The bus reached the stop.

Xu Xing got off first, his face tense, while Lu Che followed with a smile in his eyes. Xu Xing was mentally wrestling with himself: he was used to Lu Che’s sharp tongue and teasing nature, but just now—when he fell into Lu Che’s arms and then held Lu Che tightly—why was he the one blushing, his heart racing? Meanwhile, Lu Che just stood there with a smirk, looking annoyingly smug.

Lu Che followed Xu Xing back to the dorm.

No one was inside. Xu Xing tossed his backpack to the foot of his bed and went straight into the bathroom. Lu Che casually sat on Xu Xing’s bed, leaning back and burying his face in the blanket, which still held Xu Xing’s faint scent.

Turning to lie sideways on the bed, Lu Che reached for the pillow to prop it up. As he moved it, though, a corner of a loose sheet of paper peeked out from underneath.

Curious, Lu Che lifted the pillow—beneath it was a folded sheet of paper, covered with a chaotic assortment of X’s, O’s, and red-inked hearts. The tic-tac-toe game’s final winner was the one with the X’s, but the O’s seemed to have lost with surprising satisfaction.

“Heh—”

Lu Che couldn’t help but laugh. He hadn’t expected Xu Xing to keep this paper, much less treasure it under his pillow every night. The thought of Xu Xing holding onto it so carefully made Lu Che feel like locking the dorm room door right then and there.

When Xu Xing came out after washing his hands, he found Lu Che still sitting at the bed’s edge. Nothing seemed out of place, but Lu Che was looking at him with an unsettlingly gentle gaze—the kind that could drown a girl’s heart but made Xu Xing feel an intense sense of danger.

“…”

Xu Xing paused by the doorway, frowning. “Why are you still here instead of going back? I’m about to go out for dinner.”

Lu Che let out an “ah” and stood up. “Ke Di invited me out for dinner. Want to come?”

Without hesitation, Xu Xing replied, “Sure.”

His top priority was to avoid being alone with Lu Che.

Typically, Xu Xing would return to school just as the bell for Sunday night self-study rang. He had thought Lu Che’s early return meant eating leftover cafeteria food alone, but it turned out that Ke Di and the others were also back.

The group of boys headed out to a small restaurant for stir-fry. Ke Di held the menu, reading off dishes and waiting for anyone to object if they didn’t eat something. Lu Che stepped outside to take a call, and when Ke Di mentioned stir-fried mantis shrimp, Xu Xing casually said, “Lu Che doesn’t eat that, right?”

Ke Di looked puzzled. “Che-ge does eat it, though.”

Just then, Lu Che returned. Ke Di asked, “Che-ge, tired of mantis shrimp?”

Lu Che was confused and, hearing Ke Di’s explanation, saw Xu Xing pretending to look indifferent, glancing away. Lu Che sat beside Xu Xing and explained, “Is it because I didn’t eat it at your house? I actually like it, but you guys are pros at eating shrimp—biting the shell off effortlessly. I need to peel it with my hands, which just looks clumsy, so I didn’t eat it.”

Xu Xing averted his gaze and muttered, “Oh.”

But then he felt Lu Che gently holding his hand under the table.

“…”

They were seated on a curved bench around a table. With no one noticing, Lu Che held Xu Xing’s hand under the table. While Ke Di, Fu Dai, and Zhou Mang were engrossed in their conversation, Xu Xing was mortified by the public hand-holding.

Xu Xing tried to pull his hand away discreetly, turning to glare at Lu Che. He couldn’t pull too hard, though, or he’d draw attention.

Lu Che held his hand with his left hand while his right hand continued typing on his phone. He entered a line of text, then nudged the phone toward Xu Xing to see.

—”Class monitor, you probably don’t realize how kind you are.”

Lu Che had once told him that Xu Xing’s way of expressing love was exhausting, for both Xu Xing and those he cared for. Xu Xing was awkward and reserved, always keeping others at a distance, yet he paid careful attention to everything. Without asking, Xu Xing had remembered Lu Che’s likes and dislikes after just a few meals, knowing he loved sweet and spicy flavors but not fish.

Lu Che was flooded with emotion, but to Xu Xing, it just seemed like senseless sentimentality. Xu Xing’s focus was on Lu Che’s saved nickname for him: “Xing Xing, will you wake up today? Not yet.”

Xu Xing: “…”

Just then, Ke Di interrupted, “Hey, Che-ge, what are you and the class monitor looking at?”

Hearing this, Lu Che turned off the phone screen and smirked, saying, “Just showing the class monitor someone I love.”

With a playful tone, Lu Che added, “Did you see?”

Xu Xing wanted to snap back, but then it hit him—the phone’s black screen mirrored his own face perfectly.

“…”

Speechless, Xu Xing remained silent. Ke Di and Fu Dai were piqued with curiosity, but only Zhou Mang continued sipping his tea calmly.

“Are you serious? Che-ge, did you start dating already?” Ke Di gaped.

Fu Dai chimed in, “Impossible! Faster than me?”

Lu Che put his phone away, raising an eyebrow. “Obviously faster than you.”

Fu Dai had been pursuing Xiong Huan since sophomore year, and everyone knew about it, yet he hadn’t succeeded.

Unsettled at missing the “girlfriend reveal,” Ke Di grumbled, “Che-ge, how could you keep this from us?”

Lu Che replied nonchalantly, “Why? I haven’t seen your girlfriend, either.”

“…”

Ke Di fell silent.

Fu Dai’s curiosity got the best of him. “Class monitor, who’s in the photo? Do we know her?”

Xu Xing’s hand was finally released, and he calmly replied, “Don’t listen to him. He didn’t show me anything.”

Under the table, Xu Xing nudged Lu Che’s leg, signaling him to stop making things up.

Lu Che stifled a laugh and went along with it.

Their excitement deflated, Ke Di shifted the conversation back to Fu Dai.

He teased, “By the way, Fu Dai, how’s it going with Xiong Huan? She’s so hard to catch—it must be exhausting.”

Fu Dai retorted, “I didn’t ask you to watch.”

Ke Di sighed, “Poor guy. The infamous troublemaker who once threatened to withdraw funding in the principal’s office is now agreeing to apologize publicly to the dean tomorrow morning.”

Lu Che chuckled. “The class rep has got you on lock.”

Fu Dai shrugged, surprisingly proud. “You guys wouldn’t understand that feeling—falling for someone in an instant, like you’re under a spell, and happily so.”

Xu Xing glanced over at the two of them sitting together, noticing a vivid red string connecting them.

Fu Dai recalled—

One time, back in sophomore year, a bunch of them were hanging out, smoking, and drinking, and the conversation naturally shifted to the girls in their class.

“Honestly, the prettiest girl in our class has to be Xiong Huan,” someone remarked. “And she’s single.”

Another chimed in, “Xiong Huan is definitely pretty, a top student in our class. But she’s got that air about her, looking down on us lazy guys. Like any of us would actually try—she’s just too much work.”

The idea of dating such a proud, top-performing girl seemed both unappealing and out of reach, not to mention her mother, the feared sophomore dean.

The talk eventually led to a challenge: whoever lost a game would have to confess to Xiong Huan, just to see her reaction.

Fu Dai lost.

At first, he wasn’t fazed—he could easily block Xiong Huan on her way back to her dorm.

When he confessed, Xiong Huan’s refined face blushed deep red, looking completely different from her usual distant demeanor. Awkward and flustered, she initially turned him down, then paused and turned back. Bowing at a perfect 45 degrees, she blushed, saying, “Thank you for liking me…”

When she left, Fu Dai was still stunned: “…”

That bow—adorably cute.

·

The next day.

Monday’s homeroom period ended with Fu Dai’s apology broadcast.

During the break, Fu Dai returned to class and eagerly sought Xiong Huan’s approval.

Ke Di leaned against Zhou Mang, eating sunflower seeds and smirking. “Fu Dai might just luck out from all this.”

Xiong Huan no longer acted coldly toward Fu Dai and would even respond to him.

Xu Xing looked at the two in front of him, connected by a vibrant red string. Nowadays, whenever he saw these solo red strings, he treated them like missions, always ready to play matchmaker. But with no guidance from the string, he was the one being overloaded with love-filled scenes.

After class, Fu Dai would fetch warm water for Xiong Huan; if she sneezed, he’d rush over to turn off the fan. When he scored 40 points on his morning quiz, he proudly went to Xiong Huan, saying, “I did this myself. I didn’t copy, and I didn’t guess. I knew all the problem-solving steps.”

Xiong Huan stayed silent for a while, then reached out her soft, porcelain-white hand and patted Fu Dai’s head. She had a light, elegant scent of orchid.

Compared to Fu Dai, Xu Xing was quite annoyed with Lu Che—

Lu Che: “Class monitor, I want some chocolate~”

Xu Xing: “…”

Xu Xing tossed two candies onto Lu Che’s desk.

Lu Che: “Class monitor, could you unwrap them for me~?”

Xu Xing: “…”

Lu Che: “Class monitor, could you feed me, too~?”

Xu Xing: “…”

At his limit, Xu Xing snatched back the two candies, muttering a single word as he handed them to Lu Che: “Leave!”

---

Author’s Note: Showing off love, _.