with envy: "Your boyfriend is so good to you."

Jiang Weixi curled her lips into a mocking smile: "Yes."

Such a good boyfriend, let's just give him back to Xu Manzhen.

She was tired and fed up with dealing with these people.

She couldn't help but blame Ji Xingzhou, nor could she pretend nothing had happened.

She didn't want to play with Ji Xingzhou anymore.