She first went to the convenience store to buy a bottle of water. Thomas Reed twisted off the cap and took a couple of sips. The drink, just taken from the freezer, sent a chill from her stomach all the way to her heart. She wandered aimlessly around the track, watching as the lights in the classroom windows of the teaching building gradually went out one by one, until only a few classrooms remained lit.

Their classroom was still lit as well, and a shadow by the window sat with head bowed. Thomas Reed looked twice before recognizing it was Henry Clark. She withdrew her gaze and headed toward the dormitory.

The dorm was lively, with people chatting and playing on their phones. Someone had just come out of the bathroom, ready to use the hairdryer.

“I’m going to shower first.” Seeing her come in, Grace Carter immediately ended the conversation and stood up, as if afraid she’d lose her spot.

Thomas Reed didn’t even lift her eyelids. She took another sip of water, sat on the top bunk, and closed her eyes amid the buzzing of the hairdryer.

The dorm lights went out at eleven. She went to shower at ten forty. To use hot water for showering, you had to swipe a card. She had just gotten her new campus card, a small blue card, and had loaded quite a bit of money onto it.

Just after she finished showering, Henry Clark finally returned. She put down her books and the test papers handed out today, then went into the bathroom to shower. Thomas Reed saw the change of clothes in her hand: an old crew-neck T-shirt and a pair of school uniform pants.

She didn’t pay much attention, but before lights out, she went to the bathroom again and found the floor and walls were all wet, with not a trace of warmth— even the shower rod was icy cold.

The top student— did she just shower with cold water?

The lights went out. Thomas Reed returned to her bed with her phone, and saw Henry Clark on the lower bunk lying facing the wall, her hair still wet, but she seemed to have already fallen asleep.

Lying on the unfamiliar bed, Thomas Reed suffered from insomnia again. It was around three in the morning before she finally put down her phone and drifted off to soothing music.

Chapter 2: Letter Paper

After a seat change, a boy named David Miller sat behind Thomas Reed. He was a typical problem student— always late, leaving early, skipping class, getting into fights, and ranking fourth from the bottom in grades. His hairstyle was constantly singled out by teachers for a trim, but no matter how many times he got it cut, it never seemed to change.

Previously, he and Thomas Reed were separated by a seat, but he would often swap seats with the person next to him just to talk to her. Now that he sat directly behind her, he would reach out to poke her with his pen, lean in to speak loudly by her ear, and when joking around with others, would deliberately bump into her.

Everyone around could see it— it was obvious David Miller had a thing for her. Thomas Reed noticed too, but she just found it annoying. Every time the people around them egged him on, she felt a wave of nausea rising from her cold stomach.

Once, when she went to the campus mini-mart, she ran into David Miller and his group of close friends playing basketball on the field. David Miller ran over to her with a smile and said, “Hey, Thomas Reed, going shopping? Bring me a bottle of water while you’re at it.”

Thomas Reed: “If you want water, go buy it yourself.”

“Our bro Yang doesn’t need the water, he needs someone to bring it to him!” one of the boys who had run over to David Miller laughed loudly, setting off laughter among the others. David Miller grinned, giving her a sidelong glance and slapped the ball in his hand, trying to look cool: “Front desk, help me out, will you?”

Did these boys not understand a girl’s rejection? Most of the time, Thomas Reed was irritable, and now she was especially so. She stared at them until they all stopped laughing, then said, “When I say I don’t want to, I really don’t want to. Do you think I’m joking?”

It wasn’t funny at all.

After that, Thomas Reed heard how those boys talked about her— they thought she was too proud and hard to approach, and urged David Miller to pick someone else. David Miller became a bit colder toward her, but still occasionally tried to tease her.

The other girls in the dorm would chat at night, but Thomas Reed usually didn’t join in. Most of the time, she wore headphones and listened to music. Sarah Cooper, the dorm leader, probably felt a bit guilty and would sometimes try to include her in the conversation. Thomas Reed would just respond casually, neither warmly nor coldly.

Grace Carter always deliberately ignored her, only chatting with the others and encouraging them to do the same. But that night, she suddenly asked during their chat, “Does David Miller like you? I heard William Turner and the others call you ‘sister-in-law’ behind your back. Are you two dating?”

Lying on her bed, Thomas Reed replied sarcastically with her eyes closed, “His family runs the civil affairs bureau. Whoever he wants to marry just has to marry him— the person involved doesn’t even need to know.”

“Pfft.” Sarah Cooper couldn’t help but laugh.

Grace Carter pressed on, “So you don’t like David Miller? He’s pretty good-looking. He’s been chasing you for so long and you’re not moved? Really?”

Thomas Reed honestly didn’t think David Miller was good-looking at all, but she picked up on something in Grace Carter’s tone. She opened her eyes and looked at her. “If you like him, go after him yourself. No need to ask me about it.”

Grace Carter’s expression changed. She threw her pillow down in a huff and snapped, “Who likes him? What nonsense are you talking about?”

Thomas Reed just snorted and couldn’t be bothered to respond.

The last class on Wednesday afternoon was PE. It had rained in the morning, but stopped by the afternoon. As soon as math class ended, everyone cheered and ran downstairs, eager for PE.

Their PE teacher was easygoing and didn’t really care what they did. Most of the time, class just meant running two laps, then being dismissed for free activity.