A brief disappearance

I slept exceptionally well last night around 7 a.m., and woke up just as dawn was breaking.

The phone screen beside her was still flashing intermittently. She swiped to see a message from Hao Nan: "[I was very tired last night and went to bed early]".

I typed a reply on the screen, sent it, tossed my phone back onto my pillow, closed my eyes, and drifted back into a light sleep.

Even she herself didn't realize how much she cared about Hao Nan in that casual reply, nor did she notice that her dependence on Hao Nan had already crept up like vines in the cracks she hadn't been paying attention to.

At his desk, Hao Nan was engrossed in his exercises when his phone chimed, making him almost reflexively look up.

When she saw Qi Xu's reply, she couldn't suppress the smile on her face. Her fingertips paused on the screen for a moment, and she typed: "Don't overwork yourself. Get some rest early. Take care of yourself while you're working."

After replying, he plunged back into his studies. A while later, his phone rang again, and Qi Xu simply replied with "Okay."

The dialog box fell completely silent.

As the summer vacation draws to a close, the class assignments and report cards have finally been released in the group chat, along with QR codes for joining the group for each class.

Hao Nan had just arrived home when his phone started vibrating incessantly.

He opened the list with trembling hands, his eyes frantically searching for the name "Qi Xu" in each class's list. Class 5 of the third year of high school, a regular class.

Looking at my name again, I was immediately struck by how I was in Class 8 of the senior year, the top class.

Of the group of friends, only Qi Xu went astray from them.

The smile on his face froze instantly, shattering into ice shards.

He slumped into his chair, the question "Why?" echoing repeatedly in his mind.

After all this effort, isn't it all just to stand under the same roof as her and keep up with her? Why is it that no matter how hard I try to run towards you, I'm always just one step away, like there's an unbridgeable river between us?

He scrolled through the chat history, trying to find his grades for each subject and figure out where the problem lay, but the teacher hadn't sent out any report cards. Just as he was feeling helpless, his phone rang again; it was a screenshot of Han Xue's report card.

Hao Nan sat up abruptly, his fingers flying across the screen. He first found Qi Xu's name: Chinese 110, Math 80, English 109, and Politics, History and Geography three glaring "0"s.

He chuckled softly, unsure whether he was laughing at his own foolishness or at the absurdity of the outcome.

On second thought, Qi Xu already had a guaranteed admission spot, so these achievements were indeed insignificant to her.

Senior high school students always start school a week earlier than other grades.

At this time of day, people would have already gathered in front of the Qi family's house, and today was no exception, except that there was a subtle commotion in the atmosphere.

When Hao Nan walked over, Ting Yue was the first to be stunned, then narrowed her eyes and looked him up and down: "Handsome guy, do we know each other?"

"Hao Nan," he said, his voice deeper than usual.

"!"

The crowd remained stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.

Xu Sheng circled him halfway around, clicking his tongue in amazement: "Wow, this transformation is absolutely divine!"

The praises were endless, almost overwhelming, but Hao Nan seemed not to hear them at all, his face remaining completely unmoved.

For him, if all this couldn't earn him even a glance from Qi Xu, it would all be in vain, just an empty shell on his body.

Tingyue's eyes lit up, and she jokingly put her arm around his shoulder: "Bro, I bet you could run for school heartthrob right now."

Hao Nan glanced at her arm, then looked up at her. Ting Yue's smile froze instantly. She silently withdrew her hand, thinking to herself: Why does her aura seem so different? I'm a little scared.

His gaze returned to the tightly closed door of the Qi Xu family, as if he were waiting for something.

The door opened, and Hao Nan's eyes lit up instantly, but it was Han Xue who came out.

"Let's go." Han Xue looked at everyone, and when her gaze swept over Hao Nan, she paused. Even though his appearance had changed, the stubbornness in his eyes could only belong to him.

"Where is Qi Xu?" Hao Nan's voice was tinged with barely perceptible tension.

"Yes, where's Qi Xu?" Tingyue asked as well.

"She hasn't come back yet," Han Xue explained.

"Where did she go? I don't know anything about her." Wan Xiaoyi looked bewildered.

“Me too,” Xu Sheng replied, only to be glared at by Wan Xiaoyi: “What are you?”

Ting Xubai didn't speak, but stood quietly to the side, his gaze always fixed on Han Xue.

Han Xue noticed, looked up and met his gaze for a second, then quickly looked away.

"Will she come back?" Hao Nan pressed, his eyes trembling as if blown away by the wind.

"I'm not sure, you'll have to ask her yourself," Han Xue replied earnestly.

That glimmer of light was completely extinguished.

It was only then that Xu Bai spoke up to smooth things over: "She might be back tomorrow. This is her home, after all. She'll be back eventually; it's just a matter of time."

None of them knew about Qi Xu's past. Only Han Xue had heard bits and pieces from her father.

When she was 13, her only doting father passed away, and her family left her to fend for herself, giving her money but rarely paying attention to her.

Ci Yan sometimes didn't come home for months at a time, leaving her in Luojia County for several years. If her father hadn't insisted on taking her to transfer schools, no one would know what would have become of her.

Even so, she still called Ciyan "mother" and forged her own path through adversity.

Perhaps from the very beginning, she had already chosen the direction she wanted to take and had long planned to get rid of that home.

Han Xue sighed softly as she thought about these things.

The sigh went unnoticed by others, but it reached Hao Nan's ears. He looked up at her, his eyes filled with inquiry, and even a hint of gloom.

Han Xue was startled and instinctively shrank her shoulders.

Hao Nan stopped looking at her and looked away.

Hearing this, Bai walked to Han Xue's side and whispered, his voice filled with worry: "I hope Qi Xu isn't in trouble."

As soon as he said that, Han Xue became dissatisfied: "What nonsense are you talking about? She's perfectly fine, she's just working away from home, she'll be back."

Upon hearing this, Bai breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good, that's good."

As they approached the school, Han Xue couldn't help but ask Ting Xubai, "Which class are you in?"

"Guess?" Ting Xubai teased her on purpose.

Han Xue rolled her eyes, too lazy to pay him any attention.

After a long pause, Xu Bai's voice softened: "We're in the same class as you, we're all in the same class, except for Qi Xu."

Han Xue hummed in agreement and said nothing more.

The classroom was empty; they were the first to arrive. Tingyue went straight to the last row by the window, and Tingxubai naturally sat down next to her.

Han Xue and Wan Xiaoyi sat in the front seats, while Hao Nan chose a seat in the middle of the back row. As soon as he put down his backpack, Xu Sheng tried to sit next to him.

"Let's find another seat." Hao Nan put his backpack on the seat next to him and lazily raised his eyes.

Xu Sheng refused, grabbed his schoolbag and threw it back on his desk, then sat down: "She's not in this class."

Hao Nan seemed to have been enlightened. He paused for a moment, then didn't refute it.

"Believe it or not, once all your classmates arrive, girls will definitely flock to you," Xu Sheng chuckled in a low voice.

“The seats are all assigned.” Hao Nan frowned, but didn’t reply.

Even after being admitted to the honors class, everyone remained focused and took out their books to review. As classmates gradually entered, the girls' eyes couldn't help but linger on Hao Nan.

Wen Nuan pulled Jian Jie along, almost running to the front seat, and didn't forget to look back at him as she sat down.

Then the two turned around and excitedly clung to each other, swooning over each other.

"He's so handsome! I'm so excited!" Wen Nuan's cheeks flushed even more with excitement.

Jianjie nodded vigorously, her smile widening: "I feel more motivated to study with the help of this handsome guy."

The two moved to the back seat.

Wen Nuan blushed as she looked at Hao Nan and greeted him, "Handsome, what's your name? Let's be friends!"

Hao Nan didn't even lift his eyelids, his pen flying across the workbook, as if the person in front of him was just air.

Jianjie chimed in, "We're all classmates, we can help each other out in the future."

He still didn't react.

The commotion in the front seat alerted the others. Tingyue clicked her tongue and said, "I thought this kind of scene only existed in novels. I never expected to see it with my own eyes."

"He's changed so much, I almost didn't recognize him," Wan Xiaoyi said softly.

Han Xue nodded: "Indeed."

Hearing this, Bai smiled, shook his head, and said nothing.

The two people in the front seats wanted to say something more, but Xu Sheng raised his hand to stop them: "Don't disturb him while he's doing his homework."

The classroom fell silent again, with only the scratching sound of pens slicing across paper.

His eyes were filled with homework, and his heart was filled with longing for Qi Xu.

Senior year of high school is a crucial year, with a heavy academic workload. Apart from taking care of some personal matters during breaks, students are basically in the classroom studying diligently.

Hao Nan would always wander around Class 5 of Senior Three after class to see if Qi Xu had returned, and almost every time he returned disappointed.

Break time is also a dream for the girls in Class 5 of Senior Three, because there are handsome guys there.

As he came more often, the female students from other classes became very envious, and sometimes the door and corridor of Class 5 were packed with people during breaks.

This time was no exception. As soon as get out of class ended, he went to Class 5. This had become his obsession, something he had to do every day.

I kept searching for that figure in the classroom.

Every time get out of class ended, the girls in Class 5 would sit up straight, diligently putting on a studious posture, while secretly glancing up at him.

They were very careful, afraid of scaring him away.

Someone spread the rumor that Hao Nan's crush was in Class 5, which made the girls in Class 5 feel even more superior and they all wondered who he liked.

If nothing unexpected happens, something unexpected will definitely happen. There is indeed a very beautiful girl in Class 5, and every time he comes over, he looks at that spot.

Actually, he was looking at the empty seat behind her; if she came back, she would definitely sit in that seat.

The girl, who thought he was looking at her, lowered her head and blushed slightly.

The girl next to her nudged her and leaned closer: "Fei Nian, hurry up and seize the opportunity. It would be a waste not to let such a handsome guy go."

Fei Nian looked up at Hao Nan outside the door; he had already looked away and was preparing to leave.

In the end, Fei Nian took a step forward, ran out of the classroom, and stopped Hao Nan, who was about to leave.

"Excuse me, what can I do for you?"

Fei Nian looked up and met his gaze. His eyes were empty, devoid of any emotion.

Her gaze was unwavering as she boldly expressed her thoughts: "I like you."

Hao Nan still didn't react, and simply hummed in agreement.

Fei Nian asked cautiously, "And what about you? What's your answer?"

The onlookers all turned to look, and the surrounding environment became tense and oppressive.

"What you like about me is just my excellence, not your true liking for me."