In 2015, Shan Shan was sixteen years old and in her first year of high school.
She clearly remembered that day, October 27th. Not long after entering high school, the entire country experienced a sudden drop in temperature. Overnight, the Northeast transformed into its typical winter state, with the first snowfall of the season blanketing the cities across the three northeastern provinces.
During the break after the first class, students braved the light snow to exercise on the playground. Shan Shan remained in the classroom, where she accidentally knocked over her thermos. Hot water spilled all over the school uniform jacket covering her legs. With no one else in the classroom, she lifted the jacket.
Sitting steadily in her chair, she gazed at the space where her legs should have been. From about seven or eight centimeters below her thighs, where her knees and calves should have connected, her pant legs hung empty, drooping lifelessly at the edges of her wheelchair.
She clicked her tongue in annoyance and replaced the wet clothes.
Pulling out her English textbook for the next class from her drawer, she slammed it onto the desk with a loud “thwack.”
“What’s wrong? Throwing a tantrum again?” a voice called out.
The music from the outdoor exercises hadn’t yet stopped. A tall figure leaned against the classroom doorway, wearing a red armband on his school uniform jacket and holding a scorecard for grading each class. His uniform, paired with a black turtleneck sweater underneath, marked him as one of the more fashionable male students, even by the standards of this private high school that required annual sponsorship fees.
Indeed, Chen Jingsong had barely enrolled when upper-class female students began asking if he needed a girlfriend.
Shan Shan’s long eyelashes fluttered as she lowered her gaze without responding. Her pale fingertips, hidden beneath the wet clothes on her desk, fidgeted slightly.
At that moment, a short-haired girl’s head popped up behind Chen Jingsong. Her hair was so short that at first glance, she could easily be mistaken for a slightly frail boy. She peered into the classroom, then pushed past the figure blocking the doorway and strode in.
Effortlessly crossing the empty classroom, she approached Shan Shan.
The school uniform was blue and white, with the light blue turning dark when wet, making it very noticeable. Shao Xing immediately spotted the issue and yanked up the jacket Shan Shan was still pressing down with one hand. “Whoa! Shan Shan, did you wet yourself?” she exclaimed loudly.
Her voice was so loud that it caused Chen Jingsong, still standing at the door, to shift his posture, stuffing his hands into his pockets and revealing a lazy smile.
Shan Shan promptly grabbed the English textbook from her desk and hurled it at Shao Xing’s face.
The latter casually tossed the wet jacket onto Shan Shan’s deskmate’s table and caught the book with both hands. Tilting her head, she asked with a grin, “What’s the matter? It’s just a spilled cup of water. Why are you sitting here sulking by yourself?”
Shan Shan retrieved her still-dripping school jacket from her deskmate’s table, which also held an open notebook now stained with water.
Unconcerned, Shao Xing, Shan Shan’s deskmate, snatched the jacket, shook it out, and hung it on the back of her chair. She then removed her red-armband-adorned school jacket and tossed it to Shan Shan.
The jacket fell, still warm from the girl’s body and carrying her unique, faint fragrance.
“I’m not cold,” Shan Shan said, throwing the jacket back. “Won’t you get in trouble for not wearing the armband as a class monitor?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Shao Xing replied. “Just take off the armband and give it to me. You keep the jacket.”
“I said I’m not cold.”
“Then use it to cover your legs.”
“No.”
“Shan Shan,” the high school girl standing next to the wheelchair-bound girl of the same age looked her up and down, then sighed slowly, “Your temper is so bad. I want to give you a good beating.”
Her words were so sincere.
Shan Shan remained silent for a few seconds, then quietly draped the warm, dry school jacket over her legs.
Shao Xing leaned on the desk with one hand, looking down at Shan Shan’s compliance with satisfaction. She nodded and turned to the boy still lingering in the doorway. “Are you planning to stand there until nightfall?”
Chen Jingsong shifted his stance again. “No one told me to leave.”
Shao Xing responded with an “Oh” and then said, “I’m telling you to leave.”
Chen Jingsong left, grumbling as he went.
Once he was out of sight, Shao Xing pulled out her chair and sat down next to Shan Shan.
“Shao Xing.”
“Hm?”
“The biggest mistake in pursuing a boy is treating him like a buddy,” Shan Shan said without looking up. “The way you talk to Chen Jingsong makes me think that in ten years when he gets married, you’ll be the one giving the red envelope rather than standing beside him, smiling and receiving them.”
“…”
Perched on the chair with her legs frog-like on the crossbar, hands propped between her thighs on the edge of the seat, Shao Xing stared at her deskmate. Shan Shan was bent over, gently wiping her damp notebook with a tissue.
A soft strand of hair fell from behind her ear, partially obscuring her delicate, pale ear. The edge of her hair perfectly outlined the curve of her upturned, petite nose, which was slightly pink from the cold.
She was beautiful.
Shao Xing’s gaze wandered for a moment, disregarding what Shan Shan had said. After a pause, she reached out and gently pinched Shan Shan’s chin, turning her face towards her own.
Shan Shan complied, turning her head with the motion, her expression blank as she met Shao Xing’s gaze.
“Shan Shan.”
“What?”
“Do you need to pee?”
Shao Xing asked.
“…”
Shan Shan fell silent, then realized that Shao Xing had probably sent the boy away just to ask this question.
Before she could feel touched, Shao Xing added,
“Don’t wet yourself.”
Shan Shan remained quiet, reaching into her pencil case to pull out a small metal ruler.
Seeing this, Shao Xing realized she was about to retaliate. She quickly released Shan Shan’s soft, slightly chubby chin and withdrew her hand. “It’s okay if you don’t need to pee. I’ll push you outside for some fresh air. It’s not good to stay in the classroom all the time… Hey, if you don’t need to pee, how about I take you to see some handsome guys?”
At the mention of “handsome guys,” Shan Shan put down her weapon and turned to look at Shao Xing.
The girl’s eyes were large and round, with long eyelashes like a doll’s, sparkling with curiosity about “handsome guys” – as normal as a high school student’s thirst for knowledge.
Shao Xing began counting on her fingers: “You probably don’t know, but everyone’s been talking about it today. During the morning self-study, a transfer student came to the class above us in the second year. He’s from Canada, and his looks – man – how should I describe it? I managed to catch a glimpse while on duty earlier. Oh boy, it’s unbelievable! He looks like he stepped out of a BL manga! You know what I mean, right? BL!”
Shan Shan: “Huh?”
Shao Xing: “Like in ‘X’.”
Shan Shan: “Who?”
Shao Xing: “Shirou Kamui.”
Shan Shan: “…”
Shao Xing: “His name is Dai Duo.”
Shan Shan: “He’s in the second year?”
Shao Xing: “Apparently, he’s the same age as us, a sports talent. I heard he’s amazing at skiing and skipped a grade to come here… Oh, right, I heard your brother is also great at skiing. See? You already have a common topic!”
Shan Shan: “?”
This was the first time Shan Shan had heard the name Dai Duo. Her initial impression was: transfer student, returnee, handsome, second-year, good at skiing (though she wasn’t sure how good) –
That was all.
…
Shan Shan first saw Dai Duo three days after hearing his name for the first time.
During those three days, his name seemed to pierce her ears constantly. During break times, girls would run through the corridors, classrooms, and bathrooms, spreading the news –
Dai Duo has appeared!
Dai Duo can play basketball!
Dai Duo plays American street basketball, so wild and cool!
Dai Duo is having a 3v3 match with the school team!
Dai Duo won!
Ah, ah, ah, Dai Duo is so handsome!
Given that the corridors were always crowded during breaks and the weather outside was cold, Shan Shan was reluctant to be pushed into the hallway by a classmate to be gawked at while freezing. So, while everyone was buzzing about the new school heartthrob, she busied herself by sympathetically telling Chen Jingsong, “How unfortunate. You’ve only been the school’s most handsome guy for two months, and now you’re handing over the title.”
Beside her, Shao Xing laughed like an idiot.
She seemed blind to Chen Jingsong’s green face, inexplicably excited. She truly deserved to never catch the eye of her crush.
As she said this, there was still half an hour before the evening self-study session. After Shan Shan’s snarky comment, karma struck –
Her stomach suddenly growled loudly. She raised her hand in disbelief, touching her stomach, finding it hard to accept that she was hungry again after just finishing her lunchbox. “Am I going to get fat?” Shan Shan said. “Becoming a fat woman without legs.”
“It’s winter. You burn more calories and get hungry faster,” Shao Xing said, resting her chin on one hand while working on a math paper. “What do you mean ‘fat’? That word doesn’t even apply to you.”
Shan Shan removed her hand from her stomach, debating whether to endure until after the evening self-study session and eat a late-night snack at home, or do something else… After thirty seconds of hesitation, she said, “No, I need to go to the school store to buy something to eat.”
Shao Xing put down her pen. “I’ll go. What do you want?”
Shan Shan picked up the pen and put it back in Shao Xing’s hand. “Teacher Yu is coming to check our papers during evening self-study. Friend, you’d better hurry up and finish writing, okay?”
Teacher Yu was the math teacher.
He was dedicated and responsible in his teaching, single-handedly leading the class to dominate the entire first year with an average score of 138 in the first monthly exam…
Apart from being particularly fierce, he had no other faults.
At the mention of him, Shao Xing genuinely felt a bit intimidated. She hesitated and looked at Shan Shan. “What about you?”
Shan Shan blinked. “While you were all running around the corridors like hormone-crazed idiots, I finished it.”
Oh, the class average of 138 was partly due to five students who scored a perfect 150. Shan Shan was one of those five.
Shao Xing: “Let me copy it.”
Shan Shan: “Don’t even think about it.”
As she spoke, she pulled out a test paper from her math textbook, folded it, and tucked it into her school jacket pocket. With a push of her wheelchair wheels, she smoothly turned out from behind her desk.
Shao Xing didn’t move, just waved her hand and buried herself back in her work.
It wasn’t that she didn’t care about Shan Shan’s well-being.
Mainly, it was because their school, Deyang High School, was a private institution. Along with its rigorous academic standards, it also had excellent public facilities –
Next to the stairs on each floor, there was an elevator usually reserved for teachers, but also available for students with mobility issues like Shan Shan…
Shan Shan’s family wasn’t particularly wealthy – they could be described as ordinary – and a private high school certainly wasn’t their first choice. However, when it came time to choose a high school, Shan Shan’s mother spotted the elevator at Deyang Private High School and made her decision almost without hesitation.
With the elevator, Shan Shan faced far fewer awkward situations going to and from school.
Although her classmates were very friendly, it didn’t mean they could maintain that friendliness for 365 days times three years if she constantly troubled them…
So, for daily tasks she could manage herself, Shan Shan wouldn’t ask others for help –
During breaks, she would stay at her desk, resting her head on the table when tired;
She was naturally exempt from morning exercises;
For physics, biology, or chemistry classes that required going to the lab, she would efficiently pack up her things before the previous class ended and move to the lab with the rest of the class…
Gradually, the people around her began to speak and interact with her just like they would with any other classmate, which, to be honest, seemed to relieve her.
For instance, at this moment, when she said she would go to the school store herself, no one thought it was anything out of the ordinary.
Wheeling her chair, she slowly made her way down the entire corridor, a distance of about four classrooms.
By now, the whole school knew that there was a girl with limited mobility in the top class at the end of the corridor and that she was quite pretty. At first, people were curious, but after two months of school, the novelty had worn off –
As Shan Shan passed through the corridor, at most, students from other classes would poke their heads out to greet her and ask why she was out.
“I’m hungry! Going to the school store.”
“Where’s the tomboy?”
“Rushing to finish her homework.”
“Oh, take care then.”
“Sure, will do.”
And with that, the conversation ended.
As she approached the end of the corridor, there were fewer and fewer people. Outside, dusk had fallen, with the sun having completely set behind the mountains. The last traces of twilight had disappeared from the horizon…
Snow began to fall again, with the sky a heavy gray, silently sprinkling fine snowflakes.
Under the corridor’s incandescent lights, Shan Shan sneezed.
Just then, she heard the faint sound of footsteps –
Out of curiosity, she turned her head to look.
She saw someone slowly ascending the stairs from the floor below, coming around the corner of the staircase.
He was walking slowly, holding onto the handrail. He seemed about the same height as Shan Chong, with a slender build. He wore an expensive-looking pair of Air Jordans and a white down jacket.
He was pale.
So pale that he seemed almost transparent. Shan Shan was impressed that someone’s skin could be whiter than a white down jacket. After a moment of surprise at this fact, she was quickly drawn to his features –
It was rare to describe a boy as “beautiful.”
He had a high, straight nose, eyes more delicate than a girl’s, with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes. His thin lips were a rare pale cherry color for a boy.
His jacket was eye-catching at first glance.
Almost instantly, without the need for an introduction, Shan Shan realized this must be the legendary Dai Duo.
A brief moment of stunned silence made her almost forget to press the elevator button to go down. By the time she reacted and reached out, he had already reached the corner of the staircase…
Perhaps hearing the hum of the elevator in operation, his long eyelashes fluttered with extremely indifferent laziness, and he quickly glanced up.
Their eyes met briefly.
His clear black and white eyes showed no emotion.
Shan Shan let out an “uh,” and her hand on the wheelchair armrest reflexively tightened. Her whole body seemed to shrink back slightly, as if startled, leaning against the wheelchair’s backrest.
Dai Duo hesitated for a second.
His gaze swept shamelessly over the first-year girl in her school uniform, then, under her alarmed gaze, he nonchalantly withdrew his eyes, stuffed his hands in his pockets, turned, and stepped onto the next stair.
…Oh, right, the second-year classrooms were upstairs.
The elevator door opened with a “ding.” Shan Shan’s heart was still racing wildly, but thankfully, the howling north wind outside masked the sound of her heartbeat, which was as chaotic as if she had just committed murder and then flown into a rage.
She rolled her wheelchair slowly into the elevator.
However.
Just as she entered the elevator as if possessed, her frantic heartbeat suddenly suspended.
As if urged by some mysterious force, she raised her head and looked back before fully entering the elevator—
Then she saw, at the corner of the stairs one floor up, someone standing motionless.
The person’s expensive Air Jordans were poised between the cold iron railings. The one who should have already gone upstairs had stopped at a spot that seemed to overlook the elevator below.
Shan Shan couldn’t see his upper body—
She didn’t know what he was doing there.
Nor did she know why he had stopped.
Maybe he had suddenly paused to rest…
Maybe he had received a message on his phone…
Or maybe—
He was leaning on the railing with one hand, head bowed, also looking at her.
The elevator door sounded an alarm.
Shan Shan rolled her wheelchair into the elevator.
The elevator doors slowly closed.
They also shut out the mysterious atmosphere that had filled the air.
Shan Shan looked at the cold metal doors of the elevator, which reflected a girl sitting in a wheelchair. A faint blush was visible on her fair cheeks, but even more evident and unmistakably clear was the bewilderment on the girl’s face.
…
From an angle unknown to Shan Shan, many things were happening.
For instance, after the elevator doors closed, the young man standing at the corner of the stairs leaned one elbow on the handrail, took out his phone, and began typing with a lazy gaze.
The recipient of the message was someone named [Chong].
The cursor blinked, indicating text input. What he typed out seriously was not meant to be taken seriously—
[Your sister looked at me once and acted like a mouse that had seen a cat. I didn’t do anything to her, is she sick or something?]
…
[By “sick” here, do you mean physically ill?]
…
[I mean mentally.]