'' To be Liu Zhiyu was to be patient.
But he had been patient enough. ''
Can't change the weather, might not be forever
But if it's forever, it's even better
-BILLIE EILISH, BIRDS OF A FEATHER
He is okay with being unloved.
They refuse to accept...
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When the following morning rolled around, Zhiyu was so fanatic over his first day of school that his memory of the boy at the music shop was nothing more than a ghost in his mind. How could he possibly dwell on the past when the present was so wonderful? He had a whole academy full of people to befriend, and the prospects were simply too overwhelming for him to hang on to one single interaction from the day before.
Overly eager and overly anxious, he took care to leave the house early in an effort to ensure he wouldn't be late, practically skipping the whole way there. Cars and other pedestrians passed by him, some students and others not. But regardless, Zhiyu was never completely alone on his walk, and that circumstance brought him a bit of comfort on this nerve wracking day. It felt like he was one of them, like he belonged here. And the knowledge of such kept a smile on his face throughout the entire journey.
The closer he got, the more people dressed in the academy uniform he saw. And when he finally permeated the school's wrought iron gates, he was met with a sea of indistinguishable figures wearing navy blazers, white sweater vests, and striped ties. Some donned beige skirts while others wore slacks of the same color, but otherwise, everyone looked identical, and Zhiyu had no problem merging with the crowds as he made his way into the building.
Being inside was a different story, however. Everyone was clustered in their own groups, overjoyed to be reunited for another year to come. Navigating the halls, he was a lone figure in the sea of predetermined cliques, and multiple pairs of eyes gave him wayward glances as he passed. The scattered attention was honestly making him a bit uneasy, but he managed to remain composed as he moved through the halls.
They're probably just staring because they haven't seen me around before. I shouldn't be worried. Maybe someone will even be friendly enough to approach me!
Or maybe they're staring because they already know you are nothing compared to Hanhua.
Zhiyu quickly shooed the familiar paranoia out of his mind. This was supposed to be a fresh start, a chance for him to be his own person. Everything was going to be absolutely fine, and he refused to let anything, including himself, ruin this golden opportunity.
Stay positive! It will all work out, I promise.
The hallways grew more and more packed as he delved deeper into the school, and Zhiyu practically had to wrestle his way through the crowds in order to reach his first period drama class on time. Exhausted from the suffocating atmosphere and overwhelmed by the unfamiliar environment, he allowed himself to slip up far too soon. Right as he managed to break out of the thickest portion of the congregation, he stumbled around a corner and slammed straight into a stranger. It was an intense collision, and he definitely would have fallen backwards if a foreign hand hadn't reached out to support him by the small of his back, stabilizing his balance. His own arms moved automatically, fingers meeting the soft fabric of a sweater, pressing into what felt like the collarbone of whomever he'd bumped into.
