rose ashes

The three-day huge examination came to an end. It was so strange that walking on the shady path of the school felt just like any other ordinary examination.

Luo Yang stepped on the stone slabs on the ground and jumped lightly, landing on another stone slab. She didn't care who was behind her. There were only a handful of people here who were worth her staying.
But it seemed that it was these few people who made her hesitate and look back several times on her way forward.

I don’t know how long I walked like this before Luo Yang realized how big the school was. At that time, I was so immersed in studying that I never took a good look at the school. When I came from the junior high school to the senior high school, I just thought that it was just a change of place to continue studying.

"Will you feel reluctant to leave?" A voice suddenly came from behind him, and Luo Yang knew it was Ye Gu.

Would he be reluctant to part with it? Luo Yang smiled bitterly in his heart. How could he be willing to part with it?
That was all her joyful youth, how could she bear to let him go so easily? But it seemed that there was no other way except to let him go.

Ye Gu was not good at comforting people, so he just said with a poor vocabulary: "See you later."

Will we meet again? Luo Yang never believed in the word "goodbye". "Goodbye" is the least credible word in her cognition. In the past, Ms. Yang said goodbye, and then she never saw him again. The person she wanted to see again seemed to always go against her wishes. God always likes to play such jokes on people.

She murmured, "Will we meet again... maybe."

We may never see each other again in an unknown time. We are never sure.

Ye Gu accurately captured Luo Yang's depressed mood, but he couldn't figure out the source of her emotion. Bian Yao and Xi Jinzhou just thought that it was because she was not used to the college entrance examination, and it was not a big deal.

Luo Family——
It was a long-awaited dinner with everyone present. The living room was silent except for the sound of chopsticks hitting the bowl. Luo Jiancheng looked at Luo Yang who was eating in silence and hesitated for a long time before speaking.
“Do you have an ideal school?”

Luo Yang didn't stop his movements, and said calmly: "Not yet."
Luo Jiancheng looked serious and spoke in a thoughtful tone. Zhang Peilan and Luo Ke did not dare to speak and just watched his expression.

"Let's go for business. You'll eventually have to work for the group." It seemed like a well-thought-out discussion, but it already carried an air of compulsion to help Luo Yang make a decision on his own.

Luo Yang refused without even looking up: "I will not take over the group's business, nor do I want to inherit your precious property. You should leave it to someone else."

Luo Jiancheng threw his chopsticks without a second thought, causing the table to shake. "Do you know what your attitude is now? I am your elder! You just need to listen and accept what I say! You are not qualified to reject the path I have paved for you!"

Luo Yang was too lazy to argue with him now. Endless quarrels would only make her feel extremely bored. She didn't want to deal with unreasonable and arrogant people anymore.

Luo Jiancheng hated it most when others went against his ideas and decisions, especially when he was doing it for Luo Yang's own good. Seeing his daughter's indifferent attitude, his anger burned uncontrollably in his head.

He realized that Luo Yang was becoming less and less polite as she grew older. It seemed that he had not taken care of her for too long.

Luo Ke looked at the dinner table coldly, his food tasteless, but he did not leave the table, because as long as Luo Jiancheng did not leave, no one could leave at will.

As night fell, Luo Yang knelt on the carpet in the room, staring at his suitcase in a daze. On his phone, there were chats with the teachers in the Academic Affairs Office, and chat messages from his cousin who lived overseas kept popping up.

Brother: I have already registered you for IELTS and TOEFL classes, please prepare well. Also, are you sure you don’t want to tell your uncle?
Brother: When are you going to leave? I will help you book the ticket. I suggest you come after the results are out. I will pick you up.
Brother: Actually, you are too obsessed with your aunt’s affairs.
Brother: Forget it, I support you. If you have any problems, tell me and I will handle it. Don’t carry everything by yourself, okay?

The messages stopped popping up and the phone screen gradually went dark.
Luo Yang looked at the group photo on the table. Ye Gu's smile was as bright as ever, and she just curled her lips slightly, but the happiness she felt at that time was real.
-
"Master, what is the thing you hate the most?"
The young man hesitated, pretending to be deep for a few seconds, but then he broke down and waved his hands impatiently, "Anyway, just don't stand me up, or I'll cry in front of you!"
"So don't give up on me, you hear me?"
"I know, I know. Young Master is just being pretentious."

If he could hate her for the rest of his life, it would be a good outcome. At least he wouldn't feel sad for her.

But unfortunately, she could only break the promise she had made to him.

The day before the results came out, Luo Yang made an appointment to go out to party, and everyone partied until very late. Luo Yang hugged Tian Tian and cried uncontrollably. It was the first time that Tian Tian saw her express her emotions so openly.

She hugged Luo Yang and stroked her back again and again just like Luo Yang had comforted herself before.

"It's graduation, it's okay, it's not like we can't meet again. Since when did our Queen Ah He become so sentimental?"
Graduation is always a sad word. Tian Tian just held back her tears. She was afraid that if she cried, Luo Yang would feel even worse.

Even though Luo Yang had a lot of things he wanted to tell her, he ended up swallowing them all down, and suffered the pain alone.

At one point, she even wanted to give up and tell her cousin that she didn't want to leave anymore. Just give up and be a person who would always be kept in the dark, be an ordinary person, stay with Tian Tian and also stay with him.

But in the end, she didn't say those words.
It was very late that day and everyone was unable to separate. Later, Tian Tian suggested staying together for one night, and no one used the excuse of their parents being at school to leave early.

Luo Yang's eyes were a little swollen from crying. Suddenly a cold towel appeared beside her. Ye Gu shook it and said, "Apply it for a while. You will feel uncomfortable tomorrow morning."

The towel did not completely cover his hands, and the grooves at his wrists were smooth. I had never looked at him closely before, and it turned out that not only did he have beautiful eyes, but his hands were equally beautiful.
It's the kind that makes people unforgettable at first sight.

Luo Yang quickly took the towel from his hand and gently put it on her eyes. She took a deep breath, her voice trembled, and her steps slowed down, as if she was making a difficult decision.
After a while, the eyes behind the towel were tightly closed, and the eyelashes could not stop trembling, "Ye Gu, I can't see the road ahead, can you help me walk?"

Unable to see his expression, Luo Yang's heart was beating in the darkness. About half a minute later, she felt a sudden warmth in the palm of her hand, and there was also some rubbing of her palm lines.

My heart paused for a moment, but quickly recovered.
Luo Yang hesitated, then mustered up the courage to hold his palm back. The blend of warmth warmed the atmosphere between the two of them.

Ye Gu seemed to always be like this, he never liked to answer or make promises, but he would definitely respond to your request with practical actions, just like now.

The two of them walked quietly, and the group of people walking in front of them unexpectedly tacitly did not look back. Even Bian Yao, who usually wanted to join in the fun, was particularly quiet today. People's sense of the unknown is always subtle and magical. Perhaps they all felt that something was going to change drastically, so they were waiting quietly, or perhaps they did not want to disturb the silence of this moment. No one knew the reason, but just did it this way.

When they arrived at the door of the hotel room, Ye Gu put Luo Yang's hand into Tian Tian's hand, and stuffed a letter into her hand before leaving.
"I'll be waiting for you at the train station tomorrow. I have a place I want to take you to. If you want to know my secret, you must come."

Luo Yang wanted to say something, but Ye Gu seemed nervous and quickly let go of her hand. Before she could finish her words, she was already at the end of the corridor.

Tian Tian took her hand and squeezed it gently, "Come in, you have to get up early to go to the train station tomorrow."

The train station?
Luo Yang was stunned for a moment, her hanging hair covering her dim pupils.

/ / /
The rumbling green train slowly started to move away. Ye Gu sat aside, looking at the blue envelope in his hand, holding it tightly.

In fact, there were many opportunities, but it seemed that he let them all go. He always used the excuse of "the time is not right" to justify why he has not confessed his feelings until now.

But only Ye Gu knew clearly that he was just escaping, escaping the consequence of failure and also escaping the possibility of identity change.
Perhaps all of his timidity was fully displayed in this matter.

But when would be a good time?
Now Ye Gu felt that it was a good time as long as he was ready, but he overlooked the fact that in this matter, it was not only him who was involved, but also Luo Yang.

"Luo Yang? Luo Yang?!"
Tian Tian ran all over the room but couldn't find any trace of Luo Yang, as if she had never lived here with her last night and disappeared without a trace overnight.

She suppressed her anxiety and called Luo Yang, but when she heard that the phone number was no longer in service, she panicked and suddenly lost her mind, looking at the empty floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room, at a loss as to what to do.

It turned out that her panic last night really foreshadowed what would happen today. It turned out that Luo Yang's unprecedented hugging her and crying yesterday was already giving her a signal, but she didn't react at all, thinking it was just the usual emotion of graduates.

She looked at the last note Luo Yang left on the table. The paper was so smooth that it looked like it was printed on, as if he was afraid that others would find out. There were only seven words on it -
Sorry, don't look for me.

Tian Tian didn't believe that everything that was happening before her eyes was real. She wiped her cheek and shook her head. It was impossible. Although Luo Yang looked cold, she knew best how soft-hearted she was inside. As long as she cried, Luo Yang would always soften her heart. Now that she was already crying, Luo Yang would definitely come back soon.

But the ones who came were Bian Yao and Xi Jinzhou. Xi Jinzhou pulled her up from the ground. His expression was solemn but he still kept his emotions to a minimum, acting as an objective narrator.
"Ye Gu went to the train station. Don't tell him that Luo Yang is missing."

Tian Tian tried hard to maintain her last bit of sanity, but she still hiccuped uncontrollably.

Bian Yao couldn't stand girls crying, but in this situation, he felt a little annoyed. Perhaps Tian Tian felt more aggrieved because she could sense his emotions, but she still restrained herself and kept looking for friends around Luo Yang who might be in contact with her on her phone.

The train station was bustling with people, from sunrise to sunset. Ye Gu just sat motionless on the chair, looking at the entrance for the figure who would be the most eye-catching as soon as he appeared.

He didn't know what supported him to wait. When Xi Jinzhou and others arrived, it was already 11 o'clock in the evening and the last shift was about to end.

Xi Jinzhou went forward to pull him, but he remained motionless, with an unexpectedly calm expression, which even made Xi Jinzhou feel oppressed, and even the words he wanted to say were blocked.

"Ye Gu, wake up! What are you still waiting for here? She hasn't come yet at this time. Doesn't it mean that she doesn't want to give you an answer at all? Who are you doing this for? She has already cancelled her phone number!"

Bian Yao finished speaking in one breath without pausing, and even Xi Jinzhou was shocked.
Normally, Bian Yao was the most afraid of Ye Gu. This was the first time he yelled at Ye Gu and taught him a lesson.

Under normal circumstances, Ye Gu would have responded without any hesitation. He would never give in to anyone verbally.

As if all the energy and strength had been drained away from him, Ye Gu slowly raised his head and looked at Bian Yao, as if trying to find the lack of confidence and uncertainty in his eyes from what he had just said. However, after staring at him for a long time, almost seeing through him, he did not find any clues of guilt.

He smiled faintly and said nothing.
After a while, he began to panic, his voice trembled slightly, and the corners of his eyes, which were naturally red, became even redder.
"I know. I called, but Ah He wouldn't come. She must have something to do."

Bian Yao sneered, "What's the matter? Are you busy canceling your phone number? Are you busy running away from us? Master, don't deceive yourself. She won't come. Don't wait any longer. Is it worth it to make yourself sick for her?"

Ye Gu remained motionless, tightly holding the blue envelope in his hand. He pretended not to hear what Bian Yao said, and murmured, "She will come, she will..."
She said she would not lie to him, would not stand him up...
As long as she said no, he would believe it.

Bian Yao was helpless and simply rolled his eyes and sat on the ground. Not long after, the train station staff came to close the door and Ye Gu was half-pushed and half-pushed out of the train station.

Tian Tian looked at the two train tickets to Tibet in his hand, with a thousand thoughts in her mind, but in the end they just looked at each other in silence.

The next day, Ye Gu dragged his low-grade feverish body downstairs and heard a conversation:
"That girl Ah He was at the airport last night. She didn't tell anyone, not even the Luo family knew about it."
"Hey, where did she go?"
"She has gone abroad. Judging from the situation, I'm afraid she may not come back in the future. Now she has basically cut off contact with all the people she knew. There is no news from her at all."
"It's pitiful, but it must be hard for a little girl to be out there."

Boom!Boom!
Two loud and dull bangs shook the stairs. Someone hurriedly ran upstairs from downstairs. Ye Gu's forehead was swollen and he hit the wall. His face was pale and his lips were deeply sunken and cracked.

"Master?! Master! Call an ambulance! Quick!"

A group of people gathered around to help Ye Gu, who had fallen to the ground. The note was loosely grasped in his naturally hanging hands, and they rushed him to the ambulance in the chaos.

The car door closed, the breeze blew, and the note fell on the lawn. The thin and powerful handwriting could be vaguely seen -
Sorry, don't wait for me.

(End of this chapter)