A Maiden's Heart

Early next morning.

Chen Zhi was practically dragged out of bed by Zhang Guifang's booming voice.

"The sun is already high in the sky! Still sleeping! You ate so much braised pork last night, aren't you afraid of indigestion!"

The bedroom door was pounded so hard it sounded like thunder.

Chen Zhi groggily rolled over and pulled the blanket over his head.

"Mom, I'm a growing boy."

"Stop talking back! Get up right now, your dad is about to leave!"

The crisp jingle of keys came from outside the door, followed by Chen Jun's steady footsteps.

Chen Zhi threw off the blanket and did a kip-up, sitting up straight.

Five minutes later.

Sporting a messy bedhead, Chen Zhi sat properly at the dining table.

In front of him was a steaming bowl of plain congee and a few leftover pieces of braised pork from last night.

Chen Jun was sitting opposite him, holding a newspaper with a deep frown, looking as if he were studying important national affairs.

"Morning, Dad."

Chen Zhi picked up his chopsticks, quickly grabbed a piece of meat, stuffed it into his mouth, and mumbled his greeting.

"Dad, you're looking good today. Your forehead is glowing; something good is definitely going to happen."

Chen Jun shook his newspaper and ignored the comment, but the way he turned the pages was noticeably brisker.

Zhang Guifang walked out of the kitchen carrying a plate of pickled vegetables. Hearing this, she grinned from ear to ear.

"Such a sweet talker! Alright, hurry up and eat. Once you're done, get your butt to school. Don't be late."

Chen Zhi wolfed down the congee in a few bites, grabbed his backpack, and made a dash for the door.

Inside his backpack, that brand-new pink pencil case rattled slightly with his movements.

The wind at the entrance of the alley carried the crispness unique to the morning.

Just as Chen Zhi turned the corner, he saw a familiar figure with her back to him, kicking small pebbles by the side of the road.

Lin Wanwan.

The little girl was wearing a white dress today, her hair tied up in a high ponytail. Her back gave off a resentful, stay-away-from-me vibe.

Chen Zhi slowed his pace, planning to hug the wall and slip past her.

"Chen Zhi!"

A sharp, girlish shout rang out.

As if she had eyes in the back of her head, Lin Wanwan spun around, planted her hands on her hips, and glared at him angrily.

"Traitor! Deserter! Disloyal!"

A barrage of accusations fired at him like a machine gun.

Chen Zhi gave a dry laugh, stopped in his tracks, and raised his hands above his head in surrender.

"Mercy, my lady! Last night was a force majeure. My mom's braised pork is a strategic resource; if I was late, it would have been gone."

"Excuses! All excuses!"

Lin Wanwan marched up to him in a few strides, extended a pale, delicate finger, and poked him hard in the chest.

"Do you know how I spent last night? My mom forced me to practice the piano for two hours! Two whole hours! My hands are practically falling off!"

Looking at her big, expressive eyes that remained lively even in anger, Chen Zhi could not help but sigh inwardly.

Truly worthy of being a future superstar. This emotional tension, this facial expression management—she had the makings of a drama queen from a young age.

"To compensate for your wounded soul, I'll treat you to some spicy strips after school today."

Chen Zhi reluctantly offered this sacrifice, throwing out his trump card.

Lin Wanwan's movements paused for a split second.

"The fifty-cent kind?"

"The one-dollar kind."

"Deal."

"Two bags."

"...Lin Wanwan, don't push your luck."

"Three bags!"

"Two bags it is!"

Chen Zhi agreed through gritted teeth.

The dark clouds on Lin Wanwan's face vanished instantly. The speed at which her mood changed was staggering.

Humming a little tune, she flicked her ponytail and turned to walk toward the school.

"Aren't you going to keep up? I'm going to be late today."

Chen Zhi shook his head helplessly and followed behind the little tyrant.

As soon as they entered the school gates, a wave of loud, bustling noise washed over them.

It was a vitality unique to this era.

Chen Zhi was not in a hurry to enter the classroom. Instead, he slowed down and scanned the crowd.

Soon, under a large locust tree in the corner of the playground, he spotted that skinny little figure.

Li Zhiyi.

She always arrived very early.

She was squatting on the ground, holding a twig, writing and drawing in the sand.

Chen Zhi took a deep breath, adjusted his backpack straps, and strode over.

"What are you writing?"

The sudden voice made Li Zhiyi flinch.

She stood up abruptly, dropping the twig, and frantically tried to scuff out the writing on the ground with her foot.

Chen Zhi glanced at it.

"Morning."

Acting as if he had not seen her actions, Chen Zhi greeted her casually.

Li Zhiyi kept her head down, her hands tightly gripping the hem of her faded clothes, saying nothing.

Chen Zhi did not mind. He looked left and right, and after confirming that no one was paying attention to them, he quickly pulled the pink pencil case out of his backpack.

"Catch."

He shoved the pencil case into Li Zhiyi's arms.

Li Zhiyi caught it instinctively. The smooth plastic texture made her freeze.

She looked down at the exquisite pencil case in her arms, which looked like a work of art, adorned with a cute Hello Kitty.

"This..."

She suddenly looked up, her face full of panic, as if she were holding a hot potato, and hurriedly tried to shove it back to Chen Zhi.

"I don't want it... I don't have money..."

Her voice was as soft as a mosquito's and noticeably trembling.

Chen Zhi took a step back, shoved his hands into his pockets, and put on the posture of a local ruffian.

"Who asked you for money? This was a free gift my mom got for buying laundry detergent yesterday."

"It's pink, way too girly. If a manly guy like me uses this, how am I supposed to show my face on the streets?"

"It's yours. Help me take out the trash."

Li Zhiyi stared at him blankly.

Even if she had never seen much of the world, she knew that a double-layered pencil case with a magnetic clasp could never be a free gift with laundry detergent.

Moreover, it was brand new; even the seal on the packaging bag was still intact.

"But..."

"No buts."

Chen Zhi cut her off, a hint of impatience showing on his face.

"If you don't want it, throw it in the trash can. If I take it home, my mom will just scold me anyway."

With that, he turned and left, giving Li Zhiyi absolutely no chance to refuse.

After taking a few steps, he stopped, turned around, and added fiercely:

"Don't tell anyone I gave it to you. It's embarrassing!"

Li Zhiyi stood in the shade of the tree, hugging the pink pencil case tightly to her chest.

The morning breeze blew, rustling the leaves of the locust tree, and a few fragmented rays of sunlight fell on her through the gaps in the leaves.

She watched his retreating figure as he walked away with his hands in his pockets, adopting a swaggering gait. Her tense body slowly relaxed.

She looked down, her fingers gently stroking the raised bow on the surface of the pencil case.

...

The classroom was a chaotic mess.

Morning reading had not yet started, and the elementary schoolers were as energetic as mythical beasts let out of their cages.

As soon as Chen Zhi walked into the classroom, he saw Li Zihan standing on the podium, waving a plastic sword and shouting, "Pegasus Meteor Fist!"

"Childish."

Chen Zhi curled his lip and walked to his seat to sit down.

His desk mate was none other than Lin Wanwan.

At this moment, the young miss had her textbook propped up to hide her face, secretly eating a packet of crispy instant noodles underneath it.

"Share some with me."

Chen Zhi leaned over and whispered.

Lin Wanwan shot him a vigilant glare and covered the bag protectively.

"In your dreams! This is my spiritual food."

The two were engaged in a fierce tug-of-war over a few pieces of crispy noodles when a sudden commotion broke out at the classroom door.

Li Zhiyi walked in.

She kept her head down as usual, trying to minimize her presence, and hugged the wall as she made her way to the back row.

But today, something was different.

In her hands, she tightly clutched that pink pencil case.

In this drab classroom, that splash of bright pink was particularly striking.

"Oh, isn't this the mute?"

A sharp voice rang out.

A chubby boy sitting in the third row stood up. He was the class bully, named Wang Hu.

Wang Hu took a few steps into the aisle, blocking Li Zhiyi's path.

"What's that in your hands? So pretty."

He reached out to snatch it as he spoke.

Li Zhiyi trembled with fear, suddenly hugging the pencil case to her chest and protecting it desperately, curling her body into a ball like a frightened hedgehog.

"Get out of the way..."

She squeezed the words out through her teeth.

"Hey! You dare talk back?"

Wang Hu felt his authority as the class bully was being challenged, and he reached out to shove Li Zhiyi.

"Bang!"

A loud noise echoed.

A thick Chinese textbook flew through the air and accurately smacked Wang Hu on the back of his head.

Wang Hu stumbled from the hit, clutching his head and howling.

"Who? Which son of a bitch dares to sneak attack me?"

The entire class instantly fell silent.

Dozens of pairs of eyes turned in unison toward the same direction.

Chen Zhi was still sitting in his seat, maintaining the posture of throwing the book, with an expression on his face that could only be described as "caring for the mentally challenged."

"My hand slipped."

He said lightly, not even bothering to stand up.

"Chen Zhi! Are you looking for death!"

Wang Hu turned around furiously, waving his fists and getting ready to charge over.

Seeing this, Lin Wanwan immediately stuffed her crispy noodles into her desk and was about to stand up to help.

Chen Zhi, however, reached out a hand and pressed her back down.

He stood up slowly, adjusted his collar, and then took a few long strides to stand in front of Wang Hu.

Although his current body was still that of an elementary school student, the unique oppressive aura of an adult made Wang Hu subconsciously stop in his tracks.

Chen Zhi was half a head taller than Wang Hu, and he looked down at the chubby boy.

"Wang Hu, did you wet the bed last night?"

Chen Zhi suddenly asked a completely unrelated question.

Wang Hu froze, his face turning bright red.

"You... what nonsense are you talking about!"

"I see your forehead is dark and your eyes lack focus. It's obviously a sign of kidney deficiency."

Chen Zhi spouted nonsense with a straight face. His voice wasn't loud, but it clearly echoed throughout the quiet classroom.

"Also, I think I just smelled a... well, unique scent."

Saying so, he even fanned his nose as if it were true.

The surrounding classmates immediately burst into laughter. A few girls sitting close to Wang Hu even exaggeratedly covered their noses and backed away in disgust.

"Bullshit! I didn't wet the bed!"

Wang Hu roared in exasperation, but his momentum had completely collapsed.

At this age, being publicly accused of bed-wetting was sheer social death.

"If you didn't wet the bed, then why are you bullying a female classmate? Trying to divert attention?"

Chen Zhi pressed forward step by step, not giving the other party any chance to breathe.

"That's Li Zhiyi's newly bought pencil case. What, do you want to rob her? Do you want me to call the old man from the security office to judge?"

Upon hearing the words "security office," Wang Hu completely chickened out.

He glared fiercely at Chen Zhi, then glanced at Li Zhiyi cowering in the corner, and muttered curses as he returned to his seat.

A disturbance was thus resolved by Chen Zhi in an almost rogue-like manner.

Chen Zhi bent down, picked up the Chinese textbook from the floor, and patted the dust off it.

He turned around, meeting Li Zhiyi's traumatized eyes.

This time, he didn't say anything, but just winked his left eye very subtly.

Li Zhiyi stared at him blankly.

The pink pencil case was squeezed slightly out of shape in her arms.

"Ring, ring—"

The shrill class bell rang.

The homeroom teacher, Lao Wang, walked into the classroom right on the bell, carrying his lesson plans.

"Everyone sit down! Take out your books!"

The classroom was immediately filled with the noisy clatter of desks and chairs.

Chen Zhi returned to his seat.

Lin Wanwan nudged him with her elbow and asked in a low voice:

"Hey, that 'bed-wetting attack' just now was too wicked, wasn't it? How did you come up with that?"

Chen Zhi opened his Chinese textbook, looked straight ahead, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

"This is the power of knowledge."

"Tch, like anyone would believe that."

Lin Wanwan rolled her eyes, but there was a hint of something different in the way she looked at Chen Zhi.

In the corner of the back row.

Li Zhiyi gently placed the pink pencil case on the corner of her desk.

She opened the lid and took out a sharply pointed pencil.

It came with the pencil case.

Besides the pencil, there was a white eraser and a transparent ruler.

Every single item was brand new.

She held the pencil, her fingertips turning slightly white from the force.

On the podium, Lao Wang was reading the text aloud with great emotion.

Li Zhiyi, however, didn't absorb a single word.

Her gaze fell on the figure next to her.

Sunlight streamed through the window and bathed him, giving his silhouette a faint golden edge.

Just as Li Zhiyi was staring at that back in a daze, Chen Zhi suddenly moved.

Perhaps it was the muscle memory of a corporate slave from his past life, or perhaps this growing elementary schooler's body was just too fragile, but after only ten minutes of the boring reading, Chen Zhi's neck started to ache.

He slammed the Chinese textbook onto the desk, raised his arms high, interlaced his fingers and turned his palms outward, stretching widely without any hesitation right under Lao Wang's nose. His spinal joints let out two crisp "cracking" sounds, which seemed particularly abrupt in this somewhat dull morning reading session.

Lin Wanwan next to him was startled by the noise. She was about to glare at him, but then she saw Chen Zhi's face, which usually carried a hint of precociousness and indifference, suddenly turn toward her.

Then, his facial features squished together in an extremely uncoordinated manner.

He actually rolled his eyes, lolled his tongue to the side, and imitated Wang Hu's bewildered expression from when he was hit by the book, looking exactly like someone suffering from a stroke and hemiplegia.

This funny face was so unexpected, shockingly ugly.

Lin Wanwan almost spat out the mouthful of water she had just taken in, choking herself until her face turned bright red. The glare she had prepared instantly vanished, turning into a violent coughing fit.

"Cough, cough... Chen Zhi... Are you sick in the head!"

She patted her chest to catch her breath, growling in embarrassment and anger, and grabbed her mechanical pencil case to hit Chen Zhi's arm.

Chen Zhi had anticipated this. His body nimbly leaned slightly toward the aisle, easily dodging the heavy blow. Before the smile could leave his lips, however, his arm still took a solid punch.

The punch was soft; rather than a hit, it was more like a cat scratching an itch.

"Ouch, you are murdering your own... desk-mate." Chen Zhi lowered his voice, feigning pain as he clutched his arm. "Spare my life, Heroine Lin, this lowly one knows his mistake."

"Who told you to scare me!" Lin Wanwan glared at him with wide, puffed-up eyes, dropping her voice to a warning whisper. "If you mess around again, I will tell Lao Wang you are not reading the text."

"I am reading." Chen Zhi pointed at his face-down book. "Reading with my heart."

"Pfft, as if I would believe you."

Lin Wanwan pulled back her fist, unable to resist stealing another glance at Chen Zhi, the corners of her lips twitching upward. How had she never noticed before that, even though this guy had a sharp tongue, he was actually quite reliable when it counted, and normally... quite punchable.

On the podium, Lao Wang pushed up his glasses, his stern gaze sweeping over them. "Chen Zhi, Lin Wanwan, what are you whispering about? Stand up and read the second paragraph!"

Chen Zhi stood up unhurriedly. Without even holding the book, he opened his mouth and recited: "The spring breeze sweeps across the earth, and all things come back to life..."

His pronunciation was perfect, not a single word out of place.

Lin Wanwan's jaw almost dropped in shock. The teacher had just taught this text yesterday, and his book was face-down just now. When did he memorize it?

The entire class once again cast complicated looks at Chen Zhi. Only Li Zhiyi, sitting nearby, relaxed her grip on her pencil, the light in her eyes deepening a bit more.

The scene froze in this second: the boy bathed in the morning light, the sharp contours of his side profile carrying a trace of a cynical, roguish charm; while the girl beside him, gripping that brand-new pencil, wrote down two words stroke by stroke in the blank margin of her textbook—

Chen Zhi.