Chapter 58 Yesterday’s Phantom (I)

The diary is turning back.

【XNUM X Year X NUM X Month X NUM X Day】

[After thinking it over, I decided to write down what I want to say as a diary. Although I am not a serious person, when I am lonely sometimes, I always have something to say to myself. ]

[Today is the first day of school. I am already in the second grade. It is strange to say that even I don’t know why I have to waste time in elementary school. The past year was as boring as I thought. There is nothing worth recording.]

[When I graduated from the first grade, I cursed myself for being stupid countless times, but after receiving the notice for the start of the second grade, I still rushed over on time. ]

[Why? Am I too weak to bear the loneliness of being alone, or is it that my seven-year-old body has restrained me? ]

[I don’t know. But I know, and I don’t mind it.]

[Humans...are meant to live in groups. 】

Human...?

Conan stared at these two familiar words in a daze.

In his final farewell conversation with Su Beixun, he could clearly sense that the other person considered himself superior to others and looked down on them... He didn't expect to see such a tone in his diary.

[Today, the opening ceremony is held in the auditorium. All students and parents will attend. But my class teacher who just graduated told me that if I don’t want to come, I can stay in the classroom alone.]

[I know she’s afraid that I’ll see other people’s happy families and be reminded of my past.]

[As a young teacher who has just entered the society, she still has enough seriousness to treat every student in the class. But I rejected her. To be honest, I didn’t have any feelings about it.]

[I used to be angry and not contact my family, but now I don’t care about family at all. A lot of things have changed in the past two years.]

As an actress, Yukiko Kudo is the most empathetic of the four.

The papers rustled as she slowly immersed herself in the old days...

##
The auditorium of Tianshan Primary School is on the top floor of the restaurant. It is used only a few times a year, once at the beginning of the school year, once at graduation, or when the school wins an award of sufficient importance.

The auditorium consists of walls painted pink and white, fixed blue plastic chairs, and a mahogany stage in the front.

People come and go.

Su Beixun did not go to the class gathering place, but sat alone on the side of the last row.

——It’s boring to stay in the classroom, so why not come here to join in the fun? The opening ceremony program is also a good entertainment.

That's what he thought.

He rested his arms on the armrests, his legs dangling in the air, looking sleepy.

"S-sorry, can I sit here?"

Su Beixun, with his mind empty, turned his head to the side. The little fat boy in blue clothes was standing next to him with a reserved look on his face.

"random."

The little fat boy stood on tiptoe and tried hard to climb onto the chair.

Then he looked at Su Beixun's profile and said in a very low voice: "Hello, my name is Bai Chuanren, and I'm a freshman."

you?
Su Beixun looked at Bai Chuanren strangely. For a six-year-old kid, his tone was really too polite.

But what does this have to do with him?
Su Beixun sneered: "Su Beixun, second grade."

Hearing the response, the little fat boy seemed to be encouraged. He clenched his fist and asked, "Are you here alone too?"

Su Beixun nodded, stared at his hopeful eyes, and suddenly smiled: "I see, you saw that I was alone like you, so you came to find the same kind? Or do you want to find comfort for yourself through comparison?"

"...Yes, I'm sorry!"

The little fat boy apologized loudly. He sensed danger from the smile of the person next to him. His face turned pale immediately, and he lowered his head and shrank back like a round ball.

Su Beixun was speechless.

He was just a kid, he was overreacting.

"Are your parents okay?"

"Well, they are... very busy..."

The fat boy muttered quietly.

"Since you don't want to come, just go back to the classroom."

He felt a little aggrieved: "The teacher wouldn't let me go back, saying that no one was watching and he didn't want to take responsibility if something happened."

It's normal. Su Beixun yawned, turned his head and said nothing more.

##
On the wrinkled paper, there was a line of blue notes written at the bottom, as if they were added later.

【This is the starting point of my acquaintance with Bai Chuanren. 】

[In fact, I never felt that I was his friend, because I was unwilling to do anything troublesome for him, and I did not save him from suffering. ]

[But I don’t know since when, he began to slowly follow me, and I didn’t refuse him to stay by my side…]

[There are some things I don't want to admit, but it's the truth - I see the shadow of the past in him, the loneliness and timidity in facing a strange world.]

"What's the point of this?"

Conan kept turning the pages: "It's just the worries of a child's childhood! The really important content is probably in the back!"

Boom!
Kudo Yukiko made a pagoda-shaped bump on his head: "You are so impatient, what if you miss some important information?"

"and……"

She stared at the diary: "The budding friendship between the two children is very interesting!"

【XNUM X Year X NUM X Month X NUM X Day】

【It rained heavily today. 】

[The sky is gray, there is no sun, and the moist air smells fresh and pleasant.]

【After lunch, everyone went back to the dormitory to rest. I sneaked out after the dormitory inspection was completed, looking at the empty school, enjoying the alternative freedom.】

[The rain has basically stopped, with only thin strands of hair being blown by the wind.]

【I climbed up to the rooftop, wanting to see the scenery in the distance. 】

##
"what are you doing here?"

Su Beixun pushed open the iron gate and saw a little fat boy curled up next to the rooftop, with his head lowered as if crying.

Hearing someone talking, Bai Chuanren quickly wiped his face with the hem of his clothes and tried to speak calmly: "No... I didn't do anything, I... I just came here to take a look."

But his eyes were red and his words had a tearful tone.

Su Beixun glanced at him.

The school uniform required by the school was torn into pieces by a knife and thrown on the ground. He was wearing a thin short-sleeved shirt underneath. The exposed skin was blue and there were dot-shaped wounds that were bleeding - was it caused by a pen tip?

Pretty standard school violence.

Influenced by gang culture, such incidents are common in Japan. Coupled with the current social and economic depression and the collapse of order, a lot of maliciousness has emerged.

Su Beixun had no intention of meddling in other people's business, he just felt sorry for losing the good place for viewing from afar.

He turned and left, and a tentative plea came from behind him: "Um, can you lend me some clothes?"

"why?"

"I...I don't dare to go on like this. If the teacher sees me, I will be punished by having my name copied down."

As Bai Chuanren spoke, he looked like he was about to cry again.

From his intermittent explanation, Su Beixun understood his thoughts.

This is not the first time he has been bullied.

A few days ago, because of the news that the school was about to lay off staff, some teachers were panicked. How could they have the energy to deal with the "fighting" between students? They gave each of them 50 lashes, which was fair.

For the perpetrators, the teacher's actions undoubtedly taught them that bullying others only requires them to write their names as punishment afterwards. They may even let go of their fears and become even more aggressive.

But for the victim, if the teacher finds out about the injury, he or she will undoubtedly receive another punishment at the same time as being hurt.

Su Beixun yawned and showed no intention of helping at all.

He left straight away and went back to the dormitory to catch up on his nap today.

later……

He heard that Bai Chuanren had been hiding on the rooftop and was not found until the evening. He caught a cold and had a high fever when he was discovered.

Stupid fool!
Su Beixun commented like this.

(End of this chapter)