"What are these white things, spider silk?"

The discussions around brought Yukawa Maki back to her senses. She tried to organize her words, "Xiaoxia, why did you suddenly..."

"You seem like a different person. Are you trying out a new style?" Yukawa Maki nudged her shoe tip, her voice as light as a mosquito. "It's kind of cute."

Mori didn't hear Yukawa Maki clearly, nor did she care much. She had to find a way to shake off her brother's eyes and leave here as soon as possible.

"If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving first. Xiaoxu, could you please tell President Takuma at the Archery Club that I'm sick and need to go home to recuperate, so I won't be able to go today."

"Ah, this."

Before Yukawa Maki could finish her words, the girl leaned in close, held her hand, interlocked their fingers, her lively eyes blinked, "You wouldn't want to refuse me, would you, would you?"

Yukawa Maki's ears turned red, and she couldn't refuse anymore. She nodded slightly to agree.

"Then I'll leave it to you." Mori said with hands together. She then turned around and left the classroom, quickly running down the stairs, leaving Yukawa Maki standing there, spinning in a daze.

"Hey, hey, she's gone."

"Why are you standing there? Catch up!"

Noticing that Mori had disappeared from sight, the two who had been chatting and laughing in the corridor immediately reacted and sped up to follow, bumping into a strangely dressed woman along the way; despite the weather not being too cold, she was wrapped tightly in a long, thick down jacket, apologized quickly, not paying much attention.

At the school gate, the two boys looked around at the passing students, unable to catch sight of the dark red-haired girl.

Realizing that she had noticed them and shaken them off, they became frustrated. One of them noticed a glistening shine, patted his chest, seeing his hand covered in white thread-like material, he frowned: "What's this, a spider web...? Damn, there are bugs on it too, hurry and brush them off!"

The other joked, "You picked it up when passing by the storage room, didn't you? That place has been unsupervised for years. Chichu Heaven people are afraid of bugs, aren't you afraid people will laugh at you when they hear this."

"Damn, there's some on me too, it's crawling into my collar!"

The two patted each other, jumping and hopping, causing a commotion among the crowd, looking quite amusing from afar.

Mori watched this scene with satisfaction. Ha, they were indeed sent by her brother to watch her. Trying to follow her, they were a hundred years too early.

Leaving the school gate, she skateboarded through the long, shaded path, the rows of old-style standalone apartment buildings flew by in her peripheral vision. Dragonfly Town's streets weren't wide, some areas were fairly tidy, low walls covered in graffiti, kites tangled in utility poles, the aroma of ramen wafting from shops, and giant city walls hung in the distant sky.

In a relatively secluded forest area, a tram rumbled past right in front of her. Gravel laid under the tracks, weeds blown down by the wind whipped up by the tram. Mori stepped on her skateboard, put it away, whistled, gently kicked forward, flicking up stones from the ground.

"Mori, what a coincidence?"

It was then that Mori noticed someone beside her. It was Hajime, the history teacher for the entire grade.

The man's shiny bald head was conspicuous, his back slightly hunched, holding a stainless steel thermos cup, wearing a beige brown knit cardigan, plaid slacks, a loose belt, and shoes with worn round toes. He ranked within the top five in "middle-aged teacher stereotype attire."

"Yo, Sen Sai." Mori greeted enthusiastically.

The middle-aged man was introverted, always giving the impression of a hunched back and pigeon-toed walk, like a penguin. His plain appearance made him a laughingstock for many in the class.

However, Mori had quite a bit of respect for this history teacher. It was said that before transferring to Zhutai High School, he was a chemistry professor. Maybe it was because of her childhood interest in chemistry or because the previous history teacher was too strict.

She had caused him a lot of trouble on a daily basis.

Hajime slightly nodded without saying much else, leaving not much common ground between the two, the atmosphere slipping into an awkward silence.

"Teacher, did you change your glasses?" The waiting time by the tram gate was somewhat long, so Mori couldn't help but ask.

"The previous ones broke," Hajime replied.

"Oh, that senior who's always with you, he didn't show up today with you."

Hajime paused, took a sip from his cup, "He's sick, needs to rest at home."

"Is that so? That's unfortunate." Mori nodded.

"Mori, I read your time capsule. You said you were interested in chemistry?" Hajime suddenly asked.

"I suppose." Mori nodded.

"Have you seen the recent news?" Hajime slowly straightened his bent back, adjusted the frame glasses on his face.

"About Moon Sugar."

"Of course, I heard a lot of poisonous bugs have died in town, all suicides, and the scene was quite terrifying."

"Mori, don't associate with those guys..."

Seeing the middle-aged teacher was about to start a long lecture, Mori sighed, "So in Sen Sai's eyes, I'm already lumped together with those delinquents?"

"No matter what, I'm still an honor student of this school year..."

"Of course not, just a kind reminder." Hajime sipped his tea.

"Those people won't have a good ending, someone will come and deal with them."

The gate opened, and Mori watched the man walk away, limping, almost tripping over the tracks. Noticing he dropped his wallet, she moved forward to pick it up, just about to call out loudly when faintly someone behind her shouted her name.

Yukawa Maki jogged over, handed the bamboo basket to Mori, "Xiaoxia, I forgot to tell you just now, I made this bento following online instructions recently. There are two servings, could you please bring one to my mom?"

"She should still be working at the chemical plant at this time, and I can't leave the club..."

Yukawa Maki spoke hastily, panting, as if afraid that speaking quietly or slowly would make Mori unhappy.

In the sunlight, a fine layer of sweat covered Yukawa Maki, her usually untidy hair washed clean and tied into a thick braid, the eyes behind thick lenses were clear, and her freckles couldn't hide the earnest hope.

Mori, feeling a bit uneasy at the earnest gaze, said, "You don't have to be so careful, of course, I will agree, we're friends."

Yukawa Maki excitedly hugged her tightly, "Thank you, Xiaoxia."

"I thought you would be angry, I worried all the way, as I had never asked you before..."

"How did you know I was here?" Mori asked.

"Because I know you well, hehe, I have noted down all of Xiaoxia's hobbies, catchphrases, and favorite places." Yukawa Maki chuckled.

"Mom will be so happy to see my bento."

"Is Auntie really okay going back to work so soon, is her health not fully recovered?"

Yukawa Maki shook her head, saying,

"Mom is always like this, it's not easy to support the whole family."

"Anyway, thank you Xiaoxia, I'll head back now."

"And, Xiaoxia looked really cute earlier."

"What nonsense are you spouting?"

Only as the girl's words dispersed in the wind did Mori look down at the wallet in her hand, realizing she was in trouble. Trying to find the figure of the middle-aged man again, she found herself alone in the empty surroundings.

"I'll return the wallet to Sen Sai tomorrow."

Mori thought as she squatted by the railway edge eating her portion of the bento. While messily munching on a chicken leg, her peripheral vision caught the leather wallet she had placed on the ground opening, with a small sealed plastic bag poking out.

Curiosity drove Mori to pick it out and hold it up against the light.

The irregularly shaped sugar cubes refracted a myriad of colors in the sunlight, like fairy-tale beautiful, crystal-clear, vibrantly tinted deadly apples.

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