Chapter 116: That Strange Boy

Fourteen-year-old Hong Siyu did not believe in miracles in this world.

Or rather, miracle was a word that had nothing to do with her.

Since birth, she had seemed like a child slightly more unlucky than those around her; no matter what she did, the outcome rarely went as she wished.

So when, during the cultural festival, she was bumped from behind while helping at her class's snack stall and spilled the seasonings in her hand, she was not at all surprised.

Ah, again.

That was all she could think.

The seasoning bottle, its lid already open, slipped from her palm and tumbled through the air; the reddish-brown sauce churned inside, rising to the mouth of the bottle, nearly ready to pour out.

Hong Siyu had no time to grab the bottle, so she could only flail her hand uselessly, eyes wide as she watched the seasoning bottle spin through the air.

Then, in her gaze, a hand reached out from the side.

That hand firmly caught the seasoning bottle just before it would have tipped onto the griddle, spilling hardly any sauce, preserving its original state intact.

Hong Siyu stared blankly at the sudden hand, unsure how to react.

Looking up, she saw the owner of the hand was a tall, handsome boy.

His features were not strikingly beautiful, but together they formed something pleasing to the eye, harmonious; he wore his hair neatly short, his school uniform pressed perfectly, without a single wrinkle, giving off an impression of quiet discipline and scholarly grace, like the "scholar" described in classical texts.

Yet his face held no expression—indeed, it was almost cold. He simply caught the seasoning bottle she had dropped and returned it to her, saying nothing more.

"... Thank you."

Hong Siyu forced those two words out, her voice faint, barely audible.

"You're welcome," the boy replied stiffly.

After taking his snack from the stall, he showed no hint of seeking praise, as if what he had done were truly insignificant, and left without another word.

His figure vanished into the crowd.

—"Ah, that guy—isn't he that one?"

As Hong Siyu watched the boy leave, her classmate noticed the scene and, seeing his back, blurted: "That guy from third year—I remember he's pretty famous."

"Famous?"

Hong Siyu frowned at her classmate: "I don't remember him at all."

"Of course you wouldn't—you're such a bookworm who never looks up from your studies."

The classmate smiled: "That senior's the school's notorious playboy—he's dating two senior girls, right? Or three?"

"Huh? Huh?"

The truth in her classmate's words yanked Hong Siyu abruptly out of her hazy feelings: "P-playboy?"

"Don't be fooled by his looks."

The classmate twirled her egg beater, sighing: "He looks like a prince, but you can't judge a man by his face—get too close, and you'll just get your heart broken and tossed aside."

"Break hearts? I—I never thought of anything like that!"

Hong Siyu hurriedly protested, cheeks burning: "Besides, dating in middle school is wrong! That's not something we should be thinking about!"

"Are you in elementary school? So innocent."

The classmate sneered: "Your reaction just now? Clearly you were smitten. Crushed on him at first sight?"

"Huh?"

The classmate's blunt words made Hong Siyu's face flush; she instinctively stepped forward and grabbed her classmate's shoulders: "I wasn't!"

"Then why were you staring at his back?"

"I really wasn't! I just noticed he helped me—that's all!"

"Really?"

"How could it be fake..."

The two continued their pointless argument until the class monitor, noticing the snack stall's output had dropped and demand was outstripping supply, spotted them slacking in the corner and came over to break it up.

Hong Siyu returned to her station, picked up the seasoning bottle again, and resumed making snacks.

But now, since the bottle had slipped once, she gripped it with extra care, determined to prevent any further accidents.

Lucky help from a stranger wouldn't happen again, would it?

She thought so, and gradually, in the rush of work, forgot about the boy.

Fourteen-year-old Hong Siyu was a somewhat unlucky child.

Because she was unlucky, she never pinned hopes on fleeting fortune; she always strove as hard as she could, relying on effort to secure a certain future.

Thus, she was a diligent, high-achieving student.

More precisely, she was the top student in the entire grade.

She used every spare moment to spend in the school library, while others enjoyed their youth, she quietly read and studied in a corner of the library.

Only then did she feel rare peace, for this was her own small world, where she could fully immerse herself in books, ignoring all outside disturbances.

But recently, she had begun to notice another person in the library—a boy, one she had a faint memory of.

He had helped her during the cultural festival months ago; she had only just remembered that now.

She didn't know when he had started studying in the library, for she had never paid attention to who else was there before.

But a few days ago, this boy came to the library with another beautiful girl.

Whether handsome boy or beautiful girl, each alone might draw a passing glance—but nothing more.

But when both appeared together, they became the center of everyone's attention.

Suspicious, envious, contemptuous stares poured over them; many students could no longer concentrate, felt ashamed to be in the same room, and left the library that day altogether.

Even though the boy and girl were simply studying, doing nothing else.

Hong Siyu did not leave.

Never mind that she had no intention of leaving—she couldn't have left even if she wanted to. Her mother wouldn't come to pick her up until very late, and unless she returned to the classroom, she had nowhere else to go.

It was on that very day that she learned the boy's name from the quiet conversation between the pretty girl and him: Lin Yun.

It was a name perfectly suited to his appearance—like gentle sunlight, not blinding or dazzling, yet never hiding its inherent radiance.

After that, Hong Siyu gradually discovered that Lin Yun was also a regular at the library.

And it seemed he truly studied earnestly.

Aside from that one time studying with the pretty girl, Lin Yun always came alone, silently selecting reference materials and quietly solving problems or reading in a corner of the library.

He never initiated conversation with others, nor did he care about the gazes around him; day after day, he arrived and departed with mechanical punctuality.

Of course, there were occasional days when he did not appear in the library.

That was normal—everyone had their own life.

Hong Siyu had merely noticed this boy; in reality, they had never spoken, and their exchanges remained confined to the "thank you" and "you're welcome" from the cultural festival.

They had no reason to form further connections.

Hong Siyu believed this—until one day in the library, when she fell from the air while reaching for a book placed too high.

At the time, she had stood on a chair to reach higher, stretching her toes to grasp the book, but the chair slipped and she lost her balance.

At that critical moment, a hand reached out from behind her and seized the collar at the nape of her neck in a desperate grip—Hong Siyu narrowly avoided crashing to the floor.

The shock of falling from height left her heart pounding; only after a long while did her breathing calm, and when she turned her head to see who had helped her, it was again that boy—Lin Yun.

"Um… thank you?"

Not knowing what else to say, Hong Siyu offered her thanks weakly, in a voice uncertain even to herself.

"You're welcome."

Lin Yun gave only his usual brief reply: "Be careful."

His voice was calm and clear, pleasantly resonant—perhaps because only the two of them were present and the room was utterly silent, his words reached Hong Siyu's ears with perfect clarity.

Once he confirmed Hong Siyu had regained her footing, he released her collar, righted the fallen chair, and without another word, simply walked away.

Hong Siyu watched his retreating back until he vanished among the bookshelves, then turned her head slowly, dazed, back toward the shelves.

Only after she selected her book and left the bookshelf area did she realize Lin Yun had already left the library—uncharacteristically, neither late nor early, he departed at an odd time.

Hong Siyu did not dwell on it. She continued her usual study habits, reading and solving problems in the library until the time her mother came to pick her up, then rose from her seat and packed her belongings.

Yet, just before leaving, she suddenly noticed something on Lin Yun's seat.

She walked over and found a book.

It was a Bing Chu San textbook.

The pages were curled from heavy use; when she opened the cover, she saw neatly written characters: "Lin Yun."

Flipping further, she saw dense annotations and notes in multiple ink colors, each marked to indicate which study cycle the note belonged to.

Clearly, the book's owner was extremely meticulous and serious in his studies.

Perhaps he had left it behind in haste, or perhaps he found it too troublesome to carry and deliberately abandoned it in the library.

Hong Siyu did not know the exact reason, but that did not stop her from placing the book in the library's storage cabinet. After all, no one could guarantee it wouldn't be thrown away during cleaning or stolen by another student.

I'll tell him about it tomorrow when he comes.

Hong Siyu thought so.

But she never imagined that after that day, she would never see Lin Yun again.

The familiar figure had vanished from the library.

In the weeks and months that followed, whenever Hong Siyu glanced toward Lin Yun's usual seat, she saw only empty desks and chairs.

Should she take his textbook to his classroom?

Hong Siyu sometimes wondered this. But the moment she imagined the consequences, she lost all courage to do it.

A completely unfamiliar girl showing up at a boy's classroom with a textbook he'd left behind two months ago? It sounded far too strange—it looked like she had some strange intention.

She had no feelings toward Lin Yun—only mild attention. There was no need to go that far.

Hong Siyu told herself this. So from beginning to end, she never touched the textbook stored in the cabinet again.

Another month passed, then two months, then a long time. The seat Lin Yun had often chosen was now occupied by someone else.

The students who studied in the library had changed again—many Bing Chu San seniors, nearing the high school entrance exam, now came to the library after school.

Hong Siyu gradually grew unable to tolerate the noisy library.

She did not want her study state disturbed by the chaotic environment, so she switched her study location, staying after school in the empty classroom to read.

And so, several more months passed, and the Bing Chu San students graduated.

Only after their graduation did Hong Siyu return her after-school study spot to the library, resuming her usual seat and continuing her unchanged life.

Then, one day, she remembered Lin Yun again.

She realized she hadn't seen him since then.

A flicker of curiosity stirred in her heart; she went to the library's storage cabinet, searched through it, and found the textbook she had placed there.

He had indeed never taken it back.

For some reason, Hong Siyu felt no surprise at all.

Was it because she had put the book in the cabinet, so he never found it? But she had waited in the library for months—if he had been willing to come even once, she would have told him exactly where it was.

She took the textbook from the cabinet, gently wiped its surface dust with a tissue, and felt a vague, indescribable emotion in her chest.

Should she muster the courage to return the book to his classroom? After all, she had no connection to him, no hidden intentions—she was only returning a book. Wasn't that really nothing much?

Should she wait longer in the library? Maybe he had come during the two months she wasn't there.

After all, he was a Bing Chu San student—he had graduated. Would she never see him again?

Holding Lin Yun's textbook, Hong Siyu stood before the storage cabinet, her thoughts in turmoil.

She felt a very faint, very vague emotion within her heart; with the arrival of this textbook, she had become somewhat strange.

What exactly was it? Hong Siyu did not know. She only knew that, to prevent this book from being thrown away as trash, she had secretly taken it from the storage locker.

Then, she had kept it by her side ever since.

(End of this chapter)

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