Brooding, solitary, drama-loving bottom ✖️ Sunny, warmhearted top. Happy ending! Happy ending! Happy ending! Important things bear repeating!
What does it mean to be a rat crawling through a gutter?
Ling Qiwu is a rat that can’t stand the light.
Ever since he was a child, he’d always hidden in the dark, silently watching his childhood friend Shao Zhiqiu beam at everyone, eyes bright and confident, while a crowd of admirers always surrounded him.
Shao Zhiqiu was the scorching summer sun, dazzling and bright. When his light fell on Ling Qiwu, it left him with a searing pain, followed by ugly, twisted scars.
He hated him and envied him, yet couldn’t help sinking deeper into his obsession.
Ling Qiwu thought he was going crazy, completely and utterly.
*
Then, one day, Shao Zhiqiu disappeared.
It caused an uproar in the class, and soon people’s suspicious eyes turned to the antisocial Ling Qiwu.
The cops questioned him. “Ling Qiwu, when was the last time you saw Shao Zhiqiu?”
His classmates came asking, “Ling Qiwu, do you know where Shao Zhiqiu went?”
Ling Qiwu shook his lowered head, then raised his eyes, unable to hide his grief and confusion.
Without Shao Zhiqiu, Ling Qiwu grew gloomier by the day, going through the motions like a walking corpse, repeating the same routine of school and home.
People’s gazes shifted from suspicion to pity. He had lost his only childhood friend.
*
Not long after, someone who shouldn’t have been there showed up in Class Three, Grade Eleven.
The boy stood on the platform in a spotless white shirt, his eyes curving into a smile. He was so handsome that no one could look away.
The class erupted, the room bubbling like a pot of boiling water.
“It’s Shao Zhiqiu!”
“Shao Zhiqiu is back!”
Everyone’s eyes were on the platform. No one noticed Ling Qiwu in the back row, his head buried in his arms, his face revealing undisguisable terror.
His whole body trembled. Cold sweat dripped from his forehead, and nausea surged up from his stomach, rising through his throat.
Ling Qiwu’s flawless disguise crumbled in an instant.
Why... why had Shao Zhiqiu come back?
He had dug the hole himself, dragged the body, and buried Shao Zhiqiu, covered in blood, beneath the paulownia tree in the courtyard.
Reader’s Guide:
1. A little chuunibyou!
2. The author’s mystery-writing skills are limited. Don’t expect overly complicated schemes.
Theme: A boy’s words, “I like you,” mean forever.
