Chapter 8 : The Beginning

Three years ago...

In their first year, Timothy noticed Andrea among all his admirers, thanks to Qilin. His once quiet and indifferent friend suddenly became fidgety in the presence of this seemingly ordinary girl.

Later, he discovered that this ordinary girl was anything but ordinary. She stood up to senior bullies on her first day of school, a scene witnessed by only a few, including Qilin, who even managed to record the event.

"It's rare to see you interested in a girl. Do you know her?" Timothy asked as he watched the video on Qilin's phone.

He wondered if the girl on the screen intrigued Qilin because she was rarely violent, unlike other girls they knew. Not receiving an immediate response from Qilin, Timothy raised his gaze.

"Do you actually know her? When did you guys meet?" he pressed on.

"We met a long time ago. I almost didn't recognize her. But she might not remember me...," Qilin sighed.

"How did you two end up knowing each other?"

"We didn't. I didn't even know her name. But... she seems like she's on the Taekwondo, Boxing, or some other sports team. Should I give it a shot?" Qilin glanced at the school's pamphlet. He had never been a sports enthusiast, but he exercised regularly, so it should be manageable.

"But didn't you say you needed to learn to cook? There's an extracurricular for home economics here. You have no time for girls right now. Plus, you know that the girls' and boys' sports clubs are separate, right?" Timothy instinctively wanted Qilin and that girl to remain strangers.

"Uhm..., yeah," Qilin answered, his tone tinged with dejection.

Timothy let his guard down after noticing Qilin was occupied with his new activities. Despite appearing idle most of the time, Qilin was actually the busiest among their group. He attended several courses outside of school and only had free time, ironically, during school hours, where he would play games or watch movies. If Qilin could focus on his studies, he would surely rank in the top three.

In their second year, classes XI-A and XI-B were merged for the exercise class, where they played soccer. Naturally, Andrea stood out with her clumsy yet powerful kicking technique, creating a wonderful and amusing combination. She remained the best among all the female students that even clumsier than her.

"As expected of the captain...," Qilin murmured to himself, watching the girl's match.

Timothy heard that, sending a jolt of thunder through his brain. How did Qilin know? Was he still interested in that girl? He had thought Qilin's interest would be fleeting, but evidently not. It had been more than a year.

"Whooaaa...!" the boys cheered as Andrea scored a goal.

Timothy looked up and met her gaze. Caught off guard, she quickly looked away, feeling embarrassed.

She liked him. Unlike any other girl, she kept her distance and sometimes stole glances at him when no one noticed.

Timothy felt conflicted. Seeing Qilin admires a girl with noticeably longing eyes upset him. And this girl didn't even glance at Qilin, mirroring how Qilin wouldn't look at Timothy.

Timothy realized that he was... different. He had liked Qilin for a long time. Qilin was... his first crush, so he wasn't sure if he really liked a "Boy" or just liked "Qilin". The boy he liked was more beautiful than any girls around him, so who knows?

People often judge based on appearances, shallow as it may be, but that's how the world works. However, Timothy was well aware that the rumors about Qilin were untrue. Qilin himself didn't care about his surroundings, so they were hesitant to correct the misunderstanding for fear of making it worse. Timothy and his friends chose not to say anything to others and avoided asking Qilin about it. As long as he remained unaffected, all was well.

Timothy could never bring himself to confess. He didn't want to risk their friendship. He hoped that as time passed, his feelings would fade away. Perhaps someday, he could develop feelings for someone else, whether it be a boy or a girl.

However, he also didn't want to witness this. Not this time around.

This day would eventually come, but Timothy never imagined it would happen during their high school years. He wasn't prepared.

If he couldn't have feelings for the boy, then he shouldn't have feelings for anyone else. If he couldn't be with him, then he shouldn't let anyone else have him.

Timothy knew he was being rather childish.

That afternoon, Timothy talked to Andrea for the first time. She had just changed her uniform. She looked at Timothy dazedly, shocked that her crush was waiting for her.

"You are Andrea Lu?"

"Ah? Yes... Yes, I am Andrea Lu. D-do you need something?"

"Actually, I wanted to learn self-defense. Can you teach me? Oh, sorry. I am from class A, Timothy Xu," he introduced himself.

"I know you, but... How do you know my name?"

"You are the captain, why wouldn't I know your name? And... Actually, we met at the captain's meeting for the sports festival last year. At the time, I was the vice-captain. I was amazed that someone my age could be a captain in their first year," he praised cheerfully.

Andrea smiled shyly.

That was the beginning of their relationship. Timothy genuinely learned Taekwondo from Andrea for a few months. Of course, Qilin was aware of them.

"Qilin... Can I talk to you?" Timothy asked when Legi and Rick were not around.

"Yeah. Sure," Qilin seemed calm.

"Andrea confessed to me," Timothy lied.

Qilin's eyes shook noticeably, but his face didn't show any change. "And then?"

"I... don't know. I am still thinking about it." Timothy could almost hear the imaginary sound of both their hearts cracking.

"If you like her, why not? Well, it's your life. As long as you're happy," Qilin said, though his hands were clenched tightly, unbeknownst to him.

"Mm, thanks," Timothy replied, feeling stinging stabs in his heart.

He wondered why it felt so painful, even though he was the one lying.

That day, impulsively, Timothy confessed to Andrea. They only met for practice, never less and never more. Timothy was friendly to all people, so Andrea was satisfied enough being his teacher for an hour a week. She never dreamed of more than this. Of course, she was shocked by the sudden confession.

Seeing her amazed face, Timothy felt that despite her appearance, she was still very much a girl on the inside.