60: Chapter 60 The Stars Are Not the Same as Last Night

In the afternoon.

When Shen Weiyue arrived at the residential complex where he had once rented a room, his thoughts were a chaotic mess as he passed through that alleyway again.

He had walked this alley for two years and thirty-seven days, encountering Liang Yuting many times, yet the time they had actually walked it together was less than a hundred days.

In this short encounter, they had never picked autumn leaves together, never trodden through winter snow side by side, and certainly never gone to admire the brilliant peach blossoms when the spring sun was shining bright.

If there was any memory worth engraving in the turning of the four seasons, it was only that violent storm that had pushed them under the same umbrella.

A sky-filling purple rain in early summer.

The scene from back then surfaced before his eyes, stirring up surging waves in his heart, causing Shen Weiyue to sigh involuntarily.

An impulse sparked by alcohol had overturned the long process that originally required gradual exploration, causing the fruit that had only just begun to sprout to be violently ripened, and then causing two people who were originally confidants to become like strangers.

Was this right or wrong, in the end?

Shen Weiyue walked into the complex in silence; the security guard glanced at him indifferently, and seeing it was a familiar face, said nothing more.

He went straight to the landlord's house and knocked on the door.

The deposit was returned very readily; the landlady, having learned of Shen Weiyue's College Entrance Exam score from somewhere, smiled until her face seemed to bloom.

She kept going on about her illegal structure, saying that it had produced a top student for Tsinghua or Peking University, that it was a rare place of good feng shui, and that she would charge a high price for rent in the future.

She even invited Shen Weiyue to come into her house and sit for a while.

Was it to sit, or to "do"?

She'd snap your neck like a chicken's.

How could Shen Weiyue dare to go in? This woman was wearing only a terrifying leopard-print short skirt pajama, her eyes flooding with lust—it was a sign of great misfortune.

As the saying goes, a gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall; he took the money and left in a hurry, running all the way downstairs before heaving a sigh of relief.

Checking the time, it was past three in the afternoon.

Shen Weiyue decided to try his luck, so he turned and went to Liang Yuting's door. However, no one answered when he knocked, and after waiting for a long time, he still didn't see anyone return.

Inside the room, there was only the meowing of a cat; it was the sound of Mimi.

"Mimi, is that you?"

"Meow~ Meow~ Meow~"

The cat's meowing became urgent, clearly having recognized the voice of that two-legged beast who had once abducted an ignorant kitten, and it ran to the door, scratching incessantly with a rustling sound.

"Silly cat, this is an iron door, you can't scratch through it..." Shen Weiyue laughed and scolded, then subconsciously asked, "Is your mommy inside?"

The answer he got was another few "Meow~ Meow~ Meow~" calls.

"Alright, alright, you can't talk anyway, it's a waste of time to ask you. I guess she definitely isn't home, otherwise you silly cat surely wouldn't be this anxious."

Shen Weiyue already knew the situation, but he did not go to look for the key in the door gap to open the door without permission. Instead, he decided to sit at the stairwell and wait for Liang Yuting.

He leaned against the door and talked to the kitten. This wait lasted for several hours, and then, unknowingly, he hypnotized himself into sleep.

Liang Yuting had been very exhausted recently.

Not just physically tired, but mentally tired as well; she was simply exhausted in body and soul.

She was physically tired because after the College Entrance Exam, there were summary meetings to hold, and she had to study the changes in the new College Entrance Exam teaching format as well as the gains and losses of this exam; she hadn't had a moment of rest.

She was mentally tired because of that matter she couldn't let go of. She had been completely unprepared, caught entirely off guard; it was like a giant stone pressing down on her heart, leaving her feeling deeply powerless.

Although she knew clearly that in certain situations, it wasn't a matter of who was right and who was wrong.

But she just couldn't get over that hurdle in her heart.

Yet, the many worries pressed down in her heart by this great stone of a hurdle could not even be spoken of to the outside world; she couldn't find anyone to confide in.

Liang Yuting knew that a sickness of the heart requires a medicine of the heart to cure, but this heart-medicine was something she couldn't even bear to think about; thinking of it was something that could kill a person.

This made her feel even worse, and recently she had become much more haggard.

She bought some food casually on the roadside and also brought a piece of chicken breast for Mimi, walking into the alley home with a sense of desolation.

Looking ahead, the streetlights along the path were still dim and yellow, but the familiar figure was no longer in her line of sight.

These stars are not those of last night; no one stands in the twilight for me, and even less is there anyone to ask if my porridge is warm.

Liang Yuting sighed desolately, then couldn't help but curse herself for being cheap in her heart.

What are you thinking? Even if that person were here, what of it?

You are separated by the distance of mountains and seas; you are destined to be nothing more than meteors passing through each other's lives, and all the radiance and warmth only existed in that one moment of intersection.

Forget it, you just got carried away once, let yourself go, don't make mistake after mistake, don't add to your own troubles.

Taking a deep breath, Liang Yuting stepped into that familiar alley, passed the corner where they had once taken shelter from the rain, and walked into the complex gate.

While going upstairs, she recalled the scene of being carried up the stairs when she was sick. That jerk was clearly panting heavily, yet he still pretended to be nonchalant and effortless, only to end up drenched in sweat from exhaustion.

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but smile again.

As if there were some kind of intuition in the dark, she suddenly remembered that the whole school was organizing the filling out of volunteer applications today. So, would he—that boy who seemed green but was actually extremely opinionated—return here?

Liang Yuting felt a bit anxious and a bit flustered; her intuition told her that Shen Weiyue was exactly the kind of person who dared to think and act.

During this time, he had left her messages on QQ countless times, expressing some shocking thoughts. He had taken the initiative, but she had become afraid.

If he really came to find her, what should she do?

Life is just like this; whatever you fear, that is what comes.

With her mind full of thoughts, Liang Yuting walked to her floor, and looking up, she saw a handsome, delicate-featured boy leaning against the wall.

He had one leg bent at the knee, the other leg straightened, and his eyes were closed as if he were asleep.

In this instant, Liang Yuting didn't even dare to put down her raised right foot.

She was afraid that the sound of her high heels would wake him up, afraid of facing the awkward scene of looking at each other in silence once again.

Liang Yuting wanted to turn and flee, but she couldn't help but be moved in her heart.

This guy would rather fall asleep sitting on the floor at the door than find the key and open her door without permission—one had to know that Shen Weiyue was well aware of where that spare key was hidden.

He hadn't called or messaged her either; he was purely waiting foolishly.

This was an apology, and also respect.

Forget it, then she wouldn't flee; she would face it calmly.

Some things had to be made clear eventually; it was better to harden her heart and cut the lingering bonds, letting the kite fly freely, letting him chase after more distant and brighter dreams against the wind.

Thinking of the difference in their status, Liang Yuting made a difficult decision: she decided absolutely not to give Shen Weiyue any chance.

She took a deep breath and walked to the door: "Shen Weiyue, Shen Weiyue..."

Shen Weiyue was awakened by the familiar voice. Opening his eyes, he saw that beautiful, delicate face, and couldn't help but say: "Teacher Liang, you're back so late, did you work overtime again?"

Liang Yuting did not answer this question, but asked coldly: "What are you doing here?"

"I want to talk to you." Sensing her coldness, Shen Weiyue immediately stood up from the ground.

Liang Yuting subconsciously took a step back, and this small step made Shen Weiyue's heart dim.

She was already this resistant to me?

"Teacher Liang, I must apologize to you in person, apologize for my ignorance and impulse. I don't want you to become worried because of my mistake, or even so haggard—look, you've lost weight..."

Liang Yuting felt a soreness in her nose and almost cried. She quickly lowered her head, gritted her teeth to adjust her emotions, and still did not speak.

She was evading; she still couldn't let go.

Seeing this, Shen Weiyue felt even worse, so he continued to apologize:

"I regret it so much now. If I hadn't asked you to tutor me in English at the beginning, would I not have committed such a great mistake?"

"During this time, I have been reflecting on myself, constantly blaming myself and repenting. My loss of composure hurt the person who cared about me the most."

"I tried to think of it as a dream, but no matter what, I can't forget you..."