At 3 a.m., the landmines in front of the station

An Qing looked into his eyes.

From those listless eyes, one could only see confusion and loneliness.

When did Cheche start writing books?

She asked with interest.

"Want to write a book?"

Su Che squinted, recalling the events.

"Middle school, I guess."

He said.

"junior high school?"

"Yeah. In the first year of junior high, I didn't have any friends in class, so I took a notebook and started writing and drawing."

Su Che smiled.

It seems he has thought of something interesting.

"At first, I would write some naive and innocent fantasies, just for myself, and I was too embarrassed to tell others."

"Later, my deskmate was the first to find my notebook, snatched it from me, and mocked me for being dark and twisted."

"Of course I don't deny that what I write is not healthy or uplifting enough, after all, I have never intended to let outsiders judge me."

"But she took my novel."

He paused, then shook his head helplessly:

"It was circulated among the other female classmates."

"!"

"This makes me feel very embarrassed."

Su Che recalled.

I tried hard to recall those almost forgotten little figures from my childhood.

"And then,"

"The male classmates also found out about this."

"But their attitude is the opposite of the girls'."

Several of the naughtiest students in the class were watching with great interest.

One of the worst performers even came over to me and said,

He stole my book from the class beauty's desk and made me write a few more chapters.

"That's when I realized that I was actually quite good at it."

"..."

Upon hearing this, An Qing finally gained some understanding of the source of his creation.

"I see..."

"So... what kind of content is Cheche's first book?"

This made her even more curious.

I want to know more about him.

"Content?"

Su Che pondered for a moment.

To be honest, he remembered the contents of the first book extremely clearly.

Even ten years from now, I will not easily forget it.

"A story about a sister complex."

"???"

An Qing was shocked, "Sister...sister complex?"

"correct."

"Because I was always alone when I was a child, without any siblings, I developed a great emotional need for family."

Su Che spoke the truth.

"As for my older sister, since my mother can't take care of me all the time, she will occasionally hire an older sister from outside to come to my house to bathe me, cook for me, and clean my room."

"?? Take a bath...?"

"Yes, I asked that blonde lady from overseas, and she told me seriously that this is called domestic service, and it's just ordinary."

"what……?"

An Qing's eyes widened, her contact lenses almost popping out.

Su Che continued calmly:

"She would wear a beautiful black and white dress, often spend time with me, say sweet things, tell many interesting stories, and mention interesting things from abroad. So, I am quite satisfied with having an older sister like her, and I have no interest in older men."

"..."

An Qing's heart skipped a beat.

He secretly thought it was good that he was younger than Cheche.

Otherwise, wouldn't it be a sudden and fatal failure right from the start? Where would there be even a glimmer of hope?

[He'd better not have had any unusual fetishes discovered...]

The girl prayed silently.

Su Che shook his head to himself, continuing to ponder in an almost declarative tone:

"Later, as I grew older, she completely disappeared from my life one day and never appeared again."

"Huh? Where...where did she go?" An Qing asked anxiously.

"Perhaps the contract expired, or perhaps something happened at home? I can't say for sure. But in any case, when I asked my mother, her answer was that the family was out of money and couldn't afford to hire anyone else for housework, so I had to support myself."

Su Che smiled easily.

"At that time, I did start to develop self-care abilities and would actively search for literary works to pass the time. I was fearless even when I was alone."

"Really? So you started living alone when you were very young?"

"Yes, I'm not afraid of the dark or the cold."

Su Che said,

"When I was in junior high school, whenever no one was home, I only did two things—"

"Practicing the piano and reading books."

"Practicing the piano can be tiring, so after lying down, I want to read a book."

He was reflecting on himself.

He analyzed it with the gaze of a complete stranger:

"I love reading, and I read a lot of books."

"But my favorite is still novels."

Seeing the girl's curious expression, he added a few words:

"In terms of genre, most of them are light novels with a fantasy style."

An Qing: "Fantasy style... is that also the main area you're researching now?"

"Yes."

Su Che nodded.

They expressed no concern about their quirks that might be exposed at any time.

Why do you like this type of novel?

An Qing asked.

"A reason?"

He thought about it.

I thought about it seriously.

It took several minutes before a vague answer was finally found.

"Because I long for everything in the book, especially the wonderful atmosphere that makes me feel like I'm there."

-

"I've probably read hundreds or thousands of books, spending over several thousand hours on them. Until I got tired of them, fed up with them, and ran out of books to read."

"Finally, when I was only a teenager, I became fascinated one night by a book about attachment."

"It gave me a life goal and, at the same time, completely changed my life."

-

"Attachment...?"

"Ah."

Su Che paused for a moment, then smiled and said:

"Precisely because I have never been loved—"

"so."

"I want to find someone as perfect as those in books, someone who doesn't exist in real life."

……

……