Xiaobai Is Also Troubled Today

"So, you probably won't be back this weekend?"
 

Xia Gu'an was sipping soup from a small bowl, perhaps thinking the large noodle bowl was a bit unladylike.
 
"Yeah." Lin Yunian plucked some smooth, wide noodles from his bowl and replied softly.

 
Bai Tingzhi, eating noodles beside them, wasn't paying much attention to their conversation. Staring at the bowl brimming with ingredients, he had no other thoughts.
 

This is easily the most sumptuous meal I've had all semester! Xia Gu'an is the best...
 
Completely focused on devouring his food, Bai Tingzhi didn't notice the look in Lin Yunian's eyes. He certainly didn't expect Lao Lin to bring him up the very next moment.

 
"When we were kids, Xiaobai used to like standing secretly behind the door, sucking on his fingers while he watched me play."
 

Xia Gu'an's eyebrows rose slightly. A smile played at the corners of her mouth—subtle, but impossible to miss—as she tried her best not to spray her soup everywhere.
 
"...Huh? That was so long ago, I don't remember." He couldn't figure out why Lao Lin had suddenly dragged him into the conversation, especially in front of Xia Gu'an. It felt like the first time Lin Yunian had ever brought up one of his "embarrassing stories" in a situation like this.

 
While there was nothing strange about childhood antics, it felt different when they were brought up now. Bai Tingzhi was a little embarrassed, feeling like he was that same stupid kid again, standing behind a door and biting his fingers.
 

"So Xiaobai didn't like to move around much back then?" Xia Gu'an's focus was on a different point.
 
"He never liked sports as a kid. He was very quiet," Lin Yunian stated, as if it were the simplest fact in the world, picking the beans out of his bowl one by one.
 

When they were younger, Bai Tingzhi would often stop to stare at the plushies in the stationery store; the things he liked were always a bit different from his own. And Xiaobai was a year younger than him. Their parents had wanted him to help look after his friend, so somehow they ended up in the same grade.
 
Technically, even if Bai Tingzhi were still in this school, he should be a "junior."

 
"...It's not that I don't like sports. I just don't have any athletic talent, and I'm too lazy to move."
 

"Right, right. Got it," Lin Yunian said, coaxing him dismissively.
 
"Lin Yunian, you..."

 
"Xiaobai."
 

A sudden, soft, yet inexplicably cold voice cut off the angry retort Bai Tingzhi was winding up to deliver. The aloof girl set her tray down and sat directly opposite him, right next to an indifferent Xia Gu'an.
 
"Classmate Gu?"

 
"You don't mind if I sit here, do you? And Xiaobai, why do you still call me that? It's fine to just call me Junzhu."
 

"Okay... I don't mind, not at all!" Bai Tingzhi shook his head quickly.
 
Feeling Lin Yunian's gaze on him, clearly enjoying the show, he vaguely noticed a strange expression flicker across Xia Gu'an's face and disappear. At the same time, he could feel Gu Junzhu's obscure yet undisguised, burning stare.

 
The atmosphere grew strangely tense. For some reason, the TV hanging in the center of the cafeteria switched from the news broadcast to Peppa Pig, making the mood at their table even more subtly bizarre.
 

"Xiao... bai, is that all you're eating?"
 
After a moment of silence, Gu Junzhu spoke first. Perhaps she lacked the courage she'd had earlier, as her tone faltered slightly when she said his nickname.

 
"It's a lot! I got extra ingredients," Bai Tingzhi said, looking at Xia Gu'an. "Xia Gu'an is treating Lao Lin to an early birthday lunch today."
 

"Is it Classmate Lin's birthday?" Gu Junzhu asked, giving a polite nod to Xia Gu'an before turning to Lin Yunian.
 
"I might not have time later, so we're celebrating a bit early."

 
"Well, happy early birthday," Gu Junzhu said politely.
 

Bai Tingzhi felt the situation growing more and more complicated and resolved to make his escape as soon as possible.
 
"Would you like some?"

 
Seemingly unconcerned with what anyone else might think, Gu Junzhu picked up a piece of tender chicken with her chopsticks and held it out over Bai Tingzhi's bowl.
 

Looking at the girl's straightforward action, Bai Tingzhi saw an unexpected shyness in her otherwise indifferent eyes.
 
"Classmate Gu, isn't this a bit..."

 
Before he could finish, Lin Yunian spoke calmly. "He'll take it. Xiaobai's been wanting to try that for a while."
 

He looked at Bai Tingzhi. "Right?"
 
"...Uh, yeah."

 
Gu Junzhu hadn't started eating yet, so her chopsticks were still clean. Bai Tingzhi picked up his own chopsticks and took the piece of meat.
 

"Thanks."
 
"You're welcome. Have more if you like it." She offered a smile so faint it was barely perceptible. The corners of her mouth lifted just enough to look like she was pursing her lips, maintaining her cold facade.

 
The people sitting at the surrounding tables could feel the tension. Several pairs of eyes darted between them, but Gu Junzhu never stopped looking at Bai Tingzhi.
 

"Well, I'm finished, so I'm heading back to class."
 
He shot up from his seat and fled the cafeteria.

 
Gu Junzhu didn't chase him. She stared at the spot where he had disappeared for a few seconds, then her expression softened. She lowered her head slightly, her usual "keep away" aura gone for a moment as a sweet, private smile touched her cherry lips.
 

The school supermarket was, as always, packed at this time of day.
 
He sat on a chair by the entrance for a while before squeezing inside.

 
He really couldn't understand Gu Junzhu's persistence, especially since he had already clearly rejected her.
 

What am I forgetting...
 
Bai Tingzhi scratched his head in confusion, walking slowly past the crowded shelves.

 
He didn't need to buy anything, but it felt too early to go straight back to the classroom after lunch. All there was to do back there was read, which wasn't much fun.
 

Milk tea, coffee, purple sweet potato pudding...
 
He remembered how he used to feel when ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ he went to supermarkets like this, always feeling embarrassed to leave without buying something.

 
It was much better now. He could browse for a long time without feeling pressured to buy anything.
 

"Come on, that stuff is obviously not good..." Bai Tingzhi grumbled to himself, reading the slogans on the packages. In the end, he walked out of the school supermarket empty-handed.
 
He stepped outside and glanced back.

 
If he lived at the school instead of commuting from home, he'd be in the dorms right above here. Supermarket downstairs, bed upstairs—it would be pretty convenient.
 

It was still early, and he didn't have a habit of taking a nap at noon.
 
His body had returned to normal, and he'd almost forgotten about the whole incident. It was only when he started thinking about what he needed to do that he remembered his afternoon trip to the general store.

 
"Lao Lin's birthday, the art performance, Gu Junzhu..."
 

Muttering to himself, Bai Tingzhi took a walk around the small bridge. The water below was a deep green, murky enough to hide whatever lay beneath, its surface rippling from time to time.
 
Individually, none of these things were a big deal, but when they were all piled up together, it felt unexpectedly overwhelming.

 
"I still haven't gotten a gift."
 

On the third floor of the laboratory building was an open-air space filled with countless potted plants, a lush, hidden sky garden.
 
Bai Tingzhi would often come here when he had free time. Lin Yunian didn't know about it; if that guy wasn't at the supermarket after a meal, he was probably back in the classroom doing his homework.

 
He knew everything Lao Lin had said was true, and perhaps, unconsciously, he felt a little inferior.
 

It wasn't that he couldn't perceive those deeply hidden emotions and reasons, but changing was hard, and it couldn't be done in a single day.
 
Lost in thought, he walked along the familiar path. The midday sun streamed through the dense canopy of leaves ahead.

 
Just a few steps from the courtyard, a girl was squatting, so absorbed in tending to something that she didn't notice Bai Tingzhi's arrival at all.