I am very glad that when the scandal was spreading, Jing Yehang was sick at home and avoided a lot of embarrassment. As Jing Yehang returned to school, the curiosity that had finally cooled down began to stir again. In the face of those gossip that came out of nothing, Jing Yehang behaved extremely coldly, and sometimes even ignored it directly. The repeated futility gradually wore away their interest in mocking Jing Yehang, and a major event that suddenly happened on Friday afternoon completely squeezed this scandal out of everyone's sight - filling out the volunteer search form. Before we are about to enter the third year of high school, the school will routinely investigate our college entrance examination aspirations. One is to make us clear about our goals, and the other is to let the class teacher analyze the gap between our goals and strengths for us, so as to help us adjust our volunteers in a timely manner. All in all, this form is of great significance and must be carefully considered before filling it out.

"There is only one per person, everyone fill it in carefully!" The teacher admonished with a straight face.

"Teacher, my seal is crooked!" A boy in the back row shouted with a smile.

"Haha!" As soon as he finished speaking, there were bursts of laughter around him.

At that time, I was so nervous that I carefully folded the form in half and clipped it into the textbook, lest it crumple and stain it, so that I didn't hear the class teacher joking.

Listening to my classmates talk about my dream university, I tried to imagine my college life, but my mind was still blank despite the racking of my brain. At this point, my phone vibrated a little. It turned out that Jing Yehang sent a message to ask me if I wanted to study and fill in the volunteer together after school. I was secretly happy in my heart, and hurriedly replied to the "ok" emoji. Although Jing Yehang had reminded me before that it was time to start thinking about what major I wanted to study in the future and what university I wanted to go to, I never took this matter to heart because I mistakenly thought that the college entrance examination was still far away. It was only at this point that the task of filling out the questionnaire forced me to think seriously about the future, and I really felt the urgency of time. After a while, Jing Yehang sent a location and asked me to meet him there. I searched the map and found that it was a coffee shop very close to my house, and I couldn't help but look forward to it. As soon as the school bell rang, Jing Yehang disappeared. I hurriedly packed my bag and hurried to the agreed place full of joy, for fear of making him wait for a long time.

Located on the second floor of a large shopping mall, the café is decorated with a large number of dark-toned furniture, which is set off by small crystal lamps to give people a sense of serenity and elegance. I walked in with a light step, and after a while, I found Jing Yehang sitting in the corner. With his messy hair and loose clothes, he obviously didn't fit in with the atmosphere of the café, but the scrutiny of others didn't detract from the leisurely and comfortable way he sipped a steaming cup of coffee.

He smiled at me and handed me the menu.

"Any recommendations?" I leaned back on the small sofa and enjoyed its softness and comfort.

"I'm here for the first time...... Why don't you ask the waiter? ”

Listening to his words, my heart was filled with warmth. It wasn't that I thought about it too much...... He really chose this store to make it easier for me to get home. "What are you drinking?" I stole a glance at him and pretended to be interested in his cup of coffee.

"Espresso, without sugar and milk, you don't necessarily get used to it." After speaking, a smile appeared on the corner of Jing Yehang's mouth.

Lunch and afternoon tea over the weekend gave us a glimpse into each other's tastes. For example, I don't like sweetness when I sail at night, and I don't like bitterness.

"Then an American...... it's the cheapest drink on the menu.

"Where's the food?"

I thought about the twenty dollars I had in my pocket, and shook my head weakly. Since I came back to live at home, I haven't been able to get any pocket money other than the breakfast fee of ten yuan a day. I tried to ask my parents for a monthly purchase of books and stationery, but I didn't want to be denied even the most legitimate request. I didn't want to listen to them talk about how much money they had spent to transfer me, how many times more expensive private school fees were than public schools, and so on, so I reluctantly gave up struggling. In order to save some pocket money, I secretly bought a large bag of biscuits and ate them with water every morning to save money for breakfast. But even so, I can't save much money in a month, after all, there are still various unavoidable expenses in the daily life of high school students...... At Jing Yehang's house, I can still eat and drink for nothing with peace of mind as a guest, but when I go outside, the situation is different. Even if I can't afford to entertain, I should at least be able to afford my share of the expenses. And that 20 dollar Americano was the only option I had.

"The strawberry cake and cheesecake here look good, would you like to try it?" Jing Yehang raised his head in the direction of the coffee bar.

"No, I'm going to have to go home for dinner later......" I glanced at the glass cabinet full of cakes, but I didn't dare to look closely, lest I spoil myself.

Jing Yehang shrugged his shoulders, and then waved to the waiter to come and place an order. The coffee arrived quickly, and along with it was a cake covered with large strawberries. Jing Yehang cut the cake in half and gave me the big half. I stubbornly shook my head and pushed the plate over.

"I can't finish eating, can you help me eat some?" Jing Yehang smiled bitterly and asked in a gentle voice.

Looking at the cake that came back to me, I felt my nose sour, and my eyes instantly moistened. Whenever I need money, I always feel helpless and embarrassed, but now because of Jing Yehang's thoughtfulness, my heart is more sad. He must have read my thoughts, which is why he took a roundabout treat...... Who doesn't want to be confident and calm in front of their friends, and yet, I'm always so embarrassed. I bowed my head and ate the cake silently, tasting like chewing wax. The deliciousness of the cake did not impress me in the slightest, and I watched in frustration as the waiter took away the empty plates, feeling that I had failed to live up to Jing Yehang's intentions.

"I heard that you used to study at S High School?"

"yes......" I couldn't help but wonder, how did he know about this when he had zero communication with his classmates?

"The admission score of S High School is very high......" Jing Yehang stirred the black coffee with a sugar spoon, looking a little hesitant and uneasy.

I immediately understood why he wanted to stop talking, and smiled nonchalantly. "Every school has scumbags...... At that time, my high school entrance examination score had just passed the admission line, and now I think that my luck is good enough......"

"Oh......" Jing Yehang nodded thoughtfully and asked, "So, when you were in S High School, what was your best grade ranking?" ”

I remembered for a while, but I couldn't remember the exact number. "My grades fluctuated a lot...... At its best, it was probably more than 200 in the whole level, right? ”

"That's pretty good." Jing Yehang smiled and praised.

"It's all up to Xingyuan in ......"

"What?" Probably because my voice was too soft, Jing Yehang didn't hear me clearly.

"It's nothing ......" I suddenly realized, in fact, that I was afraid to touch on topics related to Xingyuan. As soon as I talk about Xingyuan, I inevitably mention her death, and this is exactly what I have always refused to say, as if it would not be true if I didn't say it.

"Well......" may have seen that I had something unspeakable, so Jing Yehang didn't ask any questions. He silently took out a stack of materials from his bag and handed it to me.

It turned out to be a copy of the list of universities that Jing Yehang had sifted through that thick catalog. I looked through the information and found that many of them had admission scores far beyond my ability. "Are there only five schools I can report?" I pointed to the last five schools and sighed.

"Decide on your best grades. In addition to the schools on the first two pages, you can consider the others. Jing Yehang's tone was relaxed, as if getting into these schools was a simple matter.

"But...... "Xingyuan helped me before...... I paused and said, "I don't have that ability right now......"

"Never underestimate your potential." Jing Yehang persuaded earnestly: "There is no harm in setting the goal high, and it will be adjusted later." ”

"Hey......" I pursed my lips, my heart full of entanglement. When I was in high school, I dreamed of those prestigious universities, but reality told me time and time again that they were unrealistic fantasies...... Constantly retreating to the next best, so that they retreated to the current situation. Disheartened, I don't care what school or major I will eventually get into. Fortunately, I didn't have any obsession, so I didn't feel regret or unwillingness.

After weeding out the universities far from home, there are still about a dozen to choose from. I stared blankly at the unfamiliar school names, not knowing which ones to put on the application form. Jing Yehang asked me to look at the profiles of each school on the Internet first, and then make a decision after I had a preliminary understanding of their history and cultural heritage. Rather than a long introduction, I prefer to enjoy the photos that document the campus scenery. The thought that I might be able to study and live in such a beautiful school makes me feel overjoyed. I sent the photos to Jing Yehang and told him where they were taken. Jing Yehang suggested that I choose a few of my favorite photos and decide on my application. So, I took two phones and started comparing the pictures one by one.

Time passed imperceptibly, and the coffee quickly bottomed out, and Jing Yehang quietly refilled a cup for me. By the time I noticed that the coffee tasted different, it was nearly eight o'clock. I wanted to blame Jing Yehang for not making his own decisions, but for the sake of his patient company today, I couldn't bear to be angry with him.

While I was filling out the touch form, Jing Yehang silently went to the counter to settle the bill, and I took advantage of this time to hurriedly stuff the only twenty yuan into his school bag. Maybe he won't find the twenty pieces in a short time, and he will never even know that the twenty pieces were given back to him, but I don't care.