He Yuan was in the dormitory when he received Xixizi’s message. Xu Zhaoyuan was on the phone with his girlfriend, calling her “Dear Pig” nonstop, which sent a wave of goosebumps down He Yuan’s spine.
So when Xixizi asked if he could take a voice call, He Yuan instantly felt relieved. He grabbed his phone and left the dormitory without hesitation.
He walked to the corridor connecting buildings A and B and leaned against the railing.
Just as he was about to call, Xixizi rejected the voice call request and sent a new message.
An An: Brother, wait for me to take a shower. I’ll be quick! [Little yellow bird flies out like an arrow from a bow.jpg]
He Yuan replied with a simple “OK.”
Since he had rushed out without a coat, the cold night air made him shiver a little as he waited outside.
Fortunately, Xixizi didn’t make him wait long. About ten minutes later, the call finally came.
“Brother.” A soft voice rang out from the other end.
Maybe it was because of the cold corridor, but when He Yuan thought about how the other person had just taken a warm shower, the way they called him “Brother” felt oddly comforting.
He didn’t respond immediately.
Truth be told, he wasn’t used to talking on the phone like this. Even though he and Xixizi were familiar online, having a voice conversation still felt a little awkward.
“Are you busy?” Xixizi asked.
“No.” He Yuan thought for a moment before asking, “Did you need something?”
Aside from that one time when they were playing a game and Xixizi had urgently called to stop him from blowing up their house, she had never randomly called like this before.
“Not really,” Xixizi’s voice was a little muffled. “I just wanted to chat with someone. I’m feeling kinda bored.”
He Yuan could tell that something was off. He figured something must’ve happened.
“Did that academic bully bother you again?” He asked. That was the only thing he could think of—after all, Xixizi never seemed like the type to stress over studying.
“No, he’s been pretty well-behaved lately.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a sneeze rang out from the other end. Even though she moved the phone away, He Yuan still heard it clearly.
“Are you wearing clothes properly?” He asked.
“I am, but kinda sloppily,” he admitted. There was the sound of fabric rustling. “I’ll get under the quilt first.”
He Yuan waited, casually strolling toward the section of the Wall exposed to the wind.
“It’s nothing serious. I just had a fight with my dad.” Xixizi hesitated, as if feeling embarrassed. “I don’t want to be controlled by him all the time. I want to be my own person. But my life plan is a mess. I want to leave home, but I don’t even have the financial ability to support myself yet.”
He Yuan didn’t say anything—just listened quietly.
His words were vague, so he didn’t know the exact situation. But he understood that sometimes, people found it easier to open up to those they had never met in real life.
Because there was no real connection, no possibility of meeting, it became easier to share things that felt too ugly or difficult to say out loud in person.
“I use the money they give me to do things that challenge them,” Xixizi said slowly. “It makes me feel really insecure, like…”
He let out a light laugh before continuing, “Like a completely useless person.”
He Yuan was silent for a while, then lowered his gaze. “You’re still young.”
“If you go out to work now, you’d be considered child labor.” He spoke seriously. “The crackdown is strict these days. Even our construction site wouldn’t take you in.”
The other end fell silent for a moment.
Then, out of nowhere, Xixizi burst into laughter. His voice rang through the phone, making He Yuan’s ears itch.
“Brother, thank you.” Xixizi finally stopped laughing after a long while. “I think I’m fine now.”
He Yuan wanted to say something more, but seeing that he was feeling better, he decided against it and changed the topic instead.
“Did you get the stuff I sent you?” He Yuan asked.
The other party was momentarily stunned before hurriedly replying, “I got it, I already started working on it.”
He Yuan found this hard to believe. Xixizi, being diligent in studying? That was new.
“If you come across anything you don’t understand… I can teach you,” He Yuan offered.
“Brother… is brother a top student?” Xixizi asked tentatively.
“Not bad,” He Yuan answered modestly.
Building construction required physics and mathematics, and reinforced concrete involved chemistry—so construction workers shouldn’t be underestimated.
Xixizi wanted to say, “There’s nothing I don’t understand,” but that would be too fake. Answering “I understand everything” would be even worse.
He Yuan listened as the other person jumped off the bed and started flipping through the book frantically. Just from the sheer speed—like a dog digging at the ground—he could already tell this guy was definitely a poor student.
“Brother.” Xixizi flopped back onto the bed. “I’ll find some questions and send you pictures.”
————-
The next morning, Xiao An woke up with dark circles under his eyes, feeling like his whole body was hollowed out.
He didn’t even dare to think about it. Just last night, the Wall had a voice call with him for more than three hours, force-feeding him a high school math class.
The effects were undeniable. The moment Xiao An closed his eyes, his brain would automatically start reciting formulas. In the end, he had no choice but to open his eyes and stay awake until dawn.
That said, after last night’s torture session, he admired the Wall even more. The guy really knew everything and could explain things so clearly—even when talking about those cursed math problems.
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