Cheng

The morning hallway of the Beijing school gradually filled with students. Cheng was walking with his friends, half-listening to their conversations, when he noticed a familiar figure standing near the schedule board. A new student. He'd seen her before in the gym, where she played volleyball, but he'd never spoken to her before.

"Look, there she is again, " one of the friends chuckled, nodding towards the girl. "Looks like she still hasn't figured it out."

Cheng glanced at the schedule, then at the stranger. She was carefully studying the characters, as if hoping they would somehow become clearer. Clicking his tongue in displeasure, the boy separated from the group and stopped nearby.

“Hey, ” he called out to her in Chinese.

Waiting for the girl to turn around, Cheng pointed to the schedule, then gestured toward the hallway and quickly explained where she should go. However, all he received in return was a confused look. His brow furrowed.

"Don't you understand Chinese?" he asked again, more slowly this time, as if that would help.

A friend's chuckle was heard behind him. Cheng glanced at him irritably and turned back to the girl.

"Where are you from anyway?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

There wasn't much friendliness in his voice, more of a simple impatience. He hadn't intended to spend the entire break on this stranger, but now he was at least curious as to why the Asian-looking girl couldn't understand any Chinese.