Xiaobai Is Also Troubled Today

The wind seemed to stop for a moment. Bai Tingzhi stood a few steps away and suddenly turned back.
 

The surprise in his eyes was impossible to hide.
 
"Go back early."

 
"What did you say you forgot?"
 

"The reason."
 
Lin Yunian smiled faintly. The softer he spoke, the more Bai Tingzhi felt the words were a gentle evasion.

 
Complex emotions instantly enveloped him, shattering his thoughts and leaving him breathless.
 

He wanted to speak, but was speechless.
 
He seemed to have forgotten...

 
something important again.
 

Lin Yunian looked straight into the chaos of Bai Tingzhi's eyes, sensing his unsteady breath.
 
"Go on back and get some rest. I'll make up the homework during morning self-study. Good night."
 

Lao Lin spoke calmly, then turned and disappeared down the mountain path.
 
Strands of Bai Tingzhi's hair stuck to his cheeks, brushing past his dazed eyes.

 
What's going on...?
 

He couldn't speak, as if someone were constantly holding him back.
 
And Lin Yunian seemed to be seriously sick in the head, refusing to give him a straight answer.

 
Can you not stop talking halfway?!
 

"Lin Yunian!"
 
A response seemed to come from the shadows, then vanished, swallowed by the sound of the wind.

 
Filled with a trace of resentment, Bai Tingzhi went home and immediately took a shower.
 

In the white, misty bathroom, he checked his body again.
 
It seems to have changed a little. Is this puberty?

 
Bai Tingzhi looked at his silhouette through the steam.
 

Shouldn't it be getting bigger? Why does it feel smaller? It can't be an illusion, can it?
 
Perhaps the warm water vapor was making his head spin; he felt his chest muscles even seemed a bit fuller.

 
Whether it was an illusion or not, showering for too long was becoming a bit unbearable for him.
 

After blow-drying his hair and getting dressed, he returned to his room. Unable to sleep, he sat on his chair with his legs curled up.
 
With his pale arms wrapped around his knees, he buried his head, trying to clear his thoughts. But his restless emotions were hard to explain, let alone calm.

 
And so, unable to sleep, he took his homework out of his schoolbag and forced himself to work until eleven o'clock...
 

"You..." Lin Yunian raised his eyebrows, looking completely speechless. "Did you go to bed very late last night?"
 
"It was fine!" Bai Tingzhi was still stubborn, refusing to admit it despite the obvious dark circles under his eyes.

 
Later, when he had gone to bed, he had played a couple of games and tilted himself into a rage.
 

But...
 
That wasn't the point.

 
At this moment, Xiaobai was reluctant to face Lin Yunian.
 

It was as if their conversation on the mountain path yesterday—about being good brothers forever—was some kind of joke.
 
Bai Tingzhi was now clearer-headed than ever, more lucid than at any other important moment.

 
"He"—no, it should be "she."
 

She faced Lin Yunian, acutely aware of her own breathing, her own heartbeat, and his.
 
Perhaps she was a little too nervous.

 
But how could she not be nervous!!
 

Who ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) wakes up one morning to find something suddenly missing from their body!!
 
The situation from a few days ago had happened to her again. Bai Tingzhi believed she wasn't dreaming. That kind of thing had occurred; it was never a fantasy.

 
Bai Tingzhi constantly wanted to pinch herself, but she knew that even in a dream, a pinch would still hurt.
 

Even if she pinched herself now, it would hurt, and she wouldn't wake up from this "dream."
 
"Homework," Lin Yunian said, handing a notebook to Bai Tingzhi. "Hurry up and copy it."

 
"No need. I finished it yesterday." Bai Tingzhi turned his head away, buried his face on the desk, and refused to look at anything.
 

"You actually did your homework?" Lin Yunian asked, taking the notebook back in surprise.
 
"Are you the only one who's allowed to study? Get out, I want to sleep," she said irritably.

 
Lin Yunian smiled without a word.
 

"Serves you right for not going to bed early..." He then went back to his seat.
 
In the cramped space, Bai Tingzhi's expression twitched from time to time. How could he possibly calm down...?

 
What if his father found out...? Life would definitely change. Would the impact be too big?
 

Was this finally his retribution for coveting that half-a-yuan scratch card...?
 
Just then, someone lightly poked his arm. When there was no response, they poked it twice more.

 
"Aren't you going to P.E.?"
 

Bai Tingzhi sat up with a start, his eyes filled with panic.
 
Xia Gu'an couldn't help but laugh at Xiaobai's panicked state. "What? Did you have an erotic dream?"

 
"How is that possible!" Bai Tingzhi hurriedly denied it, only then processing her words. "P.E. class?"
 

"Yeah. I remember in my last class, our teacher said we have to run 800 meters."
 
"800 meters..."

 
Thank goodness they didn't have the same teacher. The boys and girls were in separate classes, and she hadn't heard anything about a test in her class.
 

"Where's Lao Lin?" Bai Tingzhi looked around.
 
"He just left. Aren't you going?"

 
As Xia Gu'an spoke, she started walking out. Bai Tingzhi saw that there were still quite a few people in the classroom, but he followed her anyway.
 

"Do you have any change on you?"
 
"A little," Bai Tingzhi replied, still dazed. The question came from Xia Gu'an, and he answered without thinking.

 
"Want to buy a snack later?"
 

"Yeah." Xia Gu'an nodded in satisfaction. Now that was teamwork.
 
"By the way, did you give out those things from yesterday?" She couldn't figure out her own situation, so she just asked whatever came to mind.

 
"...Not yet." The class monitor hesitated, which was rare for her.
 

But Bai Tingzhi was only asking casually. Her attention was now completely focused on herself.
 
That awkward feeling was like ants crawling all over her body.

 
The sun was high in the sky, and a warm wind rushed from the teaching building toward the sports field. The crowded basketball court echoed with the special bell signaling the end of class, and the twenty-plus minutes of break time felt incredibly long and leisurely.
 

Bai Tingzhi and Xia Gu'an walked to a bench beside the basketball court and sat down. On the court opposite them, Lin Yunian was playing.
 
Although the temperature was perfect, she felt anxious.

 
Even when she squeezed her legs together, Bai Tingzhi still felt an emptiness below.
 

One by one, the strange sensations magnified as she focused on them.
 
"Xiaobai?"

 
"Ah... what's wrong?" Bai Tingzhi jumped.
 

Xia Gu'an's gaze had just shifted from Lin Yunian. She found that Bai Tingzhi was sitting very stiffly and unnaturally.
 
"Are you not feeling well?"

 
"No, no... just a little hot."
 

Xia Gu'an glanced him up and down. He was wearing a thin, rough, white short-sleeved shirt and gray-blue school uniform pants. His slender, pale arms were exposed. He didn't look like he would be too hot.
 
"You don't have a cold or something?" she asked again.

 
"It's really nothing. I'm just going to get some air."
 

Bai Tingzhi stood up with extreme stiffness, walked around the green fence, and began to circle the track.
 
A gentle breeze blew across the slightly rippling surface of her thoughts, wrapping up the messy strands and carrying them away. She looked down at the small gaps in the rubber track, and her mind gradually began to empty.

 
The cool breeze really did bring a sense of relief.
 

She remembered the unfinished conversation from last night and her final call to Lin Yunian.
 
After school, she wanted to go into town and prepare a gift for someone. It would be a bit inappropriate to ask that person to come with her, though.

 
Before, it was because of embarrassment. But now, walking alone on the field, it was a good time to think things through.