Chapter 118: Han Xuan’s Diary · One

March 5th, rain.

The Imperial Capital was located in the north, where the air was dry. Even when it rained, the air wouldn’t become too humid.

Many people even chose to turn on humidifiers at home to prevent their skin from feeling tight.

Weather like this day was undoubtedly rare.

The continuous drizzle, falling endlessly. That damp feeling seemed to seep into the skin, clammy and uncomfortable.

Students emerged from campus in groups, carelessly stepping into puddles at street corners. In an instant, the hems of their white school uniform pants were dirtied.

It wasn’t until the raindrops hit her body that Chu Susu realized something was off.

She looked at her slightly translucent body, clearly standing on the ground, and showed a somewhat puzzled expression.

This is…

She hesitated, then looked down at the puddle on the ground. It reflected her face—the familiar one, unchanged.

“Chu Susu!”

Suddenly, Chu Susu heard someone calling her name.

She instinctively looked up and saw a high school boy in a school uniform hurrying over, holding something in his hand.

She was clearly standing right there, but the boy ignored her completely, running straight past Chu Susu to another girl:

“Chu Susu, you forgot to sign the sports meet registration form.”

The girl he called turned around under her umbrella: “Oh? Sorry, did you bring it? I can sign it now.”

The two stood under a tree and completed the signature.

The boy, who seemed like the sports committee member, put away the form and reminded her: “Practice well. The 3,000 meters isn’t easy.”

“No problem, see you.”

Familiar words flooded her ears, stirring things buried deep in her memory. Finally, Chu Susu got a clear look at the girl’s face.

It was identical to her own, just brimming with youthful vigor, her features full of the bold exuberance of immaturity.

3,000 meters…

Right, Chu Susu suddenly remembered. Back in high school, she had indeed signed up for the long-distance run at the school sports meet.

Watching the teenage Chu Susu leave without looking back, she quickened her steps to follow, keeping pace with her younger self from years ago.

Her home was very close to school back then—just a ten-minute walk.

But the teenage Chu Susu didn’t take the familiar route. Instead, she wound through twists and turns to another path.

“Woof woof!”

Humans weren’t the only ones troubled by the rain. Several small heads poked out from the bushes—they had nowhere to hide, so they’d taken shelter inside.

As soon as the teenage Chu Susu arrived, they boldly ran out, crowding under her pink umbrella, mouths open and tails wagging.

The litter of stray puppies was only a few months old. Though small, their round faces made them quite adorable.

“Don’t be in a rush.” The teenage Chu Susu unzipped her schoolbag and took out pre-portioned dog food, placing it in front of them.

She squatted there, patiently watching the puppies eat, then bagged the plastic bowls in a trash bag to dispose of later.

“I have a lot of homework today, so I’ll head home first.”

The teenage Chu Susu spoke to herself, regardless of whether the puppies understood: “Gotta squeeze in some long-distance practice too… I’ve never tried it before. No idea if I can even finish. It’d be embarrassing if I can’t.”

After saying that, she stood up to leave, but unexpectedly, the puppies reached out their paws, pressing them onto her shoes.

“What?”

The puppies couldn’t speak, so they conveyed their intent in this clumsy way.

One dashed off into the distance despite the rain, while the other two gently tugged at her pant legs, as if leading her that way.

“What’s wrong?”

The teenage Chu Susu found it odd but followed the puppies anyway: “Did another dog have puppies…?”

A gaze clung tightly to her back.

Chu Susu herself, who had “intruded” into this memory, continued following her younger self.

She had always liked small animals but never remembered feeding any strays in high school. Her first real encounter with dogs should have been buying Pipi after growing up.

The puppies led the way, guiding the teenage Chu Susu across rain-softened grass to the other side of the small lawn.

The further they went, the clearer the sound of raindrops hitting the gravel ahead.

Along with some mocking voices—though key parts were indistinct: “Aren’t you good at… Show us then?”

“Why aren’t you talking? Cat got your tongue?”

“Tch, boring.”

The junior high and high school uniforms were different colors, making it easy to identify which group they belonged to.

A few junior high students—two boys and two girls—had another figure surrounded. Their tones were curious but laced with the malice unique to children.

“If you’re so awesome, show us.” One boy said, “It won’t cost you any flesh anyway.”

A few seconds later, something happened, and they all burst into terrified screams in unison.

“Monster!”

“What the hell!”

“Get away!”

They had been holding her back earlier, but now, scared, they shoved hard, sending the skinny little figure crashing to the ground.

It was a girl even shorter than her peers by half a head, wearing the same uniform. She couldn’t steady herself and fell straight into the puddle behind her.

Sewage splashed all over her head and body, black mud spots on her face and clothes.

Her bangs were soaked, messily plastered to her forehead. She stared expressionlessly at the group, her eyes somewhat eerie.

The junior high students inexplicably panicked under her gaze. One boy glared back: “What are you looking at?”

A girl cautiously said: “I didn’t see wrong, right? What they said is true—she really is a monster…”

Her companion spat to bolster courage: “Whether she’s a monster or not,

just test it and see.”

He picked up a stone from the ground and suddenly hurled it at the girl.

Too fast to dodge—or rather, the girl had no intention of dodging.

The sharp edge grazed her cheek, instantly drawing a bloody line on her skin.

But in the blink of an eye, under everyone’s watch, the mark vanished.

The junior high students exchanged glances. Regardless of their bravery, unease stirred in their hearts: “Holy crap, this…”

“What are you doing?”

A clear voice boomed like thunder, startling the already frightened group into nearly jumping out of their skins.

Before them, an unfamiliar high school girl approached with narrowed eyes. Not only was she taller than them by a head, but she wore the high school uniform.

In her left hand, an umbrella; in her right, a long branch picked up from somewhere.

The teenage Chu Susu took one look and understood the situation.

Bullying happened at school, but no one had ever been this brazen.

So many ganging up on one little girl? Bullying with numbers was too much!

The imposing presence of the high schooler made the junior high kids shrink back instinctively.

“Don’t go anywhere.” The teenage Chu Susu grabbed one boy’s backpack strap with her pinky: “Tell me, which class are you from? What’s your names?”

“We…”

“Tell me!”

She tried to look intimidating, baring her teeth and slamming the branch on the ground demonstratively: “No lying.”

The group was completely dumbfounded and had no choice but to give their details.

The teenage Chu Susu silently memorized them all, then said coldly: “Do you know who I am?”

“…N-No, we don’t.”

They trembled, faces full of “should we know her?” panic.

Was she someone they couldn’t afford to mess with?

“I-I remember now.”

Before she could respond, one girl actually recognized her, finger trembling:

“I’ve seen her at the dean’s office door… It was… because of fighting…”

The inexperienced junior high kids panicked even more, teeth chattering.

Was she some delinquent senpai…?

The teenage Chu Susu didn’t explain, saving the effort of scaring them further. She grabbed their ears one by one, smiling: “Good that you know me. Don’t let me catch you bullying classmates again. Or else…”

“G-Got it, senpai!”

“Say sorry.”

“Sorry!”

“Not to me.” The teenage Chu Susu said discontentedly, “To the one you bullied.”

Like marionettes, the junior high kids parroted her every word, soulless.

“Fine.” The teenage Chu Susu finally relented, “You can go.”

They bolted like they’d been pardoned, splashing through puddles without lingering a second.

Only then did she turn to check on the poor bullied child.

The girl had crawled out of the puddle and sat on the nearby stone steps. Dirty water dripped from her everywhere, her face smudged in several places.

The teenage Chu Susu stood there, tilting her umbrella halfway over to shield the girl from the falling rain.

“You…”

“You…”

Their gazes met, and they spoke at the same time. The teenage girl Chu Susu pursed her lips, gesturing for her to speak first.

The girl looked at her hand gripping the umbrella handle, where a small band-aid was stuck on top.

She asked uncertainly, “Fighting… brawling?”

Teenage girl Chu Susu followed her gaze, hesitating a little.

To say it was because she got bored and unscrewed the screws from a classroom desk, accidentally causing it to fall apart, while also scratching her hand—and then getting hauled in by the dean, who lectured her earnestly:

“Everyone else fights and brawls, but you keep getting called here every day for the weirdest reasons. You’re not sick of it, but I am…”

…It sounded kinda lame.

Whatever. Just let her think I’m a badass delinquent high school senior.

That sounded pretty cool.

So teenage girl Chu Susu just coughed lightly, treating it as tacit confirmation without much explanation. “Are you okay?”

She pulled a tissue from her pocket, squatted down, and gently wiped the streaks—whether tears or rain—from the girl’s face.

“…Mm.”

Teenage girl Chu Susu finally got a clear look at her face. Delicate features hid beneath slightly dark skin, grimy and dirt-streaked, not very eye-catching.

“I’m Chu Susu, from Class 1, sophomore year. What’s your name?”

The girl tilted her face up to stare at her, a few drops of water still lingering on her eyelashes.

Just like the tall figure leaning down with the umbrella.

Like a shooting star streaking across the night sky, slicing through the dense curtain of rain, landing right at her side.

“Han Xuan,” she said.