Ye Xun peeked into Tong Tong's bedroom and, seeing that she was fast asleep, returned to the living room with peace of mind.
"We agreed to stand together against a common enemy, so why did you kick me when I was down? You caused me to lose ground!" Yang Ke complained, his voice filled with anger.
"You can't blame me for this!" Ye Xun said. "It's your fault for buying a little mouse. Everything started because of you!"
"You can't put all the blame on me. Didn't your saying 'one thing subdues another thing' also contribute to the situation?" Yang Ke said indignantly.
"You brought this upon yourself because you spoke recklessly and boasted! This is what they call 'trouble comes from the mouth'!"
"Alright, I'm not arguing with you anymore!" Yang Ke said. "The most important thing now is to help me take back the position! You're not going to just stand by and watch me die, are you?"
"How could that be?" Ye Xun said. "Proceed according to our original plan, and activate the special operations plan if necessary!"
“Okay!” Yang Ke said.
Ye Xun and Yang Ke were making meticulous plans, but they didn't expect that Tong Tong was hiding in the bedroom eavesdropping.
"Strike first, strike hard!" Tong Tong said, clenching her fist.
Something soft and fluffy landed on Yang Ke, followed by an animal's scream. Yang Ke was jolted awake. In his hazy state, he seemed to feel a demon pounce on him, which sent a chill down his spine. The animal's scream still echoed in his ears. Yang Ke turned his head and finally saw clearly—Ye Xun's cat was circling the white mouse's cage, and the white mouse was frantically trying to escape from the cage.
Yang Ke hurriedly hugged the cage to his arms, but the kitten wouldn't let go of him.
"Ye Xun, you get out here right now!" Yang Ke ran around the sofa, his hands already scratched several times by the kitten.
"What are you doing?" Ye Xun angrily questioned Yang Ke, while the little kitten circled around Yang Ke, almost going crazy.
"I should be asking you that!" Yang Ke said angrily. "Why did you let it out? It almost ate Tao Tao!"
"That has nothing to do with me!" Ye Xun said. "I closed the cage door properly!"
"If it was closed, why is it here? Who opened it?"
Suddenly realizing something, the two rushed towards Tong Tong's bedroom. Tong Tong quickly climbed onto the bed behind the door, pretending to be fast asleep. After a while, seeing the room was quiet, she opened one eye and peeked out, only to find two people staring at her.
"Okay, I admit my mistake, isn't that enough?" Tong Tong said, sitting up.
"I'll give you ten minutes to think about how to explain this!" Ye Xun said before leaving.
"Pack your luggage while you're at it; I don't think it'll take much time!" Yang Ke said as he walked out of the room.
Tong Tong placed her luggage in front of Ye Xun and Yang Ke, glanced at them out of the corner of her eye, and lowered her head in fear.
"I think you've already come up with a reason!" Ye Xun asked, "Why do you want to sow discord between us?"
"You were the ones plotting behind my back to get back at me!" Tong Tong pouted. "I was just..."
"Strike first, strike hard!" Yang Ke added. "Luckily we figured it out, otherwise..."
"Yang Ke, Ye Xun, please give me another chance!" Tong Tong said pitifully as she was being driven to the door.
"No way!" Yang Ke said firmly. "This time the cat almost ate the mouse, but who knows who will eat whom next time!"
As soon as the door closed, Yang Ke and Ye Xun both breathed a long sigh of relief.
"I almost lost my life!" Yang Ke said, looking at the bloodstains on his hands.
"Just consider it a ruse!" Ye Xun comforted her from the side.
A knock sounded behind them. Yang Ke and Ye Xun's hearts tightened. They opened the door, and Tong Tong was indeed still standing outside.
"Yang Ke, can I leave my luggage with you temporarily?" Tong Tong pleaded.
Yang Ke shook his head helplessly.
"You guys hate me that much! You still say we're good friends!" Tong Tong said, tears streaming down her face.
Yang Ke's heart softened, and he couldn't help but ask Ye Xun, "Why don't you just agree to her request?"
Before Ye Xun could answer, Tong Tong had already carried her luggage into the living room, sat down on the sofa, and refused to get up again.
"Anything that happens from now on is none of my business!" Ye Xun said to Yang Ke irritably, then turned and went into the bedroom.
Yang Ke handed the blanket to Tong Tong and said to her, "From today onwards, you will still sleep in the living room!"
"Yang Ke, I..." Tong Tong frowned, her eyes, which hadn't dried yet, were almost filled with tears again.
"Stop!" Yang Ke stopped Tong Tong. "No need to cry anymore, tears won't work! You can't use the same trick twice, I won't fall for it again!"
"Fine, I'll sleep in the living room!" Tong Tong muttered. "Anyway, you'll be my defeated opponent sooner or later!"
Yang Ke closed the door and couldn't help but look up at the sky and sigh tragically, "My wonderful summer vacation!"
Tong Tong left three days before the start of the semester. Before leaving, Yang Ke and Ye Xun prepared a meal to celebrate this absolutely worthwhile day. Tong Tong's expression was sad, and her every move carried an air of tragic grandeur. Throughout the entire process of preparing the meal, Yang Ke and Ye Xun couldn't help but chuckle to themselves.
"Yang Ke, Ye Xun, you two must take good care of yourselves!" Tong Tong said as she left the room, adding, "Especially Ye Xun, you must take good care of yourself!"
"Alright, Tong Tong!" Yang Ke couldn't help but comfort her. "You'll be living together again in two days, won't you? Why make it sound like a life-or-death separation!"
Yang Ke's words suddenly reminded Ye Xun that she would also be leaving this building in two days. She didn't know when it started, but she had become so attached to this place, almost unwilling to leave even for a moment. But in two days, she would still have to leave like Tong Tong; her life here would be over. Why? Why did she feel so attached to this place? Ye Xun wondered. Wasn't she moved in out of necessity? But why didn't she want to leave now? These questions weighed on Ye Xun's heart like stones. As she climbed the stairs again, her steps became very slow, as if filled with lead. Ye Xun gently stroked the handrails, imprinting them one by one in her heart, carrying them all away through memory.
"What's wrong?" Yang Ke asked. "I don't want Tong Tong to leave!"
"It's nothing!" Ye Xun said. "We're completely relieved now that Tong Tong is gone. It's actually a little hard to get used to!"
"Yeah! I'm not used to it yet!"
"If I leave again, wouldn't you feel even more uncomfortable?"
“Once you leave again, I’ll get used to it! Because I can go back to my normal life!” Yang Ke said with a smile.
Yang Ke's smile danced before Ye Xun's eyes, warming her heart like a gentle current. Ye Xun seemed to suddenly understand something. She remembered a time when she and Tong Tong were admiring the view from the balcony, with many people passing by below. Tong Tong had once said something like this: "Regardless of what a person's love is like, perhaps the first thing they should know is who they love; how pathetic it is if someone only knows how to imagine love every day, but doesn't even know who they love most!"
Could it be that Yang Ke...? Ye Xun dared not think any further. She really didn't know when Yang Ke had entered her world, whether it was when she first met him or sometime during this summer vacation.
"Yang Ke!" Ye Xun called out to Yang Ke, who was walking ahead.
"What is it?" Yang Ke asked, turning around.
"Are you free tomorrow?" Ye Xun asked. "How about we go shopping together?"
"You won't lack a gentleman to pay for you, will you?" Yang Ke joked.
"I don't mind if you're willing!" Ye Xun said, "But what I really lack is someone to carry my things!"
"Then it seems I'm doomed!" Yang Ke said.
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Chapter 20 A Marriage Amidst a Sandstorm
Updated: 2008-05-29 17:52:10 Words: 0
When the bus stopped at the north end of the Yangtze River Bridge, Ye Xunqiang pulled Yang Ke off the bus.
"Why are we getting off here?" Yang Ke asked, puzzled. "It's still a long way to go!"
"It's nothing!" Ye Xun replied, "I just wanted to get down and walk around!"
"Let's hurry back!" Yang Ke said worriedly. "The weather forecast says it's going to rain heavily today. If we get back late, we'll be soaked to the bone!"
“There’s still time!” Ye Xun said. “I just want to walk on the Yangtze River Bridge!”
"You're acting strange today!" Yang Ke asked. "You're not like yourself at all!"
“Girls can be weird sometimes, didn’t I tell you?” Ye Xun said. “Yang Ke, have you ever walked on this Yangtze River Bridge?”
"I think so!" Yang Ke said, "but I can't remember clearly!"
"Yang Ke, do you believe me?" Ye Xun said softly. "I've been in this city for three years, but I've never walked across this bridge before! Sometimes, I even think that maybe life is like a city. No matter how long you live in a city, there are some bridges and roads you've never walked on. At most, you can only look at them. But life experiences can't be filled by simply looking at them! So, let's walk across every bridge, walk on those roads we've never even thought of. Maybe there's a different kind of scenery there!"
Thick clouds obscured the sky, spreading endlessly. The wind, carrying moisture, swept through the city that had fallen into darkness early. The lights on both banks of the Yangtze River gradually faded into slumber, but the river itself became more passionate and energetic, surging like a raging sea.
Ye Xun stepped onto the bridge railing and took a step higher. Yang Ke hurriedly and worriedly supported her. Ye Xun smiled and simply let go of the railing.
"You must hold on tight to me!" Ye Xun shouted, the sound of the wind weaving through her words, "Spread your arms in this wind, it's like flying in the air!"
"You girls always love to fantasize, like flying in the wind, chasing through the fog, or getting drunk on roses!"
"That's because you don't know how to enjoy life!" Ye Xun retorted. "Life isn't just about walking; you also need to sail on the ship of imagination! Otherwise, what's the point of just having physical sensations?"
Ye Xun closed her eyes and began to wander in the life she had always dreamed of.
"Yang Ke, what do you think is the probability of two people meeting each other in the world?" Ye Xun asked Yang Ke beside her in the crowded supermarket.
"Do I really have to answer?" Yang Ke asked.
"Definitely!" Ye Xun nodded.
"To give you an analogy, what are the chances of two grains of sand from the North and South Poles colliding?" Yang Ke said. "Perhaps the chances of any two random people in the world meeting are even smaller!"
"If it's like you say, with so many people meeting in the square and bumping into each other, wouldn't a lot of sand and dust be gathering together?" Ye Xun said with a smile. "What a huge sandstorm!"
Yang Ke knew Ye Xun was mocking her again, so she said, "Of course, do you think it's easier to have a sandstorm or for two strangers to meet and get to know each other?"
"And what about us?" Ye Xun continued to tease, "I was inexplicably caught up in this sandstorm, and of course, I ran into you, this stubborn rock!"
"That's just bad luck!" Yang Ke corrected. "How could I have wanted this? I was prepared to be torn to pieces, but I never expected to run into you!"
"Then let's just go our separate ways!" Ye Xun said angrily.
"I wish I could, but unfortunately, who can escape this sandstorm!"
"I can!" Ye Xun said defiantly. "As long as I hide in this crowd, I can avoid the wind and escape this sandstorm. At least I won't see you, my nemesis, and I can relax for a while!"
"That's not necessarily true!" Yang Ke was determined to fight Ye Xun to the end.
"Then let's give it a try!"
Ye Xun slipped into the crowd, with Yang Ke chasing closely behind. Many times, Ye Xun successfully evaded Yang Ke, but he always managed to find her amidst the sea of people and the dense shelves. For the entire afternoon, they played this game that only children would enjoy, playing with such complete absorption that they were utterly oblivious to everything else.
A large raindrop hit Ye Xun's face. She opened her eyes and was shocked to find that Yang Ke was not by her side to protect her. She broke out in a cold sweat. Ye Xun looked at the surging river at her feet, its waters churning before her eyes, making her dizzy.
"Yang Ke!" Ye Xun screamed hysterically, "Why did you leave? What if you fell?"
"But you didn't fall, you're still standing there perfectly fine!"
"What if—I mean, what if I fall!" Ye Xun said angrily, "What are you thinking?"
"I wasn't thinking about anything!" Yang Ke pretended to be nonchalant. "I was just wondering what if you didn't fall? And things turned out exactly as I predicted!"
"Yang Ke, is this how you treat your good friends!"
"Good friends?" Yang Ke looked puzzled. "Didn't you always say we were enemies? That you'd rather die than stand on the side of my friends!"