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After school.
Zhang Ze leaned over and asked, “So, did she leave her contact information?”
Shen Xi glanced at him: “You’ve been worrying about this all day?”
“I’m concerned about your lifelong happiness,” Zhang Ze said innocently, hands resting on the desk.
“Is that so?” Shen Xi zipped up his backpack. “You can’t even figure out your own dinner, yet you’re worried about me. Truly selfless.”
Ignoring him, Zhang Ze had already placed his finished homework in his desk drawer and stood there lightly, waiting for Shen Xi.
Shen Xi saw through his intentions: “...What do you want?”
“To mooch a meal,” Zhang Ze grinned shamelessly. “I haven’t had Auntie’s cooking in a long time.”
…
///
Shen Xi unlocked the door with his key, standing in the entryway as he called out to the living room: “I’m home.”
Ye Qian, holding a spatula, came out of the kitchen to greet them. Seeing Zhang Ze, she smiled: “Zhang Ze is here too? Come in, have a seat.”
“No one’s home tonight, so I came to freeload,” Zhang Ze shrugged. “Thanks for the trouble, Auntie.”
“It’s no trouble,” Ye Qian replied. “Rest for a bit; dinner will be ready soon.”
Zhang Ze often came over for meals, so she was used to it by now.
Shen Xi found him a pair of slippers, changed into his own, then went to his room to unload his backpack.
In the living room, Zhang Ze watched the news with Shen Su.
Zhang Ze was quite talkative, and before long, the two were chatting enthusiastically. Shen Xi, seeing nothing to contribute, quietly tidied the table on the side.
Watching his son, Shen Su said to Zhang Ze, “Xiao Xi has always been quiet, probably inherited from me. You should talk to him more, help him open up.”
Zhang Ze shook his head: “Even though he doesn’t talk much, Shen Xi is very popular at school. Girls line up from our classroom to the school gate just to give him breakfast.”
Shen Su laughed heartily: “You’re young, but don’t get distracted by romance. It’ll only hold you back.”
Zhang Ze: “I’m safe; no one chases after me. But Shen Xi… who knows?”
Shen Xi: “I won’t date anyone—it’s a waste of time.”
///
The dishes were soon ready. After Shen Xi set out the bowls and chopsticks, Zhang Ze came out with the rice.
“If only I’d had two kids,” Ye Qian chuckled as she sat down. “Look how easygoing they are together.”
At the dinner table, someone mentioned the word “crying.”
Zhang Ze reminisced: “My mom said I rarely cried when I was little. I always smiled—even when the doctor gave me shots, I’d grin.”
He nudged Shen Xi with his elbow: “Did you freeze the doctor with your icy gaze when you were little?”
Shen Xi: “…”
Ye Qian picked up a piece of fish for herself and recalled: “Xixi didn’t talk much when he was little, but he was well-behaved and rarely cried. Except once—he got kicked and cried.”
Shen Xi frowned and corrected her: “Mom, it wasn’t crying. It was because I got kicked.”
Zhang Ze perked up: “Wow! Shen Xi actually cried after getting beaten up! Though, it’s all the same since tears came out.”
He then asked: “Auntie, how did he cry?”
Ye Qian: “That little girl had a disagreement with Xixi over something. Later, while riding the rocking horse, she accidentally kicked him in the eye.”
Zhang Ze: “Seriously? That’s all it took to make him cry?”
Shen Xi: “If I punched you in the eye, you’d tear up too. It wasn’t crying—it was a physiological reaction.”
As he spoke, fragments from earlier that morning flashed through his mind.
Her strength, the way she stepped sideways, the teardrop-shaped mole.
It was all eerily familiar.
Shen Xi put down his bowl: “I’m done eating. I’ll go back to my room.”
Once inside, he pulled open the bottom drawer of his bedside table, rummaging around until he found an old photo album.
He dusted off the surface and carefully flipped through it.
Fortunately, Ye Qian had organized everything chronologically.
One year… two years… four years… five years…
There it was.
The photo was candidly taken by Ye Qian.
Back then, after Shen Xi had been kicked in the eye and treated at the hospital, Ye Qian fussed over him and insisted on putting a gauze patch over his right eye.
When they returned home, the girl who had kicked him was sitting there drawing. Shen Xi glanced at her without disturbing her and went upstairs.
But Ye Qian captured the moment.
Shen Xi’s profile and the girl’s full face.
Her delicate features, small face, bright eyes, and that faint teardrop-shaped mole.
She looked exactly the same as she did back then.
Lost in memories, Shen Xi wondered why there was only one photo of them together.
Oh, right—she stopped coming to that art studio afterward. The teacher said she had moved.
They had only met once briefly, and now, more than a decade later, it made sense that neither recognized the other.
Clearly, she hadn’t recognized him either.
Zhang Ze entered the room at some point, leaning against the wall and asking casually: “Huh, childhood sweethearts? Who is this?”
Thinking of the shadow cast by that incident in his childhood—the only time Shen Xi could be described as flustered—and how Ye Qian occasionally teased him about it, Shen Xi lowered his eyes. He remembered how, that morning, she nearly tripped, and he had steadied her.
Great. She had also stepped on his foot.
—Who is this?
Shen Xi chuckled softly and succinctly answered.
“The plague spirit.”
///
That night, Shen Xi dreamed of the plague spirit.
It was their childhood—their first and only meeting.
After finishing his shopping, he was about to head home when Lin Zhan approached him, asking him to model for her.
The little girl spoke in a babyish voice, but her grip on his arm was undeniably strong.
After thinking for a moment, he agreed.
After modeling, they played a game where everyone had to choose roles.
When it came to choosing roles, the only important ones left were princess and fairy.
At the time, there was another girl in the art studio—plain-looking, soft-spoken, with a shy smile.
Both Lin Zhan and she wanted to play the princess.
So they argued.
Unable to resolve the dispute, Lin Zhan turned to Shen Xi angrily: “What do you think?!”
Shen Xi frowned and said: “I don’t think you’re suited to be a princess. You’re more suited to...”
Lin Zhan’s voice grew louder: “Are you going to say I’m suited to be a king?!?!”
Shen Xi bowed his head, silent for a long moment before attempting to speak: “I...”
Lin Zhan: “Hmph! I’m going to be the princess anyway.”
Once her temper flared, there was no stopping her.
To prove herself, Lin Zhan declared: “Princesses on TV ride horses, and so can I.”
With that, she climbed onto the large wooden rocking horse.
Then, with a sidestep, she successfully kicked him in the eye.
In the dream, he felt no pain—only Lin Zhan’s tearful stomping as she exclaimed, “I... I didn’t mean to hit you... Don’t cry...”
He kindly explained: “I’m not crying. You just kicked my eye. This is a physiological reaction.”
“What physiological nonsense,” Lin Zhan apologized anxiously. “Sorry, I really didn’t mean to.”
Shen Xi wiped away the endless flow of tears from the corner of his eyes: “It’s fine. This is normal.”
Lin Zhan frowned: “But you’re tearing up. Oh no, your eye is swollen. Let me blow on it; Mom says blowing helps it stop hurting.”
Shen Xi: “...”
“It’s no use blowing. I need to go home first and have my mom take me to the hospital.”
Lin Zhan’s little face was clouded with worry.
Shen Xi: “It’s okay. It’s not your fault.”
Upon hearing “it’s not your fault,” Lin Zhan calmed down slightly, still pouting: “Why did you have to say I’m not suited to be a princess?”
…
At three in the morning, he woke up startled by the vivid dream.
The direct consequence of a poor night’s sleep was oversleeping the next day.
To avoid traffic, Shen Xi decided to bike to school.
When he arrived, the preparatory bell rang. Seeing the packed bike shed, he decided to lock his bike under a tree and move it during the break.
///
The class bell rang.
Lin Zhan organized her homework and placed it on the desk, waiting for the class representative to collect it.
Zheng Yi Mian leaned against the wall, closing her eyes to rest.
When Sun Hong came to collect the homework, he winked teasingly: “Lin Zhan, how far along are you and Shen Xi?”
Mentioning Shen Xi, Lin Zhan quickly asked: “By the way, that time... When we first met, I followed him for a while, and he asked if I didn’t have class in the afternoon. Wasn’t that the first period? Does that mean he doesn’t have class on Tuesday afternoons?”
Finally, after all this time, she thought to ask about it.
Sun Hong: “First period on Tuesday afternoon? Let me check.”
He pulled out his phone and scrolled until he found Class One’s schedule: “Found it.”
Zheng Yi Mian opened her eyes: “You even have this? Sun Hong, you’re truly the gossip queen of Chonggao.”
Lin Zhan reached out: “Let me see.”
The first period on Tuesday afternoon was arts and crafts.
Lin Zhan: “Arts and crafts? Why does Class One have such a class?”
Sun Hong: “It’s called a relaxation class. Since Class One is full of top students under immense pressure, the school added this course to help them relax their eyes and minds and develop skills outside academics.”
Lin Zhan: “...”
Sun Hong: “I heard Shen Xi hates arts and crafts, so he asked the homeroom teacher for leave and doesn’t attend. The teacher approved it—who can say no to the top student in the grade?”
“Hates arts and crafts?” Lin Zhan rested her head on the desk and muttered gloomily, “It’s fine; I like it enough for both of us. We don’t need two people good at arts and crafts in one house.”
Zheng Yi Mian: ???
Sun Hong continued laughing: “You’ve investigated him so thoroughly. Heard you even left him your contact info. What’s the meaning behind that?”
Lin Zhan looked up: “I want him to share my surname.”
Zheng Yi Mian: “...”
Lin Zhan suddenly snapped back to reality and smacked her forehead: “...I meant I want to share his surname.”
///
After collecting the homework, Sun Hong returned to his seat and chatted with them.
“By the way, the sports meet is next week. I heard the prizes are generous. Are you guys participating?”
Lin Zhan: “...Will Shen Xi present the awards if I win?”
Sun Hong: “Don’t say that—it’s entirely possible.”
Lin Zhan immediately straightened up, thumping Sun Hong’s desk excitedly: “Really?”
Sun Hong: “Calm down...”
Zheng Yi Mian: “Sign up for something easy to win with little competition. Sun Hong, is there anything like that?”
Sun Hong put on a mysterious expression: “Yes, absolutely. I’ve already thought of the perfect event for Lin Zhan—guaranteed to dominate.”
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