To tell the truth is precisely what no one believes.

In the bare little room, with no decorations whatsoever, sat a boy and a girl still dressed in their school uniforms on one side of a table, and two police officers sipping tea on the other. The questions and answers flowed back and forth. After about half an hour, once they had recounted the whole incident and given their opinion on how things should be handled, Ji Yun and Xu Lin were shown out of the room. They took the opportunity to thank the two officers who had responded to the call.

They emerged into the hall. Night had already fallen, but there were still a few people waiting outside—teachers, including two familiar faces: their homeroom teacher and Su Qingwan.

“How did it go?” Su Qingwan came over first, her expression softening with concern as she glanced at Xu Lin. Even the stern look on their homeroom teacher’s face had eased a bit.

“The police checked the surveillance footage and asked us about everything that happened. The other party is fully responsible,” Xu Lin replied. “But since we’re all students and minors, and there was no fighting or injuries, they just gave him a warning. His parents will need to come to the station to take him home.”

“As for us, we could call our parents too, and they’d mediate compensation. But even though we’re the victims, there’s no need to trouble our parents with a trip to the station. Ji Yun agrees as well.”

“Of course, the police will speak to the school about how to handle things from their end. That’s out of our hands now.”

He finished his explanation neatly. Their homeroom teacher nodded, giving his shoulder a reassuring pat.

“It’s good to keep things simple, but make sure you get checked out tomorrow. You don’t want any hidden injuries.”

Just then, they noticed a department head waving from a short distance away.

“Ms. Su, I need to go take care of something. You see to getting these two home safely.”

“Alright.”

Their homeroom teacher hurried off. Su Qingwan turned her gaze to Xu Lin, who remained calm and collected.

“I’ll drive you both home. You can leave your bikes in the shed.”

“No need, really,” Xu Lin replied, “It’s not a big deal. I’ll just go home myself. Teacher, you should take Ji Yun home instead.”

“That’s not necessary. I can go home on my own,” Ji Yun finally spoke, raising her bright eyes after staying silent with her head down.

“There are a lot of classmates worried about you,” Su Qingwan said, “but for safety, the school wants everyone to leave the area. Are you sure you don’t want a ride?”

“No, thank you. We’re practically adults now,” Xu Lin said, glancing at Ji Yun, who seemed withdrawn once more. He could tell she had something to say to him.

“Alright then.” Su Qingwan nodded, though her mind was in a jumble—she still had to deal with a major issue that evening.

The two of them left the police station and found their bikes outside. Xu Lin swung onto his and, seeing Ji Yun dawdling, called out,

“Stop overthinking things. Whatever you want to say, just tell me on the way!”

“Okay!” Ji Yun, rarely so loud, mounted her bike and followed him, crossing the street and entering the bike lane.

Seeing she’d caught up, Xu Lin automatically shifted his path to keep her on the inner side of the lane, riding on the outside himself and slowing his pace.

“So, what is it? You can talk now.”

“Xu Lin, can you not do that again?” she asked.

“Huh?” Xu Lin was taken aback. He’d expected gratitude, not a request like that.

Before he could fully process it, he saw that she was still the same as ever—pure as moonlight. She stopped her bike, and her eyes shimmered with unshed tears.

“What if you’d gotten hurt?”

“But I’m fine, aren’t I?” Xu Lin quickly handed her a tissue from his pocket.

“But what if you weren’t? What if you’d hit your head?”

She pouted, clearly upset, but Xu Lin kept smiling, feeling a little giddy as if he’d had too much to drink.

“You’re right, but in that situation, there was nothing else I could do. If I hadn’t stepped in, who would have helped you?”

“I know. That’s why I need to toughen up myself—it was my fault.”

“Come on, it’s not anyone’s fault except that jerk’s,” Xu Lin said, seeing her try to shoulder the blame. She was too kind for her own good; that sort of softness was hardly an asset in the real world.

“And besides, I didn’t get hurt. When he swung at me, the sound wasn’t from my face—it was from me hitting his hand.”

“What?”

“When he tried to hit me, I blocked it, and then I used his momentum to smack the back of his hand. The sound was from that, but I doubt anyone noticed.”

“You’re pretty impressive, but you mustn’t get into fights again.”

“I know. These days, it’s not about who’s got the bigger fists—it’s about the law.”

“When I went to help you, I’d already sent Li Bin and the others to the station to get the police.”

“It’s lucky the police station is only a few dozen meters from school. Otherwise, with so many people involved, you owe Li Bin and the others some thanks.”

“If there had been more people, would you still have come?” Ji Yun asked, her mood steadying as she teased him.

“Nope.”

“...”

“Haha, just teasing! Let’s get going—it’s getting late. Didn’t you say your mom would scold you if you stayed out?”

“She’s working overtime tonight. My dad drives a cab and is always out late. Where do you live, Xu Lin? If it’s not on your way, I can go alone.”

“Splendor Residence.”

“You live at Splendor Residence?!”

“Yeah, why?”

“I do too! I always see you heading west after school, but I’ve never run into you on the road. We should finish at about the same time.”

“The west gate’s closer. Didn’t you know our complex has not just east and south gates, but a west one too?”

“The west gate?”

“If you don’t believe me, I’ll show you tomorrow morning.”

“Alright... on second thought, maybe not.” She almost agreed but changed her mind. “If we go together, people will talk. No need for that.”

“Alright,” Xu Lin said easily, though the old him would have been disappointed.

Ji Yun felt a little uncomfortable at his indifference, but then again, there was nothing to be upset about.

So the two of them rode on, falling into silence again. After ten minutes, as they neared the complex, Ji Yun spoke up.

“Can I ask you one more thing?”

“Why did you apologize and say you had selfish motives? I want to know.”

“Oh, that... I can’t tell you.”

“Why not? Tell me and I’ll walk to school with you tomorrow.”

“Hey, class president, that’s bribery! How can you set an example like that for the class? Not acceptable!”

“Xu Lin, you really won’t tell me?”

“Really.”

“Not even if I say I’ll be your girlfriend?”

“Uh...” To be honest, his heart skipped a beat. He glanced at her, remembering all those years of secret longing... but still...

“I’ll tell you, actually—I’m a time traveler.”

“I came back from the future, just like in those novels and TV dramas. I regretted never confessing to you, so this time I did, to fulfill a wish.”

“Is that so? Then what am I like in the future?”

“You don’t believe me? Actually... huh?”

“So you came back from the future. What happened to me then?” she asked with a smile, mostly to see how he’d spin his story.

“You got into Huangjing University. After graduating, you started working at a bank, met your husband there, and soon got married. I only heard about it at our junior high reunion.”

“That sounds like a perfectly ordinary future.”

“Yeah.”

“Enough with the ‘yeah.’ If you don’t want to tell me, just say so!” With that, she turned her handlebars and pedaled into the complex, leaving Xu Lin to sigh.

“There you go. No one ever believes the truth anyway.”