It started one sunny afternoon when Qicheng was loitering by the playground, watching the younger kids with a mixture of boredom and disdain. He spotted her, sitting alone under a tree, engrossed in a book. Her long black hair fell in waves over her shoulders, and she had a habit of twirling a strand around her finger as she read. Something about her peaceful concentration caught his attention.
Days turned into weeks, and Qicheng found himself inexplicably drawn to that girl's world. He would linger near the playground, pretending to be disinterested, but his eyes would always seek her out. He noticed the way she laughed with her friends, the way she helped her classmates, and the way she never seemed to have a harsh word for anyone.
For the first time, Qicheng felt vulnerable. His feelings confused and frustrated him. How could he, the feared bully, be captivated by someone so different from him? The more he watched her, the more he realized how much he wanted to protect her, to make her smile.
Qicheng wrestled with unfamiliar emotions as he continued to watch her from afar. He couldn't shake the image of her sitting quietly under the tree, her focused demeanor contrasting sharply with the chaos of the playground around her. It was a scene that replayed in his mind, stirring a strange longing he couldn't quite understand.
One afternoon,