Chapter 7.5|Dream and Reality

Boarding students need to return to school before evening self-study sessions, while day students do not have to participate in Sunday night self-study.

Yin went to the barber shop and got a haircut, trimming her bangs to just above her collarbone. The hairstylist swept away the stray hair on her neck with a sponge and removed the cloth around her. 

Looking in the mirror, Yin adjusted her airy bangs and felt quite satisfied with her new hairstyle, lifting her spirits for the evening. Not one to share much on Moment - the friends-based sharing circle on WeChat, she couldn't resist posting a simple word on her way home: Reborn.

The next day, Meng Yin arrived at school refreshed and early, ten minutes before the usual time, to find only a handful of students in the classroom. Zhiyi entered a few minutes after Yin and paused at her desk, noticing her new hairstyle as she was engrossed in correcting her exercise book. 

"Why did you cut your hair?" Xu Zhiyi placed the cake he was holding on her desk, his gaze fixed on her new look. 

"To celebrate a new beginning," Yin happily flaunted her new hairstyle, picked up the cake, and looked at him. "I've had breakfast, why are you giving me cake?" 

Zhiyi withdrew his gaze, furrowing his eyebrows. "Just a way to boost your energy, trying to catch up with me, right?"

Xipei was excited about Yin's new hairstyle, finding it quite a topic for discussion. To her, the long-haired Yin was like a sunflower, vibrant with a touch of flamboyance, while the short-haired Yin appeared as pure as a spring. Both versions intrigued Xipei's aesthetic sense. To be honest, Meng Yin didn't quite understand. Nonetheless, she couldn't help but ask Xipei softly, "Did anything happen during the evening self-study last night? Why did Zhiyi seem irritated again?" 

Xipei glanced at Zhiyi and asked, "Yin, how did you figure out that he was upset again?" She couldn't see any difference between the usual Zhiyi and his current demeanour. "Isn't it obvious?" Yin replied, puzzled by Xipei's confusion.

The bell for morning exercises rang, and everyone hurried to the playground. 

Yin let Xipei go first, knowing that Xu Zhiyi and others were usually among the last to leave the classroom for the field, hoping to seize the opportunity to chat with him. As she turned to find Zhiyi, she saw him standing by the table, looking in her direction.

"I didn't cut my hair because I didn't want you to pull it."

"How were you getting your hair pulled before?"

Two voices sounded simultaneously, catching both of them off guard.

Yin chuckled lightly, finding it amusing, "So, Xu Zhiyi, you thought I cut my hair because you pulled it last week?"

Zhiyi let out a breath through his nose, his clear voice tinged with nonchalance, "If you cut your hair just because I pulled it, then in middle school, would you have shaved your head completely? Why do I feel like in your eyes, my thoughts are so trivial?"

"No, it's just that you are sometimes … unpredictable."

Xu Zhiyi: "..." Couldn't continue the conversation.

"I saw your post on Moments, was reborn to change your hairstyle or because you came to the new school?"

This morning, when he saw Yin cut her hair, for a few moments, he did think that she did it to prevent him from pulling her hair, but it was just a fleeting thought. Later, he wondered how she had been doing for the past two years. What kind of experiences had she been through that made her say things like "feeling a bit shadowed" to him.

"Because I came to the new school, so reborn; because of reborn, I changed my hairstyle." Yin's words were cryptic as if she could see through Zhiyi's thoughts. She pursed her lips and said, "Xu Zhiyi, there are some things I haven't figured out how to tell you yet. Can you wait for me to sort them out before I talk to you?"

"Some things."

Although Yin didn't specify what these things were, Zhiyi knew she was referring to her experiences at the former school. He suddenly felt regretful and inexplicably curious.

The look in her eyes, as she spoke, was open and sincere, yet harbouring an unfathomable determination that Zhiyi couldn't grasp. He wanted to reach out and hug her, but he restrained himself, simply replying with an "okay."

At the same time, Hai and Xipei gathered together on the playground. 

Xipei bumped into Hai's arm and asked, "Xu Zhiyi not in a good mood this morning?"

This got Hai bewildered all morning, "What happened to Yin this morning? When having breakfast in the cafeteria, the mood was still good. When I went to the toilet and was a step behind in getting to the classroom, his emotion became gloomy blue." 

"I can't come and ask you if I want to know?" Xipei slowed down her running pace, "Hey," she called Nie Hai, "How did you all figure out that Xu Zhiyi was not in a good mood? Why can't I see it at all?" 

Hai's eyes instantly rolled to the top of his head, with an expression of "You really don't know this?" 

"When his mood is good, he solves problems leisurely; when he's in a bad mood, he solves problems as fast as lightning. After the first class, I watched him finish all the math multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank questions during the break."

"Is he a freak? He must be a freak." 

Xiuze met in the cafeteria to have a meal and only then noticed that Yin had cut his hair. He looked around and finally blurted out, "Meng Yin, you didn't start acting all young when you turned 18, did you?" 

Before he could sit down, Zhiyi was walking behind him and kicked him to the side.

On Wednesday during the English class, the group presentation proceeded smoothly. Mr. Wang expressed his satisfaction with everyone's preparation this time, giving special praise to Yin for her excellent and beautifully accented speech. 

Xu Zhiyi watched her on stage below, knowing that the girl was silently shining. That afternoon, a prominent response was added to the post "Seeking a story between Xu Zhiyi and the new transfer student! Urgent!!!" 

@PeppaPigisnotpink: revealed the last sentence of Bro. Yi's replacement exam essay: "My dream is also my reality, there is a person who can shoulder with me to fly towards a wider sky in the last year of my high school." Meng Yin's final sentence in her speech today was, "A dream you dream alone is only a dream, a dream you dream together is reality." I no longer need their past, please 'Zhiyin(Guide in English) CP' lock it for me directly!!!