Fallen

From the age of eight, Su Yiyi's life was reduced to having only her brother to rely on.

After their parents died unexpectedly, all she had in this vast world was a brother a few years older than her. They supported each other and spent six peaceful years abroad.

Those six years overseas wore away her childhood softness and innocence, leaving her with a cool, quiet temperament.

In the year she started her second year of high school, she returned to China at her family's request and transferred to Linlan High, one of the city's top schools. The September sun blazed over a campus bustling with students, old and new. Su Yiyi, her clean backpack on her shoulders, had just stepped onto the tree-lined path beside the sports field. Before she could take in her new surroundings, a basketball came hurtling toward her face, wind whistling around it. It was fast and powerful, and she had no time to react.

It was a ball from a group of boys whose horseplay had gotten out of hand.

A group of teenagers nearby froze. One scrambled to his feet, ready to apologize.

But the next moment, Su Yiyi raised her hand and caught the speeding ball cleanly, her fingers gripping it firmly. Her expression never changed.

She looked up and gave the boys a cool, indifferent glance.

Before anyone could speak, she flicked her wrist and sent the ball flying back along the exact same path, at the same speed.

It landed right beside the feet of the boy who had thrown it, bounced once, then fell.

Quick and clean, neither meek nor aggressive.

The boys were stunned into silence and didn't dare fool around anymore.

No one knew that with that casual throw, she had hit the mark in another way, catching the attention of the cold-eyed, tall boy at the front of the group: Lin Jingzhou.

He leaned lazily against the railing and glanced up without a care. His gaze lingered on the girl's cool, indifferent profile for half a second.

Strange, yet inexplicably jarring.

Su Yiyi didn't give anyone another look. She turned and followed the directions to her class, walking into the school building.

Then she opened the door to the advanced second-year classroom.

The back row was empty, except for the seat by the window, where the most eye-catching boy from the group on the sports field was sitting.

Lin Jingzhou.

They were classmates.

Amid the classroom's clamor, their eyes suddenly met.

Su Yiyi's eyes were calm, utterly unfamiliar.

Beneath the desk, Lin Jingzhou's fingers clenched tight.

She didn't remember him.

But the moment he saw her face, he recognized her.

This wasn't their first meeting in their second year of high school.

It was a reunion after nine years apart, dating back to kindergarten.

That year, the kindergarten was filled with warm sunshine and the laughter and chatter of children.

On an afternoon early in the school year, little Lin Jingzhou was cold by nature, rarely spoke, and carried an air of arrogance that warned others to stay away.

During free time in class that day, he got into an argument with his classmate Xu Xichen. They shoved each other, and he lost control of his strength, knocking over the small, soft-spoken Su Yiyi as she passed by.

Her elbow struck the edge of the floor hard, scraping open the skin and drawing blood at once.

A hot stab of pain washed over her. The little girl's eyes instantly turned red, and big, glittering tears rolled down her cheeks. Her shoulders trembled with hurt.

At that moment, young Lin Jingzhou panicked completely.

He had never seen a girl cry before, much less made anyone cry.

His heart raced. He didn't know what to do, and his limbs went stiff. Though he was frantic inside, his naturally cold and awkward temperament kept him frozen in place, silent as he watched others rush over to help her up.

Everyone thought he had bullied her on purpose.

Even in her young heart, Su Yiyi quietly decided that Lin Jingzhou hated her.

The argument had started with Xu Xichen, but in the end, Su Yiyi wiped away her tears, turned around, and took Xu Xichen's hand. Her sweet, childish voice rang out: "Brother Xichen, let's go play."

A child's world is simple and direct.

Whoever comforts her and keeps her company is the one she likes.

Lin Jingzhou, who had knocked her down, stayed silent, and seemed cold and heartless, was shut out completely.

Little Lin Jingzhou stood alone where he was, watching the two of them walk away side by side, watching her affectionately call someone else "brother," watching her smile at him but not at Lin Jingzhou.

Bitterness, resentment, hurt, and jealousy crowded into his little heart.

Why?

He hadn't meant to do it.

He had been more panicked than anyone.

Yet he could only stand far away, without even the right to go near her.

The sun blazed that afternoon, and children played in little groups on the sports field.

He watched Su Yiyi and Xu Xichen laughing and playing on a seesaw, the sunlight falling on her soft little profile. She was impossibly pretty.

He clenched his little fists and summoned the greatest courage of his life, walking toward them one step at a time.

His childish, cool voice, edged with awkward anxiety, rang out softly:

"Can I play with you?"

At last, he lowered his head and tried to make peace.

But the next second,

Su Yiyi immediately got off the seesaw and deftly took Xu Xichen's hand. Her sweet, soft voice rang out again, clear for Lin Jingzhou to hear:

"Brother Chenchen, let's not play with him. Let's go play something else."

Xu Xichen answered gently, "Okay."

The two turned and walked away side by side.

Lin Jingzhou was left frozen in place.

The little boy clutched the hem of his shirt, his knuckles turning white and his eyes growing a little red.

Resentment, hurt, and humiliation all sank deep into his heart.

Why did she always avoid him the moment she saw him?

Why could she sweetly call someone else "brother," yet not even spare him a glance?

A young boy's impulsiveness and stubbornness surged up all at once.

He rushed forward and forcibly pried their clasped hands apart.

As they stared at him in shock and confusion, Lin Jingzhou placed his hands on Su Yiyi's little shoulders, lowered his head, and kissed her soft, rosy lips hard.

Little Su Yiyi was utterly stunned.

She stared blankly, not moving, forgetting even to breathe.

That kiss held no budding love, only a boy's utterly domineering, awkward, and possessive desire to claim her.

After that, the relationship between them gradually warmed during the remaining days of kindergarten.

They were no longer distant or avoidant.

But fate played a cruel trick on them.

When Su Yiyi was eight, her parents suddenly passed away.

She went abroad with her brother, leaving the city in a hurry.

She left without a sound.

No goodbye, no see-you-again.

She cut off all ties with this place, including Lin Jingzhou.

After she left, from primary school through middle school, six whole years passed.

The boy who had once been merely cold and taciturn changed completely.

He became rebellious, unruly, aloof, and hard to approach.

Skipping class, fighting, and behaving carelessly, he became the kind of delinquent everyone knew better than to mess with.

No one knew that his rebellious streak began the moment she disappeared.

Six years later.

At dusk in midsummer, the narrow alley was dim in the fading light.

Lin Jingzhou leaned against the cold wall, a cigarette between his fingers, looking lazy and cold-eyed.

Five or six tall boys were gathered in the alley, surrounding a younger student. The atmosphere was tense and oppressive.

He was the unspoken leader of the group, looking down lazily and watching the scene with indifference.

Just then, a slender figure appeared at the mouth of the alley.

Su Yiyi.

She had returned to China temporarily at someone's request to secretly retrieve a rare, out-of-print collection of illustrations by an artist who had chosen to remain anonymous. It was urgent, and she only had this one day.

Looking down at the navigation on her phone, she made her way through a maze of old alleys, taking detour after detour until she ended up back in this alley, where trouble was brewing.

The atmosphere inside was tense and hostile.

Five or six people stood there menacingly. The boy leaning against the wall was by far the most imposing, cold, and eye-catching.

Su Yiyi looked up and gave the group a cool glance, her gaze finally settling on Lin Jingzhou.

They looked at each other across the crowd.

By now, their childhood features had long since faded.

Six years of absence lay between them.

Neither recognized the other.

Su Yiyi was cool by nature and had no desire to meddle in other people's business.

She had something important to do and no intention of stopping to watch a fight.

But the navigation kept sending her in circles, so she had to ask for directions.

The girl's voice was cool, her tone calm and level as it cut through the oppressive atmosphere of the alley:

"Hey."

The boys causing trouble froze at once. They all looked at her, then instinctively turned toward Lin Jingzhou, leaning against the wall, not daring to speak.

In that instant, Su Yiyi understood.

He was their leader.

Her gaze returned to Lin Jingzhou, her tone polite but distant:

"Hello. Do you know where [Street Name] is? If you do, could you please tell me?"

At that, the boy leaning against the wall slowly raised his eyes.

He looked at the unfamiliar yet strikingly beautiful girl before him and curled his lips into a faint, careless sneer.

Cold, distant, indifferent, with his usual arrogance and disdain.

After a brief exchange of glances, Su Yiyi got no help and eventually turned and left the alley.

This was their second meeting in six years.

Strangers, distant, with nothing between them.

Later came September and the start of the school year at Linlan High.

A basketball hit her, and she sent it right back.

She walked into class, and they met again as classmates.

He remembered every youthful mistake, every possessive crush, every regretful parting.

She knew nothing.

The obsession sealed away for nine years had trapped him alone in the past, and he had never escaped.

Theme: Never walk past a school's basketball court