Samuel Clark plugged her earphones into her phone and stood on the rooftop doing a listening comprehension test. Hardly anyone ever came here; it was quiet, the view was good, and she often came here—it was a great place to relax.

When she got tired, Samuel Clark would press her elbow on the test paper and gaze into the distance to rest her eyes. At these times, she would always fix her gaze in one direction: the northeast corner of the school, pointing straight at the athletic field of Beijing North University of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Every day, students from the flight academy trained there, day after day. From the rooftop, all she could see was a sea of green with a mass of heads moving below.

She couldn’t see anything clearly, nor did she know what she was hoping for.

Samuel Clark was spacing out when her phone vibrated in her hand—it was a call from Mrs. Clark. Samuel Clark answered, and Mrs. Clark asked about her studies and life, then shifted the topic to the weather.

“It’s almost Frost’s Descent. Once it passes, the weather will turn cold. Remember to buy another quilt,” Mrs. Clark nagged.

Samuel Clark couldn’t help but laugh, her tone light: “Mom, it’s not even close yet, it’s still really hot here. And it’s not like I’ve never lived in the north before.”

Hearing this, Mrs. Clark sighed. Samuel Clark had grown up in a single-parent family in the south, in a small town called Liying in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Her mother was an ordinary middle school Chinese teacher. When Samuel Clark was in high school, her mother worried that the educational resources in their small town weren’t good enough and planned to send her elsewhere to study.

Coincidentally, Samuel Clark’s uncle was doing business in Beijing North City and suggested she come study there. For the sake of her child’s education, Mrs. Clark gritted her teeth and sent her over.

Samuel Clark transferred to Tianhua No. 1 High School in the second semester of her first year and ended up staying in the north for two and a half years.

When it came time to fill out college applications, Mrs. Clark had already discussed it with Samuel Clark: she could pick any university in the south. Who knew she would insist on applying to this medical university in Beijing North.

Thinking of this, Mrs. Clark complained softly, “You’re already in college, but you’re still so far from me, and there’s no one to take care of you. Every winter your hands and feet get icy cold, and you can’t stand the cold. I really don’t know why you insist on going there.”

Samuel Clark had to change the subject, coaxed her mother for a bit, and finally hung up.

Standing on the rooftop in a daze, Samuel Clark couldn’t help but ask herself: why did she have to come here?

She must be crazy.

She was still lost in thought when suddenly, from a corner not far away, came a soft, emotional moan, tinged with playful coyness. Samuel Clark looked in the direction of the sound.

There were two people standing against the wall at the corner. The girl was tall and striking, pressing herself against him in an intimate pose. The boy leaned against the wall, his clothes hanging loosely on his body.

Samuel Clark was separated from them by an abandoned iron frame, mottled with red rust. Through the small frame, her view narrowed, but the pair’s actions became even more obvious.

The boy didn’t move much, but the girl pressed in close, her fingers unconsciously reaching down, hooking onto the waistband of his black pants—a clear hint.

Just as she tried to go further, the boy reached out and easily pinned her knuckles, holding her still, looking at her with a half-smile.

The girl’s face flushed under his gaze, and she simply took the opportunity to confess, “I really like you.”

The boy didn’t react much, a lazy air in his bones, and let out a low laugh: “How much do you like me?”

As he spoke, his long fingers played with the red bow on her chest, his clean fingertips brushing an inch of skin, teasing but not undoing it, full of control. The girl’s chest rose and fell, her breathing quickening.

A subtle anticipation welled up inside her. She looked up and met the boy’s teasing gaze, her face turning bright red. She simply buried her whole face in his broad chest and said in a soft voice, “You’re so annoying.”

The wind stopped. The fiery evening clouds were vivid and bright. Samuel Clark felt a bit sunburned—hot, stifled—she couldn’t stay any longer.

The orange, fish-scale clouds drifted across the sky, and the light grew clear. Suddenly, the boy turned his head and looked over, and their eyes met in midair.

His hair was cropped very short, revealing dark stubble. His eyelids had shallow folds, his pupils were pitch black and indifferent, his jawline smooth, and his prominent Adam’s apple moved slowly up and down as he tilted his head back slightly.

His eyes lingered on her without any emotion.

A strong evening wind swept by, rushing down her throat, so dry she couldn’t say a word. Samuel Clark fled in panic, and the conversation between the girl and boy drifted to her ears on the wind, crystal clear.

She heard Evelyn Baker softly ask, “What are you spacing out for? Did you see someone you know?”

The boy’s voice was cold, almost metallic, as he let three words roll from his throat: “Don’t know them.”

Chapter 4: Confession

At eleven o’clock that night, Samuel Clark finished washing up and lay in bed, looking at the next day’s class schedule, when a senior came to check the dorm. Only she and Grace Lee were in the room; the other, Evelyn Baker, still hadn’t come back.

From the first day she moved in, Evelyn Baker had staked out her territory, especially emphasizing her obsession with cleanliness, telling them not to put their things near hers and not to touch her stuff.

Grace Lee had some complaints about this, but aside from that, Evelyn Baker didn’t have any other conflicts with them. After all, they were classmates, and Grace Lee still helped out.