Chapter Thirty-Five: Reunion

“Nangong, don’t forget about Sunday morning! I have something to do tonight, so I’m heading off!” Le Han waved at Nangong Yuchen, who was polishing the classroom windows, and dashed away.

“Le…” Nangong Yuchen looked up, only to see the chubby figure had already vanished, leaving him with nothing but exasperation.

“Hehe, isn’t it great not having to do a big cleanup on Friday? Let’s go to the amusement park together tomorrow! I heard they just opened several new attractions!” A few girls from the class passed by Nangong Yuchen, their faces bright with laughter.

“…”

“Li Jian, let’s hit the tavern tonight! This time, I’m sure I’ll win!”

“…”

Watching as more and more students left the classroom, Nangong Yuchen was left on the verge of tears. Ever since he’d been called to the office on Tuesday morning, not only had Shangguan Luohua beaten him black and blue, but he’d also been saddled with cleaning the classroom for the entire week.

The pain on his face still lingered. Though the swelling had subsided, he now harbored a deep fear of Shangguan Luohua.

That tigress was truly terrifying!

As he rubbed his left cheek, haunted by the harrowing memories of three days past, Lu Ling approached with two other boys.

He had only returned to school on Wednesday, having spent four days in the hospital after being beaten half to death by Nangong Yuchen the previous Friday. It was only after those days of recovery that he managed to return.

His first order of business upon coming back was to seek revenge on Nangong Yuchen, but after just a few punches and kicks, he was defeated again. Thus, for the past two days, he had kept sullen and silent in class, his face dark and brooding.

As Lu Ling drew closer, his body began to tremble. The sight of that boy in his line of vision had already turned him into the laughingstock of the class.

The loser he once bullied at will could now knock him down in just a few moves. It was a tremendous humiliation for him, one he could only bury in his heart, glaring hatefully at Nangong Yuchen. After half a minute, he finally left the classroom with his two cronies.

But just as they reached the door, Lu Ling seemed to remember something. He turned and flashed Nangong a sinister smile.

“Hmm?” Nangong Yuchen paused in confusion. He couldn’t understand what Lu Ling, whom he’d already beaten twice, had left to smile about.

“Could he have been knocked silly by me?” he wondered, shaking his head in bafflement.

A few minutes later, the classroom was empty. Only Nangong Yuchen remained, cleaning up. By the time he finished scrubbing every nook and cranny, more than half an hour had passed.

At last, he locked the classroom door and made his way toward the academy gates.

“A message?” He’d just stepped into the corridor outside the teaching building and was about to check the time when he noticed a text from an unfamiliar number.

Curious, he tapped it open, and a single line appeared.

“Chen! Could you come to the field at six? I’ll be waiting for you there!”

The moment he saw the message, a wave of suffocating emotion surged in Nangong Yuchen’s heart.

“Is it her?”

“Chen!” That name—he knew it all too well. It was one he kept hidden in the deepest recesses of his heart.

All the memories he had carefully locked away now exploded forth, a storm raging in his mind at the sight of that brief message.

“Chen, do I look pretty today?”

“Chen, shall we go to the amusement park with Kexin this weekend?”

“Chen, I made lunch—let’s eat together today?”

“Chen…”

His head throbbed painfully, a wave of dizziness threatening to overtake him. His right hand gripped the phone tightly, his gaze fixed on that single short sentence.

“Chen! Could you meet me at the field at six? I’ll be waiting for you there!”

The message had arrived at 5:30 p.m. Now it was already 6:47.

It was her! It had to be her! Of all the people in his life, only she had ever called him that.

“The field! The field!” Nangong Yuchen suddenly seemed possessed, sprinting toward the field with his phone still clutched in his hand, not bothering to return it to his pocket. In that moment, his speed surpassed 25 meters per second.

“Ningxue!” he murmured her name over and over as he ran, trapped in the depths of his most painful memories.

She was Mu Ningxue—the only daughter of the Mu family, the youngest star student at the Academy of Stars, and, just half a year ago, his girlfriend.

Back then, his parents had not yet been imprisoned, his sister Kexin still cared for him, and he and Ningxue spent their days inseparable. He had believed then that if his life could go on like that forever, it would be perfect.

This was the girl his family had met and come to love after moving from Qinghu Town to Ruxia City.

But all those beautiful days shattered like an illusion, just as they had in Qinghu Town more than four years ago, slipping from his grasp at the very moment he cherished them most.

One night, his parents were suddenly accused of murder and thrown into prison.

Their once-stable family was torn apart again, leaving only himself and his sister to rely on each other.

The cause of all this? His relationship with Mu Ningxue had blocked the simplest path to alliance between the Mu and Lu families, as well as Lu Shijie’s pursuit of her. As a result, his parents were locked away, their release uncertain. All his happiness with Mu Ningxue faded into a dream, lost in the wake of that disaster.

As for his sister—Nangong Kexin—she had hated and resented him ever since. Four years ago, a fire in Qinghu Town, for which he was blamed, had forced their family to flee to Ruxia City. Now, four years later, a love that never should have happened had destroyed what little they had left.

From that moment, he had been branded as a bringer of misfortune.

…

The memories surged and crashed within him, impossible to suppress. Though some part of his mind warned him not to go, his body moved of its own accord, carrying him to the field.

By then, the sun had already begun to set, the golden light stretching the solitary figure of a girl standing on the empty grass, making her shadow long—so very long.

She looked just as he remembered: delicate black hair falling loosely over her shoulders, soft and beautiful. The lace of her pink-blue skirt set off her fair, slender legs; a bow cinched gently at her waist, tracing the curves of her graceful figure.

Tap, tap.

Hearing the sound of footsteps, the girl slowly turned around—and instantly froze.

“Chen!”

“Ningxue! It really is her!”

The moment Nangong Yuchen truly saw the face from his memories, his body involuntarily jolted.

She had a classic oval face, exquisitely beautiful, like a heroine stepped from a manga into the golden afterglow of the setting sun. As their gazes met, he was struck anew by the depth in her eyes—eyes that seemed to overflow with longing and unspoken words.

“…Chen!”

Mu Ningxue’s lips trembled as she called his name and took trembling steps toward him.

Nangong Yuchen struggled in pain. He knew he should not have come, should not be alone with this girl—yet he could not stop himself from moving toward her.

Though the distance between them was only a dozen meters, it felt as though they were crossing a century. At last, they stood face to face.

At that moment, Mu Ningxue’s beautiful eyes reddened, and tears spilled uncontrollably down her cheeks.

“…Chen, I’m… sorry!”

Those were the first words she spoke, and with them, she fell into his familiar embrace.

Half a year ago, she, too, had been a victim. In all these days since, she had suffered constant torment, because she was the one who had brought ruin to the one she loved, to Nangong’s entire family.

Nangong Yuchen stood frozen, not knowing what to do. He wanted to reach out and hold her shoulders, but in the end, he let his arms fall—because the girl in his embrace was no longer his.

“…Ningxue, what’s wrong?”