After that, every time she walked down the corridor, girls from other classes would secretly glance at her and whisper, “That’s her, that’s her, she’s Claire Daniels.” When boys were chased by girls, she would frown and shout, “Stop it, no running or jumping in the corridor,” and the boys would turn back and drawl out, “Scott Zack!!”

Until one day, when she was playing jump rope on the playground, someone suddenly bumped into her, making her stumble. She turned around angrily and saw that it was a laughing classmate who had shoved a tall boy hard toward her. The tall boy turned back and cursed, “Liam Warren are you fucking looking for trouble?” Then he immediately turned back around and, amid everyone’s laughter, gave her a shy smile, as if that fierce outburst just now was only her own imagination.

Yesterday, when she was holding her script and hurriedly passing by the drum and bugle corps on the playground to find the team counselor, the band members all got excited, their jeers and strange calls rising and falling, wrapping around her like a spell. She felt flustered inside, but outwardly managed to keep her composure, only her steps were a little unsteady. Surrounded by the chaotic noise, she saw him ahead, being pushed out of the crowd, looking a bit shy and a bit roguish, blocking her way.

She lowered her head and walked around him, starting to jog. But somehow, in that moment with her head down, she remembered his white socks, black leather shoes, and chubby legs. It was like an ID, letting her recognize him at a glance today. So this is what it feels like to be surrounded with a boy in the middle, with everyone making a fuss.

She had heard of Scott Zack before. Truly “heard of”—outside the school gate, on the street at noon, she came out to buy preserved plums and saw a crowd by the roadside. The boys shouted, “Zack, Scott, Sky!” and the girls immediately followed with, “Andrew, Emily, Emily!”

They must have been surrounded. At the time, Claire Daniels was holding Zoe Young’s hand, and the two of them exchanged a smile. She thought, how shameless, and the onlookers are even more boring. Shouting two people’s names back and forth, shouting so loudly—why is it that every Monday during the national anthem, their voices are so small? Is shouting someone else’s name really that much fun? Childish, truly childish!

But now, Emily Xavier’s name had been replaced by hers. Suddenly she realized, she used to look down on “them” equally, but when did Emily Xavier stand out and earn her special disdain? Could it be because… Claire Daniels didn’t dare think further, and simply skipped over that step.

In any case, she heard them all say, “Scott Zack, you even dare to like Claire Daniels? Look at her, always with a stern face, such a bad temper, so stubborn, always acting tough…” Scott Zack, you even dare to like Claire Daniels? This question took root in her heart, and one day she circled around and around before finally asking Zoe Young, “Zoe, do you think… ugh, they’re so annoying, always making things up, saying Scott Zack… Do you think, I’m so different from him, what could he possibly like about me? Making up such rumors, it’s just nonsense.”

She didn’t expect that Zoe Young was too absorbed in reading Boys' Comics, stuffing preserved plums into her mouth and mumbling, “Bunny Moon is silly and lazy, but Tuxedo Mask likes her kindness. Other people are just ordinary.”

This answer left Claire Daniels with mixed feelings, but Zoe Young didn’t notice at all. In short, Claire Daniels felt that maybe… she liked Scott Zack too. She didn’t even know what kind of person Scott Zack was; she liked him only because he liked her. But so what? Just thinking the words “I like Scott Zack” was enough to make her blush like a tomato, lower her head, and stiffen like a rock. So, does it matter if it’s real love or not? All they knew was how to like someone.

Zoe Young squeezed past the group of girls picking out origami paper cranes at the stall by the school gate and dashed all the way home—she was on cleaning duty today and left late, so if she didn’t hurry, she’d miss the 6:10 episode of Sailor Warriors.

She got home at 6:05, caught her breath, put down her bag, and sat next to Tina Young, waiting for the opening song to start. This was the story of fighting for justice and defeating monsters. At the end of the episode, Bunny Moon finally hugged Tuxedo Mask, and using the resistance from an open umbrella, they jumped off the balcony and landed safely. Then… they…

Kissed… Zoe Young stared in shock as the two beautiful faces drew closer and closer. Her heart pounded and her mouth hung open in disbelief. Suddenly, she heard someone unlocking the door—it must be her grandma coming back from a walk. She glanced at the TV, where the two faces still hadn’t separated, and saw that Tina Young beside her was already so scared her hair was standing on end. The two of them quickly stood up and searched for the remote, then grabbed it and pressed a random button, switching the screen to the provincial news.

She didn’t know which provincial leader was inspecting the grassroots, but he walked through vegetable greenhouses, pigsties, and biogas pits, welcomed by crowds on both sides… “Why are you two standing in the living room? Watching the news? Is the cartoon over already?” Grandma stared in surprise at Zoe Young and Tina Young, who were clutching the remote tightly to their chests.

During dinner, even the usually talkative Tina Young was especially quiet. When Zoe Young occasionally looked up, their eyes would meet, and both would immediately blush and look away.

They had no idea what they were feeling awkward about. After dinner, Zoe Young lay on her desk in a daze. She had already finished her homework at school, so she fiddled with the pull cord of her desk lamp, on, off, on, off, pulling it over and over. Her mind was a mess, but she wasn’t upset.

For some reason, she dragged the tin box out from under her bed, brushed off the dust, pried open the lid, and started sorting through the things inside one by one.

The already crowded tin box was stuffed full of memories. Zoe Young suddenly felt very empty inside, a kind of emptiness that could no longer be filled by the Duke or Sweetie. Growing up had opened a hole in her heart, and it seemed like she was missing something—something even Claire Daniels had. So she lowered her head to search, dumping out the cookie tin and rummaging through everything, looking for something to fill the emptiness in her soul, or maybe, a person.

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4. That Woman’s Fate

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In the end, Zoe Young closed the tin box with a heavy heart. She had looked through all her childhood treasures, the notes, cards, and badges she’d collected on her way to school, and felt a warm glow inside, as if her chest was no longer so empty—until her eyes landed on that shriveled red balloon. Having hosted many performances, Zoe Young’s memory of her first “Story King” title was already a bit fuzzy, but whenever she recalled the surprise and delight she felt back then, she couldn’t help but smile wider and wider. The memory reached its peak when Andrew Lane handed her the red balloon, then quickly dropped, leaving a hint of bitterness.

Zoe Young pulled herself together and quickly put all the scattered things back into the tin box. In the end, she still hadn’t found it—in fact, what she was looking for was just the same expression that appeared on the faces of Claire Daniels, Emily Xavier, and the others.

That expression came from deep within, mysterious and unfathomable, and no matter how hard she tried, Zoe Young couldn’t imitate it. She opened the door to her room, planning to get a glass of water from the living room, but as soon as she stepped in, she saw Tina Young hurriedly bending over, clutching something tightly to her chest, shielding it with her hands. “What… what are you doing?” “Looking for scissors.”

“Did you find them?” “Found them.”

“…It’s dangerous to hold scissors to your chest like that…” “None of your business!” Tina Young bared her teeth; if she were a cat, her fur would definitely be standing on end. Zoe Young tilted her head and caught sight of the light blue wrapping paper with white stars and the dark blue ribbon on the coffee table. “Are you wrapping something?”

“None of your business!” “…Can’t you say anything else?” “None of your business!”

Zoe Young shook her head helplessly and left the living room. Back in her room, she remembered—she’d forgotten to get water.

Oh well, she’d just have to bear it.

At 5:15 in the morning, Zoe Young was dragged out of bed by her mother.

Today was the day of the official performance. At 10 a.m., there would be a “Provincial Youth League Anniversary and Commendation Ceremony” at the city government square, but they had to gather at school by 6:30. Claire Daniels and the others were taken by the teacher to the team office to change into performance costumes and put on makeup, while the flower and band teams went to the storeroom to get their bouquets and instruments. At 7:30, everyone squeezed onto the buses—three big buses packed with elementary school students heading to the city government square.

Zoe Young and Fiona James were much better off; they could wear clothes of their own choosing and didn’t have to put on scary stage makeup. Claire Daniels and the other three weren’t so lucky—Claire Daniels refused to look in the mirror, because she knew it didn’t matter whether she looked or not, the disastrous effect couldn’t be changed.