The decision

Although their break had started today, tomorrow was actually the first day of the seven-day holiday.

By the time Luo Ye finished writing the update for the day in his dorm room, it was already four in the afternoon.

He checked his phone and found that someone had sent him a message.

But it wasn't Su Baizhou. It was Tang Enqi.

She asked whether he was going home. If he was, she would go too, so they could keep each other company on the journey.

The old Luo Ye would probably have been thrilled and agreed on the spot.

But now, his mind was filled with Fairy Senior and the strange things Gu Mingxuan had just said, so he turned her down outright.

Besides Tang Enqi, Xu Xiaojia had also messaged Luo Ye.

Although Xu Xiaojia hadn't gone to the same high school as Luo Ye, they were both from Beijing, so they could travel together if they went home.

She, too, asked whether Luo Ye was going home.

Luo Ye actually felt rather sorry for this chatterbox.

Xu Xiaojia probably liked Li Haoyang, but she didn't know that Liu Bingxin had already won the coach's heart. Luo Ye didn't know how to tell her, either.

The girl had also come alone from Beijing to study somewhere a thousand miles away, and because she talked so much, people rarely paid her much attention.

On the first day of school, she had been lugging her heavy bags through the rain when she happened to meet Li Haoyang. She thought he was an upperclassman welcoming the new students, and only discovered he was actually her classmate at the class meeting before military training.

On top of that, Li Haoyang was the class representative, and she was a girl with a knack for getting into trouble. She often needed his help, and over time, she fell for the dependable class representative who made her feel safe.

Except the long-legged petite girl had already won him over.

What a cruel twist of fate.

Luo Ye told Xu Xiaojia that he wasn't going home either.

Then he left his dorm room, planning to wander around.

As he was leaving campus, Luo Ye's phone chimed again.

He took it out and saw that Fairy Senior had finally replied.

Fairy Senior: I don't really want to go home.

After a moment's thought, Luo Ye typed: Then don't go if you don't want to.

Su Baizhou fell silent again for a while.

Then she replied: My mother's in poor health.

Only after reading that reply did Luo Ye understand why she went home every holiday.

No wonder she stayed up late every night, taking on computer-related freelance work online to earn money.

Before long, Su Baizhou sent a few more messages.

Fairy Senior: I've bought a ticket. I'm leaving tomorrow.

Fairy Senior: You can stay at the Faculty Apartments after I leave.

Luo Ye gazed thoughtfully at the messages.

Gu Mingxuan had said over the phone that there was a lot of gossip about Fairy Senior back home, which was why she didn't really want to return.

Every time she went home, she had to endure unwarranted criticism from relatives and family friends.

Wouldn't she be miserable once she got home?

At that thought, Luo Ye sent her an "Okay."

Then he quietly began searching online for tickets to Fairy Senior's hometown.

Her hometown was near Jiangcheng, another of the waterside cities south of the Yangtze, called Hangzhou. It was less than two hundred kilometers from Jiangcheng, about an hour away by high-speed train.

But once he reached Hangzhou, Luo Ye wouldn't know where Fairy Senior lived, and he couldn't just ask her.

They had only known each other for a month. Their relationship hadn't reached the point where they knew each other's home addresses.

Yet the thought that she might be upset left Luo Ye restless.

No matter what, he couldn't stay in Jiangcheng, where he would be unable to do anything. Even if something happened to her, he could only stand helplessly by.

As for everything else, he would figure it out once he got to Hangzhou.

If she was feeling down, he would already be in Hangzhou and could get to her side as quickly as possible.

If nothing happened to her, then all the better.

If Shen Qiao were here, he would probably call him a "simp."

But there was nothing wrong with loving deeply. Without the courage to put everything on the line, how could anyone hope to find a sincere, precious love?

At least, after taking that leap, even if the result wasn't what you hoped for, you would have done right by yourself and your feelings. When you looked back on this moment someday, you wouldn't feel remorse or regret.

Because you had done everything you could.

Having made up his mind, Luo Ye bought a ticket for that evening, returned to his dorm to pack a few changes of clothes, then headed straight to the campus gate to catch a taxi to the train station.

While waiting for a taxi, he ran into Liu Bingxin and Tang Enqi again.

Liu Bingxin was carrying luggage and seemed to be heading home, while Tang Enqi only carried a single bag.

It wasn't hard to tell that she was carrying it for Liu Bingxin.

When she saw Luo Ye, Tang Enqi asked in confusion, "Luo Ye, didn't you say you weren't going home?"

"Yeah, I'm going to Hangzhou for a couple of days," Luo Ye replied.

Before Tang Enqi could say anything, Liu Bingxin said, "Hangzhou? It's really developed nicely these past few years. Haoyang and I want to go sometime, too."

Tang Enqi poked her and puffed out her cheeks. "I told you, no showing off your relationship."

"Hahaha, aren't you doing the same thing? Didn't you go out with that handsome senior last weekend?"

"He kept asking me out. I didn't want to go, but he actually camped out downstairs at the Women's Dormitory waiting for me. It was so annoying."

As she spoke, Tang Enqi glanced at Luo Ye's face, only to find that he showed no reaction to what she had said.

For some reason, Tang Enqi felt a little hollow inside, as though something that had once belonged to her had been lost for good through her own doing.

But what right did she have to feel that way?

With a bitter smile, Tang Enqi said, "Luo Ye, I hope you have fun."

"Yeah. You too."

Luo Ye got into the taxi and headed toward the train station.

Watching the taxi disappear into the distance, Liu Bingxin asked quietly, "Enqi, do you really not like that handsome senior?"

"Mm... He's asked me out so many times, but I don't want to say yes. Last Saturday, he was waiting outside the Women's Dormitory again, and you were there telling me to give him a chance and try going on a date. That's the only reason I went... But I really didn't feel a spark."

Only when another boy appeared in her life did Tang Enqi realize that her youth had remained fixed on the face of one bright, sunny boy.

He had always been behind her, never leaving.

Yet she had never turned back to look at him, not even once.

Until one day, she turned around and found that he was gone.

Only then did she realize she had missed out on someone important.

There were many ways to tell whether something mattered to you, but the most direct was to lose it.

Only after coming to Jiangcheng did she understand how much courage it took for a boy to follow her to an unfamiliar city.

From the moment Luo Ye applied to Jiangda because of her, it meant he would have to spend at least four years here.

Yet she, the one who had brought Luo Ye to Jiangda, had abandoned him here.

But something beautiful wouldn't wither simply because she had cast it aside.

Someone else would discover that beauty, pick it up, make it hers, and cherish it.