Chapter 9: The First Photograph Together

Page 1/3

The Slanter Noble School stood on an artificial island, bordered on one side by an inland sea, with the mainland visible across the water. A suspension bridge stretched over the sea like a long rainbow. On the other side lay the vast, endless ocean, where the deep blue sea seamlessly met the azure sky in the distance. Snow-white seabirds skimmed low over the water, their cries piercing the air before they vanished beyond the horizon. The sea breeze blowing towards them carried a faint salty tang—not unpleasant, but refreshingly invigorating.

Yet Wen Xiao felt no joy. His expression was stern as he glared at the two people walking ahead of him.

How did these two manage to follow along... If only he had known, he wouldn’t have come.

“Huo Zhanyan, wait up and don’t cause trouble,” Wen Xulai said, rubbing his temples as a headache began to throb. There was no choice—he had run into Huo Zhanyan on the way, and the boy insisted on tagging along. Wen Xulai couldn’t really stop him.

Song Jingbai was quiet and well-behaved, trailing behind with few words, but Wen Xiao had seemed unhappy from the start.

“Teacher, I promise I won’t cause any trouble!” Huo Zhanyan patted his chest earnestly, eyes darting around as if everything was novel and exciting.

“This isn’t the teaching area. Normally, elementary students can’t come here. Today, we’re only here to bury the kitten, so don’t wander off,” Wen Xulai warned Huo Zhanyan repeatedly, still uneasy about him.

Wen Xiao walked alone at the back, knowing that to bury the kitten properly, they had to find a quiet, undisturbed spot—somewhere peaceful where the kitten could rest forever. This place was ideal.

Because it was a little distance from the shore, bordered by the iron railings of Slanter Noble School, the little orange kitten could have perched inside the fence to watch the sea. But instead, it was buried here, in this way.

Wen Xiao’s face darkened. Surely the kitten hadn’t died by accident and crawled into Weinanxing’s desk on its own—there had to be someone else involved.

But to Slanter School, a stray cat’s death was as insignificant as a stone tossed into a lake.

So when the homeroom teacher tried to check the surveillance footage, they found nothing. Either the footage was unobtainable, or someone had already made arrangements, casually brushing off Wen Xulai—after all, it was just a stray cat...

But was it really just a stray cat?

“Someone deliberately put the cat in your desk. You must know who in school dislikes you that much,” Song Jingbai said beside Weinanxing, though his eyes were fixed on Wen Xiao.

Wen Xiao was puzzled by his gaze, then realized that whoever placed the cat in Weinanxing’s desk was likely targeting Weinanxing specifically.

If they started from Weinanxing, maybe they could find who was responsible for the kitten’s death.

Suddenly, he glanced up at Huo Zhanyan.

Noticing the look, Huo Zhanyan hurried over, standing in front of Wen Xiao with a slightly agitated expression. “What kind of look is that? You think it was me? No way! I never even saw that cat before!”

Wen Xiao only cast a casual glance, thinking Huo Zhanyan was a bully towards Weinanxing.

But he quickly dismissed the idea. Huo Zhanyan was annoying, yes, but at least he wouldn’t sneak around doing such shameful things.

Still, realizing he had almost defended Huo Zhanyan in his mind made him angry—he wasn’t sure if he was mad at himself or at Huo Zhanyan.

Besides, the boy kept crowding in front of him, which was very irritating.

“It was you, and you definitely won’t admit it,” Wen Xiao said.

“You...” Huo Zhanyan’s eyes widened as he tried to grab Wen Xiao to argue, but Wen Xiao suddenly crouched down like a cat, skillfully slipping aside, and trotted toward the teacher.

Wen Xulai saw Wen Xiao running over and shouted at Huo Zhanyan, “I never should have brought you along—you just want to bully your classmates again!”

“I... I didn’t mean to bully anyone,” Huo Zhanyan protested.

Page 2/3

He twisted his head and saw Song Jingbai still smiling, clearly mocking him, which made him even more furious. “Song Jingbai, do you want to fight?”

Song Jingbai grinned. “Sure, does your face not hurt anymore?”

“That’s because you’re being sneaky!”

“If you can’t win, just admit it. Stop making excuses.”

Wen Xulai was digging a hole with a shovel and shouted back, “Song Jingbai, stop messing around too!”

Wen Xiao found their noise annoying and thought these kids were truly immature. Arguing with them only lowered his own intelligence.

He really should keep his distance.

Wen Xulai wiped the sweat from his brow, then gently laid the small orange kitten, now closed-eyed and peaceful, into the freshly dug grave.

He had brought these children out not only to return the kitten to nature but also to teach them that every life deserves respect—even that of an animal.

Hearing the ruckus behind him from Huo Zhanyan, Wen Xulai felt helpless. Some things had to be done slowly; some impressions couldn’t be formed overnight.

He glanced at Wen Xiao, quietly filling soil into the grave beside him, and at Weinanxing, who seemed inseparable from Wen Xiao.

Seeing their serious expressions, he thought, “There are still two more.”

Suddenly, Song Jingbai asked Huo Zhanyan, “Do you want to know who killed the kitten?”

Huo Zhanyan clenched his fists, confused. “Why would I want to know...?”

But then his eyes caught Wen Xiao’s bowed head at the edge of the grave, looking sad, and the words he was about to say changed.

“You know?”

Song Jingbai opened his mouth to say something, then frowned at Huo Zhanyan.

Wen Xiao suddenly heard Weinanxing whisper a single word nearby: “Wei...”

Wen Xulai heard it too and looked up in surprise. “Weinanxing, what did you just say?”

The teacher’s question made Weinanxing fall silent, leaving Wen Xiao puzzled.

But he suddenly recalled what Song Jingbai had said: Someone deliberately put the cat in your desk. You must know who in school dislikes you.

Was Weinanxing answering that question?

Or was he simply saying his own name?

Song Jingbai came over and crouched beside Wen Xiao, digging soil with his hand.

Huo Zhanyan, as if competing, squatted opposite him, scooping a handful of dirt carefully onto the grave, gently covering the kitten.

The children said nothing, quietly sitting under the tree as they completed the burial. A subtle melancholy seemed to spread in the air.

Even Huo Zhanyan, usually the most disruptive, had quieted down—something Wen Xulai had never expected.

He felt a bit relieved. Learning to respect animals was a beginning; eventually, they would understand how to respect people like themselves—boys or girls, older or younger.

Wen Xulai glanced again at Wen Xiao, who was still bent over filling the grave, and suddenly had a premonition.

It seemed these subtle changes were brought about by this child who had only been at the school for two days.

Page 3/3

Sometimes he thought he was overthinking it; other times, he felt there truly were many inexplicable things.

There was a saying that people emit certain magnetic fields that pull them toward each other—no one could explain the origin of this mysterious attraction.

The sea breeze blew from behind them, the white clouds rolling across the sky making the blue even deeper. The rustling of the verdant forest mixed with the sound of waves crashing on the shore, as if time stretched on endlessly.

Wen Xiao suddenly looked up, glancing at the familiar yet strange sea. In the distance, tall buildings could be seen on the island.

That was North Island—where he had attended Slanter Noble Boys’ School in his past life.

But now, those complicated emotions were gone. It would be a long time before he set foot there again.

Before then, no matter if the story unfolded as he remembered, he would be ready to face whatever might come.

His hand continued to dig, but it touched another hand; both rested on the same patch of earth.

Wen Xiao had not yet shaken off his emotions when Song Jingbai withdrew his hand, took a small blue triangular flag from his pocket, and planted it atop the mound of dirt. He smiled at Wen Xiao.

Only then did Wen Xiao notice a small mole beneath the corner of Song Jingbai’s left eye, which seemed to sparkle with his blink.

“I hope it likes this farewell ceremony,” Song Jingbai said.

Wen Xiao looked at the little flag—nothing was said. On it was a drawing of a kitten’s head, and beside it, written in black ink, were four characters:

Rest well.

A sudden urge to laugh came over Wen Xiao, but he couldn’t bring himself to smile.

So Song Jingbai wasn’t just good at those neat geometric sketches after all.

On the way back, Huo Zhanyan unusually quiet, kept replaying Song Jingbai’s words in his mind.

Wen Xiao was so upset over the kitten’s death. If Huo Zhanyan could teach whoever killed the kitten a lesson, would Wen Xiao look at him differently? Would he no longer look at him with such coldness?

The group walked slowly toward the teaching building, and Wen Xulai didn’t rush them.

These were children their age, and shared special experiences were the best way to bring them closer.

He distinctly felt their relationships were less tense, though still not quite intimate.

Suddenly, he pulled out his phone and called out to them, “Look here!”

Wen Xiao stopped and turned just as Wen Xulai raised his phone to take a photo.

“Stand closer.”

Before he could react, Song Jingbai naturally stepped forward, placing his hand on Wen Xiao’s shoulder, while Weinanxing stayed close on his right side.

Huo Zhanyan realized there was no room on either side, so he grabbed Wen Xiao’s shoulder, stood on tiptoe, sticking his head between them, and raised his hand in a “yeah” gesture.

The shutter clicked. Wen Xulai was about to take another photo when he saw Wen Xiao turn and walk away, his steps noticeably quicker.

Perhaps it was his imagination, but Wen Xulai felt as if Wen Xiao had shot him a glare.

He looked at the photo—four children with different expressions, standing close together like close friends. The child in the middle looked a bit surprised.

He pondered for a moment, guessing Wen Xiao might dislike photos, but this one was too precious to delete.

This group of first-year students had just entered Slanter School. Unsurprisingly, they would continue their education here—from the sky-blue uniforms of elementary, to the navy blue of middle school, then the pure black of high school... until they graduated and went their separate ways.