Kindred Spirits

Weekend break, five days left until April ends.

He stuffed one workbook after another into a plastic bag. This school did have things worth praising—for example, if you wanted to buy something, you just told the shopkeeper, and they'd have it in stock the next day. Where they got their supply channels was anyone's guess.

As long as you could pay the points, you could buy Huanggang exam papers, Three-Year Simulation, Five-Year Gaokao, and other such rare resources. Studying in this country was a bit tough; self-discipline went without saying, but more importantly, you needed to hire extra tutors.

Otherwise, you'd largely fall behind. The cruelty behind happy education would send people flying off the rooftop in freefall—after all, the harshness of reality and the pressure of school weren't proportional, and the gap could crush you. Not to mention Beihai's cheap father in this world, a total scumbag with no spare resources to offer.

This school, on the other hand, gave Beihai great convenience. No extra burdens, no need to work after school, more time to focus on studying, and best of all, they even gave out pocket money.

Beihai's right hand was wrapped in some band-aids and gauze from long hours of writing, but he was still brimming with enthusiasm, already itching to use those three fingers to ruthlessly tackle the homework.

"Ah, that's surprisingly rare to see."

The shop clerk, after collecting the points, couldn't help but remark. He rarely saw students like this—in fact, never. Everyone who came here bought food, drinks, or daily necessities. Who walked in and bought Huanggang exam papers?

Wasn't that just weird? Thank goodness this school granted any request, or else buying exam papers at a convenience store—what were you thinking!

Beihai didn't respond to the clerk's grumbling. He just touched the papers; that texture alone told him they were ninety-nine percent genuine treasure!

He couldn't wait to see what kind of content lay beneath that aloof exterior.

He loafed around the place for over ten minutes before finally stepping out of the shop.

Walking back to the dormitory, Beihai took one step, two steps, and on the third, he quickly turned around.

Behind him stood a blank-faced guy. What was his name? Beihai vaguely remembered it was Kiyotaka Kiyotaka. That wasn't the point, though. The point was that Beihai didn't seem to be in his circle, or even have the most basic interaction with him.

Aside from being classmates who nodded and greeted each other, they weren't familiar at all.

So, was it a coincidence?

Well, definitely not. If it were, the guy wouldn't have deliberately waited around when Beihai was buying exam papers at the shop just now.

Thinking that, Beihai took the initiative to greet him.

"Uh, hey."

He greeted him, and the guy nodded back. Then they just stared at each other, falling into an oddly calm silence.

"Is there something you need, classmate?"

"Let's be friends."

Beihai waited for the guy to drop the other shoe, and after all that, this was it?

Beihai didn't think the guy was crazy. After all, in his past life online, he'd seen plenty of weirdos—people who couldn't even install Steam. He'd thought those selling Steam installs online were scammers, but after learning more, he realized they were charging too little. That few bucks wasn't even enough for mental damages.

"Friends? Then we are now. Or take out your terminal, we can add each other as contacts. You can talk to me about anything."

Beihai didn't feel awkward or refuse; it was a perfectly normal thing.

Kiyotaka Kiyotaka quietly watched Beihai. He could sense that the other was the same kind of person as him—both wearing masks, but fundamentally different.

Arriving at the dormitory, Beihai opened the door.

"If I remember right, right now everyone's either out shopping for clothes, watching movies, or just soaking in a bar singing karaoke. I'm curious—how come you didn't join them, and instead came over to me?"

Beihai asked casually. More likely, the guy wasn't staying in his own dorm; why the hell was he coming over here? He knew that the girl the guy had chosen basically had no friends either. That blank-faced kid was bossed around by her, and if he didn't obey, she'd jab his arm with a compass. If he refused, she'd just say outright, "No, you want to help me." On breaks, he wouldn't hang out with her or walk together; he'd just hide in his dorm and read. That attitude—how to put it? Use and discard.

Beihai didn't get it, but he respected it. After all, it took two to tango—one willing to hit, one willing to take it.

That was also the main reason Kiyotaka Kiyotaka came to Beihai. They were both the same kind of people wearing masks, so why was he the one getting jabbed with a compass?

"Just curious."

Kiyotaka Kiyotaka spoke while observing the room's layout. It wasn't any different from his own dorm, except it was a bit messy. On the bedside table, instead of a cabinet, there were stacks of materials piled up—a sign of someone who worked hard.

Since he'd come in last, closing the door let him see a broken black mechanical pencil lead on the floor. Curious, he picked it up and looked at the snapped piece. It seemed to have broken when he pushed the door open.

Was he afraid someone might sneak in without him noticing? A bit cautious. And the door handle seemed to be lowered by about five centimeters.

Kiyotaka Kiyotaka's mind was still racing, slapping labels all over Beihai, but in the end, it felt a bit off. Calling it caution was one thing, but these measures were too elaborate, and to put it bluntly, scientifically speaking, it was paranoia.

"Hahaha, what are you looking at? This is just something I threw together out of boredom. And yeah, you wouldn't get this reference anyway—you don't know Death Note either."

"I said, I'm going to study seriously now. You can take off first."

An abstract person can never be defined—you never know what kind of stunt they'll pull next. It's best not to try guessing how such a mind works.

Kiyotaka Kiyotaka had just knelt on the floor, picked up a few study materials, and hadn't even had time to look at them before he heard the dismissal. It was a bit sudden.

He still hadn't quite caught up with the train of thought, forcing him to overturn all of Beihai's conjectures yet again.

This person was hard to pin down—their personality hadn't shown itself clearly yet.

He had just sat down cross-legged moments ago, and now he got up again to open the door.

"Hold on."

Just one call, and he actually stopped. Then he turned his head.

"Take out the trash for me, thanks."

"Mm."