"Are you okay?" Chen Ge unscrewed the cap of Du Ming's water bottle. "Want some water?"
Du Ming lay sprawled across his desk, face buried in his textbook, both hands clutching his stomach.
"I didn't do it on purpose. I didn't think it would turn out like this."
"What exactly did you do?" Chen Ge wasn't angry. He looked at Du Ming with sympathy more than anything else.
Du Ming didn't say anything more. He only shook his head slightly. He was in a terrible state, and, like Chen Ge, seemed close to reaching his limit.
After fourth period, Chen Ge went up to the teaching building's rooftop while no one was around. Zhang Ya was standing beside the railing.
He walked up to her in silence. Together, they looked out over all of Liwan Town.
The teaching building was one of the taller structures in town. At that moment, it reminded Chen Ge of the Liwan Town behind Xiao Bu's Door.
Back then, Zhang Ya had agreed to his request, and from then on, they had been inseparable.
Cold wind carried raindrops against their faces. Zhang Ya tucked her windblown hair behind her ear and suddenly said, "I might have to leave in a while."
"Is it because of me?" Chen Ge had already guessed how things would end. He had rehearsed this scene in his mind countless times all morning, but when Zhang Ya actually said it, he couldn't get a single one of his prepared words out.
"It has nothing to do with you." Zhang Ya shook her head. "The problem is me. I always thought I'd moved on from the past and could start a new life with a smile, but I was only fooling myself. Keeping busy, working hard—everything was just an excuse to