The June campus was thick with a sticky heat wave.
The clock at the end of the hallway ticked, the second hand pushing time forward without hurry.
Three minutes remained until the bell for the first afternoon class.
Sunlight slanted through the glass windows of the hallway, cutting dazzling patches of light on the tiled floor. The dust in the air looked like floating gold powder, slowly swirling.
From the other end of the hallway came the faint sounds of footsteps and chairs being pulled, students still scrambling to pack up in the classrooms.
But inside this old stairwell on the west side of the main teaching building, all the noise from outside seemed muffled by something.
It was a corner almost forgotten by the entire building.
The surveillance camera wires trailed from the corner, the broken ends exposing several copper strands.
No one knew which batch of students had done it, but since then, this place had become a blind spot that the cameras could never capture.
The iron paint on the stair railing had peeled off in several places, revealing the rusted pipes underneath. A thin layer of dust had accumulated in the corners, and even the cleaning lady couldn’t be bothered to come here.
Sunlight streamed in from the small, dusty window high up, cut into narrow beams by the window frame, making the dust in the air exceptionally clear.
Several fine cracks had appeared in the wall, like mouths that couldn’t close, silently watching everything happening below.
This place was usually deserted.
But today, seven or eight people had gathered here.
Shizukuna Sa from Grade 1 Class 3 had originally only wanted to take a shortcut down the West Stairs to the convenience store to buy a bottle of iced cola.
The June heat was so intense it felt like people’s brains were melting.
The ancient ceiling fan in the classroom spun like a helicopter, whooshing loudly but not blowing any wind. The back of her uniform was already soaked through.
As soon as she entered the stairwell, she saw a small group of people crowded around the corner of the hallway, all craning their necks but not daring to get too close, as if they were watching some incredible scene.
“What’s going on?” Shizukuna Sa moved closer and tugged at the sleeve of a girl in front.
The person turned around. It was Haitani from the next class, her expression a mix of excitement and tension. She lowered her voice. “Shh… Look.”
Shizukuna Sa stood on tiptoe and looked through the gaps in the crowd.
On the landing at the corner of the stairs, two people were standing.
No, to be precise, one was standing and one was kneeling.
The girl kneeling on the tiled floor had very noticeable light pink hair, the ends slightly curled, scattered over her shoulders.
Her uniform was a summer-style white blouse with a dark blue pleated skirt, the hem spread out on the floor like a flower casually dropped.
Her hands were pressed against the floor in front of her knees, her knuckles slightly white.
The bangs hanging over her forehead obscured most of her face, making her expression unreadable; only her shoulders could be seen trembling slightly.
A small part of the Pink-haired Girl’s knees was starting to turn red, showing she had been kneeling for a while.
Everyone who saw her felt pity.
But what truly made this group unable to look away was the person standing in front of her.
It was a girl who looked thin and small.
Really, so thin that it made one wonder if she ever ate properly. Her wrists were as thin as if they would snap with a pinch, her shoulders narrow, and she wasn’t tall either—at most around five feet tall.
She had beautiful pure white hair, smooth like flowing water, reaching down to her waist. The ends were trimmed neatly, and in the beam of light from the window, it shimmered with a soft silver glow.
A thin red headband was tied across her forehead, neatly sweeping her bangs back to reveal a smooth, full forehead. She looked clean and refreshing, exuding a cold and obedient temperament.
The white hair and red band together created an indescribably beautiful combination.
But…
Shizukuna Sa’s gaze swept downward, and she froze.
In this heat, wearing the winter uniform?
The White-haired Girl was wearing a black long-sleeved winter uniform jacket, zipped up to her chest, with a white blouse faintly visible underneath.
Below, she wore a matching black uniform skirt, the hem just above her knees.
Her slender legs were covered in black long stockings, the fabric so thin that the pale skin underneath was faintly visible. On her feet were shiny black leather shoes.
It was June. The outdoor temperature was 32 degrees Celsius. This girl was dressed like it was November.
Shizukuna Sa felt her brain couldn’t wrap around it.
But what made her brain even more unable to process was the relationship between the protagonists in this scene.
The White-haired Girl was looking down at the Pink-haired Girl kneeling on the ground from a position of superiority.
On her delicate little face was a smile—not a gentle smile, but a playful smile that made one’s skin crawl. The corners of her mouth were slightly lifted, her eyes lazily curved, as if she had found something amusing.
Then she spoke.
“Hey there, Small Fry Classmate~” Her voice was soft and gentle, with a natural laziness, like a cat that hadn’t woken up yet. But that wavy tilde at the end made people’s blood pressure spike.
“Having you kneel here to reflect—are you really reflecting, or do you just think it feels nice to have your knees on the floor?”
The Pink-haired Girl’s shoulders trembled, but she said nothing.
The White-haired Girl tilted her head slightly, and the beam of light from the window happened to fall on her, making her white hair shine, as if she were glowing.
Her tone was light and airy, as if she were discussing what to eat for lunch in the cafeteria.
“No way, no way~ Is there really someone who doesn’t even dare to answer? Small fry~ Small fry~”
She pronounced the word ‘small fry’ lightly and slowly, as if holding a candy in her mouth, letting each syllable roll off her lips.
Shizukuna Sa felt her mouth twitch.
Haitani muttered beside her, “Oh my god…”
The few onlookers exchanged glances, their expressions varied and interesting.
The White-haired Girl took a step forward, the toe of her black leather shoe lightly clicking against the tile with a crisp tap.
Her shadow was stretched long by the dusty fluorescent light above, exactly covering the kneeling figure of the Pink-haired Girl.
She bent down, bringing her face close to the kneeling Pink-haired Girl.
Her fair face was less than ten centimeters away from the top of the Pink-haired Girl’s head.
A small part of her forehead under the red headband showed a few strands of silver-white hair, lightly swayed by the breeze from the window.
Her eyes were a very light amber, like honey soaked in sunlight.
Then, in a volume only the two of them could hear, she said sweetly,
“No way, no way~ Do your knees hurt? Oh ho, how pitiful~ Do you think you’re all wronged and pathetic? But look, everyone is watching you. Don’t you think you look ridiculous? A pitiful little thing trembling on your knees~ Hey, want me to wipe your tears?”
Her voice grew softer and sweeter as she spoke, like a layer of honey coating a blade.
“…But you haven’t even cried, have you? Can’t even cry? Truly a small~ fry~ aren’t you~ Oh ho ho ho ho~”
The Pink-haired Girl’s body stiffened suddenly, her hands clutching her skirt tightly.
“Hey…!”
A voice suddenly rang out from the crowd.
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