We ordinary people also need to fall in love.

"Okay." Li Mubai's tone was indifferent.

"You still prefer reading history books." Mei Yulu sat down next to him with a book in her hand.

Li Mubai did not respond.

"What's wrong? You don't dare to recognize your old classmate?" she chuckled.

"This is the reading room. Talking and disturbing other readers is prohibited."

Mei Yulu looked up and around; the nearest readers were about five or six meters away from them.

She placed the book she was holding on the table and opened it, then stopped talking.

This book, "Emperor Renzong of Song: The Era of Shared Governance," is quite good. It combines literary merit with historical significance and can be read before bed.

Li Mubai took out his phone and added it to his shopping cart, planning to check if it was available next time he went to the bookstore.

He got up, put the chair back in its place, put the books away, and left the reading room.

"Click!"

He took his schoolbag out of the locker and prepared to go home.

"Li Mubai, don't you have anything to say to me?"

No, if it were back then, I might have asked you why you left without saying goodbye, why you ignored me, but unfortunately, I'm already in my second year of high school.

He pressed the elevator button, like an ordinary reader who had finished reading and was heading home.

Mei Yulu, however, was like a sticky piece of candy, following him downstairs and to the front door.

"How long are you going to follow me?"

"Can we go for a walk together again? I have a few things I want to say to you." She looked at me with hopeful eyes.

"Is there anything you can't say now?"

"There are a lot of people here," she said, rubbing her index finger shyly.

Although few people come to this library, it doesn't mean it's deserted; every now and then, one or two people will pass by.

"Okay, but I won't go too far."

"It won't go far, it's right next door."

There is a river running through the city in front of the library, and they walked slowly along both banks.

"Speak, what is it?"

"Are you in such a hurry?" Mei Yulu seemed to hope he could stay a little longer.

"I want to go home."

She was silent for a moment, then hesitated before speaking, "I heard from my former classmates that you're at No. 6 Middle School now?"

"right."

"How's No. 6 Middle School?"

Li Mubai did not answer.

She asked again, "Did you choose humanities or sciences?"

"liberal arts."

"What a coincidence, I'm also a literature major." She smiled slightly.

"So what? You called me here just to ask these trivial questions? If that's the case, then I'm going home."

"Can't we go back to the way things were?"

"Then why did you leave without saying goodbye?"

Mei Yulu fell silent immediately.

"A secret that's hard to tell?" Actually, Li Mubai no longer cared what the answer was; he was just curious. If he had the chance to find out, he was willing to listen.

Mei Yulu lowered her head, her two fingers constantly rubbing together: "Because...because..."

Li Mubai turned around to leave.

"Because I want to get into the top high school, and dating would interfere with that..."

"this one?"

He thought there was some melodramatic story involved, like she had a terminal illness and didn't want to be a burden to him, or that she was under family pressure to distance herself from worldly affairs.

She nodded slowly.

"So, did you get what you wanted?"

"I'm going. Although No. 1 High School has the best teaching resources in the province, the pressure there is also great. Li Mubai, I'm a little tired. I want to rest on your shoulder."

After she finished speaking, she pretended to raise her arm to hug Li Mubai, but he retreated quickly, dodging to the side, leaving her with nothing.

"If you feel tired, talk to your family or teacher about transferring to a regular class or school, instead of clinging to outdated ideas and trying to find something you've lost."

"But I miss you so much, Li Mubai."

"You don't miss me, you're just going through puberty." Li Mubai ruthlessly exposed the truth.

Reaching puberty isn't scary; what's scary is being indiscriminate in your choices.

"Do we really have no chance?" Mei Yulu asked, unwilling to give up.

"Plum rain and dew," he called softly.

She looked up at him, the student she tutored, the boy she could lean on without restraint.

"Thank you."

Li Mubai solemnly said, "Thank you for teaching me to read, thank you for leading me out of the darkness."

A glimmer of light appeared in her eyes.

"But you also plunged me into despair, leaving without saying goodbye and without any reason when I was in the first year of junior high."

I could have endured the darkness if I had never seen the light.

As a junior high student, he was trying to sort out his broken emotions while also trying to make up for the huge gaps in his studies. He didn't even have time for his own things, and no classmates could help him. He could only take the test questions to the teacher and gradually get used to being alone.

"sorry."

"It's all in the past."

Li Mubai paused for a moment: "Mei Yulu, I hope you can cheer up. If you want to get into a good university, then work hard. If you want to stop and rest for a while, then do it, instead of belittling yourself."

He concluded by saying, "I'm going home now, bye."

He didn't say goodbye. Goodbye means we'll meet again, but goodbye means never seeing each other again.

Li Mubai turned and left, leaving Mei Yulu standing there blankly.

She watched him leave until he disappeared into the crowd, a cool breeze blowing on her face.

"Li Mubai, thank you for meeting me."

At night, Li Mubai lay in bed. He had brought "Loneliness is a Gift of Life" from school and was about to open it when his phone beeped with a message notification.

Yan Shu: "Spark".

It's like clocking in every day.

Li Bubai: "Spark."

Yan Shu: "Learn from me."

Li Bubai: "Learn from me."

Yan Shu: "Hmph."

Haha.

Li Bubai: "Why do you only send messages at night? Your parents confiscated your phone during the day?"

Yan Shu: "Why do you only send messages at night? Your parents confiscated your phone during the day."

Li Bubai: "..."

Yan Shu: "Yes."

Li Bubai: "That's terrible."

Yan Shu: "Aren't you a senior in high school? You should be back at school by now."

I always felt there was some inexplicable meaning behind it.

Li Bubai: "High school seniors suffer, as bitter as weeds under a car wheel, as bitter as bitter herbs in a crack in a rock."

Unfortunately, Yan Shu couldn't understand the joke.

Yan Shu: "Eat candy [lollipop emoji]".

Yan Shu: "Alright, I won't bother you anymore. High school senior, get some rest. Goodnight."

Li Bubai: "[The moon]".

There's always a feeling of lifting a rock only to drop it on one's own foot.

Li Mubai had just put down his phone and was about to read when it rang again. "What's up, Yan Shu? What's wrong now?"

Plum Rain: "Thank you, I will keep going, and I wish you all the best. Good night."

After a long silence, QQ finally sent a message. The previous message was from Li Mubai, who questioned her about why she left without saying goodbye.

He didn't reply; instead, he deleted all the messages.

Let bygones be bygones; we should focus on the present and the future.

"Farewell, Mu Xin. He once wrote, 'If you wish to see me, I am at the place where joy and sorrow intertwine.' Let us go to that place to find him; we will surely find him, because everyone experiences joy and sorrow, and no one can escape the destiny of life." (Loneliness is a Gift of Life, p. 195)