There was someone on the roof of the train.
Huai Shi sensed the unusual echo from the train's faint vibrations—the stealthy, light footsteps. The skill was indeed flawless, admirable, almost as delicate as falling leaves.
But here lay the greatest flaw.
Since when do falling leaves move like a person, creeping and crawling, especially on the roof of a Shinkansen picking up speed? It must be some kind of train fanatic. This level of skill probably wasn't even up to par with the trial class at Orchard Gym.
After a glance, Huai Shi lost interest and looked away.
Then, he felt the teenage girl sitting opposite tense up and start to glance over, subtly yet deliberately. She was trying not to draw attention while watching Huai Shi.
A poor attempt at spying.
Incomprehensible.
However, to the girl sitting opposite, things didn't seem that simple.
The moment Huai Shi looked up and then promptly looked away, her heart skipped a beat, and she froze.
Ah, it seemed like the strange older sister had just rolled her eyes at me... What's going on? Did I do something rude? Did I make a mistake?
Sitting in her seat, her heart was in turmoil, and she felt an inexplicable panic. Could it be because I didn't take a shower? No, that can't be right, I showered before leaving the house!
With this thought, she quickly sniffed her collar twice and took a deep breath. There was only the scent of laundry detergent. Her hair, hands, and body bore no strange stains or odors.
Could it be because I disturbed her by making a phone call? No, that's not it either. She hung up the phone as soon as she sat down and even apologized. Such a trivial matter, surely nobody would mind... right? Could it be—
A sudden flash crossed her mind, and she realized: Was it because my outfit was too unsophisticated? Is this the legendary regional discrimination?
Subconsciously, Zhenxi looked down at her own clothes.
A plaid coat bought online from Amazon, gloves that had pilled from long wear, a long skirt bought from the local shopping street and worn for many years, thick socks from a convenience store, tasteless trainers... and her long hair that was plainly styled without any design.
Then, she looked at the person opposite—
A dark blue down jacket perfectly accentuated a slim waist, jeans that wrapped around her long legs without any embellishment, a model-level figure that towered above all the ugly ducklings, a slim neck, and a pair of plain white canvas shoes.
Enormous sunglasses covered most of her beautiful face, and enviable long hair flowed down like a stream of black water beneath her knit hat.
The deliberately androgynous attire didn't reveal many feminine features, yet it possessed the unique, bewitching allure of a beautiful woman in masculine dress, exuding a deadly charm.
This is a terrifying level of charm, enough to captivate anyone, regardless of gender! And all the brands are unknown to me; they must all be expensive...
A country girl who had lived in the sticks all her life, a legitimate seventeen-year-old high school girl, in the prime of her JK years—Zhenxi was experiencing for the first time... a sense of superiority and disdain from a person from Kyoto!
People from Kyoto are too scary.
She curled up in her seat, shivering.
Incredibly, even though she had been given the cold shoulder by a stranger, she felt no anger.
It felt as if a swan had arrogantly passed by the ugly duckling with its head held high. There was no resentment; instead, she was drawn to the extraordinary beauty.
I want to get closer. To observe carefully, to get close to the big sister...
Just thinking about this beautiful woman sitting opposite her made Zhenxi's face burn. She summoned her courage to lift her eyes from her phone screen and look over again.
Then, she saw her lift her hand slightly and lower the sunglasses from her face; a pair of black pupils looked over, meeting Zhenxi's gaze.
"What are you looking at?" she seemed to ask.
"I-I'm sorry," Zhenxi stammered.
She stiffened for a moment and dared not look again.
But inside, I couldn't help feeling regret. I should have struck up a conversation... Even a simple introduction would have been fine, right? Would she have told me her name?
She could feel her heart pounding wildly in her chest.
THUMP-THUMP.
Panic set in.
Disbelief flooded her mind.
Her trembling fingers opened a web page and began a search to confirm her suspicion.
Soon, she was shocked to find out.
My heart's first flutter at seventeen... was for a woman? Is there something wrong with my psyche? Don't girls usually like boys? Or did I actually harbor deviant tendencies that even I hadn't noticed? Mom, save me...
In her panic, she suddenly stood up, ramrod straight, wanting to escape to the restroom for a bit.
But her tense body hadn't adapted to the train's acceleration, and she stumbled, falling forward.
There was no time for a scream.
Immediately after, she fell into a stranger's arms, feeling the softness of down feathers.
Someone had steadied her.
When she finally looked up, she saw a face close to hers, her eyes, and a faint scent... her mind went blank.
In the midst of her frantic heartbeat, she felt a pang of sorrow and regret.
Ah, even though she's such a perfect beauty, her figure is a bit...lacking...
"I-I'm sorry."