However, one day, Gong Fan’s frosty edge seemed to have melted. When Youyou returned and went back to school, he no longer had a frosty personality.
Gradually, some of the children gathered their courage to speak to him, even though they were on tenterhooks when they did so, afraid that Youyou would reject them or treat them coldly, or pretend not to see or hear them. In the end, the gentle Youyou smiled back at each of them.
This encouraged the children in the class. They all went forward to talk to him, with the exception of Qing’er who didn’t dare to do so. There was once in the past, she had mustered the courage to say something to Gong Fan, but Gong Fan didn’t even look at her. She became rather disappointed, and thought that Gong Fan hated her.
This time round, she was encouraged when he replied to her note. When class ended, she sat in her seat, undecided.
The children in the class had all gone to play along the corridor. The playground was just downstairs. Some of the children took advantage of the break after class to play games at the playground. There were only a few people left in the classroom.
Youyou sat at his desk, reading a mystery novel. Qing’er looked at it, but the title on the cover was in English. She had studied English for three years, but still found it difficult to understand.
The boy looked charming when he read. His head was lowered, the morning light seemed to glaze his face with a silvery radiance. He seemed engrossed, his pale and jade-like fingers pinched the page and turned it from time to time.
Qing’er looked around and finally found the courage to speak. “Youyou… what is that book you’re reading?”
Her voice seemed to interrupt his thoughts. He snapped back to his senses and said faintly, “Murder on the Orient Express.”
“Wow, that title sounds so scary!”
“It’s a mystery novel. I’ve read the translation before, but this is the original and I intend to reread it.”
After a pause, the boy explained, “I love reading mystery novels.”
“Mystery novels?”
Qing’er thought for a moment and immediately thought of something. “Mystery, such as ‘Detective Conan’?”
“Uh huh.”
“I’ve read ‘Detective Conan’ too. It’s very good. In that case, we all like the same things! I like mystery novels too!” Qing’er made an effort to close the distance between them.
The boy could see that Qing’er was trying to find common ground, but he said nothing. Instead, he turned his attention back to the novel and continued reading.
Seeing that he was so focused on his novel, the girl could not bear to disturb him. However, he saw that there was no one in the classroom, and knew that if she missed this opportunity, she wouldn’t know when the next opportunity would come along.
She finally gathered her courage again and asked, “Can… can we be friends?”
The boy frowned upon hearing this. He gave a resigned smile and said, “Aren’t we already friends?”
His smile caused Qing’er’s heart to skip a beat and she almost lost her mind. She lowered her head shyly and asked sheepishly, “Are we considered friends like this?”
“Yes, it counts.” Youyou smiled again. “All my classmates are my friends, aren’t they?”
Qing’er’s expression stiffened at that. She was a little dazed and stared at Youyou for a moment. On the other hand, she felt a little disappointed.
Her disappointment was so obvious that the boy had to ask, “What’s the matter? That look.”
“The sort of friends I meant, isn’t this sort!”
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