After having lunch, Xu Xing returned to the classroom. As soon as he sat down, he took out his phone and saw a missed call from his mom.

Holding the phone, Xu Xing walked out into the hallway and called his mom back.

“Mom, what’s up?”

“Xing Xing, your dad will pick you up after school. Is it still at 4:30?”

Xu Xing responded, “Yeah.”

His mom then asked, “Oh, by the way, did you ask your classmate? Invite him to our place for dinner tonight.”

Xu Xing gazed at the puddles of water scattered across the schoolyard, left over from last night’s heavy rain.

Xu Xing replied, “He had something to do today and took a leave of absence, so he didn’t come to school.”

His mom said, “Oh, I see. Well, we’ll invite him over next time. Is there anything special you’d like to eat tonight?”

Xu Xing thought seriously for a moment before responding, “Anything is fine.”

After chatting with his mom for a few more minutes, Xu Xing hung up the phone. He stood aimlessly, staring at the schoolyard. Today, the weather had shifted from cloudy to clear, and a cool breeze blew gently, which should have felt refreshing. But Xu Xing’s furrowed brow remained, no matter how softly the wind blew.

Xu Xing knew that if he invited Lu Che to his house for dinner tonight, even if it meant crossing the entire city, Lu Che would show up. However, if Lu Che did come over for dinner, it would imply that he would also spend the night at his house—

Dinner meant staying over.

Staying over meant sharing a bed.

Sharing a bed meant playing hard to get.

Playing hard to get meant seduction…

What the heck!

Inviting him to dinner equals inviting him to bed!

“…”

Realizing the chain of thoughts he’d just unraveled, Xu Xing was already freaking out, deciding to drop the idea altogether: whoever wanted to invite Lu Che for dinner could go ahead, but it definitely wouldn’t be him.

He had already convinced himself that he needed to show Lu Che a little care from time to time, but he still believed there should be a safe distance between them.

Xu Xing shook off the wild thoughts that had invaded his mind, shuddering as goosebumps covered his skin. Just as he was about to turn back to the classroom, he saw Wang Zicong walking over from the other side of the hallway.

Wang Zicong had a bag of crispy noodles in hand, clearly just returning from snacking at his girlfriend’s classroom.

Wang Zicong, with his chubby and cheerful demeanor, looked like a cute mascot—his smile revealed two sweet dimples. He always smiled when food was involved, and the girls loved teasing him. Everywhere he went, people gave him snacks, as if he lived life like a vending machine.

As soon as Wang Zicong saw Xu Xing, he grinned and said, “Xing Xing, want some?”

While asking, Wang Zicong had already popped a small piece of crispy noodles into his own mouth.

Xu Xing sometimes envied Wang Zicong’s carefree nature. No matter the weather or mood, as long as he had food, it was always a good day.

Xu Xing declined, “No thanks, you go ahead.”

“Okay~”

Wang Zicong followed Xu Xing back into the classroom, walking behind him. The classroom was particularly quiet, and even those who spoke did so in hushed tones. Xu Xing leaned on his desk, deep in thought over a question, idly shaking the pen between his fingers, while beside him, Wang Zicong crunched away on his crispy noodles.

Suddenly, a low voice spoke from behind, “Hey, kiddo~”

Next, Wang Zicong turned his head and replied, “Shijie,,^[1]師姐 shī jiě senior female fellow student or apprentice daughter (older than oneself) of one’s teacher. what brings you here?”

In the quiet classroom, many students in the front rows, including Xu Xing, were drawn to the sight—

At the back of the classroom, a gorgeous girl had walked in. Her long hair draped over her shoulders, and she wore a modified school uniform that accentuated her long legs and beautiful features. Her striking looks initially left people in awe, but on closer inspection, her air of elegance and aloofness made her stand out even more. Though her expression was calm, it didn’t come across as distant—rather, she exuded an innate sense of nobility.

Seeing Wang Zicong’s girlfriend again, Xu Xing couldn’t help but reflect on his previous thoughts. He still couldn’t figure out what someone as stunning as her saw in Wang Zicong. Was it just because he was an exceptionally charming guy despite his chubbiness?

Xu Xing suspected his own thinking wasn’t elevated enough to grasp this kind of mismatch. It seemed many others in the classroom were thinking along the same lines.

The beautiful girl sat down in the empty seat in front of Wang Zicong. She didn’t care about the stares she was getting from the front and back of the room. She placed a bubble tea she’d brought on Wang Zicong’s desk, lightly pinched his cheek, and smiled softly, “This is for you.”

Her voice was soft, slow, and a bit lazy.

Wang Zicong’s eyes lit up as he held the cup in both hands and shyly smiled at his girlfriend, “Thanks, shijie~”

The girl sat across from Wang Zicong, resting her chin on her hand and watching him with a gentle smile.

Wang Zicong pierced the bubble tea lid with a straw but didn’t take a sip right away. Instead, he asked his girlfriend, “Do you want some?”

The girl smiled indulgently and said, “I’ll drink after you.”

Xu Xing: “…”

This scene was brutal for single people. Out of nowhere, he started picturing Lu Che licking the cup he had drunk from, and the image refused to leave his mind.

Wang Zicong was used to this dynamic between them. After taking a sip of the bubble tea, he blinked and started a conversation, “Hey, do you know anyone from my class?”

Even though the classmates came from all over the city, and some even from neighboring towns, there were usually a few old friends around.

The girl replied, “I transferred from another city.”

“Oh, right,” Wang Zicong said, realizing his mistake.

The girl couldn’t resist pinching Wang Zicong’s face again—his skin was fair, soft, and bouncy.

Wang Zicong didn’t mind being pinched. After a moment, he added, “Oh, I forgot to introduce you. This is my deskmate, Xu Xing—one of my best friends.”

Wang Zicong put his left arm around Xu Xing’s shoulder, forcing him to look up from his internal struggle. Xu Xing plastered on a smile and looked at Wang Zicong’s girlfriend, “Hi, nice to meet you.”

The girl gave him a faint smile in return, “Hi.”

Xu Xing wasn’t great at handling these situations, so he quickly looked down at his work, already thinking of excuses to leave.

Then, the girl said, “Actually, I know someone from your class—Ke Di. We had dinner together before. Is he in class today?”

Wang Zicong shook his head with the straw still in his mouth, “No, he didn’t come in since yesterday afternoon. Right, Xu Xing?”

Xu Xing nodded, “Yeah.”

The girl rested her hand on the desk, casually holding Wang Zicong’s hand and playing with his fingers. “I heard there was a fight last night involving some of the athletes at school. I also heard someone got hurt pretty badly.”

Xu Xing immediately looked up and asked, “Who got hurt?”

The girl chuckled softly and said, “I’m not sure about that. But Ke Di was definitely involved.”

She said it lightly. Apparently, there were a few athletes in this grade who didn’t get along. Plus, one of the notorious figures from the previous year had repeated a grade, and now that they were in the same class, tensions were flaring up.

Xu Xing frowned and asked, “Notorious figure?”

The girl smirked and replied, “The guy no one dares to mess with—he’s like the king of the grade. Comes from a powerful family and isn’t afraid to throw his weight around.”

She touched her chin thoughtfully and added, “His name’s Yi Ze. Ever heard of him?”

Wang Zicong shook his head cluelessly.

Xu Xing thought for a moment and said, “The name does sound a bit familiar…”

Though, for some reason, the moment he heard the name, his brain automatically supplied a follow-up: Yi Ze, eat crap.

“…”

The girl didn’t dwell on the topic. Instead, she turned her attention back to Wang Zicong and asked affectionately, “How’s the bubble tea? Tasty?”

Wang Zicong nodded enthusiastically, “Yeah, it’s really good~”

Xu Xing glanced at Wang Zicong’s girlfriend, hesitating but ultimately deciding not to interrupt them. He pulled out his phone from his bag and stared at the chat with Lu Che, hesitating for a few minutes before finally tapping into the reply box.

A nine-key keyboard popped up on the screen, but Xu Xing exited the chat and switched to the notes app, typing out and revising a sentence: “What time will you be back this afternoon?”

Xu Xing was overthinking it again, worried that if Lu Che was staring at their chat at that moment, he might see the dreaded “The other person is typing…” notification beneath Xu Xing’s name.

After cutting the sentence from his notes and pasting it into the chat box, Xu Xing hit send.

As soon as the message went through, several replies came in rapid succession—

LC: Around five or six.

LC: Did you miss me?

LC: I’m thinking about you.

LC: I miss you so much.

LC: I really miss you a lot.

“…”

Every time Xu Xing saw this kind of cheesy talk, he just wanted to grab Lu Che and punch him. He couldn’t understand why Lu Che could say these things so effortlessly.

The word “miss,” at its core, is a silent internal process. If you want to miss someone, go ahead! Miss away! But that’s your own business—don’t say it out loud and burden others with it.

Xu Xing held back the urge to tell him to get lost and instead asked, “Where are you now?”

LC: At the city hospital.

Xu Xing had already suspected as much, but his heart still tightened inexplicably. He was about to ask Lu Che what was going on when another message popped up.

LC: I’m here with someone else.

Reading that, Xu Xing swallowed all the words of concern he had planned to say. Now, staring at the chat screen, he had no idea how to continue the conversation.

Just then, a boy from the front row walked to the back to throw something away, reminding Wang Zicong, “You haven’t copied today’s daily physics problem yet.” As he spoke, he couldn’t resist sneaking a glance at Wang Zicong’s girlfriend.

Wang Zicong suddenly remembered, “Ah, I almost forgot.”

Xu Xing looked up and said, “Hand me your notebook, I’ll copy it for you.”

Wang Zicong turned his head and, feeling grateful, said, “Okay, thanks!”

Xu Xing lowered his head, now having a proper excuse to end his chat with Lu Che. “Gotta go, I need to copy the problem.”

He tossed his phone into his bag, took Wang Zicong’s notebook, and got up to copy the physics exercise from the back blackboard. After finishing, he went to the restroom to wash his hands. When he returned, Tang Mian was standing in the hallway, waving at him.

“Hey, Xing Xing, e on~”

“…”

Hearing Tang Mian bust out the few English words she knew, Xu Xing thought she must have some juicy gossip to share. As he walked over, Tang Mian playfully punched his shoulder, exclaiming, “Ahhh! Zong Zong’s girlfriend is just too beautiful!”

Xu Xing: “…”

Tang Mian couldn’t stop staring into the classroom and didn’t miss the chance to tease Xu Xing, “At times like this, I really worry about you! Even Zong Zong found a goddess-level girlfriend, yet you’re still single—that’s just unacceptable. But hey, you’re single by choice, with your talent! Hahaha!”

Xu Xing snorted dismissively.

Tang Mian nudged him with her shoulder and teased, “Do you need me to introduce someone to you? How about Liu Peilian?”

Xu Xing rolled his eyes, pushing her face away. “I’m warning you, don’t try to set me up behind my back.”

Tang Mian giggled. “I’m just joking~”

Xu Xing changed the subject. “What about the dorm room swap? Is it all sorted?”

Tang Mian leaned back against the hallway railing, stretching her arms out. “Yeah, it’s done. Sigh~”

Xu Xing: “Hmm?”

Tang Mian gazed at the drifting clouds in the sky, shrugging her shoulders. “I still feel bad for Peilian.”

The night Liu Peilian moved dorms, Tang Mian and the other girls had all enthusiastically helped her pack. That night, after lights out, the dorm went quiet, and in the darkness, they heard Peilian’s voice, choking back tears, say, “Thank you.”

The drama between Liu Peilian and Huang Mengjiao had long since become old news, rarely mentioned anymore. Still, it left a bad impression on others. No matter what, breaking someone else’s things is never okay.

But Liu Peilian hadn’t broken anything.

That Saturday, Lin Peisang had called in sick and didn’t come to school. As a close friend, Peilian had checked in on him, listening as he complained, “I’m sick, and I still have to order takeout for myself. My parents went back to our hometown.”

Peilian remembered this.

The next day, under the pretense of studying, she skipped going home and went to the market to buy ingredients to make him congee. But when it was done around 11 a.m., Lin Peisang got a call from Huang Mengjiao, who not only showed concern but shyly asked if he wanted to grab a meal if he was feeling better.

Needless to say, Lin Peisang chose Huang Mengjiao in the end.

Tang Mian couldn’t imagine how Peilian must’ve felt at that moment. But when Peilian later recounted the story to Tang Mian, she did so lightly, as if it was someone else’s heartbreak.

That night, only four girls had stayed in the dorm, and the others all had solid alibis. When asked where she’d been, Peilian claimed she’d spent the day in the school library.

But it just so happened that another roommate had been at the library all day helping the reading club, from 9 a.m. until closing. She hadn’t seen Peilian once—her alibi was immediately disproven, and Peilian naturally became the prime suspect.

Xu Xing frowned. “Wait, that afternoon, I saw Peilian near my house. What time did the incident happen? Maybe I can give her an alibi?”

Tang Mian chuckled softly. “She didn’t even bother explaining herself. Why would she need an alibi?”

Peilian had been exhausted, shopping at the market and making congee for Lin Peisang, only for Huang Mengjiao’s phone call to steal away the gratitude. At that moment, Peilian realized her secret crush was a joke. She would rather be misunderstood than expose the last fragile bit of her dignity.

Xu Xing: “…”

Seeing Xu Xing’s disapproving frown, Tang Mian patted him on the shoulder and teased, “You don’t get it. Anyway, Peilian’s totally over it now. Whether Lin Peisang comes around sweet-talking her or not, she doesn’t care. He could be starving, sick, cold, or lonely—Peilian won’t give a damn anymore. As long as she cared about him, it felt like a burden. Now? It’s nothing.”

“…”

Xu Xing wasn’t entirely convinced. He frowned again. “But if she doesn’t want to explain, and you’re telling me all this, isn’t that kind of… bad?”

Tang Mian laughed. “Not at all. Peilian said the only people who were nice to her at that time were me and the class president. Who knew you, someone so clueless, could be so considerate?”

Xu Xing: “…”

It wasn’t that he was particularly considerate; it was just that a red string had popped up at the time.