I’m a Girl, He’s a Psycho, and This is Fine

The library at Yingnan High was vast, sunlit, and mostly empty. Students rarely visited unless they were being punished.

Shi Mo handed the file to the librarian, who motioned for her to wait. While she did, she wandered between the shelves, running her fingers along the spines of neglected books.

She stopped when she saw a familiar name.

"Fundamentals of Mental Conditioning – Fu Xian."

She pulled the book from the shelf and flipped through it. It was dense, filled with clinical terminology, case studies, and diagrams.

Near the back, she saw a section underlined in red pen:

"Post-trauma dissociation in adolescents often manifests as social withdrawal, defensive behavior, and violent emotional suppression. Those affected may exhibit strong resistance to touch, conversation, or unfamiliar social bonds."

She paused.

It was a textbook diagnosis of Fu Yunshen.

That night in the dorm, the air was quiet again.

Shi Mo sat on her bed, flipping through her phone. The Brotherhood Panel hovered faintly in the corner of her vision.

Brotherhood Value: 52 / 1,000,000Mission Progress: 0.0052%

Progress was excruciatingly slow.

She looked over at Fu Yunshen.

He sat at his desk, reading, earbuds in.

His profile was sharp beneath the glow of the desk lamp. Cold, but not unreachable.

She decided to try.

"Hey," she said.

He didn't respond.

She raised her voice slightly. "Why did you choose to live on campus?"

Fu Yunshen finally pulled one earbud out and glanced at her. "Why do you ask?"

"Just curious."

He studied her for a long moment, then replied, "Because the dorm is quieter than home."

Shi Mo nodded. "Makes sense."

He said nothing more, putting his earbud back in.

But it was something.

The smallest crack in the wall.

And for now, that was enough.