Unbearable - Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Yu Wei’s face burned with embarrassment. She bit her dry lips awkwardly.

Yu Wei followed behind as Yu Wei walked out of the skating rink. The two of them kept some distance.

A night wind picked up, howling through the gaps between buildings.

Two cars were parked by the road, headlights still on. One of the doors opened, and someone rushed out.

The clatter of high heels echoed urgently. Ding Qing hurried over unsteadily and stopped only when she reached Yu Wei.

“Did it hurt when you fell?” Ding Qing asked, her voice already choked with tears. She reached out but grabbed at air.

Yu Wei stepped back and ended up standing beside Yu Wei.

Ding Qing scanned her from head to toe, visibly anxious, but held herself back. Instead, she turned to Yu Wei and asked, “What happened?”

Yu Wei pressed her lips together, glanced at Yu Wei, and stayed silent.

“It’s late. Let’s talk at home,” Yu Jingcheng said as he approached, pulling Ding Qing into his arms.

Li Yu’s car was gone. Only the one Yu Jingcheng had just driven remained. The four of them got in, one after the other. Yu Wei fell even further behind, walking last.

Yu Jingcheng opened the passenger door for Ding Qing, and she turned to look back at Yu Wei.

The yellowish light illuminated the twitching corner of Yu Wei’s lips.

She pulled open the back door and got in without a word. Ding Qing followed her. After hesitating a bit, Yu Wei sat in the front.

It was already past three in the morning when they got back from the skating rink. Yu Wei was mentally and physically exhausted. After saying goodnight to her parents, she went upstairs and sank into freshly drawn hot water.

Steam filled the bathroom in a hazy mist.

She closed her eyes and let herself sink.

Her silver hair floated on the water, rising and falling with the overflow, like soft breaths.

She sank to the bottom like a sleeping mermaid.

When the oxygen ran out, the surface of the water rippled.

The breath trapped in her chest and her racing heartbeat thudded underwater, cramping her throat and struggling to burst through her nose.

Cough, cough—

Yu Wei’s hand spasmed as she clutched the edge of the bathtub. She suddenly sat up, slumping forward and retching violently, coughing so hard that her eyes filled with tears and they spilled down her face.

Her frail back trembled.

Her heart pounded like it was about to burst out of her chest, banging against her ribcage.

The thick steam made it hard to breathe. She opened her mouth wide, gasping like a fish thrown ashore.

The remnants of death left a red flush on her pale body.

Through tear-filled eyes, Yu Wei stared down at the hair fallen on the floor, dazed.

She heard water running in the bathroom opposite hers.

When it stopped, Yu Wei stood up, dragging her weak, dizzy body to the mirror. As she dried herself, she remembered the earphones she’d borrowed from Yu Wei were still in her pocket.

She clenched them in her palm and opened the door, walking a few steps to Yu Wei’s room.

Maybe I’ll just wait until morning… it’s too late now… it wouldn’t be appropriate… and Yu Wei doesn’t like me anyway…

“You need something?”

Yu Wei had been standing behind the door, listening to the footsteps for a while. When she heard nothing else, she opened the door and found that pale “snow snail” standing outside in a daze. The girl’s tiny frame was wrapped in an oversized cotton T-shirt, her white hair damp and dripping.

Startled by the door opening, she looked up with her pink eyes and quickly averted them in panic.

Her face was flushed, damp.

Yu Wei raised her hand and opened her palm. “This…”

A pair of white earphones lay in her hand.

Yu Wei looked down, took them silently, and shut the door.

Yu Wei let out a quiet breath. Then the door opened again.

She looked up in confusion, her eyes asking, What is it?

Without her glasses, Yu Wei could only make out the vague shape of Yu Wei’s face at that distance. She couldn’t see her expression.

The moisture in her eyes made them shine, bright and clear like an innocent animal.

Yu Wei looked away and asked dryly, “Anything else?”

“…Huh?”

Yu Wei didn’t immediately react. She blinked, then stammered, “We have a quiz tomorrow.”

Yu Wei asked, “That’s it?”

Yu Wei nodded.

The door shut again.

She stood there puzzled, scratched her cheek, then turned and went back to her room.

That night, she barely slept. Her body was tired and her mind groggy, but her brain was a chaotic mess. Whenever she lay still, a flood of thoughts surged forth like voices arguing in her head.

When her alarm went off, Yu Wei opened her sore eyelids. It was 6:30 AM, and the sky outside was already bright.

She got ready and left.

The building was as silent as usual, just her footsteps echoing in the hallway. Morning light filtered through the stained-glass windows on the curved wall across the hall, casting colorful patches on the freshly painted walls.

Yu Wei stood alone in the narrow, empty corridor, watching the dust float through the beam of light. She took off her glasses.

When she arrived at the classroom, a crowd had just dispersed from the window.

Yu Wei looked like she’d just come out of water. Her hair was towel-dried but still damp. The back of her neck was covered in water stains.

She was drying it with tissues. The muscles in her arms flexed, veins visible under her thin skin, disappearing into the tight sleeves.

Yu Wei looked up.

Yu Wei instantly turned away and walked quickly to her desk.

Liang Pang, who sat in front of Yu Wei, turned and called out, “You’re finally here—let me copy your homework.”

Yu Wei opened her bag.

Liang Pang reached over and kept talking. “What, were you out stealing last night?”

Yu Wei flinched at the word—stealing—now hypersensitive to it. Her eye twitched, and she glanced toward Yu Wei, lips tightening.

Yu Wei pulled out a book.

“You’re only reading that now?” Liang Pang said, noticing. “Then you’re screwed. We’re almost done with that book.”

Yu Wei looked stunned, eyes hollow as she stared at Liang Pang.

“We switched classes in the second semester of sophomore year. This summer break was only twenty days,” Liang Pang said, eyes full of sympathy. “Let me give you a tip—if you don’t understand anything, ask her. You can copy her homework—guaranteed accurate.”

Yu Wei was surprised to be pointed at.

“You can’t copy,” she said softly, then added, “But I can explain the problems.”

“No need.”

Yu Wei didn’t even look up. “I’ll manage.”

The air instantly fell silent. Someone let out a short laugh, and the atmosphere grew tense.

“Xiang-jie is here! She’s bringing the test papers!” someone yelled as a girl rushed in from the back door.

Xiang Xiang entered carrying a stack of folders. “Clear your desks. Get ready for the test.”

It was the routine weekly quiz. No rearranged seating—everyone sat in their usual spots.

As usual, Chinese came first.

After finishing the Chinese test, Yu Wei went to get water but noticed most people hadn’t moved. As soon as the Chinese papers were collected, Old He brought in the math papers.

Yu Wei’s face, already gloomy, turned stone-cold.

Within thirty minutes, she put down her pen.

Everyone around her watched with a mix of sympathy and curiosity.

Yu Wei turned to look at her.

Yu Wei clicked her tongue, collected her papers, and amid everyone’s shocked murmurs, turned them in early.

Old He smiled meaningfully and drawled, “Handing it in already?”

“I don’t know how to do it,” Yu Wei said coldly. “No point in wasting time.”

Old He chuckled. “It’s not hard. You’ll catch up soon.”

The class erupted in moans. Not hard?!

Old He—full name He Xinsuo—was only in his forties, but his passion for math had already etched curves and lines across his face. His sarcasm was lethal.

Out of respect, Class A students privately called him “Old He.”

Yu Wei hadn’t even left when he picked up her test and started reading it, letting out short, ambiguous laughs.

Those thinking about handing in early immediately dropped the idea. Heads lowered, and no one dared to move.

But Yu Wei didn’t react. She returned to her seat and buried herself in her textbook.

It was brand new—she was completely self-studying.

Her seat was apart from the rest of the class. Though technically behind Liang Pang, her desk was placed so far back she seemed exiled to the edge of the classroom.

Yu Wei glanced at her.

She didn’t seem fazed and was already absorbed in studying.

The morning had two tests. When Old He left with the papers, the classroom erupted with groans and complaints about his cruelty.

“God-tier student, can I see your answers?”

“No answer sheet,” Yu Wei replied, handing over a neat sheet of scratch paper. It had all her solutions and work clearly written out. “This is how I did it—not necessarily all correct.”

“Got it, got it.”

Cheng Miao, seated close, immediately grabbed it. In no time, Yu Wei’s desk was swarmed.

Leaning back, Yu Wei looked around. Just as Yu Wei was about to leave, she hesitated and pulled a book from her desk—only for her phone to ring.

It was Ding Qing.

“Mommy brought lunch for you two. Where’s Xiao Wei?” Ding Qing’s voice was warm and enthusiastic. “Put her on the phone.”

Yu Wei pressed her lips together. “She’s not here—she went out.”

“Out where?”

To avoid you… The thought flashed through Yu Wei’s mind, tightening something inside her. She said softly, “Maybe… to look for you. Wait a bit, she might show up.”

After hanging up, Yu Wei ran out. Her glasses slid down her nose, sunlight glaring hot and bright, distorting the air.

Drenched in sweat, she stopped, panting behind the statue inside the school gates. Two figures stood not far off.

Her knees gave out. She sank down behind the base of the Confucius statue to catch her breath.

The bronze burned hot. Even through her clothes, her skin felt scorched. She took a few deep breaths and pulled off her glasses.

Suddenly, a shadow fell over her.

Yu Wei squinted up into a pair of cool black eyes.

Blurry—but distant and cold.

“She called looking for you, but you weren’t there, so I…”

Yu Wei flushed, biting her lip awkwardly.

She watched Yu Wei bend down, place two lunchboxes on the ground, and turn to leave.

Her tall, lean figure disappeared toward the school’s west gate, soon swallowed by the moving crowd.

Yu Wei glanced down, then stood up and chased after her.