2 She Seems Anything But Studious.

Changmin stared at the young woman in the picture. It was a side view. Soft brown curls framed her face, the golden light of dusk on her face made it appear as if she was glowing. Her small button nose looked adorable to him for some reason. Her lips were curved into a sincere smile. Her eyes were in the shape of a crescent moon.

'I thought she could only glare with those eyes of hers. Guess she is also capable of not glaring with them.'

The picture was most likely cropped as her both hands were in front of her in a gesture that showed she was excitedly having a conversation with someone else when she was photographed.

Jiyanyu looked at his friend, who was immersed in his own world as his eyes seemed to gleam with a kind of excitement.

'That poor girl, she messed with the wrong person.'

"Hey, you're done staring?" He asked, unable to stay quiet anymore.

Changmin gave him a smile before returning the picture to him.

"Say, how did you get this photograph?" He asked.

His smile seemed warm. But being a close friend, Jiyanyu clearly knew this was just his way of 'politely' warning him not to lie.

"She is a close friend of my sister. They met each other in her coming of age ceremony hosted a few weeks back." He said.

Changmin arched his eyebrows, gesturing him to continue.

"They became friends somehow. And decided to take a picture as a token of farewell before joining different academies to continue their studies."

"She seems anything but studious." Changmin muttered under his breath.

—-------------------------------------------------

"Sister, I haven't let you down. After all these years of efforts, I finally am getting into the mysterious BrightStone Academy….I wish you were here. I wonder how your expressions would have been if I could show you the admission pass."

An Lanying almost stumbled as her legs felt numb from kneeling down for so long. She took out the chrysanthemum flowers from her side bag and put it near the memorial.

"Sister, see this is my admit pass. It's pretty, isn't it? Look, even my name is engraved on top of it."

She held the admission pass in front. Her knuckles were white, from subconsciously exerting too much pressure on the pass.

"I will come visit you another day, sister. It's late, rest well." She said, turning around. Her eyes were red and misty from holding in her tears.

It was a secluded place inside the forest. Only she and her mother were aware of this place's presence. She could indeed let her guard down here. However, she was unwilling to cry in front of her sister's memorial.

She used to get angry when she shed tears.

"Weeping in sorrow is for people who give up on themselves and the future. What right do you have to give up on yourself when so many people depend on you and are willing to put their trust in you? When you give up on yourself, you disappoint every single one of those who decided to teach you, nurture you and had their hopes up for you."

Indeed, her mother still looks forward to a bright future for them. Her master took her in and believed in her capabilities. Her sister and father wanted her to unleash her potential completely. She can't give up on them.

She clutched the hem of her dress as determination flashed in her eyes.

—-----------------------------------------------------

Yan Changmin casted his gaze away from the greenery as he spotted a familiar physique walking under the trees. She was wearing a hat and her face was covered with an embroidered white scarf.

Her pace was a little too slow. He felt a wave of impatience merely by watching her walk.

'She walks too slowly.' He put on his mask before jumping down a lane away from her.

He expected her to react immediately. Contrary to which, she walked at her previous pace without even looking at his direction.

She seemed to be distracted by something.

He waited for a few seconds more for her to notice him while he glanced at her outfit. She was dressed in a long black furry overcoat. It exuded an elegance despite not possessing any intricate details or designs.

"You seem to be in quite a hurry, huh?" A sarcastic voice made her look up.

"It's you?" She said immediately remembering his silhouette from that night. If not for him, she wouldn't have missed such an important clue.

"Oh, so you do remember me. Saves me some trouble I guess."

Lanying rolled her eyes at his smile.

'Is he smiling or trying to scare people?'

"I wonder, what trouble are you talking about?"

She asked back, frowning slightly.

"Young Miss, I was in a hurry that day. You made me late and I had to pay quite the price for that. Don't you think you owe me an apology?"

Lanying visibly rolled her eyes back hearing that.

'She owes him an apology? He sure has a shameless personality to be able to say this so righteously'