Xu Xiangyang, currently enrolled in Class One, Year Two at Jinjiang City's Fifteenth Middle School, was studying at an average high school ranked neither high nor low throughout the city. Just like the city itself, despite its developed economy backed by the coastal region and the port, it was completely overshadowed by an adjacent economic hub.
Students formed various circles of closeness based on interests, whether they shared a dormitory, and their school of origin, among other factors. No matter how sociable they were, everyone naturally had a few friends and acquaintances they could talk to.
Even transfer student Xu Xiangyang was no exception. He had joined an after-school study group, an initiative supposedly modeled after foreign practices by school authorities, claiming it could enhance students' independent research abilities. These groups were present in every class. Xu Xiangyang wasn't sure how things were done abroad, but here, it was just a few people finding an empty classroom to do homework together, and sometimes they would even go to the office. Over the past two months, he had naturally grown familiar with the members of his group and could consider them friends.
Of course, there were exceptions.
Lin Xingjie was the most uniquely independent one in the class.
Xu Xiangyang had noticed that at the end of classes or school, her seat would be empty in the blink of an eye; moreover, he had never seen her walking and laughing alongside classmates the way others did.
Whether in the classroom, corridors, flower beds, sports field, or on the paths to the canteen and dormitory, she was always alone.
Since Lin Xingjie's seat was directly in front of Xu Xiangyang due to the seating arrangement, he would always see her back first whenever he looked up.
The girl sometimes displayed tomboyish behaviors, such as rolling up her sleeves and trouser legs to reveal a patch of fair skin, or resting her legs on the iron bars beneath the desk, always walking briskly... Such seemingly careless behaviors did not appear rude on her; instead, they lent her an air of casual grace.
Even though her mannerisms were quite different from those of ordinary high school girls, her feminine allure was not diminished in the least. Perhaps it was due to Lin Xingjie's soft, long hair, at least he had never seen longer or prettier hair on any other girl.
If she were in ancient times, she would surely be a heroine—Xu Xiangyang fancifully imagined without any evidence.
But just as the Chinese teacher would always confiscate students' secretly brought martial arts novels under the pretext of "heroes violating the prohibition by martial arts," becoming a heroine in high school was not easy: on Xu Xiangyang's first day at school, he witnessed Lin Xingjie arguing with a teacher in the office.
The grimace on the homeroom teacher's face was terribly dark and left a deep impression on Xu Xiangyang; he even felt a bit apprehensive about approaching that place.
A few days after that, he already had a profound understanding of the girl's bad reputation.
Rumors about Lin Xingjie were widespread in the school, including fighting, truancy, talking back to teachers in class, and being disciplined by the school—she was the epitome of a bad girl.
As for smoking, dyeing hair, getting tattoos, and other prohibited behaviors typically found in other rebellious girls, it was clear to anyone with eyes that she had not engaged in those, so those were not generally mentioned; but occasionally, Xu Xiangyang would hear rumors about Lin Xingjie from others, painting her in the eyes of the uninformed as a "naturally good person who somehow turned bad."
From that time on, Xu Xiangyang, who had almost always been a top student since elementary school, began to wonder if he should "keep a respectful distance." Still, as neighbors, they would occasionally borrow textbooks from each other, walk to and from school together, and help each other out with errands.
They were not particularly close, yet Xu Xiangyang had become the only person in class she could fairly converse with, and in the eyes of their classmates, it was only when talking to him that Lin Xingjie occasionally showed a smile.
Since the girl always maintained a standoffish demeanor in front of others, radiating an icy, unapproachable atmosphere, and because both Lin Xingjie's appearance and behavior attracted attention among her peers, Xu Xiangyang, who was closest to her, also became somewhat of a focus.
Actually, whether in Lin Xingjie's eyes or in Xu Xiangyang's view, their relationship was pretty ordinary, not close at all:
Xu Xiangyang had never witnessed Lin Xingjie doing anything outrageously bad; what he heard were all just rumors. Though he was somewhat influenced by them, he never went so far as to deliberately distance himself. But trying to actively improve their relationship would be quite difficult. Was he supposed to skip classes with her, get penalized and write reflective essays, argue with teachers, or roam around aimlessly after school instead of going home?
As for Lin Xingjie, she thought that having someone in the school to talk to was a somewhat good thing, but the stubborn girl had never tried to ingratiate herself with anyone. She didn't think anyone could truly understand or help her, so her interactions with this neighbor and classmate, who was a boy, were limited to mere acquaintanceship, with no possibility of going further.
The reason Lin Xingjie didn't mind interacting with him was mainly his attitude towards her: he neither feared nor loathed her, nor did he obnoxiously cling to her, which made him one of the best impressions among her peers.
However, others didn't think so, and everyone felt that as the only boy who could talk to the female tyrant of the school, Xu Xiangyang must have some indescribable special connection with Lin Xingjie.
So, that incident happened quite unexpectedly.
That day, during the noon self-study session, the classroom was as usual. Some were seriously doing their homework with their heads down, some were sneaking around trying to grab snacks from their desk drawers only to have them snatched away by deskmates, some were using their textbooks as a pillow and snoring away, others were whispering, passing notes with little paper balls, and a few of the most restless boys were amusing themselves by flicking erasers with rulers, occasionally bursting into suppressed laughter, prompting the discipline monitor, who was substituting for the teacher at the front of the class, to call out "Quiet!"
History figures doodled in a Chinese language textbook were spread across the table, the class was bathed in sunlight, the lush green branches and leaves of the Guang Yulan trees swaying gently in the mild breeze, casting shadowy leaf patterns onto a corner of the wall where a blackboard newspaper was chalked with doodles, filling the air with a warm and vibrant atmosphere.
Even though it was a daily scene no different from any other day, Xu Xiangyang couldn't calm down, all because of the rustling conversation of a few boys sitting behind him.
"Did you hear? Lin Xingjie seems to have gotten a boyfriend."
"Hasn't she had one for a long time? I heard..."
"That news is old, she's already moved on to a new love."
"True, I've never seen her hanging out with a guy, but Wang Nana from the class next door changes boyfriends like she changes clothes. Who is it? Don't tell me it's Xu..."
"No, it's Shi Hui from Class Five, Year Two."
"Is that the tall and strong guy with the buzz cut?"
"Yeah, they say he's tight with the local thugs and can fight really well, he even injured a PE teacher before."
"Lin Xingjie really does run with that sort of crowd."
"What, you still have designs on her?"
"Who doesn't? But to actually be with a girl like that, you'd probably get domestic violence every day. I surely can't beat her."
"Ahaha, maybe someone like Shi Hui is a better fit for her. Speaking of which, I wonder what he thinks."
Listening, Xu Xiangyang unconsciously furrowed his brows. He glanced ahead, and sure enough, Lin Xingjie was nowhere to be seen.
That was to be expected; if she had been there, those people probably wouldn't have dared to speak so loudly...
Xu Xiangyang drifted off for a while, then suddenly felt someone poke his back with a pen holder twice.
"Hey, Xu Xiangyang."
The person at the desk behind him whispered.
"What is it?"
When he turned his head around, he saw a few boys sitting behind him, grinning and looking at him with a sneaky expression.
Xu Xiangyang couldn't help but sigh. He could already guess what they wanted to say.
If he could, he just wanted to focus on his homework, not pay attention to trivial matters. On the other hand, offending people over such trivialities didn't seem like a good idea either.
"Did you hear about Lin Xingjie getting a new boyfriend?"
"I haven't heard."
"Come on, she didn't tell you?"
"Why would she tell me? Our relationship isn't that close." Xu Xiangyang shook his head. "Besides, I'm not interested in that sort of thing."
Because of his firm attitude, the person behind him, although disappointed at not being able to hear the gossip, did not bother him further and turned back to continue chatting with his mates.
Only one person was still somewhat unwilling and subconsciously raised his voice to question:
"You really have nothing to do with Lin Xingjie? I see you two walking to and from school together every day, clearly, you're close. Don't worry, we won't tell anyone, you don't have to be afraid of the teacher catching you in a puppy love..."
Xu Xiangyang clenched his pen, expressionless.
For reasons unbeknownst to him, he suddenly felt a fire ignite in his chest.
It had nothing to do with other people. All he wanted was to study hard, attend a good university, secure a stable job, and take some of the family burden off his sister's shoulders as soon as possible. This was the goal Xu Xiangyang had set for himself a long time ago, unchangeable by anyone else.
... "I've already said, I'm not interested, and I'm not in a puppy love. I hardly know Lin Xingjie," he glared at the boy, enunciating each word, "Do you not understand human speech?"
"Don't take it so seriously, man."
The guy seemed taken aback and forced a smile, waving his hand.
"I was just asking..."
The class discipline committee member seated on stage called for "Silence!" once again.
Xu Xiangyang was silent for a moment, turned his head back around, and tried to continue studying.
But the lingering irritability inside did not fully dissipate; Xu Xiangyang stared at the densely packed words on his homework, crawling like black ants. They caught his eye, but would not penetrate his mind, and he couldn't help but say again:
"Don't ask me about Lin Xingjie again in the future, I'm not interested, nor do I care."
The constant provocation with Lin Xingjie's name, not only by the few guys behind him, only made Xu Xiangyang feel more uncomfortable. It was probably this lingering irritation in his heart that wouldn't go away.
"We... are not on the same path."
His voice was not loud when he spoke, but the classroom suddenly quieted down. Even during the tense and serious exam period, the classroom was occasionally filled with noise; now it was truly silent enough to hear a pin drop.
Xu Xiangyang felt strange, a figure strode past him and sat down in the front row, leaving only the back of their head visible.
"Is that so."
As she brushed past him, he only heard Lin Xingjie's hoarse voice dropping those brief two words, seemingly in response to his previous remark.
*
Since that time, Lin Xingjie had never spoken to him again. They no longer went to school or walked home together; on the occasional encounter, they would each turn their heads away, treating the other as if they were thin air.
Xu Xiangyang indeed felt regretful. He had thought about apologizing since his words had hurt someone, and he had even hesitated over whether to consult his sister; but deep in his heart, he had the thought that "perhaps this is for the best."
He had never seen Lin Xingjie bully anyone, but that person named Shi Hui indeed had the temperament of a thug, and it could end in a beating; Xu Xiangyang didn't want to invite trouble because of that.
Of course, there were reasons far more important than that, and he had already said it aloud. Xu Xiangyang didn't think they were kindred spirits, so... they couldn't be friends.
Perhaps going their separate ways was the best choice for both of them.