The private room was bustling with noise and excitement. Someone was singing “Born for Love” in a hauntingly passionate manner. Xia Li quietly entered without attracting attention, spotted Lin Qingxiao and Xu Ning in a corner, and joined them. Opening her backpack, Xia Li was greeted by Xu Ning’s glance. “The new volume of ‘Soul Eater’ is out?” she asked. Xia Li considered whether she should write a greeting card for Xiao Yulong, rummaged through her bag, found only sticky notes in her pencil case, and wrote “Happy Birthday” with a smiley face and signed it.

“Books,” Xu Ning and Lin Qingxiao said simultaneously.

“I brought Liang Shi Qiu,” Xia Li proudly held up her choice.

All three burst into laughter. Lin Qingxiao added, “That’ll last him a semester of excerpting.”

The overhead party lights briefly dazzled them. Xiao Yulong leaned in, asking with a smile, “What’s so funny?” Xia Li handed him the book with a sticky note, “Happy Birthday.”

“…Another book,” Xiao Yulong said with mock exasperation, but he accepted it graciously. His phone rang, and after taking the call, he informed them, “Someone’s gone to buy snacks; they’ll be here soon. Enjoy yourselves—I need to go pick up a classmate.”

There was a fruit platter on the coffee table; Xia Li grabbed a slice of cantaloupe and, looking at Lin Qingxiao, asked, “Did you do your makeup?”

“Just a bit of lip gloss,” Lin Qingxiao replied. “And I curled my hair.”

In crowded KTV settings, dealing with karaoke enthusiasts was tiresome, but the three of them enjoyed chatting together. Soon, two or three more people entered.

Lin Qingxiao glanced towards the door, sat up straight, and adjusted her hair. Xia Li and Xu Ning simultaneously teased her with elongated “ohs.”

“So why did you agree to come? You’re not close with Xiao Yulong,” Xia Li teased, to which Lin Qingxiao blushed and replied shyly, “Oh, stop it.”

In a small place like Chucheng, with few schools and even fewer good ones, any two students could be connected through various ties—from kindergarten buddies to primary schoolmates or junior high classmates. Xiao Yulong and Nie Chuhang had been classmates in junior high; before separating into arts and sciences, Nie Chuhang and Lin Qingxiao had also been classmates.

Nie Chuhang was polite and scholarly, tall and well-read. His exact relationship with Lin Qingxiao was hard to define—they kept it vague and sometimes secretive.

Observing Nie Chuhang’s situation, Lin Qingxiao stood up after a while and said, “I’ll go over and say hello.”

“Off to meet the prince charming, are we? Don’t bother coming back,” Xu Ning teased with a grin.

“…”

After about ten minutes, Lin Qingxiao returned. “Nie Chuhang and his friends want to treat us to bubble tea. Shall we go?”

“Isn’t that a bit disrespectful to Xiao Yulong?” Xia Li remarked.

“We’ll be back soon,” Lin Qingxiao reassured. Xu Ning declined, “I don’t know them well enough.”

“In that case…”

“I’ll stay and watch some anime alone,” Xu Ning said, shaking her MP4 player.

Lin Qingxiao hooked Xia Li’s arm. “You have to come with me; otherwise, I’ll be too embarrassed alone.”

Grabbing her phone and leaving her backpack with Xu Ning, Xia Li said, “Watch my bag; I’ll be right back.”

Tianxing Street wasn’t long, featuring two shopping malls, several fast fashion stores, and various eateries. The bubble tea shop was nearby, offering only a few options back then—silk stockings, mandarin duck, pearl, matcha, lemon seven, and lemon joy.

Xia Li ordered a frozen lemon seven. They found a small table to sit at, and Xia Li’s role was mainly to cover for Lin Qingxiao, not very involved in the conversation.

Then someone mentioned “Class 20’s Yan Sishi.” Xia Li immediately perked up.

It was Nie Chuhang who spoke, “A few days ago, the school organized training for the national physics competition, and they invited Yan Sishi to prepare for the semi-finals.”

“Isn’t he from the international class?” Lin Qingxiao asked.

“Yeah. I thought international students… you know,” Nie Chuhang chuckled. “But our teacher said he won the physics competition last year.”

“Will he win the championship in the first year?” Xia Li exclaimed in surprise.

Nie Chuhang nodded, “The teacher called him over to share his experience with us and also to learn from each other.”

“So what happened?”

“He finished the fastest. Got everything right,” Nie Chuhang said with admiration in his voice.

Nie Chuhang excelled in physics, basically securing the top two spots in the year for that subject. His evaluation carried a lot of credibility.

“That’s quite impressive,” Lin Qingxiao remarked.

“We talked to him a bit after the training camp. He was always first in his previous school year and consistently scored full marks in physics and math,” Nie Chuhang explained.

Xia Li couldn’t help but ask, “With such good grades, why did he transfer to our small city? Wouldn’t it be easier for him to take the college entrance exam or go abroad from North City?”

“I have no idea,” Nie Chuhang shrugged. “He doesn’t seem very easy to get close to. Our conversations with him were pretty superficial.”

“Is he going to participate in the competition this year?” Xia Li asked again.

“He didn’t register in our province, so he can’t participate.”

“…That’s a shame,” Xia Li realized her sigh sounded too eager and quickly added, “The school is missing out on a potential prize.”

Nie Chuhang agreed, “He would definitely win something if he did participate.”

It was the first time Xia Li felt this way. She realized that liking someone meant even hearing others mention him brought a hidden joy.

They sat in the milk tea shop for thirty to forty minutes before heading back. Thanks to Nie Chuhang’s presence, Lin Qingxiao was more active than usual, singing two songs by Sodagreen to great applause.

Afterward, Nie Chuhang walked with Lin Qingxiao, while Xu Ning’s family came to pick her up. Xia Li lived near the school in a student apartment, just two blocks away from Tianxing Road, a ten-minute walk.

The three said goodbye at the intersection.

Instead of going directly back to the student apartment, Xia Li turned to Shangzhi Bookstore and bought an extra copy of “Soul Eater.”

Back at the apartment, Xia Li took a shower, washed her changed clothes, and hung them on the public balcony. She returned to her own small space, a few square meters but meticulously arranged.

Though small, her place was neatly organized. She had personally chosen the bed sheets and pillowcases, white with goose-yellow floral patterns. The desk was covered with a tablecloth, and against the wall were her favorite extracurricular books.

She took the backpack hanging behind the door, took out two copies of “Soul Eater.” Afraid of mixing them up, she immediately unwrapped the copy she bought herself. She took out a pen, wrote her name on her own copy, and then unwrapped the copy given by Yanshi.

Though they were exactly the same, one always felt heavier and lighter. She opened the drawer, took out a roll of book wrapping paper and an art knife, and cut it according to the size of the book. She had the habit of wrapping books, and this time she was more meticulous and patient than usual.

After wrapping it up, she took out a pen of the same color and wrote on the book cover:

Fro Y.

She held the palm-sized comic book in her hand, reluctant to flip through even one page. She stared at the line of words she wrote for a long time before putting it back into the drawer, along with the diary.

/

During the National Day holiday, Xia Li went home for a visit.

It rained for several days in a row, and Xu Ning and Lin Qingxiao were unwilling to go out, preferring to stay at home surfing the internet.

There was no computer at Xia Li’s home, so she had to go to a nearby internet cafe to go online. At that time, small cities were not strictly regulated, and minors could use a virtual ID card from the internet cafe to log on.

Xia Li managed a Netease blog carefully during the holidays, logging in whenever she had free time to update her diary and change the skin.

The blog was called “Sherry’s Laboratory,” because she gave herself the English name Sherry.

On the one hand, it was a direct transliteration of her name, and on the other hand, it was her private opinion. She liked Ai Haibara very much.

After updating the blog, she watched a movie and changed the songs on MP3 to new ones.

When she was downloading a song, she thought of the silver iPod at Yanshi’s time, and thought blankly, who would he like to listen to?

The festival for adults is an endless dinner party and mahjong.

Xia Li was inevitably involved in socializing – Xia Jianyang and Jiang Hong’s cultural level was not high, and they had lived gray for their entire lives without any sense of existence. Xia Li was their most proud work.

Having dinner with those colleagues and friends, Xia Jianyang couldn’t help but show off: My daughter is studying at Mingzhong, in the liberal arts experimental class!

Today was dinner with Luo Weiguo.

The house was too simple, and Xia Jianyang was afraid that Jiang Hong’s craftsmanship was not good enough, so he didn’t neglect the guests and booked a private room in the restaurant.

Xia Li hated such occasions, but had to go.

The adult began to swallow clouds and spit fog in the box after the third round of wine.

Luo Weiguo smoked a cigarette and looked at Xia Li, smiling and saying: “Last time I sat in a car with you, Huo’s grandson, do you still remember?”

“… Yeah. Uncle Luo, are you still dealing with him often now?”

Luo Weiguo waved his hand, “That’s not up to me. His family hired a dedicated nanny, and he has a driver to pick him up. I was just in Jiangcheng for business and gave him a ride as a favor. Oh, he started studying at Mingzhong this semester too. Haven’t you run into him?”

“Yes, I have… but we haven’t talked much.”

Luo Weiguo glanced at Xia Jianyang, “Your daughter is so obedient, but she doesn’t know how to seize opportunities. Since you know him, you should be more enthusiastic! Do you know his status? He’s the grandson of Director Huo. Director Huo has only this one grandson. To ensure he gets a good education, he donated a large sum to Mingzhong to establish an international department. If you get along with him, it could open many doors for you in the future. His word carries more weight than mine as a deputy general manager. Don’t you agree, Old Xia?”

Xia Jianyang laughed repeatedly, “Yes, yes!”

Xia Li felt like she had swallowed a fly. She had never disliked Luo Weiguo so much. It felt as though her simple, unknown feelings were being maligned as cunning calculations. The adults’ pragmatic mindset was truly disgusting.

After the dinner, when they returned home, Xia Jianyang, half-drunk and soaking his feet, asked, “Daughter, do you really know Director Huo’s grandson?”

Xia Li didn’t respond.

“If you do, it wouldn’t hurt to get in touch more often.”

Xia Li couldn’t help but retort, “If you want to get in touch, do it yourself.”

She walked a few steps back to her room and slammed the door shut.

Xia Jianyang and Jiang Hong exchanged glances. Xia Li was always obedient and gentle. She had never gotten so angry with her parents before.

Midterms were right around the corner. After entering the second year of high school, there were four major exams each semester, including midterms and finals. These exams were conducted according to the college entrance exam schedule and standards, with all grades mixed and test centers arranged by ranking. The international class did not participate in the monthly exams; they had a different set of exams.

Lin Qingxiao told Xia Li that Nie Chuhang was very disappointed about this: he originally wanted to compete with Yan Sishi in the monthly exams.

The first examination venue for liberal arts happened to be on the first floor. After each course exam, Xia Li would habitually glance toward Class 20 after handing in her paper. Although it was mealtime, she never saw Yan Sishi come out of the classroom to go to the cafeteria with anyone. Was it the wrong time? Or does he not eat at all and lives on dew like an immortal?

After the last English exam the next day, Xia Li packed her things, and Lin Qingxiao came over and asked if she and Xu Ning wanted to eat something outside.

Xu Ning said, “You guys go ahead. My dad is coming to pick me up later.”

Xia Li walked out of the examination room with Lin Qingxiao. Lin Qingxiao suddenly grabbed her arm and lifted her chin.

Following her gaze, Xia Li saw Nie Chuhang standing with Yan Sishi by the second window of Class 20.

Her heart felt like a ping pong ball being thrown on the table, bouncing lightly. Xia Li pretended to ask, “Do you want to say hi to Nie Chuhang?”

“Of course.”

Lin Qingxiao walked over and patted Nie Chuhang on the shoulder.

Nie Chuhang turned his head, and Yan Sishi also glanced over.

Lin Qingxiao: “Hi.”

Nie Chuhang: “Hi!”

Xia Li looked at Yan Sishi, “…Hello.”

Yan Sishi: “Hello.”

Lin Qingxiao was stunned for a moment, “…You two know each other?”

Xia Li nodded slightly and then secretly pinched Lin Qingxiao’s arm, signaling her not to ask more questions on the spot.

Lin Qingxiao asked Nie Chuhang, “How did the exam go?”

Nie Chuhang: “I’m not sure about the last big question in physics, so I’m asking the top student. How about you?”

“Just so-so. Are you having dinner? We’re planning to eat out.”

Nie Chuhang looked a bit troubled, torn between physics and girls.

After thinking it over, he asked Yan Sishi, “Have you eaten? Join us, and we can discuss the problem further. I won’t be able to sleep if I don’t figure it out today.”

Xia Li thought Yan Sishi wouldn’t agree. From her observation, Yan Sishi was mostly a lone wolf. During breaks, he didn’t join the crowd. Every time she passed by Class 20 with her geography practice book, she saw him either reading, listening to music, or sleeping at his desk. His only friend might be the “black-framed glasses” guy she saw with him last time at the convenience store.

Unexpectedly, Yan Sishi nodded and then said, “I’ll call another friend.”

He opened the window and called inside, “Wang Chen.”

The response came from the “black-framed glasses.”

Yan Sishi asked, “Want to eat out?”

Wang Chen nodded, “Sure.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a girl’s voice rang out in the classroom, “Yan Sishi, are you going out for dinner? Can we join you?”

It was Tao Shiyue who spoke. She was chatting with another girl, and upon hearing Yan Sishi talking to Wang Chen, she suddenly turned around and asked.

Yan Sishi said, “Sorry, it’s not convenient today. Maybe next time.”

His tone was always so indifferent, without any extra emotion.

Xia Li felt like she had swallowed half a green orange for no reason.

It wasn’t because of Yan Sishi’s “next time,” but because of the familiarity in the interaction between Tao Shiyue and Yan Sishi.

At this moment, Tao Shiyue glanced out the window, “Oh. Maybe next time then.”

She must have seen Lin Qingxiao.

Lin Qingxiao snickered quietly, only loud enough for Xia Li to hear.

A group of five headed out of the school.

Lin Qingxiao and Nie Chuhang walked side by side at the front, chatting about their own topics.

Right behind them was Wang Chen, who was walking while holding a thick book with an English cover, not looking up the whole time.

For some inexplicable reason, Xia Li ended up walking at the back with Yan Sishi.

Yan Sishi was wearing Mingzhong’s autumn school uniform jacket, unzipped, with a white shirt underneath, highlighting his tall and slender figure.

The exit of the teaching building was crowded with people coming and going.

Two students, perhaps in a hurry, ran towards them frantically.

Yan Sishi stepped half a step closer to Xia Li to avoid them.

Xia Li’s heart almost stopped.

In that moment, she caught a whiff of a cool, refreshing scent.

It was like opening a window in winter, with the world covered in snow.