“Mm.”
An Ling nodded.
“I’m going to rest now.”
“Good night.”
“Mm.”
“Good night,” she added softly afterward.
An Ling closed the window, drew the curtains, and climbed back into bed.
She buried her face in her tail, but her ears stayed perked, listening for sounds outside.
The sound of the window closing across the way was light, but she still caught it.
An Ling rolled over and stared at the ceiling in a daze.
She sighed and closed her eyes.
Today was over. She’d deal with tomorrow’s matters tomorrow.
On the other side, Li Yang sat at his desk, looking at the window.
The night grew deeper, and the intermittent chirping of insects drifted in from outside.
He was still the same as before—bored, he’d knock on the window, as if she would always be there waiting for him.
It had been like that before, and it was like that now. If only the time in between had been a dream.
***
In the dream, An Ling arrived at that familiar place again.
Today, none of the nearby memory fragments lit up. Only the farthest one showed a faint glow.
She seemed to have moved a little closer than yesterday, but she still couldn’t reach it.
No matter what, An Ling couldn’t make out the content of that memory fragment.
***
The next morning, An Ling was woken by her alarm clock.
She had slept pretty well last night. After waking from that dream, she had fallen into a deep sleep right up until now.
An Ling shook her head, got out of bed, and started washing up and changing clothes.
After packing her school bag, she stood at the door, took a deep breath, and opened it.
Outside, Li Yang was already standing there, carrying the usual bag of breakfast in his hand.
He looked really sleepy today, though, yawning.
“Morning!”
Li Yang said when he saw her come out.
“Did you stay up late last night?” An Ling asked.
“Yeah, I played some games and watched anime.” Li Yang yawned again as he spoke.
“If you’re this tired, you didn’t have to get up early to buy breakfast for me. Wouldn’t it be better to sleep in a bit?”
“Hey! No way. I have to take good care of you!”
“Couldn’t you just buy it on the way in the morning?”
Li Yang grinned at her. “That wouldn’t be sincere enough.”
“But—” Li Yang suddenly changed tack.
“But?”
“But if you could come wake me up in the morning and we went to buy it together, that would be sincere and let me sleep a little longer.”
“Wouldn’t that mean I’m the one taking care of you? Plus, it’s weird for one guy to wake up another guy in the morning.”
An Ling said with a hint of distaste.
“Hey! Don’t put it like that. It’s a habit, you know? The sense of ceremony!”
“Besides, waking up by yourself in the morning feels so lifeless. Having someone wake you up lets you fantasize a bit and complain a little. Isn’t that way better than being jolted awake by an alarm clock?”
Whatever. She didn’t feel like arguing with him. An Ling took her share of the breakfast from Li Yang’s hand.
The two walked side by side down the early morning streets.
Li Yang started chattering away nonstop.
He seemed energetic for now, but that would change once they reached school.
He talked about his gaming achievements from last night, what classes they had today, and where he wanted to go on the weekend.
An Ling listened as usual, responding occasionally or teasing him with a remark here and there.
When they reached the classroom, Zhou Meng was already at her seat as always.
An Ling had asked before—Zhou Meng could sleep about twenty minutes later than her almost every morning.
Twenty whole minutes. Living near the school really was nice.
So envious~
“What?” Zhou Meng looked at her in confusion when An Ling suddenly sighed in her direction.
“Nothing. Just envious of the Class President’s great energy, that’s all.”
??? Question marks popped up over Zhou Meng’s head.
An Ling sat down at her desk.
Li Yang, as usual, took her homework again.
An Ling and Zhou Meng chatted about random things.
Everyone had their own tasks during morning self-study.
The morning classes went on as usual. Li Yang slept as usual.
An Ling listened and took notes as usual. And as usual, she poked him awake whenever the teacher’s gaze swept their way.
The only difference was that today Li Yang got poked way more times than yesterday.
“You’re sleeping like the dead. Just go lie in your bed at night!”
An Ling was tired of poking him and grumbled angrily.
Li Yang rubbed his eyes and turned around with an innocent look.
“Didn’t I tell you last night? I stayed up late gaming.”
“Is that a very reasonable excuse?”
“Yes!” Li Yang looked at her earnestly.
An Ling looked at him speechlessly, her tail swishing once before she stopped herself from saying anything more.
Even Zhou Meng chimed in from the side.
“An Ling has turned into your personal in-class auto-monitor teacher and wake-up robot. Why don’t you just make her your alarm clock?”
“Exactly.”
Li Yang said righteously.
“And it’s the smart version too—it automatically adjusts the reminder timing based on the teacher’s position.”
“Hey!”
An Ling stared at the back of his head.
Her tail swished twice unconsciously before she quickly got it under control.
Stay calm~ Stay calm~ Hitting people is wrong. It’ll scare the classmates.
An Ling kept reminding herself in her heart.
“Alright, keep watch for me a bit longer. I’m going to rest some more.” With that, Li Yang closed his eyes again.
The morning classes passed like that, with Li Yang sleeping and An Ling poking him.
At noon, when school let out, Li Yang woke up right on time.
He stretched lazily, then turned to look at An Ling.
“Let’s go eat.”
An Ling looked at him.
She wanted to say something to refuse, but she knew it would be pointless.
“What do you feel like eating today?” Li Yang stood up.
“Want to try the beef noodles? The stall I told you about before.”
“Whatever.” An Ling packed up her textbooks and stood.
“Then beef noodles it is.”
Li Yang clapped his hands.
“Let’s go!”
The two walked out of the classroom side by side, heading toward the cafeteria.
The campus was lively during lunch break, with students hurrying to the cafeteria everywhere.
An Ling walked beside Li Yang, listening to him chatter about how delicious the beef noodles were, how many times he’d eaten there, and how much extra noodles he usually added.
The cafeteria was packed.
Long lines formed in front of every window.
Li Yang led An Ling straight to the back of one queue at the noodle stall.
“This is the one.” Li Yang pointed. “You’ll see once you try it. I think it’s great anyway.”
An Ling nodded, her gaze sweeping across the cafeteria.
Suddenly, her eyes stopped.
In the crowd, she spotted a familiar figure.
It was a girl with a high ponytail, wearing the school uniform.
She was queuing at another window, standing sideways to An Ling.
An Ling could only see half her face, but that half was enough to make An Ling’s heart skip a beat.
It was her.
The girl from the memory fragments—the one who had made “him” fall for her and then used her.
But wasn’t she appearing a bit early?
An Ling’s ears pressed back involuntarily.
Her tail curled up slightly. Better not get involved if I can help it.
Ever since she learned about the future, An Ling couldn’t bring herself to like that girl anymore.
Even though she had been exactly An Ling’s type back when she was still a guy.