Chapter 1 The Secret That Cannot Be Told
The most painful thing in the world is not separation between life and death, but carrying a secret that will never see the light of day, but having to walk step by step in broad daylight.
one
"In early spring, in March, apricot blossoms bloom in the mist."
In the evening, I was walking alone in the quiet campus, and suddenly I remembered this sentence. Then I couldn't help but raise the corners of my mouth and laugh disdainfully.
How poetic and picturesque, yet it has nothing to do with this strange city.
In March, City C seemed to have endless rain. It was wet and deserted.
I wrapped my school uniform tightly, shrunk my neck, and walked through the sea of flowers in the rain. It was such a cold weather, why were these flowers blooming so vigorously?
Maybe it’s because all beautiful things don’t need to be explained!
I lowered my head and deliberately avoided looking at the flowers in full bloom. Ever since that incident, all the beautiful things in the world have nothing to do with me anymore.
But how can one not take notice of flowers that are as gorgeous as the sea of clouds?
I stopped beside a flower tree without realizing it, and looked up to see the sign on the tree: Crabapple. The tree was full of pink in the drizzle, and the color was so gentle that it could warm one's heart.
I silently greeted it in my heart: "Hello, Xifu Haitang, hello, do you want to know my name?"
I smiled and lowered my head, and saw the name tag on my chest. On it were three words clearly written - Song Hexue.
Yes, my name is Song Hexue.
Just as I had given a serious answer to every stranger who asked me my name in the more than one month since transferring to this new school, I solemnly introduced myself to the crabapple tree in front of me as follows.
"Hello, my name is Song Hexue. Hexue is not just a combination of crane and snow. According to legend, in ancient times there was a tribe of people who could fly, they were called the Feather Clan. Unfortunately, they could only fly once a year. Later, they learned the Hexue technique, and from then on they could fly freely in the sky without restrictions. Therefore, Hexue means 'eternal cloud' in the language of the Feather Clan, which means they can fly freely like clouds. "
I finished speaking in one breath, lowered my head, clenched my fists, and waited for a long time, but I didn't hear that small but frightening laugh. I forgot that a crabapple tree can't talk, so naturally it won't laugh at me like they did.
There was a rumble of thunder coming from afar, just like the laughter I had heard over the past month, hitting me head on. As soon as I closed my eyes, I could clearly remember the way they laughed at me, down to every expression and every tone of their voice.
I still remember that the tallest boy in the class was already laughing and falling on his desk before I could finish speaking.
He laughed and pounded the table and said, "Wow, a flying feathered creature, will it fall down suddenly while flying? Because it is too heavy."
In an instant, the tiny laughter in the classroom that had been suppressed seemed to be encouraged and turned into loud laughter.
I stood in front of the classroom podium, and amid the harsh laughter, I continued to introduce myself. I didn't feel sad, but I felt a little relieved.
So this is what it feels like to be laughed at!
But, who made me a fat man, but with a name called "He Xue"? This was enough for them to laugh at me for a while.
I began to worry, would my next "feat" make them laugh to the ground? Thinking of this, I sighed softly without realizing it.
I turned around and prepared to leave.
At the other end of the sea of flowers, a voice suddenly imitated me and sighed heavily: "Alas!"
I was stunned.
The man slowly walked out from behind the pink trees, pushing his bicycle with one hand and holding the strap of his backpack on his left shoulder with the other, and tilted his head to look at me.
"Hey! Come over here and help hold the umbrella." He looked at me with a smile and pointed to the black umbrella in the front basket of the bicycle. His tone was so familiar as if we were old friends who had just separated a second ago.
The rain was getting heavier, gradually blurring my vision. I squinted my eyes slightly and finally saw him clearly through the rain.
"What? You don't recognize me after just a few days?" He stopped two meters away from me, blinking and looking at me with a playful smile.
My mind went blank and the only thing I could do was turn around and run.
Of course I recognized him, with his navy windbreaker, light blue jeans, and a cynical yet handsome smile. How could I not recognize him?
"Hey, why are you running? I'm not going to eat you."
The laughter behind me was chasing me, and I ran forward desperately. But the next second, I was like being under a spell, standing in the heavy rain, unable to move.
Just because the person behind him whispered, "Hey, try running again, Song..."
The cold rain flowed down my hair into my neck, and I was so cold that I couldn't help shivering.
I gritted my teeth, turned around quickly, and interrupted him: "You got the wrong person, my name is Song Hexue."
The smile on his face suddenly froze the moment I said my name, like a freeze frame in a movie, but different. His handsome face was still smiling , but he seemed to have plunged into an abyss of pain.
After several seconds, his frozen smile slowly bloomed.
Then, I heard him say, "Well, even if you are Song Hexue, I still know you. What about you? You should remember who I am, right?"
I didn't say anything and stood in a stalemate with him through the rain curtain.
At this point, it’s probably not up to me to admit it or not.
"Of course I know who you are." So, I simply admitted generously, "Who doesn't recognize the 'Butterfly' of Baisha School?"
He frowned, very dissatisfied: "Hey, can you stop calling me by my nickname? I have a name."
"Didn't everyone call you that in Baisha School? I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with you and I don't know your real name." I didn't want to argue with him any more, so I turned around and left.
He caught up with me from behind, pushing his bicycle, looked at me with a sideways smile, and said, "In that case, I can only call you 'female devil'. We are the same."
I just walked forward and ignored him.
He smiled and muttered to himself again: "Well, Butterfly and the Demoness, the two most influential figures in Baisha School, have met again in City C. Is this fate?"
I played dumb: "I don't know what you are talking about."
But he kept saying to himself: "Of course it is fate, a great fate, it is really cause for celebration!"
Then, he put his bike across in front of me, got on it, tilted his head and smiled at me, opened his umbrella, patted the back seat and said, "Come on!"
"What if I don't go?" Although I knew from the beginning that he would definitely find a way to make me unable to refuse, I still made a desperate struggle.
"Oh, I won't..." He lowered his head, chuckled shamelessly, and said lightly, "I wonder if the people in this school will be very interested in your past secrets?"
Giving someone an advantage is probably what you feel helpless about, right?
Besides, that secret must never be known to anyone here under any circumstances.
He naturally knew my concerns and had a victorious smile on his face.
I took the umbrella without saying a word and jumped onto the back of the bicycle.
He probably didn't expect me to be so decisive. He didn't hold on firmly, and the bike swayed and swayed violently, almost falling down with the bike. But soon, he controlled the bike and carried me forward steadily.
I sat on the back of the bicycle, swinging my legs, and said with gloating, "You don't have the ability, but you still insist on carrying a fat man."
"Don't regret what you said." He didn't look back and pedaled hard.
I said stubbornly as always: "Yes, that's what I said..."
Before I could finish my words, he suddenly let go of the handlebars. It was downhill, and the bike was swaying and moving forward without anyone controlling it. I was so scared that I grabbed at the belt of his windbreaker in panic and didn't dare to let go.
He felt my pull and smirked, "That's how you behave."
I couldn't help but complain in my heart, but I didn't dare to say it out loud, so I let him drive me to who knows where. But I knew clearly that even if he wanted to take me to hell, at this moment, I couldn't refuse.
Because, here, in this city, he is the only one who knows my secret. Even if I die, I don't want others to know that secret.
But unfortunately, this damn "butterfly" appeared, and then I could only let it slaughter me.
Thinking of this, I quietly moved the umbrella that was originally half covering his head to my side, and sat leisurely in the back seat, watching him slowly get soaked by the heavy rain with a gloating look on my face, as if this way I could vent the anger in my heart.
