After midnight

At six o'clock in the morning in Luxun Park, Su Ziling was splashed with water without any preparation.

"Your vigilance is too poor." An Yan pointed out.

"You sneak attacked me!" Su Ziling said dissatisfiedly.

"So what?"

Seeing An Yan's eyebrows raised, Su Ziling was so angry that his teeth itched. He said he couldn't do anything, so he attacked directly.

The fire rushed towards An Yan, who dodged sideways and attacked. He knew how to deal with Su Ziling without even thinking. After two or three moves, An Yan stopped.

"It's ready now." An Yan said as he took a few steps towards Su Ziling. "You have the power and accuracy to punch. But you still need a lot of practice. After a period of time, they will be strengthened as other aspects of you change. You can't just punch and retract now, you have to think of new moves."

"Really?" Su Ziling said excitedly, with a hint of uncertainty in his tone.

"Don't you know how talented and capable you are? You are my 'guardian', so be confident."

"Hehe, I will keep working hard." Su Ziling smiled shyly. He was really happy. Being recognized by An Yan was a great encouragement to him.

"Well, I'll go back first. Xiao Su will probably be waking up by now."

"Okay, say good morning to Xiao Su for me, and I want to eat fried eggs when I get home."

"Know it."

Su Ziling waved his hand and happily sent An Yan away to continue his hard work in the unknown corner of Luxun Park. At around 7 o'clock, he returned home and ate the fried eggs as he wished. This time he came back a little later, and An Yan had already gone out to send Xiao Su to school.

In the afternoon, Su Ziling sat in the coffee shop, and An Yan did not come over. He looked at Yang Kewei who was sitting opposite him, and he did not know why he became curious about her and then developed into admiration for her. He also did not know why it happened to be her, the first person who made his heart beat.

Yang Kewei wrote on the note: You seem to come here every day.

Su Ziling scratched his head sheepishly and blurted out, "Come over when you have time, and I'm used to it."

"Uh, I meant that the coffee you make is delicious." Su Ziling added quickly, realizing that his words were not spoken properly.

Yang Kewei smiled slightly.

"Can you tell me about this coffee shop?" Su Ziling asked carefully, not missing a single detail of her expression. In fact, what he really wanted to ask was not this, but Yang Kewei herself.

Yang Kewei's heart was moved. The look in Su Ziling's eyes was sincere and not offensive. She didn't want to refuse. She lowered her head and thought for a moment, then picked up the pen.

I have never had a father since I can remember. My mother raised me in Qingdao and opened a coffee shop just like the one I have now. I have almost never changed the layout of the coffee shop.

When Yang Kewei finished writing, she looked up and around, revealing a nostalgic expression. Her eyes briefly lingered on the bookshelf, and she continued to write with her head down. She did not look at Su Ziling, but just wrote, as if she was talking to herself.

I was very busy at the beginning. One time, when I was young, I had a high fever and damaged my throat. I didn’t have time to get treatment, and I have been unable to speak since then.

Yang Kewei continued to write, but Su Ziling felt sad. Because, like herself, she was used to it, but once she lost it and could never get it back, wouldn't the pain be even more painful and unfair? When she lost the right to speak, she was still very young and didn't understand many things, so she received sympathy, indifference, pity and ridicule for no reason. How could she face it calmly?

Later, when I grew up and mustered up the courage to start studying again, went to a special education school, and learned to approach the world in a friendly way...my mother died in an accident.

I was in pain at first, but later when I knew I was not alone, I focused on staying here. It's nice here, and making coffee can make me feel at ease.

When Yang Kewei wrote these words, Su Ziling could not tell from her face whether she was sad or in pain. He was speechless and could only silently take out a piece of paper and write:

The coffee you make is delicious. Thank you for letting me meet the most beautiful you.

Yang Ke smiled with her eyebrows curved, she had let herself go a long time ago. But seeing Su Ziling's words, she was still a little moved, her heart felt like it was warmed by a soft quilt, and she felt comfortable.

Su Ziling also smiled gently, but he felt uncomfortable in his heart. He could not make a promise, nor could he have a serious expectation.

What about you?

Yang Kewei waved her hand in front of Su Ziling, and he came back to his senses.

What about you? Yang Kewei stretched out the written note again. Wasn't she curious about them?

"I grew up in Shanghai and was hanging out with my family and friends. I was just an ordinary student." Su Ziling's smile was a little stiff.

Not going to school? Yang Kewei asked.

"I'll be back soon." Su Ziling avoided the question.

Yang Kewei nodded in understanding. She knew that they would leave, and leave soon.

Su Ziling was walking on the way to pick up Xiao Su from school and took out his cell phone. "Zhang Yi, can you do me a favor? Just help me find out about Yang Kewei... the girl in the coffee shop. Yes, her name is Yang Kewei, I want to know what kind of accident her mother died of... It should be related to Haida. Yes, please... Okay, thank you in advance."

Su Ziling still wondered why that coffee shop had become a legend at Haida University. He wanted to understand her, even in this way.

"An Yan, do you know sign language?" Su Ziling asked after returning home.

"will not."

Su Ziling nodded and went back to his room to search the Internet. Two days later, he received a call from Zhang Yi and they agreed to meet at the basketball court.

"An Yan, I'm going to play basketball."

Before leaving home, he explained to An Yan, who responded and said he would not think about it. Su Ziling went out, carrying the basketball and walking forward with his head down, but before entering the Ocean University, he could not help but look up.

"You really brought the basketball?"

Su Ziling didn't explain much, but put his arm around Zhang Yi's shoulders and led him to a stone bench nearby. After they both sat down, Su Ziling took his hand away.

After sitting down, Zhang Yi restrained his expression and said seriously, "About five or six years ago, a freshman was crossing the road at the south gate of Ocean University when a car ran into him. So... it was a car accident. Yang Kewei's mother saved him."

"And then, what happened?"

"Her mother died on the spot. Yang Kewei witnessed everything on the roadside."

Su Ziling's eyes widened in disbelief. He couldn't imagine how helpless she must have been at that moment. She couldn't speak, couldn't call for help or even call her mother. She couldn't even cry.

"...Of course, the driver couldn't get away. Later, in order to thank her mother and take care of her when she was young and disabled, the coffee shop became a legend at Haida University."

"Where is that senior?" Su Ziling interrupted Zhang Yi.

"I'm not sure about that. I didn't find out. But later I heard that he never went to the vicinity of South Gate again. Su Ziling, your expression now... doesn't look good." Zhang Yi said tactfully as he looked at his horrifying expression.

"Oh, it's okay. Thank you for today. I'll treat you to dinner another day."

"It's settled. I'll be leaving first." Before Zhang Yi could refuse, Su Ziling left. He walked along the road, feeling very gloomy.

Why? Why? Why did his and An Yan's parents have to be persecuted, and his brother had to be forced to wander? He didn't understand why they had to suffer this? Because of other people's desires and selfishness, those families who originally lived a peaceful life and could have been happy had to endure this?

Yang Kewei's experience unveiled the curtain of self-deception that Su Ziling had been hiding. He was extremely angry and tormented by guilt. Every lonely night, he would think of the past that he had forgotten. He wondered how his parents died, how his brother had been in the spotlight, and he would plunge into the mystery of An Yan and could not get out for a long time. He often dreamed of the fire.

He dreamed of a terrible fire that burned endlessly, devouring his parents, brother, and An Yan. They screamed and wailed in pain, while he stood by.

He didn't want this to happen, so he tried his best to work hard, stay with An Yan and Xiao Su, and find everything he could to do. Sometimes, he really forgot, because he was really happy in Qingdao. But the next second, he always remembered.

He had numbed himself. He didn't look at the past or think about the future. He was immersed in the appearance of happiness and stability. However, he could numb himself, but he couldn't indulge himself. He couldn't indulge himself, otherwise he would only despise and despise himself more.

What about An Yan? Is An Yan the same as him? Is An Yan like this because he can't have expectations for the future? He wanted to ask An Yan many times, but he couldn't ask. Because An Yan seemed to have reconciled with the past.

Su Ziling suddenly thought of Yang Kewei's smile. It was a peaceful yet moving smile, brighter than the sun and more beautiful than a flower. So, why? Why could she do this?

When Su Ziling returned home, he saw An Yan sitting in the living room with his arms folded in a daze, so he deliberately walked over. An Yan heard the noise and came back to his senses and asked him, "Why did you come back so soon?"

"I'm back." Su Ziling said, "An Yan, I want to work harder. You see, the sun is rising earlier and earlier now."

If he works harder and becomes stronger, he can defeat the enemy sooner. Then, after defeating the enemy, everything will be over and they will all be happy, right?

"Then, let's go to Signal Hill tonight. You have to get up early tomorrow at around 4 o'clock. Can you handle it?"

"can."

"In that case, let's go tonight."

"Okay, I'll go back to my room and look at my notes for a while."

Su Ziling returned to his room, feeling a little strange. An Yan didn't practice with him every day, and except for the first day, An Yan never got up early with him. He also never told An Yan that he got up at 4 o'clock. How did An Yan know?

Spreading out his notebook, Su Ziling put this thought behind him. An Yan watched Su Ziling enter the room and fell into deep thought. After a while, he turned around and returned to his room in silence.

After eleven o'clock in the middle of the night, when Xiao Su fell asleep, An Yan and Su Ziling sneaked into Signal Hill.

Signal Hill is not big, with an altitude of only more than 200 meters, but after reaching a platform, you can overlook the entire Qingdao.

On the platform, three brick-red spheres stood, and the largest one in the middle was the automatic rotating observation deck. Late at night, all three gates were tightly closed, and the entire platform was empty and silent.

Blocked by the lush trees and buildings around them, An Yan and Su Ziling could not see the lights of thousands of homes and the joys and sorrows of Qingdao.

"You have to be careful here."

Su Ziling nodded, not daring to act rashly. Unlike the open sea, he had to be extremely careful with every blade of grass, every brick and every tile here. Otherwise, he couldn't afford to pay for a careless move. He understood that An Yan had chosen this place to hone his control and reaction ability.

At night, the breeze was blowing. An Yan stood sideways, the wind blowing through his hair. He looked up, and the night sky was vaguely visible above his head. Water was transparent and invisible, but fire was different.

An Yan caught the particularly dazzling flames from the moment they were ignited. He dodged sideways and watched the flames rushing towards him and quickly extinguished.

There is progress, he looked at Su Ziling seriously. Only if he takes it seriously can Su Ziling grow faster. An Yan released his ability, and the water flow chased Su Ziling, entangled him, and forced him. Water and fire kept colliding, and a large amount of water vapor continued to rise.

While moving at high speed, Su Ziling was fully focused on dealing with An Yan's attack, and he also wanted to use his attention to determine An Yan's position so as to launch a counterattack. He was ready to attack, and moved his right foot backwards, but suddenly there was nothing behind him, and his whole body tilted to the side.

"An Yan!" Su Ziling shouted, the flames became uncontrollable and shot straight up into the sky with great momentum.

"Are you okay? How are you?" An Yan waved his hand and ran over, and the flames consumed in the air.

"It's okay, I just forgot there's a small step here." Su Ziling moved his foot, "...it seems like I just twisted it slightly, it doesn't hurt too much, I should be fine tomorrow."

"Go back, I'll support you."

"Ah? No, it's too dark and we have to go down the mountain."

"You know, what if we meet again?" Su Ziling wanted to refuse, but An Yan twisted his arm.

Each time, An Yan only went down one step, walking very steadily and slowly. In the darkness where his senses became more acute, Su Ziling felt for the first time so clearly how much power was contained in An Yan's thin body.