I tidied up the messy items, but my heart grew more chaotic. I could see he still cared about me, but why did he break up with me? Could it be his parents couldn’t accept a girl from an ordinary background, and he broke up to prevent me from wasting my feelings?
If that was the reason, it seemed absurd. After all, I never expected a future with him. I just wanted to love him wholeheartedly once. Was this too much to ask? I believed we could be friends after breaking up.
But if the heart no longer tore, without hidden emotions read in each other’s eyes or unspoken words in brief conversations, then Ye Zhengchen and I could never be friends. Avoiding each other was the best way.
From that day on, unless the professor called me, I avoided the research room, spending my free time in the library or doing homework. To pass the sleepless nights, I applied for two shifts at the convenience store: six to nine doing lunch boxes and nine to twelve at the cash register. Li Kai adjusted my shift to six to nine at the cash register to accommodate me. I didn’t know if there were other motives behind his accommodation.
Thus, I left home early every day and returned to my apartment past midnight. My apartment had been without the smell of life for a long time.
In the morning, I’d drink hot milk in the campus rest area. Lunch was either in the cafeteria or with convenience store food past its prime. Dinner was fried chicken or a set meal I made at the store.
Despite Ye Zhengchen’s deliberate avoidance, we still unexpectedly met in the cafeteria, on the path lined with cherry blossom trees, or near the medical department.
I greeted him with a smile. “Senior brother, what a coincidence!”
He slowed his hurried footsteps, offering a shallow smile. “Are you very busy? You’ve been coming back only at dawn recently.”
Every day when I returned, he had already turned off the lights. It turns out he still cared about me, and my heart warmed a little. “Well, quite busy. When I’m not busy, I’ll treat you to hot pot.”
“Okay…” he replied, his tone trailing off.
