Although they sat at desks in front of and behind each other and had talked, He Xueqing and Cen Yu were not close.

It wasn't because she was afraid of other people's opinions; it was simply that Cen Yu treated everyone the same.

He could chat with He Xueqing, and he could chat with other people as well. He even had quite a few friends in his class or school. Every time He Xueqing sat down to read, she would hear the sound of tapping on the glass next to her.

He turned his head and someone said to him, "Hey, could you call Cen Yu for me?"

He Xueqing's hair was a bit long. Because he didn't want to make eye contact with people or see things he didn't want to see, he always kept his head down... The person standing outside was the star player of the basketball team from the next class. He glanced at the other person a few times, which made the other person look confused before he slowly turned around.

Cen Yu was taking a nap during his lunch break.

“…Cen Yu,” He Xueqing said softly, “someone is calling you.”

"Hey buddy, why are you speaking so quietly?" The star player of the basketball team outside was speechless. He shouted at Cen Yu, "Wake up! We agreed to play basketball at noon today!"

He Xueqing thought the big, clumsy guy outside was a bit rude, but Cen Yu was still woken up by his loud voice. He looked up and glanced at He Xueqing in confusion... He Xueqing looked at the beauty mark under his eye. When he saw Cen Yu looking at him a few times, he asked, "Did you call me?"

"Are you still half asleep?" the big, goofy guy outside was still talking. "I'm calling you!"

Cen Yu ignored He Xueqing, yawned, and then walked out the back door, walking away with the big, clumsy guy, their arms around each other's shoulders.

He Xueqing watched their departing figures through the glass. The big, clumsy guy was holding a basketball and had his arm around Cen Yu as if he was saying something to him. Cen Yu pushed him away, saying, "Go away, it's so hot."

He Xueqing simply looked down at her school uniform.

He imitated Cen Yu, lying on the desk, his breath filled with the faint woody scent of Cen Yu. He wanted to ask where the woody scent on Cen Yu came from, but then he felt that it was really strange of him to ask that.

Of course, if He Xueqing, who is familiar with the online world, recalls this many years later, she will probably only send Cen Yu a "Bro, you smell so good" emoji.

However, He Xueqing certainly doesn't understand this right now.

He lay there pretending to doze off, and after a short while, he heard a noise behind him. It seemed that Cen Yu had returned from outside and sat down behind him again.

Someone was chatting with Cen Yu, and Cen Yu said, "Hey, can't you see someone's sleeping? Keep your voice down?"

"Him?" The man drawled, but perhaps because he was talking to Cen Yu, he didn't say much. Then He Xueqing heard the sound of a chair being pulled out, and the man moved closer to Cen Yu. "Have you looked at the school's online forum?"

"What Tieba?" Cen Yu asked.

"Someone predicted the end of the world." The man found it amusing and chuckled a few more times. "You've been watching too many movies!"

"Someone else is asking about you," the person added. "They're asking who the guy with two beauty marks under his eyes at No. 1 High School is, and they want to get to know him."

“Not interested,” Cen Yu said.

"Don't say that," the man said again. "I think the guy over there is handsome too, hahaha."

Seemingly finding it amusing, the man laughed wildly a few more times... He Xueqing, however, heard his own heart pounding. He didn't know why he was so nervous, but he inexplicably wanted to know Cen Yu's answer.

"I'm not interested whether he's handsome or an alien," Cen Yu said impatiently. "Get lost if you have nothing better to do."

He Xueqing felt a chill run down her spine. The bad news was that Cen Yu wasn't interested in men, but the good news was that he wasn't interested in humans or aliens.

Then, He Xueqing didn't hear any more noise behind him... He pretended to wake up, looked up, and then glanced back.

Cen Yu fell asleep again, slumped over the table.

Because of the angle, his face was directly facing the window, and the afternoon sunlight in the corridor shone on his face. He Xueqing stared at him for a long time, so long that he was discovered by the homeroom teacher hiding at the back door...

The homeroom teacher originally wanted to catch a few students who weren't resting properly and were whispering and doing other things at noon, but unexpectedly caught He Xueqing, who was staring blankly back at the door.

He and He Xueqing exchanged a few glances through the glass of the back door.

Finally, unable to contain himself, he asked, "Is there something on Cen Yu's face? Why do you have to stare at it?"

His words not only startled Cen Yu, but also caused several people nearby to chuckle quietly. Then the homeroom teacher walked into the classroom through the back door and began to hand out the monthly exam papers... The class was filled with groans. Cen Yu propped his face up and got up. Of course, he had heard what the homeroom teacher had just said.

He propped his chin on his hand, looked at He Xueqing sitting in front of him, and then reached out and poked him.

Why were you looking at me just now?

"What's up?"

"Just say what you need to say."

He Xueqing felt unusually awkward, unsure whether it was from being caught spying on Cen Yu, or from realizing his own inner turmoil… He simply shook his head, then, as if remembering something, turned back to Cen Yu and whispered during the exchange of exam papers, “My abilities have improved recently…”

"You want to be with me again..."

Before he could finish speaking, Cen Yu took the exam paper from his hand.

He Xueqing didn't continue, after all, he himself felt that his excuse was a bit lame.

When they were about to go to the cafeteria after school, Cen Yu nudged his shoulder and asked, "Where are you going to look?"

He Xueqing didn't understand what he meant, and turned to look at Cen Yu standing next to him.

Cen Yu looked down at him, "Didn't you say that your ability to foresee the future has become stronger recently?"

"Where are you going to look?"

Of course, he couldn't go to the dormitory; they all thought he was a madman spouting nonsense... In the end, He Xueqing took Cen Yu to a corner behind the school playground.

Cen Yu leaned against the horizontal bar behind him, feeling a sense of novelty. "Can I speak now, Prophet?"

Hearing Cen Yu's teasing, He Xueqing simply pointed to the playground in front of her and said, "Here."

There will be many monsters.

He couldn't quite describe what those strange things he saw were, and could only refer to them as monsters.

"That building will collapse."

"The buildings in the city center are also included."

He told Cen Yu what he had seen, then looked at Cen Yu cautiously, worried that the other person might also think of him as some kind of unreasonable madman.

Unexpectedly, Cen Yu hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Should I prepare some dry rations or weapons?"

"Will a kitchen knife work?"

"Or I can go buy a metal baseball bat."