Chapter 3: It’s Normal for Classmates to Chat with Each Other

“Really, you’re so pretty.”

Wei Lai spun around, her gaze examining Zi Yan like she was observing a little animal.

“Eh…”

Zi Yan felt uncomfortable being scrutinized so closely by someone else.

His left arm pressed tightly against his side, holding up the parasol. The pitch-black fabric made his waist-length white hair behind him look even more dazzling.

Especially his delicate face and the wine-red eyes, half-closed now, revealing a troubled expression… To Wei Lai, this girl before her was simply adorable.

Just like a fairy stepped out from a fairy tale.

This fairy wasn’t that kind of fairy, it was a compliment— a compliment.

“Although I’m happy, if possible, could you not call me ‘pretty’?” Zi Yan said.

Being called pretty instead of a monster— this was the first time Zi Yan had ever heard that from a stranger.

But the word “pretty”… doesn’t really suit a boy, does it?

“Eh-eh, you clearly look like a beauty.”

The word “beauty” didn’t really suit a boy either, did it?

Wei Lai stopped playing basketball and sat down in the shade beneath the basketball hoop to chat with Zi Yan. “You should come sit too. Standing is so tiring.”

“Eh…” Zi Yan looked puzzled. “With how I look— my hair color’s so unusual, and my skin too… don’t you think it’s weird?”

“No, not at all.” Wei Lai waved her hand. “It’s more like a mysterious kind of beauty.”

“And I bet so many girls in Sunflower Country envy skin like yours.”

For girls in Sunflower Country, it seemed whitening was always highly desired?

But for someone like Zi Yan, whose skin was obviously far beyond healthy pale… surely no one would want to look like that.

Zi Yan just took it as Wei Lai comforting him.

He sat down under the basketball hoop, leaning against the opposite side of where Wei Lai was sitting. The shade covered the area perfectly, so Zi Yan folded his parasol away.

“Having skin like yours, it must be painful, right?” Wei Lai asked, leaning on the frame.

Painful—what kind of pain?

Zi Yan didn’t know exactly what Wei Lai meant at first.

“For me, when it rains, holding an umbrella for half an hour makes my arm ache.”

Oh, so that was it.

“It’s not painful exactly, just a bit troublesome,” Zi Yan replied. “Actually, sunscreen helps, but I sweat a lot in summer, so it wears off quickly… If the sun hits me directly, my skin quickly turns red or even burns.”

He’d been like this since he was a kid, so he was used to it.

“I see…” Wei Lai pulled a bottle of mineral water from her bag and handed it to Zi Yan. “By the way, I don’t know your name yet.”

“Zheng Zi Yan.”

Zi Yan answered but didn’t take the bottle.

Here… was it okay to take mineral water from someone? Or not?

Without experience interacting with strangers, chatting was already the limit for Zi Yan. Other interactions, please spare him.

“Uh—” This made Wei Lai a bit awkward instead.

“There’s something I can ask?” Zi Yan said.

“What is it?”

“Why are you talking to me so much?”

They were strangers who had just met. Why did this girl named Wei Lai take the initiative to talk so much?

“Why?” Wei Lai suddenly smiled. “Because you’re the transfer student. We’re classmates.”

“What’s wrong with classmates chatting?”

What was wrong with that?

“…” Zi Yan had no words.

He wasn’t good at dealing with others, just like his body wasn’t good at dealing with sunlight.

It was just strange.

His body hurt when exposed to sunlight. Even things brightened by the sun irritated Zi Yan’s wine-red eyes terribly.

Yet despite all that, sometimes on sunny days, Zi Yan would inexplicably feel an uplifting happiness.

So his feelings about socializing were probably like that too.

He wanted to make friends but feared talking to others, and sometimes even hated interacting.

How did it come to this?

Zi Yan knew very well his current state had a lot to do with his miserable experiences during childhood school days.

Kids had no filter; they spoke their raw thoughts. So when they said bad things about Zi Yan, it was a naked, unvarnished expression of their dislike.

Besides, how could anyone like someone with white hair and red eyes who always hid in shadows?

This mindset became a cage, locking Zi Yan tightly inside.

No escape.

Every time Zi Yan tried to talk to a stranger, an overwhelming fatigue welled up inside him.

Yes, fatigue. Zi Yan felt it clearly whenever he spoke with anyone other than his mother, a few of her classmates, or even his father who hadn’t been around for ten years.

Fortunately, whether kids or adults, most knew how to hide their true feelings now. They rarely showed outright disgust at his appearance.

But sometimes, there would be a flicker.

So whenever Zi Yan communicated, he subconsciously watched every slight change in others’ expressions. He instinctively measured whether his words were appropriate.

Others already dislike me. I can’t do anything wrong that will make them dislike me more.

This awareness was deeply rooted in Zi Yan’s heart. He knew it wasn’t healthy but saw no way to change it.

I hate socializing the most!

“Here, take it.” Wei Lai handed him the bottle again with a smile. “Consider it my apology for missing that shot and hitting you just now, okay?”

Wei Lai’s smile was radiant, full of sunshine.

“Um…”

Zi Yan took the bottle and looked at Wei Lai’s face.

Sunshine and things like that— I hate them the most!