Xu Xing pretended to stay calm, burying himself in copying the questions, but he couldn’t ignore the intense gaze from across the desk. The silence between them only amplified the ambiguous atmosphere, thickening the air until it felt as sticky as malt syrup.

Feeling uncomfortable, Xu Xing kept his head down, reached over with his left hand, and propped up the textbook in front of Lu Che to block his view.

Xu Xing: “Focus on your book.”

Lu Che: “Alright~”

Lu Che first pulled the book back down with his left hand, then, with his right, smoothly grabbed Xu Xing’s hand and didn’t let go.

“…”

Xu Xing hesitated, wondering whether to pull his hand back, when suddenly Lu Che leaned over, placing a warm, soft kiss on the back of Xu Xing’s hand.

Xu Xing jerked his hand back, as if burned, his fingers curling up.

He glared at Lu Che with exasperation: “Enough already.”

Lu Che licked his lips, grinning. “Not quite enough~”

Wang Zicong glanced over curiously.

Xu Xing couldn’t be bothered to pay Lu Che any more attention.

Lu Che didn’t disturb Xu Xing’s studying and took out an exam paper, answering questions selectively.

“Class monitor.”

Xu Xing looked up after finishing his physics problem and saw Lu Che twirling his pen, smiling. “Are we moving from the third cosmic velocity to the first now?”

Xu Xing: “Huh?”

He quickly grasped what Lu Che meant: the third cosmic velocity is known as “escape velocity,” while the first is “orbital velocity,” with the second, “transfer velocity,” in between.

There was no escaping it, yet breaking free seemed impossible.

Xu Xing remained silent.

But it was Lu Che who was at the first cosmic velocity. As long as Xu Xing didn’t untie the red string, Lu Che would orbit him endlessly, unable to leave his side—

Lu Che would always be unwaveringly devoted to him.

Xu Xing’s gaze lowered, his lashes trembling slightly as he muttered internally: it wasn’t that he didn’t want to untie the red string; it was just too hard to untie. It wasn’t his fault.

Lu Che noticed Xu Xing’s hesitant expression and smirked, taking it as silent acceptance.

---

Later that night, after lights out in the dorm.

Xu Xing lay on his side, his phone casting a faint glow. He hadn’t moved from Lu Che’s chat window, where Lu Che had sent messages just minutes before.

LC: Are you asleep?

LC: Do you miss me?

LC: I miss you

LC: Really miss you

LC: See you tomorrow

“…”

They’d just walked back to the dorm together, separated for less than two hours.

Xu Xing meant to turn off his phone, but he paused, hesitated, then randomly typed the number “3” as a reply to Lu Che before shutting down and going to sleep.

In another room, three dorms away, Lu Che lay in bed, staring at the number “3” and thinking it over.

---

The next day, during the morning exercises for the second-year students.

Xu Xing stood by the window, looking outside, while Lu Che sat on his desk, wrapping an arm around Xu Xing’s waist. Resting his cheek against Xu Xing’s shoulder, he asked playfully, “Class monitor, what does the number 3 mean? I thought about it all night.”

Xu Xing: “…”

He turned to give Lu Che an exasperated glance and actually noticed faint dark circles under Lu Che’s eyes.

Xu Xing explained, equally exasperated, “I just replied randomly so you wouldn’t say I wasn’t answering you.”

Lu Che listened, clearly disappointed: “I thought it might be a hidden love message.”

“…”

Xu Xing changed the topic: “Why hasn’t Fu Dai come back yet?”

Fu Dai’s seat was still empty today. Xu Xing hadn’t paid much attention, but since Xiong Huan glanced back a few times during the morning review, Xu Xing noticed it too.

Lu Che replied, “He’s probably busy with something at home. Ke Di tried calling him last night, but he didn’t pick up.”

From the back row, Ke Di chimed in, “Class monitor~ you could ask the language class rep. I tried calling him three or four times, but he didn’t answer. He’ll probably only respond to someone else, though~”

Xu Xing: “…”

Xu Xing glanced over at the front desk. From Xiong Huan’s distracted look during the morning review, it was clear that Fu Dai hadn’t sent her any messages either. His gaze drifted to the red string dangling beside Xiong Huan, but thankfully, there hadn’t been any changes to it.

“Xing Xing~”

Tang Mian approached Wang Zicong’s seat. Her call for Xu Xing also caught Lu Che’s attention. After a quick look at Lu Che still clinging to Xu Xing, she acted unfazed and asked him with a smile, “Xing Xing, are you hungry? Want to go grab some sausage from the snack shop?”

Wang Zicong, who was munching on his beef jerky, eagerly raised his hand, “I, I, I want some too~”

Tang Mian laughed, playfully pinching his cheek.

Xu Xing agreed, “Sure.”

He pushed away Lu Che’s arms from his waist and pulled out some spare change from his bag. As he stood up, he heard Lu Che say, “Class monitor~ I’ll go down with you.”

Ke Di, from the back row, laughed and said, “Brother Che, beg for snacks, huh~”

Lu Che rarely went to the snack shop himself and usually relied on others to grab things for him. But today, he insisted on going. When he saw the crowded shop, he raised a brow slightly and suggested that Xu Xing and Tang Mian wait outside, offering to go in alone.

Xu Xing frowned and refused, “No need.”

But Lu Che just laughed and said, “Give me a chance to show off~ I can’t waste my amazing boyfriend status.”

Though he’d glossed over the word “boyfriend” in his sentence, Xu Xing understood exactly what he meant.

“…”

In the end, Lu Che went in to buy the sausage, while Xu Xing and Tang Mian waited outside. Even in a crowded room, Lu Che’s height made him stand out, and soon enough, a few girls recognized him and whispered excitedly, “Oh my god! Look, look! It’s the school heartthrob!”

However…

A minute ago, the same Lu Che who was being affectionate was now all business. The moment Xu Xing was out of sight, he couldn’t even bother smiling at anyone else.

Watching him, Xu Xing was caught off guard when Tang Mian spoke up: “Xing Xing, I used to think Lu Che had changed this term, but it turns out he’s only like this around you. He’s still the same with everyone else.”

“…”

Feeling a bit guilty, Xu Xing muttered, “He’s probably just like this with Ke Di and the others.”

But Tang Mian shut down his excuse. “No way! Ke Di is totally different. Lu Che won’t even let him touch his lunch tray with chopsticks.”

Tang Mian knew about Lu Che’s aversion to sharing drinks. She remembered Ke Di teasing him about how his fastidiousness would delay his first kiss. But just yesterday, she’d seen Lu Che casually drinking the same milk tea as Xu Xing. And wasn’t it strange, anyway? Xu Xing hated overly sweet milk tea—so why did he drink it?

“…”

Xu Xing fell silent.

Tang Mian sighed lightly, “Actually… I think…”

She trailed off, and Xu Xing’s heart skipped a beat, feeling his pulse quicken with her words.

Just then—

Lu Che emerged from the store with a bag of black pepper sausages. He was holding one of them and, with a look of warmth in his normally aloof face, he smiled at Xu Xing, holding out the sausage. “Ah~”

Tang Mian stopped mid-sentence.

Reflexively, Xu Xing took a step back, grabbed the sausage from Lu Che’s hand, and turned away quickly. “Let’s head back to class.”

His actions were more out of his own awkwardness. Neither Tang Mian nor Lu Che noticed anything amiss, and they both followed behind him.

Back in the classroom.

The sausages Lu Che bought quickly found eager hands, and Tang Mian joined Xiong Huan for a chat.

Leaning against the window, Xu Xing felt weighed down by Tang Mian’s earlier remarks, worrying she might get suspicious.

As he brooded, Lu Che, lying across his desk with nothing else to do, reached out for Xu Xing’s hand.

It was still break time, with students coming and going in the hall, and when Xu Xing felt his hand grasped, he instinctively jerked it back like he’d been shocked, his expression darkening. “Stop it!”

There was genuine frustration in Xu Xing’s voice, and Lu Che looked a bit startled.

Wang Zicong and Tang Mian both glanced over, hearing his words.

“…”

Looking at Lu Che’s bewildered face, Xu Xing opened his mouth but felt stumped by Tang Mian’s questioning look on one side and Lu Che’s innocent expression on the other.

At that moment—

Lu Che withdrew his hand, sensing Xu Xing was upset, and softened his tone, “Class monitor, don’t be mad. I won’t tease you.”

No one else understood what was happening, and Ke Di stepped in to lighten the mood, “Come on, what’s going on here? Class monitor, Brother Che rarely apologizes so nicely; maybe let it slide this time~”

Lu Che wasn’t always so mild-mannered; this was reserved for Xu Xing alone.

Xu Xing responded vaguely, “It’s fine…”

From the corner of his eye, he noticed that Lu Che wasn’t fully reassured.

“…”

Xu Xing sat back down, leaning against the wall, avoiding Lu Che’s gaze. But then, after a moment, he suddenly reached over and took Lu Che’s hand, hiding it in the narrow space between his desk and the wall—

Their fingers interlaced, holding on tightly.

The warmth of their hands mixed together, and it was impossible to tell whose palm grew clammy first, but neither wanted to let go.

Lu Che leaned against the wall, his head resting by the window, watching Xu Xing’s lowered gaze. Xu Xing’s profile looked elegant, but most captivating now were his ears, red and warm.

Lu Che cleared his throat, then felt Xu Xing squeeze his thumb slightly, before Xu Xing quickly glanced at him, his eyes a bit flustered.

Their eyes met briefly, and Lu Che watched Xu Xing’s lips move. He wasn’t sure if he heard it or if he read it from Xu Xing’s lips—

Xu Xing seemed to mouth, “I’m sorry…”

Lu Che’s lips lifted into a smile, and he squeezed Xu Xing’s hand back, saying, “It’s alright~”

·

At lunchtime, Xu Xing called Tang Mian to the hallway as soon as she returned to the classroom.

Tang Mian looked at him, puzzled, “What’s up?”

Xu Xing looked at her seriously, “What were you going to say earlier at the snack shop before Lu Che came back and interrupted you?”

Tang Mian tilted her head thoughtfully, then said, “Oh, right, I remember now. It’s nothing, really—I just wanted to tell you that I think Lu Che treats you especially well, but, well, your attitude toward him can be a bit hurtful…”

Tang Mian thought to herself, sighing. She hadn’t even finished saying this in the morning before she saw Xu Xing snapping at Lu Che again back in the classroom. She couldn’t help but feel sorry for Lu Che.

“…”

Xu Xing pressed his lips together.

He had been worried that Tang Mian suspected something about his relationship with Lu Che, but it turned out he was just overthinking it.

Earlier that morning, when he had to choose between “Lu Che getting yelled at for no reason and Tang Mian watching silently,” Xu Xing had instinctively chosen to “brush off Lu Che to ease Tang Mian’s doubts,” because, subconsciously, Xu Xing knew—if he comforted Lu Che later, Lu Che would forgive him unconditionally.

But what had Lu Che even done wrong?

Just minutes earlier, Xu Xing had let him hold him close, and then, just a few minutes later, he couldn’t even hold his hand without getting scolded. How could Lu Che possibly keep up with Xu Xing’s fluctuating boundaries?

Tang Mian went back into the classroom, leaving Xu Xing standing alone in the hallway.

Until—

That familiar, low voice sounded beside him, “Class monitor~ were you waiting for me?”

Xu Xing turned to look. Lu Che, sipping on a small milk drink, came over with a smile in his eyes. He leaned against the railing, facing Xu Xing.

Xu Xing glanced at him and let out a silent sigh.

Then, to Lu Che’s surprise, Xu Xing leaned into his embrace, resting his chin on Lu Che’s shoulder, and quietly murmured:

“…Yeah.”

His warm breath tickled Lu Che’s neck.

---

Author’s note: This is the third stage… actually, the stage where Xu Xing is struggling intensely with his feelings.