* Free story, not contracted for publication | Building up favorites and chapters | Short story
Leng Chiyu had a longtime friend, Jiang Changming.
He often wore a black hoodie and kept to himself in a crowd. Leng Chiyu had secretly sketched his figure on drawing paper, hiding a whole book of girlish musings at the very back of her bookshelf.
But at sixteen, her dream shattered.
Leng Chiyu was diagnosed with delusional disorder. It usually manifests as imagined relationships caused by an imbalance in neurotransmitters and requires medication.
The doctor said Jiang Changming didn't exist in this world.
But did Jiang Changming really not exist?
During her leave from school, Leng Chiyu often gazed out the window. She heard that a new transfer student had arrived, a mixed-race boy.
When she saw his photo, Leng Chiyu froze for a few seconds. How could someone look exactly like the person she'd drawn, with the same gray-blue eyes and aloof, world-weary air?
Cicadas sang through the height of summer. A new semester began.
"Hello, I'm your new deskmate. I just got back from taking time off, so please look after me."
The corners of her lips curved into a smile, and in an instant she was once again gentle, harmless, and meek.
The boy resting on his desk raised his eyelids. His eyes, previously hidden, seemed to become a cold moon in the sky as he looked deeply at her.
"Yin Baiyu."
* Frail, obsessive girl x quiet, mixed-race loyal puppy
* Heart failure + mental illness + mild self-destructive tendencies
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Theme: Love makes life possible
