After finally making it through the school day, Ye Xunzhi could not bear to stay another second. She grabbed her schoolbag and rushed out.
[This was the taste of freedom! When school let out, even dogs looked free.]
Ye Xiao casually slung his bag over his shoulder. His good friend Yu Yuan was with him, and he heard that lively, cheerful inner voice from far away.
Amused, he took the schoolbag from Ye Xunzhi's hand.
"You haven't been to school for days. Are you settling into your new class? Have you made any new friends?"
Ye Xunzhi answered honestly, "The new class is pretty good. Friends... there's plenty of time for that."
In truth, Ye Xunzhi had long since made her peace with friendship. She had once yearned for friends too, but after everything she had experienced, she mostly just let things take their course.
As the dorm's resident mom, Yu Yuan was naturally much more attentive than Ye Xiao. Noticing Ye Xunzhi's faint resistance, he simply changed the subject.
"Just let friendships happen naturally. Like-minded people will find each other eventually." He smiled.
"Let's celebrate Little Sister Little Xun joining her new class with some hot pot. My treat."
Yu Yuan looked positively radiant. "I'm a rich man these days."
Ye Xiao turned to tease him. "Since when did you sneak off and strike it rich behind my back?"
"Oh, come on." Yu Yuan waved a hand, took a red envelope from his pocket, and tipped out a bank card. "My eldest uncle gave it to me."
"Isn't your eldest uncle on bad terms with your family?" Ye Xiao frowned. They had been friends for years, so he knew about Yu Yuan's family situation.
"Maybe he's trying to repair things by starting with me." Yu Yuan shrugged.
"My mom