Chapter 3

 Yu Luoyin watched the scene unfold like a farce, the corners of his lips curling into a slight, sarcastic smile.

The tall, slender boy stood with his hands in his pockets, his tousled hair falling to obscure his expressionless dark eyes.

Behind him, Li Yuan jumped around and yelled in dismay, trying to keep his sneakers from getting wet. "Who spilled the bucket of water? How irresponsible!"

Sheng Churan’s bright eyes flickered with a trace of panic upon hearing this. Her slender fingers nervously twisted the sleeve of her school uniform.

She looked at Yu Luoyin from a distance, afraid he might think she was the irresponsible one.

"Li Yuan!" Zhong Qin reacted quickly, taking advantage of the possibility that Yu Luoyin and his friends might not have seen what happened, and boldly shifted the blame to Bai Xunyin. She righteously declared, "What's wrong with you? Can't even hold a bucket properly?"

"Uh, right." Sheng Churan, prompted by Zhong Qin, quickly followed suit and said, "You've soaked your classmate's shoes!"

Bai Xunyin didn't bother to argue with them.

She had already noticed Yu Luoyin downstairs out of the corner of her eye, which explained Sheng Churan’s sudden 'shyness'. This wasn't the first or second time they'd pushed the blame onto her, and she didn't have the energy to contest it.

The girl turned silently, her eyes downcast, and walked downstairs with light steps.

She quickly approached Yu Luoyin, bent down to pick up the bucket, and then left without a word, not sparing a single glance at anyone.

Yu Luoyin's gaze unconsciously followed her as she walked away, catching a glimpse of the veins standing out on her arm as she carried the bucket.

This girl named Bai Xunyin had long hair tied into a ponytail, with loose strands partially obscuring her delicate profile, making it hard to see her face clearly.

But her slender neck, prominent shoulder blades, and thin waist were particularly noticeable... making it seem unlikely that she could lift such a heavy bucket.

"Yu Luoyin!"

Bai Xunyin walked a few steps away, still able to vaguely hear Sheng Churan's cheerful voice, "Your pants are wet; you'd better change before class starts..."

Frowning slightly, Bai Xunyin quickened her pace.

She reached a secluded spot beside the sink, took a deep breath, and squatted down, feeling somewhat exhausted.

The afternoon sun was bright, illuminating nearly every corner except for the shaded area behind the wall where the sink was located. Bai Xunyin squatted there, resembling a little mushroom covered in moss.

Deep inside, she harbored many unspoken dark thoughts, afraid they would slowly surface.

Is life always this difficult? Or will it get better when I grow up?

Bai Xunyin unconsciously recalled a line from a movie, laughing at herself in a daze. Before she lost her ability to speak, she had never felt that life was so hard.

After a brief moment of negativity, Bai Xunyin slowly stood up, leaning on her knees.

The vulnerability on her face vanished in an instant, replaced by a mask of cold indifference. She expressionlessly filled the bucket with water and walked back to the classroom, step by step.

Bai Xunyin returned to class with only two minutes to spare before the lesson began. Her fingers ached from carrying the heavy bucket, making it difficult to even hold a pen.

Strangely, Sheng Churan was lying on her desk, crying, while Zhong Qin and a few other girls frantically tried to comfort her—

"Don't cry, Churan. Yu Luoyin didn't say much."

"Yeah, he wouldn't blame you. There's no proof that you kicked the bucket."

"Exactly. Yu Luoyin is just like that, always speaking in a mocking tone."

"Seriously, I don't know what you see in him, just because he's good-looking..."

"Stop it!" Sheng Churan lifted her head, her fair face flushed with red-rimmed eyes. She stubbornly declared, "I just like him, and you can't say bad things about him!"

At sixteen or seventeen, girls often love someone recklessly.

Like a moth to a flame, knowing they might get burned but still drawn to that unreachable light.

Bai Xunyin didn't like Sheng Churan, but at this moment, she admired her courage.

If it were her... she probably wouldn't dare to love someone so unreservedly.

In the afternoon, it started drizzling again.

Lin Lan was a city of water, frequently visited by rain. Umbrellas were a necessity, and the whole school was shrouded in a misty, damp atmosphere.

The third high school's cafeteria was unpopular during rainy days. Students, afraid of soaking their uniforms, preferred takeout over walking a few hundred meters to the cafeteria.

But Bai Xunyin couldn't stand the greasy, salty takeout, so she braved the rain with an umbrella to get to the cafeteria.

The cafeteria was nearly empty, quiet and deserted, which suited Bai Xunyin perfectly, even lifting her spirits a little.

She swiped her meal card to get a couple of simple dishes, then found a corner to sit and eat quietly.

The plastic chairs in the cafeteria were cold, making Bai Xunyin shiver as she sat down. She frowned slightly, feeling like her food was chilled too.

Her ponytail's end was slightly wet, with tiny water droplets spreading to her white short sleeves, leaving a small damp patch near her shoulder blades.

The cafeteria was silent, with only occasional rustling conversations. Bai Xunyin had just started eating when a few figures carrying the damp chill of the outside air walked past her.

Among them was the teasing voice of a boy, breaking the quiet—

"Yu, why eat in the cafeteria? The food's awful. Let's go out for skewers."

"Li Yuan, calm down. We only have a short break; why go off campus?"

"Then let's go tonight?"

"Stop babbling. Check if there's any braised pork ribs..."

Bai Xunyin glanced at her plate of braised pork ribs. The cafeteria lady had told her it was the last portion... these boys were pretty late.

She casually looked up and paused, recognizing the backs of the boys as the same ones she had seen earlier with Sheng Churan.

One of them was Yu Luoyin, his tall, slender frame and long fingers easily identifiable.

Bai Xunyin bit her lip, turned away, and continued eating.

But she couldn't help feeling on edge, maybe because the cafeteria was too empty today, leaving her as the only person in the vicinity...

Bai Xunyin wasn't the kind of girl who feared solitude, needing company for shopping, movies, or even the restroom.

But she didn't want others to see her loneliness.

The worst part was that those four boys, after getting their food, sat not far from her, just two tables away.

Even Yu Luoyin's knuckle grip on his chopsticks was clearly visible.

Bai Xunyin found her already cold meal even harder to swallow. She kept her head down, involuntarily listening to the boys' fragmented conversation—

"Yu, you were pretty harsh. That girl from Class Three almost cried."

"Yeah, not very gentlemanly."

"But Sheng Churan really is a bit scheming. I saw her kick the bucket and blame that other girl..."

"Maybe all pretty girls are spoiled liars."

So they knew, huh? No wonder Sheng Churan cried like that.

Bai Xunyin couldn't help but find it amusing.

Among the four boys, the other three chatted and laughed while eating.

But throughout, Bai Xunyin didn't hear Yu Luoyin speak.

They ate quickly, finishing in about ten minutes and leaving.

It wasn't until their figures disappeared from the cafeteria that Bai Xunyin slowly exhaled. She didn't even know why she was so inexplicably nervous, but in any case... she preferred being alone.

As she withdrew her gaze, she noticed something on the table where the boys had eaten and paused.

A meal card lay there, forgotten on a chair.

The meal cards at Third High School were all personalized. Picking it up, she saw the name 'Yu Luoyin' clearly printed on it.

Bai Xunyin hesitated for only a second before grabbing her umbrella and chasing after them.

The boys were tall with long legs, walking quickly. Bai Xunyin couldn’t call out to them to stop, so she had to run.

In her haste, she didn't have time to open her umbrella, her face flushed from running, and her hair got slightly wet, strands sticking to her cold, delicate face.

It wasn't until she got very close that the boys seemed to hear something and turned around, surprised to see Bai Xunyin catching up—

"Hey." Li Yuan was the first to speak, eyes lighting up as he saw Bai Xunyin, "What’s up?"

Bai Xunyin bit her lip, her small, pale hand opening to reveal the meal card, her palm showing two red marks from holding it.

She handed the card to Yu Luoyin.

He was momentarily stunned before taking the card, his long fingers brushing against her cold, wet palm.

Yu Luoyin stared at the girl with her dark hair and fair skin, her eyes bright as stars, slightly damp from the rain.

A faint interest flickered in his dark eyes. "Thank you."

Bai Xunyin smiled lightly, dimples appearing at the corners of her mouth. She nodded slightly and turned to leave.

"Wait." Yu Luoyin called out, his voice lazy, "What's your name?"

This question surprised not only Bai Xunyin but also the other three boys.

It was the first time... Yu Luoyin had ever asked a girl’s name.

But what they didn't know was that this was actually the second time, and both times he received no response.

A moment of silence passed, and Lu Ye nearly dropped his jaw in astonishment. "No way, there's actually a girl who ignored you twice? But why did you ask her name in the first place? Could it be... heh heh heh."

His suggestive tone made everyone laugh, but Zhou Xin, who had been quiet, pushed his glasses up and said plainly, "I don't think she did it on purpose. She just can't speak." His amber eyes, calm behind the lenses, reflected his simple statement of fact: "She's in the same class as Sheng Churan, the mute girl from Class Three."

"Mute?" Li Yuan was stunned. "She's that mute school belle? The one named Bai Xunyin?"

Every year, the sophomore students at their school held a frivolous online poll to vote for the school's most attractive students, a harmless way to relieve the pressures of their academic lives. This year's poll, however, had been quite sensational—because the girl who received the most votes couldn't speak. She had even surpassed Sheng Churan to claim the title of school belle.

All this attention stemmed from a single candid photo of Bai Xunyin, taken secretly by a student. The picture wasn't high in resolution, but even through the blurry pixels, her beauty shone through. She had a pure, striking presence that couldn't be concealed by a simple school uniform and ponytail.

The voting had caused quite a stir, leading many students to Class Three just to catch a glimpse of her. Over time, they discovered that Bai Xunyin was indeed mute.

The buzz around the "mute school belle" had been a hot topic for a while. Lu Ye and the others had heard about it but weren’t the type to follow gossip, so they hadn't gone out of their way to see the so-called school belle in person.

No one had expected that this famously silent girl would be even more beautiful than Sheng Churan.

Bai Xunyin. So that’s her name, Yu Luoyin thought, recalling the girl who stood next to Sheng Churan when she kicked the bucket down the stairs. The girl who had picked it up without complaint—Bai Xunyin.

He remembered her arm, the veins bulging from the strain of carrying the heavy bucket.

Yu Luoyin narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.

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