The following day at noon, Lin Lu finished her morning magical girl idol training and headed to her regular school classes, stepping into the classroom just as the bell rang.
Su Tang was already waving at her from her seat, “Little Lu, Little Lu! Over here!”
Lin Lu walked over and sat down beside her.
“Why are you cutting it so close again?” Su Tang whispered, “Aren’t you afraid of being late if something happens?”
“What could possibly happen?” Lin Lu yawned.
She still hadn’t caught up on her sleep from her midday nap.
“You look exhausted.” Su Tang leaned in and asked, “What were you doing this morning?”
“Nothing, I just… didn’t sleep well.”
“Oh… alright.”
Lin Shuiyue turned around from the front row, glanced at her, and then looked back without saying a word.
Chen Xingye was slumped over her desk, fast asleep.
It was classic Chen Xingye — sleeping before the class had even started.
The first class was vocal theory.
The teacher lectured on the principles of vocalization, but Lin Lu found it all very confusing.
She eventually just took out her phone to scroll through videos.
After coming across a funny video from a snack brand’s official account, Lin Lu left a comment.
[Chiyoyuki: I’m a student. Give it to me for free, or I’ll command Hoshino Hikari to split into three paths and bomb your headquarters (doge)]
The comment section immediately blew up: [???]
[One person splitting into three paths? That’s interesting…]
[That’s fucking dismemberment!]
[Holy crap! Why didn’t you say so earlier!]
The official account even played along, replying with several shocked emojis.
Lin Lu smiled.
Messing with people online was always entertaining.
***
The second class ended.
“I’m going to buy a bottle of water. Do you guys want anything? I can grab it for you,” Lin Lu asked as she stood up and stretched.
“Yes, please! Little Lu, grab me a bottle of orange juice!” Su Tang shouted immediately.
“I’m fine, thank you,” Lin Shuiyue said, shaking her head.
As for Chen Xingye… she was still drooling in her sleep.
Lin Lu nodded and headed out to the vending machine.
People were coming and going in the hallway, and many recognized her.
After all, Lin Lu’s beauty was hard to ignore, and even if they didn’t know her name, her shock of silver hair was enough to grab anyone’s attention.
There were even people on the school forums who had voted Lin Lu onto the School Beauty List, though she was currently unaware of it.
“Student Lin Lu! Morning!”
“Morning.”
She nodded politely and hurried past.
Since transferring to the Music Department, she had grown accustomed to being the center of attention.
After buying the water, she slowly made her way back.
Passing by the stairwell, she heard voices whispering.
“Did you put it in?”
“Yeah, yeah, I stuffed it right in her drawer.”
“You don’t think she’ll just throw it away, do you?”
“I hope not… I spent three nights writing that…”
Lin Lu didn’t think much of it, simply shaking her head with a sigh.
‘Sigh… youth…’
She picked up her pace and returned to the classroom.
Su Tang was nowhere to be seen, so she placed the orange juice on her friend’s desk.
‘Where is she? Did she go to the bathroom?’
Lin Lu looked around, but seeing no sign of Su Tang, she let it go.
She took a sip of her water and went to put the bottle in her drawer…
‘Huh? What’s this?’
Lin Lu’s hand froze as she felt something extra inside.
She leaned down to look…
A pale pink envelope.
There was no name and no stamp, just a small heart-shaped sticker sealing it shut.
Lin Lu froze, ‘No way…’
She slowly pulled the envelope out and turned it over.
Only one line was written on the front: “To Student Lin Lu”
The handwriting was neat, each stroke written with such care that it looked like it had been practiced many times.
Lin Lu stared at the envelope, her mind going blank.
‘A love letter? Is this… a love letter?’
She had lived for 20 years and had never received a single love letter.
Not when she was a boy, and now that she had become a girl —
She actually received one?
“Little Lu? What’s wrong?”
Su Tang had just returned from the bathroom.
When she leaned in and saw the envelope in Lin Lu’s hand, her eyes instantly lit up.
“Wow! What’s this, what’s this?! Is it a love letter?!”
Her voice wasn’t quiet, and several students in the front rows turned around.
Lin Lu hurriedly stuffed the envelope back into her drawer and clamped her hand over Su Tang’s mouth, glaring at her in annoyance.
“Keep your voice down!”
Su Tang, her mouth muffled by Lin Lu’s hand, made a few muffled noises and nodded quickly.
“Who wrote it? Who wrote it?” Su Tang asked, her eyes gleaming with the scent of gossip.
“Open it and look!”
“I’m not looking.” Lin Lu closed the drawer.
“This kind of thing… I should just throw it away.”
“Throw it away?!” Su Tang’s eyes widened.
“That’s someone’s sincere feelings! You won’t even look at it?”
Lin Lu fell silent for a moment.
She really didn’t want to read it.
Not because she was cold-hearted, but because — she didn’t know how to handle it.
Even though her gender had changed, her orientation hadn’t.
How could she possibly accept… a confession from a boy?
“Little Lu?” Su Tang’s voice pulled her back to reality.
“What are you thinking about? Are you okay? Hehe — it’s fine. It’s totally normal for someone with your looks to get a confession.”
“I’m fine,” Lin Lu said, shaking her head, “I’m just a bit surprised.”
Su Tang stared at her for a few seconds, then leaned in close and lowered her voice, “Have you really never received a love letter before?”
Lin Lu nodded helplessly.
“No wonder.” Su Tang had a look of ‘I get it’ on her face.
“It’s your first time, so you’re nervous, right?”
“…Something like that.”
“It’s fine, you can just take a look.” Su Tang squeezed her hand.
“At least see what they wrote, then you can just reject them in person.”
Lin Lu looked at her, then back at the pink envelope in the drawer.
Su Tang had a point.
Reading it and then rejecting the person face-to-face might prevent more trouble in the future.
Lin Lu took out the envelope and opened it.
The letter inside was also pale pink and folded neatly.
The handwriting was very tidy, clearly written with great effort.
[Student Lin Lu:
Hello.
You probably don’t know me yet, but I’ve been watching you for a long time.
I’ve noticed you since the very first day you transferred to the Music Department.
I know this letter might be sudden, but I still wanted to tell you — I like you.
If you’re willing, I’ll be waiting for you on the Teaching Building Rooftop after school today.
No matter what your answer is, I want to tell you in person.
— Someone who has always been watching you]
Su Tang was practically vibrating with curiosity beside her.
“What did it say? What did it say?”
Lin Lu folded the paper and put it back in the envelope.
“Nothing much,” she said.
“Just a confession.”
“Oh…” Su Tang thought for a moment and asked, “So, are you going to say yes?”
“No.”
“Aww,” Su Tang teased, “Rejecting them so decisively?”
Lin Lu gave Su Tang a light flick on the forehead.
“I don’t even know who they are, why would I say yes? Do I look like someone that easy?”
Su Tang yelped in pain, clutching her forehead and pouting.
“Fine, fine. Mean Little Lu, bullying the adorable Lady Su Tang. What if you make me even stupider?”
Lin Lu rolled her eyes at her.
“Enough, stop acting pitiful. Class is starting.”
As the teacher walked into the room, Lin Lu nudged her.
‘Sigh, seriously. I have to go to the rooftop after class to meet this person… I wonder if they’ll keep bothering me after I reject them…’
While she thought, Lin Lu glanced at Su Tang, considering whether she should bring her friends along.
She quickly dismissed the idea.
If she brought them, Lin Shuiyue might be fine, but Su Tang and Chen Xingye would definitely just be there for the drama.
There was no telling what kind of chaos they would cause.
‘Tsk… what a pain.’