We ordinary people also need to fall in love.

"From now on, carry a few candies with you during training. If you feel something is wrong, stop and rest. Go to bed early and get up early, and eat three meals on time. Do you understand?"

"I heard you." Sparse responses came from the group.

"get out of class dismissed!"

Li Mubai carried the plastic bag and distributed the rainbow lollipops to the group members. Chen Qiuhe's lollipop had already been broken into pieces and fed to her. The rest of the group each had one, and there was one left over at the end.

"Lin Xinle, this is for you." Li Mubai handed over the bag.

"Thanks."

Lin Xinle bent down slightly, reached into the bag and touched it, then stopped. She clearly felt three, so why did they say she was the only one left?

She didn't say anything, silently took out a cigarette, thanked him, and turned to leave.

"Xie Shu, Li Mubai, we're going to the cafeteria now." Deng Yi took Chen Qiuhe's arm, afraid she might fall again, and waved to them with her other hand, "Bye-bye."

"Okay, goodbye."

"Thank you, here you go." Li Mubai stuffed the plastic bag into his pocket, preparing to find a trash can to throw it away.

Xie Shu took the lollipop, looked down at it, and saw the transparent wrapper shimmering with a faint, colorful halo in the evening light.

"I used to be curious about what it tasted like when I watched it on TV, but I've never eaten it before."

"Actually, I've never eaten it either," Li Mubai said.

The two walked out of the gymnasium side by side. There were hardly any people left on campus. The bell for the end of get out of class hadn't rung yet, and the corridors of the teaching building were empty.

"You've never eaten this before?" Xie Shu turned his head, a hint of surprise in his voice.

"Um."

She seemed to want to ask something more, but just then the bell rang, and the sound of heavy footsteps echoed through the school building, surging towards the stairwell like a tide.

"Let's go eat first." Xie Shu put the lollipop in his pocket and didn't ask any more questions.

"Um."

Worried about being caught by the teacher? The teachers probably aren't that free, and Wednesday isn't Zhong Jianjun's evening self-study session.

"Xie Shu, how have you been lately?" Li Mubai asked.

"Study, study, eat." Xie Shu thought for a moment, then added, "That's it."

This is truly a typical senior year of high school life...

"And you?" Xie Shu asked in return, "How did you do on the last weekly test? I don't even know how you are doing now."

"It's alright. My math hasn't improved much, but my English score is two points higher than the opening exam." Li Mubai smiled.

"What about Chinese?"

"Chinese language..."

He paused for a moment, unsure how to answer.

Xie Shu shifted her gaze from him to the gradually spreading orange-red hue on the horizon. The setting sun was sinking, dyeing half the sky with a thin layer of pink.

"After we finish eating," she suddenly said, "let's go for a walk around the school together, wanna come?"

"It's just that we haven't seen each other for two days." Xie Shu's tone was as calm as if he were talking about something perfectly normal. "Let's take a walk together after dinner."

After a moment's thought, Li Mubai nodded: "Okay."

Logically speaking, the self-study session after lunch should also be Zhong Jianjun's class, but since Zhong Jianjun doesn't care about him, does that mean he can skip class?

Forget it.

He shook his head subtly, thinking it best not to be too arrogant.

Thinking of this, he quickened his eating pace.

Perhaps many years from now, people will not want to recall the life of getting up early and working late in high school, but they will definitely miss those leisure time between classes—those moments when they did nothing but walk side by side with someone.

Just like it is now.

He and Xie Shu walked slowly toward the setting sun, the path beneath their feet bathed in a warm yellow light.

The playground was already occupied by freshmen. They were scattered in twos and threes, some playing around, some squatting by the track chatting. Several freshmen passed by them, laughing and talking.

"Hey, look at those upperclassmen over there."

"I noticed that earlier! The girl seems pretty, and the boy is alright too."

"They're gone—"

Li Mubai and Xie Shu did not follow them to the playground, but instead turned and walked towards a deserted path, where they stopped at a brand-new building.

"This must be the newly built library." Li Mubai looked inside and saw people walking around behind the glass doors. "I used to think it wouldn't be finished until we graduated."

"Want to go in and take a look?" Xie Shu asked.

"Never mind, there are too many people."

Many people came to the library out of curiosity to find out more.

"Um."

They turned and continued walking towards a less crowded area.

Although No. 6 Middle School is not as big as No. 1 Middle School, the campus is also surrounded by a small mountain. Li Mubai rarely comes here. The official name is Hanshan Mountain, but the students all say that this mountain is Lover's Slope. It is said that you will bump into a couple every few meters.

But Li Mubai didn't see anyone along the way. The shadows of the trees on both sides of the stone steps swayed in the wind, and birdsong mixed with the chirping of crickets came from the forest. The evening breeze rustled the leaves.

"Chen Qiuhe," Xie said abruptly, "she is actually a strong yet fragile person."

Li Mubai slowed his pace, thought for a moment, and nodded.

"She always shows her strong side and hides her vulnerability," Xie Shu continued, "She doesn't want anyone to see it."

"Her family situation... is rather complicated." Li Mubai hesitated for a moment, then decided not to continue.

If only he had 30 million, he could give 10 million to his family, keep 10 million for himself, and use 10 million to help those in need.

Xie Shu responded softly without asking any further questions. The mountain path was not long, and they soon reached the pavilion at the top of the mountain. Several shallow cracks crawled on the gray stone pillars. Li Mubai went inside, and Xie Shu followed beside him.

"They said this is Lover's Slope, but we didn't see anyone else along the way."

Li Mubai walked down to the pavilion, and Xie Shu walked to his side.

"Lovers' Slope?" Xie Shu turned to look at him. "Then tell me, are we lovers?"

Li Mubai paused slightly, but did not answer.

The setting sun paints the entire sky pink, a common sight in Pingyang City at dusk.

"Li Mubai." Xie Shu suddenly called his name, "Actually, I can sense that you're just like Chen Qiuhe."

He stopped looking into the distance and instead looked down at the freshmen gathered on the playground.

"You and she both keep yourselves hidden, always wanting to bear the difficulties alone, even now that I'm standing with you..." Xie Shu reached out and held his hand, feeling his stiff limbs, "You still habitually close the door."

Hiding it wasn't something Li Mubai did intentionally, but rather a subconscious reaction. He couldn't get used to other people being too enthusiastic towards him, and he also felt guilty about the kindness others showed him.

He didn't know why he was like this.

Li Mubai remained silent for a moment, then slowly took out the rainbow lollipop from his pocket with his other hand. The transparent wrapper folded into a small circle of light in the twilight.

"Xie Shu, do you know? My family background used to be the same as Chen Qiuhe's. Just like in the play, I was just a miller's child."

Xie Shu looked at him quietly, waiting for him to continue.

"When I was in elementary school, I only had one or two yuan of pocket money every day, which was just enough to buy breakfast. I would eat lunch and dinner at home. As for snacks and lollipops, those were luxuries, so I never ate those kinds of candies."

Xie Shu gripped his hand slightly.

"One winter vacation I was at home. My parents had gone back to their hometown, and I was the only one at home. I was so hungry that I took out the food from last night to heat up. A piece of meat fell on the ground, and I quickly picked it up and ate it. At that time, I didn't think about whether it was dirty or not, I just wanted to eat."

Li Mubai tried to keep his tone relaxed, and the evening became very quiet.

"And now? Does this situation still exist?" Xie Shu asked softly.

"Now I don't have to worry about going hungry." He looked up at the horizon. "I have an older brother who always felt that my parents favored me, so we didn't get along well."

He paused, looked away, and looked at the person holding his hand.

"I barely got into No. 6 Middle School with my grades. My family doesn't have much money, so it would take a lot of effort for me to get into the top ten."

Xie Shu listened quietly, her gaze fixed on his face, without urging him.

"Xie Shu, you're always so good to me." He lowered his eyes, "But I always wonder, why... do I deserve your affection?"

A few leaves were swept away by the wind and drifted lightly to the ground. In the distance, the laughter of freshmen could be heard sporadically from the playground, as distant as an entire season, separated by an entire mountain.