"...I'm fine."
Guo Shan smiled.
He turned his gaze away from the direction Master Xiao had gone.
He noticed that the strange classmate had headed that way too.
Right behind Master Xiao.
He couldn't help staring at the strange classmate's retreating figure for a moment, unsure.
It was just a coincidence, right?
"Shanshan, I saw a news report earlier saying there's a food festival in the basement of the mall nearby. Want to go check it out?"
Guo Shan suggested with a smile.
"Really?"
Guo Shan's eyes lit up.
The girl was at an age when she was always craving good food.
"Mm."
The smile in Guo Shan's eyes grew even warmer. "Mom's working overtime today, so let's have lunch there."
"Yay!"
The girl cheered. "Then, Brother, let's go!"
Guo Shan let his younger sister pull him across the road.
He couldn't help telling her about the strange classmate. "Shanshan, we got a new student in class today."
"His skin is dark, like someone from Africa."
"Really?"
The girl was surprised. "That dark?"
"Could he actually be from Africa?"
"No."
Guo Shan shook his head. "His features look Asian."
"I wonder why he's so dark?"
"Did he get too much sun over summer vacation?"
"Pfft~"
The girl couldn't help laughing. "Maybe."
"But summer vacation ended months ago. Why hasn't he gotten paler?"
Guo Shan laughed too.
"And he's clearly here for painting class, but he was holding a pipa."
"Huh?"
The girl widened her eyes.
"Really?"
"That's so strange..."
"Brother, I'll come find you in class next time."
"I want to see him too."
"Okay."
"But don't make fun of him."
"Maybe the pipa means a lot to him, so he carries it everywhere."
"Even if it means a lot to him, that's still really strange..."
"You—forget it."