The arrival of the white-haired girl instantly drew everyone’s attention, making her the focus of the entire class.

Her snow-white hair was far too striking.

“Xiao Chen, her hair is so pretty, it’s like snowflakes.”

Shen Qinghan leaned close to Lin Zichen’s ear and whispered softly.

Lin Zichen had no time to care whether the girl’s hair was pretty or not.

At that moment all his attention was on the faint trace of an inhuman aura radiating from her.

‘Why was there a presence that didn’t belong to humans? Could she be a Gene Fuser? Or… was she a descendant of one?’

Lin Zichen’s mind was filled with countless thoughts.

* * *

In the days that followed he kept a close eye on the white-haired girl.

Her name was Bai Xue.

It had been several days since she transferred yet she never once tried to initiate a conversation.

As soon as class ended she would collapse onto her desk without moving.

She rarely even went to the bathroom.

At first everyone was curious about her.

But as time passed that curiosity faded and she became less of a concern.

The classroom returned to its usual calm.

Apart from the extra presence of a white-haired girl suspected of being withdrawn in the corner, nothing else had changed.

Until more than a month later, the calm of the classroom was finally broken.

The girl in the corner often emitted an unpleasant odor.

It wasn’t overpowering, but close up it was uncomfortable.

Lin Zichen observed carefully and discovered that the smell came from a white substance her skin secreted.

He didn’t know exactly what it was. It looked clean, but it smelled bad.

Because of this odor, she became unwelcome.

Classmates started to ostracize and mock her.

She never once cared about the ridicule, continuing to collapse on her desk the moment class ended.

Lin Zichen saw it all and marveled at her endurance, thinking she must be dangerous and he stayed alert.

Until one day, a mischievous boy poured water on her desk so she couldn’t lie down after class.

The always expressionless girl suddenly couldn’t hold it in anymore and burst into tears.

Her tears flowed without stopping.

Her eyes swelled from crying.

Lin Zichen was stunned. The one he thought of as dangerous was crying?

Shen Qinghan, unable to bear watching, remembered how she had once been excluded when she first entered kindergarten. She turned to Lin Zichen.

“Xiao Chen, Bai Xue is so pitiful, let’s help her, okay?”

“Okay.”

Lin Zichen answered without hesitation.

He didn’t know her background or what exactly was going on with her.

He only knew she wasn’t the dangerous person he imagined, but more a lonely girl bullied into tears.

“Guan Chun, wipe the water off Bai Xue’s desk.”

Lin Zichen stopped in front of the mischievous boy and spoke flatly.

So flat, without any hint of emotion.

Yet the boy panicked and quickly grabbed a book, using it as a tissue to wipe her desk dry.

He was too afraid of Lin Zichen, terrified of angering this scholar-warrior school celebrity.

Not just classmates, even sixth graders were scared of Lin Zichen.

Every student at Sunshine Elementary had seen his feats at the school sports meet, they knew how powerful his body was and none dared provoke him.

“Anyone who bullied Bai Xue before, come apologize now.”

Lin Zichen scanned the class and addressed everyone his gaze met.

As soon as he spoke, every student who had ever bullied her came one by one to apologize.

Some only said sorry.

Some offered their snacks.

Whether sincere or not, they all apologized.

Faced with so many apologies, Bai Xue was overwhelmed, momentarily forgetting her tears.

When everyone was done, Shen Qinghan stepped forward beside her and turned to the class.

“From now on no one is allowed to bully Bai Xue. She’s our classmate and we should all be her friends.”

With Lin Zichen there, no one dared disobey.

From that moment on, no one bullied her again.

“Thank you, thank you both…”

Bai Xue sniffled softly, barely audibly thanking Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan.

Shen Qinghan smiled, “Don’t thank us, we’re classmates, we should help each other.”

Lin Zichen said nothing, only handed her a tissue.

Bai Xue accepted it and timidly glanced up at him, carving his face deep into her memory.

* * *

From that day on Shen Qinghan grew closer to Bai Xue, trying to be her friend.

Whenever she had tasty food or fun things she shared them first with her.

She even introduced her to Lin Zichen.

She said from then on the three of them would play together, becoming the best trio of friends in class.

Shen Qinghan acted this way because she herself had once been excluded and she felt compassion for someone suffering the same.

Bai Xue was flustered and asked softly, “I… I smell so bad, don’t you dislike me?”

Ever since she could remember she had always been excluded and shunned.

Now, with Shen Qinghan and Lin Zichen willing to be her friends, it felt unreal, like a dream.

Shen Qinghan took her hand and said seriously, “We won’t dislike you. We’ll always be good friends.”

Hearing this, Bai Xue looked humbly at Lin Zichen, wanting his answer, caring deeply about what he thought.

“So will I.”

Lin Zichen replied calmly.

Bai Xue was moved. She took off a pair of animal fangs hanging around her neck and placed one in each of their hands, speaking nervously.

“Hanhan, Xiao Chen, you always give me good food and toys, so I want to give you something too. These fangs were my birthday gift from my mother last year. Now I’m giving them to you. I hope you don’t mind. And I hope… I hope we’ll always be good friends.”

“Yes, we’ll always be good friends.” Shen Qinghan accepted the fang, smiling brightly.

Then she suggested, “Let’s hook pinkies and promise, for a hundred years it can’t be broken.”

Soon on Sunshine Elementary’s playground, the voices of three children rose.

“Pinky promise… Hang yourself… For a hundred years, no change!”

* * *

The next day, Bai Xue dropped out of school.

Shen Qinghan was stunned when she heard, unable to understand why.

That day Lin Zichen saw a tall man escorting Bai Xue into the office.

He remembered the man vividly.

Because the man’s arms, half his chest and neck were made of metal alloy.

He looked like a Cyborg.

From this Lin Zichen realized Bai Xue’s identity was likely unusual.

But he didn’t dwell on it.

After all, she had already transferred, perhaps never to be seen again.

She would only remain a passing guest of his childhood.