Keep Your Distance from Strangers, Admire from Afar Only

The rain showed no sign of letting up.

Yang Zhi held an umbrella as she walked home.

Light clouds of sorrow, rain falling softly; evening after evening, morning after morning.

Rain was a common occurrence in Jinghuai, and she never lacked an umbrella in her bag.

Jinghuai had preserved the scenery and layout of an old water town from the late Qing Dynasty and Republican era.

Whenever it rained, it became breathtakingly poetic, shrouded in mist like an ink-wash painting by a master.

Yang Zhi could be considered quite a busy person, in a way.

She attended classes at Jinghuai University during the day and tutored at night. There was room for her in the school dorms, but she rarely stayed there. After all, she had to take care of her beloved Grandma.

Grandma's home was also a courtyard house, though nowhere near as grand as Ding Yebai's.

Creak—

She pushed open the gate and stepped into the courtyard.

As soon as she entered, she saw Grandma sitting in a rocking chair beneath the eaves, gazing at her with gentle eyes.

"Grandma, it's cold on rainy days. Why didn't you go inside?" She smiled and hurried over, setting her umbrella on the ground before taking off her coat and draping it over Grandma.

Grandma's hair was streaked with white, and her face bore the marks left by time.

Her eyes were always crescent-shaped when she smiled, making her look like such an adorable old lady.

Looking at Yang Zhi, she smiled. "It's so late, and I was worried about you being out there alone. Grandma can only rest easy once I see you come home."

Yang Zhi pressed her lips into a straight line, bent down, and held Grandma's wrinkled hand with the utmost tenderness.

"Grandma, you don't need to worry. The tutoring place is very close to our home. It only takes ten or twenty minutes to walk back. I won't take those dark alleys either. I'll stick to the main road, so I'll be fine."

A flicker of worry crossed Grandma's face. "Oh... it's all Grandma's fault. If Grandma's pension were a little higher, you wouldn't have to attend graduate school during the day and work at night."

"Grandma."

Yang Zhi tilted her head slightly. Though she had much she wanted to explain, she waited for Grandma to finish before saying, "Grandma, this time I'm not working. I'm only doing this to repay a favor I owe Sister Yue Rong."

"Oh... so it's Yue Rong. I haven't seen her in so long, she—"

"Older Sister Yang Zhi!!!"

As they spoke, a little girl with twin pigtails and fair skin ran out from inside.

The little girl's name was Qiqi.

She had big, glossy eyes and was utterly adorable.

Qiqi lived with her Mom. Her Mom had a hard time raising her alone and often worked outside. Children did not like being lonely, so she often came to the courtyard to play with Yang Zhi and Grandma.

Though they were not related by blood, Qiqi had long become Yang Zhi's little sister in her heart.

Seeing her run over, Yang Zhi crouched down and opened her arms, waiting for Qiqi to throw herself into her embrace before steadily lifting her up.

Grandma watched the two of them and grinned. "Oh my, Qiqi, you're still awake?"

Qiqi said, "I was waiting for Older Sister Yang Zhi!"

Yang Zhi raised her brows and smiled helplessly. "You. You stayed up so late just to wait for me?"

Qiqi said, "I have something I want to tell you!"

This child was always bursting with energy.

"Alright~ Once I've washed up, I'll come find you."

"Okay!!!"

Yang Zhi set Qiqi down, adjusted her shoulder bag, and headed toward the inner courtyard.

Qiqi threw herself into Grandma's arms again, basking in that sense of safety and warmth.

Grandma kept stroking the child's head with her aged hand. Sigh...

Qiqi's Mom could not have children, and Qiqi had been a child she found abandoned outside.

Thinking of it, mother and daughter were both pitiful people.

Late at night.

Inside Yang Zhi's bedroom.

She and Qiqi lay together on the bed.

Qiqi asked, "Older Sister Yang Zhi, can I ask you something?"

Yang Zhi opened her eyes and answered gently, "What is it?"

"Today at school, some kids said I'm different from them."

"Hm? Why did they say that about you?"

"They said I was adopted by Mom... Older Sister Yang Zhi, what does adoption mean?"

"It means that other children grew in their mothers' bellies, while you grew in your mother's heart."

"And how are you any different? You all received so much warm motherly love." Yang Zhi stroked Qiqi's head and continued softly.

"Really??" Qiqi was especially excited, her large eyes sparkling.

Yang Zhi's explanation of adoption instantly brightened her heart.

Yang Zhi said, "That's right."

Qiqi said, "I thought their moms loved them very much, but my Mom didn't love me."

Yang Zhi said, "How could Mom not love you? Your Mom works hard every day so Qiqi can have a good life, so Qiqi can eat well and dress well. Those are all signs that she loves you."

Qiqi thought for a moment, then nodded heavily. She snuggled closer into Yang Zhi's arms and asked excitedly, "Older Sister Yang Zhi, I heard you went to tutor someone today? What was that person like?"

Yang Zhi stroked her head, then looked up at the ceiling and carefully recalled Ding Yebai's appearance and temperament.

Honestly, she had met cold and aloof people before. But Ding Yebai's sense of cold detachment was something she had never encountered.

"He's an eighteen-year-old boy. He gives me the feeling that strangers should keep their distance and only admire him from afar. You can't see any exaggerated expression on his face, and you simply can't guess what he's thinking." Yang Zhi lowered her eyes, then recalled some of his little actions. A faint smile appeared on her lips. "But I think he's probably the kind of person who looks cold on the outside but is very gentle inside."

Qiqi said, "Wow. Does Older Sister Yang Zhi like him?"

"Huh?" Yang Zhi's eyes widened slightly as she froze.

Children really did say whatever came to mind.

She was a twenty-three-year-old graduate student, while he was only an eighteen-year-old senior in high school.

There was no way they could have that kind of relationship.

But for a child around four years old, perhaps liking someone only meant giving them a piece of candy.

"Older Sister Yang Zhi just thinks he's a very easy person to get along with. In other words, I think he and Qiqi are both good children."

"Oh, I see... Then, Sister, don't you have a boy you like?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Grandma said she really wants to see you wearing a wedding dress. Older Sister Yang Zhi is so beautiful, so you'd definitely look very, very pretty in one."

A rare flash of loneliness crossed Yang Zhi's dark eyes.

It was just as the saying went: like a rainbow in the sky, only upon meeting one did you know it existed.

She had never met anyone who made her heart flutter. She had never even been in a relationship, let alone worn a wedding dress.

Although she had had quite a few admirers, her principles were clear. If she did not like someone, then she did not like them. And if she did not like them, she would not date them.

That was how she remained single until the age of twenty-three.

"Sigh..." Yang Zhi sighed and rubbed her aching temples.

Thinking about this question gave her a headache.

When would her rainbow finally appear?

If only love were as simple as studying.

The next day.

Jinghuai No. 1 High School.

Class 1, Grade 12.

It was another rainy long break. Ding Yebai sat in the classroom, scribbling on a sheet of white paper.

His good friend Lu Shuai had been caught sleeping during morning self-study by the principal and had just returned from being scolded in the office.

The boy was lean and wiry. He exercised every day, and his skin was tanned the color of wheat. Unlike Ding Yebai, he was a cheerful, lively ray of sunshine who could not stand sitting in a classroom doing problems all day.

"Yo! Xiao Bai, seven days apart feels like a whole week!"

"Cut it out with that nonsense. Didn't we just see each other?"

"Xiao Bai, what difficult problem are you working on now... Holy crap? English??"

Lu Shuai blinked his big eyes and stared at Ding Yebai in disbelief. "You wrote this yourself?"

Ding Yebai paused and looked up at him. "No."

Lu Shuai said, "The sun must be rising in the west. Since when did your scratch paper ever have English on it?" He paused, pointed at the English sentence on the paper, and read aloud, "Some of us get dipped in... what? What? What is all this?!"

That was right. His English was not much better.

Just like Ding Yebai, he was known throughout the grade as a genius in math, physics, and chemistry, but a complete failure at English.

Ding Yebai sighed helplessly. After he finished reading the English sentence, his female deskmate eagerly translated it.

"I know, I know! I love this quote. It's the original line for 'like a rainbow in the sky, only upon meeting one did you know it existed'!"

"Some people live in high towers, some in deep ditches. Some shine brightly, some are covered in rust. There are countless kinds of people in this world; do not seek them like drifting clouds. Like a rainbow in the sky, only upon meeting one did you know it existed."

Lu Shuai's eyes widened. "Xiao Bai, since when did you start acting so literary? It'd be one thing if you were writing pretty prose, but writing it in English? I really can't believe it. What, are you writing some high-end love letter for a girl?"

"I told you, I didn't write it. I'm not good enough for that. I copied it from the internet."

"Why did you suddenly think to copy this? If it isn't a love letter... are you going to use it on an exam?"

"An exam? We don't need that when writing letters to Li Hua."

The exam was not going to ask him to write Li Hua a love letter. Wasn't it always invitation letters, apology letters, recommendation letters, and things like that?

Lu Shuai said, "Then this is..."

Ding Yebai said, "..."

Ding Yebai said nothing. In that moment, he did not know how to answer. Then, from the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the little white eraser in the corner and said softly, "I had nothing to do, so I wrote it for fun."

Lu Shuai tilted his head and stared at his ice-cold face. "..."

This Ice Cube Ding had a secret!

He definitely had a secret!

"So you really are writing a love letter for a girl."

"..."