Unlike the little hill where Andrew Lane led her and Fiona James to play, unlike that kind of small happiness, when the cardboard slid all the way to the bottom and slowly came to a stop, she felt like a migratory bird that had just finished gliding, landing lightly, feeling an extraordinary sense of freedom. “Want to go again?”

“Yes!” Zoe Young almost jumped up immediately, yanking the cardboard out from under Alan Carter, nearly toppling him over. “Hey, you should at least take me with you!”

“Not taking you this time!” Zoe Young reverted to her proletarian atheist successor nature, leaving the immortal behind, dragging the cardboard twice her size as she clumsily climbed the icy steps.

Flying is addictive. During the descent, Zoe Young almost forgot who she was. She was just a bird, just a migratory bird passing by, who would fly far away after a short rest.

To a place very, very far away. Zoe Young was finally tired. She wiped the fine sweat from her forehead and looked up to see Alan Carter leaning against a lamppost, smiling.

She quickly stood up, picked up the cardboard, and handed it over awkwardly. “Do you... do you want to play?” Zoe Young felt genuinely guilty. The immortal had never played these games as a child, and yet she was still fighting him for a turn. “Thank you, you’re really generous.”

Alan Carter’s teasing smile made Zoe Young lower her head deeply. “Come on, let’s go ride the dog sled!”

“Are you sure this is a dog sled, immortal?” Alan Carter was both amused and exasperated. Facing Zoe Young’s raised eyebrow and provoking expression, he could only apologize. Zoe Young and Alan Carter each held a rein, carefully moving forward on the ice, while a dirty gray dog sat on the sled, with another droopy-headed black dog beside it. After they rode the dog sled into the distance, the gray dog, which could never keep up with the black dog and caused the sled to keep turning in circles to the right, finally collapsed shakily. Together, they pushed the whining gray dog onto the sled, then picked up the reins and, along with the black dog that looked as if it were attending a funeral, headed toward the distant base camp.

“So unlucky,” Alan Carter said helplessly. “It’s because you’re too heavy.” Zoe Young replied seriously. Alan Carter turned and glared fiercely at the gray dog. Then he saw Zoe Young glaring at him. “Is this how you treat an immortal?”

This time, Zoe Young didn’t talk back. She lowered her head, pulling the reins with effort, her feet slipping a little. “I wish you really were an immortal.”

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14. Who Do You Really Trust

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“Alan Carter, you’re going to take the college entrance exam soon, right?” Zoe Young quickly changed the subject. “Yeah, next July.”

“Don’t you need to review? My sister is also taking the exam. Every day, except for eating, sleeping, and going to the bathroom, she’s studying, and she’s always arguing with our parents. It seems really stressful.”

“Who said I’m not reviewing?” Alan Carter raised his eyebrows and smiled. “Then why are you still out here playing on the slide?”

Alan Carter laughed loudly. “What does that have to do with anything? Doing endless practice papers will make you dumb.” “Then why did you ask me out to play?” Alan Carter touched his nose with his free left hand. “I won’t tell you for now, I’ll say it later.” Zoe Young suddenly remembered something. “Oh right, when you left the orchestra before, didn’t you say you were going to compete and get a guaranteed spot at university?” “Oh, you mean the physics competition.” Alan Carter smiled, as if it was something from a long time ago, and said lightly, “I had a stomachache during the second round, didn’t do well, only got second prize. The universities I could choose from weren’t ideal, so I decided to take the college entrance exam myself.” Zoe Young instinctively felt this was a matter of fate. Such bad luck for Alan Carter, yet there wasn’t a trace of embarrassment or regret on his face. She felt deep respect. Alan Carter had a real chance at first prize, and he didn’t complain at all. So, for someone like Zoe Young who had always been bad at math competitions, what right did she have to be upset over a preliminary round that was never really hers to begin with?

She turned her face to look at Alan Carter. Against the backdrop of blue sky and white snow, the boy’s gentle and calm profile made people feel at ease. He dragged the heavy sled behind him, always looking relaxed. His musical talent, studying at Zhenhua, his palace-like house with an internal staircase... all of this made people unconsciously envy this boy’s excellence and luck. However, at this moment, Zoe Young caught a glimpse of something deeper, as if things weren’t so straightforward. Behind Alan Carter’s smile, there seemed to be another secret.

“You’ll get into Tsinghua.” Zoe Young looked at him with absolute seriousness. Alan Carter smiled. “Oh no, I want to go to Peking University, what should I do? Can you make an exception and approve it?” Zoe Young blushed instantly, lowered her head, and mumbled, “...Peking University is fine too...” Alan Carter burst out laughing. “Alright, I’ll just have to settle for Peking University then.”

Zoe Young looked up at the sky. How far away is the end of this world of ultimate blue? She always believed Alan Carter could fly very, very far. Of all the people she’d ever met, he was the most like a main character. Failing to get a guaranteed spot was just a small setback before the grand finale. All the misfortunes were just stepping stones, sending him to the top, and then he would soar.

“That’s great, this way you can go to Beijing.” she said dreamily. “Do you really like Beijing?” Alan Carter seemed interested. “No,” Zoe Young smiled, “I’ve never even been to Beijing. I’ve never left home since I was little. During summer vacation, lots of classmates go to Huangshan, Taishan, or the seaside, but I’ve never left this city. But I really envy you, being able to go somewhere far from home—not just for a few days of travel, but... to leave completely.”

Alan Carter stopped smiling. He looked seriously at the dazed, hopeful little girl beside him, then turned his head to gaze at the horizon.

“Yeah, I just want to leave.” It was a short sentence, but Zoe Young looked at him in surprise, because Alan Carter rarely talked about himself. He was always smiling, always comforting others, helping analyze other people’s problems, but never once had he started a sentence with “I like,” “I hate,” or “I want.”

“Why?” He turned and pinched Zoe Young’s cheek. “No reason.”

So Zoe Young didn’t ask again. She was always considerate, never prying into things people didn’t want to talk about, unlike Claire Daniels and the others.

“Zoe, why are you unhappy?” Zoe Young was a little surprised, but she didn’t deny it out of habit, just asked, “How did you know?” Alan Carter blinked and smiled. “I’m an immortal, remember?” Seeing Zoe Young’s eyelids droop like Detective Conan, Alan Carter yawned and said, “Actually, it was during the Winter Solstice family gathering. I asked Jenny about you. She said you’ve been acting a bit strange lately, but you wouldn’t tell her why. She guessed maybe you’ve been driven crazy by math competitions.”

That answer made sense, but Zoe Young couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed.

In that moment, she suddenly realized she had changed. In the past, just talking to two little rabbit nobles could dispel her small worries. But now, her troubles were growing bigger and more complicated. She’d lost the rabbits, yet she hoped someone could be like them, able to hold all her fears and worries. And that person had to be like an immortal—she wouldn’t have to say anything, and they would just understand, saving her from all the awkward and painful silences of having to explain.

Alan Carter really wasn’t an immortal. She still politely answered, “I didn’t do well in the competition. I’ve always been dumb, I just can’t learn math olympiad.” Alan Carter didn’t comfort her like others with “As long as you work hard, you’ll get it one day.” Instead, he asked with a strange look, “Why do you have to study math olympiad? Do you really like it that much? Claire Daniels doesn’t do math olympiad, so why do you...”

Zoe Young quickly shook her head, but couldn’t explain why she had to study math olympiad—all those reasons were too mundane, too humble. In front of Alan Carter, in front of such an outstanding person about to take the college entrance exam, she was embarrassed to show her little insecurities and wounds. Besides, Claire Daniels didn’t do math olympiad, but she started learning English early. Many kids started extra English classes in third or fourth grade. Sometimes Andrew Lane would chat with classmates and, showing off a little, shake his head and say, “I don’t think so”; Claire Daniels once pointed at the pen Zoe Young was using and exclaimed in surprise that the word “banana” was spelled wrong!

Zoe Young didn’t know if “banana” was spelled right or wrong, but after that, she put away that pen and didn’t dare use it again.

The melancholy that had flown away with the icy slide now clung to her again. Finally, Zoe Young mustered the courage to tell the truth.