Chapter 2
Time flowed by slowly and steadily amidst the lively atmosphere of the small county town. In the blink of an eye, the children entered junior high school.
Xu Nianlei and Lu Boyan are still in the same school, even in the same class. But their worlds are clearly separated.
Lu Baiyan was always number one, a role model praised by teachers, the flag bearer, and the class monitor. He didn't talk much, always quiet, with a composure beyond his years. Occasionally, he would be surrounded by a few classmates who were also academically excellent, but more often than not, he was alone, like a small, isolated island protected by an invisible barrier.
Xu Nianlei was like a shadow in the class. Her grades were below average, she rarely spoke in class, and after class she would always sit quietly in her seat or stand in the corner of the corridor watching others play jump rope. She carried an inescapable aura of "a troublesome family," which made some children who would normally befriend her subconsciously keep their distance.
In a Chinese class in the first year of junior high school, the teacher asked us to make a sentence using the word "happiness".
Lu Baiyan stood up, his voice clear and calm: "We live in a peaceful country and are very happy." His words were textbook perfect.
When it was Xu Nianlei's turn, she was stunned for a long time. Images of her parents arguing, her father's drunken face, and her mother's hysterical curses flashed through her mind. What is happiness? She opened her mouth, and finally whispered, "...The weather is nice today, and I feel...a little happy."
The students chuckled, finding the sentence rather odd. The teacher frowned and told her to sit down.
As Xu Nianlei sat down, she caught a glimpse of Lu Baiyan in the row in front of her out of the corner of her eye. He was still sitting upright, looking at the blackboard, seemingly oblivious to her clumsy sentence and the snickers around him. At that moment, Xu Nianlei didn't know whether she should feel relieved or feel a deeper sense of loss.
He wouldn't even deign to offer her a laugh.
That autumn in her second year of junior high school, Xu Nianlei experienced the most embarrassing day of her life.
During the morning exercise break, several girls whispered behind her, pointing at her back.
"Look at the back of her pants..."
"Is it...that kind?"
"Ugh, how disgusting! How could she be so careless?"
Xu Nianlei was initially confused until she felt an unusual wetness behind her and a close female friend secretly came to tell her what had happened—she had her first period and had soiled her pants.
A wave of overwhelming shame washed over her. Her face flushed crimson, she was on the verge of tears, frozen in place, wishing she could disappear into the ground. The gazes around her felt like needles piercing her back.
Just then, something unexpected happened.
Lu Baiyan had just returned from the teacher's office with his homework books when he passed through the crowd. He seemed to sense the unusual situation and Xu Nianlei's embarrassment. He paused, said nothing, and silently took off his blue thin jacket with the school logo and handed it to Xu Nianlei.
His movements were quick, attracting almost no attention, and his face remained expressionless, still with that faint, shy demeanor.
Then, he took the workbooks and walked straight to the podium to distribute them, as if he had just done something as ordinary as handing in homework.
Xu Nianlei froze, clutching the still-warm coat. Instinctively, she quickly wrapped it around her waist, covering the stain. A mixture of embarrassment, gratitude, and profound shock welled up in her throat.
That was the first and only time he initiated a conversation with her during junior high school. Although, he didn't say a single word.
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