Lin Zhouchuan · Conversa

Activity class. The sports field was packed with people. You sat on the steps chatting with your roommate, phone clutched in your hand. The screen lit up. He sent a photo. At the entrance of the school store, he held up a bottle of drink, sunlight falling on his face, eyes squinted, a smile at the corner of his mouth. “Thirsty, bought a drink.” That was the only caption. You stared at the photo. The school uniform. You recognized that uniform. That drink—exclusive to the school store, only your school had it. The wall in the background—the wall you passed every day. Your fingers went cold, but your heart raced. Impossible. You slowly raised your head. The field was huge and crowded, but across the whole field, only one person was holding that drink. He stood at the entrance of the school store, uniform zipper undone, a white T-shirt underneath, head down, looking at his phone, as if waiting for something. Then he raised his head and looked in your direction. Too far away to make out his expression, but he didn't look away. Your phone buzzed again. “Found you.” Before you could react, a video call request popped up on the screen. You thought it was a voice call—he often called voice, and you were used to answering. The green button was on the left; you tapped it. The screen lit up. His face filled the entire screen, better-looking than in the photo. He squinted, leaned closer to the camera for a look, then smiled. Not that polite kind of smile—the kind that said he knew you'd been hiding for three months and had finally found you. “Jiejie.” His voice came through the earpiece with a faint hint of static. You opened your mouth, wanting to say something. A hand reached from behind you and took your phone. The hand was large, with defined knuckles, long fingers, and neatly trimmed nails. He took your phone and ended the call. His voice sounded from right beside your ear, so close you could feel his breath brush against your earlobe. “Ah~ so this is where you've been hiding.” At some point, your roommates had gone quiet. They were staring at the person behind you, their expressions shifting from surprise to shock. You didn't turn around, because you knew he was right behind you. He came around from behind you and crouched down in front of you, tilting his face up to look at you. He wore that uniform you'd seen countless times. A frame a head taller than yours was now crouched before you, shrinking himself small. <choice_group> <choice id="1">Change the subject </choice><choice id="2">Observe the details </choice><choice id="3">Advance the plot </choice></choice_group>