Chapter 15

Page 1 of 3

Under ordinary circumstances, Du Zhengxuan was fairly polite toward Osamu Dazai.

Unlike Chuuya Nakahara, who was strikingly handsome yet somehow possessed an unpretentious, approachable air, Dazai usually seemed distant and aloof—and deeply listless, as though he had not slept enough for days on end.

Of course, he probably really had not slept enough. “Adequate sleep” and “high school student” were practically natural opposites.

But even the classmates who stayed up gaming every night would be fully charged for at least one or two breaks during the day. Dazai, on the other hand, looked as though someone had pried his battery right out.

It only took a couple of sentences to realize that he was exceptionally intelligent. If he wanted to, he should theoretically have been able to blend into any environment with ease.

Which meant that his long-standing position outside the crowd was probably a choice.

Du Zhengxuan was somewhat reserved herself. She had barely spoken to Dazai at all, and every conversation they had shared had been during English listening practice. Technically speaking, today was the first time she had ever heard him speak Chinese.

In all honesty, his command of the language was astonishing.

He had no accent, and his tone was perfectly normal. At first hearing, his voice was simply that of a pleasant young boy. Du Zhengxuan had failed to recognize him and, startled in broad daylight, had spoken rather sharply.

“Sorry. I was just curious.”

Unexpectedly, Dazai seriously apologized and explained why he had asked.

Du Zhengxuan had already imagined him giving a cold snort and turning away. Now she could not help widening her eyes and looking him over again, as if meeting him for the first time.

Was it because the holiday was blessed with such bright sunshine? Why did he seem so much more cheerful than usual, when he was at school?

Dazai tilted his head and looked at her too.

His curly black hair appeared soft and fluffy beneath the light. Even the lovely irises of his eyes had lost all their usual gloom under the sun, revealing only a light, airy tea-brown.

Handsome.

Only at that moment did Du Zhengxuan finally grasp just how handsome Osamu Dazai really was.

She could not help sighing inwardly. Holidays truly were wonderful.

She wished every day could be a holiday.

In the space of a few seconds, Du Zhengxuan removed the ordinary label of “handsome” from Dazai and replaced it with a golden one: “handsome—actually handsome.”

Before the handsome parrot could repeat himself for a fourth time, she explained, “I’m burning offerings. It’s a custom for honoring our ancestors.”

“Burning offerings,” Dazai repeated after her, like a child learning to speak. Then he asked, “What sort of paper is it? Why burn it here?”

Perhaps it was the holiday filter, but Du Zhengxuan inexplicably felt as though he were a curious little kitten.

The sort seen in short videos—the kind that knocked a cup off the table, then tilted its head to look at its owner.

...Ah, yes. On holiday, the whole world seemed beautiful.

After sighing inwardly, Du Zhengxuan continued explaining. “We’re burning spirit money. It’s money for the people ‘on the other side.’ Once it’s burned, they can receive it.”

“You mean the world after death?”

Du Zhengxuan said, “...Yes. I suppose you could put it that way.”

How poetic.

Dazai gave a seemingly emotionless little laugh, as though he had developed some interest in the matter.

He walked over to the burning offering brazier and crouched beside it. After studying it up close for a while, he pointed at several paper objects that had not yet burned away and asked, “Is this also a form of currency?”

“That’s a game console and some cartridges I had someone make,” Du Zhengxuan answered absently, her eyes fixed on the hem of Dazai’s coat trailing on the ground. “Um, maybe you should stand a little farther away...?”

Dazai turned to look at her, then followed her gaze to the coat hem lying on the ground.

“...”

Page 1 of 3

Page 2 of 3

He stood up and brushed off the back of his coat. When he crouched down again, he gathered the hem into his arms before continuing to examine the game console.

He seemed very interested in it.

Du Zhengxuan remembered that this particular console had never been released overseas. In fact, consoles and game cartridges released abroad at the same time as in the domestic market were the exception rather than the rule. He might never have seen one before.

The paper game console was not very large, and the flames swallowed it in a matter of seconds.

Once the other offerings had begun to burn, Dazai stood up and looked around along the road for a while. Then he asked Du Zhengxuan why she had chosen to burn them in a place like this.

“Isn’t the cemetery over there?”

Du Zhengxuan said, “Because it’s convenient for transportation.”

According to folk beliefs, crossroads led in every direction, making it easier for ancestors to receive the offerings. They also represented respect for travelers from all four directions—a way of offending no one. If one organized all the explanations into separate points, they could probably make an underworld version of a geography exam.

The explanation was rather complicated, and while Du Zhengxuan was still arranging the words in her mind, her mother came out to find her.

“Xuanxuan, are you finished? If you are, we should get going.”

Mrs. Du arrived wearing gloves and carrying bags to clean up the remains. From a distance, she saw her daughter speaking to a dark-haired boy.

When she came over, Du Zhengxuan introduced him as her classmate. Dazai followed her lead and greeted her.

“Hello, Auntie.”

“Hello.” He looked so well-behaved that Du Zhengxuan’s mother smiled and nodded. “Did you come with your family?”

Dazai smiled. “Thank you for asking. Someone brought me here, so you don’t need to worry.”

As he spoke, he gestured into the distance. Only then did Du Zhengxuan notice a car parked some way away on the opposite side of the road, with a man in a black suit standing outside it.

“That’s good. Be careful on your way home, too.”

Mrs. Du assumed the man in the suit was Dazai’s father. When saying goodbye, she politely nodded toward him as well.

The man across the road froze for several seconds. Then, when Dazai also looked over, he abruptly bent into a deep bow in their direction.

Mrs. Du: “...”

She had no idea what was going on. It was a little awkward, so she decided to pretend she had not seen it.

“Then we’ll be going now. Xuanxuan, say goodbye to your classmate.”

Du Zhengxuan waved at Dazai, and the two sides parted ways.

Mrs. Du remained silent until they got into the car. Only then did she ask, “Xuanxuan, why does your classmate have bandages wrapped around his head? Is he hurt? I noticed he was covered in bandages in other places too.”

From her mother’s expression, Du Zhengxuan could tell that she had probably begun imagining school bullying, an unhappy family, and similar tragedies.

When Du Zhengxuan had first met Dazai, she had been startled too. Later, she discovered that he was not actually injured. The bandages were more like accessories.

A case of adolescent delusions of grandeur. She understood.

Still, it was difficult to explain that sort of thing to one’s parents. After thinking it over, Du Zhengxuan said, “No. He thinks it looks cool.”

Mrs. Du understood immediately.

Only Du Zhengxuan’s father was left completely confused. “Who are you talking about?”

“One of Xuanxuan’s classmates. They ran into him on the street just now. He seems like a nice boy, except for all the bandages on his head. I was just asking.”

After Mrs. Du finished explaining, Du Zhengxuan heard her father say, “Oh,” before abruptly adding, “Xuanxuan, study hard. Get into a good university. Once you do, there’ll be plenty of boys more handsome than the one across the street. No need to rush.”

Du Zhengxuan: “...”

Page 2 of 3

Page 3 of 3

Leaving everything else aside, were there really “plenty” of people more handsome than Nakahara?

She had never attended university. He had better not be lying to her.

Before Du Zhengxuan could untangle that logic, her mother objected first.

“Why say things like that? The girl knows what she’s doing. I believe Xuanxuan came first in the entire year on this month’s exam, didn’t she? I completely forgot to praise her. I’ll send you a little cash gift as a reward.”

Mr. Du was unwilling to be outdone and immediately added, “Then I’ll send one too.”

Du Zhengxuan: “...Thank you.”

She did not quite understand how the conversation had taken this turn, but since there was money to be had, thanking them was the proper response.

Du Zhengxuan’s parents did not stay home for long. By five or six in the afternoon, they had gone back to work one after another. Mrs. Du left a little later and, before departing, took two bags of green rice cakes over to the neighbors across the hall. It was a gesture of introduction, as well as a way of suggesting that the two households look after each other if anything came up.

And so the brief Qingming holiday came to an end.

The next day, it was back to school as usual, with an early morning start. Du Zhengxuan was still thoroughly exhausted. She did not realize that her deskmate had been changed until she returned from the morning exercises during the long break.

Daytime classes were different from evening self-study. Unless they had quarreled, deskmates would exchange at least a few words during the day.

Du Zhengxuan was not familiar with the class monitor and felt a little awkward, so once she returned to her seat, she began working on an English reading passage.

Unexpectedly, the other student called her name and pushed a sheet of paper toward her.

Du Zhengxuan glanced at it and saw that it was the sign-up sheet for the school sports meet.

The class monitor asked, “The teacher asked me to collect everyone’s choices first. Which event do you want to enter? I’ll write it down.”

His tone was perfectly ordinary, nothing like the crazed academic tyrant Du Zhengxuan had imagined.

Relieved, Du Zhengxuan wrote down the event she wanted and handed the sheet back, thanking him.

“It’s only right.” The class monitor smiled, took the sheet, and began passing it around the classroom.

This was how most surveys and forms were handled in high school. The students passed them around and filled them in throughout the day. Just before submission, someone would call out to the whole class to make sure no one had been missed, and then the form would be handed in.

The sports meet sign-up sheet was different, however. Many people hesitated over whether to enter, then changed their events after signing up.

Or, in the worst case, no one volunteered for a particular event even though the class was required to provide a participant. Then they had to scour the classroom for someone to drag into it. If they still could not find anyone, members of the sports committee and class officers were given priority.

It took three full days to complete the sports meet sign-up sheet. It was finally filled out during the break in the last evening self-study period.

The class monitor had intended to deliver it himself, but the homeroom teacher happened to summon him for another matter. Just as he was wondering what to do, Du Zhengxuan volunteered.

“It’s the sports office in the middle of the third floor across the way, right? I can take it. You go see the homeroom teacher.”

Du Zhengxuan had been worked to the bone for the past three days. She had already decided to take advantage of the opportunity to wander outside for half a study period before returning, so her enthusiasm at offering help was almost unbelievable.

The class monitor seemed completely unaware of her ulterior motive and agreed gratefully. “Then I’ll trouble you.”

Du Zhengxuan dawdled until it was almost time for class to resume, then seized the opportunity and left with the sign-up sheet.

The school building was very quiet at night. After the Qingming holiday, no one was conducting head-count inspections anymore, and the corridors on nearly every floor were almost entirely free of teachers.

Du Zhengxuan’s mood improved somewhat. She slowly made her way up to the third floor of the teaching and research building, only to see Chuuya Nakahara standing outside the middle office from a distance.

The sports office was locked, and no one was on duty at night. Anyone delivering documents only had to place them in the folder attached to the door.

Du Zhengxuan had no idea what Nakahara was waiting for, and Nakahara looked equally perplexed.

“No one’s here?” He frowned slightly. “But someone told me to come to the sports room.”