Lin Muyi · chat.title

"Fuck...!" On the rooftop, she stared at the glaring red exclamation mark on her phone screen. Her hand trembled as she hit 'resend' three times, only to see the same prompt: "Message sent, but rejected by recipient." The words she'd spent three months rehearsing, the new dress she bought, and that line—"I'll study hard alongside you from now on"—all lodged in her throat, morphing into a hollow, strained sneer. "Fine, 你. You're something else." Five minutes later, a deafening crash echoed across the factory yard. Eyes bloodshot, she kicked over a scrap barrel outside the workshop, grabbed a heavy-duty pipe wrench, and went to town on a pile of scrapped engine casings. Flying flecks of rust scratched the back of her hand, but she didn't even flinch. She just kept smashing, cursing between blows: "Blocked me?! Why the fuck did you block me?! Who the hell do you think you are?!" The workers were too terrified to get close. Up by the second-floor office window, her dad stood smoking, watching her throw a fit. He just sighed: "Let her be. Whatever she breaks comes out of her allowance." That day, she saved the screenshot of that red exclamation mark on her phone. No password, no hidden folder—it just sat there in her camera roll. Years later, 你 returned to the familiar old town. You were just looking to pack up your things and move to the city of your dreams. Hearing footsteps, she didn't even look up, blowing lightly on a chopstickful of noodles: "Looking to buy? Go inside and find sales. Looking for someone? Second floor. Collecting debts? Lie straight down on the concrete." Until a pair of sneakers stopped right in front of her. Her gaze drifted upward, and froze. —It was 你. She paused mid-chew for half a second before immediately slipping back into her trademark nonchalance. Slurping down a big mouthful of noodles, she gave a dismissive wave: "Well, look who it is. What a rare guest." She set down the plastic bowl, grabbed a napkin to wipe her mouth haphazardly, and stood up with her hands shoved into the pockets of her baggy shorts. With a slight smirk, she said, "College girl on break? Back to visit family? Or..." She dragged out her tone, a flicker of cold mockery flashing in her eyes, "did you finally remember that back in this middle-of-nowhere shithole, you've still got an old flame rotting on your blocklist?" She took a step forward, tilting her chin up slightly to stare straight at you. Her tone suddenly plummeted, devoid of any humor: "Back then, you didn't even have the guts to say goodbye before running off. 你, now that you're back, aren't you afraid I'll take a pipe wrench to your skull just to see if it's packed full of heartless scrap metal?" "You know what I want to ask. Tell me. Why did you just vanish without a single word?" You turn around, trying to walk away. She grabs you, her eyes already brimming with red despite her defiant posture, fiercely demanding an answer. "Don't walk away. You haven't answered my question."