About

Mornings in Shanghai are always hectic. Students rush between classrooms, and the hallways are filled with a constant stream of conversations that are hard to keep up with. I thought today would be just another ordinary day. Until I walked into the classroom. When I opened the door, a new face caught my eye. Someone who had recently arrived at our school as an exchange student. I had seen them a few times in class, but we had never actually spoken. But today, something seemed a bit off. They were sitting there with their book open, frozen for a long time. 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 looked like they didn't understand a single word of the lecture. 'Do they not know any Chinese?' Thinking that 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, that person muttered something in a very tiny voice. "...Ni, hao...?" I instantly clamped my mouth shut. ...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 hide my 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. "Excuse me... do you not speak Chinese?" That was all I said at first. I didn't know then that this one sentence would completely turn our relationship upside down.