Ice Cream Is Very Delicious

You know bro, zeit zu hause is very, very kopotknn, and the time spent going out is incredibly long. ------Excerpt from Hua Xin's Collected Writings

Happy times are always fleeting; with the girl's hands barely dry from one task to the next, the devilish Thursday for school had arrived.

The playground—a place that carries the joy and sorrow of so many.

Some people on the high school playground brush hands and share shy kisses with their budding romantic interests, whispering their bashful love to one another.

While others have memories of the playground defined only by the desperate, gasping breaths of the eight-hundred and one-thousand-meter runs.

But for Hua Xin?

Heh.

It was merely a resemblance.

Hua Xin was still wearing an ill-fitting black outfit, her small face hidden behind a hood, a mask, and her bangs, silently hiding in an obscure, dark corner of the playground that no one cared about.

At this moment, the girl had none of the arrogant flair she displayed while gaming at home; instead, she sat on the ground with her knees pulled to her chest, expressionless, watching the "handsome monkeys" and regular monkeys running on the green turf in the center of the playground with a blackened gaze.

Her eyes were filled with nothing but disdain for the mundane world.

"Wah wah wah wah wah wah!!!! Ah ah ah ah ah ah!!!!"

"Xia Yan, I love you!! Xia Yan, you're so handsome!!!!"

Xia Yan dribbled past two people with exceptional flair before accurately kicking the ball into the goal, drawing continuous screams from the little fan girls in the stands—a crowd so large it couldn't possibly have been gathered by just one class.

It was a reinforced company formed by several classes having their physical education lessons together.

(A bunch of lovesick fools who have never seen a man before...)

(Truly disgusting.)

Hua Xin snorted coldly in her heart, leaning back with deep contempt as she watched these women who looked like they were about to reach climax on the spot, hiding her body even deeper.

She then picked up a nearby twig and began drawing circles on the ground, though it was unclear who she was cursing.

For Hua Xin, this third time going out felt like she was becoming somewhat desensitized.

The fear brought on by leaving the house was gradually decreasing.

But she still held a resistant attitude toward the living.

After all, only the dead do not speak, and they do not socialize (blackened face).

Once the physical education teacher realized it was almost time for class to end, he called a halt to the friendly match between the classes.

As for the females whose eyes were only on Xia Yan, they regretfully climbed down from the stands, and a few bold girls ran toward Xia Yan clutching sports drinks they had secretly bought.

But he smiled and refused them all.

(The world is going downhill...)

(Morality is decaying!)

Hua Xin watched the scene of Xia Yan being so popular with a pained heart, shifting her butt in anger.

But then, thinking about how she currently looked like a vampire who would die if exposed to light (crying)... the girl silently threw away the twig in her hand.

(Forget it...)

(Who told him to be a normie.)

(And he even helped me for some inexplicable reason.)

(The next class is in the afternoon... maybe I'll just sit here for the whole lunch break; it's not like anyone will notice me anyway.)

The wind is quite noisy today...

A few minutes later.

Just as Hua Xin was about to stretch and let out a sigh, she was interrupted by a gentle voice clearly filled with a sunny aura.

"Hey, it's very hot today. Strawberry ice cream or original flavor—which one do you prefer?"

The girl stiffened and looked up to see that Xia Yan's hair was damp; his forehead and the short-sleeved shirt he wore were soaked with sweat from the high-intensity exercise, and his excellent muscle definition was faintly visible through the fabric.

His expression remained gentle, sunny, and positive.

He held a pink ice cream and a white one, dangling them in front of her.

(No, no, no, no, no, no, how did he find me??)

(Do I have a tracking chip on me??)

He smells like a vixen's perfume; it must have been a gift from one of those fan girls (sneer), I definitely won't...

"Strawberry..."

Hua Xin said, sounding a bit weak.

"Alright."

"This ice cream is really good."

Xia Yan smiled as he handed the ice cream to the girl, then sat down right beside her.

!

Hua Xin shifted to the side, a bit startled, looking at the ice cream in her hands through her hair while feeling at a loss.

It looked so delicious...

But what if Xia Yan had bought it for himself... It looked so expensive...

But she couldn't just take things from people for free...

I... I can't afford to pay him back...

Hua Xin felt nervous and restless inside. Although she knew what she should do, she couldn't find the words to express it, so she simply handed the ice cream back to Xia Yan.

Even though she had become slightly more familiar with Xia Yan, the shadows in her heart still made the girl feel a bit afraid.

Afraid of this care that had no reason behind it.

Xia Yan was stunned, then asked, "What's wrong? Do you not like it?"

Hua Xin: Shook her head.

This child...

Looking at the cheap, sloppily made clothes on Hua Xin and the subconscious distance she had kept earlier, a flash of heartache crossed Xia Yan's eyes.

His voice was very gentle and full of warmth. As if he had noticed the girl's unease, he slowly comforted her, "Didn't we already become friends?"

Blinking, he continued, "This is today's friend fee."

"So-called friend fees are just little gifts that good friends give each other to express their friendship."

"My treat, you know. If you refuse, I'll be very sad."

(Is... is that so...)

(Are we already friends...)

(Does he think of me as a friend? Really?)

Holding the ice cream with both hands, Hua Xin trembled slightly. A mist appeared in the eyes hidden beneath her hair, and it seemed as if tears were about to fall from her watery, beautiful eyes at any moment.

A special emotion spread through her heart, and an endless wave of bitterness surged up. The girl almost couldn't control herself, nearly letting out a sob.

(Someone like me... can I also have friends...)

(Why doesn't he look down on me?)

She lowered her head and slowly brought the ice cream to her chest; the proximity allowed her to see the food in her hands more clearly.

She was always hungry.

But she didn't have the money to eat more.

The hunger that had seeped into her bones gave her a special feeling toward food.

Ever since she 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. The girl was always afraid that she wouldn't have anything to eat.

Because there would be no one left to cook for her.

The girl's vision blurred.

"Classmate Hua, I feel like we get along really well."

"Look, you don't like to talk much, and me, I happen to love talking, maybe even a bit too much."

"Our personalities are quite complementary... perhaps we can become good brothers in the future."

Xia Yan took a bite of his ice cream. Seeing Hua Xin shift her body to turn her back to him, he only smiled slightly and continued to speak slowly and gently.

Hua Xin pulled down her mask and took a small bite of the ice cream that was about to melt.

It was cold, sweet, and a little bit salty.

For some reason, the girl lowered her head and wept silently, carefully taking small bites of the ice cream in her hands.

Behind her, Xia Yan's voice remained gentle.

This was the first time she had ever tasted this sweet thing.

It was delicious.