Chapter 02
Snowman
Aurora Academy Weather Today
Temperature: 6°C–10°C, light rain, southwest wind level 3, good air quality.
At 2:30 a.m., the school hospital welcomed its first “visitor” of the day. The motion-sensor lights flickered on with the sound of approaching footsteps, the chill creeping closer. Inside the reception desk, the little nurse who had dozed off from exhaustion shuddered all over and was forced awake. When he looked up, he saw the “snowman” near the glass door.
Lin Yan’s face was pale, his black hair dripping with water, his clothes soaked through. Most of the joints in his hands were curled up inside his sleeves, and the exposed fingertips were so pale that faint purplish-blue veins could almost be seen beneath the skin.
It was like a beautiful dream right before sudden death after several consecutive night shifts.
The little nurse thought blankly.
Noticing the light brown vest uniform on Lin Yan, concern hadn’t even left his mouth before he reflexively pressed the red emergency button.
Aurora Academy was the best high school in the Federation. Its students were exceptionally gifted and highly intelligent, but generally physically weak, leading to all sorts of strange injuries. The school hospital’s operating hours had long since expanded from eight hours to a full twenty-four.
The night-duty doctor, already used to this, changed into surgical attire.
The snowman, about to melt away, was lifted onto a stretcher.
The glaring lights flickered thirteen times before finally reaching the operating room. Just as the little nurse let out a sigh of relief, he heard a very soft voice.
“Sorry.”
The little nurse looked toward the source of the sound on the stretcher, only managing to catch sight of Lin Yan’s crow-feather-like long eyelashes.
A curved shadow lightly brushed across his cold, pale skin.
The little nurse’s heart skipped a beat. Before he could withdraw his outstretched hand, the doctor mercilessly shut him out of the operating room. Stunned, he slowly pulled his hand back, unable to stop recalling that faint voice.
So-rry.
Was he talking to me?
The school hospital was famous for its emergency and psychological treatment departments.
Recently, however, the therapist had resigned—the psychological treatment room was temporarily closed.
After two hours of emergency treatment, the snowman stopped melting. Intact and complete, he was pushed on a stretcher into a standard ward.
The attending physician hesitated as if wanting to say something, then stopped, then wanted to speak again. Finally, he let out a long breath and managed only: “Have a good rest.”
The anesthesia hadn’t completely worn off, and the pain was temporarily suppressed. Lin Yan barely held back his drowsiness; the warmth of the ward made his mind sluggish. He forced his eyelids open and nodded blankly.
The medical instructions were long and detailed, making Lin Yan even sleepier. Fortunately, the attending physician quickly realized that what Lin Yan needed now was rest, not vigilance over external injuries. After summarizing briefly, he left the ward first.
The doctors in white coats around Lin Yan’s bed slowed their steps, turning back repeatedly before finally leaving the room and gently turning off the lights.
The room suddenly fell into darkness. Exhausted, Lin Yan closed his eyes and let himself sink into deep sleep.
He had another dream.
The dream began with the reason the original owner was bullied.
Both the original owner and the main shou came from a small town called Weinamu.
The original owner had once been the child of a wealthy merchant. Relying on his family background, he bullied other classmates. Later, the merchant went bankrupt, fell into gambling, sold off all assets, and came to Aurora. His already unbalanced mentality collapsed further.
The original novel once described the original owner like this:
【Lin Yan always wore thick black-framed glasses, his body curled up, timid and shrinking. Whether from his worn, darkened clothes or his habit of keeping his head down, he had never shed the shabby air of a poor region—always looking like a foolish figure unfit for any stage.】
【Some nobles even joked that if Lin Yan were drenched in water, he might grow mushrooms in some dark corner. And this statement was agreed upon by most people.】
Life was full of entertainment, and the nobles naturally didn’t have time to bother with a gloomy “mushroom.” The original owner safely passed the first half of freshman year. But in the second half, his true nature was exposed.
In real life, the original owner rarely spoke and seemed too foolish to even remember grudges—a stereotypical honest person.
In reality, he liked to vent his emotions online under a disguise, indiscriminately insulting and resenting everyone at Aurora Academy.
—The nobles were arrogant idiots, the top students were self-righteous rats, the teachers were blindfolded Themis, and Aurora was a spider spinning its own cocoon.
As soon as such remarks appeared, they were attacked by the entire student body—nobles found it absurd, while top students feared damage to Aurora’s reputation would affect their job prospects.
Whenever the original owner saw opposing comments, he felt an indescribable sense of being watched and an inexplicable excitement. Moreover, almost no one traced his ID, which made him increasingly indulgent, wildly insulting everyone in the Federation.
Gradually, he was no longer satisfied with just comments. He pieced together scandals of nobles and wrote exaggerated, humorous stories about their dramatic events and the “rat-like” behavior of commoners.
What ultimately put him over the fire was a short story.
It described a cross-class love story in an exaggerated and comical way:
【Golden Fool (eyes full of admiration): Oh, beautiful eighteen-year-old girl, I love your looks, your graceful curves, your resilient soul. I am willing to give up my inheritance to marry you!!!
Beautiful Rat (tearful): My dear, since you love me so much, I am willing—I am willing to marry you and bear your children.
Eight years later
Golden (lofty): Can you stop making a fuss? Having a few lovers is perfectly normal. Is it worth disturbing the child every day just to call me back? Don’t forget your family—I could destroy them with a flick of my finger.
Beautiful (hysterical): If you didn’t love me, why did you marry me?
Beautiful (suicide)
Golden (possessing the “world”)
End.】
The original owner hadn’t expected that—
F4 would follow the clues, find his ID, and become furious. They cornered him at the restroom entrance, ambiguously slipping a red card into his collar. Nearly teasing, they patted his cheek. Their expressions were vicious as one bit on a cigarette and smiled:
“Little rat, from now on, your good days are coming.”
It was a signal.
The next day, F4 left for a two-month racing competition, but their followers continued to arrive one after another.
Especially Vidi, the pink-haired cousin of F4—the original owner fell into two weeks of bullying.
.
A faint sting woke Lin Yan. Struggling free from the dream, he moved slightly and looked at the little nurse inserting a needle into his hand.
The little nurse noticed he was awake.
Staring at the bluish-green veins, his heart pounded slowly, his hands trembling. He forced himself to steady them and carefully pushed the needle in.
After finishing, the nurse sneaked a glance at Lin Yan. Unexpectedly meeting his gaze, his heart skipped again. He swallowed nervously and asked cautiously:
“Sorry, did I wake you?”
Lin Yan shook his head.
The nurse let out a breath and couldn’t help repeating the medical instructions. Halfway through, he realized he was being talkative and feared seeing a cold expression. Instead, he found Lin Yan sitting obediently in bed, watching him attentively.
The hospital gown was blue-and-white checkered.
Loose and baggy, it didn’t match Aurora’s aesthetic standards at all. But on Lin Yan, it softened his coldness, adding a hint of gentleness.
The little nurse stared blankly at the golden halo on Lin Yan’s hair, swallowed, then noticed Lin Yan’s puzzled gaze. He quickly lowered his head, ears flushing red, and stammered out his instructions.
His head had suffered an impact and hadn’t been treated for a long time.
To prevent intracranial infection, the doctor recommended Lin Yan stay in the ward for two weeks for observation.
During IV treatment, he needed two large bottles.
The bottles were filled with professional terminology Lin Yan couldn’t understand, so he simply categorized them as yellow, slightly green, white, or full of bubbles.
After finishing the green liquid,
Lin Yan could eat lunch.
Frequent IVs left bruises where needles pierced the skin. The trainee nurses anxiously looked at the blue-red marks on his hand, but Lin Yan thought they needed practice and offered his other hand instead, making them laugh.
Every time the attending physician came for rounds,
Lin Yan’s bedside would be surrounded by medical staff.
Bound by contract to Aurora, they stayed in the hospital day after day, accustomed to students’ arrogance or gloom. Seeing someone as clean and simple as Lin Yan made them want to tease him a little.
The nurses would seriously ask
which color liquid he wanted today.
Sometimes Lin Yan guessed right, sometimes wrong.
The result was the same. Before the minute hand could move a sixth of the clock, the nurses would leave one after another—like Cinderella at midnight, forced to leave the ball in stolen glass slippers.
Leaving Lin Yan alone, quietly gazing out the window.
Unlike the atmosphere around him, Vidi on the fourth floor was universally disliked.
Arrogant and domineering, this time Vidi had been beaten until his head was bleeding.
Even though he was quickly sent to the hospital and received stitches,
he still couldn’t suppress his anger. He smashed everything in the VIP ward, angrily driving away the fake friends gathered around him.
Exhausted, Vidi collapsed onto the bed.
Panting heavily, he couldn’t stop recalling that scene—
The suffocation from chains around his neck, the humiliation of his knees being kicked out from under him.
Lin Yan. Lin Yan. Lin Yan. Lin Yan.
Grabbing a flower basket from the table, Vidi hurled it viciously at the window.
Aurora’s windows were famously sturdy.
The light blow didn’t break the glass, only pushed it open slightly.
The floor was a mess.
Annoyed, Vidi scratched his hair, accidentally touching his wound and cursing. After a pause, as if thinking of something, he grew agitated. Ignoring his shoes, he walked barefoot across the debris and suddenly pushed the window open.
Cold wind rushed in.
He took a deep breath, feeling dizzy, and uncontrollably recalled that night.
Lin Yan had been so close.
Surrounded by his scent.
Cold, like frost and snow.
Vidi’s breathing hitched. Gritting his teeth, he leaned against the wall and angrily started scrolling through his phone.
Aurora Academy had an anonymous forum.
Vidi paused briefly, typing “lin yan” into the Cupid’s Arrow page.
Realizing what he was doing, he frantically tapped back.
But the hospital’s signal was poor. After a delay, a post popped up:
【You dare steal someone from the big boss—are you tired of living?!】
—Posted on September 26, 19:37
【1L: So abstract… help… save me】
【2L: Who still believes this nonsense? Better believe I’m the next student council president】
【3L: Greetings, Mr. President】
【4L: Don’t flame me, but logically speaking, it’s quite credible…】
…
【45L: So the big boss likes someone who already has a partner?】
【46L: Thanks for enlightening me】
【47L: Is that partner really that… invisible classmate?】
【48L: Hahaha】
…
【56L: Someone exposed that the black-framed glasses guy has been slandering our school online like a sewer rat!!! Disgusting!!!】
【57L: Just read it, what a clown!】
…
【65L: Stop hiding it—I’ll say it. First-year top student, black-framed glasses LY.】
…
【1235L: Marking this, October 10. Even gossip isn’t fresh anymore】
…
Looking at the flood of insults at the end of the thread, Vidi frowned slightly. He raised his hand, about to type something, when he suddenly caught sight of a figure near the hospital bushes.
Black hair, pale skin, cold features.
It was… Lin Yan.
Why was Lin Yan in the bushes?
