It’s October, but the weather still hasn’t cooled down.

In the back row of a classroom at Lancheng University, a male student lay slumped over his desk, drifting off to sleep.

The late afternoon sun, around four o’clock, streamed through the glass windows, shining directly on him.

He held a pen between his fingers, lightly twirling it, while his textbook stood open on the desk, propped up to block the sunlight.

But it didn’t do much; half of his face was still exposed to the light.

This was an English class, with only a little time left. The teacher was sitting on a chair by the podium, holding a phone, smiling to herself at something she had seen.

The rest of the class had already dozed off, but the teacher didn’t seem to mind.

“Hey, did you see the group chat messages?”

“What messages?”

Two girls in the row in front whispered to each other.

Yan Zimi shifted slightly and pulled his book closer.

Now, it blocked his face.

“Pei Huan is playing basketball down there.”

“Pei Huan from the Math Department?”

“Yeah.”

Yan Zimi opened his eyes.

The two girls in front had already peeked out, but since they were still in class, they were being very cautious.

“Which one is Pei Huan? I’m not wearing my glasses.”

“I’m not wearing mine either. I didn’t put them on because I thought I’d just head back after class.”

“Same here.”

The girls leaned closer to the window, carefully keeping an eye on the teacher at the podium.

“Which one? There are so many people.”

“I don’t know. Ask in the group chat.”

Just as she finished speaking, a voice from behind them spoke up.

“The one in the white shirt and black pants.”

The girls turned around, and Yan Zimi happened to look away from the windowsill.

The girl by the window calmed down a bit, “Oh.”

Another girl asked, “You know him too?”

Before Yan Zimi could answer, the girl by the window got excited again, “He got the ball!”

At that moment, the player in the white shirt and black pants made a three-pointer.

“Wow.”

“Wow.”

Following the girls’ awed exclamations, Yan Zimi glanced back again.

“He’s so handsome!”

“No wonder it’s Pei Huan.”

Unfortunately, the ball had already hit the ground, and Yan Zimi didn’t see anything.

The English class ended as usual, rather hastily. The teacher, not wanting to stay any longer, kept checking the time and quickly packed up the books.

As soon as the bell rang, the teacher had already left the classroom.

With the weekend just around the corner, a few low cheers of relief erupted from the class, followed by the sound of chairs being dragged.

“Hey, don’t leave yet, everyone.”

During the bustle of packing up, a boy from the front row walked up to the podium. “I have an announcement.”

The boy started to take out his notebook but suddenly shouted towards the back row, “Yan Zimi!”

Yan Zimi, who had already slung his bag over his shoulder, paused and looked towards the podium.

“What’s up? I said I have an announcement. Did you hear me?”

The boy at the podium was clearly impatient.

All eyes in the class were now on Yan Zimi.

Yan Zimi simply redirected his gaze, turned his back, and left the classroom through the back door.

“Yan Zimi!”

“Damn it! What’s with the attitude?!”

In the Art Department Class 1, everyone knows that Yan Zimi and Lin Sheng have never gotten along. Their discord started right at the beginning of their freshman year and has continued to this day.

One is the top student in the department, excelling in every aspect, while the other is a sycophant, always running errands for the teachers. Regardless, both are well-liked by the faculty.

So neither has suffered any real consequences from their conflict.

Lin Sheng has a bad temper, and over the past year, people have been worried that he might do something to Yan Zimi.

Fortunately, nothing has happened.

Just like today, no matter how angry and loud Lin Sheng gets, Yan Zimi simply ignores him.

Yan Zimi has a naturally aloof face, especially his eyes. When he has no expression, he gives off an aura that makes people hesitant to engage in conversation with him.

Many people say he’s a natural-born artist.

But no one can deny that Yan Zimi looks especially charming when he smiles.

Especially that tiny mole on the tip of his nose—it seems to add a touch of playfulness to his appearance.

As soon as Yan Zimi left, the class grew impatient, almost as if it caught the wind of the situation.

Everyone urged Lin Sheng to hurry up.

“Get on with it, just say what you need to say. Don’t waste our time.”

Lin Sheng was displeased, but he had no choice but to swallow his frustration.

….

Exiting the English classroom, Yan Zimi took the passageway to get downstairs faster.

From this passageway, he could also see the basketball court below.

However, by the time Yan Zimi reached this point, the people on the court had already dispersed. Some were packing their bags, some were drinking water, and some were being wiped down by their girlfriends.

He didn’t see Pei Huan.

After crossing the bridge, Yan Zimi stopped looking down.

He had a painting to finish today and an event to prepare for tomorrow. He hadn’t started yet, so he needed to get back quickly.

After being in the sun for half a class, Yan Zimi felt a bit thirsty once he reached downstairs.

He decided to find a nearby convenience store.

As soon as he walked in, he heard a voice from behind him.

“I’m going to buy a bottle of water.”

Yan Zimi glanced back briefly before returning his gaze to the fridge, taking out a bottle of water.

However, he didn’t close the fridge door firmly, letting it squeak as it followed the fridge’s suction.

Soon, a pair of large hands rested on the top of the fridge door frame above his head.

Yan Zimi blinked lightly.

The fridge door was opened again.

Yan Zimi and Pei Huan went to the cashier one after the other.

“Two yuan,” the cashier said when they reached the counter.

Yan Zimi scanned the code and entered an amount on his phone.

“Together.”

As Yan Zimi spoke, the store’s loudspeaker announced, “WeChat payment, 4 yuan.”

In Yan Zimi’s peripheral vision, he saw the person behind him lift his gaze from his phone after hearing the announcement.

Yes, it was just the two of them in the store.

After Yan Zimi paid and began to leave, he acted as if nothing had happened.

But after only two steps, he was stopped.

Not completely blocked, but Pei Huan moved quickly to the side, holding up a bottle of mineral water in front of him.

“Classmate.”

As Pei Huan spoke, he noticed that when the bottle of water brushed against Yan Zimi’s arm, he flinched slightly.

Pei Huan pulled the water bottle back a little but still kept his posture blocking Yan Zimi’s way.

“Do we know each other?”

The person in front of Pei Huan was slightly shorter than him, with somewhat long and curly hair tied into a small braid at the back of his head.

But he never looked at Pei Huan.

He simply said, “I don’t know you.”

Pei Huan was about to ask more when the person suddenly moved to the side.

“Pei Huan,” someone called from outside, “What’s up?”

Pei Huan glanced outside, and the person took large steps and left.

Pei Huan looked at the water bottle in his hand and went outside.

“What’s going on?”

Once outside, his roommate asked, “Did you run into someone you know?”

Pei Huan wasn’t sure which way the person went; by the time he came out, he was already gone.

“Not really.”

Pei Huan opened the water bottle and took a sip.

His roommate actually laughed, “You don’t know him, but I do.”

Pei Huan asked, puzzled, “You know him?”

Zhao Di replied, “That’s Yan Zimi.”

Pei Huan asked, “Who?”

Zhao Di replied, “Yan Zimi from the Art Department.”

Pei Huan still didn’t recognize the name. “Who?”

Zhao Di was taken aback. “You don’t know him? He’s like the campus heartthrob in the Art Department. He was famous even in his freshman year.”

Pei Huan said, “Nope, I don’t know.”

Zhao Di chuckled, “So, what do you think? Handsome, right?”

Handsome?

Pei Huan tried to recall.

There wasn’t a clear image.

All he could remember was the small braid, very fair skin, and the way Yan Zimi’s cheeks flushed as soon as Pei Huan spoke.

It felt a bit confusing.

“Handsome?”

Pei Huan responded, “Not really.”