After his IV finished, we both walked out of the hospital in silence,

not even exchanging a glance.

He hailed a taxi, and I couldn’t help but turn back to look.

Even though I knew he had no choice,

it still felt wrong in my heart.

We clearly knew each other, yet he had to pretend we were strangers.

The college entrance exam was approaching.

Everyone’s energy was stretched as thin as a taut string.

Every day was nothing but reading, memorizing, and endless practice papers.

Sometimes, passing by the playground, I would occasionally run into him and his friends coming back from the school store with water.

Even when we brushed past each other, his gaze never lingered on me.

It would be a lie to say I wasn’t disappointed.

As time went on, I even started to doubt if that solemn promise he made was just a figment of my imagination.

But the arrival of the college entrance exam left no time for idle thoughts.

In June, we each set our sights on the city of our future on those thin sheets of paper.

Suddenly, I missed Lu Xiao so much. I really wanted to talk to him.

I wanted to ask him how he did on the exam.

But as soon as I saw that red exclamation mark, I hesitated.

“Mengzai, class reunion tomorrow night. Don’t be late.” I received a text from Chen Qiao.

That was when it hit me—we had really graduated, hadn’t we?

The party was incredibly lively; almost every class in our grade had booked tables at this place.

Perhaps because we were officially adults now, the teachers turned a blind eye to some students drinking.

They only reminded us to go home early when we were done.

I had a couple of sips, and the bitterness made me gag.

Chen Qiao went with me to the restroom outside, and we ran into Chen Xing at the entrance.

After his IV finished, we both walked out of the hospital in silence,

not even exchanging glances.

He hailed a cab, and I still couldn’t resist turning to look.

Although I knew he had no choice,

I still felt a bit uneasy inside.

We clearly knew each other, yet he had to pretend we didn’t.

The college entrance exam was approaching.

Everyone’s energy was stretched taut like a tightly drawn bowstring.

Every day was endless studying, memorizing, and doing practice papers.

Sometimes, passing by the sports field, I’d occasionally see him and his friend returning from the school supermarket with water.

Even when we passed each other, his gaze never lingered on me.

To say I wasn’t disappointed would be a lie.

As time went on, I even started to doubt if his solemn promise that day was just my imagination.

But the arrival of the college entrance exam left no time for idle thoughts.

In June, we each charted the course for our future cities on thin exam papers.

Suddenly, I really missed Lu Xiao, really wanted to talk to him.

Wanted to ask him how his exam went.

But as soon as I saw that red exclamation mark, I hesitated.

“Mengzai, class reunion tomorrow night, don’t be late.” I received a text from Chen Qiao.

Only then did it hit me, it felt like, we really graduated?

The reunion was really lively; almost all the classes in our grade booked this place.

Probably because we’d graduated and were adults, the teachers turned a blind eye to some students drinking.

They just told us to go home early after we were done having fun.

I also took two sips, and it was so bitter it made me gag.

Chen Qiao and I went outside to use the restroom, and we ran into Chen Xing at the door.