Even while staying at school, Chen Shi'an still woke at five in the morning as usual.
The sky at five was only faintly light, with a feeling rather like night had just fallen.
Chen Shi'an rolled out of bed, got dressed, and changed his shoes. He was about to pick up the school uniform jacket on the back of his chair when he remembered Little Cicada had made off with it last night...
He would have to wait until she woke up before going over to get it from her.
Before sunrise, the morning temperature was rather low, only around ten degrees. But it was already mid-March and spring had arrived, so the weather was no longer as cold as it had been in winter. The daytime high could reach around twenty-two degrees.
Wearing only a long-sleeved shirt, Chen Shi'an went onto the balcony to wash up. His breath dispersed into white mist, and the balcony's stainless steel railing was damp with the night's dew.
The balcony next door was quiet. Presumably, none of the three girls had woken yet.
After washing up, Chen Shi'an went downstairs to wander around campus and pick up breakfast for them along the way.
The phone in his pocket vibrated.
Chen Shi'an thought Little Cicada or the Class Monitor had woken up and messaged him. But when he took out his phone, he saw it was a message from Sister Wanyin. 5:16 a.m.-Little Echo: [Shi'an, are you awake?] (Voice message)
The message had been sent as a voice recording. Chen Shi'an held his phone to his ear, and her gentle voice sounded through the speaker, still carrying a little of the languid softness of someone who had just woken up.
After a moment's thought, Chen Shi'an called her back on video.
The video call