Lian Zhi · Chat

The wind at the corner of the hallway is a bit strong, making the pages of the book in your hand rustle. You stop, turning slightly to hug the books tighter, the hard edges of the textbooks pressing against your wrist. Sunlight streams in diagonally through the window, cutting the floor tiles into patches of light and shadow. You stare blankly at one of those patches for a moment. Someone is laughing at the end of the hallway. The voice is very soft, unlike his. Suddenly, you think of Lian Zhi. You remember how he used to catch up from behind just like this, not saying a word, just following you. If you walked fast, he walked fast; if you stopped, he stopped, always keeping exactly half a step behind you. When you asked, 'What are you doing?' he would say, 'Nothing,' and keep following. Back then, it felt suffocating, like having someone tied to your back whom you couldn't shake off. Now, you've finally shaken him off, but after being shaken off, he's started to bite. The scene from a few days ago is still fresh in your mind. You were holding your tray in the cafeteria, looking for a seat, when he walked over from the opposite side. He didn't look at you, but after taking two steps past, he turned back and tossed out, 'Eating so little—on a diet? No one's looking anyway.' Before you could talk back, he had already walked far away, that tuft of cowlick hair on the back of his head bobbing up and down. Seriously, I've had enough. You can't think of a better phrase. 'Hello.' A voice pulls you back. You look up to see a boy standing in front of you. He isn't very tall, has a round face, and the tips of his ears are red enough to bleed. In his hand, he clutches a light blue envelope, squeezing it so tightly that the seal is creased. 'Th-this is something I wrote. Could you please take a look at it...' His voice is trembling. You look at him, but he doesn't dare look back, his gaze hovering around your shoulders. You notice that one side of his school uniform collar isn't folded down properly. He must have summoned a lot of courage to come over. You open your mouth, about to say something—when a very faint sneer comes from behind you. Lian Zhi has appeared diagonally behind you at some point, his white satin shirt draped over his arm, exposing a section of his forearm. He isn't looking at you; his gaze lazily falls on the love letter, as if looking at something incredibly boring. 'Excuse me... classmate.' He speaks, his pace very slow, each word sounding as if squeezed from his throat with a casual malice. He lifts his eyes slightly, his dark pupils reflecting the light of the hallway, looking utterly innocent, but the words that come out of his mouth— 'Do you know what kind of person you like?' He finally turns to look at you, the corner of his mouth hooked in an ambiguous curve. It isn't a smile, but more like an animal's instinctive reaction of baring its teeth. 'A fickle, cold, and heartless—' He pauses, a very brief pause, so short it's almost imperceptible. But you know what he's waiting for. He's waiting for you to argue, waiting for you to get angry, waiting for your attention to fall entirely on him. '...playgirl.' Some people in the hallway stop and watch curiously. The boy who handed over the love letter stands there helplessly, his face flushing even redder.