At 15, one year older, Hong Siyu was a girl with a tendency for fantasy.
Rather, it was precisely because she rarely interacted with people and spent most of her time immersed in her own world that she unconsciously turned to fantasizing.
Ever since a certain catalyst in the second year of junior high, the shadow of a certain boy began to appear frequently in her fantasies.
At first, he would inexplicably show up in various story segments she conjured up in her mind, and Hong Siyu did not ponder it deeply; but as time passed, his image not only did not fade with time but became even more vivid.
As to why things had transformed in this manner, Hong Siyu was well aware—it was because she had used that boy's textbook.
When she first took the textbook, she was in her second year of junior high, but now, in her third year, that boy's left-behind textbook had become the content of her current studies. And whenever she flipped through those worn pages, reading the traces he had left in the textbook, Hong Siyu would inexplicably find her thoughts swayed by his words.
That boy, Lin Yun, was very handsome, with a cool personality, and even his handwriting was so beautiful, it felt like they would get along well.
This thought would often arise in her mind and then gradually expand until, after expanding to a certain extent, she would feel embarrassed by her somewhat indelicate fantasies.
This can't go on, Hong Siyu, thinking about a boy every day who doesn't know you and whom you'll likely never meet again, swinging through emotions—where's the demeanor of a good student? If this continues, there's no need to study or make friends, drowning in daydreams—what kind of behavior is that?
She admonished herself in this way, and attempted to put away the secretly kept textbook, to stop flipping through it. But this resolution lasted only a few weeks before she, unable to suppress her feelings, took the book out again.
After all, it was an existing set of study notes—it would be too wasteful not to refer to it.
She flipped through the textbook pages with utmost care, sneakily, deceiving herself into believing she was doing something untoward.
What she had never imagined was, even though she had fantasized about many scenarios of reunions with that boy, when she finally encountered him again, it was in a situation she had never anticipated before.
During the junior high's cultural festival in her third year, her school was attacked by Remnant Beasts.
The Remnant Beasts, appearing from nowhere, suddenly charged into the campus, launching indiscriminate attacks on the people immersed in the celebratory atmosphere, plunging the crowd into instant panic.
When Hong Siyu saw a Remnant Beast's wide-open maw in front of her, with each sharp fang clearly visible, she was virtually petrified on the spot, forgetting even the thought of running away.
But at this moment of utter urgency, a hand reached out from who knows where, grasping her sleeve.
"Don't just stand there, run!"
A voice that was somewhat familiar, yet also somewhat strange, rang in her ear. Right after that, she was held tightly by that hand, pulling her along, and she unconsciously began to run. Then, she followed him into an empty classroom in the teaching building.
When the roars outside the door gradually ceased, and the crisis seemed to have passed for a moment, she looked at the boy in front of her and uncontrollably shouted the name that was in her heart:
The boy leaning against the classroom door looked down, somewhat surprised, looking toward her.
Facing his confusion, Hong Siyu had no idea how to explain.
Tell him that she had seen him twice in school and spoken only two sentences in total? Would he think she was a stalker?
Or to tell the truth, that before he graduated, he had lost a textbook in school, and she had kept it secretly? That seemed even more suspicious?
"I used to... see you often in the library."
After a long time, she faintly managed to squeeze out an answer, then tried hard to change the subject: "Weren't you already graduated? Why did you come back all of a sudden?"
"Cultural festival, invited back to take a look."
Lin Yun casually explained his presence, and then his gaze returned to the outsides of the classroom door: "It's just that I didn't expect to encounter this kind of thing so soon after coming back."
"This kind of thing?"
"That, Lin Yun... senior, aren't you scared?"
"Do I look like I'm not scared?"
"Um, actually, you seem to be taking it quite in stride."
"...I'm just calmer, that's all."
Bracing the classroom door, Lin Yun glanced outside, then looked back at Hong Siyu: "I'm going to leave. Remember, if you don't want to die, lock the doors and windows well in a sealed space, stay quiet. If the Remnant Beasts attempt to attack the doors and windows, find a way to hide in cabinets or under tables, to mask your scent."
Hong Siyu couldn't help but voice her surprise: "Leave? Now? Why?"
"...Sitting here waiting for death is not an option."
Lin Yun paused slightly, then said expressionlessly: "I'll see if I can go out and save a couple more people."
"No, no, no, that's like a death sentence!"
Seeing that he was about to open the classroom door, Hong Siyu quickly approached the door, pressing against it: "Don't be rash, going out now will get you killed by the Remnant Beasts!"
"I've been observing; that Remnant Beast has gone elsewhere."
Lin Yun said calmly: "It's okay, even if seen, as long as you're quick enough, you can still find a place to hide, right?"