Volune 1 / Chapter 84: The Tire Burst
Zhōu Yǒng was walking home from school as usual.
Only this time, something was different.
—He had actually managed to borrow Gāo Yuán’s digital camera!
The price? Just a week’s worth of homework.
He could only keep the camera for one night and had to return it tomorrow, but even so, his heart raced with excitement.
Unfortunately, his pockets only held some small change—barely ten yuan in total.
Enough to print maybe two or three photos at most.
"Which one should I print..." Zhōu Yǒng scrolled through the camera, brows furrowed in distress.
If only he had more money—he could print them all.
But reality was what it was.
At this year’s school sports day, thanks to Gāo Yuán’s camera, Zhōu Yǒng had taken quite a few photos of Mò Xuěyáo.
Most of them were from a distance, but each carried its own unique charm.
One in particular stood out: sunlight had pierced through the clouds, illuminating Mò Xuěyáo like a spotlight on stage.
She emerged from the crowd like a protagonist, dazzling in every sense of the word.
Though the moment had lasted barely half a minute before the clouds shifted, he’d captured it.
The composition was perfect—but the photo lacked sharpness. That was the most regretful part.
"Ding ding ding—"
Just then, a crisp bell chimed from behind. Zhōu Yǒng turned instinctively.
Mò Xuěyáo was wobbling her way toward him on her bike.
The soft amber afternoon sunlight painted her face, highlighting the fine golden fuzz on her cheeks.
Under that light, her eyes appeared not black or brown, but a deep, ocean blue.
Clear and untainted, they looked like they could cleanse the world itself.
Time seemed to freeze.
In that single moment, Zhōu Yǒng imagined so many things—her future, his hopes.
A daydream that felt too real.
But reality snapped him back, scattering his thoughts.
There was only one thing he wanted to do now—
Lift the camera from around his neck, and seal this moment in time forever.
Photography... the magic of time, backed by science.
"Click!"
Raise the camera. Switch to photo mode. Adjust the angle. Press the shutter. Smooth as silk.
Now, in the digital album, there was a new photo of a girl in Yǔkōng High’s uniform—youthful and spirited, both bold like a young boy and delicate like a young girl.
The familiar noise of traffic filled Zhōu Yǒng’s ears again, and then he heard Mò Xuěyáo’s clear, melodic voice—like fine sand slipping through one’s fingers, soothing and crisp.
“Hey!”
"Screeeeech—!"
A sharp brake squeal followed.
“Ah—!”
She’d lost her balance.
Mò Xuěyáo panicked, trying to regain control of the bike, but failed. The bike toppled in front of Zhōu Yǒng, and the girl fell hard onto the ground.
As her scent—a faint milky sweetness—hit him, Zhōu Yǒng snapped out of his daze, flustered and tongue-tied.
“Are y-you... are you okay...?”
"Ugh..." Mò Xuěyáo rolled her eyes and struggled to get up. Zhōu Yǒng rushed over to help her, lifting the bike upright and resting it on its kickstand by the sidewalk.
She looked a little shaky on her feet and ended up sitting down on the curb, her expression twisted in pain.
“You okay?”
“I’ll live… It’s you, Zhōu Yǒng! What the heck were you doing walking into the middle of the road?!”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry...”
“And I was already about to avoid you! But you turned around to take a picture? Are you nuts?!”
“S-sorry, really sorry!” he apologized in rapid fire. Then, sneaking a glance at the digital camera to make sure it was unharmed, he finally let out a tiny sigh of relief. “Umm… did you get hurt? Does it hurt?”
“It’s fine, just a little scrape.” Mò Xuěyáo clutched her right knee, trying to stand—only to sit back down with a wince.
“Does it look serious? We should go back to school and get you some antiseptic...”
“I said it’s fine. Just a little pain.”
But to Zhōu Yǒng, it didn’t look “little” at all.
Grumbling to herself, Mò Xuěyáo lifted her skirt slightly and began rolling down her knee-high socks bit by bit.
Zhōu Yǒng immediately felt his throat go dry, unsure where to put his eyes… or his hands.
As she slid down the sock on her right leg, her thigh was revealed—fair with a rosy hue, soft and shapely. If one looked closely, faint bluish veins could be seen under the surface.
Even military training hadn’t tanned her skin—maybe five days just wasn’t enough.
But at her knee, a stark red scrape ruined that pristine beauty.
Her socks, which her mother had bought from a night market, had held up well—despite the fall, they were intact.
“You should really go to the nurse for some iodine.” Zhōu Yǒng said, anxious.
“No need. It’s just a scrape, not even bleeding.” Mò Xuěyáo answered casually, as if it were nothing.
In moments like this, she really was like a boy—completely unfazed by a little injury.
Totally unlike the average girl.
Most girls would either be crying from the pain or blaming him nonstop for potentially leaving a scar.
But Mò Xuěyáo? She was already over it.
After Zhōu Yǒng’s apology, it was like she’d already forgiven him.
"Hss—phew—" Gritting her teeth, she stood back up, then swung one leg over her pale yellow bike.
“I’m off. Watch where you're going next time.”
She stepped onto the pedal, ready to ride again.
“Wait!” Zhōu Yǒng called out instinctively.
As soon as he did, the rear tire gave out under her weight. The air gushed out so fast the wheel warped visibly, throwing her off balance again.
She was about to fall—again—but this time Zhōu Yǒng reacted lightning-fast.
Faster than he’d ever moved in PE exams.
He rushed forward, using his shoulder to brace the right side of the bike and grabbing the handlebars with both hands like a human anchor, finally stabilizing it.
Breathing heavily, Mò Xuěyáo’s warm breath brushed his ear, making him feel ticklish—like a fire had ignited in his chest.
“…Okay… I’ve got it now…” she mumbled, eyelids drooping. “Can you move your hand? You’re squeezing too hard. My hand hurts.”
Only then did he realize—he’d accidentally grabbed her hand along with the handlebar.
“A-ah, sorry…”
“It’s fine. Otherwise, I’d be eating asphalt again. You just gripped a little too hard.”
She didn’t seem flustered about the hand-holding at all. Instead, she was just annoyed that it hurt.
“…Looks like the tire’s blown.” Zhōu Yǒng quickly changed the subject to ease the awkwardness.
“Probably ran over a nail. Or a sharp rock.” Mò Xuěyáo inspected the tire closely.
Bike blowouts were common in this era.
Roads weren’t all clean and smooth, and riding through trash often meant encountering sharp debris.
Students who rode their bikes to school every day would think not getting a flat for two or three months was weird.
“There isn’t a repair shop nearby, is there?” Zhōu Yǒng scratched his head. “Can you still push it?”
“Of course.”
“But you’re injured… Don’t push yourself. Uh… how about I help you push it? Until we find a repair shop? As… as an apology for making you fall just now?” He asked tentatively, already bracing for rejection.
“Sure.” Mò Xuěyáo answered breezily. “I’ll leave it to you, then.”
“A-ah—right!” Zhōu Yǒng scratched his head and took the handlebars. “You know, sometimes when you talk, it feels like chatting with one of the guys.”
“Really? I think that’s a good thing.” She patted the dust off her skirt. “This way—it’s on my route home. There should be a bike shop on the way.”
By “home,” she meant her family’s fruit shop.
Yǔkōng High was seriously remote.
Aside from the few stores by the front gate, there was a long stretch of road with no buildings at all.
Just rows of street trees and the occasional factory yard fenced off with iron bars.
Maybe a few residential buildings. But if you wanted to find a store, you had to walk 10–15 minutes, all the way to the area where the fruit shop was.
That place had a cancer hospital nearby, so there were more facilities and more foot traffic—naturally, more shops too.
“Wait, isn’t this the wrong way to Déshèng East Village?” Zhōu Yǒng asked, recalling their shared morning bus route.
“Yeah. Today I’m going back to the fruit shop my dad runs.”
“Whoa, your dad owns a fruit shop? That must mean you get to eat all the fruit you want!”
“Eh... I’m only into bananas.”
"Cough cough!" Zhōu Yǒng nearly choked on his own saliva, thoughts immediately going south. Catching her strange look, he quickly turned his head to hide the flush creeping up his face.
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