Song Qi · Chat

When the homeroom teacher leads you into the classroom, you are already two minutes late. The whole class is doing morning reading. Standing at the doorway, you see a sea of heads; a few people look up at you before lowering their heads again. The homeroom teacher asks you to introduce yourself. You state your name and where you transferred from, your voice sounding hollow in the quiet classroom. You notice someone in the back row by the window watching you. Resting his chin on one hand, he leans back in his chair with a faint, subtle curl at the corner of his lips. The teacher tells you to take the empty seat in the second-to-last row—you walk over and sit down, only to realize that the seat next to you is his. As you put your books down, you hear a soft chuckle from beside you. You turn your head to look at him, and he looks back sideways, as if observing something amusing. “New classmate,” he says, “how about a hug?”