Xiaoquan Aonai opened the photo, which was a selfie of Dubian Che.
After confirming that the background was indeed East Mountain Villa, she finally couldn’t control her sleepiness and fell asleep.
The phone gradually slipped from her hand, dropping to the floor with a dull thud.
"Aonai, something fell," Akiko called out. Seeing that Xiaoquan Aonai didn’t respond, she got up and walked over.
"Are you asleep?" While saying that, she picked up the phone.
The screen hadn’t turned off yet, displaying a close-up of Dubian Che’s face.
"This guy," Akiko muttered with the intent of finding a flaw, "even enlarged, he doesn’t have a single imperfection!" She continued to zoom in on various features, trying to spot a blackhead as she stared at his nostrils. That’s when it hit her:
Aonai had fallen asleep looking at this picture.
She quickly shrunk the image to reveal the Line chat interface with Dubian Che.
Just as she was about to scroll through to see the chat content, she hesitated.
They had grown up together since childhood and had become close since high school. It had been nine years now, but did that give her the right to casually read Aonai’s chat history?
Suppressing her strong curiosity, Akiko quietly put the phone back and slid into her bed, pulling out her own mobile.
"Miyuki! I’ve got some juicy news to tell you!"
November 6th, a Friday.
Even the busiest city is silent as a ruin when dawn is breaking.
Dubian Che was running on the cobblestone paths of Sannian Slope, the transparent air tinged with a thin layer of white.
Soon, it would be another day when the autumn chill fully set in.
Returning to East Mountain Villa and leisurely finishing his bath, he changed his clothes before heading to the dining room.
He thought it would be empty, but there were a few students still eating, including a yawning Kiyono Lin.
It was expected; after a day in Uji and the Yachuan River, he had been dragged to an internet cafe late into the night. It was no surprise that getting up in the morning was a struggle.
Dubian Che walked over to the corner where Kiyono Lin sat and took a seat opposite her.
"Good morning, Miss Kiyono."
"Good morning," she replied with barely concealed sleepiness, "I’m going to start eating."
Kiyono Lin then poked her chopsticks into the soft-boiled egg.
The yolk oozed out from the thin membrane, spreading over the egg white.
As someone firmly in the hard-boiled camp, Dubian Che couldn’t just ignore such a sight.
"Miss Kiyono, has anyone ever told you that you are too meticulous?"
After swallowing her mouthful of egg and taking a sip of the warm miso soup, Kiyono Lin finally looked up at Dubian Che.
"What do you want now?"
"What do you mean ’now’? Have I done something? I merely want to discuss with you, on this beautiful morning..."
"Just spit it out," Kiyono Lin cut him off bluntly.
A woman who’s gentle and euphemistic is certainly adorable, but there’s something appealing about someone who’s forthright and direct too.
"It’s ," Dubian Che paused briefly, "would you like to try a hard-boiled egg?"
Kiyono Lin stared at Dubian Che expressionlessly for a long time.
Just when Dubian Che started to wonder if he had inadvertently become more charming overnight, Kiyono Lin finally spoke.
"I see," her expression as if she had solved a math problem before him, filled with a sense of superiority, "You’re a hard-boiled fan?"
"...What does it have to do with any ’fan’? I merely thought, Miss Kiyono, that you should try different things. This world is full of variety, after all."
"It’s a lie, but I still want you to try it."
Dubian Che, with unused chopsticks, transferred the untouched hard-boiled egg into Kiyono Lin’s bowl.
Kiyono Lin glanced at the egg.
"I can let other things slide, but on this, I will never yield," she said, picking up the egg with her chopsticks and placing it back in Dubian Che’s bowl.
"Just a taste, it’s no big deal, right?" Dubian Che moved the egg back to her.
"If it was just an ordinary taste, of course there’s no problem," Kiyono Lin responded, sending the egg back once more, "A hard-boiled egg offered by a hard-boiled fanatic? That’s a provocation, an act of war."
Dubian Che put down his chopsticks and stared blankly at Kiyono Lin.
After a moment, he asked, "Are you not giving me face?"
"Forcing a friend who likes soft-boiled eggs to eat hard-boiled eggs... is that what you call ’face’?"
Kiyono Lin’s gaze was icy with reproach.
They stared at each other motionlessly for quite some time.
Dubian Che’s eyes shifted, but Kiyono Lin, unable to hold back, let out a slight laugh, turning her face away.
Dubian Che also started laughing, "Come to think of it, although we’ve debated many times, we’ve never really had a fight, have we?"
"Ah, Mr. Dubian is so confident, huh? Do you think you can out-argue me?"
"Do you need to win this too?"
"Not at all. I just think Miss Kiyono’s stubbornness is cute. I kind of want to touch your leg and see what it feels like."
"Would you mind staying away from me? I’m really close to my limit with you."
Kiyono Lin made no attempt to hide her expression of extreme disdain.
Dubian Che took a bite of his hard-boiled egg, his face thoughtful.
"Don’t you find it strange?" he said, "To say I’m a leg man is one thing, but I have no interest in other people’s legs. I don’t go out of my way to look at girls’ legs when walking down the street. Yet, your legs, Miss Kiyono, I never tire of looking at them. What are your thoughts on this?"
"Because I am the most beautiful," said Kiyono Lin nonchalantly admitting the truth.
"So that’s it. The answer is so simple. Usually, I’m the one overthinking it, finding it strange and even unbelievable. Is this what you call self-awareness?"