The cold, desolated light of late autumn filtered through the mottled glass window, casting a transparent coat over the sleeping boy slumped on his desk. It illuminated his thin, handsome features, which held a sickly pallor.
The scratching sound of pen nibs against paper filled the classroom, but the underlying murmurs of gossip suddenly went silent.
A nudge at his elbow startled him. Gu Yu raised his head and blinked his bleary eyes open, looking at his seatmate in confusion.
His seatmate gave him a pointed look, signaling for him to look toward the window.
Gu Yu shifted his gaze. Outside stood the stern, rigid face of the Class Advisor, whose sharp eyes were scanning the classroom. Fortunately, thanks to his seatmate’s timely warning, that fierce glare did not linger on him.
Gu Yu was instantly jolted awake, his drowsiness vanishing. He turned around, picked up his pen, and began to fake his way through his work.
After 30 seconds, his seatmate glanced at the window. Seeing that the terrifying face was gone, he leaned over and whispered, “Didn’t sleep well last night? Did you work overtime again?”
“Yeah. I didn’t save much this month. If I don’t work night shifts, I won’t be able to afford food next month.”
“Is it really that bad? Do you want me to lend you some?”
“No, it’s fine. It’s just a matter of working overtime for 2 days.”
Gu Yu rejected the pity of others and refused to accept charity born of sympathy. Even in his most destitute state, his stubborn pride remained unyielding, exactly like the girl in the class next door.
He no longer felt like sleeping, so he finished the last few bits of his incomplete homework. Just as he finished, the school bell rang.
The silence that had lasted for 30 minutes was shattered. The classroom instantly became boisterous, filled with a cacophony of various noises. Students impatiently packed their bags and crowded out the classroom door.
Gu Yu was the last one to leave, excluding the students on cleaning duty. As soon as he stepped out of the classroom, he saw a girl holding her schoolbag, waiting for him by the door. She wore a characteristic smile that was generous and natural, treating everyone with equal grace.
She was the recognized School Beauty of Jinhe High School and one of Gu Yu’s few friends. They worked part-time at the same fast-food restaurant and often walked together after school.
They shared the same desperate financial situation and the same refusal to bow their heads. To Gu Yu, looking at Luo Ming was like looking into a mirror; her resilient soul was carved from nearly the same mold as his.
However, their similarities ended there. With a face so stunning it eclipsed every other girl in school, a transcript good enough to command the attention of every teacher, and a perfectly balanced gentleness toward everyone, Luo Ming sat at the top, a focal point wherever she went.
“Let’s go. We need to hurry,” Luo Ming said, her voice as clear and ethereal as a misty rain in the forest, saturating the heart. “The boss said he has something to do this weekend, so the shop will be closed for 2 days.”
“Closed, huh? That’s perfect. I need to head to the cemetery to visit my dad,” Gu Yu said casually. There was no trace of sorrow in his voice; it seemed he had already stepped out of the shadow of grief, and the visits had become a habit.
“Can I come? I want to visit your mother, too.”
“Yeah, sure.”
Gu Yu stole a glance at the girl beside him. The monotonous, ugly school uniform could not hide her beauty. Even without makeup, she remained the most beautiful blossom in a garden of flowers, capable of quietly plucking the heartstrings of many—and he was no exception.
As they walked together, a faint fragrance lingered around Gu Yu’s nose, soothing his weary nerves.
This was Luo Ming’s trademark, just like her soft, elegant smile.
Gu Yu was used to it. With a calm expression, he maintained a perfectly appropriate distance, appearing relaxed and composed. He showed none of the awkwardness or shyness one might expect when walking with the School Beauty.
The air in the school was cold and dry. Old trees were withered, and the cement path was covered in dry, yellowed leaves that were swirled up and dropped by the bleak autumn wind, leaving no sign of life.
They lagged behind the main crowd of students. The noisy throng had already dispersed outside the school gates.
There weren’t many people around. The few students who saw them didn’t think much of it, so there were no unnecessary misunderstandings.
A disheveled and uninteresting ordinary boy did not possess the capital to win the School Beauty’s heart. This shared walk was their only interaction at school. Coupled with their adamant denials, the voices of doubt and speculation had long since faded.
As they reached the final stretch before the school gate, Gu Yu saw a boy holding a bouquet of flowers under an ancient osmanthus tree. He wasn’t wearing a school uniform and had a well-styled haircut that had clearly been meticulously groomed. He looked like he was preparing to confess.
Gu Yu slowed his pace, falling behind Luo Ming to create some distance.
Standing next to Luo Ming during such a scene would be far too awkward.
The boy was quite handsome, about the same height as Gu Yu. His outfit suggested he came from a wealthy family, and his youthful, sunny aura was a stark contrast to Gu Yu’s own bedraggled state.
“Luo… Luo Ming, I’ve been following you for a long time. This…” The boy held out the flowers and pulled a glass jar from his pocket, which was filled with colorful paper stars. “The things I want to say to you are inside…”
He was forcing himself to stay calm, but he couldn’t stop his face from turning red. It was clearly his first time confessing to someone, and he had chosen the highest difficulty level.
Gu Yu’s heartbeat remained steady as he stood behind them in silence. He had seen this kind of event three or four times before, and the result was always the same, never varying.
Luo Ming’s expression remained calm. She didn’t take the items, instead offering a polite dismissal. “I’m sorry, but thank you for your kindness. I just don’t have any interest in that sort of thing right now.”
Then, she decisively quickened her pace and left, her rejection so resolute it was almost cruel.
The boy’s hand slumped. He lowered his head, his expression desolate and his disappointment impossible to hide.
Luo Ming looked back at Gu Yu, her eyes telling him to hurry up, acting as if the interlude meant nothing at all.
Gu Yu walked quickly, brushing past the boy. He glanced at him with an indifferent face, feeling entirely uninvolved. He had no interest in this trivial farce.
“You really have quite a lot of pursuers. Even ones from other classes,” Gu Yu remarked in a joking tone.
“It’s all the same. They take one look at this face and come rushing to confess. They don’t actually know me at all. It’s just unrequited sentimentality.”
“That’s a pretty cruel and realistic way of putting it. Being good-looking is a talent, too, you know. It makes you more likable.”
As his voice trailed off, Luo Ming’s pace slowed by half a step until she was one position behind him. She asked him in a similarly joking manner, though her voice had dropped a degree in temperature, “Then, do you like me?”
The sudden question caused the heart in his chest to throb violently. A strange, inexplicable sensation welled up within him, as if a cold knife were pressed against his throat, leaving him at a loss for words.
Even though she clearly wasn’t being serious.
Gu Yu forced himself to calm down and continued walking silently, hesitating over his response.
“In terms of looks, of course I like someone who’s beautiful. Everyone has a love for beauty.”
“So you like me, too~” Luo Ming smiled, turning her head to look at him, her lips curving into a soft, beautiful arc.
Gu Yu said flatly, “Yes, yes, yes. I like beautiful people, but I wouldn’t like someone just because they’re beautiful.”
It was unclear whether this ambiguous answer satisfied Luo Ming. She didn’t ask further, and silence took root and sprouted between the two of them like spores.
She walked behind the boy, staring at Gu Yu’s back—at his slender neck and his hair as black as ink…
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