New Memories

Whenever people discussed time, they felt a deep sense of emotion. Perhaps they had not cherished it as much as they imagined. In any case, whenever people looked back on the road they had traveled, they felt that time had passed quickly, like water slipping through their fingers—impossible to grasp, impossible to stop.

The bitter coffee lingered in Lu Mingyu's mouth. He closed his eyes and, bored out of his mind, picked up the old diary from the table. Though there was no dust on its cover, fine grains of sand still clung to its crevices.

A sorrowful feeling slowly welled up from within him, like a flower waiting to bloom.

All his memories seemed frozen at the decision made back then. Every decision represented never turning back.

Inexplicable memories drifted through Lu Mingyu's mind, as though they intended to replace all his previous memories.

Those sealed memories were like flowers blooming and falling—no one could truly notice the beauty and decline of that moment.

Lu Mingyu's face had become exceptionally refined, like a work of art carved by the world's greatest craftsman. His slightly rosy lips trembled faintly. "You know? I think I found the you from the diary."

The sealed diary was solemnly opened in Lu Mingyu's hands. It contained his childhood memories, the memories of who he had once been. Lu Mingyu was already fifteen years old. Over these past years, he had constantly searched for Ying Menghan, but found nothing. Yet... today, a transfer student named Ying Menghan had arrived in his class. It made Lu Mingyu unable to... unable to control his emotions.

All morning, Lu Mingyu had watched the girl without daring to let her notice him or greet her. An inexplicable sense of unfamiliarity blossomed within him. For some reason, he always felt that this Ying Menghan seemed different from the one in his memories.

Cold, lonely, an iceberg—those seemed to be Ying Menghan's defining traits. Lu Mingyu did not dare approach her, because the girl carried an imposing aura that was impossible to ignore.

Lu Mingyu brushed the dust from the diary and solemnly opened it. When the seemingly ancient diary was opened, a refreshing fragrance filled his nostrils. The scent was like the last lingering trace of fragrance released when cherry blossoms fell. Gradually, the fragrance faded. Lu Mingyu closed his eyes, savoring and appreciating it. When he slowly opened them again, the scent had reminded him of the past.

"I hope... I hope you still remember this letter." Lu Mingyu took a letter from the diary's final page. It had never been opened, like a magical door without a key. Looking at it, Lu Mingyu knew that perhaps it was time to open the letter. But he wanted to read it together with Ying Menghan.

With the corners of his mouth slightly raised, Lu Mingyu looked at the drawing on the envelope. Though childish, it was so innocent and beautiful. On the white envelope, a little deer covered in fallen cherry blossoms rested beneath a beautiful cherry tree. Cherry blossoms and snowflakes drifted around it, beautiful yet carrying a different kind of loneliness.

Lu Mingyu smiled and carefully tucked the envelope into the inner pocket of his coat with his fair little hand. He patted his coat, sending the dust on him flying. After all, he had kept this diary sealed away, so naturally this room was somewhat dusty as well.

The lunch break was nearly over. After calling out a greeting to his dad, he left the storage room at home. Pushing open the front door, Lu Mingyu hurried toward school. Faint sparks of electricity flickered beneath his feet. Dressed in a light brown suit, Lu Mingyu looked like a graceful young gentleman—but seeing him sprinting madly like a bolt of lightning completely ruined that image.

Lu Mingyu's family was not well-off. The light brown suit had been passed down from the previous generation, though it had been preserved quite well. At least, that was what Lu Mingyu thought. He smiled at the scenery around him, feeling happier than he ever had before.

Today might be the day Lu Mingyu met Ying Menghan. There were no twinkling stars from their imagined appointment, no drifting snowflakes—there was only him and her.

"Faster, faster." Lu Mingyu paid no attention to the beautiful scenery along the road, because scenes had already appeared in his heart—scenes he could not afford to miss.

The railroad tracks through the town were like lines drawn by a painter, winding perfectly through the entire town. The rumbling of the train reached Lu Mingyu's ears. He slowed his pace and watched as the train gradually came to a stop.

A beautiful young girl appeared on the platform. She was like an elf in the wind, lively and spirited. The first person she saw after getting off the train was Lu Mingyu, and she smiled at him. Then she walked straight toward him. Lu Mingyu did not need to think about it to know that this girl definitely attended the same school as him.

"Hello, are you from Star Academy?" The girl's voice was like a lark's, and Lu Mingyu liked it very much.

Lu Mingyu smiled, the corners of his mouth unconsciously lifting. His handsome, large eyes were like stars that could speak. "Yeah, I'm Lu Mingyu."

"That's great. I didn't expect to run into someone from the same school as soon as I got off the train. Let's go to school together. I'm Ying Xue, a transfer student at Star Academy." Ying Xue smiled brightly and held out her hand to Lu Mingyu. "Let's be friends. I know you're one of Star Academy's soy sauce students. I heard about you from my sister before. I didn't expect us to meet so soon."

A soy sauce student was someone who merely coasted through school, muddling along and waiting for life to pass.

Lu Mingyu looked slightly awkward at that. It was not because Ying Xue had called him a soy sauce student, but because two girls with the surname Ying had arrived at Star Academy on the same day. It felt far too coincidental.

Still, Lu Mingyu answered warmly, "Yeah, let's be friends. But I wouldn't want you to become a soy sauce student like me. You should know that I'm at the bottom of the school."

"Pretty much. If my sister weren't coming here, I probably wouldn't have come either. No matter where I go, I'm a soy sauce student just like you. After all, soy sauce students and soy sauce students are the best match."

Clearly, when Ying Xue had called him a soy sauce student earlier, she had not meant even the slightest disrespect. Rather, she respected him quite a bit, because Ying Xue herself was also a soy sauce student. Perhaps this was the pitiful dignity shared between two soy sauce students.

Lu Mingyu nodded and said somewhat nervously, "We should hurry. We'll be late, and the school won't allow students to be late."

"Really? That strict?"

"Yeah."

Lu Mingyu took Ying Xue's hand and ran toward Star Academy at an incredible speed, like a—bolt of lightning.

Sparks of electricity occasionally flashed around Lu Mingyu's body. Though faint, Ying Xue still noticed them.

Ying Xue did not dare touch the electricity on Lu Mingyu's body. She merely asked curiously, "Is your ability lightning?"

"Uh, no. It's actually fast movement." Lu Mingyu had nearly said that it was really just a skill for running away, but after thinking it over, he chose not to say it. Even though it was true, he did not want to admit it.

Ying Xue replied happily, "That ability is so cool. It's way cooler than mine."

Lu Mingyu scratched his head. He truly could not imagine what kind of ability could be worse than his, so he asked, "Then what's your ability?"

"My surname is Ying, so everyone in my family has been Sakura Mages for generations. But I'm rather special. I was born accompanied by snowflakes, and that became my ability—snow and cherry blossoms."

"Sakura Mages? I've heard of them. They're very powerful. Cherry blossoms bloom in their hands and become weapons as cruel as any other."

"But mine can't become like that. They're just ordinary cherry blossoms and snow."

"So that's why you're called Ying Xue?"

"No. It's just that there were snowflakes around me when I was born."

"Dummy, isn't that the same thing?"