Chapter 2

–

The room still smelled faintly of antiseptic.

Xin-ye's heartbeat hadn't fully slowed down yet. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at her palm. Just minutes ago there had been a clean cut - deep enough to sting. Deep enough to bleed.

Now?

Nothing.

Not even a line.

Lin stood a few feet away, shoulders tense, eyes locked on the pendant resting against her collarbone. The small stone in it seemed ordinary... except it wasn't.

"Take it off," he said quietly.

Xin-ye didn't respond.

"Xin-ye," his voice hardened, "take it off. Right now."

She finally looked up at him. "Why are you shouting like that?"

"Because I don't like this."

She frowned slightly. "Don't like what?"

He stepped closer, pointing at her neck. "That."

She instinctively covered the pendant with her hand. "It's just a pendant."

"No," he snapped. "It was just a pendant. Now you cut your hand and it disappears in seconds?"

Her eyes flickered with something - not fear.

Excitement.

She stood up slowly. "Exactly."

Lin blinked. "What?"

"Exactly," she repeated, almost breathless. "Did you see that? No scar. No pain. Nothing."

"That's the problem."

"No," she shook her head, pacing once in the room. "That's the miracle."

He stared at her like she'd lost her mind. "You think this is some blessing?"

"I don't know what it is," she admitted, but there was a smile trying to form. "But it's not normal. And not normal doesn't automatically mean bad."

Lin let out a dry laugh. "So what? You're just going to keep wearing it? Pretend this is a superpower phase?"

Her smile widened slightly. "You're telling me you're not even a little curious?"

"I'm terrified," he said bluntly.

That made her pause.

For a second.

Then she shrugged. "You overthink everything."

"And you don't think at all."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh please. It healed a wound. That's not exactly cursed-demon behavior."

"You don't know that," he shot back. "We don't know where it came from. Who owned it. Why it was on that road."

Her expression softened for a split second - then hardened again.

"Maybe it chose me."

Lin stared at her in disbelief. "You did not just say that."

She crossed her arms. "What if this is something big? What if life just got... interesting?"

His jaw tightened. "You're treating this like a game."

"And you're acting like we're in a horror documentary."

Before either of them could continue-

The door opened sharply.

"What is this noise?" their mother's voice cut through the tension.

Both of them froze.

Lin reacted instantly. He moved closer to Xin-ye and, without making it obvious, she adjusted the pendant under her shirt

"Nothing, Mom," he said quickly.

Their mother narrowed her eyes.

Xin-ye forced a nervous smile. "I just got scared."

"Scared of what?"

Lin didn't hesitate. "A lizard."

Xin-ye turned to glare at him - then immediately switched her expression. "Yes. It ran near the window."

Their mother sighed heavily. "You two are unbelievable."

"We handled it," Lin said calmly.

"If I hear one more sound, I will throw both of you outside. Understood?"

"Yes," they said together.

The door shut.

Silence.

The air felt heavier now.

Xin-ye slowly pulled the pendant back out from under her shirt.

It felt warmer.

Warmer than before and shined for a moment.

Lin noticed.

His voice dropped. "See that?"

She swallowed - but instead of fear, her eyes lit up again.

"It's reacting," she whispered.

"That's not exciting."

"It is."

"Xin-ye-"

"I'm not taking it off."

He stared at her.

"You're choosing this over common sense?"

She met his gaze without blinking. "I'm choosing not to be scared of something I don't understand."

"That's reckless."

"That's brave."

He exhaled sharply. "No. That's stupidity."

For a second, neither of them spoke.

But this time, the fight wasn't playful.

The pendant pulsed faintly.

And neither of them noticed that the room temperature had dropped.

–

Next Morning

The walk to school felt longer than usual.

They weren't walking together.

Just... in the same direction.

Xin-ye finally broke the silence. "Can you stop being dramatic?"

Lin didn't even look at her. "Me? Dramatic?"

"Yeah, you are."

He stopped walking.

"You're the one wearing something we don't understand. And I'm dramatic?"

She folded her arms. "You're acting like I summoned a demon."

"You don't know that you didn't."

She scoffed. "Seriously?"

"I should've told Mom," he muttered.

She turned sharply. "Don't you dare."

His eyes narrowed. "Or what?"

A small smirk appeared on her face. "I will disclose your secrets."

He froze for half a second. "You wouldn't."

"Try me."

He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "You're not getting it. This isn't one of your fantasy stories. This is real life."

She exhaled slowly. "I know."

"Do you?"

"Yes," she said firmly. "And if something bad happens, I'll take it off. Happy?"

His expression hardened. "So you want to wait for something bad to happen?"

"I'm listening to you," she replied. "Now you listen to me."

Silence stretched between them.

"Fine," Lin said finally. "One condition."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Don't cause any kind of trouble. And you don't tell anyone about the pendant. Not Mom. Not your friends. Not even Yang Ximi."

Her expression flickered at Ximi's name.

She hesitated... then nodded. "Okay."

"Promise."

"...Promise."

They didn't smile.

They just walked into their classes.

Xin-ye sat beside her best friend, Yang Ximi.

Ximi leaned closer. "You look distracted. What happened?"

"Nothing," Xin said quickly, adjusting her sleeve. Her fingers briefly touched the pendant under her uniform.

Before Ximi could push further-

Miss Zeng entered.

"Good morning, class."

"Good morning, teacher."

She nodded. "We have a transfer student joining us today. I expect you all to behave."

The whispers started instantly.

The door opened.

A boy stepped in.

Not flashy. Not smiling. Just calm.

He wasn't trying to impress anyone - and somehow that made people look at him more.

Miss Zeng gestured. "Introduce yourself."

He gave a small nod.

"My name is Lu Jing."

His voice wasn't cold - just controlled.

"I transferred due to family reasons. I hope we can respect each other."

That was it.

No attitude. No drama.

But he didn't look nervous either.

A few girls exchanged looks.

"Wow..." "He's quiet." "He is handsome."

Miss Zeng pointed. "Second last row, near the window."

He walked to his seat without rushing.

As he passed Xin-ye's desk-

Something subtle happened.

The pendant under her shirt grew slightly warm.

Not burning.

Just... reacting.

Lu Jing slowed for half a second.

Not enough for anyone else to notice.

His gaze flickered downward.

Not at her face.

At her collarbone area.

Then he continued walking like nothing happened.

Xin stiffened.

Ximi whispered, "He's so handsome."

Xin forced a casual tone. "He looks distant."

"Which makes him interesting."

"Or complicated."

From the second last row, Lu Jing wasn't staring.

He was observing.

Calm.

Measured.

And for the first time since entering the class-

His expression changed.

Very slightly.

–

Later that day, Xin-ye and Ximi went to the library during their free time.

Normally, Xin-ye isn't interested in books at all, but today she had a reason —

she wanted to see if there was anything about that strange pendant she was wearing.

Ximi noticed her wandering between the shelves. “What are you looking for?” she asked curiously.

Xin-ye smiled faintly. “Who knows… maybe something interesting....”

Ximi laughed. “Wow, now this lady is interested in books? Didn’t expect that Anyway, if you find something, do show me!”

Xin-ye nodded, excitement bubbling inside, but deep down she knew she probably wouldn’t find anything. Still, she kept looking, scanning the shelves for anything unusual.

That’s when she bumped into someone.

Lu Jing.

He was standing near a bookshelf, holding a book with a dark blue-black cover. Xin-ye opened her mouth to scold him, but then paused. Something about his calm, unreadable expression made her hesitate.

“Can I see that book for a moment?” she asked.

“No,” he said quietly.

Xin-ye frowned. “It’s not like I’m asking for something big… I just want to see the cover.”

Lu Jing didn’t answer. He turned and started walking away.

Xin-ye’s irritation got the better of her, and she snatched the book. But Lu Jing’s grip was firm enough to hold it back. He raised an eyebrow. “Are you serious?”

Xin-ye rolled her eyes. “I just wanted to see the cover. That’s it.” She let go, realizing there was nothing special about it.

The librarian, noticing the commotion, stepped over. “Either be quiet or leave the library,” she warned.

Xin-ye opened her mouth to apologize, and the librarian walked away. But Lu Jing didn’t move his eyes from her. Not exactly at her, but at something about her — something hidden.

Suddenly, he grabbed her hand.

“Let’s go outside,” he said.

Xin-ye froze. “Outside?... Wait why?

He gave her a sharp, unreadable look “We need to talk.”

Before she could reply, he started walking, glancing back just once. Xin-ye hesitated, but curiosity and a strange pull made her follow him.

Outside, the courtyard was quiet, the usual chatter of students dimmed by the building walls.

“You have that, right?” he said, his eyes sharp, almost dangerous, and fixed on her.

Xin-ye blinked. “What??”

“The pendant,” he said calmly.

“What pendant??” she asked, keeping her voice steady, trying to mask her nervousness.

Lu Jing smirked faintly. “The key. The reason I came here.”

— End of Chapter Two —