Ren Yexue Appeared a Year Ago

After boarding the school bus home, Su Yang found a corner to rest in.

He had gone to the northern suburbs cemetery in the dead of night, taken Grandma to the hospital that morning, and then been pulled aside by Zhao Shengshen for a conversation that afternoon.

Zhao Shengshen had also said he would take him to awaken his Sequence Ability at midnight tonight.

He had been going nonstop. He was going to drop dead...

Su Yang had made up his mind to get a good sleep as soon as he got home.

Even with all the noise on the school bus and the occasional piercing honk, Su Yang soon fell asleep.

Luckily, Su Yang's home was at the school bus's last stop. After the driver shook his shoulder hard a few times, Su Yang woke up and got off the bus.

Only after getting off and feeling the evening breeze did Su Yang's muddled brain clear a little.

"I can't take this, I really can't! At this rate, I'll drop dead tonight before I even awaken my Sequence Ability..."

"Don't the director and Gai Fengyan ever sleep? They're out and about every night."

Su Yang muttered to himself as he walked home.

When Su Yang opened the door, he saw Grandma sitting under the desk lamp.

Grandma was wearing reading glasses and carefully writing something in a small notebook, a look of deep concentration on her face.

Su Yang's home faced away from the sun and got little natural light. Even though it was still afternoon, the living room was dark.

Of course, that had its advantages too. For instance, even in the height of summer, Su Yang's home still wasn't very hot.

After tossing his schoolbag onto the sofa, Su Yang pressed the living room light switch.

"Grandma, what are you writing? Why didn't you turn on the light? It's so dark, it's bad for your eyes!"

Seeing that Su Yang was home, the old woman took off her reading glasses and answered him with a smile.

"Turning on the light uses so much electricity. The desk lamp is plenty!"

"I still need to save up money for you to get a wife!"

Seeing how stubbornly Grandma wanted to save that little bit of money, Su Yang didn't insist that she turn on the light.

The most important thing was that she was happy! He let her have her way with everything else.

Su Yang walked over to the old woman, wanting to see what she had been writing, and asked as he went,

"Grandma, did you take your medicine? What are you doing?"

"I did. I took it as soon as I got home! I'm making a list of the people who've helped us!"

Su Yang scratched his head, a flicker of confusion in his eyes.

"The people who've helped us?"

Before long, Su Yang reached Grandma's side.

He leaned over to look at the notebook she had been writing in. Its pages were packed with entries.

"June 22: The Education Bureau issued a subsidy for students in need. We finally have enough for Little Yang's tuition next semester."

"June 23, morning: The young lady paid five yuan extra for vegetables. By the time I realized it, she had already run off in a flash."

"June 24, evening: That young lady came again and even bought me a bottle of water."

"June 25: Old Wang next door lent us five hundred yuan."

"June 25: It rained. The young lady who likes wearing red still came to buy vegetables and even gave me an umbrella."

How come I've never seen Grandma keep this notebook before? When did she start keeping it?

A trace of confusion crossed Su Yang's mind, but he didn't dwell on it.

"These are all people who've helped us?"

Su Yang leafed through the notebook in Grandma's hands with interest. The yellowed pages bore many traces of mud and raindrops.

"Yes! There are still a lot of kind people in this world!"

"Little Yang, things are a little better for our family now. We must repay these kind people properly!"

Grandma sat in her chair, her smile full of emotion.

"I've already paid Old Wang back, and I want to send a banner of thanks to the Education Bureau...

"But that young lady, I've never had her address. I'll go look around the market tomorrow. I should run into her!"

"That young lady comes to buy vegetables from me every day, and she never takes her change. You can tell at a glance she does it because she feels sorry for an old woman like me."

"She comes to buy vegetables every day? And she doesn't take her change?"

Su Yang was a little surprised. He could understand the help from Uncle Wang and the government, but the young lady in Grandma's notebook caught him off guard.

Were there still kind people like that these days?

Su Yang nodded.

"You're right. We do need to thank these people properly!"

It was from Grandma that Su Yang had learned to keep a record of the people who had helped him.

Repaying every kindness was a tradition in Su Yang's family!

Su Yang's parents and grandparents alike had taught him that through both words and example.

"Little Yang, when you get married, you should marry a girl like her. She's beautiful and kind..."

Watching Grandma ramble on, Su Yang smiled softly and handed the notebook back to her.

"All right, all right! Why are you always thinking about finding me a wife, Grandma? Your grandson is only eighteen!"

"How about this? I'll go with you to the market after school tomorrow to look for her. I wouldn't feel at ease letting you go alone."

Seeing that Su Yang was willing to go with her, the old woman quickly nodded and agreed.

"Yes! The whole family should go. That'll show our sincerity! I even asked that young lady her name last time. I think it was Ren something-xue..."

"Oh, I'm getting old. My memory's getting worse and worse."

A look of emotion appeared on the old woman's face, but her casual words startled Su Yang.

Ren something-xue?

It couldn't be Ren Yexue, could it?!

Su Yang immediately asked Grandma,

"Grandma, that girl you mentioned, is her name Ren Yexue?"

The old woman's eyes lit up, and she clapped her hands.

"Yes, yes, yes! That's her name, Ren Yexue! How did you know, Little Yang? Do you two know each other?"

Know each other? That's putting it mildly...

Su Yang opened his mouth, wanting to tell Grandma about Ren Yexue, but he didn't know where to begin.

I can't exactly tell her this girl is pursuing her grandson, can I?

"She's a classmate of mine."

"A classmate! No wonder she's been supporting this old woman's business. That classmate of yours must live near the market, right?"

Su Yang nodded, picked up the old woman's notebook, and continued leafing through it.

In the old woman's meticulous records, Su Yang was surprised to find that Ren Yexue occupied a large portion of the notebook.

Ren Yexue appeared on nearly every page—and it had started a year ago...

Ren Yexue started buying vegetables from Grandma a year ago! Was it a coincidence, or...

As Su Yang read and reread Grandma's notebook, Grandma patted him on the arm.

Su Yang looked up and saw Grandma smiling.

"Little Yang, since your classmate lives near the market, let's go to her home tomorrow and thank her in person!"

Looking at the smile on Grandma's face, Su Yang didn't know how to explain it to her for a moment.

How could a rich young lady like Ren Yexue possibly live near the market? Her home was in the villa district on the outskirts of the city...

Should I tell Grandma that Ren Yexue makes a special trip of several kilometers to support her business?

That won't really work...

I'd better ask her about it tomorrow before saying anything!

After hesitating for a while, Su Yang shook his head.

"Grandma, she's a good friend of mine. I've helped her with plenty of problems! I'll treat her to a meal tomorrow and thank her in person. That'll be enough."

"Oh, is that so? That works too! But Little Yang, make sure you're sincere!"

Seeing that Su Yang had made up his mind, the old woman didn't dwell on it. She reminded him to be sincere and let the matter rest.

Su Yang nodded and handed the notebook back to the old woman.

"Don't worry, Grandma. I'll take care of it!"

"Oh, right, Grandma, I already ate dinner at school! You don't need to call me for dinner today. I'm going back to my room to review my lessons."

"All right, go catch up on this morning's classes. Grandma won't disturb you!"

Su Yang lay on his bed, staring blankly at the white wall. His mind still hadn't quite caught up.

Ren Yexue started helping Grandma a year ago? But didn't he and Ren Yexue only meet last month? Ren Yexue had only confessed to him a few days ago, too.

Could Ren Yexue have been paying attention to him for a long time?

...Or was it really a coincidence?

But would Ren Yexue really make a special trip of several kilometers to support a strange old woman's business?

As he thought it over, Su Yang drifted off to sleep.