Chapter Four: The 'Him' in the Phone

Ye Mengxia unlocked her phone, opened her mother’s WeChat, and, after a moment’s hesitation, sent a message.

“Mom, are you still awake?”

After a while, her mother replied: “Not yet, sweetheart. What are you up to? Have you eaten? I just transferred some money to your card—if it’s not enough, let me know.”

She stared at the screen, paused, then sent back a smiley face.

“Mm, thank you, Mom.”

“Mom, did I use to have a Samoyed?”

“Yes, I sent it to your cousin’s for now. You need to focus on getting well.”

“Okay, good night, Mom.”

Ye Mengxia scrolled through her old Moments posts. There were only five, all sharing the daily cuteness of her Samoyed.

It seemed she truly had adored it.

And it really was chubby and adorable.

She kept scrolling through her sparse list of friends. Aside from a few recent acquaintances, the strangest was a group with only one person in it.

The note read: “Him.”

She clicked in. Not a single message.

Who was “he”?

She opened his Moments—nothing there either.

Just as she was about to exit, a ringtone sounded.

The screen showed an incoming voice call request.

Ye Mengxia shot upright. She must have accidentally tapped the call button. In a panic, she pressed the X to hang up.

But in that instant, the call connected, and a man’s voice came through.

“Hello?”

Ye Mengxia froze for several seconds, her breath caught, but still managed a soft reply, “Hello.”

“Are you calling me?” came another question. She didn’t know how to explain.

But this voice sounded familiar.

“Ye Mengxia, are you still there?”

That voice—wasn’t it Su Yichen?

“Ye Mengxia, what’s wrong? Say something.”

His tone suddenly grew urgent, accompanied by the sounds of him standing up.

She hurried to respond, “I’m fine.”

“Su Yichen?” she ventured softly.

“Yes, it’s me.”

It really was Su Yichen.

She gazed at the screen, then after a moment, spoke gently: “Su Yichen, did you put medicine on your wound?”

At that moment, Su Yichen was in a computer lab, his fingers tapping rapidly at the keyboard. Listening closely to her soft voice only made his typing faster.

“Chen, hurry up, they’re urging us over here,” someone called.

“Got it,” he replied.

Leaning against her bed, Ye Mengxia, relieved by his voice, felt the need to apologize for her past self. “Su Yichen, I’m sorry. How are you doing now?”

“Ye Mengxia, I’m fine.”

“But did you put medicine on?”

“No, it’s just a scratch.”

“I’m sorry…”

“Ye Mengxia, are you home alone?”

“Yes.”

“Have you eaten?”

“I have.”

“Are you scared?”

“I am.”

Ye Mengxia truly had been frightened earlier, but now, with someone talking to her, the fear seemed to fade. Yet, falling into his rhythm, she answered instinctively: “I’m scared.”

A low, pleasant laugh came through the phone—so magnetic, it almost captivated her.

At that moment, Su Yichen stood outside a luxury apartment complex, a black cap shading his eyes, which were filled with laughter as he looked inside.

“Su Yichen, are you laughing?” she asked.

“No.”

Ye Mengxia felt a deep guilt, her remorse swelling—whether for what others said about her or what she herself had done to him yesterday.

She was certainly someone easy to dislike.

But Su Yichen wasn’t. He was always gentle.

“Su Yichen, from now on, let me help you with your studies, okay?”

Ye Mengxia, out of guilt, wanted to help Su Yichen; Su Yichen, out of affection, came every day to work near her home without hesitation.

She had a Samoyed as cute as she was.

Sometimes, she’d be seen at the edge of the neighborhood, one hand holding a milk tea, the other walking her beloved Samoyed.

“Ye Mengxia, if you promise, you can’t go back on your word.”

“I won’t. I’ll help you with your studies seriously,” she promised hastily, thinking her past self must have let him down before.

“Alright.”

He laughed softly again, and when the sound reached her, her first thought was: he really has a beautiful voice.

Low, gentle, and rising at the end.

“Ye Mengxia, do you want milk tea tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow I’ll bring you your favorite strawberry bubble milk tea, okay?”

Leaning back against a pillar, Su Yichen’s exhaustion was swept away by the genuine smile on his face, his low laughter trickling into her ears.

She couldn’t refuse him.

She didn’t want to refuse him.

“Okay. Su Yichen, are you coming to class tomorrow?”

“Yes, I’ll bring you milk tea.”

Hearing this, Ye Mengxia couldn’t help but laugh, finally relaxing, the distance between them shrinking. “No, you also have to come to class.”

“Alright, as you wish.”

“Su Yichen, it’s late. You should go to bed soon.”

On the other end, Su Yichen’s eyes filled with warmth. “Okay. Good night.”

“Mm, bye-bye.”

—

For Ye Mengxia, the greatest feeling after her memory loss was a lack of security. Everyone seemed to judge her negatively, completely ignoring the fact that she had amnesia.

Today, the moment she set foot on campus, she felt it most keenly. From the moment she entered, people whispered behind her back.

Whenever she turned around, they’d quickly look away, sometimes rolling their eyes for good measure.

Yet, the scattered comments reached her ears with crystal clarity.

“The basketball tournament’s about to start. This time it’s an interschool event—can we really be without cheerleaders?”

“Ye Mengxia? Don’t tell me it’s her again. Wasn’t it because of her we lost so badly last year?”

When she reached the turn of the staircase, she saw Lu Chengze in his white shirt and black pants. He tipped his head, signaling her to follow.

Out on the rooftop, Lu Chengze frowned, his voice laced with accusation: “Mengxia, it’s been days. When are those photos coming out? I’ve been waiting forever.”

Standing to the side, Ye Mengxia carefully wiped her wrist where he’d just grabbed her, then looked up at him. “What’s the rush? A few photos—what effect will they have at school? He’s already got a terrible reputation. At worst, people will just laugh.”

“Then what do you mean? You hired someone to take them, and now you’re saying it’s all for nothing?”

Ye Mengxia tossed the used tissue into the trash, an edge of disdain in her lowered eyes. When she looked up again, her expression was cold and remote.

“I’ll send the photos to my aunt. Let her see what kind of son she’s really raised. Isn’t that more effective than a few meaningless rumors?”

Lu Chengze finally laughed. “As clever as ever, Mengxia. But if you sent the photos directly to my uncle, wouldn’t that have a bigger impact?”

“Your uncle isn’t a high schooler. Don’t you think he’d see through such a childish tactic—or suspect you sent them yourself?”

Ye Mengxia’s voice was chill as she gazed into the distance, not sparing Lu Chengze a single glance.

“Fine, I’ll go. I trust you.”

His footsteps faded behind her. Alone on the rooftop, Ye Mengxia took out her phone, transferred five thousand yuan to an account, then dialed a number. A man answered on the other end.

“I’ve sent the money; mail the photos to the original address.”