"Give me your backpack." Shen Yuan reached for Li Zhi's bag out of habit.
Her gaze lingered for a moment on his somewhat downcast face, then she looked away.
"It's fine. I'll just carry it myself today."
When Shen Yuan saw Li Zhi turn and leave after she spoke, he didn't press the issue.
The backpack wasn't that heavy, after all. It wasn't as if Li Zhi couldn't manage it.
The two of them followed the sparse stream of people out of the brightly lit science building.
On the main path between the academic buildings, figures were sparse, a stark contrast to the daytime bustle.
The evening breeze brushed by, crisp and refreshing, but it couldn't dispel the heaviness weighing on their hearts.
They walked side by side, their pace deliberately slow.
Li Zhi gripped her backpack strap, her knuckles tightening slightly.
The only sound was the soft scraping of their soles against the ground.
