The dismissal bell rang.
The classroom came alive at once.
Some students packed their bags.
Some chatted.
Some made plans to go play basketball.
Only Jiang Yu didn't move.
He kept staring at the seat in front of him.
Zhou Ye was organizing his desk drawer.
His movements were practiced.
As if he had been sitting there for a long time.
But yesterday.
That seat had still been empty.
"Jiang Yu."
Shen Zhiwei stood by the window.
Something about her expression was off.
It wasn't worry.
It was confusion.
"Stop staring at him."
"Why?"
Shen Zhiwei didn't answer right away.
She watched Zhou Ye's back.
Her brows slowly drew together.
"I don't know."
"But when I look at him."
"I think of a certain smell."
Jiang Yu turned his head.
"What smell?"
Shen Zhiwei shook her head.
"I can't put it into words."
"It's just... really familiar."
"Like I've smelled it before."
She paused.
"But I don't remember where."
Jiang Yu stood up.
He walked straight to Zhou Ye's desk.
The whole class quieted down a little.
Zhou Ye looked up.
He smiled.
"What's up?"
Jiang Yu stared into his eyes.
"Where were you yesterday?"
Zhou Ye froze.
"Yesterday?"
"Did you come to our class yesterday?"
"No."
"Today is my first day as a transfer student."
His answer came naturally.
There wasn't a single flaw in it.
Jiang Yu kept questioning him.
"Where did you go to school before?"
"Nancheng High School."
"Do you have any friends who can prove it?"
Zhou Ye's smile slowly faded.
"Are you interrogating a criminal?"
Jiang Yu didn't back down.
He asked another question.
"Do you like red bean bread?"
Zhou Ye's expression changed.
Only for an instant.
As if something had pricked him.
But it immediately returned to normal.
"What?"
"Red bean bread."
Jiang Yu repeated himself.
"Do you like it or not?"
Zhou Ye smiled.
"It's okay, I guess."
"Why are you suddenly asking me that?"
The class monitor came over.
"Jiang Yu, what are you doing?"
"There's something wrong with him."
The class monitor frowned.
"You're acting weird today."
"He wasn't here yesterday."
"He transferred here today."
"What's wrong with that?"
Jiang Yu didn't answer.
Because.
He didn't know what was wrong either.
It was just instinct.
A powerful instinct.
Strong enough to make him want to take Zhou Ye apart and see what was really hidden inside him.
And just now.
The expression on Zhou Ye's face when he heard the words "red bean bread."
It hadn't been unfamiliarity.
He had recognized it.
On the way home.
Jiang Yu remained silent.
Shen Zhiwei suddenly spoke.
"You're not acting like yourself today."
"What do you mean?"
"Before."
"You never used to press people like this."
Jiang Yu stopped.
"Because before."
"No one had ever been erased."
The words made Shen Zhiwei fall silent.
They walked for a long time.
Only then did she speak again.
"Red bean bread."
"Why did you ask him about that?"
Jiang Yu didn't turn around.
"Because Lin Zi'an loved red bean bread more than anything."
"If Zhou Ye really is just a transfer student."
"He shouldn't have reacted at all."
Shen Zhiwei thought about it.
"Did he react?"
"He did."
Jiang Yu said.
"His eyes moved."
That night.
Jiang Yu turned on his computer.
He searched:
Nancheng High School Zhou Ye.
No results.
He searched the school newspaper instead.
No results.
Social media.
No results.
There was nothing.
As if this person.
Had only been born today.
A chill ran down Jiang Yu's back.
Just then.
A message popped up in the chatroom.
It was the class group chat.
Class monitor:
[Everyone, let's welcome our new classmate~]
A group photo from that day was attached below.
Jiang Yu opened it immediately.
There were forty students in the photo.
The teacher stood in the middle.
Zhou Ye stood in the front row.
He was smiling naturally.
Jiang Yu zoomed in.
He looked at the students one by one.
Then.
His hand stopped.
At the window in the last row.
There was a blurry figure.
It had no facial features.
Like a failed exposure.
No one else noticed.
Only Jiang Yu.
Recognized that uniform.
Lin Zi'an.
He stood at the back of the crowd.
He wasn't looking at the camera.
He was looking at Zhou Ye.
Jiang Yu downloaded the photo immediately.
He zoomed in.
And zoomed in.
Then zoomed in again.
The figure became clearer and clearer.
Suddenly.
Lin Zi'an slowly raised his head.
The photo.
Moved.
It wasn't a video.
It was a photo.
Lin Zi'an faced Jiang Yu.
And gently shook his head.
His mouth slowly opened.
Jiang Yu understood what he was saying.
Just two words.
No.
The next second.
The photo returned to normal.
Lin Zi'an became a blurry figure again.
"No?"
Jiang Yu frowned.
"No to what?"
Not an illusion?
Not Lin Zi'an?
Not Zhou Ye?
Or—
Not human?
He stared at the screen.
Zhou Ye was still smiling in the photo.
And the blurry shadow in the last row.
Was staring at the back of Zhou Ye's head.
As if it were watching him.
Or protecting him.
There was no way to tell.
The next day.
First-period gym class.
The teacher announced that they could form their own teams.
The boys started playing basketball.
Zhou Ye was pulled into the game too.
"Come on!"
"Sure."
He smiled and walked onto the court.
Jiang Yu stood at the edge of the court.
He kept watching.
The first shot.
Zhou Ye caught the ball.
Dribbled.
Jumped.
Shot.
His form was beautiful.
But.
At the instant he landed.
Jiang Yu blinked.
Maybe he had seen it wrong.
Zhou Ye's shadow.
Was late.
It wasn't an illusion.
The person had already landed.
But the shadow was still in the air.
As if delayed by half a second.
Only then did it land too.
Jiang Yu stared fixedly at the ground.
The second shot.
Zhou Ye jumped again.
This time, Jiang Yu didn't blink.
He saw it clearly.
Zhou Ye landed.
The shadow.
Was half a beat late.
As if it weren't his.
As if another person.
Were imitating his movements.
But always one step behind.
Every hair on Jiang Yu's body stood on end.
He wanted to look away.
But it was too late.
Because that shadow.
Didn't follow Zhou Ye.
It stopped where it was.
Slowly.
Very slowly, it raised its head.
Zhou Ye ran across the court.
But the shadow stood perfectly still.
It looked toward the edge of the court.
Toward Jiang Yu.
Then.
It smiled.
It wasn't Zhou Ye's smile.
It was Lin Zi'an's.
Jiang Yu took a step back.
He slammed into the metal railing behind him.
"You saw that?"
Shen Zhiwei stood beside him.
She was looking at the court too.
"Saw what?"
Jiang Yu's voice was a little hoarse.
"The shadow."
Shen Zhiwei shook her head.
"I can't see it."
"But I can smell it."
"Smell what?"
"Red bean bread."
She said.
"On the court."
"It smells like red bean bread on the court."
Jiang Yu looked at Zhou Ye on the court.
He was high-fiving his classmates.
His smile was bright and sunny.
And the shadow beneath his feet.
Had already returned to normal.
Quiet and still.
As if nothing had happened.