I dont like girls

Gu Residence, Later That Night

Gu Xingxin sat in his study, lights dim, fingers resting on the glass of untouched scotch. His mother’s words echoed in his mind.

“He was breathing when they took him.”

“I never got to say goodbye.”

He’d always believed the official story. Fever. Rural clinic. No help in time. A rushed burial in a provincial cemetery. But now, the way she spoke—how sharp her memories still were—he wasn’t sure anymore.

He turned to his laptop and began digging.

Province Z. Year 8 of the Old Calendar.

Medical records from 17 years ago weren’t easy to find. But Gu Xingxin wasn’t just anyone. As General Manager of Gu Corporation, he had access—and leverage.

He searched for any birth or death records in Province Z during the week of their vacation. Then narrowed the results to children under 1 year old.

That’s when he found something strange.

No record of death. No registered burial.

Just a birth certificate.

His younger brother's.

But nothing after.

The clinic’s doctor? Retired. The nurse? Disappeared from the system two years later.

His jaw tightened.

If that child didn’t die… then where the hell is he?

--------------------

Province Z – Early Morning

Jin Wuxin’s alarm rang at 5:30 AM.

He didn’t hit snooze. He never did.

By 6:00, he had already finished washing up, packed his notebooks, and swept the front of the fruit stall. Lu Tianling barely glanced at him as he left, muttering something about not being late.

The walk to school was quiet, the road dusty and mostly empty, except for the occasional rooster or sleepy vendor.

By 7:00, he was seated in Class 1, Row 3, Desk 4. His uniform wasn’t crisp, but his notes were immaculate.

Wuxin didn’t speak unless spoken to. He didn’t volunteer for things. He didn’t linger after school. But his test scores were flawless, and his name was always at the top of the grade board.

That’s what kept the teachers praising him. That’s what kept his life from collapsing.

That, and Xiao Lele.

She’d been his only friend since third year. Loud, bright, unafraid of teasing him, she balanced his silence with her warmth.

“Don’t look so gloomy,” she said, nudging him with her pen during math. “I got 60 on the quiz. You better have aced it or I’ll scream.”

“I got 100,” he said flatly.

She groaned. “Why are you like this?”

He gave her a ghost of a smile. It was the closest he came to laughing.

What he didn’t know was that Jin Wu watched those exchanges. Quietly. Resentfully.

Wuxin’s school days were mechanical. Wake early. Study hard. Keep your head down. His name on the grade sheet’s top row was the only thing he could control.

He was the kind of student teachers praised, but didn’t ask about.

He never stayed for clubs. Never hung around after class. Except with Xiao Lele.

She didn’t treat him like a quiet genius. Just a friend. A real one.

“You’re going to burn out,” she told him one afternoon, swinging her legs from the roof ledge. “Even machines break.”

“I’m fine,” he said.

“You always say that.”

He looked out at the empty sports field, blinking hard. The breeze was cold. The ache in his chest had been growing.

He didn’t say the truth: I don’t know who I am anymore.

Back home, he helped at the stall. Jin Wu passed him with barely a word. Their mother only spoke when it was to bark orders. Their father, Jin Yulin, worked until late. Even at dinner, silence was the loudest sound.

Jin Wuxin had exactly 47 days left before the senior high entrance exam.

He knew because he counted every morning—like clockwork, a mental checklist he repeated while brushing his teeth.

Wake at 5:30.

Review chemistry flashcards.

Walk to school.

Don’t be late.

Don’t fall behind.

The pressure was building. In Province Z, scoring well on the senior high exam was the only real way out. He couldn’t afford to slip, not once.

At school, the corridors buzzed with nerves and whispered rumors of prep tutors and mock test scores. Wuxin said nothing. He already aced every mock exam thrown his way.

He studied in silence.

Ate lunch in silence.

And went home to more silence.

Only Xiao Lele broke through that routine.

She sat next to him during study period, flipping through her notebook upside down.

“You ever think about what comes after this?” she asked one afternoon.

Wuxin didn’t answer right away. He kept solving math problems.

“Like… are you gonna stay here after senior high? Province Z’s kind of a dead-end, y’know.”

He looked at her then. Just briefly. “I won’t stay.”

Lele grinned. “Good. Neither will I.”

He almost smiled.

Almost.

But his mind kept spinning: What if I don’t belong here at all? What if I’m not even supposed to be Wuxin?

At home, he studied until midnight—while his mother hovered over Jin Wu’s homework, praising even his mediocre scores.

Jin Wu said nothing, but his eyes flicked toward Wuxin with a mix of guilt and bitterness.

After School – Behind the Gym

The sky was heavy with late afternoon clouds. Most students had already gone home, but Wuxin stayed behind, waiting for Lele to finish her club activity.

That’s when Jin Wu showed up.

“Wuxin.”

He turned. His younger brother stood a few steps away, hands clenched, breathing tight.

“You and Lele,” Jin Wu said. “Are you two… together?”

Wuxin blinked. “What?”

“Don’t play dumb.” His voice cracked—more hurt than angry. “You walk her home. She always talks about you. Laughs around you like—like—”

“She’s my friend,” Wuxin said calmly.

“That’s it?”

“Yes.”

Jin Wu stepped closer. “You didn’t even ask me if I liked her.”

“I didn’t think you’d care.”

“Well, I do!” Jin Wu snapped. “She’s the only person who ever treats me like I’m not just your shadow.”