Another morning.
Xi Nian changed into winter clothes suitable for the outdoors and headed to school. It was also the last school day of the week. The day after tomorrow was the annual Christmas, and schools of all sizes across the United States would begin their break tomorrow, kicking off a full week of vacation.
As he passed the intersection, he did not run into Gwen as he usually did. He wondered if she was still taking sick leave today.
However, as he passed the intersection beside the residential area, a small orange figure darted out from the park lawn, startling Xi Nian out of nowhere.
Perhaps it was because, starting from the night before last, he had opened the Supernatural Gate and repeatedly come into contact with supernatural matters.
With one foot over the threshold to the reverse side of the world, Xi Nian was physically and mentally exhausted. His worldview was constantly being rewritten, and he was still not used to keeping his mind and nerves so tightly wound.
Xi Nian cautiously looked over and saw that it was a kitten squatting on the ground. It was less than a year old, its young body slightly thin, and its orange fur made its breed obvious.
"Just a Little Orange Cat." Xi Nian quietly sighed in relief, though he could not help laughing bitterly.
He had really become overly jumpy lately. The world was so vast; how could he so easily run into supernatural things?
"What's wrong? Hungry?"
Seeing that there was no tag around the kitten's neck and that it looked filthy and pitiful, Xi Nian figured it was most likely a stray abandoned by someone in the park.
After thinking it over, Xi Nian ran to a convenience store nearby, bought three sausages, and returned.
Seeing this two-legged creature approach, the Little Orange Cat swiftly retreated into the grass. A pair of green vertical pupils faintly showed through, its eyes filled with deep wariness.
"This is edible. Look." Xi Nian peeled open one sausage in front of it and readily began eating it, then placed the remaining two sausages on the ground before the grass.
Class was about to begin, so Xi Nian did not linger.
After leaving the park, he looked back and saw the distant grass shake violently. The sausages on the ground had already vanished without a trace.
Xi Nian smiled knowingly and continued toward school.
Within the grass.
Those green vertical pupils silently watched Xi Nian leave. The kitten licked its paw, its tiny belly showing no sign of having filled out at all. As for the two sausages from earlier, even their wrappers had completely disappeared.
At the school entrance.
Xi Nian ran into Gwen, who had just arrived at school as well. They both visibly froze slightly when they saw each other.
"Gwen, is your cold any better?" Xi Nian stepped forward to greet her.
Instead, Gwen suddenly puffed out her cheeks, deliberately acting as though she had not seen him as she quickened her pace into the school.
Xi Nian was completely baffled.
What was going on?
A girl's thoughts really were impossible to fathom.
Xi Nian shook his head. Unable to make sense of it, he simply stopped thinking about it.
Still, he had to chase after her.
Xi Nian quickened his pace and caught up. Yet the faster he chased, the faster Gwen ran ahead of him.
The two ran into the school building one after the other.
Just then, a girl stopped Xi Nian in the hallway. "Senior, could you stop for a moment?"
Xi Nian looked up and saw a younger female student of around fifteen.
Her long blond hair was tied into an old-fashioned ponytail, with quite a few loose strands messily hanging over her forehead and face. Coupled with her thick black-framed glasses and the way she kept her head lowered, too afraid to look people in the eye, she looked exactly like a shut-in, an unnoticed nobody at school, or rather, the ideal target for bullying and mockery among girls her age.
Xi Nian had no particular impression of this girl. Still, out of politeness, he asked gently, "What is it, classmate?"
"Um..." The girl hesitated, bit her lip, then gathered her courage. "Senior, my name is Kara Danvers. We met at the Opening Ceremony Party."
"I remember now." Xi Nian suddenly recalled that, during the Opening Ceremony Party, this girl had stayed alone in a cold, secluded corner outside the crowd. Perhaps remembering some of his own experiences before meeting Gwen as a child, he had been unable to bear it and gone over to welcome her, explaining some of the school's policies and rules.
However, that had been nearly half a year ago.
"You remember me." The girl's eyes immediately lit up. She raised her head slightly and stared intently at Xi Nian before her. Her hesitation seemed to vanish as though she had finally made up her mind.
"Hm?" Whether because her Spider-Sense was too sharp or because of a woman's intuition, Gwen, who had stopped farther down the hallway, suddenly felt a bad premonition upon seeing this scene.
She wanted to step forward and interrupt Kara before she could continue.
Yet as though she had anticipated Gwen's intention to interrupt, Kara secretly clenched her fists and sped up her confession in one breath. "Senior, I... I like you. Please go out with me!"
Her voice was neither loud nor soft, but nearly the entire hallway could hear her clearly.
Xi Nian's mouth fell open.
"This!" Gwen, who was a step too late, had her beautiful eyes contract sharply. A few seconds later, the students in the hallway erupted into an uproar.
"Youth is wonderful."
A passing teacher turned a blind eye, shaking their head as they sighed in appreciation.
Ring, ring, ring!
The dismissal bell rang.
Amid a wave of chatter across the vast high school campus, a huge number of students streamed out of the school building. Aside from a few discussing classes and lunch, most were still talking about the Silver-Haired Goddess and the morning's campus confession.
Childhood friends VS a newcomer?
Popularity rank No. 1 VS last in popularity?
This was definitely going to make the school news weekly! Fortunately, after today, they would have a week-long vacation.
As the male lead of this incident, Xi Nian had already packed up and left the school grounds early. Behind him, Gwen, carrying her backpack in one hand, hurried after him with her boots clacking against the pavement. She had completely forgotten the embarrassment and anger from earlier as she puffed up her cheeks and demanded, "Xi Nian, you're not actually going to accept a confession from a girl you just met, are you?"
"It wasn't our first meeting." Xi Nian corrected her. "It was our second."
"Second or not, that's still too ridiculous!" Gwen immediately grew anxious.
"Don't worry. I didn't accept."
"But you didn't reject her either."
"That's because..." Xi Nian paused and looked seriously at Gwen. "Do you know? Confessing in public means she summoned up a great deal of courage."
"I just haven't figured out how to respond to that courage and determination yet." Xi Nian spoke with an apologetic expression. "Sorry, Gwen. I dragged you into this by accident. This really has nothing to do with you."
Gwen blankly watched Xi Nian's back as he continued walking ahead. At some point, her pearly lower lip had already been bitten tightly between her teeth.
That's not true. It does have something to do with me.
Gwen said to herself.
Before you continue