Chapter 23

Lin Baixin wasn’t busy anymore. This time, she’d come back to Siping County for a special holiday and planned to stay for two months, leaving again around mid-July.

—That year, the college entrance exam had been postponed to July 7 and 8.

The Kyoto shop was basically on track now, so for the time being she’d handed it over to her partner and settled into the role of a hands-off boss. She didn’t go back to Heyuan, and she had no intention of returning. When she came back, she stayed at a hotel. It was very close to No. 1 High, right across from the main gate, less than a hundred meters away.

Yu Min could leave school at noon. As long as she got a leave slip from Teacher Qi, she could go out through the gate; in general, she only had to be back before noon self-study.

A lot of classmates in her class did the same. Tired of cafeteria food, they’d go out to change things up. There were rows of restaurants outside the school, and the stir-fried dishes there were much better than the big-pot meals in the cafeteria.

Sometimes, you didn’t even need leave to get out. Li Xue Ting had plenty of ideas and taught Yu Min, “What’s the point of asking for leave? You still have to make up some excuse and find a teacher. Why don’t you just borrow one of Shi Yu and the others’ school IDs? Day students can go out at noon with their school IDs; the gate guard won’t stop you.”

Yu Min was a model student and had never known there was such a trick. She’d taken leave for several days in a row and was too embarrassed to keep going to Teacher Qi, even though every time she asked, Teacher Qi agreed to let her out without much fuss and trusted her completely. But going to the office every day still weighed on her. Li Xue Ting’s method opened up a whole new world for her; she’d never even imagined it could be done that way.

“What’s the big deal? You don’t even have to use Shi Yu and the others’ school IDs. If you still have your old middle school ID, that works too,” Li Xue Ting said. “The gate guard mostly just looks at the color of the card. Ours are blue; day students use green cards, and middle school IDs are green too. When you go out, stay a little farther from the guard and blend in with the middle school students. Just walk faster; if you don’t stand close and look carefully, you can’t tell the difference.”

Yu Min still had her middle school ID. She hadn’t thrown it away; it was in the dorm.

“But the information on it doesn’t match, and the uniform style is different.” She hesitated. She’d never done anything bad before and had little experience. “Will that work?”

Li Xue Ting waved a hand, and when the bell for fourth period rang, she personally took Yu Min through it once.

They swaggered out, swaggered back in, then out again… Yu Min picked it up to perfection. The gate guard really didn’t check the card information. At noon, middle school students were coming and going in wave after wave; how could he inspect every single one in detail? Yu Min went out to eat with Lin Baixin. By the time they reached the private room at the restaurant, all the dishes were already on the table. They could start eating as soon as they arrived, without wasting any time.

They always ate at the same restaurant. Lin Baixin was an old acquaintance of the owner, and this private room had been reserved for them specifically; it was their usual spot.

Yu Min brought her schoolbag with her. Afternoon self-study started at 1:20, and after getting used to dorm life, she ate quickly; ten minutes at most and she was done. After eating, she didn’t rush back to school. She’d stay in the private room for a while to read and do a few problems.

Lin Baixin kept her company, and when it was almost one o’clock, she’d send her back to No. 1 High.

After crying once and losing composure once, Yu Min recovered quickly. The college entrance exam was right around the corner; she couldn’t stay sad for long. This wasn’t the time to be hurting. She quickly put aside the irrelevant things and threw herself back into studying with all her heart, determined to face July in the best possible condition.

At night, Yu Min didn’t leave school. Lin Baixin had food delivered to No. 1 High, but she didn’t go into the teaching building; Lu An always took it to Class 32 for her.

Aunt and Uncle Xiao didn’t know Lin Baixin had returned to Siping County, and Zhou Jin didn’t know either. Only Yu Min knew.

“Focus on the exam. If anything else comes up, come to me; I’ll handle it,” Lin Baixin said. “Don’t think so much. Nothing else matters.”

Yu Min answered, “Mm, okay.”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

Sometimes, when Yu Min wasn’t reading, she’d eat and then go nap in Lin Baixin’s car for twenty or thirty minutes. Lin Baixin had specially prepared a small blanket for her. The weather in May was cool and pleasant, neither cold nor hot, but she was still afraid Yu Min might catch a chill, so she always covered her with the little blanket when she slept.

Being with Lin Baixin made Yu Min feel more at ease. Maybe it was because someone was with her; Yu Min liked napping in her car. The garage was quieter and more comfortable, and the seat could recline so she could lie down. It wasn’t like the classroom, where she could only sleep with her head on the desk; after an entire noon like that, her arm would go numb and she wouldn’t even be able to lift it.

From twelve to one, one hour was very short; it always seemed to flash by in an instant.

Yu Min wasn’t the kind of person who dawdled, but this was one exception. Lin Baixin worried even more than she did about being late. The latest she’d ever gotten back to school was 1:10; from the gate to the classroom, ten minutes wasn’t enough. Yu Min had to sprint the whole way after entering the school, not daring to stop even for a moment, and still ended up late when she rushed into the classroom.

Luckily, by then the class no longer kept track of lateness. Teacher Qi took attendance on time; when he found she was missing, he only asked the students in her group why she wasn’t there. Li Xue Ting helped cover for her, lying, “Yu Min went to the bathroom. She’ll be back in a bit.”

Yu Min made it back to the classroom in time, and Teacher Qi didn’t ask her anything. Li Xue Ting stuck close to the teacher, especially the homeroom teacher, and secretly tugged at Yu Min’s sleeve. Then she told Yu Min what had just happened, patting her chest in fear. “Why do you always come back so late after going out to eat? Be careful. You need to get back earlier and not be so blatant, or one day they’ll make an example of you.”

Yu Min had run too hard to get her breathing under control. Her throat hurt from running, and she couldn’t say a word, so she could only answer Li Xue Ting with hand gestures.

Next time, she wouldn’t. She’d pay attention.

“Actually, the teachers all know we sneak out; they just turn a blind eye. We still have to give them some face,” Li Xue Ting reminded her again and again. Seeing Yu Min’s face turning red from holding her breath, she patted her back. “Sit down, sit down. Catch your breath. Don’t rush.”

Only after she’d steadied herself did Yu Min finally speak, her voice low and hoarse. “Thanks.”

Rushing back in right on the deadline was dangerous, but Yu Min still cut it that close; she really was hopeless.

But after that, she didn’t arrive late again. She got to the classroom before the bell every time.

Later on, she didn’t even need to buy breakfast herself. Lin Baixin had Lu An deliver it. In the morning, Yu Min only had to go to class; a little later, Lu An would come carrying breakfast.

Lu An didn’t deliver things for free either. Thanks to Yu Min, Lu An’s breakfast was taken care of as well. It was two identical portions; Lin Baixin was thoughtful and prepared food that was healthy, light, and pretty tasty too.

Yu Min loved white toast the most. She’d never said so outright, but Lin Baixin somehow knew. No one knew how she’d figured it out, but for several days in a row, breakfast included white toast and the local brand of yogurt Yu Min liked.

By the end of May, Yu Min didn’t even need to carry her schoolbag anymore. She went out empty-handed to find Lin Baixin. She slept in the back seat during the noon break, and sometimes Lin Baixin would chat with her and help take her mind off the pressure—though Yu Min didn’t really have much pressure. Her ability to handle stress was unusually strong; compared with the chaos in her family, the college entrance exam was practically easy.

Senior high students were always short on sleep, and so was Yu Min. She studied late into the night, and sometimes while chatting with Lin Baixin, she’d fall asleep without realizing it. Her head would tilt, and without thinking, she’d lean to the side; she didn’t even notice when she ended up sleeping against Lin Baixin’s shoulder in the back seat.

Lin Baixin didn’t wake her. She let Yu Min lean there, and only called her awake when it was time.

The first time had been an accident. After that, it wasn’t.

The smell of Lin Baixin’s body made her feel safe. After so many sudden rises and falls, Yu Min always felt as if nothing around her was quite real, as though everything were floating. Only when she got close to Lin Baixin could she feel what was real. Lin Baixin was the only support she had right now. Yu Min wasn’t afraid of the exam; instead, she was uneasy that one day this support might be gone.

The closer the college entrance exam got, the more Yu Min wished time wouldn’t pass so quickly. But whether she wanted it to or not, time still moved forward day by day and would not stop.

Li Xue Ting discovered her secret. One time, she also slipped out of school to eat, and halfway there she actually spotted Yu Min coming out of the restaurant with Lin Baixin. Li Xue Ting didn’t go over to greet them right away; only after returning to school did she ask Yu Min, “So you go out every day to see your Sister Baixin.”

Yu Min played dumb. “No, only today.”

“Keep making things up. Let’s see if I believe you.” Li Xue Ting was completely sure of herself. “You can’t fool me. It has to be that, or who else could you be meeting? No wonder—I was wondering why you never come back to the classroom at noon anymore.”

Yu Min couldn’t talk her way out of it and, for some reason, grew shy. She covered Li Xue Ting’s mouth and told her to keep quiet and not tell anyone.

Li Xue Ting was delighted. “So it really is true? My goodness, she actually came? Don’t tell me she’s here to keep you company for the exam.”

Yu Min answered vaguely, “Maybe.”

“Then that’s it.”

Yu Min worried that Li Xue Ting might think something of it, but she didn’t. Li Xue Ting didn’t keep digging until she got to the bottom of it; she only asked once. Really, she was more concerned about Yu Min. Since Lin Baixin could come, that was great. At least Yu Min wasn’t alone.

Li Xue Ting leaned in and whispered, “Your Sister Baixin is really good to you.”

Yu Min paused for a moment, blinked, and looked at Li Xue Ting.

“She can stay with you, so we’re relieved,” Li Xue Ting said.

By late June, Lin Baixin was still there, every single day. Whenever Yu Min went out to find her, she was always available.

Lin Baixin stayed in touch with Kyoto online. Her friends called her often, and the shop was busy; a lot of things needed Lin Baixin’s coordination. It wasn’t, as Lin Baixin had said, some leisurely off-season. Without her there, her friends were busy enough to get dizzy.

Yu Min was already fine. That burst of emotion had passed; things would settle once the feeling faded. But seeing Lin Baixin’s phone ring more and more often every day, Yu Min struggled with herself for half a day before finally saying, “Don’t worry about me. Go handle your own things first.”

Lin Baixin laughed. “Kicking me out?”

Yu Min shook her head. “No, I’m not kicking you out.”

“I never said I was leaving. If you want me to go back, isn’t that the same as chasing me away?” Lin Baixin’s logic was unreasonably sharp, and Yu Min couldn’t keep up. “Then should I book a ticket for tonight?”

Yu Min had been led around by her. She immediately said, “Don’t book one. Don’t go!”

Lin Baixin took the opening and said, “All right, then I won’t go.”

Yu Min didn’t dare drive Lin Baixin away. She couldn’t, and absolutely didn’t want to. Even knowing Lin Baixin was teasing her again, Yu Min still took it seriously, and after that she never brought it up again.

Things were said casually, and before long, they became real. Logically, she hoped Lin Baixin could go take care of the important things at work, but in the end she still followed her own private wish.

Lin Baixin said, “Don’t worry about so much. None of that matters. Take care of your own things first; we can talk about the rest later.”

Yu Min came first. Nothing else could compare.

In July, on the day of the mock exam, Lin Baixin still dropped Yu Min off at the school gate as usual. Just as Yu Min was about to go in, Lin Baixin hesitated, called her back, and after weighing it for a long while, parted her red lips. “After the exam, do you want to stay at my place for a while?”

Yu Min turned back and met her eyes head-on.

“Not here; in Kyoto,” Lin Baixin said. “I originally wanted to ask you in a few days, but… you might have other plans by then, so I thought I’d ask first. You don’t have to decide now. I’ll wait until you’re out, and on the ninth, you can tell me your answer.”