**24**

There were few cars in the alley, and not a single one passed by for a long time.

The streetlights were bright, illuminating a few lush paulownia trees by the roadside gently swaying in the evening breeze.

Ning Zhiluo was at the back, standing on the edge of the steps. Not far in front of her were two vehicles parked side by side, one behind the other. Their headlights were on, the engines running, just waiting for them to pass.

Hearing her question, Shen Yizhi took a few more steps and stepped down the stairs.

She stopped and looked back at her.

Ning Zhi finished speaking before realizing that she had actually asked it.

She really did ask it.

The words just now echoed in Ning Zhi’s mind. For a brief moment, she felt detached, as if that question hadn’t come from her, but only for an instant before her heart trembled with nervousness.

Shen Yizhi looked back at her, and she gave a casual smile, meeting her gaze squarely.

Whether putting on airs or bluffing, she wanted to maintain a facade of propriety, not realizing that her smile was stiff and her eyes so timid it seemed like a single word from the person in front of her could shatter her completely.

When Shen Yizhi heard Meilan ask Ning Zhi, “If you were Chi Sheng, what would you do?” she knew it was not good.

Chi Sheng and Ning Zhi made completely opposite choices and got completely opposite results. Given Ning Zhi’s current level of involvement and her past stubbornness towards her, she wouldn’t remain indifferent.

But she didn’t expect her to ask her this question face to face.

Shen Yizhi suddenly felt troubled.

Ning Zhi waited for a while, but Shen Yizhi did not speak. She looked down at her own shadow; her shadow and Shen Yizhi’s overlapped, intertwining in the darkness.

Ning Zhi didn’t look any further. She raised her head, but still felt a pang of sadness— even their shadows were closer than they were.

“Anyway, it’s all in the past, and it can’t be undone. I just want to know if there’s another possibility. Is that too much to ask?”

Shen Yizhi pondered repeatedly but still couldn’t give an answer. Saying yes wouldn’t work, and saying no wouldn’t either.

“Ning Ning…” she began, Ning Zhi looked over, his dark eyes shining brightly like stars in the night. Shen Yizhi spoke slowly, with clear deliberation and caution, “There’s no room for assumptions about things that haven’t happened. None of us know what might occur in another choice.”

As she spoke, a hint of worry crept into her gaze as she looked at Ning Zhi.

Ning Zhi could tell; she was troubled.

She had troubled her once again.

Ning Zhi nodded under Shen Yizhi’s worried gaze, walked past Shen Yizhi, opened the door of his own car, and got in.

Until the car had driven far away, Shen Yizhi was still standing in the same spot,

Zhou Tong listened to all the conversations in the car, and from these ambiguous words, she guessed some of the events from back then.

When Shen Yizhi got into the car, she couldn’t help but ask, “What was the answer?”

Shen Yizhi looked out at the night outside the window, and after a long moment, she shook her head very gently.

How could she dare? Ning Zhi was only a few years old at the time. Not to mention she hadn’t thought about this at all back then, even if she had truly fallen for him, how could she dare to entrust her true feelings to a child eight years younger than her?

No matter what choice Ning Zhi made, she could only stay away.

Shen Yizhi was rational; she believed she would never waver.

The following shooting scenes were quite numerous, and the crew was busy, but fortunately, all were in Pingcheng, so there was no need to leave the city.

Ning Zhi no longer asked Shen Yizhi those hypothetical questions. She immersed herself in the role. To outsiders, there was no difference; Ning Zhi had been very dedicated since the start of filming. But Shen Yizhi felt that she was searching for an answer, the answer Shen Yizhi hadn’t given her that night. She wanted to find it through the movie.

That day, the words from Ruan Yinmeng were not even harsh; they could be considered gentle and considerate, completely severing the relationship between Chi Sheng and her.

If it weren’t for her behavior in the supermarket, perhaps Chi Sheng could have done something, but since she herself did such a thing first, there was no way she could shamelessly go to Ruan Yinmeng.

Their relationship ended just like that.

Saying it ended isn’t quite accurate, because Chi Sheng couldn’t let go.

In the early morning, she heard the sound of high heels outside the window but didn’t dare to look out. She lay on the **, staring at a corner of the balcony upstairs, where different clothes were hung out to dry every day, some of which she had seen Ruan Yinmeng wear.

Chi Sheng decided not to think about it anymore. She recalled how she lived before Ruan Yinmeng appeared, trying to straighten the crooked path back onto the original track.

She went to hang out with her classmates.

Su Miaomiao was very talkative and chatty. They went to the bookstore to look at the newly arrived picture books.

The bookstore had the air conditioning on, and many people were inside reading to enjoy the cool air. Chi Sheng flipped through several art books; Su Miaomiao liked every one of them. Seeing her distracted, she poked her with her elbow curiously, “Isn’t this style your favorite?”

Only after she said that did Chi Sheng carefully flip through the books. Indeed, they were all very good, the style she favored most, and there were even several new works by painters she liked.

If it had been before, she would have been excited, repeatedly flipping through and studying them. But now, she felt no emotional stir.

Joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness were like a breeze too faint to be felt, passing over the lake of her heart, unable to cause the slightest ripple.

In the height of summer, under the blazing sun, not even the scorching heat could diminish the boundless energy of a group of teenagers with nowhere to expend it. Except for Su Miaomiao, many others called Chi Sheng to come play, and Chi Sheng went.

This part will later be edited into several segments, alternating between scenes of laughing loudly with friends under the sun outside, running wildly, and standing focused behind an easel at home painting. These alternating images will express the restless and immature thoughts hidden beneath her outward calm and happiness.

Ning Zhi was sweating profusely from clapping, and Yang Yang quickly handed her some water. She took it and found it was ice-cold, so she said, “Bring a bottle at room temperature.”

After switching to room temperature water and taking a big gulp, she finally felt her scorching throat ease up a bit.

Next, they were going to film a very important scene, one that would completely overturn Chi Shengxin’s state of mind, a step she took toward the abyss at the end of her emotions.

Ning Zhi calmed herself and recalled the content of the script, which she had long since memorized thoroughly, firmly etched in her mind.

But when feeling nervous, just thinking about the lines printed on the paper can have a calming effect.

Shen Yizhi finished her makeup; she felt cool and fresh, unlike Ning Zhi whose cheeks were flushed from the sun. Ning Zhi held the water bottle and looked at her, and Shen Yizhi was also looking back at her.

They looked at each other.

“Actors, take your places!” Mei Lan shouted.

Ning Zhi returned the water bottle to Yang Yang and ran to her own spot.

The college entrance exam results were out; some were happy, some were sad, but it didn’t affect Chi Sheng much—he just listened to his classmates’ wails.

On the day of filling out college applications, she went to the school with them. After finishing, she left the school gate together with her classmates.

Several classes of senior students gathered together, making the school gate very lively.

That day happened to be Wednesday; the first and second-year students hadn’t had their final exams yet and were still in class.

A group of graduates who had escaped their hardships were noisily chatting in the campus. They walked out of the school gate and stood at the entrance discussing how to go to the amusement park.

The main gate of the school bore the six characters “Pingcheng Experimental Middle School.” The gate was somewhat old, weathered by countless years of wind and rain, yet it remained solemn and dignified.

Beneath the gate, the youthful students appeared small and innocent, their vigor highlighted by the grandeur of the entrance.

“Let’s take the bus, it’s too hot to ride a bike.” Su Miaomiao was a bit delicate, afraid of getting tanned, and she used her hand to shield the sun from her head as she spoke.

“Then we’d have to come back here to pick up the bike, which is really inconvenient.” One of the boys was reluctant.

Unable to decide for a moment, Su Miaomiao pulled Chi Sheng: “Chi Sheng, what do you think?”

Chi Sheng stood lazily, looking uninterested.

“Hmm?” She murmured absentmindedly.

Su Miaomiao was about to be infuriated by her, ready to complain, but her words stopped as her gaze swept over the people on the sidewalk.

Everyone was paying attention to her, and seeing her like this, naturally followed her gaze to look.

Chi Sheng saw Ruan Yinmeng; she was wearing that light blue long dress, carrying a bag, walking along the road in front of the school gate.

This was the first time in half a month that Chi Sheng had seen her. He was restless, thinking about her day and night, repeatedly telling himself to forget her.

And now, she appeared right in front of him.

As if sensing his gaze, Ruan Yinmeng turned her head and saw a group of young men in the prime of their youth.

Chi Sheng’s hand, hanging by his side, suddenly grasped the edge of his clothes.

She saw Ruan Yinmeng’s gaze fall on her, then quickly shift away, as if she had seen a stranger, without any emotional fluctuation.

Chi Sheng’s heart went empty.

“What’s wrong? Who is that woman? Do you know her?” Zhang Lie asked.

Chi Sheng thought the question was directed at her, and she instinctively felt guilty, afraid that her relationship with Ruan Yinmeng would be discovered. Just as she was about to give a vague answer, she saw Zhang Lie was looking at Su Miaomiao.

He wasn’t asking her.

Chi Sheng breathed a sigh of relief, but then heard Su Miaomiao say, “Her, huh…”

She sneered disdainfully, exactly like those neighbors gossiping behind their backs.

Chi Sheng seemed to have returned to that day at the supermarket, that overwhelming guilt that made her feel utterly ashamed, that restraint that kept her from taking even half a step forward, all came rushing back.

Her heart pounded so hard she could barely breathe. She thought of the last words Ruan Yinmeng said to her: “It’s a good thing you know what kind of person I am.”

“Doing that kind of thing, it’s disgusting. Just stop asking,” Su Miaomiao said with undisguised disgust and condescending contempt.

Chi Sheng slowly turned to look at her and then at the friends around them. The young faces showed smirks as if they had just heard some juicy scandal, along with the same contempt and disdain that Su Miaomiao displayed.

Chi Sheng pushed the cart and turned around: “I’m not going, you guys go by yourselves.”

This sudden change left everyone stunned. Zhang Lie quickly asked, “What happened?”

Chi Sheng didn’t answer. She got on the cart and headed towards Ruan Yinmeng.

Ruan Yinmeng hadn’t gone far and was still within sight. She was walking under a patch of shade, with only a very small amount of light shining on her, filtering through the gaps in the leaves, casting heavy shadows on her.

Chi Sheng looked at her. She stepped on the bike and suddenly felt a wave of relief—no guilt, no fear, no intimidating words, no remorse or betrayal. She only felt very happy, as if she were a bird flapping its wings, free and light.

She knew her friends behind her were staring at her in astonishment.

Behind her was the dazzling sun, the brilliant youth, the world she had known for seventeen years. She felt she was turning away from something, yet strangely, she felt no fear at all.