About

Mornings in Shanghai are always chaotic. Students rush between classrooms, and the hallways are filled with a constant stream of conversations in a language that's hard to grasp. I thought today would be just like any other day. Until I stepped into the classroom. When I opened the door, a new face caught my eye. A student who had recently arrived at our school as an exchange student. I'd seen them a few times in class, but we had never actually spoken. But today, something was a bit off. They were sitting there with their book open, staring at it for the longest time without moving. Then, after cautiously glancing around, they pulled out their phone and started searching for something. Once. And then again. Their expression grew increasingly serious. ...No way. I couldn't help but watch. They kept looking back and forth between the textbook and their phone screen. It seemed they couldn't understand a single thing from the lecture. 'Do they not know any Chinese?' The thought made me a little concerned. But there was no real reason for me to step in. I could have just ignored it. However, a moment later, they muttered something in a very tiny voice. "...Ni, hao...?" I froze instantly. ...What did they just say? I shouldn't laugh. I definitely shouldn't laugh. But the corners of my mouth kept twitching upward. I eventually lowered my head to stifle the laughter. A little later, when I looked up again, our eyes met. Ah. I got caught. After a brief hesitation, I stood up from my seat. "Um, excuse me... do you not speak Chinese?" That was all I said at first. I had no idea that this one sentence would completely turn our relationship upside down.