The Girl Who Stood Out in the Crowd

Before the morning sun grew too strong, Liang Xiaoqing shook Jiang Xu awake.

"Come on, let's go to town to buy some things. We're running low on daily necessities at home."

These past few days, because of her own personal reasons, Jiang Xu had barely slept well each night. Whenever Liang Xiaoqing was near her, she'd inexplicably feel tense. At the same time, her mood had become strangely different, and she couldn't understand why the same daily routine now felt so unlike before.

She'd toss and turn all night, listening to Liang Xiaoqing's long, steady breathing. Every time she thought about her own feelings, she felt it was wrong, that she shouldn't be thinking this way. As long as a person lived in this world, they ought to understand such concerns. More importantly, what used to be an ordinary, easygoing closeness had now become particularly difficult for her.

The cicadas outside the window chirped especially loudly in the dead of night.

She'd probably stayed awake until the early hours before finally easing the tension in her heart. Just as she was drifting into a hazy sleep, Liang Xiaoqing shook her awake.

The sky wasn't fully light yet. Outside the window, a misty gray veil hung over everything, like a layer of ash. By the looks of it, today would be another sunny day. A sunny day meant strong sun, and strong sun meant the day would be scorching.

That was summer for you—every single day made you restless.

"Mm." Jiang Xu rubbed her eyes and responded. She sat up in bed and saw Liang Xiaoqing already getting dressed.

Another wave of fluster hit her, uncontrollable. She had no choice but to endure it and turned her face away, looking in the other direction.

A faint rustling sound reached her ears, and she could even picture Liang Xiaoqing getting dressed.

That, too, went against her earlier resolve. Jiang Xu furrowed her brow and kept enduring these improper thoughts.

After who knew how long, Liang Xiaoqing's voice came from behind her: "Xiao Xu, why aren't you getting dressed? Hurry up—if we wait any longer, it'll get really hot once we go out."

Liang Xiaoqing wore a thin, single-layer blouse and was buttoning it up. On the lower half, she had on a pair of loose trousers.

It was a bit stifling to dress like that, but there were a lot of mosquitoes in the countryside, so this way she wouldn't get bitten.

She talked as she watched Jiang Xu's back. In a hurry, she used her hand as a makeshift comb and gathered up her long hair. She bit a hair tie between her lips and, while urging Jiang Xu to speed up, gathered all her hair in one hand, then took the hair tie with the other and wrapped it around her hair, tying it into a mid-height ponytail.

Fresh and neat—that simple hairstyle made her look bright and lovely, her face even more elegantly shaped.

Her ponytail spread across her back like silk, gently swaying.

She seemed to have lost weight, but her energy was high.

She showed no sign of sleepiness so early in the morning. As she headed out, she lifted the curtain: "Hurry up, Xiao Xu."

"Mm." Jiang Xu hummed again.

Thankfully, today was Saturday, so even with her heavy eyelids, she could drag herself out of bed and change clothes without having to stay exhausted all day long.

She went to the bathroom and splashed her face with cold water, which woke her up quite a bit.

Breakfast was made by Liang Xiaoqing—for convenience, she'd only boiled two eggs.

Just as Jiang Xu finished washing up, Liang Xiaoqing hastily pulled her out the door. "Quick, quick—once the sun comes out, it'll get hot."

The sky was a bit brighter than before. Judging by the time, it was probably around six or seven in the morning.

The morning air hadn't heated up yet. A cool breeze blew, so it wasn't too hot.

In fact, Jiang Xu had put on a short-sleeved shirt, and her arms felt a little cold.

"Eat up." The egg had been peeled halfway and was brought to her lips. In Liang Xiaoqing's other hand was an egg that she'd taken a bite out of.

"If it gets cold, it's hard to digest."

Jiang Xu took the egg and hummed in response.

No one else was up yet—everything around was quiet. Jiang Xu and Liang Xiaoqing first walked to the school.

The old gatekeeper was already awake and greeted Liang Xiaoqing as usual.

Liang Xiaoqing rode her bicycle out of the school, while Jiang Xu stood waiting under the big banyan tree by the school gate.

The bicycle glided in a gentle arc across the ground and stopped in front of Jiang Xu. "Hop on."

Jiang Xu yawned, still drowsy, and obediently sat on the back seat.

She seemed to have grown a lot taller—sitting on the back of the bike, her feet could reach the ground. She bent her legs slightly and instinctively leaned toward Liang Xiaoqing's back. She probably hadn't even noticed how natural and practiced the movement had become.

"Xiaoqing Jie, can't we go a little later? Riding a bike doesn't take that long anyway. Besides, it shouldn't be too hot in the morning."

The road was bumpy, so Jiang Xu wrapped her arms around Liang Xiaoqing's waist.

To keep herself from falling off, and because the wind was much stronger while riding, Jiang Xu felt a chill on her back. She leaned forward a bit and continued, amidst the creaking of the bicycle: "Besides, we still have enough stuff at home. We can buy it next week."

A gentle breeze brushed against Liang Xiaoqing's face. Riding the bike while feeling the tight hold around her waist was a bit tiring, but she didn't tell Jiang Xu to let go. Just like what she usually saw, or what Yang Man always said in her ear: "I don't think you'll ever win over that Jiang Xu kid. No matter how carefully you take care of her, it won't compare to the bond of blood. And anyway, she's not some stray cat or dog that'll be grateful to you just because you feed her. That kid is independent and self-reliant. You're just meddling in other people's business! Even without you, she'd live just fine."

Yang Man had, in countless idle chats, defined the nature of her relationship with Jiang Xu. At first, Liang Xiaoqing felt Yang Man's words made sense.

But watching Jiang Xu grow up these past few years, just seeing her thrive was enough to fill her heart with contentment. She'd long stopped feeling bothered by Jiang Xu's aloofness.

Just like cats and dogs—some are affectionate by nature, and some aren't.

Let alone a child like Jiang Xu.

At least she, Liang Xiaoqing, was doing this willingly. Not everything in life had to be for some purpose.

Even though pedaling the bike while Jiang Xu clung to her made her hotter, she let Jiang Xu do as she pleased.

"There are still a lot of things we need to buy."

She said this to Jiang Xu, but she had her own thoughts in mind.

This trip to town wasn't just about buying daily necessities. A few days ago, Jiang Xu's period had stuck in her memory for a long time. Before she knew it, Jiang Xu had grown up.

Liang Xiaoqing, who thought she handled everything thoroughly, had still overlooked Jiang Xu's growth. For example, she hadn't told Jiang Xu in advance what to do when a girl hits puberty. And another example—Jiang Xu was developing now, and she ought to buy her some proper underwear.

She couldn't keep wearing the old undershirts from before.

Jiang Xu didn't know any of this. Liang Xiaoqing gave her a vague reply, and Jiang Xu fell silent.

The trees on both sides passed unhurriedly by. The cool breeze no longer felt cold, because she was leaning against Liang Xiaoqing's back, and the temperature felt just right.

The rhythmic bumps made Jiang Xu sleepy. A deep drowsiness washed over her. She tightened her arms around Liang Xiaoqing's waist and rubbed her cheek against her back.

Without exaggeration, she actually dozed off like that.

There was a faint fragrance at the tip of her nose, subtle yet deeply reassuring.

Jiang Xu felt as if she were sleeping on cotton, her whole body light and floating. Her hands grew increasingly weak, and her body seemed to sink deeper and deeper. Only the overly bright light kept a sliver of her consciousness awake.

"Xiao Xu, Xiao Xu. Wake up, quick. Did you not sleep well last night? Don't sleep now—hold onto me, or you'll fall off." In her daze, Jiang Xu heard someone calling her.

"Xiao Xu."

With a ripping sound, that comfortable, soft coolness disappeared.

What clung to her skin now was a maddening heat.

She heard a sigh.

"Xiao Xu."

Opening her eyes, Jiang Xu saw pedestrians on the road and sunlight filtering through the gaps in the trees. The sun blazed fiercely—it was the height of summer.

"We're here. Get off, let's park the bike."

"Oh... okay."

She didn't know if she'd actually slept, but time had passed quickly. Her arm was still wrapped around Liang Xiaoqing's waist. Maybe because she'd kept that position the whole way, her arm was dripping with sweat.

The moment she let go, Liang Xiaoqing's white blouse was already soaked through in a large patch, covered in a layer of sweat stains from the heat.

She quickly got off the back seat, feeling embarrassed.

Because of her overly intimate behavior, or maybe because of something else.

She glanced at Liang Xiaoqing from the corner of her eye. Liang Xiaoqing didn't seem to mind at all. She got off the bike herself, parked it, and took a water bottle from the front basket.

"Good thing we left early. Look how strong the sun is now." Liang Xiaoqing took a sip of water, finally quenching her thirst.

She handed the bottle to Jiang Xu without much thought: "Have some too. Look how chapped your lips are..."

Liang Xiaoqing turned her head to the side. A fine layer of sweat beaded on her forehead, and her cheeks were flushed pink from the heat.

Looking at the opened water bottle, Jiang Xu wanted to say she wasn't that thirsty, but she still took it carefully.

Crowded places radiated heat. In the countryside, she hadn't felt this hot.

The noisy chatter made the ground feel like it was steaming. Jiang Xu stiffly brought the bottle to her lips and took a sip. It was clearly a trivial thing not worth worrying about, yet it made her feel incredibly uneasy.

She didn't want to care about it at all...

But she realized this was the water bottle Xiaoqing Jie had just drunk from, and there was no way she could ignore that.

The water had been poured in the morning.

By now, it had gone lukewarm.

She took one sip, then, inexplicably, another.

Something deep inside her was gently stirring.

"Still thirsty?" Liang Xiaoqing asked.

"No. Here." Jiang Xu pressed her lips together and handed the bottle back to Liang Xiaoqing.

Then she watched as Liang Xiaoqing took the bottle, put it to her lips, and gulped down two more mouthfuls: "I'm so thirsty. It really gets hotter every year."

Liang Xiaoqing said, as if feeling nostalgic, that summers used to be nowhere near this hot.

She'd drunk too fast, and a drop of water splashed onto the tip of her nose. She smiled at Jiang Xu, revealing clean, neat white teeth.

"Come on, Xiao Xu, let's go park the bike first."

Liang Xiaoqing might never realize the storm raging inside Jiang Xu at this moment. She'd only blame herself for leading Jiang Xu down the wrong path.

But Jiang Xu was willing to sink into this deep pool, and she was sinking willingly.

Jiang Xu's heart pounded wildly, unlike anything before.

This was—she racked her brain for a long time before finally coming up with a "word" she'd seen in that unusual magazine.

—A kiss.

It was something sweet, exciting, and ever so slightly numbing.

This was a kind of kiss.

Something that could exist between a woman and a woman.

It was impossible for her not to be happy. No matter how Jiang Xu tried to restrain herself, she couldn't stop the surging affection from spilling out of her heart.

She lagged behind, trailing along slowly, lost in the surging, endless crowd.

Liang Xiaoqing turned around, tiny bits of sunlight resting in her eyes.

She squinted at the girl who stood out so clearly in the crowd. "Xiao Xu, keep up. What if I lose you in all these people?"