The night in Jiangcheng was a little chilly.
Under the starlight, the boy, no more than sixteen or seventeen, still sat curled up across from Ink Academy.
His body trembled slightly from the cold.
Only his downcast gaze remained utterly calm.
As though he were quietly waiting for something.
When Ink Academy's gates opened, fear and unease returned to the boy's eyes, along with just the right touch of inferiority.
He watched Sun Wen approach from across the way.
"Smoke?"
Sun Wen sat down casually beside the boy, took out a pack of cigarettes, pulled one out, and offered it to him.
The boy kept his head lowered and shook it gently.
"Oh, I don't smoke either."
"Where are you from?"
Putting the cigarettes away again, Sun Wen asked casually.
The boy seemed timid, hugging his knees tightly. He raised his head several times, then lowered it again, and ultimately said nothing.
"Don't want to say?"
Sun Wen smiled gently, his eyes narrowing slightly, as though trying to find some trace of something in the boy.
For instance...
That cold voice that had once mocked him.
The boy hurriedly shook his head, pointed at his mouth, then buried his head again in shame.
"You can't speak?"
Sun Wen's brow furrowed deeper. Looking at the boy, he found himself unable to tell whether it was genuine.
Perhaps Yu Sheng's intuition really had been wrong?
As though something had occurred to him, Sun Wen suddenly raised his hands and made several gestures in the air, his hands moving extremely quickly.
Sign language.
Did you come to Ink Academy for something?
The boy froze for about a second, then made a couple of gestures in reply.
Here... safe.
Ink Academy, strong.
Watching the boy's practiced signing, Sun Wen frowned even more deeply.
"Have