During the break, the classroom buzzed with students chatting. Wu Qiao sat at his desk, staring blankly out the window, when a honey-colored ponytail suddenly leaned in beside him.
"Hey, Wu-kun." Karuizawa Kei lowered her voice, sounding more serious than usual. "There's something I think I should give you a heads-up about."
Ever since they'd reached an unspoken understanding, Karuizawa Kei had been very forthcoming about sharing information.
"It's about Horikita." Pretending to straighten the books on her desk, Karuizawa Kei spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear. "She's been asking around about you lately. Not just for information about you, either—she's been secretly looking into your usual routine and who you spend time with. From the looks of it, she's got her eye on you."
At the name, Wu Qiao's gaze shifted slightly. Horikita Suzune, the solitary girl determined to make it to Class A. She was asking about him either to assess his worth or to bring him into her "Class Promotion Plan."
"Got it." Wu Qiao nodded calmly, showing little surprise.
Watching his unruffled expression, Karuizawa Kei furrowed her brow slightly and tentatively asked, "So, what are you going to do, Wu-kun? Horikita's a real woman of action. Once she gets her hooks into you, she can be a real pain."
Wu Qiao didn't answer right away. Instead, he raised a hand and gently rubbed his aching temple. He'd certainly been wearing himself out dealing with the class's various problems lately.
"I'll handle it myself when the time comes."
Karuizawa Kei looked at him, but ultimately didn't say anything else. She simply murmured, "Mm," and returned to her seat.
The lunch bell had barely rung when the hallway filled with students heading for the cafeteria.
With an impassive expression, Horikita Suzune moved through the crowd, preparing to go eat lunch alone as usual.
But just as she stepped out of the school building, someone suddenly blocked her way.
"Horikita."
At the sound of his voice, Horikita stopped and looked up. Wu Qiao stood in front of her. Before she could ask what he wanted, he pressed something cold into her hand.
Horikita looked down. It was a chilled bottle of tea, beaded with condensation.
"Stay and have a drink with me. Let's talk." Wu Qiao's voice was quiet, but there was a firmness to it that made him hard to refuse.
Horikita Suzune furrowed her brow slightly, instinctively wanting to reject this pointless social interaction. But feeling the cool bottle in her hand and looking into Wu Qiao's deep, calm eyes, she ultimately didn't give it back. She simply stood where she was.
The two leaned against the hallway wall side by side. The crowd nearby was noisy, but it felt as though an invisible barrier separated them from everyone else.
Wu Qiao took a sip of the tea. Its coolness slid down his throat, clearing his head a little. He turned to Horikita Suzune, who still stood straight-backed beside him, and got straight to the point.
"I know you want to get into a higher class. You want it badly." Wu Qiao looked at her profile, calmly stating the facts. "You have a clear goal, which is good, but..."
He paused, looking through the hallway window at the students scattered in small groups across the field.
"Class D is still a mess. The class can't even pull together, so nobody has the drive to stand up to the other classes." Wu Qiao turned back to Horikita, his eyes showing a hint of helplessness and clear-eyed understanding. "You need to solve that problem first. More haste, less speed, Horikita."
Horikita Suzune gripped the lemon water in her hand, feeling the chill of the bottle against her fingertips. She didn't argue. She merely lowered her eyes slightly, seeming to mull over Wu Qiao's words.
"So you've been asking around about me because you think I could be the key to breaking the deadlock?" Wu Qiao let out a soft laugh, his tone teasing. "Too bad you're looking in the wrong direction."
Horikita abruptly raised her head, a sharp glint flashing in her red eyes. "I'm only assessing your abilities."
"And what's your assessment?" Wu Qiao countered.
Horikita fell silent for a moment as she looked into Wu Qiao's eyes, which seemed able to see through everything. In the end, she simply said coldly, "Unknown."
"Then take your time finding out." Wu Qiao drained his tea and casually tossed the bottle into a nearby trash can. "But until you've reached a conclusion, don't bother me. I have my own things to take care of."
With that, he turned to leave.
"Wu Qiao." Horikita Suzune suddenly called out to him from behind.
Wu Qiao stopped but didn't turn around.
"Thanks for the drink." Horikita's voice was still cool, but sounded a little less sharp than before.
Wu Qiao didn't say anything. He only waved a hand and strode into the noisy crowd.
Afternoon sunlight streamed through the library's tall windows, and tiny flecks of dust drifted through the air. The only sound in the quiet room was the occasional rustle of a turning page.
To Wu Qiao, this library was one of the few havens in Advanced Nurturing High School.
At least here, he didn't have to deal with people trampling one another for points and status, or suffocating schemes.
He sat in a corner by the wall, a thick notebook open in front of him. His pen scratched across the paper, leaving neat rows of Chinese characters behind.
"Erudition: study, uncover knowledge, calculate everything."
"Voracity: devour, satisfy instinct and desire."
"Elation: laughter, what happiness is, knowing how to be happy."
"Nihility: denial, everything is meaningless."
Wu Qiao stopped writing and studied the eighteen summaries of the "Paths" written on the page, a thoughtful look in his eyes. He'd only written them for fun while he was bored, and to organize his thoughts on how to follow these "Paths."
After all, he was the only so-called "Pathstrider." There was no one he could talk things over with; he had to feel his way forward on his own.
He gave a slight shake of his head, the corner of his mouth lifting in self-mockery.
Incidentally, all the writing was in Chinese. Hardly anyone at Advanced Nurturing High School could read it, which also gave him a natural layer of protection.
As Wu Qiao lost himself in his thoughts, deeply analyzing "Mystery" and "Remembrance" in his notebook, he failed to notice the library's glass door being gently pushed open.
Ichinose Honami entered with a book she was about to return, her steps light and her pink hair bouncing softly against her shoulders.
"Phew... It's not crowded in the library today, either." Ichinose Honami felt a quiet surge of relief. She'd only meant to return her book, then find somewhere peaceful to read for a while.
Clutching the book, she headed toward the window area where she usually sat. But as she rounded a row of shelves, she suddenly stopped.
A boy was sitting in that familiar corner. Ichinose Honami's eyes widened slightly.
It was Wu Qiao.
He didn't seem to notice anyone around him. He was bent over, staring intently at the notebook in front of him. Sunlight fell across his profile, accentuating its somewhat stern lines.
Ichinose Honami was exceptionally good at reading people. She immediately realized that Wu Qiao seemed to be thinking about something very important, and that his whole demeanor said, "Do not disturb."
She lightened her steps, like a cat afraid of startling its prey, and silently made her way to the seat across from Wu Qiao. Slowly and carefully, she pulled out the chair and sat down.
She didn't make a sound the entire time.
After setting her book down, Ichinose Honami folded her hands on the table and tilted her head slightly, quietly watching Wu Qiao.
She didn't interrupt him, simply waiting in silence, her gaze settling on the notebook covered in densely packed writing.
She couldn't read the blocky characters, but she could sense how absorbed Wu Qiao was, as if the entire world had narrowed to him and that notebook.
Second by second, time passed. The library remained quiet enough to hear a pin drop.
At last, Wu Qiao let out a long breath, as if coming back from a deep train of thought. He looked up, meeting a pair of warm, smiling eyes just across from him.
"Ichinose?" Wu Qiao blinked, clearly surprised to find her sitting there. It seemed she'd been waiting for him for a while.
"Good afternoon, Wu-kun." Ichinose Honami gave him her signature smile, warm as a spring breeze. Her voice was very soft, as if she were afraid to shatter the quiet. "Sorry. When I came in, you seemed to be thinking about something really important, so I didn't want to interrupt."
Wu Qiao glanced at the notebook on the table, then at Ichinose Honami, quietly relieved. Good thing she couldn't read Chinese. If she'd seen his rather cringeworthy "Path Notes," he would've died of embarrassment.
"It's nothing. I was just writing some things down." Wu Qiao closed the notebook and slid it aside before asking, "What are you doing here? Returning a book?"
"Mm. I returned a book and was going to find somewhere to read for a while." Ichinose Honami nodded, then looked at Wu Qiao again, her voice tinged with concern. "But you seemed to be having a hard time just now. You were frowning."
At that, Wu Qiao subconsciously touched the space between his brows. He had indeed been thinking about the dialectical relationship between "Nihility" and "Finality." He hadn't realized his expression had given him away.
"I just had some thoughts I needed to sort out." Wu Qiao answered vaguely, with no intention of elaborating.
Ichinose Honami didn't press him. She simply gazed at him, her eyes holding a reassuring warmth.
"Wu-kun," she said softly, her voice like the gentle music drifting through the library, "if something's bothering you, I might not be able to help much. But if you ever need someone to listen, I'm always here."
Wu Qiao looked at her, and something stirred faintly within him.
In a school full of lies and schemes, Ichinose Honami's sincerity truly was a rare comfort.
"...Thank you," Wu Qiao said softly.
Ichinose Honami smiled and picked up a book beside her, opening it gently. "Then, shall we each read our own books?"
Wu Qiao nodded and opened his notebook again.
The sunlight remained warm. In the quiet library, the two of them shared a rare moment of peace.