She's a Shot to the Heart - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Classes ended early on Friday. I was a day student, so I didn’t have evening self-study.

As I followed the sparse stream of students out of school, I spotted Yu Sheng across the street at a glance.

He was standing outside a shop with a few boys he was close to. One of his friends had an arm hooked around his shoulder, talking and laughing.

Yu Sheng was laughing too.

He looked especially good when he smiled-and as he smiled, his eyes were fixed on Shen Tingxuan up ahead.

The thought of calling out to him died in an instant.

Shen Tingxuan turned her head and glanced at him, then punched him lightly on the shoulder.

Yu Sheng immediately lowered his head and leaned in to talk to her. Not two seconds later, Shen Tingxuan nodded.

Yu Sheng nodded too.

I withdrew my gaze and crossed the street without changing expression.

When I went to the hospital to visit Xu Yunyue, she looked much better. In a gentle voice, she asked, “Yu Sheng didn’t come with you today?”

I gave a quiet “Mm.” “It’s not like he’s family or anything.”

She laughed helplessly. “Did he upset you again? That temper of yours is exactly like Dad’s. The moment you get angry, you start saying hurtful things.”

“How is that hurtful?” I didn’t agree, but I didn’t say anything more. I lowered my head and stirred her congee for her.

I had always been good at hiding my emotions. Even after staying at the hospital for two hours, I didn’t let Xu Yunyue notice anything was wrong. I didn’t want her to worry. Only when I saw her smiling often could I feel at ease.

Even on Saturday, I kept working through practice questions, occasionally feeding the stray cats outside our apartment building, then going to the hospital to take care of my sister.

When I returned to school on Sunday afternoon, for the first time, Yu Sheng was actually in the classroom. He was sitting in my seat, casually flipping through the pile of workbooks on my desk.

The moment he noticed me come in, he raised his brows and smiled. “You’re here.”

I didn’t answer.

He got up and moved aside, then bent down to look at me. “Something came up on Friday. I forgot to wait for you.”

“It’s fine,” I said.

He turned back, took a box of chocolates from his own desk drawer, and smiled until his eyes curved. “Here. My apology.”

I didn’t take it. Just then, the classroom loudspeaker suddenly crackled to life. “Is Shen Tingxuan from Class Two there?”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Yu Sheng look up with startling speed.

The person over the speaker continued, “I still haven’t gotten a response to the love letter I gave you last week, so how about I announce it again here? Seriously, I really do like you…”

Yu Sheng’s handsome face, still smiling a second ago, turned cold all at once. He shifted as if to leave, and I grabbed him. “What does this have to do with you?”

“It does.” His answer came fast.

I froze for a moment. “Yu Sheng.”

His only response was to wrench his arm free.

Sure enough, it wasn’t long before news spread: Yu Sheng had gotten into a fight!

Yu Sheng might be impulsive, but he clearly never caused trouble at school.

I went to the office on my own.

But he wasn’t there. The teacher was furious the moment Yu Sheng was mentioned, shaking his head as he said, “No idea where he ran off to.”

I grew a little anxious and searched from the first floor to the fourth.

At last, I found him on the rooftop-but Yu Sheng wasn’t the only one there.

My hurried footsteps came to an abrupt stop, as if nailed to the spot. Neither of them noticed me. I saw Shen Tingxuan bend down and bring the half-smoked cigarette in her hand to Yu Sheng’s lips.

There was an injury on the bridge of Yu Sheng’s nose, and another on his brow bone.

He looked up at her, then bit down on the cigarette. Shen Tingxuan smiled.

One of them sat, the other stood, in the wind. Her long hair was blown up and away by the breeze.

“Yu Sheng, let’s date.”

Yu Sheng went quiet for several seconds. Then he answered in a voice touched with a smile, “Okay.”

…

Before I went downstairs, I wiped away the tears the wind had chilled on my face.

“Liar.”