Meng Ruozhao would invite her to the library, and the two of them would read comic books together.
When she was brought to tears by her family, Meng Ruozhao would take her to buy her favorite ice - cream and say, "Sweet things can make people forget their unhappiness."
Even when her mother quarreled with her father again because she "couldn't give birth to a son", Meng Ruozhao quietly took her to her own home and cooked her a bowl of hot noodle soup.
That was the first time she felt that...
She didn't have to be "a boy who could fight for power for the family".
She didn't have to be so excellent that everyone was satisfied.
Just being Yan Sisi, she could also be treated well.
They even made an agreement that they would go to the same university after the college entrance examination.
Even if they couldn't go to the same one, they would both stay in Haicheng.
Originally, she wanted to flee from Haicheng. Even if she couldn't study abroad, she would escape to a place where her parents weren't.
However, because of Meng Ruozhao, she gained endless courage.
She would stay in Haicheng, the place where she had grown up, and live a good life.
She would show those who looked down on her that she, Yan Sisi, wasn't good - for - nothing just because she was a girl.
And Meng Ruozhao was the source of her strength.
She had long decided that they would be good friends for a lifetime.
So when Meng Ruozhao suddenly disappeared after the college entrance examination, she was more panicked than anyone else.
She searched like crazy, asked everyone who knew them, and even went to Meng Ruozhao's home.
But there was not a single bit of news.
Meng Ruozhao's parents no longer lived there. According to the neighbors, they had gone abroad with their daughter to study in university.
She didn't believe it. During that period, she was listless and didn't even bother to check her college entrance examination results.
When her parents asked her if she wanted to stay in Haicheng or go abroad, she insisted on staying in Haicheng and then went out to search every day.
Her family scolded her for being "idle" and only knowing how to play around outside.
But this time, no one came to comfort her and say, "Our Sisi is the best Sisi."
Later, Grandpa Yan's health improved.
More importantly, her mother was pregnant.
Maybe they were afraid that she would cause trouble, or maybe they thought she was completely useless.
Finally, she was sent to the United States to study.
In the following four years, she never gave up searching every time she returned to China, but there was still no news.
She once wondered if Meng Ruozhao had really existed.
Was she just a personality that she had fantasized about during her most painful time?
However, she wasn't the only one who remembered Meng Ruozhao.
There was also Qin Mu.
Qin Mu was her classmate.
But she didn't introduce them to each other.
In fact, Qin Mu had known Meng Ruozhao a year earlier than she did.
In his sophomore year of high school, Qin Mu's family also encountered some problems and was on the verge of bankruptcy.
He was in a very bad state.
Before that, he had been a playboy. He was extremely good - looking but had poor academic performance and only knew how to cause trouble with his friends all day long.
After his family's accident, he became extremely decadent.
Even though his family didn't transfer him to another school, the news of his family's bankruptcy spread far and wide.
Among them, the one who spread the news the most was the school belle who had chased after him relentlessly but had always been rejected by him.
Now that his family had no money, the school belle announced that she could sponsor him to go to school and take him abroad to study in the future.
She even said that her family could cooperate with his family and help them out.
But the prerequisite was that he had to be her "lapdog".
These words were like needles pricking the gossip in every corner of the school and also pricking Qin Mu's self - esteem.
At that time, he was hiding on the rooftop behind the teaching building, smoking. The cigarettes were secretly bought from a small grocery store outside the school.
The smell of the inferior tobacco made his throat ache, but it was nothing compared to the looks from the people around him.
There was sympathy, mockery, and most of all, the on - lookers waiting to see him "bow his head".
His fingers pinching the cigarette turned white, and his knuckles were so forceful that he almost crushed the cigarette.
Just a few days ago, he had seen the debt collectors blocking the door of his house, and his father was bowing his head and begging them. That scene was like a thorn in his heart.
He wasn't without the thought of compromise. He had even considered "just following the school belle's words".
But just when he was about to break down, the door of the rooftop was gently pushed open.
Meng Ruozhao walked up while on the phone.
The sun shone behind her, stretching her shadow long.
Her voice on the phone was gentle and focused.
It was not until she hung up the phone that she noticed someone on the rooftop and was startled for a moment.
Then she saw the cigarette in Qin Mu's hand and frowned slightly.
"I just saw your teaching director coming this way."
Qin Mu ignored her. He just glanced at her and noticed the school uniform of Haicheng International on her.
He knew it was the school open - day.
As the two most famous international high schools in Haicheng, Haicheng and Xinghe High Schools would hold some joint activities every year.
This year, it was Xinghe High School's turn, so the school was full of people.
He was annoyed by the noise of the club members, so he hid on the rooftop.
Seeing that he didn't respond to her, Meng Ruozhao thought he hadn't heard and took two more steps towards him.
"You'll have to write a self - criticism if you're caught. Aren't you afraid?"
Actually, Meng Ruozhao was quite well - known in both schools at that time.
She was beautiful, had good grades, and had a gentle personality. There were always many people around her.
He thought people like her and him were from two different worlds - she was a smooth - sailing honor student, while he was a down - and - out wretch in the mud. There was nothing to talk about.
He snuffed out the cigarette, threw it on the ground, crushed it with his foot, and got up to leave.
"Wait a minute."
Meng Ruozhao called him to a halt, stepped forward quickly, took out a strawberry - flavored candy from her pocket, and held it out to him.
"Here, this is for you."
Qin Mu stopped in his tracks and looked down at the candy wrapped in transparent candy paper. The sun shone on the candy paper, giving off a faint glow.
He didn't take it and said deliberately coldly, "I don't eat candy."
"Okay."
Meng Ruozhao wasn't embarrassed either. She took back her hand but didn't put the candy away. Instead, she peeled the candy paper herself, popped it into her mouth, and said indistinctly.
"But sweet things can really make people happier."
"You looked really unhappy just now."
Only then did Qin Mu look up at her.
She was really beautiful.
Especially her eyes, which were bright and clear, showing no trace of sympathy or mockery.
It was just a simple thought of "you look unhappy, so I want to make you happy".
Her look was so pure that he suddenly felt a bit at a loss, as if someone had seen through his tough disguise.
"It's none of your business."
He turned his face away and lowered his voice.
"True, it's none of my business."
Meng Ruozhao nodded and didn't argue. She just sat down on the step where he had just been sitting.
"But I do like to meddle in other people's business. Haha, maybe I was from by the sea in my previous life."
It was a really corny joke.
But Qin Mu didn't say a word. He didn't leave either. He just stood there.