Perhaps the brief chat with Chi Yao before sleep had an effect.

Lin Zhexia slept soundly that night without any dreams, all the way until the next morning.

Lin He made her a sandwich. She took a few bites, then put the rest in a bag and hurried outside: “Mom, I’m going to Chi Yao’s place to bring him breakfast. You know, since he’s sick, I want to check on him.”

When she arrived at Chi Yao’s place, he was still getting ready.

Chi Yao had a bandage on his hand. He was wearing his school uniform with the collar still unbuttoned, half open.

Lin Zhexia respectfully handed him the food bag: “My offering to you.”

Chi Yao glanced at it: “Your father isn’t hungry right now. Put it aside.”

Lin Zhexia: “Sure thing.”

She put the sandwich down and sat in the living room, waiting for him. After a while, she suddenly made up a story: “Chi Yao, I had a dream last night.”

“In my dream, I fought sixty people, one punch each. I was amazing.”

“Those sixty people were all very strong, but they were no match for me, Young Master Lin. In less than three minutes, they were all down.”

Chi Yao twisted his lips: “Good that you know it was a dream.”

Lin Zhexia just wanted to cheer him up. After speaking, she tentatively asked: “How’s your mood today?”

“Not good,” Chi Yao said. “Feel like killing someone.”

“…”

Lin Zhexia thought to herself, A whole night has passed: ‘You’re still angry?”

Chi Yao spoke flatly: “I have a bad temper. Easily angered.”

Lin Zhexia: “…”

She had already apologized and didn’t know what else to say to make Chi Yao feel better.

After thinking for a while, she said: “I swear, this is the last time. From now on, whatever happens, I’ll tell you first thing.”

After saying this, she noticed Chi Yao showed a slight reaction.

She thought for a moment and added, “I won’t hide anything from you. If you don’t believe me, we can pinky swear.”

Lin Zhexia made a pinky swear gesture.

Chi Yao didn’t extend his hand, just passed by her, saying, “Childish.”

The tone of “childish” was different from his previous sentences—the ending lightened. Others might not have noticed, but Lin Zhexia immediately knew his anger had subsided.

When they reached the bus stop, He Yang was already there waiting.

The three of them boarded the bus together.

Chi Yao often napped on the bus. As usual, Lin Zhexia grabbed one of his earbuds, piggybacking on his music. She listened while drinking milk, and after finishing her bottle, looked around for somewhere to throw it away.

The bus gradually filled with people.

Lin Zhexia looked up but couldn’t find a trash can. Instead, she noticed several students in No. 2 High School uniforms on the bus.

And these people seemed to be deliberately or unconsciously looking in their direction.

More precisely, looking in Chi Yao’s direction.

The song in the earbuds ended, leaving a moment of silence.

In this silence, Lin Zhexia followed their gaze and glanced to the side.

Chi Yao sat by the window, with light from outside falling perfectly on him, very similar to that widely circulated photo on the forum when school began.

Under such scrutiny, Lin Zhexia suddenly felt an indescribable awkwardness.

She didn’t want to indirectly become an object of attention, so she removed the earbuds, hugged her backpack and empty milk carton, and moved to the front row to sit with He Yang.

He Yang was still copying homework and asked strangely, “Why did you come over?”

Lin Zhexia: “…To see how your homework copying is going.”

He Yang: “Almost done with math, just English left.”

“But next time, do your homework,” Lin Zhexia said. “You look quite pathetic copying it on the bus.”

After saying this, Lin Zhexia couldn’t help but mention: “Those few in front seem to be from our school.”

He Yang continued writing without stopping, quickly glanced up, then said: “You mean those who keep staring at my Brother Yao?”

Lin Zhexia responded with an “Mm.”

Before He Yang mentioned it, she thought she might have been mistaken.

But He Yang seemed unsurprised: “What’s the big deal—before, when I went to school with Brother Yao, it was even more exaggerated. There was someone who didn’t take this bus route home but insisted on riding it for an entire semester.”

Lin Zhexia: “Huh?”

He Yang turned his head to glance at the back seat, found Chi Yao napping, unaware of his words, then said: “Our classroom was at the end of the corridor, by the water station. Every time there was a long line for water, all filled with people sneaking glances at him. Sometimes I couldn’t get water, and I wanted to twist his head off and kick it out of the classroom.”

“Does that sound too cruel?”

Lin Zhexia imagined the scene: “Not cruel. I completely understand how you felt.”

She paused, then wanted to say something: “But—”

But Chi Yao had always been eye-catching.

It’s just that she hadn’t noticed until last night.

He Yang: “But what?”

Lin Zhexia didn’t continue: “Nothing. Your stop is coming up. Hurry and pack your things.”-

After arriving at school, Lin Zhexia found her desk drawer stuffed with snacks.

Full, with everything imaginable.

“What should I do,” Chen Lin entered the classroom just then, saying confusedly, “I think someone confessed to me. Who bought me all these snacks?”

Chen Lin looked complicated: “Sorry, I bought them.”

Lin Zhexia: “…”

Chen Lin: “I wanted to thank you both, but I didn’t dare give them to Chi Yao. Why don’t you take some to him?”

Given the opportunity to keep everything, Lin Zhexia wasn’t about to share with Chi Yao: “He doesn’t need snacks. Boys should eat fewer snacks anyway.”

Talking about yesterday’s incident, Chen Lin added: “I went to see the teacher this morning. She said she would communicate with Experimental Affiliated School and report to the school. That girl probably won’t dare send people again.”

Lin Zhexia felt this was a fairly appropriate resolution.

After all, if the matter escalated, following Red-hair’s trail, they could find that Experimental Affiliated student. Especially since the two seemed closely related—yesterday Red-hair mentioned “his sister,” perhaps indicating a sibling relationship.

However, what she didn’t know was that this incident had a small follow-up in places she couldn’t see.

Inside Year 1 Class 1.

Chi Yao sat in the last row as the teacher solved problems on the blackboard.

He twirled a pen with one hand while the other pressed into his desk drawer, his eyes lowered to look at new messages continuously popping up on his phone.

He Yang: Found her.

He Yang: A second-year girl who has several “brothers” outside school. One of them is very famous, with red hair.

He Yang: She’s bragged to others about knowing people outside school. It must be her, no doubt.

He Yang: The school issued a notice to everyone, but couldn’t identify who specifically. I took some people to warn her during break. She probably didn’t expect to be found and was quite panicked, saying she knew she was wrong.

He Yang: Dare to bully our Sister Xia? As long as she’s at Experimental Affiliated School, she can forget about it.

In an elite class like Class 1, he was probably the only one openly using his phone during class.

Even his deskmate beside him couldn’t help being shocked by his audacious behavior.

His bandaged finger tapped the screen, replying with a punctuation mark to indicate he understood: .

After thinking it over, Lin Zhexia still decided to share some snacks with Chi Yao during the lunch break.

Chen Lin: “Didn’t you say boys didn’t need snacks?”

Lin Zhexia said very frankly, “Mainly because they’re taking up space. I can’t even fit my books.”

Chen Lin: “…”

Class 1 was downstairs.

During lunch break, the corridors were lively, with many people gathered outside each classroom, except for Class 1, which was notably quiet.

Besides the original Class 1 students coming and going, a few students from other classes approached.

Lin Zhexia had visited Class 1 several times before but hadn’t noticed how few people lingered outside Class 1’s door.

She carried her things, making her way to the back window as usual.

Chi Yao sat by the window, napping. He had taken Xu Ting’s jacket to cover himself from the sun, the black hood covering his entire head. From her angle, she could only see the young man’s hand resting on the edge of the desk.

She knocked on the glass window twice, calling: “Chi Yao!”

As soon as the words fell.

That hand moved very reluctantly, lifting to cover his ear.

Lin Zhexia: “…”

She took a deep breath and called even louder: “—Chi Yao Chi Yao Chi Yao.”

Chi Yao, having his nap disturbed, wasn’t in a good mood: “What do you want?”

“Came to bring you some warmth,” Lin Zhexia passed a bag of snacks through the window gap. “No need to thank me, and don’t be too moved.”

Chi Yao glanced at it without taking it: “Thanks, I’m quite touched that you specially brought a bunch of things you don’t like.”

In the bag.

Indeed, they were.

Things she had specifically picked out that she didn’t like.

Lin Zhexia simply let go, placing the items on his desk: “You don’t like what I like anyway, and what’s important isn’t the gift itself, but my sentiment.”

After saying this, she asked: “Why are there no people outside your classroom today?”

Chi Yao: “Aren’t you a person?”

Lin Zhexia: “Besides me. Anyway, I feel like they’re all avoiding your classroom… Don’t you notice, sitting by the window?”

The jacket Chi Yao wore slid down. He raised his hand to scratch his hair, saying casually: “I can’t be bothered to care.”

Fair enough.

Very much in line with his style.

On her way back from Class 1, Lin Zhexia noticed many people looking at her. Feeling confused and awkward, when she returned to Class 7, several unfamiliar female classmates hesitantly asked: “Did you just go to Class 1?”

“…”

Lin Zhexia thought they were going to ask for contact information again.

She wanted to say, Why not go find Tang Shuxuan?

But looking around, she realized Tang Shuxuan wasn’t in the classroom, so she had to deal with it herself.

“Ah,” she said, “but he…” He doesn’t like adding strangers.

Before Lin Zhexia could finish, those girls continued: “So is it true? That he likes to fight on the street behind the school after classes, and yesterday after school, he beat up three thugs all by himself?”

She didn’t know where the rumor started.

But that it spread wasn’t surprising.

And… specifically speaking, this wasn’t entirely a “rumor”—a large part of it was fact.

“It’s spreading privately,” when Lin Zhexia returned to her seat, Chen Lin whispered. “Chi Yao was already getting a lot of attention. After yesterday’s fight, people now think he’s some hidden delinquent. Before, some wanted his contact info, but now they don’t even dare approach.”

Lin Zhexia: “How did it get so exaggerated? I just explained to them, but it didn’t help.”

Chen Lin: “You’re close to Chi Yao. Of course, they think you’re covering for him.”

Chi Yao’s fame took on a different flavor after this fight.

Fighting is different from climbing walls. Most people wouldn’t dare approach a boy who fights after school.

More people were interested, but fewer dared to approach.

Later, when Lin Zhexia went to Class 1 to find him several times, she always noticed other classmates’ scrutinizing gazes. Sometimes when Chi Yao carried water out, heading to the office, many people would carefully avoid him, but after passing by, they would secretly look back.

As if possessed, she logged into the school forum and clicked on a discussion thread about Chi Yao.

Recent comments were all uniform: [He’s so handsome, but now I barely dare to look at him.]

[You’re not alone.]

[Although it’s not nice to say, I’d kind of like to see a handsome guy fight…]

[Let it go, just glimpse from afar.]

…

Lin Zhexia rarely registered an alternate account, but she anonymously left a reply: He was doing the right thing, not what you all think.

But this comment went completely ignored, quickly sinking like a stone-

Summer passed, and the weather gradually turned cool.

At some point, the cicadas’ chirping completely disappeared, leaves turned yellow, and temperatures dropped sharply.

Soon, people at school dressed more heavily, switching to thick No. 2 High winter uniforms. The winter uniform consisted of only one thick red coat, and students could wear their pants.

While Lin Zhexia bundled herself tightly, Chi Yao seemed impervious to cold, wearing only a thin sweater under his coat. He still appeared slender, with long, thin legs in jeans.

“Aren’t you cold?” On the way to school, Lin Zhexia couldn’t help asking.

“Are you doing this deliberately?” she said, “when everyone is dressed so bulkily, wearing less to look cool?”

Chi Yao glanced at her.

The girl before him had buried half her face in a beige scarf out of fear of the cold, only her clear eyes exposed.

“Am I sick in the head?”

“…Maybe you are sick.”

The more Lin Zhexia thought about it, the more convinced she became: “Actually, you’re freezing, but for the sake of appearances, you’re enduring the cold, putting on an act.”

Her response was a cold laugh from Chi Yao: “In this weather, worry about whether your brain has been frozen first.”

Lin Zhexia wanted to verify herself: “Your brain is more likely to freeze. Give me your hand.”

Chi Yao found her boring but still extended one hand toward her.

Lin Zhexia touched his hand, discovering it wasn’t cold at all.

She touched it again in disbelief.

This touch lingered longer.

Long enough for her to notice the faint scar on Chi Yao’s hand, as well as the young man’s warm hand temperature.

This warmth strangely reminded her of when she had applied medicine to Chi Yao’s wound.

“…” Lin Zhexia withdrew her hand. As she spoke, her breath hit the cashmere scarf, raising a wave of heat that traveled up to her ears. “Um, the bus is coming.”

Time passed quickly before the final exams.

Studying textbooks, reviewing key points, interspersed with a monthly test, they soon faced final exams.

The weather was too cold. Lin Zhexia, sneezing and catching a cold, took exams for three days.

After finishing her exams and receiving winter holiday assignments, she went home dizzy with exhaustion and buried herself in sleep.

Half-asleep, she heard Lin He enter her room saying, “Xiaxia, your Uncle Wei and I are going to the neighboring city tomorrow.”

She vaguely remembered this.

Wei Ping had to go to the neighboring city on business for a few days, and Lin He had also taken time off to go with him—a rare “vacation” for the two.

“You’ll stay home alone. I’ve made dumplings for you to cook yourself, and there are noodles and other things in the refrigerator.”

“Be careful, keep doors and windows locked, remember to take your keys when you go out, or no one will let you in—make sure you remember.”

Lin He continued listing safety precautions.

Lin Zhexia responded with a sound.

When she woke up from her nap, she was alone in the house.

She opened the refrigerator, stared at the rows of prepared dumplings, pondered for a long time, then took out her phone to message Chi Yao-

Ding ding ding-

Have you had dinner yet?-

If not, let’s eat together?? (^??^*).

Ten minutes later.

Lin Zhexia sat at Chi Yao’s dining table, chopsticks in hand, looking toward the kitchen.

In the kitchen, Chi Yao, wearing only a sweater, was dropping dumplings into the steaming pot. The hand that had taken down three people was now pinching dumplings and putting them into the pot.

He had a face that didn’t look very domestic, didn’t seem like someone who would enter the kitchen, more like someone who would be waited on—

Just as Lin Zhexia was thinking this, she heard the owner of that face ask:

“Vinegar or soy sauce?”

“Vinegar!”

“Chili oil?”

Lin Zhexia nodded: “Yes, please.”

“You dare to ask for that?” Chi Yao said. “Not content with how long you’ve had a cold? Not coughing hard enough?”

“…”

Then why did you ask?

Midway through the meal, Lin Zhexia said, “How about I wash the dishes later?”

Chi Yao did not react.

Lin Zhexia prompted: “I’m just being polite. You’re supposed to refuse.”

Chi Yao: “Why would I refuse?”

Lin Zhexia said slowly: “Because I’m a guest at your house. You can’t really make me wash the dishes.”

“Sorry,” Chi Yao said, “my house doesn’t have that many rules. I don’t stop guests from washing dishes.”

Lin Zhexia closed her mouth, not wanting to continue the conversation.

She ate very slowly. By the time she finished chewing and swallowing, looking at the clock, it was almost 8:30.

While they ate, the living room TV was broadcasting a weather report, though the volume was turned down, relegated to background noise: “…The above areas may experience short periods of heavy rainfall tonight, with local thunderstorms, strong winds, and other severe convective weather. Citizens are advised to take precautions when traveling.”

At 1:30 that night.

Lin Zhexia was awakened by a clap of thunder.

“BOOM—”

The thunder sounded like a sharp blade, cleaving the ink-like sky.

Where it passed, lightning flashed and thunder roared.

Wrapped in her blanket, she vaguely remembered having a nightmare. Opening her eyes, she involuntarily shuddered at the sound of thunder.

But this trembling wasn’t because of the nightmare.

It was the thunder.

Lin Zhexia thought it was fine during the day, but how could there be thunder at night?

Then she remembered she was alone at home now.

…

There were a few things she truly feared, but thunder was one of them.

“RUMBLE—”

Thunder came one after another, showing no sign of stopping.

Lin Zhexia seemed to hear several thunderclaps playing on a continuous loop in her ears. The thunderclaps from deep in her memory also struck in her mind.

That was also a thundery day.

A child’s tender voice, four or five years old, crying:

“Dad.”

“…Dad, don’t go, Dad.”

The fragmented voices in her memory shifted, replaced by Lin He’s artificially hardened voice.

“If you want to leave, then leave. From now on, you have nothing to do with us. Don’t contact us, and don’t appear again.”

“—Take your things and get out!”

Her head felt dizzy. By the time she came to her senses, she realized she was trembling under the blanket.

Lin Zhexia reached out to find the switch by her bed, wanting to turn on the light, but couldn’t locate it.

Finally, she lowered her hand, her palm pressing against the phone by her pillow.

She grabbed the phone like a lifeline, using the screen’s glow, and opened that familiar cat head icon. Curled up in her blanket, she slowly typed: Are you asleep? If not, can I…

Can I come to your place to find you?

Before she could finish typing, a voice call came through.

[‘Chi Dog’ invites you to a call…]

“I’m at your door.” After the call connected, the familiar voice of the young man reached her ears, drowning out the thunder outside. “Open up.”