We ordinary people also need to fall in love.

Chapter 280 I Want to Stay in Your Sky

Sizzle—Sizzle—

A few intermittent chirps of insects came from the woods. Li Mubai could smell the faint scent of jasmine on Xie Shu, mixed with the damp smell of grass and trees in the evening forest. The air seemed to stand still for several seconds, and no one spoke.

"Have you been thinking about this all along?" Xie Shu looked up at him, his pupils reflecting his image.

Li Mubai looked away, gazing at the horizon: "I just doubt myself."

Xie Shu didn't ask any further questions. She pulled him to sit on the wooden chair in the pavilion, the wooden planks still carrying the lingering warmth of the day's accumulated heat.

Her hand rested on the railing of the chair back, and she turned her head slightly to look at the horizon.

The sunset had quietly changed color; the sky, which had been a sea of pink just moments before, was now being replaced by layers of orange-yellow, though it was a little darker than before.

"Do you remember what I told you about before high school?" Xie Shu asked softly.

"Remember."

"From then on, I didn't really want to communicate with people anymore. During the last period of my third year of junior high, I was basically alone at school. At first, I felt free because I didn't have to deal with other people, but gradually, sometimes I would feel... bored."

Loneliness is a gift of life, but it is also a room with walls on all four sides, where on some nights, her thoughts can only echo alone in her mind.

"So after coming to No. 6 Middle School, I wanted to try to make friends, but many girls were always scheming against each other because I was rich, and most of the boys who approached me also had other purposes."

Li Mubai opened his mouth, but no sound came out. What was the difference between him and those boys?

"Are you trying to say that you're different from those boys?" Xie Shu chuckled softly, as if she could read his mind.

"Because we both feel lonely? That's why... we're together?" Li Mubai thought of Xie Shu's words that they were kindred spirits.

"Does liking someone need a reason?" Xie Shu countered. "Does loving someone require analyzing each and every reason?"

Li Mubai shut his mouth and fell silent.

"If this problem is bothering you, just think of it as being because of a snowman."

"A snowman?" Li Mubai asked, sounding puzzled.

"Hmm. A snowman." Xie Shu nodded slightly. "During the last PE class of the first year of high school, it snowed in Pingyang that day, which was a rare occurrence. I came out of the office and saw everyone in the gym doing their activities indoors, but one person wasn't staying inside. He went to the rooftop by himself..."

Time seemed to slow down. Xie Shu's voice wasn't loud, but every word reached Li Mubai's ears clearly.

Even Li Mubai himself may have forgotten that it was just a snowman he built on a whim, but it attracted someone's attention.

"So ever since then, I've been wondering how someone who secretly goes to the rooftop lives. I wonder if he often feels lonely like I do? Does he ever want to talk to a friend? Does he care about how he spends his birthday?"

The lights on the playground came on at some point, and more and more people gathered. Li Mubai didn't know what time it was, but if there was no bell, then evening self-study had probably not started yet!

"Later, I wanted to understand him better, and that's how the story came about."

The air was still for a few seconds.

Suddenly, a few voices came from the path below the pavilion.

"Damn, our school is pretty big, at least a quarter the size of No. 1 Middle School. Wait, there seems to be someone in the pavilion."

Sounds came from behind, seemingly from first-year high school students who had come to "explore." Neither Li Mubai nor Xie Shu turned around, but the footsteps stopped for a moment and then quietly retreated.

Xie Shu was not interrupted in her thoughts. Gazing at the setting sun, she spoke softly:

"Love is the fall of free will. I don't know when I fell into it. Maybe it was when two lonely people were attracted to each other, or maybe it was when we got to know each other slowly. But when I realized it, I found that I had already fallen in love with someone."

Her lips curved slightly, their contours softened by the twilight.

"This is my answer. It's not because your family has a lot of money, or because your grades are good. I like you as a person."

Xie Shusong released Li Mubai's hand.

"I can't change your past, but I can help you become a better person. I think that's the meaning of love—to support each other."

"Croak—"

A bird flew in from somewhere, landed on a tree in Hanshan, chirped once, and then fell silent.

"Xie Shu," Li Mubai suddenly called her name.

"Hmm?" She turned her head to look at him.

He reached out and gently put his arm around her shoulder. Xie Shu didn't flinch; instead, she leaned closer and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I'm too insecure. I always doubt myself, always reject your kindness, and always habitually hide my feelings."

He paused for a moment, as if organizing his thoughts for what to say next.

"I keep asking myself why you like me. I thought about it for a long time, and only just now did I realize that the answer doesn't really matter. What matters is that we stand together."

Perhaps Li Mubai's initial crush was the same as other boys', but now he truly understands the saying that interesting souls are one in a million.

"Will you accept the snacks I give you from now on?" Xie Shu asked softly.

"Mm." Li Mubai nodded.

"Will you tell me first when you encounter difficulties or something interesting?"

"I will."

"Thank you," Xie Shu blurted out, then chuckled to himself, "No, I shouldn't say thank you."

After she finished speaking, she suddenly looked up and, before he could react, quickly tapped his cheek lightly.

"You really are..." Li Mubai's heart skipped a beat, and he touched his cheek.

Xie Shu had already sat up straight. She took the lollipop out of her pocket and held out her hand again:

"Give me what's yours, and you can have what's mine."

Li Mubai placed his own in her hand. Xie Shu looked at it, but didn't rush to open it. She put it back in her pocket and then leaned back on his shoulder.

"Li Mubai," she said suddenly after leaning back for a while, "let me sing you a song."

"Sing?"

"Um."

She didn't wait for his response. After a few seconds of silence, she cleared her throat and Xie Shu softly sang:

There are always some surprising encounters.

For example, when I met you

Your gentle and clear eyes

Appeared in my dream

My love is like a cloud.

Nowhere to stop in your sky

……

I really want to be with you.