Kelly’s gaze slowly swept across everything before her.
Walls interwoven with cream white and oak brown, a wide blackboard, rows of neatly arranged oak desks, and textbooks piled ssily on top of them.
This place... was a classroom?
"Class is over, Kelly."
The girl sitting beside her spoke in a relaxed tone.
Kelly turned her head and glanced at her deskmate, then nodded silently.
However, questions churned in her mind.
Where is this?
Why have I appeared here?
What surprised her even more was that her mories had not disappeared!
Not only that, all kinds of common knowledge about this world, as well as the faces of her "family," had suddenly appeared in her mind out of nowhere...
What exactly did all of this an?
Kelly silently pressed all her doubts deep into her heart.
...
Public Carriage No. 666 ca to a steady stop at the station.
The students lined up and dropped copper coins into the carriage box one after another.
Kelly was still sowhat dazed.
The common knowledge and mories of "family" that had inexplicably surfaced in her mind made her feel faintly uneasy.
In a trance, she moved forward with the crowd, just like she had done countless tis in her "mories."
At that mont, near the entrance of the carriage, the coachman suddenly shouted impatiently at a boy in front of him.
"In the na of the Seven Saints, hurry up and pay! Don’t hold up everyone behind you!"
"I... I’m terribly sorry."
The boy frantically searched through all his pockets, his expression growing more and more embarrassed.
"I... I forgot to bring money."
"Idiot! Why are you taking the carriage without money? Get down!"
The coachman waved his hand irritably.
The students lined up behind the boy also began shouting all at once.
"Daniel, hurry up and get down. Stop blocking our way!"
"Exactly! Hurry up and leave!"
"Don’t waste our ti. My mom made mushroom cream soup tonight, and I’m already starving!"
The noisy complaints made Kelly frown.
Her gaze passed over the crowd and landed on the boy being driven away.
The boy nad Daniel lowered his head and awkwardly stepped down from the carriage, his ears red as though they had been burned by fire.
Without saying a word, he walked along the street, not daring to turn back.
Kelly’s gaze fell on his retreating back...
Buzz—!!!
It was like lightning splitting open the silent night sky.
A thunderclap exploded deep within her soul.
Kelly trembled all over. The figure of that boy walking farther and farther away was reflected in her pupils, and for a long ti, she could not look away.
That person...
Why does he look exactly like Brother Faustus?
"He is practically the sa person."
"Please wait!"
Kelly suddenly spoke, urgency in her voice.
She could no longer suppress the emotions surging in her chest. Ignoring the gazes of the students around her, she quickly chased after him.
Daniel turned around blankly, her reflection appearing in his clear eyes.
Kelly walked up to him. A faint, unknown floral fragrance brushed past his nose.
"This classmate, I happen to have so spare money on . I can lend it to you first."
Kelly took several copper coins out of her pocket and stared deeply into Daniel’s eyes, as though she wanted to look into the depths of his soul.
"You can pay back later."
Warmth rose in Daniel’s heart. His throat bobbed slightly as he accepted the coins that still carried the warmth of her body.
"Thank you."
He raised his head and said seriously,
"My na is Daniel. I’m a third-year high school student. I’ll definitely pay this money back."
"My na is Kelly."
She smiled faintly. Her smile was gentle and bright.
"What a coincidence. I’m also in my third year."
...
Kelly returned to the place called "ho."
In this world, "she" had only one relative—
Her maternal grandmother.
Her grandmother was already over seventy years old, with silver hair and hands covered in calluses.
She relied on collecting waste and a ager relief fund to support Kelly’s schooling.
And Kelly, in this world, also did whatever she could to ease her grandmother’s burden.
Every day after school, she would go to a restaurant run by their neighbor to do odd jobs and wash dishes. Her hands were often soaked until they turned pale.
...
At school, during lunch break.
Growl...
Daniel’s stomach cried out helplessly, sounding especially clear in the quiet classroom.
"I’ve been getting hungry faster and faster lately."
He endured the hunger in his stomach, his fingers gripping his pen tightly.
He was at an age when his body was growing, so he needed to eat more.
In the past, he could barely make it through the day with only breakfast and dinner. But now, that was no longer enough.
The afternoon was far too long. Every minute felt as though it had been stretched ten tis over.
"Only studying can change the fate of poverty..."
He bit down hard on his lower lip. The taste of blood was salty and bitter.
"I don’t want to live in the dust forever. I want to rise above this."
Daniel was an orphan.
Just being able to attend high school had already taken everything he had.
But in his heart, an undying fla had always burned.
Suddenly, a familiar floral scent drifted into his nose.
It was Kelly’s scent.
"Daniel."
Kelly’s voice sounded beside his ear, pleasant like wind chis.
"I brought a little too much lunch today, and I can’t finish it alone. Could you help eat so? It would be such a waste otherwise."
Kelly had deliberately asked around about Daniel’s situation and learned that he was an orphan, and that his life was even harder than hers.
Before Daniel could nod, she had already opened the lunchbox.
It was part of the paynt she had received from the restaurant where she worked. She had been reluctant to eat it herself and had carefully brought it to school.
"Bread, milk, and a chicken drumstick."
The rich fragrance drifting out of the lunchbox made Daniel, who was already unbearably hungry, swallow repeatedly.
"Thank you, Kelly."
He accepted the lunchbox, and warmth once again surged through his heart.
Under Kelly’s deliberate approach, Daniel gradually ca to like her.
School life had originally been a tunnel with no end in sight.
But in their eyes, that period of ti was so brief it seed to pass in the blink of an eye.
Their weary youth passed in an instant.
...
By the riverside, the river stretched endlessly, and the setting sun dyed the water golden.
Daniel held Kelly’s hand as they walked in the river breeze. The gravel beneath their feet made soft, crisp sounds.
"I’m leaving tomorrow to work in Nurentin, Kelly."
He watched the river water wash over the backs of his feet, the cool sensation bringing a mont of comfort.
"Once I save enough tuition, I’ll be able to go directly to Nurentin University."
He paused, then turned his head to look at her.
"Kelly, Starlight University has already accepted you. When are you going?"
Kelly smiled and shook her head, her eyes filled with determination.
"The place I want to go isn’t Starlight."
"Oh? Where do you want to go?"
"Nurentin."
She lowered her head shyly, the tips of her ears turning slightly red.
"I want to go where you are!"
Daniel froze for a mont, then suddenly asked,
"Then what about Starlight..."
"I don’t want to go to university anymore. My grandmother is old. I need to earn money to support her and myself."
Kelly’s tone was calm, as though she were speaking of sothing insignificant.
"I also applied to Nurentin University, but..."
She suddenly laughed softly and lifted her head to look at him.
"You have to study properly, understood?"
"Mm."
Daniel blinked, and a smile rose at the corner of his mouth.
"After I graduate from university, let’s get married!"
Kelly’s eyes suddenly lit up, like fireworks blooming in the night sky.
"Who said I’m going to marry you?"
She turned her face away, pretending to look toward the distant river. But her voice was as soft as a mosquito’s buzz.
"What kind of beautiful dream are you having?"
...
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