A Passing Stranger from Childhood

The arrival of the white-haired girl immediately drew everyone's attention, making her the focus of the entire class.

Her head of white hair was simply too eye-catching.

"Xiao Chen, her hair is so pretty. It looks as beautiful as snowflakes in winter."

Shen Qinghan leaned close to Lin Zichen's ear and whispered softly.

Lin Zichen had no time to care whether the white-haired girl's hair was pretty or not.

At that moment, all his attention was on the faint inhuman aura emanating from her.

Why did she have an aura that did not belong to humans?

Could she be a Gene Fusionist?

Or perhaps... the descendant of a Gene Fusionist?

Countless thoughts ran through Lin Zichen's mind.

In the days that followed, he kept watching the white-haired girl.

The white-haired girl's name was Bai Xue.

It was a very common name, but it suited her white hair perfectly.

She had been at the school for several days already, yet she never took the initiative to speak to anyone.

The moment class ended, she would lie facedown on her desk without moving.

She rarely even went to the restroom.

At first, everyone was curious about her.

But as time passed, they gradually stopped paying so much attention to her.

The classroom returned to its usual calm.

Other than the addition of a white-haired girl in the corner who seemed autistic, everything else was no different from before.

Until more than a month later.

The peace in the classroom was finally broken.

The white-haired girl sitting in the corner often gave off an unpleasant smell.

It was not pungent enough to sting the nose, but standing close to her made people feel very uncomfortable.

Lin Zichen observed her closely and discovered that the odor came from a white substance secreted by her skin.

He did not know exactly what it was. It looked quite clean in color, but it smelled foul.

Because of the odor, the white-haired girl became unpopular.

The other students began excluding and mocking her.

Faced with their exclusion and ridicule, the white-haired girl remained indifferent from beginning to end. As always, she would lie facedown on her desk and sleep as soon as class ended.

Lin Zichen saw it all. He was surprised by how well the white-haired girl endured it, and he became even more wary of her, feeling that she was most likely dangerous.

Until one day.

A mischievous boy deliberately poured water onto the white-haired girl's desk, leaving her unable to lie on it and sleep after class.

The girl, who had always been expressionless, suddenly could not hold it in any longer and burst into tears.

Tears streamed endlessly down her face.

She cried until her eyes became swollen.

Lin Zichen was stunned. The dangerous person he had always imagined her to be had actually cried?

Shen Qinghan, standing nearby, could not bear to watch any longer. Remembering how she had been excluded by classmates when she first started kindergarten, she immediately looked at Lin Zichen and said:

"Xiao Chen, Bai Xue is so pitiful. Should we go help her?"

"Okay."

Lin Zichen agreed without hesitation.

He did not know the white-haired girl's background or what exactly was going on with her.

He only knew that she did not seem to be the dangerous person he had imagined. She seemed more like an autistic little girl who had been bullied to tears by her classmates.

"Guan Chun, wipe the water off Bai Xue's desk."

Lin Zichen stopped in front of the mischievous boy and spoke to him calmly.

His tone was utterly flat.

So flat that there was not a trace of emotion in it.

Yet the mischievous boy was so frightened that he hurriedly grabbed one of his books, used it like a tissue, and rushed over to wipe the water off the white-haired girl's desk.

He was terrified of Lin Zichen, afraid of upsetting this famous student who excelled in both academics and martial arts.

Not only were the students in his class afraid of Lin Zichen, even sixth graders feared him.

Every student at Sunshine Elementary School had witnessed Lin Zichen's feat at the school sports meet. They knew how powerful his body was and did not dare offend him.

"Anyone who has bullied Bai Xue before, come apologize to her now."

Lin Zichen swept his gaze around the classroom and addressed every person his eyes landed on.

As soon as he finished speaking, the students who had bullied the white-haired girl came over one after another and voluntarily apologized to her.

Some merely said sorry.

Others took out their snacks as an apology.

Whether they meant it sincerely or not, everyone apologized to the white-haired girl.

Faced with so many apologies, the white-haired girl was at a loss. For a moment, she even forgot to cry.

After everyone had finished apologizing.

Shen Qinghan stopped beside the white-haired girl, then turned to the class and said, "From now on, none of you are allowed to bully Bai Xue. She is our classmate, and we should all be friends with her."

With Lin Zichen there, no one dared disobey Shen Qinghan.

From that moment on, no one in the class dared bully the white-haired girl again.

"Thank you, thank you..."

The white-haired girl sniffled softly as she thanked Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan in a voice so quiet it was almost inaudible.

Shen Qinghan smiled. "No need to thank us. We're classmates, so we should help each other."

Lin Zichen said nothing. He merely pulled out a tissue and handed it to the white-haired girl.

The white-haired girl reached out to take the tissue. She timidly looked up at Lin Zichen, etching his appearance deeply into her heart.

After that day.

Shen Qinghan began taking the initiative to approach the white-haired girl, hoping to become friends with her.

Whenever she had something tasty or fun, she would share it with her first.

She even introduced her to Lin Zichen.

She said that the three of them would play together from then on and become the closest trio of friends in the class.

Shen Qinghan went this far because she, too, had once suffered exclusion. She felt deep sympathy for the white-haired girl, who had endured the same thing.

The white-haired girl was overwhelmed by the kindness. In a weak voice, she said, "I-I smell so bad. You don't mind me?"

Ever since she could remember, she had always been excluded and disliked by children her age.

Now that she had met Shen Qinghan and Lin Zichen, who were willing to be friends with her, it all felt unreal, as though she were dreaming.

Shen Qinghan held the white-haired girl's hand and said earnestly, "We don't mind. We'll always be good friends."

After hearing Shen Qinghan's answer, the white-haired girl looked humbly toward Lin Zichen beside her. She wanted to hear his answer too, caring deeply about what he thought.

"Me too."

Lin Zichen answered calmly.

The white-haired girl was touched. She took off the pair of Beast Tooth pendants around her neck, placed one in each of their hands, and said uncertainly:

"Hanhan, Xiao Chen, you've always given me tasty things and fun things. I want to give you something too."

"These Beast Teeth were a birthday gift from my mother last year. I'm giving them to you now. I hope you won't dislike them."

"And I hope... I hope we'll be good friends forever and ever."

"Mm, we'll always be good friends." Shen Qinghan accepted the Beast Tooth, her face full of smiles.

Afterward, she looked at the two of them and suggested, "Let's make a pinky promise—the one where it can't change for a hundred years."

Soon, the slightly childish voices of the three children drifted across the playground of Sunshine Elementary School.

"Pinky swear..."

"Hang by the neck..."

"For a hundred years, no changing!"

The next day, the white-haired girl withdrew from school.

When Shen Qinghan learned the news, she was completely stunned and could not understand what had happened.

On the day the white-haired girl withdrew, Lin Zichen saw a tall man bring her into the Academic Affairs Office.

He remembered that man clearly.

Because both of the man's arms, half of his chest, and his neck were made of alloy.

He appeared to be a Mechanical Cyborg.

From this, Lin Zichen realized something: the white-haired girl's identity might not be simple.

However, he did not dwell on it too much.

After all, the white-haired girl had already transferred away. Perhaps they would never meet again for the rest of their lives.

She would only become a passing stranger from his childhood.

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