Chapter 3

An unknown hero had called the Provincial Department of Education and reported that Linkon First High School seemed to be making students come back for extra classes during holidays. As a result, the school let the students off for seven whole days after Labor Day, including those in senior year. Nathan had slept very well the night before, so he was up early the next day. He chose not to revise at home and headed off to the city library, which was several miles away, on his rickety old bike. It was a habit he had developed while studying for graduate school. Studying at the library was much more effective. Being young was great. Although the bike was old and rickety, Nathan rode it as if it were a sleek, top-of-the-range bike. He rode standing up all the way, and he arrived in about ten minutes. He wasn't red or panting at all. With a physique like that, he could probably go and work as a construction worker with no problems. Nathan was dumbfounded when he arrived at the reading area. There was a dark mass of heads that stretched out in front of him. They were all senior year students who had the same idea as he had and came to study at the library. People in that generation who had been born in the late 80s and early 90s saw 25 million people being born every year. They had no choice but to be competitive. Had he arrived too late? Nathan's efforts in hunting for a seat ended up for naught. He was about to beat a retreat when he spotted a space near the window. Normally, seats by the window in the library were always the ones that got taken first, which made the empty seat seem rather intimidating. Nathan soon realized why it was empty. There was a long-haired girl sitting opposite the empty space. She was extraordinarily gorgeous, and she had an elegant, cool demeanor. Cheryl was already very pretty to begin with, but she seemed practically average when compared to this girl. In fact, she paled in comparison. The girl by the window was wearing an oversized jacket, but it did not hide her curves completely. She was neither thin nor curvy—she was perfect. She had an oval face, and her skin seemed to glow like ivory under the sunlight. Women who were as exquisitely beautiful as she was had a natural poise. In his past life, Nathan would've been like the other students. He would not have dared to sit opposite her. At most, he would have pretended not to care and walked past her while sneaking a glance at her out of the corners of his eyes. If she noticed him in the process, his heartbeat would have risen to 120 at once, and he would have turned bright red. Now, however… He went straight over to the seat opposite her and asked casually if there was anyone sitting there. When the girl heard Nathan talking to her, she looked visibly surprised. She glanced at him and said nothing. Nathan wondered if she was mute. He decided to sit down. If anyone else came along, he'd just leave. There was nothing to it. Doing practice questions was a tedious process, so Nathan would occasionally look up at the icy girl opposite him. She was easy on the eyes, after all. People in the past often said that there was beauty to be found in books. Nathan didn't need to look at his books that day. Beauty was right opposite him. After about ten minutes, when Nathan looked up at her for the third time, the girl raised her book and hid her pretty face behind it. Nathan saw what she was reading. It was a children's picture book called "The Cat Who Lived a Million Lives". Nathan had a vague impression of it. He had bought it in his past life for his ten-year-old niece, who had finished reading it and then told him very seriously to never buy such a childish book for her again. Nathan then decided to read it for himself. It was about a tabby cat who died and came to life again a million times. It made the tabby disinterested in everything until it met a beautiful white cat. The tabby and the white cat had a happy life together, and after the white cat died, the tabby also died of grief. This time, it did not come to life again. A story like that did seem much too childish for a ten-year-old girl. However, it was perfect for Nathan, who had been 30 at the time. He laughed in amusement. The girl was clearly the cool kind, but she seemed to have a child-like heart. Since she had covered her face with the book, Nathan did not look at her again. After he completed a practice paper for science, he checked the answers while rummaging for cookies in his bag. It was a rarely seen brand called "Teddy Cookies". The cookies tasted a little odd, so there weren't many people who liked them. Nathan loved them, and he ate them happily, looking like a six-foot-tall child. As he reached out to get another cookie, he felt something cool under his fingers. He was touching two slender fingers that were not his. The cool-mannered girl with a child-like heart who was sitting opposite him was actually trying to steal his cookies! Well, she wasn't stealing them. She was just taking them. Nathan was rather annoyed. Did she think she could steal his cookies just because she was beautiful? He rolled his eyes. The girl ignored him and started taking the cookies at an even faster speed. She munched on them happily, and the smell of oats hung in the air. Nathan sped up as well. If she finished the entire pack of cookies, what was he going to eat? The two of them seemed to reach a peculiar understanding. They took turns taking cookies in a very orderly manner. Nathan munched on them loudly while she did it in a more muted manner. Finally, there was only one cookie left, and Nathan got to it first. The girl huffed in annoyance. "Here." Amused, Nathan broke the cookie in half and gestured for her to take the other piece. The girl took all of it and chomped delightedly on it, as if she were gloating. Nathan's cheeks twitched convulsively. What kind of person would do that? The girl began coughing violently. She had gobbled the cookie down so fast that she was choking on it. Nathan shook his head and pulled out an unopened bottle of natural mineral water from his bag. He twisted the cap open and held it out to the girl. She reached out to take it, but Nathan pulled it back and took a swig of it himself. He gulped it down happily. After he had finished half of it, he sighed in satisfaction. "This tastes so good!" The girl glared at him. Nathan laughed and put all his things into his backpack. He hummed a cheery tune as he got up to leave. The girl coughed even more violently. After Nathan had left, Lily Aeris finally stopped coughing. She clenched her tiny fists. If it weren't for the fact that she did not know how to yell at someone, she would've insulted that fellow for sure! Not only had he stolen her cookies, but he even made fun of her! She was no longer in the mood to study, so she tidied up her things and got ready to put them in her bag. She unzipped her backpack and froze in surprise. There was an unopened bag of Teddy Cookies lying inside. Had she been the one stealing his cookies? Lily blushed at once. … The next morning, Lily arrived early at the library. When she saw Nathan sitting in the same seat as the day before, she breathed out a sigh of relief and sat down opposite him silently. She did not say anything. She did not know how to start as she had never had any experience in dealing with such things. After Nathan finished a Euranic practice exam and was about to pull out some snacks from his backpack to replenish his energy, Lily's eyes lit up. She took out a box of Francian pastries from her bag and pushed it in front of Nathan. She still did not say anything. Nathan wondered if she really was a mute. He asked in confusion, "So… you're giving this to me because you ate my cookies yesterday?" Lily blushed. Her red lips moved slightly, but she still did not make a sound. Nathan was even more sure that he was right. "I can see that you can't talk… If I'm right, then nod. If not, shake your head." Lily nodded. Did he think that she was a mute? Alright, it would be better if she didn't have to say anything anyway. Nathan took the box of Francian pastries and began to take huge bites of them. Lily had never seen anyone who was quite so uncultured when eating. Her bright, sparkling eyes were filled with surprise. Nathan finished up the entire box of Francian pastries very quickly. He decided that he should return the favor, so he pulled out a pack of spicy pretzel sticks from his bag and tore it open. He asked Lily if she wanted any. Lily's eyes were filled with doubt. "You've had spicy pretzel sticks before, right? Trust me, they're amazing." Nathan took one, popped it into his mouth, and began chewing. Perhaps he made it look much too delicious because Lily finally mustered up the courage to take one cautiously. She bit a tiny piece off in a gentle manner. Her brows furrowed together, but she quickly relaxed. After she swallowed it, she stuck out her little tongue in a slight hiss. It was spicy. Nathan looked disdainful. "Oh come on, don't tell me you think that this is spicy!" This triggered Lily's competitiveness. She pressed her lips together, gathered her courage, and took a huge bite. After she swallowed it, she started panting even louder. There was a look of happiness in her eyes, which had been clear and cool at first. Her eyes crinkled into half-moons. … The week's holiday flew by, and very soon, the last day of the holiday had come. Nathan spent every single day doing practice exams in the library, and Lily came every day as well. The only way the two of them interacted was by bringing snacks for each other. As the exchange went on, they began to develop a connection. Nathan treated Lily as a mute, and when they were together, he was the one who did all the talking. Lily only needed to nod or shake her head. She did not explain to Nathan that she wasn't actually a mute. She preferred not having to speak. Nathan was a good conversationalist by nature, and since he had just been reborn, he was very keen on sharing. He had said quite a lot to Lily over the past few days, mostly about the embarrassing things that he had done as a kid. He also told her a little about his experiences in his past life, although he always maintained that they were the stories of a "friend". Lily was the perfect listener. No matter what Nathan said to her, he could see an admiring look in her eyes. Perhaps she felt that simply being able to talk so much was already an amazing feat. She was a girl whose looks, figure, and poise were almost perfect. When she propped her head on one hand and gazed at Nathan with stars in her eyes, it seemed as if he was the only light in her life. Nobody could resist that, and Nathan definitely couldn't. Luckily, since this was his second attempt at life, he did not make it too obvious. On the last day of the long holiday, after Nathan had finished his practice exam and after they had shared their snacks with each other, Lily rested her head on her hand and looked at Nathan in anticipation. It was her favorite time. This was when Nathan would tell her stories. Nathan raised an eyebrow. "Let's not tell stories today. Let me test you." Lily nodded gently. "You like reading children's books, don't you? Well, does Little Red Riding Hood have a big rack?" Lily looked confused. Nathan said seriously, "It's not a question of whether or not it's big. She doesn't have a rack at all." Lily looked utterly nonplussed, but it was clear that Nathan had piqued her curiosity. Nathan grinned slyly. "Think again!" Lily was surprised for a moment. When it dawned on her, her cheeks flushed bright red at once, and it spread to her perfect earlobes. After a few moments of silence, she looked reproachfully at Nathan and said in a clear voice, "You perv." This time, Nathan was confused. "So… you're not actually a mute?" Lily smiled, and in her beautiful eyes, there was a note of embarrassment and shyness. She proceeded to say the longest sentence that she ever said that month, "Hello, Nathan from Class Six. I'm Lily from Class One."