Chapter 1: Late Summer
The hot summer sun was blazing, and the cicadas outside the window kept buzzing.
Even though it was almost September, the weather in S City was still unbearably hot because it was located in the south.
Unless they absolutely had to, no one wanted to wander around outside in this kind of weather.
On a busy shopping street filled with people, a young boy wearing a bear mascot costume was making cute poses while handing out advertising flyers to passersby.
The boy's name was Li Nuo. Today was the last day of his summer job. As long as he finished handing out the flyers in his hands, he could clock out and go home.
Just as he was thinking about finishing the flyers quickly so he could get off work early, someone suddenly kicked him in the butt from behind.
The unexpected kick made him let out a soft cry.
When he turned around, he saw that the person who kicked him was an elementary school boy, probably in the third or fourth grade. Not only did the boy show no sign of stopping, but he also laughed and shouted,
"I'm going to beat up this stupid bear!"
The woman following behind the boy quickly stepped forward and repeatedly apologized to Li Nuo.
Although he was annoyed, Li Nuo thought that he was already about to enter high school and had no need to argue with a little kid.
"It's okay, it's okay. He's just a child."
Seeing that Li Nuo was not angry, the woman turned to the boy and said,
"Quick, apologize to this big sister."
However, the boy ignored her completely. He ran ahead, turned around, stuck out his tongue at Li Nuo, and laughed.
"No way! Stupid bear! Bleh, bleh, bleh~"
Li Nuo ignored the boy's teasing and instead looked at the woman before quietly saying,
"I'm a boy."
"Huh?"
Seeing the doubtful look on her face, Li Nuo took off the bear head and revealed his face.
Then he slowly repeated,
"I… am… a… boy."
"Ah! Sorry, sorry!"
Realizing her mistake, the woman immediately started apologizing again.
After seeing that she understood, Li Nuo put the bear head back on and continued handing out flyers.
As the woman walked away, she muttered,
"What a strange little girl. She cuts her hair short and thinks she's a boy."
Fortunately, Li Nuo did not hear that comment. Otherwise, he might have had to expose himself just to prove he was telling the truth.
After finishing all of his work for the day, Li Nuo finally received the six thousand yuan he had earned over the past two months of summer work.
Dragging his tired body back to the apartment he rented, the first thing he wanted to do was take a hot shower and wash away the sweat covering his body.
After his shower, Li Nuo, wearing only a pair of shorts, walked into the living room.
As he counted the money he had worked so hard to earn, he muttered,
"At least I don't have to worry about living expenses anymore."
He picked up a family photo from the table and began thinking about the past.
Ever since his parents had died in a car accident, he had been passed around and raised by different relatives.
However, those relatives had probably never truly treated him as family.
If it were not for the large insurance payout left behind by his parents, they likely would not have cared about him at all.
Even so, he had been passed around like a ball from one relative to another.
When he suggested renting a place and living on his own after graduating from middle school, they agreed without hesitation.
They even gave him some money to rent an apartment, and they also covered his school tuition. Because of that, he felt embarrassed to ask them for living expenses anymore.
Besides, he guessed there was not much of the insurance money left anyway.
Compared to living under someone else's roof and constantly watching their expressions, Li Nuo preferred living alone like this.
It was simple, comfortable, and free.
Because both of his parents had been singers, Li Nuo had loved music since he was young.
He often liked to hum songs to himself.
Back in elementary school, his teachers would praise him for having a beautiful voice and singing well.
But after he entered middle school, everything changed.
During middle school, most boys went through puberty, and their voices became deeper and lower.
For some reason, however, Li Nuo's voice never changed.
It remained youthful and clear. When he sang, his voice sounded almost no different from a girl's.
Because of this, he was often mocked and bullied by boys his age.
Being called a sissy or even a freak happened regularly.
At the same time, the death of his parents had also dealt him a heavy blow.
After that, he became even quieter and more withdrawn, always keeping to himself.
Yet his love for music never faded.
The only difference was that he no longer sang in front of other people because of his voice.
Only when he was alone in his apartment would he freely let his voice be heard.
He liked covering lesser-known songs and uploading them to a website called Li-Station.
He had even chosen an online nickname for himself, [A Promise Worth a Thousand Gold].
On the internet, nobody knew his real gender.
People simply listened to his songs, gave him likes, tips, and bookmarks.
Reading the comments from listeners praising his voice gave great comfort to the emptiness in his heart.
After uploading the song he had covered today, Li Nuo shut down his computer.
He gently stroked the old laptop.
It had once belonged to his father, and he did not know how much longer it would continue working.
Looking at the date on the calendar.
August 31, 2014
He quietly muttered, "School starts tomorrow. My high school life... begins."
Lying on a bamboo mat, Li Nuo's thoughts were filled with the high school life waiting for him the next day.
Combined with the hot, stuffy weather and the constant creaking sound of the fan as it swung back and forth, he found it impossible to fall asleep.
He did not know how much time had passed before he finally drifted into a light sleep.