On the day he could finally walk without crutches, Qiao Lan's second year of high school had just ended.

Qiao Lan told Tan Mo that she had won the first-prize scholarship for second year of high school. She also said that she had found a dessert shop and the strawberry mousse cups there were very delicious. She also said confidently that even if Tan Mo came back now, he wouldn't be able to take away her first prize.

Tan Mo's right hand held tightly onto the leg muscle rehabilitation device while his left hand held the phone close to his ear. He had just gone through an intense rehabilitation exercise, so his breathing was faster than usual. There was a smile in his voice that he didn't even notice.

"Really?"

"Of course," Qiao Lan said, "My grades in biology are very good. I always get close to full marks. You haven't been studying recently, right? You definitely can't beat me."

Tan Mo smiled silently. "That's amazing."

Qiao Lan could almost hear the affection in his words. She even thought that it was an illusion. "Tan Mo," Qiao Lan called out to Tan Mo. "Did something happy happen today? Why are you in such a good mood?"

"Yeah," Tan Mo let go of the device. He didn't hold onto anything. He steadied himself and walked forward. He walked back to the ward from there with a faint smile in his eyes and Qiao Lan's bold words in his ears.

She asked him what happened today that made him so happy. Tan Mo said it was a secret and he wouldn't tell her.

It had been more than half a year. Tan Mo didn't know whether this long journey was a surprise or a disappointment. Until now, the doctor finally told him that it was definitely a surprise.

He could already stand and walk without any assistance. He didn't need to continue the previous rehabilitation. His daily rehabilitation task was mainly to exercise. He started to replenish his nutrients and then started to exercise to strengthen his body.

Slowly, he could not only walk normally, go up and down stairs, but he could also run and jump.

After more than a year of accumulated illness and weakness, as well as three months of hellish rehabilitation, the body that had been tormented for a long time was now at its weakest.

Uncle Chen hired the most professional physiotherapist for Tan Mo. He used the most professional data to calculate the maximum amount of exercise that Tan Mo's body could endure.

For a patient who had just recovered to begin such high-intensity training, it was not something an ordinary person could do.

It was like a person who had never worked out and received the highest intensity of training from the beginning. Not many people could persevere, let alone a patient who had just recovered from a serious illness.

The physiotherapist looked at the tall, thin, and sickly young man. He did not think that he would be able to last for more than a few days, but to his surprise, he persisted day after day.

He would not overdo it. He would definitely control it within an acceptable range. However, as long as it was a plan, he would definitely complete it on the same day.

In this way, Tan Mo's progress could be said to be godly.

The physiotherapist was amazed and was even more active in helping Tan Mo recover. Sometimes, he even chatted with Tan Mo and recommended that he continue to exercise every day after he fully recovered. It would be best if he learned some professional exercises that could strengthen his body better.

Tan Mo said that he understood, but he did not say that he already had this idea.

He always remembered the pain of being in a wheelchair and not being able to do anything when the Luo Nian came to the school gate to harass Qiao Lan.

If he could, he would definitely be the first to rush up and remove the dirty hand that touched Qiao Lan.

The phone next to him rang. Tan Mo took the phone and answered the call. The physiotherapist looked at the young man who had been expressionless and cold a moment ago. When he picked up the phone, his cold facial features instantly melted. Even his voice subconsciously became gentle.

Tan Mo spoke in Chinese, so the physiotherapist could not understand. However, from Tan Mo's short answers, he could tell that they were all non-nutritious words.

They were indeed not nutritious, such as how the weather was today, what he ate today, and so on.

It was 11 o 'clock in the morning in New York, and 11 o' clock at night in China. Qiao Lan called Tan Mo before she went to bed.

After the call went through, she realized that she actually did not have much to say. It was the holidays recently, so she had been reading and not going out to play. She also did not have anything interesting to share with Tan Mo.

However, she still called.

During the winter holidays, Tan Mo had left for the United States. Now, half of the summer holidays had passed. Qiao Lan had not seen Tan Mo for half a year.

The longer they were apart, the more Qiao Lan realized that Tan Mo was more important to her than she had imagined.

When she first came to this strange world, she had no friends or family. It had been two years, and the only person who had truly entered her heart was Tan Mo.

When Tan Mo was around, Qiao Lan just liked the life with Tan Mo. After Tan Mo left, Qiao Lan realized that she had lost a home.

Qiao Lan clearly realized that she missed Tan Mo.

She missed the young man who was always expressionless, but always tried his best to smile.

Qiao Lan did not know what she said. Anyway, it was all nonsense, but Tan Mo was not impatient at all. He still listened very seriously. In the end, Qiao Lan suddenly fell silent. Tan Mo was at a loss for words. Was it because he was too boring that she did not know what to say?

"When will you come back?"

Qiao Lan asked softly.

When will you come back?

Will you come back?

I miss you a little.

No, actually, I miss you very much.

The girl's slightly hesitant and soft voice was accompanied by the moonlight. It was so hazy that Tan Mo felt that he had heard something wrong.

"Soon." The love and longing hidden in his heart could not wait to be stuck in his throat. Tan Mo's voice was hoarse and slightly trembling.

Soon, it was really soon.

When he finally hung up the phone, the physiotherapist next to him teased him ambiguously, "Girlfriend?"

Tan Mo squeezed the phone in his hand. No, Tan Mo subconsciously wanted to say that, but when the words reached the tip of his tongue, he suddenly could not control his greed.

When the physiotherapist was completely finished, he would never see this physiotherapist again. Even if he lied, he would not expose him. He would not tell anyone else, let alone Qiao Lan.

He just, just wanted to try. He did not want to refute this sentence. He wanted to use words to tell Qiao Lan what it felt like to be his girlfriend.

He was silent for a long time, as if he was struggling in his heart for a long time. Finally, he said, "Yes."

The moment he said "yes," Tan Mo felt like he was drowned in an overwhelming wave of shame and blame, but it was also drowned out by the joy and intimacy that made his heart beat faster and tremble even more.

The physiotherapist could not see the magnificent emotional fluctuations hidden under this expressionless face. He gossiped and asked Tan Mo if his girlfriend was very outstanding and beautiful.

"Very outstanding." When Tan Mo heard the physiotherapist say the word "girlfriend," he felt as if his heart was suddenly squeezed. There was an indescribable sweetness and bitterness in his heart.

"Beautiful, very beautiful."

"Really?"

The physiotherapist was quite excited. He asked Tan Mo if he had a photo. After that, he lowered his head and looked at Tan Mo's phone.

Tan Mo slammed the phone screen on the ground. His tone suddenly became cold.

"No."

The physiotherapist: …

Continue training.

The summer vacation of the second year of high school was much shorter than that of the first year of high school. Because they were about to enter the third year of high school, they had to start making up lessons in advance.

Only the students who were about to enter the third year of high school were left in the school. Qiao Lan returned to the dormitory. She had not seen Bai Yu and the others for half of the summer vacation. When they met again, Qiao Lan was quite happy.

Bai Yu's hometown was far away in the northwest. When she went there, she brought back a lot of local products, such as raisins and lavender, to the dormitory. After she spread them out, the entire dormitory was filled with the fragrance of lavender.

After distributing the products to the dormitory, Bai Yu distributed a few more sets. She was going to give them to a few boys in the class who were close to her during the official make-up lessons the next day.

Bai Yu's personality was like a boy's. Other than Qiao Lan, her closest friends were almost all boys.

Although Hao Ying had purposely gotten close to the girls who were close to Qiao Lan in the beginning in order to pursue Qiao Lan, as time passed, they did indeed play together. Regardless of whether they liked each other or not, they were all friends who were easy to get along with.

After distributing the gifts, her phone rang. She picked it up and saw that it was a WeChat message from Hao Ying. He asked her to secretly go down to the dormitory building.

Bai Yu glanced at Qiao Lan, shook her head helplessly, and went downstairs. At the bottom of the stairs, she saw Hao Ying, who was tanned.

Hao Ying said that he had gone to Hawaii during the summer vacation, so he had tanned quite a bit. He handed the bag in his hand to Bai Yu and said that these were souvenirs that he had bought on the way to Hawaii. He asked Bai Yu to give one to each of the girls who were close to him. In the end, he took out the best-packaged set and asked her to pass it to Qiao Lan, a little embarrassed.

Bai Yu looked down and saw that it was a bracelet made of pearls and small shells. It was very beautiful, and one could tell at a glance that it was not cheap.

"I don't think he will accept it." Although Bai Yu did not want to discourage Hao Ying, she still gave Hao Ying a reminder.

Hao Ying scratched his head and revealed a set of big white teeth that were whiter because of his tanned skin. "We'll see if he doesn't accept it."

Alright. Bai Yu took the gifts and went upstairs. After delivering the gifts one by one, she finally gave the bracelet to Qiao Lan.

As expected, Qiao Lan did not accept it.

If it was the same shell bracelet as the others, it would have been fine. However, looking at the pearls on it, Qiao Lan definitely could not accept it. She put the bracelet back and planned to return it to Hao Ying in class tomorrow.

Now that only the two of them were left in the dormitory, Bai Yu sighed. "I know that Hao Ying made such a big fuss that the whole school knew about it, but he regretted it afterward. It's been more than half a year. Have you really not considered it?"

Qiao Lan shook her head honestly. "No."

"Why?!"

Qiao Lan smiled. "What's the reason? I just don't like it."

Qiao Lan took off the small apple jade pendant around her neck, took out a new red string, and replaced the worn one.

Bai Yu watched as Qiao Lan carefully and seriously put on the jade pendant. She lay on the bed and casually asked her, "I remember that you've been wearing this pendant for a long time, right?"

"Yeah."

"You bought it yourself?"

After seeing how disgusting Qiao Lan's family was, Bai Yu did not think that the Qiao family would buy something like this for Qiao Lan. She had seen Qiao Lan's jade pendant before. The quality of the jade was very good, and it was definitely not cheap.

"No." Qiao Lan put on the jade pendant and put it back on. The cold pendant stuck to her collarbone. Qiao Lan's eyes curved into crescents. "Tan Mo gave it to me."

Bai Yu was stunned.

She looked down at Qiao Lan and thought of Hao Ying's bracelet that Qiao Lan rejected. Then, she thought of the jade pendant that Qiao Lan treasured so much. Suddenly, she called Qiao Lan.

"Lan Lan."

"Yeah?"

"You can't …"

She stopped talking. Qiao Lan waited for a long time, but Bai Yu did not finish her sentence. Hence, she looked up and asked her what she wanted to say.

"Don't tell me you didn't finish your summer homework."

Qiao Lan was speechless.

After Qiao Lan left the dormitory, Bai Yu lay on her bed and let out a long sigh of relief.

Tan Mo had been gone for more than half a year. Whether it was Bai Yu or the other people in the class, they had gradually forgotten the name of the unfamiliar young man in the past 200 days. It was only when Qiao Lan mentioned him that Bai Yu suddenly realized that when Qiao Lan mentioned Tan Mo, her tone was still familiar, natural, and intimate.

Are you still waiting for him to come back?

Do you … actually like Tan Mo?

Thinking of the young man in the wheelchair that was gradually fading from her memory, Bai Yu felt that it was too unbelievable, so she did not ask.

There was no point in asking this question. After all, Tan Mo had already left.

The next day, make-up classes officially started. The seating arrangements for the new semester were chaotic again. At this time, everyone was always trying to find their own seats. Bai Yu was the first to grab the seat next to Qiao Lan.

Not only were they close, but Qiao Lan's grades were also the best in the grade. Who wouldn't want to sit next to a top student in their third year of high school?

"Lan Lan, why don't we sit together …"

Before she could finish her sentence, a student suddenly ran in from outside with a face full of shock and excitement. "What the f * ck!"

"What the f * ck! What the f * ck! Guess who I just saw!"

There was a commotion outside the corridor. Many students leaned against the window and looked outside. Their exclamations and screams could be heard through the thin classroom door.

"What's wrong?"

Qiao Lan looked out of the classroom in surprise.

The green classroom door was pushed open, and the noise was magnified several times in an instant. Amidst the exclamations and gasps, the young man who had not been seen for 200 days walked into the classroom with his slender legs under the morning sun.

Qiao Lan stared blankly at Tan Mo, who was standing like everyone else. Suddenly, tears blurred her eyes.