"Get it clear, it's over for you. What does it have to do with me?"

When the boy said it didn't matter, the anger on Yuanhui's face almost spewed out of his small eyes where the three indifferent words were written.

"Give me your arm!"

Without allowing the boy to say anything, Yuanhui grabbed Yuzhi's elbow and pointed to the white wristband that was the same color and style as his, which was like the color of dispersed monkey patterns.

"Do you still remember the oath we brothers once made?!"

Yuanhui's emotions were obviously a bit stirred up, the boy quickly reached out to steady him and persuade him, "Don't get so angry, I haven't exposed the fact that I have been wearing this wristband properly, have I?"

Heh, as if this wristband were a symbol of servitude, after witnessing a transaction full of hehehe at the abandoned sports warehouse entrance last time, I completely had him under control!

I seem to not be able to recall the memories after that.

Only a encounter with Yuanhui in the health room afterward.

"Alright, alright, you know... Sister doesn't take things lightly, I have to rest in the health room for a while, you go back to the classroom and attend your lessons."

"Of course, you have a new tutoring session with Lan, skipping class won't make you fall behind in any subjects, if I, a study idiot, don't attend class, I will fail!"

In the days that followed, although Yuanhui and the boy didn’t say much to each other, at least the distance between the two had been reduced a lot.

Remembering the last year of junior high and Yu Nai... What else was there?

Juxtapositions as simple as two sentences, nothing else really matters.

I sluggishly walked out of the room, wondering what to do.

Since there will be a Christmas night event at school tonight, Yukari quickly rushed to school after finishing lunch.

After she left, I took a nap before heading to school.

So, after turning off the room's air conditioner, I prepared to take a walk around the school.

Along the way, restaurants on the street and even small accessory shops were mostly decorated with Christmas trees and sculptures of Santa Claus, or playing the same old Christmas songs.

"Ah, there really is a Christmas Eve atmosphere in the air."

It was crowded with people everywhere, all sorts of people, from students like me to working adults, all squeezed onto the festive streets.

But everyone had one thing in common, a sore spot in my heart, that is... they were all not alone!

"President, the Literature Club has completed the contract for using the venue."

"Well, good job, make sure to work hard at the school festival."

This was the last day of duty, including the busy work of the stage and activity venues.

The position of the Student Union President in the campus was also quite tiring. It is said that in order to give the executive chairman some time off, the president had taken on all the troubles of the cultural festival along with the vice president.

Yukari, who took a nap at noon, was now constantly fighting off drowsiness, blinking her eyes.

"Uh... so sleepy, I shouldn't have slacked off at noon if I knew I'd feel this sleepy."

"President, if you're tired, go rest in the health room for a bit, leave everything to me here for now."

The vice president is a male, reportedly also ranking in the top ten in school, and there are rumors that he has certain intentions toward the President. In any case, it is said that he admires the President. Plus, as the saying goes, near water, one will seek shade first, as the vice president, he naturally would bear all kinds of such rumors.

The vice president's attitude easily gave away the answer.

"Sigh, if the president would just glance at me a little more, I would be content!"

"Tsk, seems like you haven't made any progress yet!"

Every time they returned here, the rumors would be left unresolved.

"There might be a lot of interesting things happening this Christmas... depending on the situation!"

As soon as I arrived at the entrance of the academy, I could sense an unprecedented bustling atmosphere, even more lively than the New Year's rituals back home (though there were only a few hundred people present).

Since our academy was established, it has already enrolled over tens of thousands of students, and this scale of event was unheard of before!

When we reached the academy gates, there were already four male students climbing up ladders next to the signboard.

"Oh no, the freshly written signboard has been melted by the snow."

Scraping off the thick layer of ice and snow on top, the board underneath had already been ruined by the melting snow, eliciting a groan from the male student with short hair.

"It's inevitable. The snow this year came much earlier than previous years. It's already 2023 in the blink of an eye."

Ten years ago, the city's pollution was so severe that the government ordered to reduce emissions, and at that time... um?

Just as I tried to recollect those long-gone times, I struggled to remember, even if I dug up old newspapers that my father had bought. I could only retain that one moment, unsure if it was due to some form of mental illness.

As for my mother, I don't remember anything about her anymore.

As I mentioned, even my appearance vanished in that fire!

Indeed, I still can't remember...

"Well, if I can't remember, then I won't try. Maybe it's some unpleasant memory after all?"

Being an avoidant person might just yield the best results.

Glancing at my phone, it was already six in the afternoon, and almost half of the activity booths were starting to operate, while the members of the student council were slowly resting or disappearing.

"Sigh, is it really okay to be in the student council but not participate actively?"

I avoided the student council duties since that incident.

Not even the tasks that needed to be done were accomplished, and Yukari never came to remind me.

"Heh, I wonder if she doesn't want to bother with me anymore?"

Shaking my head, I continued walking towards the campus teaching building, expecting that there would be no one there now. Everyone was likely at the cultural festival near the square, who would come to the deserted teaching building?

Step by step, I ascended the stairs of the teaching building, and upon reaching the top floor, I turned around and gazed through the transparent glass at the brightly lit crowd not far away, feeling somewhat out of place.

"Sigh, cultural festival... perhaps, I'm just out of place here with all these people."

Sitting on the staircase built of cold tiles, I felt completely lost.

Surely, Yukari was somewhere mingling in that crowd, living a fulfilling campus life.

After all, she and I... are from two different worlds!

As the sky darkened, the lights in the square became glaring, causing a tear to roll down immediately when I blinked.

"Heh, this is so boring!"

Having nothing better to do, I decided to head back to the classroom.

I was like an unused pawn on a chessboard, wandering through the occasionally patrolled corridors by teachers.

Approaching the corridor near the classroom door, I accidentally ran into our homeroom teacher.

She was about to leave when she stopped me and said, "Good evening... Ah? Juxi, why aren't you going to play with your classmates?"

"Um, well, actually..."

The one speaking was our homeroom teacher, Miss Ximo. She was already a 30-year-old lady, always flaunting a pair of round-framed glasses on her head.

Trying to appear younger might be good, but perhaps being too childish was the reason why she couldn't find a partner?

I awkwardly explained the situation to her. Miss Ximo nodded as if she understood, then patted my shoulder comfortingly.

"I see... Hmm, not sure if I should encourage you or console you, after all, even I, as a teacher, don't have any dating experience!"

Um, I couldn't help but feel that Miss Ximo held a lot of resentment, but was it really okay to continue like this?

I was truly worried... worried that one day this old lady might do something terrible at a school memorial because she couldn't bear it anymore?

So, I awkwardly smiled, pretending to look very silly and naive, and replied, "Haha, thank you for your concern, but I should probably make some friends first."

It made sense because I had already spent half a year in school. With the end of the second semester of the second year approaching, my social circle only consisted of family, childhood friends, and one... monkey (Yuanhui).

It's true that you can't have the best of both worlds. In order to make up for the debts from the previous semester, I had put in extra effort into my studies. Life had been fast-paced for the past six months, and I only received tutoring from the student council president after school. That's why I didn't have many friends.

As I spoke, Miss Ximo seemed to have been freed from her sadness, and she encouraged me with a broken smile.

"Really? Then you better work hard!"

"Yes, thank you, teacher."

"Well, I have to go now, bye!"

"Bye!"

Finally getting past the teacher, I could finally have a moment of peace. As I returned near the classroom door, I felt like it was unusually quiet. The atmosphere suddenly felt cold and uncomfortable compared to the usual noisy environment.

The corridor was strangely quiet, and the evening sun made it feel like the place was undergoing judgment day, too quiet for comfort.

After a brief moment alone, I started to feel a chill down my spine.

But if I continued staying like this, my whole being might become numb, right?

"Bang!"

"Huh?"

Was... that a sound?

Though it was faint, it was enough to send shivers down my spine, making the chilling sensation behind me even more intense!

Was there someone else here besides me?

The other person seemed to have noticed someone nearby and started to subtly move inside a classroom separated by a wall.

There was someone in our classroom, could it be a thief?

I decided not to alert them just yet and slowly peeked my head to the door, trying to catch a glimpse inside.

"Um, where should I put this in the end?"

The girl in the room was doing her best to avoid being noticed, so I pretended to gradually shrink back to conceal my position.

"Am I just being paranoid?"

"Well, should I continue searching, where could it be after all?"