You on the other side of time

As soon as Song Wanxi stepped out of the History and Culture College building, she heard someone call her name.

"Song Song, I've finally waited for you to finish class."

A girl in a blue floral dress stood under the shade of a tree, waving. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, making the floral pattern on her dress appear particularly vibrant. This was Liu Meiyue, her neighbor of ten years and her best friend.

After gathering her loose long hair into a high ponytail, Song Wanxi walked quickly over, a crescent-shaped smile playing on her lips: "Yueyue, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. Thank you for your hard work."

"Don't even mention it, my legs are aching from waiting." Liu Meiyue deliberately frowned and complained, but the "Pharmacology" book in her hand slipped and fell to the ground with a "thud." She rolled up her long skirt, squatted down to pick up the book, carefully brushed off the dust from the cover, and her tone softened again: "I was planning to wait for you to go to the library with me to study, anyway, if we don't study ourselves to death, we'll study others to death."

Song Wanxi couldn't help but laugh: "It's only been a week since the college entrance exam, can't you give yourself a proper break?"

Liu Meiyue looked up at Song Wanxi, whose two shallow dimples were perfectly revealed. Coupled with her elegant demeanor, Liu Meiyue was extremely envious and often said that her dimples must contain honey, which was why her smile was so sweet.

"I don't have your confidence. You're a top student from Jinchuan No. 7 Middle School. What did the teachers at No. 7 Middle School say again... 'If you kids from No. 7 Middle School don't study harder, you'll only be able to go to the university next door.' As it turns out, Jinchuan University, the top university in the province, is right next to No. 7 Middle School. But I'm still worried about getting into Jinchuan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine."

"It's true what they say, comparisons are the thief of joy." Liu Meiyue took a deep breath, her face turning red.

Song Wanxi patted her shoulder and quickly comforted her, "You usually work so hard, you'll definitely be fine. By the way, we couldn't borrow the student ID card today, I'll think of a way next time and take you to the Jinda Library."

Liu Meiyue admired Song Wanxi most for this. No matter how big the matter, she could handle it with a steady pace, as calm and precise as the hands of a clock. The two, one quick-tempered and the other slow-paced, became the most compatible friends.

"Come on. I don't want to hear your 'Song Wanxi's Nth Law' to fob me off." Liu Meiyue helped her zip up her bag, which wasn't fully closed, and the two walked side by side out of the school. "We agreed to go to Jinchuan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine today. I want to see my dream school."

After Liu Meiyue helped Song Wanxi zip up her backpack, which she had forgotten to zip up, the two walked side by side out of the school.

Song Wanxi could completely understand her best friend's feelings; Liu Meiyue was someone who valued time like gold.

Although the final admission notice has not yet been received, based on the scores currently available, Song Wanxi's scores are guaranteed admission to Jinchuan University, while Liu Meiyue's scores should be hovering around the previous admission scores for Jinchuan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Both of them rented bungalows; Liu Meiyue's family lived across from Song Wanxi's. Her parents sold fruit at the entrance of the market; they weren't very educated, but they did everything they could to support her education, speaking and walking softly so as not to disturb her studies. This heavy love made Liu Meiyue dare not slack off in the slightest.

Aside from studying hard to succeed and change her destiny, she didn't know what else she could do. Liu Meiyue often said she envied Song Wanxi's carefree attitude, her ability to pursue her dreams without a care in the world.

"I always feel that if I had stayed up for half an hour longer the night before the college entrance exam and memorized one more question, I wouldn't be in such a precarious situation now." On the way, Liu Meiyue couldn't help but grumble again, her tone full of regret.

Song Wanxi didn't reply, but simply smiled at her. She understood this invisible pressure, but didn't know how to comfort her.

Entering Jinchuan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, after passing through the teaching building on the left, you will find the commercial building, the first shop being a fruit store.

Liu Meiyue glanced at it and complained, "You know what? Fruit sellers never get to eat fresh fruit. It's all fruit that's been sitting unsold for a long time, or it's rotten or wilted. In short, those fruits that don't look good are our daily staples."

Hearing her best friend start discussing food, Song Wanxi rubbed her rumbling stomach and smiled a little embarrassedly: "Be grateful, there are still people who are hungry."

Jinchuan University's cafeterias require a campus card, and the two of them hadn't eaten lunch. Fortunately, Jinchuan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine's specialty cafeterias accept WeChat QR code payments, and the food is cheaper.

The two women found an empty seat with their plates, but were stunned when they saw the food on their plates. Song Wanxi's plate had bright red cold-cooked rabbit, while Liu Meiyue's plate had red and green stir-fried rabbit with chili peppers.

"Don't think about those ridiculous rumors." Liu Meiyue seemed to see through her thoughts, picked up a piece of rabbit meat and stuffed it into her mouth. "The school has already debunked the rumors. They won't give experimental rabbits to students to eat."

Song Wanxi didn't touch her chopsticks. She couldn't help but think about it.

I saw a rumor on Tieba that the teachers at Jinchuan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine liked to conduct experiments on rabbits with their students. The rabbits were dissected while they were still alive, and their internal organs were removed while their hearts were still beating. The liver was then separated and divided into several parts, each of which was used for different experiments.

After the experiment, the cafeteria will have several more rabbit dishes, and they will be sold very cheaply.

The bloody scene flashed through Song Wanxi's mind, and her stomach churned, making it impossible for her to swallow.

"Why aren't you eating?" Liu Meiyue asked vaguely, chewing on her meat.

Song Wanxi scooped all the rabbit meat from her plate for her and picked up her chopsticks to eat some white rice: "I'm not very hungry. You're too thin. You should eat more."

"Thank goodness the school doesn't use pigs for experiments, otherwise you could go your whole life without eating meat?" Liu Meiyue raised an eyebrow, her appetite unaffected, and ate heartily. "You were right not to study medicine. I heard that some medical schools, in order to train students' courage, will give each dormitory a skull specimen. If you get up in the middle of the night and touch it, you can ascend to heaven... Waaah..."

She deliberately imitated a ghost's scream, her voice shrill, which drew the attention of several classmates at the surrounding tables.

"Meiyue, keep your voice down!" Song Wanxi quickly pulled her back and whispered a reminder, her cheeks instantly turning red.

"What's there to be afraid of?" Liu Meiyue waved her hand dismissively. "We're all strangers anyway, we won't recognize each other next time we meet. But you, you're too ladylike and reserved, you don't have any other friends besides me."

Song Wanxi paused, her hand holding the chopsticks still. She suddenly looked up at her, her voice unusually low: "Then... will you, my only friend, always remember me?"

Liu Meiyue, who was putting a piece of meat into her mouth, suddenly choked upon hearing this, coughing and waving her hands repeatedly: "What's wrong with you? Why are you asking this?"

Looking into Wanxi's expectant eyes, her heart suddenly softened. They had been friends and neighbors for ten years, spending holidays and summer/winter vacations together. They weren't family, but they were closer than family.

She had always thought Song Wanxi was sunny and carefree, and had never seen her so vulnerable. She knew that Song Wanxi was probably still recovering from the shadow of her grandmother's death, and that the upcoming university life would separate the two of them for a long time, making it impossible for them to see each other every night like before.

"My name is Meiyue, which sounds like 'monthly' in Chinese." Liu Meiyue put down her chopsticks and said earnestly, "My parents hope that I will study hard every day, every week, and every month. But for me, even if we go to different universities in the future, I will think of you every day, every week, and every month. We will always be good friends."

Looking into her sincere eyes, Song Wanxi slowly smiled, revealing her dimples again: "Then it's a deal."

Liu Meiyue nodded vigorously: "It's a deal!"