The second day of the school term passed smoothly. Upon returning home, Su Junxin found her villa unnaturally quiet, with no lights on.
Next to the sofa was a suitcase brimming with cash, a property deed, and an IOU embossed with a red fingerprint.
When she walked upstairs and opened her room's door, she found it was empty.
Smiling lightly at this, Su Junxin went to the kitchen to pour herself a glass of water.
The freezing liquid slid down her throat, quickly dispelling her fatigue.
A light shone from the basement. Ank ink-stained pen glided swiftly across the paper, writing line after line of fluent English handwriting within green dashed lines.
The light was extinguished after half the night, and soon, the day began to break.
Xiaoyou, who had slept soundly the night before, woke up strangely lethargic.
It lazily wrapped around her arm, squinting and looking utterly exhausted.
Packing her overnight written speech draft into her school bag, Su Junxin quickly arrived at school.
Qin You had taken leave today, so her ears were free of the usual chatter, apart from attending classes, she spent the rest of her day drafting safety zone plans.
The lunch bell rang quickly, and everyone cheered and ran to the canteen.
Xiaoyou finally regained its energy. Its golden eyes rolling, it put its paw on its rumbling stomach and nuzzled Su Junxin's wrist.
She complied, cleaning off the lead-gray stains from her hand and touched its nose with still damp fingers.
"I know, I'll take you to eat soon."
However, when she returned to the classroom after washing her hands, she was surprisingly faced with an unfamiliar lunchbox on her desk.
Attached to the box was a note comprising of only two words:[Thank You].
Her gaze swept across the room.
Excluding her, there was no one else in the classroom.
Feeling somewhat perplexed, her curiosity prompted her to open the lunchbox.
The steaming aroma wafted up into her face, causing her salivary glands to subconsciously react, triggering a rumble from her stomach.
Xiaoyou reacted faster than her, with the swiftness of a silver streak, it darted to the side of the lunchbox and with a wide-open mouth, bit off more than half of the glistening piece of meat held by its claws.
"Hey, this is not..."
It was too late for Su Junxin to stop Xiaoyou. She pinched the bridge of her nose in surrender and settled down on her chair, glancing at Xiaoyou devouring the food and then at the still steaming lunchbox.
Although she had no idea who had sent her the lunch, as Xiaoyou had already made a start on the food, she couldn't return the box to its owner. She might as well...
She swallowed and once again looked around the room.
Seeing no one, she decisively picked up her chopsticks.
*
Intent on "catching" the person secretly sending her food, Su Junxin hid behind the classroom door after everyone had left for dinner.
After about ten minutes, a figure suddenly appeared at the door. Seeing that no one was around, he darted to the back of the classroom.
Just as Li Weize was about to take away the lunchbox from the table, an unexpected cough came from behind.
"Thump!"
The lunchbox slipped from his hand and fell to the ground.
Surprised, he turned around to face Su Junxin's gaze squarely.
She was leaning her arms on the door frame, leisurely sizing up Li Weize.
He was skinny, not very tall, and his excessively long bangs almost covered his eyes, making him look somewhat gloomy.
"Is it you who sent me the lunch?"
Li Weize quickly lowered his head. His voice was as soft as a mosquito's whisper, "...Yes."
She took a few steps forward, picked up the lunchbox, and handed it back to him.
"Why? I don't remember knowing you," she asked.
Li Weize, slightly startled, looked up at her. Their eyes met briefly before he quickly averted his gaze, stuttering, "You... you helped me that day."
He pulled out a tube of ointment from his pocket that she instantly recognized.
Su Junxin had an epiphany— so, he was the student who was bullied by the blond guy in the alley the night before last.
At that moment, voices were heard in the corridor.
She keenly noticed that he seemed to be uncomfortable in crowded situations, so she took the initiative and said, "Do you have some time now? Follow me to a place we can talk."
Li Weize hesitated for a moment, but eventually nodded.
They soon arrived at the rooftop of the teaching building.
It was dusk at that moment, the distant clouds were tinged orange-red by the setting sun, and there was a hint of chill in the breeze.
Su Junxin sat down at a protruding spot beside the railing, and casually patted the spot beside her, signalling him to sit down.
Li Weize hunched forward, tentatively keeping a distance from her.
She didn't mind his deliberate distancing.
"I guess you already know my name," she said lightly, looking at him, "So, won't you introduce yourself to me?"
"Li Weize, Class 07 of Second Year." he quickly answered, then lowered his head further.
Just like a shy ostrich.
Su Junxin thought for a bit, "Can I ask, why those people bullied you?"
Li Weize suddenly flinched.
She noticed his face turned paler.
"Don't get me wrong, I don't mean anything by it. I'm just curious."
The air went silent for a few seconds.
Su Junxin looked at the setting sun, waiting patiently.
Finally, Li Weize raised his head.
"Because… this."
He stretched his clenched left hand in front of her, slowly opening it.
His hand was thin, his joints prominent, with a thin layer of calluses on both the palm and fingers.
And on the side of his little finger, there was an aberrant sixth finger, which looked quite malformed, as if underdeveloped.
Su Junxin was momentarily speechless.
No wonder he had instinctively hidden his left hand behind him when he saw her just now.
Li Weize quickly withdrew his hand, his lips tense.
"Looks ugly, right?"
Su Junxin regained her composure, looking at him and laughed lightly.
"Not at all, I actually envy you."
Li Weize looked at her in disbelief, "...What? Why?"
Su Junxin laughed and turned away, pondering seriously for a moment.
"With a sixth finger, wouldn't it be easier to hold two eggs in one hand?" she raised her left hand and waved it in the air, "And also for playing the tablet, guitar, poker...If I could, I would love to have a sixth finger."
The setting sun cast a warm golden glow on her profile. With the motions of her hand, the light and shadows on her face changed continuously.
Li Weize stared at her intently, his throat suddenly tightened, his heart as if immersed in warm water, his eyes even felt a bit warm.
No one had ever said this to him. When they saw the malformation on his finger, they only showed indifference, disgust, or even aversion...
"Having one more finger than others is not necessarily a bad thing, you don't have to feel inferior because of it." Su Junxin turned her face back, looking at him seriously, "On the contrary, having six fingers is your unique feature, something no one else can replicate. You should be proud of it."
Li Weize hurriedly looked away, feeling the heat in his ears.
"By the way, another question. The lunch you gave me today, did you make it yourself?"
He nodded.
Su Junxin immediately burst into a smile.
"Then let's make a deal."