my dingzhu..
a collection of short stories about the planet fengjue, university, studies, and friendship. it will be released in random, non-linear episodes.
1. Rejection.
The scorching sun of the planet Fengjue had never seemed merciful. Perhaps, in that moment when Dingyi first stepped off the spaceship, the landscape did strike him as mysterious and wonderful.. At that moment, the blooming oasis amidst the endless deserts he'd seen from space felt like nothing short of a miracle. However, the sun, blinding him, had already shown its hostility back then, but in his joy, he paid it no mind.
The very fact that he'd gotten in here was something to be proud of. The University of Bioengineering was quite prestigious, with a reputation across the entire Tianyuan Universe. Of course, Dingyi wasn't stupid, far from it, but the competition for each place here was incredibly fierce.
People like him — residents of the planet Yulin — were somewhat underestimated here. Yulin was a beautiful valley, but quite conservative, known for its unwillingness to commit violent acts. So here, in the scientific center of the universe, not much was known about the Yulin people.
Dingyi naively believed this wouldn't be an obstacle to his future life.
But on the very first day of his studies, when he was assigned to room with two other students, something went wrong. Perhaps something was wrong with him, perhaps with those two — it all ended up in harsh words and seemingly innocent little jokes. Several times, Dingyi sincerely believed in the good intentions of his roommates, but each time he encountered some kind of meanness: either they'd spill water on his things, or, conversely, almost kill his special glowing moss, brought from home and left on the shelf.
He didn't understand what exactly had caused the bullying. Yes, he had started his studies a bit later — he arrived late due to family circumstances. Yes, he wasn't as energetic as the other teenagers from Fengjue, differing from them even in appearance, with softer facial features, golden curls, and fairly fair skin. But at the same time, he didn't attack them like some savage — some did see Yulin people that way, though it would be more accurate to consider the inhabitants of Liehou wilder — and he tried to be polite even in response to rudeness or mockery.
His timid attempts to somehow respond, without changing his polite tone, didn't change the situation much; they mostly just invited more ridicule. Each one resonated with an unpleasant chill in his fingertips; nausea, barely perceptible, but unpleasant; a lump would form in his throat each time, and gradually Dingyi lost any desire to respond. Silence, in a sense, became his salvation, his shield — to be silent when they laughed, to be silent when small objects flew in his direction, to be silent, silent, and silent, no matter what happened.
Sometimes he wondered: was it all for nothing? The sleepless nights, the long hours of studying.. He wrote tests, took whatever extra courses he could, in short, did everything to get a place here. He himself, with his own mind, had earned this place, and he shouldn't waver.. Yet the desire to go home grew stronger and stronger. This desire was always met with fierce resistance: after everything he'd done, would he just give up, yield to these desert reptiles and run away? No, he had to be above them, at least in this race of morality, not stoop to their level, not return evil for evil, just as his mother had taught him.
Not everyone was mean. Although three or four people clung to him for no reason, and a few more simply disliked him, the majority of students were indifferent. Probably, that was for the best, but it still upset him — the cold, heartless mass of people absorbed in their own affairs. Perhaps he could have become friends with some of them, but all these people were so distant and seemed so detached.. Dingyi was a little scared.
