Life is a river without end and full of unknowns. We are all fish that are struggling powerlessly and gradually stranded in the river. We lie helplessly on the beach, watching the gurgling river water gradually drying up, feeling the passing of life, hoping for a sudden salvation, but ultimately falling asleep in fear.

In front of the bright floor-to-ceiling window, Ni Nuo's slender figure leaned against a floor-standing retro gramophone. His fingers seemed to be casually fiddling with the buttons on it, but his brows were slightly furrowed in distress.
I closed my eyes tiredly, every muscle in my body was relaxed, and I lay peacefully on the soft sofa in the corner of the room, with the faint fragrance of flowers and plants in my nose.
After an unknown amount of time, Ni Nuo, who was still standing next to the phonograph, sighed helplessly: "It seems that I can't fix this thing today, and the music I prepared for you can't be played. Look, how about we try another way?"
Listening to his calm voice, my previously chaotic mood because of Xiang Nanfeng gradually settled down. I pursed my lips and smiled, "Why, is there anything you don't know how to do?"
Ni Nuo smiled slightly: "I'm just a psychologist, not an omnipotent genius. Okay, Wen Yu, tell me if there is anything interesting today."
Fun things?
My smile was a little embarrassed, and I seriously thought about whether everything that happened today could be considered "fun".
"Are you worried about something?" Ni Nuo said softly, "I can tell from your expression. Since you don't want to talk about it, I won't force you. The phonograph is broken today, so let's not stay indoors, let's go out for a walk." He quickly pulled open all the lavender curtains, "Look, the sun is shining."
I squinted my eyes, feeling the warmth of the golden sunlight on my body, face, and cold hands.
Turning around, I saw Ni Nuo standing against the light, and the smile on his lips was made even more dazzling by the color, making it almost impossible to look directly at him.
An irresistible force enveloped me. I yawned lazily and smiled a smile that I never had at school: "Okay."
The psychological treatment center where Ni Nuo works is also where he lives on weekdays. It is a quiet villa that looks completely inconspicuous. The outdoor garden is full of various flowers and plants planted by him personally. The color matching and shape arrangement have been carefully designed. Just one look at it will make you feel relaxed physically and mentally.
The two of us sat quietly in the hanging chair in the yard. He patiently guided me with soft words and occasionally told a few jokes that made us laugh.
"Well..." After thinking for a long time, I finally decided to tell him everything that happened today, "I met a strange person."
"Oh?" Ni Nuo immediately showed great interest. "Even our Wen Yu finds it strange. I really want to understand."
I glanced at him amusedly and continued, "He is a very good boy in every aspect. We have never had any contact before, but today he helped me out and said he wanted to be friends with me..."
"So you are a little shaken, right?" Ni Nuo gently swung the swing chair, "While you are shaken, you are also panicked and confused, wondering if he is deceiving you, or sympathizing with you?"
Sympathy... isn't it?
I also raised my legs and swung them up and down along the swing of the hanging chair.
After all, Xiang Nanfeng and I are from two completely different worlds. He is like a bright and hot flame that suddenly broke into my life and caught me off guard. That temperature would burn me.
"If a person as outstanding as him were to approach me, what else could it be but sympathy?" I said quietly, "I don't understand."
Nino stared at me for a long time without saying anything , as if he wanted to leave me some space to digest it on my own.
After a while, he raised his hand and gently rubbed my hair with his slender fingers: "Wen Yu, why don't you think about it from another angle?"
"Hmm?" I didn't understand the meaning of his words for a moment.
"I mean, if he approached you not out of pity but simply wanted to be friends with you, why wouldn't you think so?"
"This is simply impossible!" I blurted out, "We are different..."
"Don't jump to conclusions. No one is different. Sometimes the world is simple. Maybe he just thinks you are a good girl and wants to get in touch with you and integrate into your life." Ni Nuo's words cannot be refuted. "Approaching someone because of sympathy? Haha, this is a troublesome thing. The boy you mentioned is so outstanding, he won't do that."
I stared at him intently, and what had happened before replayed in my mind.
Am I overthinking it?
Xiang Nanfeng's refreshing and sincere face appeared before my eyes again. I stared blankly at his illusory face in the sky, trying to see an answer from those eyes - is it really not sympathy?
A dreamless night.
Ni Nuo's faint voice kept echoing in my ears: Maybe he just thinks you are a good girl and wants to get in touch with you and integrate into your life.
The sky outside the window was already turning pale. I raised my head in a daze and wanted to get up to find some water to drink, but my arm suddenly touched something soft.
Because I had not rested enough, my thoughts were a little confused. I lowered my head in surprise and saw Cheng Panpan curled up next to me, sleeping soundly with a doll in her arms.
By the way, she came to my room again in the early hours of last night and kept telling me about her thoughts about Lu Tianyi and her pink girlish fantasies.
Looking at her fair face, with that dreamy smile without a trace of cloud, my calm heart suddenly felt an unbearable pain, and I bit my lips tightly to prevent myself from making any sound.
What would a world without worries be like?
I got up slowly, afraid of waking up Cheng Panpan who was still asleep. I quietly picked up all my clothes and schoolbag in my hands, stood on tiptoe, and slowly walked towards the door.
Cheng Panpan's low muttering came from behind: "Lu Tianyi..."
I curled the corners of my mouth helplessly, closed the door gently, and left quietly.
In this family, I tried my best to avoid contact with my uncle and aunt, for fear that any disagreement in words or actions would violate their bottom line. I even set the time to go to school at the earliest possible moment. Over time, I developed the habit of skipping breakfast .
The air in the early morning was fresher than any other time. I took deep breaths, clearing away the sluggish state caused by poor rest. However, this happy mood came to an abrupt end the moment I walked into the classroom, and turned into a dilemma of hesitation.
What will Xiang Nanfeng be like today? After what happened yesterday, will he really realize that he should stay away from people like me, or will he continue to stick to his own ideas?
Although Ni Nuo had advised me earnestly to look at the world with kindness, the knot in my heart could not be untied with just a few words. The idea deep in my heart took root and sprouted wildly - anyone who approached me had pity on me.
Thinking of this, my mood became bitter. I carefully stuck my head out and observed the people in the classroom, but I did not find Xiang Nanfeng. Only a few hardworking classmates were sitting quietly on the chairs preparing for their lessons.
I don’t know whether I was lucky or disappointed, I walked quietly to my seat, but my attention was attracted by a very abrupt object on the desk.
That was a record by Eason Chan.
It just lay there quietly on my desk, as if announcing to the whole world that it was mine.
But that is not the case.
"Oh, this is what Xiang Nanfeng put on your desk. " A classmate next to me saw me staring at the record and kindly reminded me, "I was the first one to arrive in the classroom, and he came later. He put the record on your desk and left."
I was slightly startled: "What did he say?"
"No." The classmate quickly recalled, gave me a brief two-word answer, and turned away again.
I reached out my hand dully and stroked the smooth record, feeling mixed emotions. Eventually, I picked it up and put it back into Xiang Nanfeng's desk.
No, Wen Yu...
Returning to my seat, I tried hard not to care about the few missed beats.
Xiang Nanfeng, a young man who was born to live under the spotlight, is definitely not from the same world as me.
Moreover, even if I really accept him and live in peace with him, will all the situations change?
the answer is negative.
I don't believe that my world will become bright just because of a young man who suddenly appears.
"Wen Yu, why did you return the record I gave you to me?"
On a quiet campus path, Xiang Nanfeng, who had somehow found out where I was, stopped me under a green willow tree while I was quietly enjoying my lunch.
His black eyes were filled with confusion and loss. Although he tried his best to suppress it, I could still see it clearly.
I avoided his gaze and put the lunch box beside me indifferently: "Because it's not mine."
"If I give it to you, it's yours!" Xiang Nanfeng raised the corner of his mouth, "Besides, I know you like Eason Chan very much!"
Hearing this, I raised my head sharply and my vision became sharp.
Could it be that another meaning of his words is - I know all your secrets?
Because of those letters?
"Don't look at me like that. You were writing Eason Chan's lyrics in math class and I accidentally saw it." As if frightened by my eyes, Xiang Nanfeng spread his hands aggrievedly, but his smile became brighter and brighter. "Actually, I like his songs too. We can go to his concert together when we have time..."
"To the south wind." I interrupted him bluntly, "Have you forgotten what I said yesterday?"
He seemed to think seriously for a moment, but immediately revealed a childlike innocent look and dragged out his voice: "I don't remember--"
Not daring to face his straightforward smile, I simply stood up and took a few steps forward to distance the two of us: "Then I'll say it again, I can't be friends with you, please stay away from me."
After saying that, I didn’t want to stay for a moment, so I packed up all my things, got up and walked towards a quieter place.
Suddenly, my cold wrist was held by Xiang Nanfeng's warm fingers. His strength was neither too strong nor too weak, but I was so shocked that I stood there and forgot to struggle.
All the blood in my body rushed to my brain, and Xiang Nanfeng's face, mixed with helplessness and smile, enlarged infinitely in front of my eyes.
He said, "Wen Yu, why do you refuse others to approach you?"
Those simple words stabbed into the most painful part of my chest like a knife.
I can't explain, I can't explain, and I don't have the courage to explain... If I cry and tell you all the secrets hidden in myself, all I'll get in return is sympathy.
I don't need this kind of thing.
Heavy thoughts pulled all my rationality back. Xiang Nanfeng's fingers became hotter and hotter. I gritted my teeth and pushed him away without much effort.
I took a deep breath and my messy thoughts returned to normal track: "Xiang Nanfeng, if you are doing this for my own good, please stay away from me. Someone like you who shines is not someone I can get close to."
I said with a wry smile, "I can't afford to offend you."
Xiang Nanfeng looked at me silently, as if savoring the meaning of my words.
After a long time, he consciously took two steps back, and his confident smile reappeared on his face: "My actions cannot be influenced by a few words from others... Wen Yu, sometimes don't underestimate others."
I was a little surprised: "I mean..."
"Let's stop here for today." He continued to retreat at a steady pace, but his voice was still clear, "Let's listen to Eason Chan's songs together when we have time."
After saying that, he waved his hand, showing no intention of asking me to answer, and quickly disappeared from my sight.
The food in the lunch box in my hand had already become cold and inedible. I stood there like a piece of wood, staring in a daze for a long time in the direction where the south wind disappeared.
What kind of person is he?
With this unanswered question, I returned to the classroom dejectedly. From the corner of my eye, I saw Xiang Nanfeng sitting in his seat, chatting and laughing with his friends. He didn't even look in my direction.
His natural attitude made me feel a little embarrassed.
Ni Nuo once said that being too picky and thinking too carefully about things is my biggest shortcoming. People and things with simple goals always become complicated after I impose my personal ideas on them.
In comparison, Xiang Nanfeng's calmness is exactly what I can never achieve.
"Okay, classmates, everyone, be quiet and go back to your seats." I was still thinking over the problem, and the teacher's appearance interrupted my thoughts. She glanced at the classmates , then stretched out her hand and made a welcoming gesture, "Today there is a new female student transferring here, everyone should get along well with her. Now let's welcome Jiang Xing together."
“Clatter, clatter—”
There was some insincere applause.
A slender and tall girl walked into the classroom with a cold and arrogant face. Her long black hair fell softly to her waist. She was not petite and delicate, but had a bit of coldness that made her difficult to approach.
The school uniform that was too big and loose on her classmates had a lazy feel on her.
"I'm Jiang Xing." She raised her chin slightly and her voice was as cold as ice.
During her self-introduction, the whole class fell into an indescribable silence.
"Why...is she like this?" Someone finally murmured.
"It looks so unapproachable. I don't like it."
"I don't like it either. What's the point of being pretty? You look proud at first glance."
“Why are you pretending…”
The voices of discussion continued one after another, and even became louder and louder. Even the teacher's expression became ugly.
Jiang Xing, however, acted as if he hadn't heard anything. He still kept his chin raised indifferently and walked quietly to his seat.
Dragging the tables and chairs made a loud noise, and the classmates around Jiang Xing seemed to be infected by her powerful aura. They all straightened their bodies with nervous expressions, but she suddenly stopped there, and her slightly cold eyes focused on me.
I was secretly surprised, but remained calm.
Under the gazes of the crowd, Jiang Xing's beautiful eyes flashed with a hint of doubt, then she bent down, picked up a black ballpoint pen, held it in her hand, turned it gently, and asked calmly, "Whose is it?"
Looking at the familiar ballpoint pen, my heart suddenly tightened. I opened my mouth, but closed it again.
Perhaps I was also affected by her aura, I couldn't even say a word.
But she noticed the subtle change in my expression, but didn't say much. She just put the ballpoint pen on my desk and sat back in her seat as if nothing had happened.
It was obviously a simple matter, but the whole class sighed.
"You're such a good pretender!" a girl said deliberately raising her voice.
But she ignored him and silently packed the things in her backpack. She also put the textbooks and notes for the next class in order, and took out a vocabulary book and started reading it by herself.