Andrew Lane remembered how yesterday his mom had been so exasperated by him that she finally yelled, “Why are you so troublesome?! Can’t you just be quiet for a bit?”

As for his dad, his tone was still gentle, but what he said was, “Yangyang, these days Cece and Charles Johnson want to come over for piano lessons with you, so I might have to pick up all three of you kids together. I’m afraid there won’t be enough room in the car. Also, we don’t know Zoe Young’s parents, so if we just start giving rides to someone else’s child, her mom and dad might not like it.”

It kind of made sense, but it also felt awkward. Andrew Lane felt like his parents suddenly didn’t like Zoe Young anymore. But how could he tell Zoe Young that?

Besides, his own parents were such good people—how could they do anything wrong? So… so… Andrew Lane felt like his whole world was in chaos, and all he could do was run over to tell Zoe Young, because even though everything was a mess right now, at least…

At least his heart wasn’t a mess. Andrew Lane’s silence meant something different to Zoe Young. So, it’s really that you want me to stay away from you, isn’t it? “My mom will come pick me up,” she said. “Andrew Lane, thank you for your kindness.” “Thank you,” Zoe Young thought, “it’s already good enough that you still came to see me.” It’s enough.

“Zoe… you’re lying.” “I’m not.”

“You’re lying.” Zoe Young looked quietly at Andrew Lane, her expressionless face making Andrew Lane start to feel scared. He had never seen Zoe Young like this before. “Everyone lies, Andrew Lane.”

Andrew Lane just felt a strange sourness in his heart; he had never faced such a big crisis before. “Oh right, wait for me a second.” Zoe Young hurried back to the classroom, pulled a 64-in-1 game cartridge out of her bag. “This is for you.”

Joel Young probably knew she would cry… Zoe Young shook her head, erasing her brother’s image from her mind. “…I can’t take it… thank you, I’ll play with it for a while and then give it back, or we can take turns, one week each, how about that?” Sure enough, Andrew Lane broke into a big smile—only this time, his happiness wasn’t so pure anymore, but had a hint of anxiety and eagerness to please.

“No need,” Zoe Young stood on the steps with her hands behind her back, looking down at Andrew Lane from above. “Andrew Lane, I don’t want to play with you anymore.”

The red balloon on the window latch finally slowly shrank into a small, soft oval. Zoe Young took it down and put it in the cookie tin under her bed.

She ran to her sleeping grandma’s room to check the IV saline bottle, then went to call her mom—it was time to remove the needle. Zoe Young stood to the side, watching her mom take the saline bottle off the iron stand and set it on the table. The empty bottle still had an orange-yellow liquid inside.

Zoe Young suddenly thought of holy water. She used a bottle like this to fill with clear tap water, then climbed over Demon Realm Mountain to save the gods of autumn and winter, and spring and summer.

She remembered Andrew Lane asking her, what happened after that? After that? Did they end up together? Probably… not.

Why? No reason. 137? Companions don’t have to walk all the way to the end together. If someone brings you laughter for a stretch of the road, that’s already enough.

? Time is fair—five minutes for ten thousand people is still just five minutes.

? Men who fight for women are attractive to women at any age.

? Silence is handing over the right to choose and the dilemma to the anxious other person; it’s irresponsible, it’s avoiding hurt.

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Beautiful Thing No. 3: Not About Love / Just Growing Up

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1. Fleeting Years, a Hasty Glance

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Zoe Young carefully cradled the public cello, almost as tall as she was, standing in the crowded corner of the instrument storage room, watching the other orchestra members swarm in, jostling and shoving to put their instruments away.

When she looked up, she happened to see Alan Carter standing diagonally across from her in the storage room, his left hand protecting his violin, pressed against the wall in the same posture, brows slightly furrowed, mouth twisted in a wry smile, as if he were watching a locust plague from afar.

He saw Zoe Young too, and the two of them exchanged a helpless smile. Zoe Young didn’t know if it was because she and Alan Carter shared so many little similarities that she felt happy, or if she wanted to feel that happiness, so she unconsciously imitated him. Finally, as the crowd gradually dispersed, Zoe Young picked up the cello and walked toward the rack. “Wait a second, I’ll help you put it up after I put my violin away,” Alan Carter said, putting his violin into the designated case according to the member number, then quickly walking over to help Zoe Young lift her cello onto the second row of the rack. “What were they thinking when they designed this? The violin rack is so low, but the cello rack is so high.” Zoe Young nodded. “Thank you, I have to hurry.” Alan Carter raised his eyebrows. “Something urgent? Mr. Quinn said all the top three seats of each section have to go to the meeting room for a meeting.” Zoe Young looked up at him with a troubled, slightly aggrieved expression, her clear gaze making Alan Carter quickly cover his eyes. “Alright, alright, I knew I couldn’t say no to you. I’ll ask for leave for you.” Only then did she break into a smile. “Hehe, thank you.” “Why are you in such a hurry to go home, something up?” Alan Carter walked out of the storage room with her, casually closing the iron door behind them. Zoe Young opened her mouth, then lowered her head. “No, it’s just that today’s rehearsal ended late… I… I’m about to miss… Sailor Moon…” Alan Carter’s laughter made her so embarrassed she couldn’t stand it. She quickly jogged a few steps to the rehearsal hall entrance, waved her hand without looking back, and said, “Bye!” “Bye, Zoe. If you really can’t make it, just find a place to transform!”

Zoe Young felt like a basin of water had been poured over a brazier—now she was steaming. She turned and ran out the door, checked her watch—it was already 5:45, she had twenty-five minutes left.

She practically flagged down the number 22 bus as if she were petitioning an official, then jumped on. Suddenly, she thought, if Alan Carter’s idea of transforming were possible, that would be perfect.

In the end, she was still three minutes late. When she burst through the door at home, she saw Tina Young already sitting in front of the sofa. She was holding a box of ice cream, and when she heard the door open, she turned and said, “Don’t worry, it’s still commercials. Today’s ads are extra long. You’re really something.”

The chilly relationship between Zoe Young and Tina Young had eased a lot because of Sailor Moon. Their shared love for the same cartoon gradually dissolved the subtle, unspoken rivalry between them. Though they still weren’t close sisters or good friends, at least they could get along peacefully. However, the issue of who got to claim Tuxedo Mask was still a taboo between them. Tina Young was always on guard—originally, Zoe Young had wanted to kindly tell her that she didn’t even like Tuxedo Mask in Sailor Moon. But seeing Tina Young’s suspicious, hesitant look, she instead felt a mischievous glee, so every time Tuxedo Mask appeared and Tina Young started blushing, Zoe Young would chime in, “So handsome.”

Then she’d see Tina Young blush, pout, and say, “Handsome? Hmph, such an arrogant guy, always carrying a rose wherever he goes, so gross.”

Zoe Young stifled her laughter, turned her gaze back to the TV, and thought: So awkward, just like Andrew Lane. Andrew Lane.

Zoe Young was startled by her own strange thoughts. She shook her head—Andrew Lane was like a little stone that had accidentally rolled in, and she tossed him out of her mind.

October 1998. Having just started fifth grade, Zoe Young hadn’t spoken a single word to Andrew Lane in four whole years.

After the first class in the afternoon, Zoe Young and Claire Daniels were called to the office by Mr. Hughes. Two years ago, at the start of third grade, Claire Daniels had to repeat a year due to missing most of the previous year with myocarditis, transferring from Yuxin Primary School to the Affiliated Primary School, becoming Zoe Young’s classmate. Some people in the world just have a natural affinity and attraction, like Zoe Young and Claire Daniels. Ever since she broke off with Andrew Lane, Zoe Young had treated all her classmates equally and was well-liked—in reality, just another form of loneliness. Claire Daniels’s arrival ended Zoe Young’s lonely walk. Even though they didn’t live close, at least they could walk part of the way together.

Companions don’t have to walk all the way to the end together. If someone brings you laughter for a stretch of the road, that’s already enough.