Elegant and refined tone

  "Take it and drink it on time."

  "Alright then, Xiao Cai is counting on you to take good care of her."

  "Be careful on the road."

  ……

  Under He Xiaoyu's gentle and helpless gaze, Ye Cai wearing a boyish suit school uniform and Liu Youyou wearing a elegant autumn outfit, both walked away from their homes, just as their figures were about to be engulfed by the corner, He Xiaoyu again reminded them from afar. Ye Cai waved his hand lazily without turning back, while Liu Youyou turned around and placed her right hand on her chest, waving shyly and saying "goodbye Auntie".

  Out of the neighborhood, walking slowly on the long and winding mountain road leading to the bus stop.

  The sky is crystal clear, the sun seems to blend with the sky, the air is exceptionally fresh, and the grass by the roadside is adorned with sparkling water droplets. The winding mountain road along the edge of the cloud-shrouded mountains offers a vast and expansive view. Walking amidst this scenery, one's mind wanders freely, and the beauty of nature is boundless.

  She raised her delicate chin, took a deep breath, and let out a soft sigh of satisfaction. With a tilt of her head and a slant of her eyes, she struck a languidly seductive pose, remarking, "The weather is really nice, isn't it?"

  Ye Cai's tranquil expression lifted the corners of her mouth, but her eyes were tinged with a few threads of worry. As she gazed into the distance, her eyebrows seemed to be pondering something.

  "What are you thinking?"

  "After a moment of silence, Ye Cai furrowed her brow and slightly pursed her lips, thinking: 'Can you feel it? As girls, our strength is less than half...'"

  Her small mouth slightly opened in surprise, and then she smiled brightly, stretching out her white right hand, spreading her slender fingers, saying: "Our bones have become delicate, our skin is also tender, it hurts to be hit casually, strictly speaking, we are indeed weak little girls."

  Ye forced a smile, looked down, furrowed his brow, and pursed his lips hesitantly.

  "I have a bad feeling about this... hopefully I'm just being paranoid."

  Liu Youyou stared blankly, curiously gazing at Ye Cai's profile that was filled with a heavy and melancholic air, which was in stark contrast to the innocent and cunning charm revealed by his silly and naive facial features.

  "I hope you don't take it to heart, I'm really worried, the fourth floor is so high, flipping windows I've tried before, but after becoming a girl, I admit I don't have that much strength to hold onto the water pipe..."

  Liu Youyou blinked vaguely, and in her mind, she couldn't help but think of that sweet smile that often pretended to be confused, the smile was gradually swallowed up by the endless black night, making her heart tighten inexplicably, a hint of fear flashing across her eyes.

  "You said she... will, will?"

  He let out a wry laugh and shrugged his shoulders, saying to himself in relief: "She's not stupid either. I think she probably didn't go out last night."

  Liu Youyou also smiled bitterly and said: "The dormitory is not safe either, after all, I'm a girl..."

  Ye Cai heard this and looked up with a puzzled expression, gazing at Liu Youyou's bitter smile, and said: "Do you dislike her?"

  Hesitating and lowering her eyes, Liu Youyou seemed uncertain about her opinion of Su Xiaqiu. She sighed and shook her head, saying: "I wouldn't say I dislike her... but she gives me a feeling that's hard to grasp, and I don't like that..."

  Ye Cai's lips curled up into a faint, helpless smile as she thought back to Su Xiaoqiu gazing at the night sky with her eyes shining pure and tranquil, and said: "She's actually... quite nice..."

  Liu Youyou shrugged her shoulders, seemingly helpless about her own stubborn views.

  "Gradually, you'll feel it too. Don't be so heavily guarded against her, she's not that kind of person, quite a lovely girl." Ye Cai smiled and said, seeing her self-tormented and worried expression.

  "Oh, really?"

  She curled up the corners of her mouth, smiled playfully, and gazed forward with a hint of melancholy, perhaps she was too sensitive.

  She raised an eyebrow, gazing up at the sky, and flashed a sly yet friendly smile. Su... Xiaoxiao? Do you know that autumn is ending soon?

  ……

  Around 7 o'clock in the morning, the azure sky gradually became oppressive and gloomy in the silence.

  Perhaps each has his own thoughts.

  Under the bus stop, waiting for the bus, on the way, they came one after another, silently, as usual, Ye Cai, dressed as a boy, was responsible for protecting Liu Youyou, who was dressed in a gentle and elegant manner, from being harassed by perverts.

  Arriving at Luoshui Middle School Station, they jumped off the bus one after another. Under Yexi's guidance, Liu Youyou looked up at the sky in astonishment, only to find it filled with dark and gloomy clouds.

  On her way to school, Liu's usual calm smile was mixed with a few parts of contemplation and melancholy.

  Ye Cai sat quietly beside him, lowering his head, silently eating a bun and drinking melon milk, the pure gurgling sound filling the air, rendering the atmosphere between them slightly awkward and oppressive.

  Ye Cai lifted her gaze from under her black bangs, thoughtfully observing the expression on Liu Youyou's face. In her eyes, Liu was a very sensitive and gentle girl, while the elegant nobility and cold beauty were just protective colors. She secretly suspected that Liu might have had her inner worries confirmed due to the weather, which made her show such a worried expression. This made Ye Cai feel complex emotions, but more than anything, she felt relieved and at ease.

  "Hey, eat something."

  She raised her hand holding a convenience store bag containing meat buns and shaomai, while handing over an orange packaged papaya milk.

  Liu Youyou hesitated for a moment, her gentle and calm eyes suddenly became alert and nervous, glancing around in all directions.

  Ye Cai stuffed the breakfast bag into her hand, muttering with a puffed up face: "Mind your own business! Afraid of this and that even when eating breakfast..."

  Liu Youyou reluctantly and embarrassingly pouted, her slender fingers pulling out a toothpick from her bag, poking at a char siu bao, then glanced around at the passersby on either side, only quickly stuffing it into her bright red mouth after confirming no one was watching.

  Covering mouth with one hand, chewing slowly, under the curved and dense eyelashes, a pair of eyes full of vigilance and restraint, glancing around furtively.

  With a face full of disdain and impatience, Ye picked up the straw for the wood ear milk tea, tore off the packaging bag and casually threw it on the ground, inserted the tube into the packaging box, and handed it to Liu Youyou. She glanced at the other's white knit shirt with at least C-cup breasts and said with a face full of disgust: "Hey, drink your milk!"

  Liu Youyou covered her mouth with her sleeve and flicked her eyebrow, saying nonchalantly: "You drink it, I don't need it."

  Ye Cai gritted her teeth, resentfully picked up the bottle, and quickly gulped it down. With a sideways glance and a cold smile, she said: "Two bottles every day, I'll definitely be bigger than you in the future."

  "Hmm..."

  Liu Youyou suddenly let out a satisfied sigh, her beautiful eyelashes fluttering, and nodded with her eyes closed, "The flavor is not bad."

  Ye Cai's head was tilted and her eyes were slanted, with a look of disdain on her face. She pointed at her with her hand and said, "As if she had never eaten before."

  "No, can't say that." Liu Youyou swallowed her food and pursed her lips, raising her right hand in opposition. Her pretty face turned serious as she said, "For the first time, eating with such dedication brings a whole new flavor experience."

  Ye Cai looked up at her dramatic pose, with a sweet and innocent smile on her face, and said: "You go act, you'll definitely be popular."

  "Vulgarity."

  Liu Youyou shook her head in disdain, smiled and ate a large bun quickly, walking rapidly towards the school gate. Ye Cai followed closely behind her, staring at her noble and elegant face like a crazy fan.

  Drip, drip...

  Swiped card and entered one after another.

  "Are you doing this on purpose? Or is it just like this casually?"

  "Hmm, are you referring to my elegant and noble demeanor?"

  "How shameless..."

  "Oh, my God, common people are too frightening, often not frank enough."

  "My god, you're actually learning American drama slang..."

  "How's it? Sounds good, right? My friend."

  "Hehe, has that kind of tone..."

  "Hmm, you know what? I was so lucky last night, I came across a great American TV series that I really like. The elegant and refined way of speaking is probably something you can't understand, my friend."

  "Hehe, tired?"

  "Cough cough, it's okay, sometimes can't connect the conversation, looking more may get used to it... Hmm, that's all."

  Before entering the corridor, Liu Youyou stopped in her tracks on the stairs and forced a bitter smile with a hint of apology and guilt.

  Ye Cai walked into the corridor with a swing of her hands, carrying a shoulder bag. She glanced back and gave a sly look, seemingly not minding that Liu Youyou had deliberately distanced herself from her in public.

  Class 2's classroom door gathered a group of students, some yawning with sleepiness, others eating breakfast while chatting with people around them, giving off an ordinary and peaceful atmosphere.

  Perhaps such an atmosphere would mean vulgarity and rusticity to the former Ye Cai, making her disgusted and unwilling to associate with it. But thinking again, she herself had experienced menstruation, hunger that needed to be satiated with food, thirst that needed to be quenched with water, heat that required removing clothes, cold that required adding clothes... No mistake, she was also an ordinary person.

  Regardless of how the gentleman's suit clashed with hers, she carried herself like a lady, her small hands holding onto her handbag, a sweet smile on her face as she trotted along.

  The onlookers were stunned, sometimes without hostility, there was no threat to their external image from the other party. They no longer used contemptuous and mocking eyes and attitudes to regain their stance and face, but instead curiously and kindly gazed at Ye Cai, who slowly ran over, and made way for this "gatekeeper".

  Someone stared at her waist and blinked: "His waist is so thin..."

  Behind Ye Cai's back, they exchanged suspicious and distrustful glances.

  At this time, Ye Cai was taking out the key to open the door, while Liu Youyou walked slowly with a elegant posture and stopped at the periphery of the crowd, pretending to be aloof. She glanced sideways and saw someone intentionally walking behind Ye Cai, hesitating for a moment before leaning in close to Ye Cai's ear and whispering something.

  Only Ye Caiyi shrunk his neck and burst out laughing, "How is that possible? I'm a real boy through and through!"

  "Huh?"

  Listening to that soft and delicate voice, everyone shook their heads in disdain, no one believed.

  Liu Youyou, who was standing on the periphery with a detached gaze, slightly curled her lips and revealed a few hints of warmth and gentleness in her eyes. She thought to herself that from now on, perhaps "he" would fade away, while "she" would gradually be accepted by their classmates.

  （……）