Lu Che didn’t leave; instead, he happily transformed his surprise into motivation. He stuffed all the miscellaneous items from his desk under it, flipped his chair upside down on the table, and easily lifted his desk, carrying it over to the first group near the corridor, urging two bewildered classmates to hurry and change seats.

After moving his own desk and chair, Lu Che turned back, wanting to curry favor with Xu Xing, but Xu Xing assigned him a new task: “You need to move Xiong Huan and Fu Dai’s desks and chairs over too.”

“Okay~”

Lu Che willingly let Xu Xing give him orders, lifting Fu Dai’s desk without complaint. Since Fu Dai wasn’t there, the desk was full of blank practice papers, including a few from the monthly exam.

Lu Che scoffed, “This couple really is a pair of star-crossed lovers.”

Lu Che initially wanted to tidy up under Fu Dai’s desk, but then he raised an eyebrow: the other subject exam papers from the monthly exam were still there, except for the Chinese exam paper where he scored 13 points, which was missing.

After Lu Che arranged Xiong Huan’s chair, he habitually looked for Xu Xing’s figure, only to see Xu Xing standing outside in the corridor, tucking his neck into his coat against the chilly breeze.

Lu Che quietly approached from behind and wrapped his arms around Xu Xing’s neck.

Xu Xing was already used to Lu Che’s occasional hugs and simply said softly, “Let’s go.”

It was a bit cold tonight, the bell for evening study had long faded, and the students heading back to their dorms added some warmth to the deep corridor.

Xu Xing and Lu Che walked side by side, stepping on the light scattered by the streetlamp. Their shadows, lying on the ground, synchronized with their steps, two shadows ambiguously sticking together, squashed and elongated by the light cast from the streetlamp.

With his hands in his pockets, Lu Che turned to face Xu Xing and walked backward.

Although the corridor was flat, there were pillars or trash cans every short distance. When Lu Che was just one step away from a trash can behind him, Xu Xing couldn’t help but grab his arm, pulling him over a bit and frowning, “Walk properly.”

Lu Che smiled, his dark eyes unabashedly fixated on Xu Xing’s face, greedy and bare, not hiding his thoughts at all.

Lu Che flashed a mischievous grin and said bluntly, “I want to kiss you~”

“…”

Xu Xing subtly avoided his deep gaze, mumbling, “We’re at school; can you tone it down?”

Lu Che licked his thin lips, savoring the thought, and sighed, “But waiting a week for a kiss is too torturous; I can’t hold out for another six days~”

Xu Xing initially just intended to verbally refuse him. Lu Che wasn’t the only one who craved affection; at this youthful age, he also had a taste for it and felt restless like a thirsty person.

However…

A kiss once a week, what did Lu Che mean by that?

Xu Xing thought Lu Che was about to confess that he had been stealing kisses every week, so he asked, “You managed to hold back last week; can’t you wait this week?”

Lu Che said innocently, “Of course it’s different! When I kissed you before, you were pretending to be asleep. I finally managed to sneak into the main room after a long time; my feelings are different now, and my desires have naturally increased.”

Xu Xing’s expression stiffened, and he only focused on one key point from this statement—

Pretending… to be asleep?

Lu Che continued sharing sweet memories from his perspective: “Actually, I’m quite a straightforward person. I definitely wouldn’t dare to steal kisses without your consent.”

Lu Che always felt he needed to find a chance to clear this up. He wasn’t the type to disregard the other person’s feelings. Although he liked Xu Xing, if Xu Xing didn’t allow him to kiss, he wouldn’t dare do anything even if Xu Xing was lying beside him sleeping naked. Of course, that was the theory, but the example was exaggerated since Xu Xing had never slept naked in his bed. If that hypothetical situation occurred, many uncontrollable factors would also need to be considered.

Lu Che shamelessly asked, “Class monitor~ We’ve kissed six times already. When we complete our seventh kiss, can we possibly… take it a step further?”

Lu Che was already prepared for a prolonged battle. What he imagined as “taking a step further” was merely Xu Xing allowing him to kiss and touch him under the dim light, and it would be best if they could undress. If not, that was fine too—Lu Che was only at this level of ambition for now.

Xu Xing’s tone turned harsh, and he directly refused, “Get lost!”

Lu Che gladly accepted this response; he hadn’t expected Xu Xing to agree. He took it as a way to give Xu Xing a heads-up.

But!

At this moment, Xu Xing’s inner awkwardness reached new heights. Externally, he pretended to be calm, but inside, he was so embarrassed that he wanted to stuff Lu Che into a sack and beat him up!

Lu Che had known from the beginning that he was pretending to be asleep and had stolen kisses without missing a single one… This sweet memory stored in Lu Che’s mind was painfully embarrassing for Xu Xing.

That night, not only did Xu Xing not reply to Lu Che’s clingy bedtime message, but he also resolved to be a little cold towards Lu Che over the next two or three days, hoping to maintain his image and use the opportunity to make Lu Che tone down his advances, so he wouldn’t get overly affectionate at any moment.

In the morning, all the teachers and students gathered on the playground for the flag-raising ceremony.

Today, Xu Xing was unusually aloof, standing at the second-to-last position in the line for Class 7 with his tall frame of over 1.8 meters, already assuming a stance of indifference. However, Lu Che didn’t have time to cling to him; Ke Di dragged Zhou Mang to switch places right in front of Xu Xing and exclaimed in surprise to Lu Che, “Che Ge, what’s going on? Why did you change your seat? Who forced you to do it? Who!”

Ke Di was pouring out his heartfelt emotions toward the small group of four in the corner of Class 7, thinking they would all graduate together, but now with Fu Dai leaving and Lu Che changing seats, Ke Di could only dive into Zhou Mang’s arms and weep.

Lu Che lazily wrapped his arms around Xu Xing’s narrow waist, resting his chin on Xu Xing’s shoulder, and replied, “No one forced me. It’s just that I have something ‘more important’ to ‘do’ than sitting by the window.”

“…”

Upon hearing this, Xu Xing suddenly felt that their position, with him in front and Lu Che behind, was taking advantage of him… However, before Xu Xing pushed Lu Che away, he imagined a scenario where he was the one standing behind and hugging Lu Che’s waist, resting his chin on Lu Che’s shoulder. That thought felt way too strange!

Xu Xing suddenly realized that it was better to maintain the status quo…

The storm in Xu Xing’s heart came to a sudden stop when he saw Ke Di looking completely disheartened, shaking his head as he commented on Lu Che’s response: “Che Ge, have you been possessed?”

Xu Xing suddenly stiffened, feeling a sense of shame as if his secret had been discovered. Using the term “possessed” to describe the allure of the red thread was particularly apt.

Lu Che chuckled dismissively, “If I’m possessed, then so be it. As long as I’m happy.”

Ke Di, realizing he couldn’t regain Lu Che’s attention, turned away in response to their teacher’s warning gaze. He pretended to straighten his back, standing particularly upright.

Ignoring the teacher’s warning, Lu Che continued to hold Xu Xing tightly, lowering his voice to whisper to him, “Class monitor, even if I really am possessed, I’m happy about it; don’t take it to heart~”

Xu Xing had stiffened up upon hearing Kedi’s words, and Lu Che, who was leaning against his back, clearly felt it, but he thought Xu Xing was just worried about the obstacles they would face in the future.

“…”

Xu Xing pressed his lips together and lowered his head, silently reassuring himself: not untying the bow would benefit Lu Che too; untying the red thread would definitely be painful, otherwise Fu Dai wouldn’t have cried so much…

He really couldn’t bear to see Lu Che cry.

As the five-star red flag rose to the sound of the national anthem, Xu Xing followed the fluttering flag with his gaze, seemingly casually raising his right hand to touch Lu Che’s ear. The morning wind was a bit cold, making Lu Che’s ears feel chilly, but Xu Xing warmed them up.

This small gesture from Xu Xing not only warmed Lu Che’s ears but also seemed to awaken his repressed impulses. Xu Xing felt Lu Che’s head rubbing against his neck, followed by a warm, moist sensation on his neck. He instinctively shrank his neck, followed by a strange feeling of being lightly nibbled.

“…”

Xu Xing trembled at the nibbling and unconsciously twisted Lu Che’s ear, causing him to emit a painful hiss.

“Ah! Be gentler…”

Lu Che begged with a wronged expression, and his ear indeed turned red from Xu Xing’s grip.

Xu Xing took a deep breath; no one would hold back when being nibbled on the neck in broad daylight.

---

Author’s Note: Hey everyone, I think I need to reintroduce myself. Here is “Xue Gong Ri Sheng,” read from top to bottom—

Empty

Star

This is “Xue Gong Ri Sheng,” not my birthday or anything (（：з）∠）, I just feel that splitting it into four characters sounds powerful, and the literal meaning is straightforward and forceful. [Well-behaved]

• About the Bowtie: 1. It’s definitely a gift √; 2. The bowtie is equivalent to a heart knot. Xu Xing’s heart knot is that he believes Lu Che is enchanted by the red thread, which is why he has feelings for him. The Prince from the grove also has a heart knot √.

Regarding the Position of Lu Che’s Bowtie: It’s not out of my twisted sense of humor; it needs to meet the following conditions: 1. It can’t be easily untied by Xu Xing, but Xu Xing must know the bowtie can be untied; 2. Xu Xing can’t just untie it whenever he wants; 3. In the process of untying the red thread, it’s Xu Xing who creates opportunities for the two to get closer. The red thread isn’t to blame; it’s Xu Xing himself.

This is definitely the shortest chapter in the entire text, without a doubt. Yesterday I was stuck writing until 3 a.m.; I need a breather (（：з）∠）.