outerwear

The rare clear sky brought a surge in temperature, making the classroom almost unbearable, especially for those sitting by the window. Even with the curtains drawn, the sunlight still poured in.

During a break, Chi Tang bought an ice-cold drink, quickly downing half the bottle. She placed her icy hand on her forehead, the heat draining her focus from the math problems in front of her, leading her to spin her pen absentmindedly.

Condensation formed on the bottle, creating tiny droplets that merged into a larger bead and rolled off, dampening a corner of her desk. Chi Tang didn't care; she had no desire to move.

The math teacher had assigned some challenging problems, causing many students to scratch their heads in frustration, huddling together to whisper answers.

Chi Tang glanced sideways at her desk mate, You Yu, who was already nearing the end of her work. You Yu wrote with a steady rhythm, hardly pausing as she tackled the problems, indicating that she was unfazed by the difficulty.

For some reason, the sound of her steady writing made Chi Tang sleepy.

You Yu, sitting by the window, blocked most of the sunlight, yet she didn't show any irritation from the heat. Dressed in a baggy school uniform, she kept her head down, focused on her work, unlike others who often got distracted.

Sometimes, Chi Tang felt like You Yu could only see her studies, oblivious to everything else.

Someone from behind called out to You Yu, "Class rep, are you done? Can I copy your answers?"

You Yu looked up and replied, "You should do it yourself."

In school, any student who refused to let others copy their work was often seen as an outcast, drawing disdain. After being turned down, the girl complained to a nearby friend, "What's she so proud of? Just because she can do it doesn't make her special. Last time, Guo Yiqun copied her homework, didn't he?"

"Does she like Guo Yiqun? I've noticed she talks to him more than anyone else."

Chi Tang overheard their chatter and thought it was amusing how quickly they jumped to romantic conclusions.

Guo Yiqun was one of the top math students in the class, alongside You Yu. Chi Tang had never seen them copy answers but had witnessed them comparing their solutions after finishing some extra problems. Guo Yiqun had brought his own practice book, and after You Yu borrowed it to copy some questions, he had offered to compare answers on one of the worksheets, where he got two wrong and You Yu got them all right.

Chi Tang had witnessed this competition firsthand, seeing Guo Yiqun sulk back to his seat with his notebook after losing, and he never lent his practice book to You Yu again.

Chi Tang thought to herself, "Can't take a loss, huh? What a loser."

With ten minutes until the end of class, Chi Tang forced herself to focus on the last problem. She had a vague idea for the previous ones but was completely stumped by the final question.

In truth, she didn't care much about getting it right; she doodled aimlessly on her draft paper.

Suddenly, a notebook was handed over to her.

Chi Tang paused and looked down, realizing it contained three steps and some formulas. After a moment, she understood her desk mate was offering hints for the final problem.

Just hints, no answers.

As soon as Chi Tang glanced away from the notebook, You Yu took it back and opened a red-covered math workbook, starting to work through it. She had borrowed that from the math teacher after failing to get Guo Yiqun's extra practice set.

Initially uninterested in solving the last problem, Chi Tang found those three steps swirling in her mind, leading her to continue thinking and eventually solve the question.

—Unfortunately, she got it wrong.

Holding her returned assignment, Chi Tang saw the big red mark and cursed under her breath, quickly tossing it aside. Even though she knew You Yu wouldn't check her work, she felt a twinge of embarrassment.

She had received hints and still messed it up. Was she really that incompetent?

A little while later, another notebook was passed to her, this time containing the complete solution, detailed and organized, with key points highlighted, evidently added just for her.

Clearly, she had made a mistake that was too obvious.

Chi Tang thought, "What's this? Are you feeding me the answers like a tutor? I don't need that."

Though she maintained a calm facade, inside, she was getting annoyed. She sensed her desk mate was trying to be friendly, but Chi Tang was uninterested in making friends.

When she turned to glance at You Yu, she found her completely immersed in her work, seemingly unaware of Chi Tang's discomfort. To interrupt now would feel self-indulgent, so she turned back.

What frustrated Chi Tang more was realizing that she had inadvertently meddled in You Yu's business first, making it seem like she was the one trying to befriend her.

In a rebellious spirit, the lone wolf Chi Tang silently vowed not to get involved anymore.

The next day during gym class, a group of girls was playfully kicking around a drink bottle. It happened to be half-full of Assam milk tea, and when it was kicked, it burst, splattering all over You Yu, soaking her uniform in the drink's color.

Chi Tang didn't see it happen; she only heard two girls laughing about how unfortunate You Yu was. When she turned to head to the restroom, she found You Yu sitting there, looking lost and unusually exhausted.

Chi Tang immediately noticed that You Yu was missing her uniform jacket, wearing only a thin old T-shirt. Since she always wore her school uniform, the sudden absence felt strange.

You Yu noticed Chi Tang but didn't speak, lowering her eyes and slightly hunching over, as if to hide something.

Chi Tang noticed the marks on You Yu's chest were quite visible; it appeared she wasn't wearing a bra.

In that moment, Chi Tang realized why You Yu never took off her jacket, even in the heat—she was likely trying to hide those marks. Even though she was accustomed to her desk mate's financial struggles, Chi Tang felt a jolt of shock. Was it really so dire that she couldn't even afford a bra?

Having grown up in a tumultuous home, witnessing constant arguments and infidelity between her parents, and having felt little warmth from them, Chi Tang hadn't lacked materially. Yet seeing You Yu's reality left her at a loss.

After a moment, Chi Tang coldly asked, "Where's your jacket?"

You Yu, still looking at her shoes, answered calmly, "It got splashed with milk tea. I came to wash it in the restroom, but when I came out, it was gone."

Chi Tang turned and left, returning shortly with a uniform jacket in hand. "Here, wear this."

Her jacket had been washed in a public machine, smelling of lavender detergent, a stark contrast to You Yu's soap-cleaned uniform.

You Yu took the jacket, quietly putting it on.