After Jian Sichun said this, she saw the strange expression on Shi Hai's face and realized that her words could easily be misunderstood. She quickly corrected herself.
"Don't get the wrong idea! It's not what you think! It's because I have something very important to tell you!"
Is there anything that can't be said here?
Directly suggesting to go to her house, that's too weird.
"There's no need to go to my house for that."
"Y-Yeah, you're right..."
…Did you just blurt that out without thinking?
Shi Hai scratched his head and thought of a polite reason to decline.
"Even though there's no class now, I have other things to do this afternoon."
"What things?"
"Uh, meeting someone."
Jian Sichun immediately became alert and asked.
"Who are you meeting?"
Girl, does it matter to you who I'm meeting...
Seeing that she had no intention of leaving, Shi Hai decided to be direct.
"This has nothing to do with you."
"Ugh—!"
Ah, being too blunt really makes things awkward.
This is why Shi Hai doesn't like socializing, because he knows his straightforwardness often leads to awkward silences.
"Well then, goodbye."
Although she might never want to talk to me again.
As Shi Hai walked past her, his clothes were grabbed after just one step.
"Wait! Hold on!"
What, still not giving up...
Shi Hai turned back with a troubled look, but Jian Sichun was undeterred and insisted.
"I-I know you find me suspicious right now, but I really have something very, very important to tell you!"
"So, you just want to find a place where we can talk properly?"
Seeing that Shi Hai finally didn't reject her, Jian Sichun was overjoyed and quickly nodded.
"—! Yes, yes! Exactly!"
"Alright, I got it, then follow me."
"Really?!"
"Yeah."
I was planning to go to the rooftop of the old dormitory anyway.
If Senior Tian Shui isn't there, it's a good place for a conversation.
After saying that, Shi Hai took the lead, and she immediately followed, walking side by side with Shi Hai.
And once again, the classroom scene was recreated.
Jian Sichun turned her head to stare at Shi Hai.
Shi Hai felt uneasy the entire way, just wanting to reach the destination quickly, and his pace quickened.
This wasn't very considerate for the girl walking with him, but Jian Sichun still took small steps to keep up.
What he didn't notice was that several times along the way, Jian Sichun wanted to reach out and hold his hand, but eventually stopped herself midway.
...
Jian Sichun cried for a long, long time, until her tears dried up and her eyes were swollen.
She cried herself to sleep every day, to the point of dreaming of him in her dreams, and waking up to find it was a dream, which then she felt, feeling heart-wrenching pain again.
After countless repetitions, she became numb.
She buried her head in her arms, letting her body stiffen until it had no sensation.
After that, she couldn't remember how much time had passed, whether it was day or night, her consciousness was blurry, and she was so weak that she was only a step away from death.
It didn't matter anymore, nothing mattered, dying like this was fine...
At least, she could see him again...
At some moment, she suddenly felt her body lighten, the accumulated fatigue seemed to disappear, and her body felt warm... and she felt…. sunlight shining on her?
But she vaguely remembered that the curtains in the room had not been opened for a long time.
Sunlight shouldn't be able to reach her.
And... there seemed to be voices?
She slowly opened her eyes, the sounds around her becoming clearer, and everything around her came into view.
But only half of her vision.
Weird... is this an eye patch?
"Everyone, turn your books to page thirty-three..."
The dull lecture voice felt like it came from another world.
So that's it... this is a university classroom.
She did wear an eye patch at that time.
What a beautiful dream...
Even though I graduated many years ago, I didn't expect to dream of returning to campus.
Jian Sichun looked at her desk, didn't see a book, and then looked ahead at the projector screen with a PPT discussing the heavy topic of death.
She slowly remembered, this was the 'Thanatology' elective course she took in her sophomore year.
Although most of what she learned in university had been forgotten, this elective class left a deep impression on her.
Not because the elective was particularly interesting, but because it was where she first interacted with him.
Initially, they didn't know each other, but since they both liked to arrive early, they greeted each other.
But because he liked to sit in the last row, and Jian Sichun preferred sitting near the front, they had no opportunity to talk during class.
At that time, they didn't even know each other's names.
They officially met during a large club exhibition event later on, discovering they both joined the anime club and had been ghost members for a year.
Meeting outside the classroom was surprising for both of them.
After talking properly, they realized their interests were very similar, feeling like they had found a rare soulmate.
Since then, they met more frequently, talked more, and eventually got together...
Everything happened naturally.
Recalling those early memories, Jian Sichun felt a sourness in her nose, tears threatening to fall again.
She quickly wiped her eyes, removing the almost fallen tears.
The warm, wet feeling on her skin created a strong sense of dissonance, making her exclaim in surprise.
"Huh?!"
The sensation... was too real!
Her voice attracted the attention of the teacher and other students, and the teacher asked her a question.
She quickly said she was fine and lowered her head.
After the commotion settled, she pinched the flesh on her arm hard.
The pain instantly cleared her mind.
If this were a dream, she should have woken up by now!
This... isn't a dream!
Then what about him? He should be here too, right?
Jian Sichun didn't want to cause another commotion, so she looked around with her peripheral vision, then turned her head further.
Without turning her body, she saw him.
He was sitting in the row behind her, very close.
Why is he sitting so close!? Didn't he usually sit in the last row?
No, that's not important! The important thing is that he's really here!
Shi Hai—! The most important person in Jian Sichun's life, sitting there safely.
He even noticed her gaze and looked at her questioningly.
The moment their eyes met, Jian Sichun turned back as if electrocuted, then lay down on the desk.
Surprise, joy, emotion, regret...
Several emotions surged in her heart, making her want to cry and laugh.
In the end, only uncontrollable excitement remained.
This emotion made Jian Sichun turn back to look at him again.
The gazes of others didn't matter anymore; she stared at him as if engraving his image into her eyes.
After losing him, overwhelmed by grief, crying every day, she couldn't move on from the pain of losing him.
Because there would never be another person like him to share everything in life with, to interact with without any reservations, to confide her deepest secrets to...
Nine years of being with him flashed through her mind quickly.
Those memories were no longer 'past events' but 'things that never happened.'
Since Heaven gave her a second chance.
Then, this time...
I hope you can be happy.
The resolution had already taken root in the girl's heart.
<+>
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