When Pu Yu came out of the office, Xu Suiran was still waiting outside for her.
"Well? What happened? What did he want? Did Old Wang really ask you to enter the competition?" Xu Suiran asked eagerly.
Pu Yu shook her head and gave her a brief account.
After hearing her out, Xu Suiran let out an exaggerated sigh. "Old Wang is really grasping at straws here. If even he can't persuade His Majesty, how could you possibly manage it?"
"I think so too." Pu Yu looked troubled. "But after everything he said..."
The two chatted as they walked.
Before they knew it, they had reached the familiar old street.
Pu Yu instinctively glanced toward the appliance repair shop.
The roller shutter was firmly closed, without a glimmer of light inside.
"Huh? It's closed?" Xu Suiran craned her neck for a look too.
After a moment's hesitation, Pu Yu approached the hardware store next door, which was still open. The owner, a middle-aged man, was watching a small television.
"Excuse me, sir. Did the repair shop next door not open today?"
The owner glanced up at her and answered casually, "Oh, young Yuan? He went to the internet café in town to deliver some repaired circuit boards."
"When will he be back?"
"Who knows?" The man shook his head. "He still has to install them and run tests. Probably late. Why? Got something that needs fixing?"
"No, it's nothing. Thank you, sir."
Pu Yu returned to Xu Suiran's side, torn.
Should I just wait here?
If Yuan Su worked late, Grandma would definitely worry at home.
But there was no telling when he would go to school either. If I didn't see him for three or five days, wouldn't I have to make several more trips to the repair shop?
Pu Yu bit her lip, as though making up her mind. "Then I'll go over and ask him. A few words won't take too long."
Xu Suiran's eyes widened. "What? To the internet café?"
Pu Yu nodded. "You head home first, Suisui. Don't let-"
"No!" Worried, Xu Suiran frowned. "Those places are a mess, full of smoking delinquents. I'm coming with you."
The town's internet café stood at the end of a relatively busy street, its neon sign flashing the words "Super-Speed Internet."
Even before they went inside, they could smell the choking cigarette smoke drifting out.
The two girls in blue-and-white school uniforms looked completely out of place there.
They had barely reached the entrance when an attendant with dyed blond hair stopped them. He was sitting with his legs crossed, cracking sunflower seeds. "Hey, schoolgirls. No minors allowed."
The smoke made Pu Yu cough, but she forced herself to speak:
"I'm not here to play games. I'm looking for someone."
The blond attendant raised an eyebrow and looked her up and down, his gaze knowing and mocking. "Looking for someone? Who?"
"I'm looking for..." Pu Yu faltered.
She lifted her head, urgently scanning the smoke-filled hall.
The lighting was dim, the air thick with smoke.
Rows of computer screens flickered with colorful light.
At last, in the farthest corner, she spotted that familiar figure.
Yuan Su was crouched on the floor with a computer case open, his expression focused and aloof, as though the noisy games and shouted curses around him had nothing to do with him.
As though she had found her savior, Pu Yu pointed. "I'm looking for him."
The blond attendant followed her finger. When he saw Yuan Su, he immediately snickered, his laugh full of worldly teasing.
"Another one?" He leaned back in his chair and spat seed shells all over the floor. "Listen to some friendly advice, little sister. Give it up."
Pu Yu froze. "What?"
"Keep pretending." The blond waved a hand, wearing an expression that said he knew exactly what was going on. "How many has that been this month? You came to confess to Su? He's sick of it. He's not interested in little girls like you. Go home and get ready for bed."
"I didn't!" Pu Yu's cheeks grew hot with both anger and embarrassment. "I really just need to talk to him!"
The blond clearly didn't believe her and had lost all patience. "All right, enough. Drop the act."
"Let me make this clear. If Su doesn't want to see you, you're not getting in today! Go on, get out of here. Don't interfere with my business!"
He planted himself in the doorway, making it clear he wouldn't move.
Afraid a confrontation might get Pu Yu hurt, Xu Suiran instinctively tried to pull her away.
"Wait."
"Wait for what, Yu?"
Pu Yu looked at the distant figure, utterly unaware of what was happening around him.
I'm already here.
It hasn't been easy for anyone.
She took a deep breath, gathered every scrap of her courage, and called clearly toward that noisy, smoke-choked corner, louder than she had ever imagined she could:
"Yuan Su!"
For an instant, everything around them fell quiet.
Several nearby gamers turned in surprise, unable to understand why this gentle, well-behaved girl had suddenly erupted.
Xu Suiran's jaw nearly dropped.
Holy shit!
Was this really her gentle little Yu?
At the sound of her voice, the boy's movements abruptly stopped.
He didn't turn around immediately, but remained crouched in that position for two seconds.
"Yuan Su!"
Pu Yu called again, a little more quietly this time.
He hadn't imagined it.
A rare flicker of astonishment crossed Yuan Su's usually unruffled dark eyes.
Then his brows drew into a deep frown.
His gaze cut through the smoke and the crowd, landing squarely on the uneasy girl at the entrance.
"What are you doing here?"
He stood and dusted off his hands, his tone unfriendly. "This isn't somewhere you should be."
"See? Told you." The blond attendant immediately moved to usher them away. "Don't worry, Su. I'll get rid of them right-"
"No need."
Yuan Su's voice wasn't loud, and was even a little cold, but it cut the blond off outright.
He walked over to Pu Yu and Xu Suiran and said coldly, "Come in with me."
The blond stood frozen, looking from Yuan Su to Pu Yu.
His expression was as though he had seen a ghost.
"What do you want?" Yuan Su led them to a quieter corner of the hall, irritation at being interrupted in his voice. "Did you have to come to a place like this?"
"Teacher Wang asked me to persuade you to sign up for the Physics Competition."
Ignoring his attitude, Pu Yu quickly repeated the teacher's words. "He said it's a rare opportunity. If you place, it'll be a huge help with independent university admissions and the college entrance exam."
The astonishment faded from Yuan Su's eyes, replaced by a fresh layer of frost.
He turned, pressed the computer's power button, and watched the screen light up blue. His voice was cold. "Not interested."
"But he said that in your first year of high school, you really wanted to..."
"Pu Yu."
Yuan Su suddenly cut her off.
He turned sideways, leaned against the rather hot computer case, and looked down at her with both hands in his pockets.
The dim light in the internet café's corner reflected in his pitch-black eyes.
"The City Training Camp means two weeks of residential training. Even if I got ridiculously lucky and qualified for the Provincial Competition, there'd be the fare to the Provincial Capital, accommodation, study materials..."
Yuan Su spoke softly, with an almost cruel clarity. "Added together, that would be enough for me to repair dozens of computers, pay for two months of my mom's medical bills, or clear several small old debts people keep hounding me over."
He counted them off one by one, his voice frighteningly calm.
"The Physics Competition... requires an undivided mind. It requires putting enormous amounts of time into studying those 'interesting' problems."
He crouched down and continued adjusting the computer. His self-mocking voice rose from below, as though he were speaking both to her and to himself:
"I no longer have the right to look in that direction."
Before you continue