Truthfully, they hadn’t attended the same school initially. The school district home his mother purchased was zoned for a public institution. But as one might expect, given this young master’s background, his family had undoubtedly arranged for private schooling all along.

Fa Muzhi didn’t even know which school the other had attended before. But shortly after enrolling here, he spotted him on the way home from school.

Gazing at the young man before him, as pure as a white magnolia, Fa Muzhi recalled the first time they met—

Coincidentally, the year he first enrolled here was also this very season.

The season when chunhua blossoms blanketed the streets…

Though Fa Muzhi now appeared indifferent to these flowers—his swift, decisive gestures to brush them aside whenever they brushed against his car door were telling—he had, in truth, long found them beautiful.

Having been born and raised in another city with his parents and siblings, he had never encountered such floral vistas before. In his former home, summer and winter stretched on endlessly, while spring and autumn were almost nonexistent. Without spring, naturally, there were no spring blossoms—trees that could only flourish through the prolonged warmth of the season.

Fa Muzhi recalled writing essays as a child. When teachers asked about his favorite season, he always chose summer and winter. Why? Because summer brought lush, vibrant trees, while winter offered snow—bitter cold that tested one’s resolve.

Well, that was before he came here.

The first time his parents brought him here, he was stunned to witness the dazzling spring created by all these cherry and camellia trees. Unfortunately, they had to rush to the school for paperwork, leaving no time to properly appreciate it. But after school, when he walked back into this sea of blossoms, he couldn’t resist. Glancing at his watch, he decided to savor the view before curfew.

Sitting beneath a tree heavy with blossoms, he gazed upward in silence—a blanket of snow-white petals. Looking into the distance—endless pink and white. Glancing down, the ground beneath his feet, carpeted with petals, felt extravagant. He didn’t even need to take a deep breath; the air itself was filled with a delicate fragrance.

In that moment, he suddenly realized how hollow his previous writings had been—all that talk of passion, of testing one’s will, of seemingly profound reasons. Before such utter beauty, they crumbled. He finally understood: what needed forced justification wasn’t love. True affection should be like this—a complete, all-encompassing awe. No reasons were needed; it simply felt beautiful.

In that instant, the young boy sitting among the blossoms for the first time was utterly enchanted by the spring beauty of Zhongdu City.

Then, when he finally managed to spare some attention from the overwhelming spectacle of spring, noticing other sights and people, he saw another boy sitting quietly beneath a distant flowering tree.

Dressed in a black school uniform like his own, the other boy simply sat there in stillness. Though the distance made his features indistinct, the first thought that crossed Fa Muzhi’s mind upon seeing him was: This boy must have come to admire the flowers, just like me.

Alright, though he was captivated, Fa Muzhi knew well that peers who found the flowers as beautiful as he did and would sit to admire them were surely few. He didn’t care about others’ opinions, but…

He had to admit, discovering another peer doing the same thing as him made his heart feel more at ease.

And so, he admired the flowers with even greater immersion.

Thus, with a clear conscience, Fa Muzhi spent several consecutive days admiring the spring blossoms. Each afternoon after school, he’d get off one stop early, walk all the way to Chunhua Road, and sit in roughly the same spot to enjoy the flowers. The other person’s dismissal time seemed to match his own. Every day, they’d walk from the opposite end of Chunhua Road, arriving around the same time and sitting in similar spots.

Unlike Fa Muzhi, who simply set his backpack aside and began admiring with his eyes each day, the other person’s way of appreciation varied daily—sometimes bringing books, sometimes a teapot and cups, sometimes listening to music…

In short, more refined than himself.

Neither boy had any intention of approaching or getting to know the other.

Barring any surprises, once the blooming season ended and they no longer came to admire the flowers, their paths would likely never cross again. After all, they didn’t even know each other’s faces. Away from these flowering trees, there would be no chance of recognizing one another.

However—

An unexpected event occurred just before the blooming season ended.

As usual, they each admired the flowers from their respective spots. Despite the roadside trees blooming so magnificently, few people came here to view them. It made sense—as the city flower of Zhongdu, chunhua was said to be everywhere in the city. People could admire them right in their own yards, and the city boasted numerous parks of all sizes, professionally designed and maintained, where flower viewing was a more refined experience. In short, this road was quiet. Aside from the occasional hurried passengers stepping off the bus at the stop, there was no one else.

That day was no different—a few passengers disembarked, but instead of the usual commuters heading home from work, they were students.

Unfamiliar school uniforms—Fa Muzhi glanced at them, but having recently arrived in the area, he didn’t recognize the flower-loving companion’s uniform or these individuals.

Public roads were open to all, so he quickly looked away. But—

Those slouching youths didn’t leave. They didn’t approach him either, but walked straight to the “flower-viewing enthusiast.” Two of them sat down on either side of him, one even snatching the notebook right out of his hands.

Then, an exaggerated, obnoxious laugh erupted from that direction.

That sound… Just hearing it, Fa Muzhi could confirm: these people were definitely not acquaintances of the other party. Were they street punks?

There was no way around it—those guys were clearly bullying someone.

Frowning as he watched that direction, Fa Muzhi didn’t linger on the bench. He picked up his backpack and walked straight over.

Then, when he stood beneath that cherry tree, he met for the first time the “flower-viewing companion” who had shared his appreciation for several days.

Awe—even if Fa Muzhi would never admit it afterward, the truth was that the moment he first laid eyes on the other, a flash of awe instantly crossed his eyes.

Hmm… That youth who made him experience “awe” for the very first time in his life was Su Huanliu.

Su Huanliu from twelve years ago.

The Su Huanliu of today still possessed exquisite, refined beauty, but it had become distinctly masculine. Twelve years ago, however, he was not like that.

His features were stunningly beautiful yet delicate, gaunt, and pale… Sitting among the blossoms, he looked like a flower spirit.

“Yo! Your crush is here?” The thug snatched the notebook from the pale youth’s hands. He flipped through it while eyeing the approaching Fa Muzhi. Fa Muzhi had no clue what the other was talking about, and the thug noticed. Finally, he maliciously waved the notebook in Fa Muzhi’s face.

“Seems you don’t know you’re being secretly admired. Come, come, let me show you. I wonder if you’ll be thrilled or disgusted…” The man laughed heartily, opening the sketchbook for Fa Muzhi to see.

Then, Fa Muzhi learned something else: what those sketchbooks his flower-viewing buddy occasionally brought along actually contained.

A hyper-realistic depiction of a blossoming path, captured precisely from this angle. Amidst the sea of flowers, beneath one particular tree, sat a youth on a bench, his gaze fixed skyward.

Unlike the vaguely remembered “companion” in Fa Muzhi’s mind, this “companion” clearly knew what he looked like. Though only a few strokes were used in the sketchbook, Fa Muzhi recognized himself instantly.

No wonder those thugs had recognized him at a glance, too.

Fa Muzhi couldn’t help but glance at the “admirer” again. The other person, whether from fear or embarrassment, grew paler by the second, their body trembling slightly as if they might collapse at any moment.

“Looks like you don’t mind being secretly admired by a guy. Well, this kid isn’t half bad looking… So? You two wanna exchange contact info and actually date? Oh, and aren’t you supposed to give me a red envelope?” The leader of the thugs grinned maliciously, his sketchbook poised to smack the “admirer” on the head…

Just before the sketchbook could land on his owner’s head in humiliating fashion… Fa Muzhi snatched the notebook from the thug’s grasp. With a flick of his wrist, he smoothed out the pages, then shoved the sketchbook into the “fellow enthusiast’s” arms.

Then, expressionless, he met the stunned gaze of the leader.

As if on cue—whether provoked by Fa Muzhi’s earlier move or his current cold expression—the leader barked an order. The other thugs abandoned their harassment of the “flower-appreciating enthusiast,” instead uniting in hostility to surround and attack Fa Muzhi.

And so, Fa Muzhi was knocked down.

The leader had expected a tough opponent, but was stunned to land a direct hit. His astonishment quickly turned to fury.

“So it’s just a hothead—”

“Attack him! Heroics aren’t so easy! You think you can save someone without knowing how to fight? I’ll teach you a lesson today! Hold it. This weakling? I can handle him myself.” The gang leader said, about to kick at Fa Muzhi. But—

A trickle of blood from his nose. Fa Muzhi blocked the incoming kick with his backpack, quickly scrambled to his feet, swung the backpack in his hand, and slammed it hard into the gang leader’s head…

“Damn! What the hell did you pack in there? It’s rock-hard! My hands are killing me!” ← The leader caught the blow with his fist.

Without a word of warning, Fa Muzhi unleashed a relentless barrage of backpack swings. Undeterred by the leader’s punch, he swung again immediately!

His clumsy yet brutal technique stunned not only the other thugs—who’d just been ordered by their boss not to intervene—but even the rescued “beauty”—the “flower-loving companion” of Fa Muzhi.

The gang leader was right—Fa Muzhi’s moves clearly showed he’d never fought before. But how could this guy be so brutal and so damn strong? Was he some kind of natural-born fighting machine? That wasn’t the point. The real question was: what the hell was in that backpack? Look at the gang leader—he was howling in pain!

Amidst the gangsters’ stunned silence, Fa Muzhi steadily swung his backpack, sacrificing eight hundred to wound a thousand. He looked battered, but the gang leader across from him was suffering even worse.

Just as the gang leader was about to call for backup, the police arrived. The entire gang was rounded up on the spot. As for Fa Muzhi and his “like-minded companion,” after the officers quickly assessed the situation and asked them a few questions, they were simply let go.

The police sirens faded until they were no longer audible. Once again, only two people remained beneath the tree. This time, however, the two who had previously sat far apart now stood together under the same tree.

They looked at each other. The two flower-viewing youths met for the first time, not even needing to introduce themselves—the police had already asked for their names.

And so—

“What exactly is in your backpack?” Su Huanliu, still pale, asked his first question to Fa Muzhi.

Instead of answering, Fa Muzhi opened his own backpack, revealing its contents.

Uh… just a steel plate.

That’s right. Not a single book. The seemingly studious Fa Muzhi carried nothing but a steel plate in his backpack every day.

Square and sharp-edged.

No wonder that thug leader was screaming in pain earlier!

Upon seeing the steel plate, the two boys exchanged glances again. After a moment, they both burst out laughing.