Xiao Die couldn't quite figure it out—her best friend always seemed capable of conjuring up some risqué scenario in her mind.
Once, when the two of them were walking past a certain adult goods shop, Lu Na insisted on dragging Xiao Die inside for a look. Xiao Die waved her hands frantically: "I'm not going in, I'm not going in! I'm not interested in that stuff!" In the end, she was hauled in by Lu Na anyway—only she kept her eyes covered the entire time.
Lu Na muttered to herself: "A pure and innocent beauty like Xiao Die—there's no one else like her in this world."
Perhaps it was the boredom of school life, or perhaps it was the looming college entrance exam. Xiao Die's heart felt a little restless.
The teacher noticed her mind was wandering and called on her to answer a question. "Xiao Die, what are the causes of desertification?"
"The natural causes are global warming, high evaporation rates, and inland geographical location; the human causes are overgrazing, excessive logging, and over-cultivation."
The teacher pushed up her eight-hundred-degree glasses and continued the lesson.
Her best friend poked Xiao Die in the back with a ballpoint pen and whispered: "Still thinking about that perfect neighbor?"
Xiao Die chose to ignore her.
After school, the two made plans to go get shaved ice. At the dessert shop, they spotted the school beauty sitting together with a mature, older man. Lu Na immediately launched into gossip mode: "Xiao Die, that guy looks pretty loaded."
Xiao Die shoved a spoonful of ice into Lu Na's mouth: "Just say a little less, would you? Think about what you got on the last math practice exam."
Lu Na pulled out her math test paper and stared at the bright red score, her spirits dimming a little. The school beauty, meanwhile, climbed into a luxury car on the arm of the older man. Xiao Die had never imagined a life like that, nor did she envy it. All she wanted was to be a well-behaved girl, living a simple and ordinary life.
That night, the sky was as clear and pure as a young girl's gaze—mysterious and vast.
Su Mosheng could see none of it. After all these years, he had long grown used to living alone, used to being ridiculed. It had been some time since he moved into this old apartment building, and he knew exactly what those gossips were saying about him behind his back. What he hadn't expected was that someone would speak up for him. From the sound of the voice, it seemed to be a young girl.
Su Mosheng had once read a book that said a person's hearing becomes especially sharp after losing their sight. So he remembered that girl's voice. Every night, when she came home after evening self-study and passed by his door, she would always cough a few times.
Thinking of this, Su Mosheng held the cat in his arms a little tighter. On a night like this, only the cat could share its warmth with him...
At the dinner table, Xiao Die asked her mother: "Mom, does the older brother next door have a cat?"
Her mother grew worried: "Why? Is the cat's meowing disturbing your studies? I'll go talk to him!"
Her father, a kind-hearted man, said to his wife: "He's a blind man—he has a harder life than we do. We're all struggling together here, so let's not trouble him."
There was a reason her father spoke this way. Before he started driving trucks, he had worked as a loader in a factory, which had left his body riddled with ailments. Her mother's health wasn't good either, though she always kept it hidden from Xiao Die. The Xiao family believed in karma—that good-hearted people would one day be rewarded. Xiao Die had outstanding grades and was sensible and well-behaved. For her, her parents felt that anything they did was worthwhile.
Xiao Die looked forward to university life, but at the same time, she worried about money. She felt her parents were working far too hard and wanted to help ease their burden. Lu Na had done a lot of part-time jobs—handing out flyers on the street, working at a bubble tea shop, that kind of thing. With this in mind, she sent Lu Na a message: Lu Na, after senior year, I want to get a part-time job.
Lu Na: Girl, I'm in the middle of playing Honor of Kings! Why are you suddenly bringing this up? Part-time jobs are really tough.