At that very moment, a question quietly rose in her heart: Who is he?
Why would someone leave behind a diary like this, hidden in the corner of the library?
The thought was like a seed, buried deep within her mind, waiting to sprout.
That night, back home, she placed the notebook carefully on her desk. Her mind kept replaying the scene as her fingers traced the unfamiliar handwriting. The neat strokes, steady and composed, didn't look like they belonged to someone careless.
Could it be a senior from the upper grades?
Or perhaps a student who works part-time at the library?
Or… a playwright, maybe?
Her imagination ran wild, but in the end, curiosity won over hesitation.
The very next day, armed with a brand-new black pen, she returned to the library, as if carrying out a secret mission. Sitting in the same spot, she opened the diary and, with a mixture of nervousness and anticipation, wrote her very first reply:
Thank you. I don't know who you are, but your words somehow made me feel better. Since this is an exchange diary, may I ask you something in return? Why did you leave this notebook here? What is it that troubles you?
She closed the book gently, as though it carried a secret she wasn't supposed to share with anyone else.
As she stood up to leave, a faint movement caught her eye. Not far away, someone lifted his head slightly.
Behind the thin black frame of his glasses, his eyes were calm, steady, and unreadable.
Lin Qiran—the top student of the entire grade—quietly flipped to the next page of his own book, the corner of his lips lifting ever so slightly into a smile no one else could see.