The next morning, Xu Xing stood in the hallway eating bread while Wang Zicong, with a book titled “Essential Vocabulary for High School English,” was practicing pronunciation beside him: “At, noun, description; account. Verb, to occupy; to explain.”

Xu Xing, biting into his piece of bread, lazily continued, “Accumulate, verb, to gather, to amass, to increase.”

Wang Zicong turned to look at Xu Xing, his eyes bright, “Oh, that’s completely correct!”

Xu Xing rolled his eyes, “You’ve been memorizing that for almost a week, and you still start with ‘at’? How embarrassing!”

Wang Zicong sheepishly scratched his head, thought for a moment, and flipped his vocabulary book to the back, saying, “Then I’ll start from the back and go forward.”

Xu Xing: “…”

Wang Zicong hadn’t even reached the last page of the vocabulary book when the preparation bell rang.

Xu Xing and Wang Zicong walked to the back door of the classroom one after the other, and by coincidence, they saw Lu Che coming from the other side of the hallway.

As soon as Xu Xing saw Lu Che approaching, his first instinct was to sidestep and tightly grip the door frame just in case, but he realized he was overthinking it—there was no reaction from the invisible red thread; Lu Che didn’t even glance at him.

Lu Che was holding a cup of hot cocoa with the lid off, a straw between his thin lips, his expression cold and indifferent, walking past Xu Xing without a sideways glance.

Xu Xing felt a bit dazed for a moment, then was glad: the red thread effect had significantly weakened over the past two days, and even Lu Che was starting to ignore him.

Once this thought crossed his mind, Xu Xing felt much lighter and returned to class in a cheerful mood.

During the break, Xu Xing sat in his seat working on problems while Tang Mian and Wang Zicong were nearby dividing up snacks, the two arguing absurdly over food.

They were initially sharing a bag of strawberry-filled white chocolate peacefully, taking turns one by one, which was fair and enjoyable. But when they realized the count was odd, when Tang Mian poured the last piece of chocolate into her palm, Wang Zicong suggested, “Hey, why not leave one for Xu Xing?”

Tang Mian replied, “It’s too sweet; Xu Xing wouldn’t like it.”

Wang Zicong insisted, “This one isn’t as sweet as the milk-flavored white chocolate.”

Xu Xing, annoyed, clicked his ballpoint pen, producing a crisp “click-click” sound. He turned to interrupt them, saying, “Tang Mian, please shove that thing in Wang Zicong’s mouth, and then please shut up.”

Tang Mian complied, “Eh! Okay, okay!”

She was just teasing Wang Zicong for fun and didn’t genuinely want to fight him over a piece of candy.

A strawberry-filled chocolate was fed into Wang Zicong’s mouth, and he chewed it happily, tactfully keeping his mouth closed.

Tang Mian, trying to make conversation, said, “Xingxing, I want some chocolate candy.”

Without even looking up, Xu Xing reached under the desk, rummaged for a while, and then tossed two pieces onto Wang Zicong’s desk. Tang Mian, grabbing the candy, didn’t forget to flatter him: “Xingxing, you’re the best. We’re changing seats next Monday, right? I hope you don’t separate us.”

Xu Xing paused mid-writing upon hearing that.

It was an offhand comment, but Xu Xing took it to heart.

He lifted his head and glanced at the arrangement of the four groups in the class, quickly coming to a decision: he could move Lu Che’s group from the fourth, near the hallway, to the first, closer to the windows. The rest of the groups would just shift inward one seat.

Just like how Lu Che was in charge of deciding which numbers were picked for the random checks on physics homework, the seating arrangement was entirely up to Xu Xing, the class monitor.

Xu Xing thought it was a brilliant plan—he would sit by the window while Lu Che would be all the way on the hallway side, the farthest possible distance between them.

Right at that moment, Xu Xing overheard someone from the second group call out, “Lu Che, which numbers are we checking for today’s homework?”

Lu Che didn’t answer.

Xu Xing couldn’t help but glance over and saw that Lu Che was busy playing a game of Tic-Tac-Toe with Fu Dai on a piece of scratch paper—one drawing circles, the other Xs.

Ke Di was perched on his desk, leaning over Fu Dai’s shoulder to watch, and commented, “Che-ge is crushing it, Fu Dai is done for.”

Among the group, only Zhou Mang sat alone, listening to music through his headphones and doing practice problems, detached from the chaos.

The group leader from the second group walked over and asked, “Hey, Lu Che, are we turning in the physics homework?”

Lu Che, just after making his next move, absentmindedly replied, “Numbers 1 and 0.”

Ke Di’s eyes widened and quickly exclaimed, “Che-ge, you and I are number 1!”

Lu Che was number 11, and Ke Di was 51.

But it wasn’t surprising that Lu Che forgot his number—he had transferred into the class last semester as number 67, and after moving up to senior year, he replaced the former physics representative, taking on number 11.

Upon realizing his mistake, Lu Che quickly corrected himself, “Alright, then numbers 0 and 9. Ke Di, go write it on the board.”

Ke Di happily obliged, saying, “On it!”

Xu Xing, sitting at the front, couldn’t quite make out the details of the conversation, but he saw Ke Di go to the blackboard and clumsily write: Physics homework check for numbers ending in 0 and 9.

Xu Xing rarely saw the number 7 not being chosen, so he was momentarily in disbelief.

As Ke Di headed to the board, Lu Che won yet another round of Tic-Tac-Toe and twirled his pen in triumph around his fingers.

At that moment, the noisy background music from the radio exercises ended, and Ke Di peeked out the window toward the playground. Once the crowd dispersed, he clapped his hands and called out, “Alright, time to head down for PE class!”

The third period was physical education.

Although the PE teacher wasn’t strict about class discipline, there was one rule—students had to gather quickly when the warning bell rang. If anyone ran to the playground after the actual bell, they’d have to run three laps as punishment.

No one wanted to test the new teacher’s limits, so everyone silently agreed to follow the rule without hesitation.

Xu Xing checked the time and left for the playground a few minutes early. As soon as he stepped out of the classroom, he ran into Xiao Shun.

Xu Xing stopped in his tracks and greeted him, “Hey~”

Xiao Shun smiled faintly and nodded, and the two walked together.

As they reached the stairwell, Xu Xing casually glanced out the low window and saw that Lu Che and the others were already sitting by the basketball court, waiting for class to start.

Xiao Shun also glanced over, noticing that Jiang Jize was among them. However, today, Jiang Jize was by himself, without the long-haired girl who usually hung around him.

The long-haired girl appeared so frequently that even Xiao Shun wasn’t the only one bothered by it. Ke Di, curious, asked Jiang Jize, “Hey, where’s that girl who’s always with you?”

Jiang Jize, sitting cross-legged at the edge of the basketball court, unwrapped a sausage snack and took a bite, saying, “Don’t mention her, she’s annoying.”

Ke Di, sensing gossip, eagerly asked, “What’s up, not talking to her anymore?”

Jiang Jize scoffed, “Nah, she’s the one not talking to me.”

Fu Dai turned his head and asked, “Why?”

Jiang Jize, unconcerned, replied, “We were joking around this morning, and out of nowhere, she said I smelled like someone else. I was literally hanging out in your dorm at 11 p.m. last night, didn’t go anywhere. She thinks I’m messing around or something, accuses me of lying, and then stopped talking to me—what the hell? It’s not like she’s my girlfriend.”

Ke Di burst out laughing and leaned in, sniffing exaggeratedly, and jokingly sang, “You’ve got her perfume on you, it’s my nose that’s to blame~”

Jiang Jize spat, “Shut up.”

After laughing, Ke Di tried to mediate, explaining, “Girls are like that, playing hard to get. She’s probably just waiting for you to apologize.”

Lu Che: “…”

How does acting like that make someone a ‘typical girl’?

Lu Che, standing nearby, felt an urge to punch someone.

Jiang Jize snorted, “Apologize? Forget it, I don’t have the patience.”

He raised his arm and sniffed his sleeve. His uniform had a faint scent of laundry detergent—pleasant but so light it would be hard to notice unless you were really trying.

“Oh, right,” he added, “someone else did my laundry.”

Fu Dai clicked his tongue, exclaiming, “You’re something else. Someone’s doing your laundry, and you’re calling them ‘someone’?”

Jiang Jize chuckled, “Of course, because it’s a guy.”

A guy doing Jiang Jize’s laundry?

Ke Di and Fu Dai exchanged bewildered looks. As two straight guys who hated doing their own laundry, this revelation hit harder than expected.

Just then, Xu Xing and Xiao Shun rounded the corner, and Jiang Jize greeted them, “Hey, Xiao Shun~”

Hearing his name, Xiao Shun instinctively shrank back but then forced himself to look Jiang Jize in the eye and respond, “Hey…”

Xu Xing, following Xiao Shun’s gaze, unintentionally locked eyes with Lu Che. This time, Lu Che didn’t look away but instead stared back—

And scoffed.

Xu Xing: ???

He thought Lu Che was definitely out of his mind and made a mental note to keep his distance.

That day, during PE, the teacher once again gave the class half the period for free activities.

Tang Mian and several of her dorm mates pulled Xu Xing and a few others—boys and girls alike—together to form a circle to play kick shuttlecock.

Xu Xing was unbeatable at badminton, but when it came to kicking the shuttlecock, he missed every other shot. To make matters worse, Wang Zicong and Tang Mian took every opportunity to target him, constantly kicking the shuttlecock his way.

After yet another missed kick and a trip to retrieve the shuttlecock, Xu Xing was intercepted by the PE teacher, who called out, “You’re the class monitor for Class 7, right?”

Xu Xing looked up and replied, “Yes, I am.”

The PE teacher said, “I just saw a few girls head back to the classroom. Go and bring them down.”

The PE teacher had already emphasized in the previous class that during free activity time in PE, students shouldn’t go back to the classroom. After all, walking through the corridors to the classroom would disturb other classes in progress. If the girls were allowed to break the rules today, more students would likely ignore them in the future.

Xu Xing, who had been looking for an excuse to stop playing shuttlecock, happily accepted the teacher’s instruction. He tossed the shuttlecock to Tang Mian and the others, eagerly took up the task, and headed toward the teaching building.

Climbing the stairs, Xu Xing made sure to walk lightly through the corridor. The classroom of Class 7 was empty and quiet. A quick glance showed two girls studying in the front row, while only Lu Che was sitting in the back.

Xu Xing found Lu Che’s constant presence annoying, but he just grumbled internally out of habit. He firmly believed that every coincidence between them was due to the mysterious red string, and since he was the one sent by the teacher to the classroom, he had no right to blame Lu Che.

Xu Xing entered through the front door, walked up to the two girls, and softly said, “Hey, the PE teacher said not to come back to the classroom during activity time. Let’s head downstairs quickly.”

The two girls looked up, nodded, and promptly left with their books.

Now, only Lu Che was left in the classroom.

Xu Xing really wanted to leave immediately after telling the girls, but doing so without informing Lu Che felt wrong.

Lu Che had his earphones in, eyes fixed on his phone.

Xu Xing walked over to Lu Che, stopping beside Fu Dai’s empty desk. It was only then that Lu Che nonchalantly raised his head.

Lu Che didn’t seem surprised—he had noticed Xu Xing when he was talking to the girls earlier. Feigning indifference was Lu Che’s last bit of pride.

Xu Xing pointed to his ear, signaling Lu Che to take off his earphones.

Lu Che lazily hooked his finger around the earphone cord, pulled it out, and coolly asked, “What’s up?”

Xu Xing was about to speak when he suddenly noticed a faint red string appearing between his and Lu Che’s hands.

“…”

The empty classroom, the breeze swaying the curtains.

Xu Xing stood in front of Lu Che, hesitating.

The red string connecting them glowed softly, as if deliberately trying to draw attention to itself, afraid that Xu Xing might ignore it.

Seeing Xu Xing lost in thought and silent for a while, Lu Che automatically assumed he was hesitating for some other reason. Unable to stop himself, he smirked and leaned casually against the wall. “Come on, just say it. Are you here to apologize or confess?”

Xu Xing didn’t understand where the “apology” came from, but the word “confess” reminded him of the deep-rooted misunderstanding Lu Che had—one caused entirely by the red string.

Xu Xing pursed his lips, hesitated for a moment, and then, with the utmost seriousness, said to Lu Che, “I have something important to tell you.”

Determined not to let his eyes wander to the bow tied around Lu Che’s waistband, Xu Xing stared intently at Lu Che’s face.

He had considered explaining the red string to Lu Che before, but at first, he didn’t have any proof of its existence, and then he wasn’t sure how to resolve the issue. Now, however, both those problems seemed solvable, and this was the perfect time.

Xu Xing took a deep breath and said earnestly, “It’s neither an apology nor a confession, but… it’s something that could affect our lifelong happiness. What I’m about to say might sound strange, but I swear on my name that it’s the absolute truth.”

Lu Che chuckled softly, amused by the odd prelude to what he assumed was a confession.

Xu Xing estimated that the red string would only last for about an hour. He needed to resolve this before PE class ended, so he didn’t waste any more time. “Here’s the thing…”

Lu Che raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

Xu Xing, trying to maintain a serious expression, uttered something bizarre: “There’s a red string connected between us. I don’t know why, but I need to untie it so we can both be free from it. That way, I won’t keep falling into your arms for no reason.”

Xu Xing did his best to explain clearly, but even he realized how absurd it sounded—as if he were out of his mind.

To his surprise, Lu Che’s reaction was better than expected. He merely asked calmly, “And how do you plan to untie it?”

Xu Xing grimaced and replied, “Well… I can’t touch it directly with anything, so I’ll have to use my hands…” to untie the red string’s bow.

Before Xu Xing could finish, Lu Che interrupted, pulling out the other earphone and subtly unplugging the earphones from his phone. “Class rep, can you repeat what you just said? I’m still a bit confused.”

Xu Xing blinked in confusion but didn’t hesitate to repeat his well-rehearsed speech word for word.

As soon as he finished, Lu Che smirked devilishly. “I recorded that.”

Xu Xing froze for a moment, then cautiously replied, “Well, it’s not a big deal… Even if you tell others, no one will believe you anyway. They’d probably think it’s just a prank. I don’t mind; as long as you cooperate with me, it’s fine.”

Xu Xing had prepared himself for the worst, expecting Lu Che to mock him and tell him to leave. He had even planned to pull on the red string to let Lu Che feel its mysterious force. But now, Lu Che’s response was completely unexpected.

Lu Che, on the other hand, was baffled by how thick-skinned Xu Xing could be.

“I mean, ‘not a big deal’? Class rep, your ability to stay calm is more impressive than I thought.”

Xu Xing was confused.

Lu Che unlocked his phone and pressed play on the recording.

Xu Xing remained calm, listening to his voice echo from the phone—

“There’s a d-dick connected between us. I don’t know why, but I need to untie it so we can both be free from it, and I won’t keep falling into your arms for no reason.”

“???”

Xu Xing listened through the entire recording, at first hearing nothing wrong. But on the second replay, two strange, garbled sounds became clear. His composed face began to crack, and he stared at Lu Che in horror. “I… I didn’t say that!!”

The recording played again, tormenting Xu Xing with its repeated misinterpretation.

“There’s a…”

Whenever Xu Xing mentioned “red string,” the audio would mysteriously cut out, replacing the words with a garbled “d-dick” sound.

What the… self-censoring magic?!

Xu Xing felt like crying, unable to comprehend how this ridiculous audio glitch had happened. But even though he could tell it was a distorted recording, to Lu Che, this was exactly what he had heard.

Lu Che pocketed the recording of Xu Xing’s rather questionable confession and swung his phone around, saying, “Class rep, do all your guys’ hook-ups start with such a roundabout speech? Is it because you’re gay that your words get all twisted? I almost didn’t understand you.”

Xu Xing’s tongue twisted in fear. “No no no… you really don’t get it… You think I’m crazy?! How could I say something like that?! What I actually said was…”

Xu Xing was shocked and stunned, his heart filled with mixed emotions. His face turned pale, completely unsure how to explain himself.

Lu Che, guarding his phone with his arms crossed, said lightly, “That’s why I think you’ve gone mad.”

“…”

Xu Xing opened his mouth but couldn’t utter a word.

He feared that anything he said would sound like mad ramblings.

Xu Xing was frantic, pacing back and forth. He noticed a draft notebook for playing Go on the corner of Lu Che’s desk. In a desperate attempt to prove his innocence, he picked up a pen, intending to write something on the paper. However, the pen tip refused to cooperate. As a last resort, in a moment of feverish impulsiveness, he decided to draw a bowknot instead.

He first drew an infinity symbol, and when he was about to add the two tassels, his hand suddenly twitched, and instead of tassels, he drew a cylinder.

Xu Xing: “…”

Lu Che: “…”

Two loops and a cylinder.

Vividly sketched on the paper.

From Xu Xing’s perspective, it could still be seen as a magic wand, but from Lu Che’s angle, it undoubtedly looked like something indescribable.