July is the height of summer, the weather is hot, the grass and trees are lush, and the cicadas' chirping sounds one after another disturb people's hearts.
Cheng Kou was sitting in the coffee shop where he and Du Lanshan had had coffee last time. The sunlight outside the window was dazzling, and the asphalt road seemed to be melted, with steam rising.
When Du Lanshan told her about Su Yan and Qin Su, she had already realized that she was lying, but did not expose her.
Time is really terrible. It can change a person beyond recognition.
Cheng Kou vaguely remembered the first time she saw Du Lanshan, she was thin and small. At that time, Du Lanshan joined the class and was led to the podium by the head teacher and introduced to everyone. She was introverted and quiet, and was stared at by new classmates, so she lowered her head in embarrassment.
She raised her head slightly, with a shy smile on her face, and said, "My name is Du Lanshan, Du of Du Fu, and Lanshan of the lamplight is dim. I took a two-year leave of absence from school due to health reasons, so I am older than all of you."
Cheng Kou's deskmate at that time was a naughty boy, so the head teacher moved him to the first row and let Du Lanshan sit outside Cheng Kou.
Cheng Kou's first impression of her was that she was quiet. Perhaps because of her illness, she looked a little malnourished. The school uniform was too loose for her. But within a week, Cheng Kou and Du Lanshan became familiar with each other. And she found that her deskmate was not taciturn, but would build a protective layer to prevent being hurt by others when they were not familiar with each other.
Gradually, Du Lanshan was able to talk to every classmate in the class. She was actually very easy to get along with. Perhaps because she was older, she was very caring and hardworking, and was soon appointed class monitor.
During the three years of high school, she and Du Lanshan were inseparable, appearing in every corner of the school like conjoined twins. She would share her girlish thoughts with Du Lanshan, and Du Lanshan would not make any comments on her unrealistic crush, but be a good listener, not impatient, and listen attentively to her talk about the throbbing caused by Su Yan.
Du Lanshan's grades were average, and her family would not let her apply to schools outside of City C. After Cheng Kou changed her application to S University, he hugged her and cried for a long time.
She embarked on a journey of pursuing love, and did not want to lose her precious friendship, so she held Du Lanshan's hand again and again and promised to call her often.
Cheng Kou spent the summer vacation after the college entrance examination at her relative's house. It was not until the day when the freshmen reported to S University that she found out that Su Yan had not applied to this school at all.
At that time, Xia Linchen was no longer in the country. He traveled to sparsely populated areas, and Cheng Kou often could not contact him. Apart from Du Lanshan, she had no one to talk to.
The journalism department of S University is a key major, with heavy workload and many extracurricular activities. However, Du Lanshan is also very busy with the new students. She is studying at the Broadcasting Academy in C City, which is not as easy as the famous schools like S University. After the process of adapting to the new environment, Cheng Kou immersed herself in the new life, and everything was on the right track.
However, Du Lanshan became busier and busier. Every time she called Du Lanshan, she could only chat for a few words before hanging up. Over time, the two gradually lost contact.
The next time they met was at the class reunion hosted by Yi Jin. Du Lanshan had changed a lot, but Cheng Kou was still happy and wanted to repair the friendship that had become estranged due to time and space.
But the crack in this friendship was more than shallow. It was not until the moment Du Lanshan said that she liked Su Yan that Cheng Kou realized that it was not what she thought from the beginning.
Cheng Kou was not overly sympathetic. She truly liked Du Lanshan and cherished her friendship.
So she let her live in Xia Linchen's house, so she didn't want to expose her lies.
But now, she found that the other party might not think so.
Du Lanshan arrived late, and saw Cheng Kou sitting by the window from afar, bathing in the evenly distributed sunlight from the high-hanging sun. The bright light made her skin look even whiter than snow.
Du Lanshan thought that this must be in stark contrast to the dark circles under her eyes left by a sleepless night.
Cheng Kou had already drunk most of the cup of coffee and didn't want to refill it.
Her eyes fell on the other person, as if she wanted to see through her heart beneath her thick layer of protection and explore whether she had ever valued their friendship.
Perhaps she should call Du Lanshan her love rival now, but in short, she is no longer her friend.
A love rival is sometimes also a confidant. No one understands you as well as she does. After all, among the millions of people in the world, you both chose the same person. You want to have a good relationship with that person, and your love rival is the one who can make you a better person.
"Cheng Kou, I'd like to trouble you for a favor. Can you... lend me some money? Or help me ask Su Yan if he can go and protect my brother. He's in there now." Su Yan hasn't replied to her text message yet. Du Lanshan feels that her hope is slim on her own, so she hopes to rely on Cheng Kou's help to perhaps resolve the issue this time.
Cheng Kou was not as enthusiastic as she had imagined, and only asked, "What did he do wrong?"
Du Lanshan gritted her teeth and said, "...beat someone."
Cheng Kou fell silent and did not reply.
Du Lanshan didn't know what Cheng was thinking, so she smiled and asked, "By the way, what do you want to see me about?"
"Lanshan, you should know very well that Xia Linchen did not take the college entrance examination at that time, and would not go to any school in the country, but you lied to Su Yan."
The smile on Du Lanshan's face disappeared and her eyes darkened. She really didn't expect that Cheng Kou would look for her today just to confront her.
"Yes, I told him." Du Lanshan admitted generously, "Are you bringing up the past now to settle the score?"
Cheng Kou frowned, shook her head, bit her lip and said, "Lanshan, I thought we were friends, and you also liked Su Yan, why didn't you tell me?"
"What's the point of telling you? Will you give the person to me?" Du Lanshan laughed sarcastically, "Of course not, so don't pretend to be friendly."
Cheng Kou lowered her head. She had long expected the relationship to be torn apart like this. She was mentally prepared, but still felt a little sad.
It would be easier to give up trying to save this friendship that no one cares about.
Once she figured it out, she had no reason to retreat. After all, she came here today to defend her love.
Although she is too kind, she is not someone who can be bullied easily. She has her principles and bottom line. Du Lanshan keeps touching them and she can no longer tolerate it.
Cheng Kou is a person who doesn't have a temper, but once she gets angry, she is more terrible than those who lose their temper easily. She can tolerate her friends in every way, but once she determines that the person is not a friend, she will no longer have a good impression of him and will not give in.
"Lanshan, this is the last time I call you so intimately without your surname." Cheng Kou smiled calmly, "You made Su Yan and I miss so many years, I should hate you." She raised her eyebrows, relief in her eyes, "But now, I want to thank you. Thank you for taking care of me during those three years in high school, thank you for being my rival in love, so that I can become stronger in order to surpass you and become more worthy of Su Yan."
"Once, I really regarded you as my sister. My self-righteous friendship has come to an end. I forgive what you did in the past, but I no longer trust you. We can't be friends again." Cheng Kou's words could not be rejected. "So, please stay away from me and Su Yan. Once you get close to us, I will no longer tolerate you. I, Cheng Kou, can't always be a softie that you can bully."
"Don't ask me to help you with your family's affairs." Cheng Kou's eyes were firm. "Su Yan should not pay for your cousin's behavior of digging his own grave."
"Cheng Kou, I'm not laughing at you, but are you so sure that you can enter the Su family and become a phoenix?" Du Lanshan's eyes were colder than her words. "Men are all the same. They get tired of the old and love the new. Maybe tomorrow you will become as pitiful as me."
"You said it's possible." Cheng Kou chuckled, "And you should know very well that I won't. Don't deceive yourself. Even without me, Su Yan won't love you."
"What about Qin Su? You can't just ignore her existence, right?"
"Believe me, I know her better than you do." Cheng Kou replied calmly, not wanting to talk to her any more. "I will personally ask him about Qin Su's matter, so you don't have to try to deceive me with those specious words."
Cheng Kou pushed the chair away and stood up. She had already paid the bill and felt relaxed now. She didn't care about the situation of the person behind her and walked out without any reluctance.
From now on, this person has nothing to do with her.
Turn right from outside the coffee shop and walk for five minutes, you will reach a shopping street with various clothing stores and young and beautiful girls coming and going.
Cheng Kou strolled among the crowd, the expression on her face was so comfortable that people passing by would always look at her a few times.
Cheng Kou took a deep breath and heard his phone vibrate. After seeing the name on the display, he picked up the phone without thinking.
The voice on the other end of the phone was a little cold, but it magically had the power to heal people's hearts.
He smiled and said, "Is it solved?"
Cheng Kou widened his eyes in surprise, and then he remembered that Su Yan couldn't see at all, so he changed his words.
"How do you know that?"
Su Yan coughed lightly: "Koubao, look back."
His voice not only came from the receiver, Cheng Kou turned around and saw him standing not far away, tall and slender, with outstanding demeanor, and a pair of bright eyes.
—It was a look she was familiar with.
Cheng Kou took a few steps forward, stopped in front of him, raised his head slightly, and looked up at him.
Her eyes followed him without blinking, waiting quietly for him to say something.
Overhead was the blue sky with rolling clouds, and the gentle summer breeze made their hair flutter in the wind.
"Koubao." Su Yan stretched out his hand to her and reminded her gently, "We are going home."
Cheng Kou held it tightly, the warmth of his palms ironing her skin, and the clasped hands seemed to be able to feel the lines on each other's hands. There was a tacit understanding flowing between them that did not need to be expressed in words.
—Love means that there are always only you and me in our world.