Care

The smile on Lin Jiao's face briefly froze. In the noisy cafeteria, the sudden silence between them seemed like a tangible barrier that temporarily separated them.

"I was going to class," Hesta said softly. "Goodbye."

Hesta stood, picked up her tray, and left. Lin Jiao suddenly turned back and caught the sleeve of her right arm. "Wait."

The two chopsticks fell as Hesta stopped. Lin Jiao bent down to pick them up, then placed them back on Hesta's tray.

"This Friday and next Monday at 8:20 p.m., we had an hour-long club orientation event. If you were busy tonight, you could make it to next Monday's event instead. But no matter what, I hoped you would come." Lin Jiao looked earnestly into Hesta's eyes. "After the event, I would give you an explanation—about our attitude toward Ava Morgan. If this was the only reason you had been avoiding us lately... what did you think?"

"...I'd think about it."

"Okay." Lin Jiao let go. "Thank you for being honest today."

Hesta walked all the way to the tray return and looked back. Lin Jiao was still sitting there eating. Amid all the noise and people, Lin Jiao's profile was easy to spot, because most people were either scrolling on their phones, chatting, or watching TV. She was practically the only one focused on eating.

Hesta set down her tray and left the cafeteria. She suddenly felt a little better. No matter what, a conversation as straightforward and conclusive as the one she had had with Lin Jiao was genuinely somewhat comforting.

Hesta jogged all the way back to Wenhui Building, considering how she ought to handle her relationship with the Archipelago Poetry Society.

Just then, her phone chimed with a text message. She had assumed something had happened on Silei's end,