The Scorching Sun - 7

Fang Zhuo had no idea why it was that every time she found herself with nowhere to go, she ended up running into Yan Lie.

She wasn't sure whether to chalk it up to how small the city was, or how strange fate could be.

Seeing her listless state, Yan Lie let out a short laugh. "What a coincidence."

He was dressed in the simplest shorts and T-shirt, a plastic bag dangling from his hand. Obviously out on a late-night snack run.

"Come on."

Fang Zhuo: "Treating me to another meal?"

"Treating you to a place to sleep." Yan Lie waved her over. "My place is nearby. No one's home. If you're not scared, come with me."

Fang Zhuo thought to herself: she was someone who'd registered with both the God of Poverty and the God of Bad Luck. What was there left to be scared of? She picked up her bag and followed after him.

The streets were quiet at night. Yan Lie's oversized slippers slapped against the ground in a steady, rhythmic beat.

He fished a bottled drink out of the plastic bag and offered it to Fang Zhuo.

She politely shook her head.

"What are you doing all the way out here?" Yan Lie asked. "This isn't the direction back to school, is it?"

"I got lost," Fang Zhuo answered vaguely.

"You got lost last time too?"

She gave a quiet, dispirited "Mm."

"Does that make me your lucky star?" Yan Lie pointed down the deserted lane bathed in orange streetlights, and turned to face her with a grin. "Passive pathfinding mode, activated whenever you get lost. Target destination acquired. Your navigator, Lie Lie, at your service."

Lifting her eyes, Fang Zhuo looked at the long shadow stretching behind him and said flatly, "Then I'd rather not run into you."

"Whether you run into me or not doesn't affect your ability to get lost," Yan Lie said. "If I hadn't been looking for you, you'd be sleeping on the street again."

Fang Zhuo tilted her head slightly, puzzled. "Why were you looking for me?"

Yan Lie froze.

Yan Lie froze. A flicker of chagrin crossed his eyes, tinged with a bit of confusion, but it quickly disappeared beneath lowered lashes.

He hadn't been looking for her. Not exactly.

He'd simply looked up the return schedule from Licun Village and discovered there were very few buses. By the time Fang Zhuo made it back to the city, if her luck was bad, she might miss the last bus back to school.

Bored at home alone, he'd gone out to play games with Zhao Jiayou for a while. After his roommate left for dinner, he'd wandered aimlessly through the streets. Before he knew it, he'd somehow, inexplicably, found his way to the bus station. Since he was already there, he'd sat down at a little shop across the road, absentmindedly watching the passing buses and the people coming and going.

But even after the last bus pulled into the stop, Fang Zhuo never got off.

He'd laughed at himself for worrying over nothing. Maybe she'd decided to stay the night over there after all. She'd never said she was definitely coming back. So he'd switched on his flashlight and started home.

Who would’ve thought he'd find this stranded stray soul halfway down the road.

Yan Lie masked it with a grin. "No. I was just messing with you. You actually bought that?"

Fang Zhuo was quiet for a moment. "...Do I look stupid to you?"

Yan Lie let out a low chuckle but said nothing more.

He didn't press her on why she ended up in such a miserable state. And that, more than anything, let Fang Zhuo breathe a little easier.

Yan Lie's house wasn't actually that close. They walked for nearly an hour before finally arriving.

Halfway there, Fang Zhuo had found herself wondering to herself: this guy must have been bitten dumb by mosquitoes. Otherwise, what is he even doing wandering around in the middle of the night?

At the entrance, Yan Lie took out his keys and motioned for her to come over.

The lights came on, revealing a spacious home with tastefully decorated interior

Fang Zhuo only swept a cursory glance around, not looking closely at any details. She walked to the living room and sat down, prim and proper, on the sofa.

There wasn't a guest room ready to use, but the sofa was large enough. Yan Lie carried over a clean quilt, spread it across the couch, pointed out where the bathroom was, and, noticing how uncomfortable she seemed, tactfully retreated to the master bedroom to give her space.

Fang Zhuo sat awkwardly for a while, then moved her backpack over to the coffee table.

Since she'd already slept on the bus, she wasn't remotely sleepy now. She simply took out her workbook and started working through the week's assigned exercises.

Yan Lie wasn't used to having other people in the house. He already had trouble sleeping under normal circumstances, and now, with Fang Zhuo just outside, it was even harder. Long after midnight, he noticed light still spilling in through the crack beneath the door. Getting up to use the bathroom, he discovered she was still doing homework.

This diligent classmate didn't turn off the living room light until sometime around two or three in the morning. Half asleep, Yan Lie noted this and thought Fang Zhuo's energy was truly formidable. Whatever energy she'd absorbed during the day apparently lasted well into the middle of the night.

Early the next morning, Yan Lie was awakened by the sound of the front door opening and closing. The other person had tried to be quiet, but it still jolted him awake in a cold sweat.

It took him two seconds to remember what had happened the night before. Barefoot, he hurried out of his room.

The living room looked almost exactly as it had before, neat and quiet. Hanging from the front door handle was a transparent plastic bag. Inside were soy milk and steamed buns.

Yan Lie pulled the door open. Fang Zhuo was standing outside, waiting for the elevator.

He ran a hand through his messy hair. "Where are you going?"

"Back to school?" Fang Zhuo answered.

"I am too," Yan Lie said. "Let's eat breakfast first, then we'll head back together. Do you even know the way?"

The question was oddly humiliating. After hesitating for a moment, Fang Zhuo quietly turned around and went back inside.

Yan Lie got himself ready in record time. After breakfast, he wheeled his bicycle downstairs and gave his deskmate another ride back to school.

Sitting behind him, Fang Zhuo felt as though the morning sun was especially glaring today. Her head grew light and dizzy, and she slowly lowered it until it rested against Yan Lie's back.

They'd set out early. When they reached the school, there were hardly any people around.

Fang Zhuo's head still felt foggy. As soon as she entered the classroom, she buried herself in her seat and started working on problems. Yan Lie had originally wanted to chat with her to pass the time, but seeing her complete lack of enthusiasm, he gave up and played games on his phone off to the side.

Students started trickling in. The classroom buzzed with noise before gradually settling back into silence.

After only one afternoon study period, their homeroom teacher walked in carrying a stack of lesson plans. She delivered the usual weekly pep talk, then told the class officers to organize a cleaning session.

The annual sports meet and the Mid-Autumn Festival break were both just around the corner. The senior class had decided to clean all the shared areas, including the hallways and restrooms, ahead of time so that when the holiday arrived, the students on duty could just do a quick once-over and head home early.

The students got to their feet, rearranging desks and clearing the room.

Fang Zhuo drew mopping duty and was assigned to the hallway. She waited until the students responsible for sweeping had finished, then slowly fetched the clean mop and got to work.

After giving the PE class representative a few final instructions, their homeroom teacher came back to inspect everyone's progress. Seeing Fang Zhuo mopping with brisk, efficient movements, she nodded in satisfaction and said to the group of boys nearby, all grinning and fooling around. "There, look at Fang Zhuo. That’s how you mop a floor. What you’re doing is just skimming the surface. One look and I can just tell none of you do chores at home.”

Zhao Jiayou protested, "Teacher, that's not fair. Our form might not be standard, but we've got strength! We scrubbed off all those ancient grimes!"

Shen Musi hollered in support, "Yeah! Teacher, you're playing favorites!"

"You boys always have the most to say, yet you never finish cleaning properly." the teacher clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Listen, I'm not saying you have to match Fang Zhuo's standard, but at least don't be worlds apart, alright?"

They were all still laughing and joking when Fang Zhuo suddenly staggered back a step, hit the wall, and collapsed to the floor.

Zhao Jiayou caught the movement from the corner of his eye and yelled in alarm, "Fang Zhuo!"

Everyone rushed over.

Their homeroom teacher grabbed hold of her and called her name several times, but Fang Zhuo didn't respond. She'd lost consciousness. The teacher's voice went sharp with urgency: "Carry her to the infirmary, now!"

Zhao Jiayou reacted a beat too slowly. Just as he crouched down to lift her onto his back, Yan Lie appeared seemingly out of nowhere. He caught Fang Zhuo by the arm, hoisted her securely onto his back, and followed their homeroom teacher on a run toward the infirmary.

***

Fang Zhuo's dream stretched on endlessly, tangled and fragmented.

She seemed to be back outside Ye Yuncheng's old house, silently watching the person inside through the window. Just like when she was little, hiding in a corner of the courtyard, silently watching her grandmother bent intently over her knitting. 

Her grandmother didn't like her.

Fang Zhuo had known this fact very early on.

The old woman always kept her eyes lowered, passing by her in silence. Her gaze rarely lingered on Fang Zhuo, and smiles were even rarer.

She loved knitting. She knitted countless sweaters and gave them away to other people.

Whenever Fang Zhuo tried to talk to her, clung to her, or sought her affection, her grandmother would always say, I'm busy. Go play somewhere else.

So Fang Zhuo could only sit nearby and watch.

Back then, Fang Zhuo was still small, and noisy. Maybe she really was unlikable.

After finding no warmth from the only elder in her life, she began growing curious about the rest of her family. Whenever she asked about them, her grandmother's answers were so perfunctory, even for dismissals.

"There isn't anyone."

"No one."

"You don't have any other family."

Neglected for so long, Fang Zhuo eventually reached the reckless age of childhood rebellion.

She ran away from home.

She wanted to see whether her grandmother truly cared enough to come looking for her.

Maybe children's tricks always looked painfully obvious to adults. Or maybe her grandmother simply knew Fang Zhuo had nowhere else to go. The little girl waited alone in a field not far from home until late into the night, but the old woman never came. 

In the darkness, the courtyard lights glowed for a while, then went out deep into the night. Cicadas sang endlessly through the summer night. The doors and windows remained tightly shut from beginning to end.

Having had reality made painfully clear to her, and tormented beyond endurance by mosquito bites, she finally trudged back in defeat.

That was when Fang Zhuo's rebellious phase truly began.

She started skipping school.

When the thin, stern old woman found out, she grabbed Fang Zhuo's schoolbag and threw it straight into the flooded rice paddy outside.

Stern and cold, she told Fang Zhuo: If you don't want to study, then don't. You'll spend your life working in the fields just like everyone else. Grow up, get married early, have children, and stay trapped in this place your whole life!

Fang Zhuo was terrified. Though, she was still too young to fully understand what those words meant at the time.

She fished her schoolbag out of the paddy and took it to the river to wash. From that point on, she learned to be sensible. She learned she shouldn't beg for someone else's love.

She was so heartbroken. Even now, she could still remember the salty tears that soaked into her pillow night after night.

But that heartbreak also broke the bones of her rebellion. It taught her to stop uselessly comparing herself with others, and it set her back onto the only path she could walk.

That was the first time she understood what reality meant.

Reality was a burden too heavy to carry.

A towering wall collapsing over your head.

A future you never got to choose.

A life with no one to rely on. A life spent drifting alone.

In those days, Fang Zhuo often lay on the grassy hillside behind the village, basking in sunlight filtered through the leaves, listening to the lonely breeze whisper through the woods as she silently wrestled with all the tangled questions of adolescence alone.

Only when the sun began sinking behind the mountains would she fill a basket with fresh rabbit grass, sling it over her back, and head home to feed the family's rabbits.

The road home always seemed impossibly long. Every single time, it felt as though she walked forever.

The fading glow of sunset stretched tangled forests into vast, blurry shadows. In the distance, a warm yellow light flickered to life, like a lone spark at the edge of the sky.

She kept walking through the trees. So long that it almost felt as though the next day's sun was about to rise, flooding the silent path with light once more.

Golden sunlight pierced through the heavy clouds, illuminating the road stretching out before and behind her.

Fang Zhuo frowned and looked up at the brightening sky. The dream began to blur, and the hazy world slowly unraveled as the light brushing across her eyelids pulled her consciousness back to reality.

She opened her eyes and, through a lingering haze, made out the silhouette of a tall figure sitting against the light.

She blinked hard several times. As her vision gradually came into focus, she realized she was lying on a narrow white bed. The gentle glow of the setting sun streamed through the window, spilling across her face.

It was that last fading ray of sunlight that had awakened her.

Yan Lie, without even turning around, reached back and tugged the curtain shut, blocking out the light, "I've got eyes in the back of my head. Pretty impressive, right?"

Fang Zhuo: "..."

"Fang Zhuo."

She was still struggling to gather her thoughts when Yan Lie suddenly turned around and called her name with unusual seriousness.

Her throat felt dry and itchy. She swallowed hard and rasped out, "What?"

Yan Lie opened his mouth as if hesitating over his words. Then, with an expression so solemn it was impossible to tell whether he was joking, he said, "You know, you talk in your sleep.”

Fang Zhuo was completely taken in by his earnest expression. A flicker of nervousness crossed her face. "What did I say?"

"Inverse trigonometric functions." Yan Lie answered without missing a beat.

Fang Zhuo's train of thought was completely derailed. She blurted out instinctively, "You're making that up. That's not even on this year's exam syllabus."

"Whoa, you caught me." Yan Lie laughed, tucking in a corner of the blanket at her feet. "Get a little more rest. The doctor said you've been pushing yourself too hard. If you still feel unwell after, we'll have to take you to the hospital."

Fang Zhuo gave a quiet "Mm." Raising a hand, she wiped at her face and found it strangely damp. Before she could puzzle it out, Yan Lie handed her a banana. "Want one?"

In her dream, she'd spent what felt like forever working nonstop. Even now, she still felt drained, so she accepted it without argument.

She leaned against the headboard, quietly eating her banana while Yan Lie sat nearby playing games on his phone.

Her gaze drifted toward the screen. "What are you playing?"

"A little mobile game." Yan Lie gave his wrist a shake. "Want to try?"

Fang Zhuo didn't refuse. Yan Lie immediately carried his phone over, sat beside her, and showed her how the controls worked.

Bright colors, cheerful background music, and simple mechanics. Though itvwas a very straightforward puzzle game, Fang Zhuo patiently played through two rounds, then asked, "How do people make something like this?"

Yan Lie scratched his head, unsure how to explain it. "It takes artists, developers, programmers, testers... all kinds of people. You need a whole team to make a game."

Fang Zhuo nodded, only half understanding. She handed his phone back, then just sat there, staring into space, lost in thought.

"What are you thinking about?" Yan Lie asked.

"I want to go to university," Fang Zhuo murmured.

Curious, Yan Lie asked, "Which university?"

She shook her head. "I don't know."

"Then what do you want to study?" He glanced at his phone. "Computer science? Game programming?"

"I don't know." She blinked slowly, her eyes unfocused. "I just want to know more about the world. That's why I want to go to university."

Yan Lie was thoroughly defeated by her thirst for knowledge. He laughed. "Sounds good to me. People always say the eyes are the windows to the soul. Then university can be the window to knowledge."

Fang Zhuo didn't argue. She simply answered with another quiet "Mm."

Her unquestioning agreement made Yan Lie feel oddly guilty. After all, he'd made up that line off the top of his head. But on second thought, he decided it actually wasn't a bad answer.

Two minutes later, Fang Zhuo wiped her face once more and climbed out of bed.

"Oh? Already rebooted?" Yan Lie took in her newly refreshed state with some wonder. "That recovery speed beats ninety-nine percent of the country. Where are you off to?"

"Back to study."

Yan Lie stared at her in disbelief. "You like studying that much?"

"I don't."

"I don't either," Yan Lie said. "Then why are you in such a hurry to go back?"

Fang Zhuo bent to fold the blanket. A faint, ironic smile touched her lips. "What else am I supposed to do? Find somewhere to cry?"

Yan Lie gave her a strange look.

When Fang Zhuo looked back at him, he immediately turned away as if nothing had happened.

Stuffing his phone into his pocket, he said, "I'll walk you back to the classroom.”

---

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