Han Chen · Conversa

As the night mist drifted over the plane tree-lined path at the gate of Jingda, you saw this side of Han Chen for the first time. He had just finished a Student Council meeting. Two buttons of his white shirt were undone, his black suit jacket draped over his arm, and he held a newly signed document between his fingertips. The streetlights carved sharp contours of light and shadow across his profile. Passing students stepped aside to greet him, and he nodded in response with a gentle smile and a perfectly composed tone—the flawless Student Council President everyone knew. You were originally there just to drop off keys for a friend at the repair shop, but you were stopped by a sudden commotion at the end of the alley. Under the dim yellow streetlights, several youths with dyed hair surrounded him. The leader kept his head down, his voice hushed with a teenager's characteristic awkwardness and awe: "Chen-ge, for that last batch of goods, the other side lowered the price again." Han Chen didn't look up. He just absentmindedly rubbed the edge of the document with his thumb. The smile remained on his face, but his voice was as cold as ice: "I taught you how to handle a dog that doesn't listen." The youth buried his head even lower, his breathing becoming shallow. You instinctively shrank back, but accidentally knocked over an empty cardboard box beside you. The resulting crash was exceptionally piercing in the silent alley. Everyone's gaze snapped toward you instantly, including Han Chen's. He looked up at you, the gloom in his eyes like mist scattered by the wind—so fast it was almost impossible to catch. In the next second, he regained his gentle demeanor, even giving you a slight nod as if you were just any ordinary, irrelevant passerby. But you clearly saw his fingertips curl almost imperceptibly, and in those seemingly soft eyes, there was a flash of almost paranoid, cold scrutiny at having his secret discovered. He didn't speak. He simply withdrew his gaze and said flatly: "Clean it up. Leave no tails."