Su Yuan came from a single parent home. Her father had died in a car crash when she was very young. For over ten years, she and her mother, Su Caiwei, had relied on each other completely. To raise her daughter, Su Caiwei had endured countless hardships, and as a result, Su Yuan shared an especially close bond with her.

Under normal circumstances, when her mother called, they would talk for at least half an hour. But after this sudden transformation, Su Yuan found herself at a loss. How could she face the one person who knew her better than anyone.

If her mother learned what had happened to her son, it would surely devastate her. As she stood there wondering how to answer the call, the ringing suddenly stopped. Su Yuan let out an unconscious sigh of relief, then immediately felt ashamed. She was running away. Everyone knows you can dodge the first day, but not the fifteenth. Should she not be honest.

This was her own mother. What could she not tell her. My shoulders are too small to carry this burden alone, she thought. I should just talk to Mom.

Just as she made up her mind, the phone rang again. Steeling herself, she pressed the answer button, but her courage faltered the moment she heard the voice on the other end.

She did not speak first as usual. Instead, her mother’s familiar voice came through the line, and in that instant, Su Yuan nearly burst into tears.

The call was filled with gentle concern. Her mother reminded her to eat well and take care of herself. Though they were a single parent household, Su Caiwei was capable and resourceful, so their family had never been short on anything, and she never skimped on Su Yuan’s allowance.

“Mom, stop fussing. I will manage fine on my own” Su Yuan said.

“Xiao Yuan, your voice sounds strange” her mother replied.

Su Yuan froze. Had her voice really changed. She quickly covered her mouth. “Ahem, I think I have caught a cold. Nothing serious, just a sore throat”

Her mother immediately launched into a stream of advice. “Take medicine right away. Do not let it turn into something worse. And when you sleep, do not leave the air conditioner on all night. If you must use it, at least cover yourself with a blanket”

Su Yuan listened quietly without interrupting. Only after repeatedly confirming that Su Yuan was truly fine did her mother finally let the matter drop.

“Do not worry, Mom. I have only been gone a few days. I am almost twenty, I know how to look after myself”

“Nineteen” her mother corrected gently.

“Yes, yes, nineteen, but that is still legally an adult”

Su Caiwei chuckled softly and finally hung up.

Su Yuan exhaled deeply, feeling both relieved and strangely empty. She stared blankly at her phone. She had meant to tell her mother everything, but the words had stuck in her throat. The frustration made her chest tight, as if she really were sick. She coughed sharply.

Back in the dorm, the sound of shower water echoed from the bathroom. Gao Jun sat at his desk, fully absorbed in coding.

Feeling dazed and heavy hearted, Su Yuan climbed onto her bed and lay down, hoping to rest for a while.

Night fell like a girl blinking through shadowy lashes. Outside the window, fine rain began to drift down like silken threads.

Su Yuan moved her chair to the aluminum framed glass door between the dorm and the balcony. She straddled it backward, resting her chin on her arms, lost in thought.

Because of the unexpected drizzle, the freshmen doing night drills might get to finish early. But the drill instructors clearly refused to lower their standards. Rows of recruits in camouflage stood rigid as fence posts on the concrete paths between the trees.

Watching them suffer, Su Yuan felt a strange sense of satisfaction. She had been through that herself once.

Just then, Ji Yehan turned around and saw Su Yuan sitting behind him. He shook his head in confusion.

He had noticed something was off with her since that afternoon. She had taken a nap unusually early, and at dinner, she had barely eaten half her meal. Could she be heartbroken. Or had their earlier prank gone too far. He remembered slapping her on the butt and winced. For a guy, that kind of thing was probably humiliating. Maybe he had actually hurt Su Yuan’s dignity.

Should he apologize.

He dragged his chair around and leaned closer. “Su Yuan, are you okay”

Su Yuan looked at him with a dazed expression. Ji Yehan scratched his head, unsure what to say.

“Yehan, I am depressed” Su Yuan said suddenly.

“Mild or severe” Ji Yehan asked, startled. Depression was not something to joke about. If left unchecked, it could lead to real trouble.

Seeing how serious he looked, Su Yuan could not help but laugh. “I do not mean clinical depression. I just mean I am in a bad mood”

“Oh. Do not scare me like that. Do not make jokes that sound so ambiguous next time”

“You are the one who jumped to conclusions. I am not in the mood for jokes”

“If you are just in a bad mood, I am curious. What could possibly get you down. Tell me, I want to hear it”

Ji Yehan said it lightly. In his mind, Su Yuan had always bounced back quickly from anything, almost annoyingly carefree. No matter how bad things got, she would eat, sleep, and move on. So whatever had her this low must be serious.

Any warmth Su Yuan had felt vanished instantly. She glared at him as if she had just swallowed a fly. “You really have no heart”

“What are you two talking about. Let me join in” Gao Jun set aside his work and dragged his chair over.

Su Yuan sighed. “Yesterday morning, after I left the internet café, I ran into a Taoist. I could tell right away he was a scammer”

“Did he cheat you out of money”

“Not exactly. But close enough. He said my face looked pale, my steps were unsteady, and there was a dark line between my brows, a sign of heavenly decay and terrible misfortune”

“You had just come from an all nighter, right”

“Exactly. Of course I looked awful. Then he told me I was facing bloodshed and disaster”

“Did it come true”

“Well, not really. He tried to sell me a piece of jade. It looked genuine, so I bought it. Then guess what happened. Right after I walked away, a van hit him. He was bleeding from the head”

“That is bloodshed” Ji Yehan said dramatically. Then he frowned. “But what does that have to do with your mood”

“He also mentioned a great disaster”

Gao Jun rolled his eyes. “You actually believe that con artist’s nonsense”

Su Yuan gave a bitter smile. Nonsense. Not entirely. She really was showing signs of bigger breasts. But that was something she could not share with anyone.

Ji Yehan waved his hand. “Su Yuan, we are educated young people in the twenty first century. We need to think critically and not fall into the trap of superstition”

“Pfft. I know that better than you do” Su Yuan shot back. “Do you really think I am upset because of some fortune teller. I am worried about my future. I am lost. After graduation, how am I supposed to live like this”

“Su Yuan, you are only a sophomore. You have nearly three years to figure things out. You do not need to solve your whole life in one night”

“It is not that simple. If I do not start thinking now, it will be too late later” She swatted away his hand, which had started ruffling her hair again.

“Alright, Gao Jun” Ji Yehan said with a grin. “I think Su Yuan is just being dramatic. Let us leave him alone to brood”

Gao Jun nodded eagerly and dragged his chair back to his desk to resume coding. Ji Yehan pulled out his phone to check the stock market.

Su Yuan turned her head forty five degrees toward the window, watching the rain fall steadily from the sky. After a long silence, she murmured softly, “Life really is lonely as snow”

Even she thought it sounded overly sentimental.