Xiaobai Is Also Troubled Today

The approaching footsteps caught the girl's attention. She slowly turned her head, her gaze meeting that of Bai Tingzhi, who had stopped five steps away.
 

The rough material of her short-sleeved school uniform shirt and blue-black trousers completely concealed her figure. A neat shark clip[1] held her hair up, giving her a mature and elegant air that seemed slightly at odds with her current task.
 
"Hello."

 
"Hello."
 

He didn't expect the girl to speak first. After the greeting, the girl went back to what she was doing, neither offering her name nor showing any intention of continuing the conversation. Perhaps she's a club member, Bai Tingzhi thought. There was always a notice on the door warning against watering the plants without permission, which was why Bai Tingzhi, despite being a frequent visitor, had never touched them.
 
Not one to meddle, he continued his walk around the courtyard.

 
The soil on the east side was full of foxtail grass. Probably dropped by birds, he thought. A proper gardener wouldn't plant this. The flowers and plants were arranged in neat, orderly rows. As he recalled, succulents were the most numerous, since many other plants would eventually die without constant care. That's why in the winter, all that remained was a patch of dense, dry foxtail grass.
 

Fortunately, he wasn't a proper gardener. He just liked them, even the dead ones.
 
After finishing his tour, Bai Tingzhi gave the lush green courtyard one last glance, walked past the girl who was quietly tending to the plants, and left the laboratory building without lingering.

 
"Have you decided?"
 

"Yes, I have."
 
"Alright, then. I'll call you when things are arranged. A student might also come to your classroom to notify you," Chen Motian said, laying out the details as he searched for the materials he would need.
 

"Okay, Mr. Chen."
 
With his business concluded, Bai Tingzhi left the office. The courtyard he had just left and the office were only a few hundred meters apart, conveniently connected by a corridor on the third floor.

 
Since he had already talked to Lin Yunian, there was nothing to worry about.
 

He hadn't heard whether Gu Junzhu was a boarding student or not. And since he always left earlier than everyone else after school, he'd never had a chance to see. There was no way to confirm. If Gu Junzhu lived at the dorm, she would be napping at noon. There was no way Bai Tingzhi would run into her by going downstairs now... right?
 
"Xiaobai?"

 
Gu Junzhu emerged from the stairwell, running right into Bai Tingzhi, who was just about to head down.
 

"Classmate Gu..."
 
"Is it something important? Do you need help?" Gu Junzhu kept a step's distance from him, unsurprised that Bai Tingzhi hadn't changed how he addressed her.

 
"It's nothing important, just about a performance... You... you don't have a break? You're ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ studying at noon?"
 

Bai Tingzhi asked in return, but Gu Junzhu just looked puzzled at his words.
 
"But," Classmate Gu lightly bit her lip, a sharp canine peeking out, with none of her usual aloofness, "the weekend starts this afternoon, doesn't it? No one is napping, right?"

 
Running into Gu Junzhu at this time was confusing enough for Bai Tingzhi, but he couldn't believe he'd completely forgotten it was the weekend! He'd just been talking about it this morning, and the teaching building was unusually noisy for a weekday lunch break. Countless details had pointed to the truth, yet he'd ignored every single one.
 

Could it be... that my brain has malfunctioned? Was yesterday a dream? Maybe I really do have a cold...
 
Bai Tingzhi felt an absurd, wintry chill creep up his legs, a stark contrast to the midday heat.

 
Bai Tingzhi smiled awkwardly, intending to say goodbye and head back to his classroom, but Gu Junzhu suddenly grabbed his hand, only to let it go just as abruptly.
 

"Xiaobai."
 
The boy and girl looked at each other, and for a moment, even the wind seemed to hold its breath.

 
"Xiaobai, if I'm bothering you, I... I won't trouble you again. But if something is troubling you, you can always come to me." Gu Junzhu's voice was steady and even, as if she were reciting a line she had rehearsed countless times.
 

But no amount of rehearsal could ever capture the raw emotion of a live performance.
 
Her long, dark hair seemed to absorb the scorching midday sun, and her resolute yet distant eyes seemed to conceal a complex panic. The girl's cheeks, her hairstyle, her features—everything was so delicate. A doll so perfect shouldn't be filled with such contradictions, nor should it be burdened by such troubles. She was so exquisite she hardly seemed a creation of this world.

 
So perfect as to be unapproachable, Gu Junzhu, who had earned a reputation for being cold and aloof, also harbored her own passionate emotions.
 

Bai Tingzhi studied her carefully once more. The sunlight framed the two of them as if in a photograph. They were practically strangers and he'd never thought their paths would cross. The situation now was a bit awkward, but if he were being honest, the recent encounters hadn't been entirely unpleasant.
 
It was just... very puzzling.

 
I'm a boy, he thought, so of course I like girls. And I'd have to turn down any girl who's into other girls. Looking back, all I really have is this androgynous face... so what exactly does Gu Junzhu like about me?
 

Due to the classroom layout, his class was at the very end of the floor. His 'next-door' classroom was only adjacent by number; in reality, Gu Junzhu's class was on the floor above and at the completely opposite end of the building.
 
Gu Junzhu knew so little about him that she'd mistaken him for a girl. That must have been the reason for that awkward rejection last time.

 
But if that's the case, he wondered, why haven't any boys confessed to me?
 

As Bai Tingzhi pondered this, some strange, irrelevant thoughts popped into his head.
 
Pushing aside these messy thoughts, he focused on the girl in front of him. Gu Junzhu was practically flawless. Anyone who saw her would want to protect her and hold her in the palm of their hand.

 
...Actually, she's quite cute, Bai Tingzhi realized. Gu Junzhu is just not very expressive, but she's quite considerate of others' feelings. There's nothing unapproachable about her at all, is there?
 

He offered the gentlest smile he could muster and explained patiently, "Not at all. I'm not bothered by this, Classmate Gu."
 
Gu Junzhu, who had been waiting anxiously, clutched at her chest as she was met with Bai Tingzhi's smile. In that instant, all sound vanished from her ears, as if a roaring train had just burst through her heart.

 
So this is what they call being struck by beauty, she thought. Am I really just attracted to his "looks"?
 

In the blink of an eye, a blush crept across the girl's soft cheeks, saying more than words ever could.
 
"...But I'd still like to know, what is it that Classmate Gu likes about me?"

 
It took a long moment for Gu Junzhu to snap out of her daze. Seeing Bai Tingzhi waving a hand in front of her face, she hastily took half a step back.
 

She paused for a moment before speaking softly.
 
"I like you."

 
"When you like someone, you just like them."
 

Gu Junzhu tilted her head slightly. The dazzling light reflecting off the snow-white teaching building behind her grazed past her shoulder and settled into his eyes...
 
At Lin Yunian's home.

 
Bai Tingzhi ate his meal in silence, looking dazed.
 

"What's wrong, Xiaobai? Is the food not to your liking?" Lin's mother asked thoughtfully.
 
"No, no!" Realizing the question was for him, Bai Tingzhi quickly waved his hands. "I just have a lot of homework. I was wondering if I'd forgotten anything."

 
"Eat first, and I'll let Yunian help you sort it out later."
 

Lin Yunian responded calmly, glancing at Bai Tingzhi. [2]
 
He was distracted all afternoon in class, and now he's acting dazed while eating dinner... all because he's thinking about that general store?

 
Outside, the rain fell incessantly, its drumming against the metal security bars on the window echoing crisply. In the dark night, the shadows of the trees swayed. Gazing out the Lins' living room window, Bai Tingzhi watched as the shifting shadows seemed to pull at his vacant thoughts.
 

 
TL Notes:
 

[1] https://www.google.com/search?q=hair+claw+clip+images
[2] Lin Yunian is responding to Bai Tingzhi's and his mother's conversation by glancing at Bai Tingzhi. He didn't actually say anything.