I was born and listened to my neighbor's older sister talk about her family of origin.

The glaring scene didn't bother Xu Zhiyu for long; Jiang Ye soon noticed her.

He looked up, his gaze passing through the glass of the corridor, and met Xu Zhiyu's figure standing at the back door.

Jiang Ye casually tapped Lin Youxun's test paper with the end of his pen.

"These are the steps for solving this problem. Please go over the logic again. I'm leaving now."

Lin Youxun nodded: "Okay, thank you for today too."

She turned her head following Jiang Ye's gaze, and her eyes met Xu Zhiyu's.

Xu Zhiyu was standing there.

The setting sun shone on her simple school uniform, making her look clean and pretty. A gentle smile played on her lips, as if the deep, deathly silence from before had never existed.

"Hello, senior."

Lin Youxun quickly greeted them.

"Hello, Yu-Kaoru."

Xu Zhiyu's voice was gentle and flawless.

She turned to Jiang Ye, who was packing his schoolbag, and asked, "Ye, are you done?"

Jiang Ye swept a few pens into his pencil case and zipped it up: "Oh no, what kind of car did you buy?"

"An orange commuter bus, very lightweight."

Xu Zhiyu answered with a smile.

In the front row, Ji Xiaoxiao finally finished copying the last line of her homework. She closed the notebook, slung her backpack haphazardly over her shoulder, and excitedly rushed over.

"Sister Little Fish! I'm starving! I want to eat the fried skewers from that place at the end of the alley today!"

Xu Zhiyu straightened Ji Xiaoxiao's rolled-up collar: "Okay, I'll buy it for you when I pass by later."

The three of them walked out of the classroom.

Lin Youxun sat in her seat, watching their laughing and chatting figures as they left. She glanced down at Jiang Ye's handwriting on the test paper and silently put the paper into her schoolbag.

"Xinghe, let's go."

Lin Xinghe in front of him had been impatiently shaking her leg for a while, and the handwriting on her homework was heavily scribbled.

Seeing that the two had finally finished, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Walk."

In the bicycle shed outside the school gate.

Jiang Ye pushed his mountain bike out.

Xu Zhiyu pushed a brand-new orange bicycle, its paint reflecting the sunlight, and the basket had an exquisite woven texture.

Ji Xiaoxiao still sat in the back seat of Jiang Ye as usual, reaching out to grab the hem of his clothes.

Jiang Ye took a long stride and steadily supported the car. Seeing that Xu Zhiyu also had a car, he couldn't help but look at Ji Xiaoxiao.

"Ji Xiaoxiao, you hitch a ride with me every day, do you really think I'm your personal chauffeur? When are you going to buy your own car?"

"I can't ride!" Ji Xiaoxiao said matter-of-factly.

This girl no longer hides the fact that she can't ride a bicycle, and takes it for granted that she hitches rides every day without any shame.

She urged:

"Hurry, hurry, our destination is the fried food stall!"

Xu Zhiyu pushed the car to the side, smiling as she looked at Ji Xiaoxiao: "Xiaoxiao, can't you learn it?"

Facing Xu Zhiyu, Ji Xiaoxiao lost her confidence in Jiang Ye and scratched her head somewhat embarrassedly.

"Yeah, I just can't learn how to ride a bicycle, no matter how hard I try."

Xu Zhiyu thought for a moment, then narrowed her eyes slightly: "How about this, I'll practice with you this weekend. I have a secret to riding a bicycle, I'm sure you'll be able to learn."

Ji Xiaoxiao's eyes lit up.

"Really? Then I'll try again."

Seeing this, Xu Zhiyu nodded in satisfaction.

"Once you've learned how to ride, I'll go with you to buy a bicycle."

"Great! Actually, I really like your car. Let's buy the same one!"

"Um."

Xu Zhiyu smiled gently.

"Alright, let's go."

Jiang Ye pushed off with his foot, and the axle made a crisp "creak" as the vehicle slowly drove into the street.

Xu Zhiyu rode her new bike and followed closely on Jiang Ye's left.

The three people rode side by side under the shade of a sycamore tree.

Summer has quietly passed.

The autumn wind blew by, swirling up a few fallen leaves.

Jiang Ye rode slowly, intentionally accommodating Xu Zhiyu's pace.

Ji Xiaoxiao sat in the back seat, swinging her legs while chattering about the funny things that happened in class today.

Xu Zhiyu listened with a smile, occasionally interjecting a word or two.

A warm breeze caressed my face, and Jiang Ye's figure was right in front of me. His white shirt billowed in the wind, exuding a clean and youthful air.

Xu Zhiyu took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing those dark, irritating negative emotions deep into the heart.

It's okay.

She told herself this to herself.

Ah Ye just hasn't figured it out yet; perhaps he's been temporarily blinded by all the temptations outside.

Two years is nothing.

This decade of childhood friendship is a barrier that others can never reach.

Sooner or later, he will realize that only she truly understands him, and only she can stand by his side.

But we need to find out what really happened with Lin Youxun...

As night falls, Qingshui Huating is illuminated with luxurious lights.

After taking a shower, Xu Zhiyu changed into a silk nightgown and sat on the bed.

She picked up her phone, her fingertips flying across the screen as she typed a message and sent it.

[A-Ye, are you asleep?]

About two minutes later, the screen lit up.

JY: [Not yet, just finished showering, what's up?]

He just finished showering too!

Even such an unintentional little coincidence could make Xu Zhiyu's lips curl into a slight smile, and her mood inexplicably improved.

Xu Zhiyu pursed her lips, pondered for a moment, and replied in an extremely natural, casual tone:

[It's nothing, it's just that I saw you explaining a problem to Youxun today, and you seemed very different towards her, very patient, unlike someone you've only known for a month as your deskmate...]

After sending the message, Xu Zhiyu's heart inexplicably quickened. She stared intently at the screen, not missing a single punctuation mark.

the other side.

Jiang Ye glanced at the text message on his phone but didn't think much of it.

After all, junior high school students are always curious about gossip and making friends.

So he simply used voice messaging to briefly explain to Xu Zhiyu how he met the Lin Youxun sisters.

Xu Zhiyu paused for a moment when she saw that Jiang Ye had sent a voice message.

Then I listened to that voice message carefully three times.

The events that unfolded weren't as fantastical as she had imagined; they seemed rather ordinary.

Could it be that A-Ye fell in love at first sight?

Which one did he originally like?

But I seem to act much like her—delicate, gentle...

Does she not like older women?

But she's only two years older.

Xu Zhiyu was conflicted, and her eyebrows furrowed unconsciously.

She stood up and walked to the full-length mirror in front of the wardrobe.

The girl in the mirror was tall and slender with fair skin. Her long, black hair, which had just been showering, fell smoothly over her shoulders. Her eyes were bright and clear, and her temperament was cool yet gentle, reminiscent of the Jiangnan water towns.

An impeccable face.

Xu Zhiyu has absolute confidence in her appearance.

But in the end, he is still older than A-ye.

"So what if you're two years older...?"

Xu Zhiyu pressed her fingers against the cold mirror, looking at herself in the mirror.

"Anyway, Ah Ye can only be mine."

She went back to bed, picked up her phone, and sent Jiang Ye one last WeChat message.

I see. I was just curious. Well... get some rest, see you tomorrow.