LVLYA

Chapter 32: Unpredictable Changes

For the next two, three days, they spoke on the phone every night. The calls were all mostly within a fifteen minute timeframe, and Xia Zhixu initially teased Song Yu about it before he too got used to it. Besides, he was the one who would squat in the corridor and speak on the phone until the early hours of the morning. He came back particularly early one day, and Song Yu even mocked him, asking why he had nothing to say today. Xia Zhixu only shrugged and said Xu Qichen had fallen asleep as they were talking.

Song Yu caught a glimpse of the phone Xia Zhixu left on his bedside table. He'd yet to hang up, and he was moving about lightly and carefully, lifting the phone to his ear for a little while after he finished showering. He didn't say a single word the entire time, only listening.

Song Yu woke up once in the middle of the night. He felt like there was a slight glow in the room, and so he got up to look around.

Xia Zhixu was sleeping very deeply, but the call screen interface was still showing on his phone.

Song Yu had originally wanted to bring that up and mock him later that night when they were both going to their phone calls, but Xia Zhixu's phone was actually stolen that day. He hurriedly borrowed Song Yu's phone to call his parents and to contact Xu Qichen.

But Xu Qichen didn't pick up his calls.

"He doesn't know my contact details," Song Yu said. "Maybe he doesn't pick up calls from unknown numbers."

Xia Zhixu then went onto WeChat and sent Xu Qichen many, many messages, but he yet again didn't receive a reply. Xu Qichen replied with only one message the next day: okay, I understand.

Keeping in touch turned troublesome now that he didn't have a phone. Even though Song Yu told him he could borrow his phone, Xia Zhixu didn't want to bother him. He occasionally logged into WeChat, but he wasn't really able to contact Xu Qichen.

"We'll be back in a few days. I'll sneak out tomorrow to buy a phone if I can't handle it."

He wasn't able to action his plan though, as the pressure of the training camp's latter stages reached its highest peak. He had no way to go outside and also had no time to even use a phone. The camp held many mock competitions, and since everyone performed quite well, the teachers specifically brought the students out to eat a nice dinner. They even broke their own rules and allowed the students to go back to their dormitory for an early rest.

Xia Zhixu bought two bottles of orange-flavoured before heading upstairs to the dorm. Coincidentally, just as the two of them were waiting for the lift, the dormitory building lost electricity. There was nothing to do in the building so everyone ran outside, and Song Yu and Xia Zhixu also decided to wait outside, sitting on the edge of a flower bed.

It was very difficult to see stars in this city. Xia Zhixu tilted his head up and searched for a while before lowering his head back down. "Time went by so quickly. Only three days left."

Song Yu didn't speak, taking a sip of the soda and finding it a bit too sweet.

"It's university entrance exams soon." Xia Zhixu bumped into his shoulder. "Nervous?"

Song Yu shook his head. "I'm okay."

"That's true." Xia Zhixu spread his legs wide open, very relaxed. "I feel like you're never nervous no matter what you do. Always effortlessly and easily doing the things you need to do."

Song Yu glanced at him. "Aren't you the same?"

Xia Zhixu also shook his head. "I'm just pretending most of the time." He bent his right leg and wrapped an arm around it. "Isn't it strange? I always look like I'm a positive person, but I'm actually running away from reality every day. Sometimes I'll be standing in a group of people, laughing about this or chatting about that, but I'll be secretly thinking I'm so tired or I'm so bored or I want to go home. And yet I continue to fake it — because only through this way will things be much less troublesome."