Qiao Siwei discovered a secret.
Three years ago, he had nearly died. After much deliberation, the original donor had decided not to donate. Lying in his hospital bed, Qiao Siwei thought that dying might not be so bad. He hadn't been all that keen on living anyway. Even the money for his surgery had come from his grandmother selling her house. What was the point?
But he survived. Three days later, another donor was found. The joke fate played on him wasn't funny at all. But since he'd survived, he had to live well. The first thing his grandmother made him do after he recovered was ask the bone marrow registry to pass along the paper cranes he'd folded. A thousand of them. He'd folded so many he felt sick.
His cranes were crude because he didn't know how to make them. They were so ugly they could make you cry. But the people at the bone marrow registry said paper cranes were commonly used to express gratitude. Qiao Siwei thought the donor might assume he was insulting them.
Three years later, he saw those cranes again. He recognized them at a glance. The video was very blurry, posted on social media by someone from the class next door. They'd gone to Shen Wangjin's birthday party, and the jar of ugly paper cranes was in his home.
Qiao Siwei's heart raced. He took several screenshots. The more he looked, the less certain he felt. He hadn't felt that way when he first saw them.
He'd seen Shen Wangjin many times before. Shen was famous at school. His grades, looks, and family background were all excellent, but he always seemed impatient and kept everyone at a distance.
Last semester, he'd even had to stand up and make a self-criticism because he'd hit someone.
A boy had a crush on him and sent him a love letter. He found it disgusting.
Qiao Siwei felt his pounding heart and couldn't help looking outside. Just then, his eyes met Shen Wangjin's.
Eucalyptus leaves, a type of filler foliage.
Cover art thanks to @Huahua Zhan
Theme: It was all arranged long ago, on the first page of the universe
