If the World Had No Daylight - Chapter 5

For an entire week, Bai Tian did not speak to her deskmate again.

Although Bai Tian was someone skilled at protecting herself, more often than not, she was also someone with a bad temper, as well as a lazy and willful personality.

Since the other party had already torn apart the surface-level “friendly deskmate” act, Bai Tian had no need to go out of her way to play the obedient fool.

And so, Bai Tian began skipping class again.

She did not skip much, only the last self-study period every day. Perhaps Old Baldy Li had also been amazed that Bai Tian had behaved herself for an entire month. Now that he saw her return to her old habits, he instead had a calm sense of “as expected.”

For Class A, self-study period was actually time to do the day’s homework, because most people still had all sorts of tutoring classes to attend after school. They really were busy. They had to seize every minute and every second to study, or else they might fall behind the overall level of their classmates.

But to Bai Tian, studying had never been something that occupied her entire life, even though she was still a student.

At nine-thirty in the evening, the restaurant began preparing to close.

Holding the menu, Bai Tian stood in front of the last table of customers, patiently waiting for the woman in the red dress to order.

This customer had been sitting here for an hour. The person she was waiting for probably had not come, so she simply decided to eat something casually before leaving.

The woman’s red-polished fingernail slid across the thick menu. After hesitating for a long time, she finally ordered a discounted single-person set meal that was currently on promotion.

Bai Tian wrote it down and politely bent at the waist. “All right. Please wait a moment.”

Holding the menu, she walked around from the booth and passed the restaurant’s main entrance on her way to the kitchen. Most people were already preparing to wrap things up, so the restaurant seemed very quiet.

When the glass door was pushed open, it struck the wind chime and made a clear jingling sound. Bai Tian had long since gotten used to this sound. She turned around and said, “Welcome. However, the restaurant is about to close. Is there anything you need?”

“I’m meeting someone.”

That somewhat cool and clear voice was mixed with the cold wind from outside the door, making Bai Tian raise her head in surprise.

A face she could not be more familiar with passed by in front of her and headed toward the only occupied booth in the restaurant.

Bai Tian paused, then continued walking toward the kitchen without saying anything.

She printed out the order slip and stuck it in front of the kitchen window, then quietly stood behind a tall potted plant and looked toward the corner.

The girl, who was still wearing her school uniform, sat with her back to Bai Tian, facing the woman. It was impossible to see her expression. They were also too far away, so Bai Tian could not hear anything. She withdrew her gaze indifferently, having no interest in continuing this kind of spying.

Time passed minute by minute. The aroma of meat sauce from the pasta faintly drifted out. Bai Tian picked up the tray, carefully placed the drink on it, and walked toward that corner.

Once she came a little closer, the conversation between the two gradually became clearer.

The woman had a gorgeous face. With light makeup on, she did not appear vulgar at all. Instead, her temperament balanced out features that were too strikingly beautiful.

She looked at the girl, her eyes somewhat red.

“Once I settle down over there, I’ll bring you over.”

The girl nodded without making a sound.

“Excuse me. This is your drink, freshly squeezed juice.”

Bai Tian picked up the cup and placed it down steadily. Without saying anything more, she turned and left.

From beginning to end, she did not meet the girl’s eyes.

The other person’s side profile was not very clear in her peripheral vision, but it was indeed the face Bai Tian knew so well. It was just that expression that felt very unfamiliar, one she had never seen on the other person’s face before.

Thinking that she might have once again stumbled upon the other person’s privacy, a sense of powerlessness suddenly arose in Bai Tian’s heart. It seemed that the more she wanted to have nothing to do with the other person, the more they kept becoming entangled. This was not a good sign.

Fortunately, the meal ended very quickly.

The woman barely touched the food on the table. She focused entirely on watching the girl in front of her slowly eat, an unconsciously gentle smile appearing on her face.

But when Bai Tian caught a hurried glimpse of that smile, she only felt an inexplicable wave of sadness.

The restaurant finally closed. Bai Tian changed back into her school uniform and came out through the kitchen’s back door, slowly walking toward the bus stop.

She would probably get her wages in another week. After calculating it in her heart, she decided to resign from the manager a few days in advance.

Originally, Bai Tian had only planned to work part-time for one month, which would have been enough money. But this period happened to be the restaurant’s busiest time. The fact that she had been hired at all was thanks to the manager being soft-hearted. Otherwise, where could a little girl who was only in her first year of high school find a proper part-time job?

So Bai Tian had stayed a while longer, until they had finally managed to hire a new server these past two days.

If only she could grow a little taller.

With that thought in her heart, Bai Tian placed her schoolbag in front of her and hugged it as she walked toward the street corner.

Not far away, a noisy group of boys came walking over. They wore strange clothes, and their hair had been dyed in all kinds of messy colors. Bai Tian glanced at them and quietly moved a little farther away.

But it was already very late. There were not many people on this street, so a girl in a school uniform walking along the road was especially eye-catching.

Looking at the group of people blocking her path, Bai Tian’s heart slowly sank.

“Little sister, why aren’t you home yet this late?” the leader, whose hair was dyed green, asked with a grin. His eyes swept Bai Tian up and down.

The red-haired one beside him suddenly whistled. “Isn’t that No. 7 Middle School’s uniform? An honor student.”

“Really? Really? I’ve lived this long and still haven’t worn No. 7 Middle School’s uniform. Little sister, why don’t you take it off and let this big brother wear it for a bit?”

The group laughed loudly as they surrounded Bai Tian, blocking every path she could take.

Cursing “nothing is going my way” in her heart, Bai Tian tightened her grip on the strap of her schoolbag, her mind racing as she thought about how to escape.

But they did not give her more time to think. Someone impatiently reached out, grabbed her shoulder, and asked, “Why aren’t you talking? I’m just borrowing your school uniform for a bit. Don’t be so stingy.”

That person tugged at Bai Tian’s school uniform jacket, trying to pull it off. Bai Tian struggled and retreated.

She reached into her schoolbag to feel around for her phone, but on her face, she put on an extremely frightened expression, greatly lowering the other party’s guard.

Someone else came forward to pull at Bai Tian’s clothes. She seized the opportunity, stomped hard on the other person’s foot, and while he screamed, she slammed into him with force. Then she ducked through the gap that opened up and ran.

The people behind her reacted quickly and chased after her while cursing.

Bai Tian ran forward at full speed while pulling her phone out and holding it in her hand.

She tried her best to run toward open areas, but unfortunately, the shops around her had all closed rather early. Even after running a long distance, she still did not see a single person. After sprinting for so long, her stamina was nearly unable to hold out. Bai Tian vaguely glimpsed a small shop not far away that was still open, so without thinking, she ran over. Without even seeing the shop’s name clearly, she slipped inside and hid.

Only when the group’s scattered footsteps whistled past outside and gradually grew distant did Bai Tian barely let out a breath of relief.

Covered in sweat, she panted and carefully stood up.

Only then did she realize that she seemed to be inside a strange shop.

Bai Tian looked around the somewhat cramped space. She did not see a single person, not even the owner. On the shelves on both sides were product boxes in strange colors. The lighting in the shop was too dim, so she could not see clearly. She simply walked over and picked up a box to look at it.

Three seconds later, Bai Tian put the box down with her face flushed red and forcefully wiped her hand on her school uniform.

She turned her head, and an enormous, thick, long object on a display rack abruptly appeared before her. At the same time, the innermost door of the shop, which had been covered by a thick cloth curtain, suddenly opened, and someone walked down the stairs.

Bai Tian and the other person stared at each other.

Another set of footsteps sounded from behind the door, and a hoarse male voice came from behind that person. “Why are you standing at the door?”

The person dressed in a black hoodie paused, then replied, “Nothing.”

She walked out, making space for the boy to come out from inside.

Bai Tian was just about to pretend she had seen nothing and turn to leave when the person in the black hoodie spoke and called out to her.

“Bai Tian.”

The boy revealed a strange expression. He looked at the person in front of him, then at Bai Tian, and suddenly put on an expression of understanding. He said, “Then I’ll go first.”

He walked out, and when he passed by Bai Tian, he even smiled at her.

It was just that this smile seemed inexplicable no matter how Bai Tian looked at it.

The surroundings made Bai Tian feel uncomfortable to the extreme. She did not want to continue exchanging pleasantries with the deskmate who had appeared here at all. Strictly speaking, they were not close, and there was nothing to say.

Moreover, in such an awkward environment, Bai Tian had no mind to care about the other person’s appearance, which was completely different from how she looked at school. She only wanted to leave this place as quickly as possible.

Ye Wan put both hands in the pockets of her hoodie and slowly walked over. She looked Bai Tian up and down, then asked with a half-smile, “What did you come here to buy?”

Bai Tian suddenly felt somewhat grateful that the shop’s lighting was very dim. Otherwise, the heat on her face would have been completely exposed.

“I walked into the wrong place.”

She was telling the truth. She had merely left out the details.

The other person’s expression looked noncommittal. She walked over, patted Bai Tian on the shoulder, then quickly withdrew her hand.

“Let’s go.”

Bai Tian almost could not wait to leave the shop, not looking back even once. She knew without looking what the sign at the door said. The only thing to blame was that she had panicked and taken any path available, and had also been blind.

The person behind her closed the glass door, locked it, and then followed behind Bai Tian.

The two of them walked like this, one in front and one behind, for ten minutes. Bai Tian finally grew somewhat impatient. She stopped, turned around, and looked over, her tone unfriendly.

“Why are you following me?”

The person wearing the hood also stopped. She took her hand out of her pocket, pointed toward the bus stop not far behind Bai Tian, and said carelessly, “I’m catching the bus.”

“…”

Bai Tian pressed her lips together. Without looking at the other person again, she continued walking toward the bus stop.

At this hour, there was already no one at the stop. Bai Tian took out her phone and checked the time. After confirming that she had not missed the last bus, she finally let out a breath of relief.

Her taut nerves finally eased slightly at this moment. Bai Tian held her phone, leaned against the advertisement board, and tightened the collar of her school uniform jacket. She had just sweated all over, then had been blown by the night wind for quite a while. She felt a little dizzy, and her body was beginning to grow cold.

The person in the black hoodie leaned off to the side. Her long hair was hidden under the hood, and from a distance, her thin figure looked like that of a tall, slender boy. The two of them did not speak another word, nor did they exchange glances, as if they were strangers.

However, the quiet atmosphere was quickly broken by noisy voices.

Bai Tian heard the sounds of a group of people approaching from behind her. She turned her head warily to glance over, then swiftly withdrew her gaze.

She gripped her phone and stood up straight, beginning to search the surroundings for a place where she could hide.

Two seconds later, Bai Tian decisively placed her schoolbag on the ground, took off her school uniform jacket, wrapped it up, and stuffed it into her bag. Then she pulled the hair tie from her hair and let her hair fall loose.

After that, she flipped open the cover of her phone, ready to press those three keys at any moment.

The noisy footsteps grew closer and closer. Bai Tian held her breath. Just as that group was about to walk over, the person standing beside her suddenly reached out and grabbed Bai Tian’s left hand. Without looking back, she turned her back to the group and quickly walked away.

Their steps were not exactly panicked, only a little fast, so they did not attract those people’s attention.

Bai Tian took a deep breath and let the person beside her pull her along as they continued walking forward. Only after they had completely moved far away from the bus stop did the other person let go.

“Aren’t you catching the bus anymore?”

Bai Tian did not look back. Instead, she asked the other person, wanting to use talking to calm her abnormal heartbeat.

Ye Wan put her hand back into her pocket and slowed her pace, walking beside Bai Tian. She answered casually, “I can just take a taxi.”

The next bus stop was still very far away, and even if they walked there, they would not make it in time for the last bus. Bai Tian calculated the spare change in her pocket. Then, steeling herself, she stopped and looked at Ye Wan. After the other person also stopped and met her eyes, Bai Tian pretended to say naturally, “Since we’re going in the same direction, why don’t we share a ride?”

The girl in the black hoodie looked at her for a long while. Her brows lifted slightly, revealing a smile that was both knowing and blunt.

“Beg me.”