Chapter 52: I’ll Accompany You as You Slowly Discover What You Love

She couldn't help but imagine that the place she was sleeping in now, Yan Bian had once slept there too. She pictured him lying flat on the bed just as she was now, staring straight up at the same ceiling. The more she thought about it, the messier her mind became, and sleep drifted even further away.

Tang Yu sat up in defeat, dark circles already forming under her eyes. She grabbed her phone and checked the time—it was already past midnight. She had worked through so many practice papers during the day, and yet, when she was usually so exhausted she’d fall asleep the moment her head hit the pillow, here she was, suffering from insomnia.

With her head hanging low, Tang Yu ran her hands through her hair, tried counting sheep, but nothing worked. So she quietly turned on the bedside lamp and slipped cautiously off the bed. Without slippers, her pale feet made barely a sound against the wooden floor.

She crept to the desk, rummaged through her cloth bag for her headphones, and on the way back, her ankle bumped carelessly into the chair leg. The chair scraped heavily against the floor, making a harsh tearing sound. Fearing she’d disturbed Yan Bian outside, she froze on the spot, not daring to move as if someone had pressed a pressure point. Her small face scrunched up in pain, but she didn’t hear any sound from outside, so she finally inhaled a cool breath and bent to rub her aching ankle.

The chair was solid wood—heavy—and her ankle had little soft flesh to cushion the blow. The sudden pain was almost unbearable. After a long while, Tang Yu hobbled on one foot, carefully nudged the chair back to its original position without shifting it a millimeter. Then she limped like a thief back to her bed, headphones in hand, and burrowed under the covers.

Propping her pillow under her arms, she lay on her stomach, unlocked her phone with a swipe of her finger, and played the English songs Yan Bian had shared with her before. Since she couldn't sleep, she might as well practice her English.

Little did she know, every sound inside the room was perfectly clear outside. Though it was a rainy night, Yan Bian had never felt so restless. At his age, hormones surged like a volcano on the verge of eruption, and the lava inside threatened to burst out at any moment.

But with a young girl inside, no matter how irritable he felt, he couldn’t sleep without his clothes. What if she got up at night and accidentally saw him undressed? She’d be terrified.

Tonight had been exhausting enough. She seemed gentle and soft, like tofu, easy to prod, but she held grudges and was hard to comfort when she cried. Yan Bian couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh, pinching his brow in resignation.

At this hour, every tiny sound was amplified in the silence. He could hear everything happening in the room. It made sense he couldn’t sleep, but why was this little girl still awake in the middle of the night?

With his hands behind his head, Yan Bian stared at the ceiling in boredom until the faint noises finally ceased. He withdrew his hand from under his head, picked up his phone from the low table, checked the time, and then leaned lazily back against the sofa.

His slightly messy hair fell over his eyes, which he pushed back absentmindedly. Then he opened WeChat and messaged Tang Yu:

"Are you asleep?"

Tang Yu had her headphones in, listening to English songs and translating them line by line in her head. She paused when she saw his message.

She replied, "Not yet, I can’t sleep."

The glow of the screen illuminated the sharp lines of the boy’s face. He smiled silently and typed, "What a coincidence, I have insomnia too." After a moment, he added, "But it’s not because you’re here, don’t get any ideas."

Her budding guilt vanished at his words. Resting her chin on her pillow, her eyes lowered as she typed, "Should I come out and keep you company? Whenever I couldn’t sleep, my grandparents would talk to me, and I’d fall asleep quickly."

She was just about to lift the covers and get up when Yan Bian quickly replied, "No, stay in bed and don’t come out."

It was safer for both of them if she stayed inside.

"Okay," Tang Yu obediently curled back under her covers.

They chatted idly, without much purpose. The girl was open and unguarded, and before long, Yan Bian had gleaned all there was to know about her family: her ailing grandmother, her remarried parents, her grandfather who farmed, and her attending school...

For a family like hers, the college entrance exam was the only way out. That’s why Tang Yu threw herself into her studies, aiming for the top universities, hoping to go to a big hospital in the capital to treat her grandmother.

How hardworking! How devoted!

A girl as kind-hearted as her surely wouldn’t cheat in the future... would she? Yan Bian pondered this to himself.

He typed slowly, "Tang Xiaoyu, what major do you want to pursue at Qingbei?"

Staring at his message, Tang Xiaoyu was at a loss. Her fingertips hovered over the keyboard for a long time without replying.

All along, her only goal had been to get into Qingbei. She’d never considered a specific major.

For her, any field would do, as long as it could support her family.

"I don’t know..." she finally replied.

Yan Bian asked, "What do you like? Computer science? Finance and stocks? Math and physics? Or maybe biology and chemistry?"

Tang Yu answered honestly, "I’ll study whatever field makes the most money."

Seeing her reply, Yan Bian couldn’t help but laugh—so she was a little money-grubber after all.

"No matter what field it is, if you reach the top, you can make a lot of money. But liking it will help you go further and longer in your career. It’s okay if you don’t know what you like now—there’s still plenty of time before the college entrance exam. I’ll help you slowly figure out what you enjoy."

Reading his words, Tang Yu pressed her lips together and smiled, her eyes curving into crescent moons, dimples appearing faintly on her cheeks.

He really was a wonderful person.

Tang Yu thought the heavens must have seen her hardships and sent Yan Bian to protect her.

She rolled over onto her back, lying on the soft bed, unconsciously translating the lyrics of the English song playing in her headphones:

"Please tell me why I feel so close to you when I see you,
I’ve never reached out like this before,
Praying to God for everything to go well,
Because aside from her, I need no one else,
...
Who could have guessed,
I’d fall in love with my best friend,
...
If you want love,
In a few weeks I’ll fly to see you,
In a few months you’ll move into our home,
Now you’re wearing my clothes as if they were always yours..."

Tang Yu blinked, startled by the lyrics. She glanced at her oversized T-shirt, the room she was in—both belonged to him.

It was just like the song.

She couldn’t help but tap her head in embarrassment and let out a quiet laugh. What was she thinking? Yan Bian had sent her dozens of English songs; it was just a coincidence she listened to this one.

After all, he was so popular—more popular than any big gift box. Many girls at school were planning to confess to him.

How could Yan Bian possibly be hinting at anything?

There was no way.

She couldn’t let her mind wander down such indecent paths, especially when their relationship was nothing more than a pure, wholesome bond of big brother and little sister.