You know, bro, time spent at home is very, very short, while time spent outside is unbelievably long. —Excerpt from Hua Xin's Collected Writings
Happy times were always short. After the girl's little hands had gone from dry to wet and back again, it was already the dreadful Thursday when she had to go to school.
The athletic field was a place that carried the happiness and sadness of countless people.
Some people, on their high school athletic fields, would brush hands with their inexperienced romantic partners, kiss their lips, and pour out their shy affections to each other.
Others only had desperate memories of panting through eight hundred- and one-thousand-meter runs on the athletic field.
But as for Hua Xin?
Heh heh.
She could only imagine it.
Hua Xin was still dressed all in ill-fitting black. Her hood, mask, and bangs hid her small face as she silently lurked in an ignored, shadowy corner of the athletic field.
The girl no longer had the arrogant air she displayed while gaming at home. Instead, she sat expressionlessly on the ground with her legs hugged to her chest, watching with a darkened expression as the handsome monkey and the ordinary monkeys ran across the green grass in the center of the field.
Her eyes were filled with contempt for the secular world.
"Waaaaaaah!!!! Aaaaaah!!!!! (Screaming wildly)??"
"Xia Yan, I love you!! Xia Yan, you're so handsome!!!! (Panting and voice cracking)??"
Xia Yan impressively sent two people stumbling in succession before accurately kicking the soccer ball into the goal, prompting the little fangirls in the stands to scream repeatedly. There were far too many of them to have come from a single class.
They were an entire reinforced company assembled from several classes having physical education.
(A bunch of starved fangirls who've never seen a man...)
(Absolutely disgusting.)
Hua Xin coldly snorted inwardly. Watching the women who looked as though they were about to climax on the spot, she leaned back in utter disdain, hiding herself even more deeply.
Then she picked up a branch beside her and drew circles on the ground, though no one knew whom she was cursing.
This was Hua Xin's third time going out, and she was already somewhat desensitized to it.
The fear brought by leaving the house was gradually decreasing.
But she still felt resistant toward living people.
After all, only the dead would never speak or socialize. (Darkened face.)
After the physical education teacher noticed that it was almost time for class to end, he called off the friendly match between the classes.
As for the women whose eyes held only Xia Yan, they reluctantly came down from the stands. Several bolder girls ran toward Xia Yan, carrying sports drinks they had secretly bought.
But he smilingly refused them all.
(Society's morals are declining...)
(Morality has completely collapsed!)
Hua Xin watched Xia Yan being so popular with heart-wrenching indignation and angrily shifted her bottom.??
But then she thought of how she looked like a vampire who would die upon seeing sunlight. (Crying...) The girl silently tossed aside the branch in her hand.
(Forget it...)
(Who told him to be such a social butterfly?)
(And he's helping me in such a baffling way, too.)
(The next class is in the afternoon... How about I just sit here through lunch? No one will notice me anyway.)
The wind was especially noisy today...
A few minutes later.
Hua Xin had just wanted to stretch and let out a sigh when she was interrupted by a gentle voice that was clearly full of sunshine.
"Hey, it's really hot today. Which do you prefer, strawberry ice cream or the original flavor?"
The girl stiffly looked up. Xia Yan's hair was already soaked. After intense exercise, his forehead and short-sleeved shirt were drenched in sweat, and his excellent muscle definition was faintly visible through his clothes.
His expression remained gentle and bright.
He held a pink and a white ice cream in front of her.
(No, no, no, no, no, how did he find me??)
(Do I have some kind of tracking chip on me??)
He reeked of the perfume of some vixen. It was obviously given to him by one of his fangirls. (Cold laugh.) I definitely wasn't going to...
"Strawberry..."
Hua Xin spoke somewhat timidly.
"Sure."
"This shop's ice cream is really good."
Xia Yan smiled and handed the ice cream to the girl, then sat down directly beside her.
!
Hua Xin shifted away in surprise. Looking at the ice cream in her hand through her strands of hair, she seemed at a loss.
It looked delicious...
But what if Xia Yan had bought it himself? It looked really expensive...
But she couldn't just eat someone else's food for free...
I... I can't afford it...
Hua Xin felt nervous and distressed. Although she knew what she ought to do, she simply couldn't put it into words, so she could only hand the ice cream back to Xia Yan.
Although she had become slightly more familiar with Xia Yan, the girl was still somewhat afraid because of the shadows in her heart.
She was afraid of this kindness that had no reason behind it.
Xia Yan froze, then asked, "What's wrong? You don't like it?"
Hua Xin: shook her head.
This child...
Looking at Hua Xin's cheap, hastily chosen clothes and the distance she had instinctively kept just now, Xia Yan's eyes flashed with heartache.
His voice was extremely gentle and carried a certain warmth. As though he had seen the girl's unease, he slowly comforted her. "Haven't we already become friends?"
He blinked and continued, "This is today's friend fee."
"Friend fees are small gifts that good friends give each other to express their friendship."
"It's my treat. If you refuse me, I'll be very sad."
(I-Is that so...?)
(Are we already friends...?)
(Does he consider me a friend? Really?)
Hua Xin's hands trembled faintly as she held the ice cream. A trace of mist appeared in the eyes hidden beneath her bangs. Her limpid, beautiful eyes seemed as though tears would fall from them the next moment.
A special emotion spread through her heart. Countless bitter feelings surged up at once, and the girl nearly lost control. She almost let out a sob.
(Someone like me... can have friends too?)
(Why doesn't he look down on me?)
She lowered her head and slowly brought the ice cream to her chest. With it closer, she could see the food in her hand more clearly.
She was always unable to eat her fill.
But she had no money to eat more.
The hunger embedded deep in her bones had given her a special feeling toward food.
After she had nearly starved to death as a child, her home had always been filled with food. Yet she had always restrained herself from eating too much, because the girl was constantly afraid that she would have nothing to eat.
Because no one would cook for her anymore.
The girl's vision grew somewhat blurry.
"Classmate Hua, I feel like we get along really well."
"Look, you don't talk much, while I happen to love talking. I'm even a little nagging."
"Our personalities complement each other perfectly... Maybe we can become good bros in the future."
Xia Yan took a bite of ice cream. When he saw Hua Xin turn away from him, he merely smiled faintly and continued speaking gently.
Hua Xin lifted her mask and lightly bit into the ice cream that was about to melt.
It was cold, sweet, and a little salty.
For some reason, the girl silently lowered her head and cried as she carefully took small bites of the ice cream in her hand.
Behind her, Xia Yan's voice remained gentle.
It was her first time tasting this sweet treat.
It was delicious.
Before you continue