PAID

Xiang Yang’s transfer came as a complete surprise.

Song Zhehan remembered it very clearly—it was an ordinary Sunday in May.

The day before, Xiang Yang had agreed to go out and walk the dog with Song Zhehan, but when Zhehan arrived at Xiang Yang’s house with the dog the next day, no one answered the door, no matter how much he knocked.

Xiang Yang’s father’s house was a large villa, and after they became friends, Xiang Yang would invite Zhehan over every now and then to hang out.@@novelbin@@

Song Zhehan was so familiar with the route that even his dog had relieved itself in front of their door a couple of times.

The weather that day was particularly nice, with a slight hint of summer heat.

Xiang Yang’s father had been in poor health for years, constantly alternating between home and the hospital.

Normally, when Xiang Yang went to school, there was always a live-in housekeeper to take care of him.

But today, even the housekeeper didn’t come to open the door for Zhehan.

Song Zhehan stood there, holding the dog, which was now itching to mark the same spot again at the front door.

Zhehan stopped the dog, waited for another ten minutes, and when it became clear the dog couldn’t hold it any longer, he finally left.

The next day, the short break ended, and students returned to school.

For the entire morning, Song Zhehan stayed in the classroom, waiting for Xiang Yang to come find him.

Xiang Yang had stood him up without any explanation, and Zhehan expected an answer.

In fact, Zhehan had already decided in his mind that he wouldn’t forgive Xiang Yang so easily this time. After all, if there was one thing Zhehan hated most, it was being stood up.

Unfortunately, the entire morning passed, and there was no sign of Xiang Yang.

The first period in the afternoon was PE, and Zhehan’s friends came over, asking if he wanted to join them for basketball.

Zhehan didn’t say a word, just glanced at them with a cold expression.

The group of boys was startled.

One of them, who was a bit closer to Zhehan, couldn’t help but ask, “What’s wrong with you?”

“Why the sour face?”

Zhehan kept his face grim and didn’t respond.

Truth be told, he didn’t even know himself. He was just in a particularly bad mood.

Suddenly, he stood up, threw out a curt “Not going,” and headed downstairs.

The bell rang, signaling the start of class, and Zhehan should have been heading to the track field to join the others.

But instead, he stood outside Class 1-5, where all the students had already taken their seats—except for Xiang Yang.

The teacher hadn’t arrived yet, so Zhehan leaned into the doorway and asked a boy in the first row, “Where’s Xiang Yang?”

The boy recognized Zhehan and answered, “I don’t know. He didn’t show up this morning. Aren’t you guys close? You don’t know either?”