Hai Lin stared blankly at her textbook, her head throbbing from the noise below. Her family's restaurant—loud, bustling, and filled with clattering dishes—was just beneath their home, and no matter how many times she tried to concentrate, her thoughts dissolved into background chaos.
With a sigh, she leaned on the window ledge and looked out, hoping the night air would cool her frustration.
That's when she saw it—soft light glimmering in the distance.
A lighthouse…?
She tilted her head.
"Maybe I'll study there," she murmured, grabbing her bag and sneaking out without another thought.
---
The lighthouse was old but sturdy, its dim bulb flickering faintly as though it had seen a hundred quiet evenings. She noticed traces that someone had been there—an open notebook on the side table, a bottle of water—but ignored it. It was quiet. Peaceful. That was all that mattered.
She opened her math book and started solving her homework.
Then—whoosh.
The wind picked up, and raindrops suddenly slapped against the windows. The storm rolled in faster than she expected.
"Ah—my notes!"
Pages flew off the table, caught in the draft. Hai Lin scrambled to grab them, slipping slightly near the entrance.
She bumped into something—no, someone.
A familiar figure blocked the rain behind him.
"Senior?!"
She looked up in shock. "What are you doing here?"
Sun Shian, soaked from head to toe, raised an eyebrow. "I study here. This is kind of… my spot."
"Oh…"
He glanced at the mess of flying pages. "Do you have an umbrella or raincoat?"
Her fingers tightened on her bag—the one with the umbrella he'd once given her.
But for some reason, she didn't want to give it back.
"No," she lied, avoiding his eyes. "I didn't bring one."
He didn't push it.
They returned inside.
The storm outside rumbled as thunder whispered through the sky.
Hai Lin furrowed her brows at a question she couldn't solve. The numbers danced around in circles and made no sense. She grumbled under her breath.
Then she heard footsteps.
Sun Shian stood beside her, leaned down, and pointed at the problem.
"Look here. You're overcomplicating it. Just substitute this value," he said gently.
Her first instinct was to roll her eyes—but she followed his steps, and within seconds, the answer clicked.
"…Oh. That's… actually easy."
He smiled without saying anything and went back to his seat.
The rain softened.
Later, Sun Shian picked up his notebook, nodded at her, and said, "See you."
And just like that, he disappeared into the night drizzle.
Hai Lin looked down at her notes.
He had written a small part of the solution on her page.
Her fingers lightly traced over the handwriting—elegant, precise.
Without thinking, she tore out the paper.
---
That night, back in her room, she opened a drawer.
Inside, a small plastic pouch already held a pink sticker from before.
She gently placed the torn paper with Sun Shian's handwriting into another pouch, sealed it, and laid it beside the sticker.
Then, she smiled to herself.
Just a little.