When I Meet the Moon - Chapter 33
Chapter 33
The cabin upgrade cost five hundred yuan, which was well within Yun Li's budget.
Spending a small fortune just to get two extra hours with Fu Shize made Yun Li feel as though her soul had been sucked right out of her.
Bleeding internally as she walked forward, Yun Li saw Fu Shize standing amidst the bustling flow of people, his striking temperament pulling focus as he waited for her.
Yun Li realized that, actually, it was quite worth it.
Entering the boarding area, the two of them bought some coffee and found a spot to sit down near the boarding gate.
Fu Shize pulled the hood of his trench coat up, leaning his lower back against the seatback as he lowered his head.
Sensing that he was sleeping, Yun Li didn't disturb him.
She went back to playing on her phone on her own.
After a few minutes, Yun Li turned off her phone screen.
Keeping her phone resting on her thighs, she tiptoed to adjust the angle, stealing a glance at Fu Shize through the reflection.
The person in the reflection suddenly looked over.
Yun Li's breath hitched. She pulled her phone back and pretended nothing had happened.
"If you can see me, I can see you too," Fu Shize said, his voice somewhat low and hoarse.
Why on earth did she ever think Fu Shize wouldn't call her out?
Yun Li offered a defense: "I just wanted to see if you were sleeping."
"No." The reply came crisply.
Fu Shize had no intention of going back to sleep. Yun Li opened Bilibili and played a few videos for him, to which he responded with indifferent murmurs. With the two of them sitting close together, Yun Li remembered the little surprise she had prepared for him a few days ago, and biting her lower lip, she asked, "Did you see that thing I tucked inside for you?"
Seeing that Fu Shize wore no expression, she felt a bad premonition: "It's just... there was a moon, and I also slipped in a sticky note."
"What did it say?" Fu Shize lowered his gaze to drink his coffee, his thoughts unreadable. Seeing that Yun Li remained silent for a long time, he raised his eyes again. "Let's hear it."
"..."
Anxious enough to want to stomp her feet right where she sat, Yun Li asked, "Did you throw away the promotional brochure?"
"Threw it away," Fu Shize replied.
"Whatever..." Annoyed, Yun Li scrolled through her phone, tapping her heel against the ground over and over.
After boarding, Yun Li successfully found herself seated right next to Fu Shize.
The plane encountered severe, continuous turbulence from air currents. The flight attendants made announcements over the PA system multiple times, and due to air pressure, Yun Li's right ear made it difficult for her to make out the words clearly.
Yun Li looked out the window at the dark gray, heavy clouds, where flashes of lightning seemed to strike directly against the aircraft, startling her into closing her eyes whenever they flared.
Her very first reaction was that this time when she boarded the plane, she hadn't bought flight accident insurance.
Unable to sit still and additionally struggling to hear the PA announcements, Yun Li cast another glance out the window before hesitatingly poking Fu Shize's arm.
Fu Shize shifted slightly, pulling his sleep mask up a bit.
"Did something happen to the plane?" Yun Li asked.
Fu Shize turned sideways and spoke a few words, but Yun Li could only watch his lips move without being able to hear him clearly.
After repeating himself several times and seeing Yun Li's look of utter confusion, he had no choice but to lean right up against her ear.
Though Yun Li didn't catch his exact words, she felt the warm moisture of his breath brushing against her ear.
Everything from her neck upward was burning up.
The cabin lights dimmed, her seat vibrated and shifted, and the roaring sound echoed deep within her ear canals. With all her senses narrowed down to a single point, Yun Li felt that warm, moist breath brush against her right ear repeatedly.
Thump, thump.
Her heartbeat accelerated to the absolute limit of what it could bear, and Yun Li couldn't help turning her face away as she whispered, "I still can't hear what you're saying."
"..." Fu Shize fell silent.
Flustered, she turned away, taking quite a while to finally calm down before turning back around. She touched her right ear; it didn't seem quite as scorching anymore.
Straightening her posture, Yun Li turned her head. Fu Shize had already removed his sleep mask and was leaning against the cabin wall, staring out the window with bored detachment. The lightning flashing abruptly outside was reflected in his pupils, leaving him completely unfazed.
"Aren't you scared at all?" Yun Li asked.
Fu Shize shook his head.
"I'm a little scared," Yun Li said. "Can you talk to me? If you talk to me, I won't be scared anymore."
Fu Shize opened their WeChat chat interface, typed out the sentence [You can't hear.] and sent it before handing the phone over for her to see.
The phone was in airplane mode with no cellular signal, leaving a red exclamation mark on the interface indicating the message had failed to send.
"Then let's chat using the phone," Yun Li suggested.
Talking to oneself felt somewhat strange. Yun Li took Fu Shize's phone and typed into the same chat interface: [The plane is shaking so badly, it really feels like it's going to fall out of the sky.]
Glancing upward, she noticed Fu Shize's custom nickname for her was 'Yun Lili'.
The three characters strung together made it look like he was trying to act cute.
Yun Li typed: [My name is Yun Li, have you been getting my name wrong all this time?]
Fu Shize took back the phone and typed: [Mn.]
Yet he showed no intention of editing the nickname.
Yun Li: [Then let's keep this name, it sounds pretty nice too.]
Fu Shize: [Mn.]
Yun Li: [Can we go back together later? I want to share a cab, it's a bit late and taking a taxi alone is kind of expensive.]
After taking back the phone, Fu Shize didn't reply immediately.
Yun Li stared at him. After a few seconds, he picked up the phone again, tapped out a few words, and handed it back.
Fu Shize: [Xu Qingsong is coming to pick me up, I'll give you a ride back.]
The two of them passed the phone back and forth dozens of times. Boredom perhaps, but Fu Shize didn't seem tired of it at all.
By accident, Yun Li hit the return button. The second chat window on the main WeChat interface was none other than Lin Wanyin whom she had seen previously. Just like last time, the window still displayed 99+ unread messages, with the most recent one visible: [I'm coming to find you next month.]
When the plane touched down, Xu Qingsong was already waiting in the parking lot. Wearing a sky-blue shirt, he offered an idle, relaxed smile upon seeing them, maintaining his usual refined gentleman's appearance as he leisurely opened the car door for Yun Li.
Just as she got into the car, Xu Qingsong asked, "How did this trip feel?"
Seeing that Fu Shize didn't speak, his tone rose inquiringly: "What?"
Carrying a heavy wave of sleepiness, Fu Shize replied, "Not bad."
Noticing how deeply exhausted he was, Xu Qingsong didn't pry any further, dropping Yun Li off at Qili Xiangdu first.
As the car door closed, Yun Li looked at the lone figure sitting inside, slender and solitary.
The few days of up-close interaction had come to an abrupt end.
After returning to Nanwu, during her internship period, Yun Li and Fu Shize had very few opportunities to cross paths professionally. The human resources department practically handled all the company's miscellaneous chores, and aside from visiting Fu Shize during daily tea breaks, Yun Li poured the vast majority of her energy into her work.
Her interactions with Fu Shize also gradually returned to their routine.
Yun Li: [Eating dinner together tonight?]
Fu Shize: [No.]
Or else—
Yun Li: [I brought you a small cake, I'll bring it over to you now.]
Fu Shize: [No.]
Or else again—
Yun Li: [Want to go to Xiaozhu to grab a cup of coffee together?]
Fu Shize: [No.]
Every single refusal consisted of those exact two characters: "No." Yun Li even suspected he had set up an auto-reply.
Because of this, Yun Li changed her phrasing: [Are we eating dinner separately?]
Fu Shize: [Mn.]
"..."
Yun Li paid no mind to Fu Shize's various explicit and implicit rejections; inviting him had somehow become a routine habit of hers.
Having knocked on Fu Shize's office door too many times, Fu Shize decided answering the door was too troublesome. Finally, during one of Yun Li's visits to deliver coffee, Fu Shize pulled the door open to let her inside and dropped a groundbreaking instruction: "Just come straight in from now on, no need to knock."
...
On Saturday morning, a message arrived from Deng Chuqi: [Can I come over to your place to hang out today?]
Deng Chuqi: [Xiaxia went back home.]
Yun Li replied directly: [Sure, just come right over.]
Right around lunchtime, Yun Li timed things perfectly, finishing up two bowls of wonton noodles just as Deng Chuqi arrived.
"Lili is the best, I might as well just marry you directly." After washing her hands upon entering, Deng Chuqi sat right down at the dining table.
Acting coldly on purpose, Yun Li retorted, "My heart is already taken, please seek another fair maiden."
"Such a cold-hearted woman." Deng Chuqi pouted.
The two of them chatted for quite a while, focusing primarily on Yun Li's pursuit of Fu Shize. Unable to keep it hidden any longer, Yun Li simply confessed about being rejected previously.
Feeling like she was strapped to a gallows, Yun Li described the entire process of that day.
Deng Chuqi's expression froze in a blank stare for several seconds before she let out a loud cry of "Holy shit," her face full of shock: "Lili, does that mean you as good as confessed to him that you like him?"
Yun Li nodded.
"And he rejected you?" Deng Chuqi asked.
Yun Li nodded again.
"Holy crap, he actually rejected you? Is he really gay just like Fu Zhengchu said?!" Deng Chuqi was filled with righteous indignation. Seeing Yun Li display a trace of displeasure, she reined in her emotions and continued, "I never would have imagined you could be this bold."
Yun Li didn't think she was praising her: "It really was daring to the point of defying the heavens."
Deng Chuqi silently ate a few bites of noodles before speaking up with a troubled expression, "Lili, actually Xiaxia told me some things about her uncle."
Yun Li was somewhat bewildered: "What happened?"
"Well... it seems like something really bad happened to him back in university, and then he dropped out of school."
Yun Li said, "He took a leave of absence, not a dropout. I know about that part, but I don't know the reason."
"From what Xiaxia implied, Fu Shize's personality wasn't like this before, but ever since then he went down a downward spiral. His current job is just an empty title arranged by his parents."
Yun Li nodded, smiling with a hint of self-consciousness: "A job that has both free time and money is actually quite enviable."
Deng Chuqi let out a disdainful click of her tongue. Seeing that Yun Li remained completely unfazed, she earnestly advised, "Who knows how long this state of his is going to last? Lili, for our very first relationship, let's try not to suffer such a huge ordeal."
Yun Li countered, "This isn't even a relationship yet."
Knowing that Deng Chuqi was looking out for her, Yun Li offered a sincere explanation: "It's fine. I can feel through a lot of small details that he's a really good person."
Seeing that Yun Li's resolve was as unshakeable as a boulder, Deng Chuqi found it amusing: "When I urged you to take the initiative back then, you ignored me, and now that I'm urging you to give up, you're ignoring me again."
Yun Li bantered, "That just proves you lack emotional intelligence."
Knowing Yun Li's stubborn streak, Deng Chuqi didn't press the issue further. After chatting a bit longer, she suddenly brought up changing jobs: "I'm planning to resign."
With an expression of utter disgust, Deng Chuqi continued, "My company's boss has a broken brain—he already has a wife and kids yet he still flirts with me in the office, it completely disgusts me. When I cursed him out twice, he started tripping me up at work. Xiaxia said she'd get her boss to transfer me over, but that day I marched right in and flipped that old pervert's desk over. Let's see how things play out; my dad wants me to find a job back in Xifu, but I'm thinking about applying for a master's degree overseas."
Yun Li hadn't expected the situation to be this severe, and she gently squeezed her palm in reassurance: "Are you holding up okay?"
Deng Chuqi shook her head and continued venting about work-related grievances. After seeing her off, Yun Li took the time to carefully mull over what she had said.
Though Yun Li had been at EAW for quite a while now, Xu Qingsong's personal style was relatively carefree and casual, and the overall atmosphere of EAW was relaxed and free. In the human resources department, she was basically just handling odd jobs.
In truth, Yun Li still had no idea what the real society was actually like.
...
Before returning home, Yun Li had asked Tang Lin, her dormitory roommate, to pick up her winter semester textbooks. Both Tang Lin and Yun Li rarely stayed on campus, and the two of them had only communicated a few times over WeChat, mostly regarding utility bills and asking for help picking up courier packages.
After picking up the textbooks for her, Tang Lin had left them directly in her own laboratory, telling Yun Li to drop by and pick them up whenever she had free time.
Yun Li hadn't brought her books to class for the first two weeks, leaving her in a state where she understood virtually nothing. After writing assignments until ten-thirty on Friday night and staring blankly at a pile of completely incomprehensible formulas, Yun Li acutely realized she couldn't keep muddling through like this. Informing Tang Lin that she was coming over to collect the books, she prepared to head out.
Before the arrival of winter, Nanwu had been hit by a whole week of continuous rain. The night air was damp and bitingly cold. Yun Li strapped on an empty backpack, threw on a thick woolen coat, and stepped outside. The cold wind hit her the moment she walked out, chilling her cheeks, so she went back upstairs to add a cashmere scarf.
The road from Qili Xiangdu to Nanjing University of Science and Technology was brilliantly lit, with warm lights cutting through the lingering water mist to cast a bright glow.
It was past eleven o'clock, and the number of people passing near the experimental building could be counted on one hand. Even the first-floor lobby was devoid of security guards, leaving only cold white lights illuminating the empty hall.
The elevator sat quietly on the first floor. Yun Li stepped inside and pressed the button for the third floor.
Taking advantage of the idle moment, Yun Li pulled out her phone planning to take a quick glance.
Clang—
Yun Li: "..."
She had heard other students mention during class that this elevator in Building E of the department malfunctioned from time to time. Since Yun Li rarely visited, she hadn't taken those warnings to heart.
For no reason at all, she was once again forced into human contact. Yun Li sighed and pressed the emergency alarm button inside the elevator.
Then, with rising anxiety, she searched her phone for "what to do when trapped in an elevator," encountering quite a few terrifying elevator accidents in the related search results.
Ten minutes passed before Yun Li realized that pressing the alarm button didn't actually connect her to anyone.
Lowering her head, Yun Li opened her chat dialog with Fu Shize: [A man in City B got trapped in an elevator; while waiting for rescue, the elevator suddenly shot up to the top, resulting in instantaneous death.]
Yun Li: [A resident in City C got trapped in an elevator, accidentally falling down the elevator shaft to their death during the rescue process.]
After sending those two headless, tailless messages, Fu Shize replied with just three characters: [What is it]
Yun Li: [I'm trapped in an elevator qaq.]
Fu Shize: [Press the alarm button]
Yun Li: [I just pressed it, nobody came.]
Fu Shize: [There's a plaque in the elevator with an emergency contact number on it]
Yun Li looked up to find it and dialed the number.
No one answered.
Yun Li dialed a few more times with the exact same result.
Yun Li: [Nobody is answering.]
Fu Shize: [Where are you?]
Without overthinking it, Yun Li sent her location directly: [The elevator on the first floor of Building E, School of Control, Nanjing University of Science and Technology.]
After waiting a few minutes without receiving a reply from Fu Shize, she finally began to feel a retrospective wave of worry, wondering just how long she'd have to wait for someone.
Yun Li pressed the alarm button once more and kept calling the emergency contact number.
After a few futile struggles, she was even hesitating whether to call the police.
Switching back to WeChat, she noticed a new message from Fu Shize: [I'm heading over now.]
Knowing that Fu Shize was coming, Yun Li's anxious mood instantly eased considerably. She put away her phone and leaned quietly against the corner of the elevator to wait.
At this moment, it didn't feel so much like being trapped in an elevator; it felt more like waiting to grab a meal with someone as planned.
Except she was the one who had arrived early.
Another quarter of an hour ticked by.
The intercom inside the elevator finally crackled to life: "Is anyone there?"
Yun Li quickly responded, "Yes, I'm locked inside the elevator."
"Try not to panic, and please stay as still as possible. We've already dispatched maintenance personnel to your location."
"Understood," Yun Li said.
When the elevator doors finally slid open again, both the maintenance crew and the duty guard were standing outside. The on-duty guard repeatedly apologized to Yun Li, explaining that he had stepped away to use the restroom and hadn't heard the elevator's alarm bell, and earnestly begged Yun Li not to report him to the leadership.
Yun Li had no intention of doing so, but being trapped for half an hour before anyone showed up was indeed an oversight on his part, so she said, "It's fine, just make sure not to let this happen again next time."
Walking past the duty guard, Yun Li spotted Fu Shize standing a little further back. He looked as though he had rushed over in a hurry; his hair was disheveled by the wind, the zipper of his trench coat was unfastened, and he leaned loosely against the wall behind him.
Yun Li walked over with a guilty conscience.
In truth, she hadn't expected Fu Shize to actually come. The moment she realized she was trapped in the elevator, she hadn't felt that any real danger would occur. After understanding the mechanics and operating principles of elevators, she figured the probability of an accident happening was even lower than getting hit by a car.
She had messaged Fu Shize simply to share her latest slice-of-life novelty with him.
Embarrassed, Yun Li spoke up, "Sorry... troubling you to come all this way so late."
Fu Shize glanced at her. "I came on my own."
Not because you begged me to; I decided to come myself.
"..."
As if afraid someone else would steal the credit.
"No matter what, thanks for coming tonight," Yun Li said. Suddenly remembering her purpose here, she added, "I need to grab some books on the third floor, can you accompany me?"
Without a word, Fu Shize walked straight toward the stairwell. Yun Li hurried to the front to lead the way.
The lights in both the stairwell and the hallway were turned off. Since the elevator had stalled on the second floor earlier, they only had to climb one more flight.
Arriving at Tang Lin's laboratory, Yun Li retrieved the spare door card they kept hidden on the fire hose cabinet just as Tang Lin had instructed. Swiping it open, she located the second cabinet on the right and pulled out the stack of new textbooks sitting at the very top. She snapped a photo and sent it to Tang Lin: [I've taken them.]
Tang Lin replied with: [ok.]
Only then did Yun Li pack all the books into her backpack.
Fu Shize waited at the doorway. When Yun Li came out of the office, she switched off the office lights as well, plunging the entire floor back into pitch darkness.
Silence was magnified in the dark. Once the humming sound of electrical currents faded away, the only thing left to hear was the faint rustle of their footsteps.
Realizing that the two of them were alone together, Yun Li's breathing grew irregular once more.
It felt like a momentary impulse, yet also like a long-held yearning.
She wanted so, so badly to draw closer to the source of warmth beside her.
This desire to get closer surpassed even the reluctance to leave the cozy blankets on a winter morning.
Yun Li walked alongside Fu Shize, inching closer bit by bit.
Bit by bit.
Her courage constantly flickered to life and died out.
Until her hand brushed against the hem of Fu Shize's sleeve.
Sensing the sudden stiffness in the figure beside him, Yun Li panicked and offered an explanation: "It's too dark here, I can't see the path clearly, and we still have to go down the stairs in a moment."
"Mn."
Fu Shize didn't say anything further, and Yun Li didn't proactively pull away either.
The lights in the first-floor lobby were still on. Seeing the light ahead, Yun Li—guilty of her own hidden intentions—quickly sidestepped a deliberate inch away, making a show of maintaining a safe distance from Fu Shize.
"Is your car parked at the school gate?" Yun Li asked.
"Mn," Fu Shize replied.
"Then I'll walk you to your car."
Once they were outside, Yun Li looked at Fu Shize again and felt he truly looked freezing cold. The buttons of his trench coat were undone, letting the chilly wind barrel inside, leaving his slender neck completely bare.
"Wait a second," Yun Li called out to stop him.
Fu Shize halted his steps.
Yun Li untied her own scarf: "Here, take this."
Seeing that Fu Shize didn't react, she took a step closer, stood on her tiptoes, and reached out to wrap the scarf around Fu Shize's neck.
Without moving his body, Fu Shize frowned and said, "There's no need."
"You came out and caught the cold because of me, my conscience wouldn't let me rest if you don't accept it. Besides, I'm wearing way more layers than you," Yun Li said with a deadpan expression. "If you refuse again, I'm going to take off my coat."
Pausing for a fraction of a second, she added: "And drape it over you too."
Without a word, Fu Shize casually buttoned up two buttons of his coat.
Walking along the campus pathway, they both suddenly felt the scene was rather surreal. Yun Li tentatively probed, "How come you came over?"
Fu Shize turned his head sideways to glance at her. "You sent me a distress signal."
Realizing what he meant, she understood he was referring to those news articles about elevator accidents she had sent. Feeling rather embarrassed, she muttered, "That wasn't a distress signal, I was just trapped and wanted to seek some comfort from you, I didn't mean for you to make a special trip out here. Besides, the security guard came in the end anyway."
"..." Fu Shize fell silent for a moment.
"I went and fetched him from the main building."
What he meant was, if he hadn't come, the security guard wouldn't have shown up either. She would have stayed locked inside, meaning Fu Shize had indeed come to her rescue.
To argue any further would start sounding like biting the hand that fed her. Yun Li looked up at him: "Then to show my gratitude, let me treat you to a late-night snack."
Fu Shize glanced at her. "No, it's cold outside."
Yun Li pressed on: "Then how about a place with air conditioning?"
"Too stuffy."
Unwilling to give up, Yun Li suggested: "Then should we buy something to-go and bring it back?"
"Too messy to clean up."
Yun Li persisted: "How about I clean it up for you?"
Fu Shize cast a glance at her without speaking.
When they reached the vicinity of his car, Fu Shize pulled open the passenger door and asked her, "Back to the dorm, or Qili Xiangdu?"
Getting into the passenger seat, Yun Li replied: "Qili Xiangdu."
After Fu Shize got into the car, Yun Li leaned over, biting her lip with a smile: "Are you sending me back?"
"..." Fu Shize remained silent.
"What?"
"Nothing," Yun Li leaned back against her seatback.
Yun Li murmured: "It's wonderful."
...
After dropping Yun Li off at Qili Xiangdu and driving back on the road toward Beishan Fenglin, her phone buzzed twice. Waiting at a red light, Fu Shize unlocked the screen to take a look—it was a message from Yun Li.
[Are you home yet?]
Without thinking, he replied: [Not yet]
As his car drove slowly down the road, Fu Shize recalled the scene from just moments ago: her blushing face as she tied the scarf around his neck, her fingers seemingly brushing against his cheek for a split second.
He almost ran a red light.
Preoccupied, Fu Shize pulled his car over to the side of the road. The soft scarf still hung gently around his neck; he reached out to touch it, feeling its fluffy texture while catching a faint, lingering scent of floral and fruit fragrance.
He flipped open his wallet, pulling the paper moon Yun Li had given him in Xifu out from the card holder.
——The moment I saw you, it felt like I saw the moon.
Causing his thumb to stroke across its surface, a wave of warmth instantly surged through his chest. Yet the residual heat didn't linger long, leaving behind only an unfillable emptiness.
He opened Bilibili. Before he could even type anything, the search history prompt already suggested [Xianyun Didajiang].
Rolling down the car window, Fu Shize lit a cigarette and scrolled back to Yun Li's earliest dynamic post from 2012. Back then, she had just entered university, her youthful, unpolished smile carrying a hint of nervousness as she spoke at a slow, halting pace, occasionally lowering her head to read from her script.
The last few fallen leaves of the withered trees fluttered down, and the early winter wind whistled sharply.
He had brushed off several phone calls from home with perfunctory answers, simply telling them he had returned to Jiangnan่ [Jiangnan Courtyard].
Three hours passed. When the video playback reached the very last file, he hit pause, his gaze lingering on the face on the screen.
Until the screen finally went dark.
Fu Shize extinguished his cigarette and let out a helpless, self-deprecating laugh.
"You really are out of your mind."
...
As the submission deadline for EAW's dynamic publicity drew near, Yun Li planned to hole up in her apartment all weekend to edit videos. Early Saturday morning, Yun Ye called her, lowering his voice: "Yun Li, did you send the gift?"
Remembering this matter, Yun Li paused her work: "I want to ask you something first—are you guys mutual in your affections?"
"W-we're just good friends," Yun Ye lacked conviction.
"Oh, so it seems the man is willing while the maiden is indifferent," Yun Li continued, "Her name also has the character 'Yun' in it. If you marry into her family, you can just slap her surname right in front of your own name."
Yun Ye: "..."
Lacking the heart to argue with her, Yun Ye took the initiative to show weakness, adopting an obedient tone: "Sis, can you deliver it tomorrow? I'll send you her phone number and address again."
"Mn." Understanding the stirrings of first love in Yun Ye, but wanting to avoid a furious explosion from Yun Yongchang should things blow up later, Yun Li drew a clear boundary: "Yun Ye, I don't support puppy love; it messes with your studies."
Dissatisfied, Yun Ye protested: "I can be like you and wait until I get to university to date."
Feeling like her heart had just been stabbed with a needle, Yun Li retorted: "Talk about your own business and leave me out of it. Just make sure you don't affect your studies."
Yun Ye went quiet for a moment: "Yin Yunyi's grades are really good, she should be able to get into West Science and Technology University."
Not taking his words to heart, Yun Li gossiped: "Photo." Convinced Yun Ye would refuse, she threatened: "No pictures, no gift delivery."
"Why do you never keep your word?" Yun Ye complained.
In an utterly nonchalant tone, Yun Li said: "I've always been like this. Is today your first day meeting me?"
Yun Ye: "..."
Out of options, Yun Ye sent Yun Li a photo. It had been taken from the side of a hallway, capturing a tall girl with a high ponytail and an oval face who was turning her head back to smile at someone behind her. Not expecting Yun Ye to be into this type, Yun Li lingered on it for a few extra seconds: "This angle looks like candid stalking."
Yun Ye: "..."
Yun Li: "I never figured my younger brother was also a creep."
In an unfriendly tone, Yun Ye fired back: "Talk like you haven't done candid stalking yourself."
Yun Li laughed without denying it: "That's why I used the word 'also'."
Not wanting to go to a stranger's house or make a phone call to a stranger, Yun Li drafted a text message and sent it to Yin Yunyi, receiving an instant reply on the other end.
Yin Yunyi informed Yun Li that she would be attending cram school near Tianqi Plaza tomorrow, sending a few texts insisting that her older brother drive her near Yun Li's location to save Yun Li the trouble of making a special trip over.
Tianqi Plaza was one of the largest commercial centers in Nanwu, located a half-hour drive from Haitian Mall.
The two of them agreed to meet at six o'clock on Sunday at the cafe on the first floor of Haitian Mall. Putting on some light makeup and bringing along Yun Ye's gift, Yun Li headed out the door.