The dawn sunlight struck the curtains, slipping into the dim room only through those tiny pinholes, but such little rays were far from enough to illuminate the place.
They seemed nothing more than a handful of tiny dots of light.
The strip of light falling onto the floor from the gap at the bottom was the only source of brightness in the room at that moment.
The girl kept tossing and turning, and after a while, a slender, fair arm stretched out from the cocoon of blankets, groping around but failing to find what she was looking for.
She furrowed her brows, poked her head out, and only then did her true appearance finally show.
Long hair tousled from sleep, her pretty face still with eyes tightly closed, those willow-shaped brows slightly knitted as if a little annoyed. She opened her slightly sore eyes, squinting at the bedside direction, but still couldn’t see her phone.
After turning her head, her expression and movements paused altogether.
She picked up her phone, first confirming the current time—it was already past nine in the morning, really quite early.
The average holiday wake-up time for young people was generally between ten and eleven. Su Yao was already a model of going to bed early and rising early. Now this good kid was sitting up in bed, turning on the air conditioner.
She sat wrapped in her blanket, waiting until the room warmed up before crawling out from under the covers.
Her body in a black camisole nightdress was now exposed, a large swath of skin making direct contact with the air, which felt cold at first, causing her to shiver, before she rolled from the head of the bed to the foot.
The girl was remarkably flexible, her figure not only soft and fleshy but also perfectly proportioned.
It could be called a work of art; let alone anyone else, even Su Yao herself liked to touch her own soft thighs and white bunny-bunnies, and she’d even come up with a way to massage herself that felt especially comfortable.
But there’s no need to go into detail about that here.
The very first thing after getting out of bed was, naturally, to tidy up her messy hair. A bit of brushing and her locks were back to sleek and straight. Looking at the lovely girl in the mirror, Su Yao let out a sigh—it was almost three months now, and she truly had fully adapted to this life.
Putting that aside, she pinched her own waist with both hands, frowning—she felt like she might have put on a little weight, which made her a bit anxious.
After getting dressed, she left the comfort of her air-conditioned room and walked into the living room, then passed through to the bathroom for her morning wash. After making sure she hadn’t forgotten anything, she changed into her shoes and stepped out the door.
Locking up, she headed straight down the stairs. Passing by the security booth, Su Yao slowed her steps at first, observing the Baoan Daye lowering his head to watch videos. She then sped up and darted past.
If he’d seen her, he would definitely have called out to greet her.
That old uncle always got especially enthusiastic when he saw young girls, but when it was a young guy, he’d act as cold as ice.
Double standards—not good!
Having cleared that checkpoint, Su arrived at her regular breakfast shop. It was almost ten now, the rush hour for office workers had passed, so there were far fewer people around and no need to squeeze or shout for a spot. As soon as she walked up, the Baodianiang selling steamed buns greeted her warmly.
“Little beauty, you’re here! Same as usual?”
That ‘little beauty’ made Su Yao pause for a moment. Girl, lass, young lady, little beauty, little sister—she’d been called all those before. The owner wasn’t a local but had run this breakfast place for many years, even longer than Su Yao had been alive, yet her way of addressing customers hadn’t changed.
No need to mention the price—Su Yao already paid. Then, right in front of all the others who came to buy or eat breakfast, she took the three bulging bags: steamed buns, spicy buns, and her favorites—red bean-sesame balls and sweet potato cakes.
Grabbing her things, she walked away feeling quite satisfied, buying a bottle of drink on the way. Breakfast costing over ten yuan was a bit wasteful, but she liked it…
As she ate while walking, Su Yao remembered last night’s tangyuan incident. Because she was chatting with Mu Nanqiu, she’d forgotten about the boiling tangyuan, so she never got to eat them—instead, she’d drunk sesame soup full of dough lumps all day.
Thankfully, it still tasted pretty good, just a bit too rich.
She laughed at herself. The walk to school wasn’t far, and even at a slow pace, Su Yao still arrived before 10:30. Today the gate was wide open, and it was peak returning time—students from other provinces were dragging their luggage back to campus.
Seeing them lugging suitcases and backpacks, some even shouldering rolled-up bedding, looking like human pack animals, Su Yao was amazed. By contrast, she seemed like she was just out for a stroll—with nothing but her phone and a pack of tissues in her pocket.
She also noticed many people had switched out their winter clothes for lighter outfits.
It was mostly the fashionable guys and girls, but judging by their faces, they were freezing. Su Yao wouldn’t dare do that herself.
After reporting in, Su Yao had planned to find Mu Nanqiu right away, but unexpectedly, she ran into Ji Yun on the way.
The two stood in the corridor, exchanging glances for a moment before Ji Yun broke the silence.
“Su Yao, have you already checked in?”
“Mm.”
Su Yao nodded. She wasn’t sure how Ji Yun was feeling right now, which made her a bit anxious.
Ji Yun chatted with Su Yao about interesting things that had happened during the holiday, and just as Su Yao began to relax her guard, Ji Yun launched a surprise attack.
“By the way, Su Yao, didn’t you say before that you were considering joining the badminton club? You can sign up now. Have you made up your mind?”
…
Su Yao didn’t dare meet Ji Yun’s gaze. She honestly hadn’t thought about it at all these past days.
After a brief pause, Su Yao felt she could join—she was seriously lacking in exercise. Over winter break, aside from occasionally going out for a stroll, the only physical activity she got was cleaning. The rest of the time she was either lying on the couch with her phone and snacks or sitting in front of her computer all day.
After thinking it through, Su Yao said, “I’ll join, I guess?”
“Really?”
“Mm, really…I guess?”
Su Yao gave an awkward smile, and Ji Yun smiled back as if she totally understood what Su Yao was saying and didn’t find it strange at all.
Ji Yun acted completely normal along the way. After Su Yao filled out the form, she was officially a member. When they left the classroom, Ji Yun finally spoke up.
“Lately I’ve had a strange feeling, like I’ve forgotten something, but I can’t recall what. Do you think it’s just a dream?”
“Dreams are meant to be forgotten, aren’t they?”
Su Yao thought for a moment before answering. Clearly, Ji Yun wasn’t satisfied with that answer and continued.
“It feels like a dream, but I don’t really think it is. It’s odd and hard to explain, isn’t it?”
…
Su Yao couldn’t explain it either—what exactly had happened. So she chose to stay silent.
She didn’t speak, but her mind was still turning over the question: If only she remembered something, did it really happen? In other words, if something happened in her memory, did it truly happen, or not…
She couldn’t understand, so she decided not to think about it anymore.
Turning to Ji Yun, she asked, “Ji Yun, do you know if there’s any club that explores hidden secrets and the unknown?”
Hearing this, Ji Yun looked at Su Yao and nodded, but didn’t immediately say what kind of club it was.
“Normally it’s hard for a club like that to exist, but our school happens to have one—though it’s really small. After all, the hidden and unknown are fascinating, but few are willing to accept someone else’s Worldview, so it’s hard to gather people.”
“So what kind of club is it?”
Su Yao thought, if it was just exploring abandoned houses or deserted mines, she’d pretend she never asked. If it was about researching ghost stories or folk legends, she’d be somewhat interested, but not much.
“It’s called the Shenmixue Yanjiushe. They research all sorts of miscellaneous things, but mainly get together to study Worldview.”
“Worldview?”
The word puzzled Su Yao. Seeing her interest, Ji Yun went on.
“Everyone has their own Worldview. They call it a ‘facet of the world.’ Each of us sees only one facet. They believe the purpose of writing, more than just communication, is to connect Worldviews. For example, the apple I know might not be the same as the apple you know, but as long as we communicate and agree on our Worldview, the concept of ‘apple’ becomes fixed.”
After this simple explanation, Su Yao was amazed, as if she’d glimpsed a whole new world. But just then, Ji Yun poured cold water on her enthusiasm.
Ji Yun adopted a serious tone, telling Su Yao, “I’ve just given you a summary of their ideas. They actually think even deeper. But I advise you not to get involved with them—a lot of them are rather nihilistic, and there are even some really well-hidden lunatics in there.”
“R-really?”
Luo Yu had said before, Ji Yun was a person full of curiosity. With something like this at school, of course Ji Yun would want to investigate, and her conclusion was that the club was quite dangerous.
After promising Ji Yun she wouldn’t look into the club, Su Yao took her leave and headed for the library, where she’d arranged to meet Mu Nanqiu. Sure enough, she found her already waiting there.
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