When Pu Yu returned to the dorm that evening, her roommates were discussing where to go during the National Day break.
"Pu Yu, are you going home for National Day?" Lin Jia asked.
Pu Yu thought for a moment. "No."
The tickets were too expensive, and her grandmother would definitely say she was wasting money.
"Then come hiking with us! We're planning to visit that scenic area in the next city. Apparently, the maple leaves are gorgeous in autumn!" Lin Jia said excitedly.
Pu Yu shook her head. "I'll probably be working."
"Oh, come on, take a few days off!" another roommate urged her. "It's our first break at university. It'd be such a shame not to go out and have fun."
"I really can't," Pu Yu said. "Have a good time."
She needed to save money, study, and write.
Part-time work during the holidays paid several times more than usual, and she didn't want to miss out.
Late that night, when everything was quiet, Pu Yu took out her phone and sent her messages for the day.
[I worked at the bookstore today and met an upperclassman who's in the Literary Society. I wonder if joining would give me any opportunities to submit my writing.]
[The bookstore is so quiet. It's especially beautiful when the sunlight comes in.]
[Yuan Su, what are you doing right now?]
There was still no reply.
But she had already grown used to these one-way confessions.
It was like dropping letters into a mailbox with no address. She knew they would never reach anyone, yet she couldn't stop herself from writing, from sending them.
Late September.
Pu Yu went to the post office to collect her second financial aid payment.
The clerk, a middle-aged woman, took her ID and glanced at it, then turned