During night study, there were soft whispers here and there, but mostly the rustle of papers. With the teacher gone, the talking grew a bit louder, though most students remained diligent.

Xu Xing felt a poke on his back. He turned around and saw Lu Che leaning forward, smiling. “I’m behind you~”

Xu Xing gave him a questioning look.

Lu Che lifted his phone from under the desk, smiling as he showed him the message. “I just saw your text~”

The screen showed Xu Xing’s afternoon message, “Where are you?” Xu Xing glanced over quickly, noticing Wang Zicong peeking over. He immediately covered Lu Che’s phone. “Put it away.”

Xu Xing felt nervous—before that message, Lu Che had texted him, “I’ll always love you.”

Xu Xing hastily covered Lu Che’s screen, then glanced at him nervously, remembering how Lu Che once asked him, “Class President, are you afraid?”

Xu Xing had automatically interpreted this as: Are you afraid of others knowing about us? Do you think being with me is something shameful?

The more he thought, the more worried he became. He didn’t want to hurt Lu Che’s feelings.

Just then, the screen turned off. Xu Xing explained, “I meant your phone—put it away. My phone was confiscated earlier today.”

Lu Che raised an eyebrow, then checked the time of Xu Xing’s message, confirming it was during class hours.

Regretfully, he sighed, “Oh, so I can’t text you tonight…”

Lu Che put his chin on the desk, his lips pressed in a pout, looking utterly dejected.

Xu Xing sighed, rolled up his test papers and pen, and moved to the empty seat next to Lu Che.

Seeing this, Lu Che straightened up, watching him intently as he settled down. Trying to keep his cool, Xu Xing asked, “Say whatever you want now.”

Lu Che chuckled, turning his head to rest his chin on Xu Xing’s arm, replying, “Saying it directly? Isn’t that too bold~?”

The messages Lu Che usually sent at night were things like “I miss you” and “I love you,” messages that Xu Xing rarely replied to. But apart from those two weeks apart, Lu Che sent his affectionate texts daily.

He pulled up his phone, showing Xu Xing an old reply. “Remember this?”

Xu Xing glanced over and saw Lu Che pointing to his previous response of “1,” sent at 5:20 a.m.

Xu Xing looked away, muttering, “That’s not all.”

Lu Che blinked in surprise. “What?”

Xu Xing cleared his throat, his ears slightly red. “I’ll tell you tomorrow when I get my phone back.”

Lu Che stared at Xu Xing, “Really?”

Xu Xing nodded, answering, “Yes.”

Upon hearing this, Lu Che suddenly stood up, and the scraping sound of the chair against the floor drew curious glances from the students in front.

Lu Che opened the back door of the classroom and dashed out.

Xu Xing was speechless.

Xu Xing figured Lu Che had gone to retrieve his phone from the teacher. He waited for about ten minutes until both the teacher and Lu Che returned together.

The teacher walked in first, with Lu Che following closely behind. Xu Xing didn’t need Lu Che to say anything; just seeing Lu Che’s smug smile was enough to know he’d gotten his phone back.

The teacher stood behind Xu Xing, sighing meaningfully, “Class president, only you can keep Lu Che in line.”

Xu Xing was speechless.

He was quite curious to know what tactics Lu Che had used to retrieve his phone that left the teacher looking so exasperated.

After returning to the podium, Lu Che sat next to Xu Xing, pulled a phone out of his pocket, and tucked it into Xu Xing’s desk. With his legs spread and hands braced on the chair, he looked at Xu Xing eagerly, like a dog expecting a treat. “Class president, tell me now, please?”

Xu Xing sighed, suddenly feeling like throwing a bone far away to get Lu Che to run off.

“Later,” Xu Xing replied, refocusing on his test paper and ignoring Lu Che.

However, to Lu Che, Xu Xing was like a tempting “bone.” Lu Che propped his face with one hand, his eyes glued to Xu Xing as if bound by a red string, staring with a delighted smile. The more he looked, the more he admired Xu Xing’s face, which seemed crafted perfectly to his taste.

Lu Che couldn’t resist tugging on the imaginary red string connecting them, which sent a soft vibration through Xu Xing’s chest.

Xu Xing frowned and swatted Lu Che’s hand. “Focus on your books.”

“But the books aren’t as interesting as you are,” Lu Che replied, frustrated.

Just then, the teacher on duty lightly rapped Lu Che on the head with a rolled-up paper.

The teacher sighed, “Hopeless.”

Xu Xing couldn’t have agreed more.

After evening study ended, Xu Xing, Lu Che, and Wang Zicong walked back to the dorm. Xu Xing subtly lagged behind with Lu Che, pulling him aside to set a rule: “I need to study back in the dorm. Don’t bother me.”

Lu Che readily agreed, but couldn’t help pleading, “But, class president, can you tell me now? Otherwise, I won’t be able to concentrate.”

Despite saying such shameless words, Lu Che’s face remained composed.

Xu Xing kept his gaze forward, calmly replying, “No. You kept interrupting me during self-study; this is your punishment.”

Lu Che was taken aback.

Xu Xing meant what he said, ignoring Lu Che as they returned to the dorm. He busied himself with showering and reading until midnight, then finally took out his phone.

A series of new messages from Lu Che had just arrived, with Lu Che first whining about how Xu Xing had teased him, making it impossible for him to sleep. Then, as usual, came a slew of love confessions:

“LC: I like you.”

“LC: I love you very much.”

“LC: I want to kiss you.”

“LC: It feels like I love you more every day. My love for you is like a linear function where k>0 and b>0; it only keeps growing endlessly.”

Xu Xing wasn’t sure where Lu Che got these over-the-top love lines, but he loved hearing Lu Che profess his love and longing.

Though Lu Che was constantly professing his love, Xu Xing never got tired of it. Xu Xing lay on his side, the phone screen illuminating his face, and he finally replied:

“123”

“n!”

Then he scrolled through their chat history, carefully selecting three screenshots to mark up with small notes.

After finishing, Xu Xing sent the edited images to Lu Che, with each one labeled with handwritten numbers:

Image 1:

LC: 1. Are you asleep?

LC: 2. Do you miss me?

LC: 3. I miss you.

LC: 4. I really miss you.

At that time, Xu Xing had replied with: 3

Image 2:

LC: 1. Class president, sleep early～

LC: 2. I miss you a lot tonight.

LC: 3. Remember to dream of me.

LC: Goodnight～

At that time, Xu Xing had replied with: 2

Image 3:

LC: 1. I like you.

LC: 2. I love you very much.

LC: 3. I really want to kiss you.

Xu Xing had just replied with: 123

Xu Xing wasn’t as vocal as Lu Che but responded in his own way to Lu Che’s confessions:

“I miss you.”

“I really miss you tonight.”

“5:20.”

“I like you.”

“I love you very much.”

“I really want to kiss you.”

As for “n!” in response to Lu Che’s mention of a linear function, n! refers to n factorial. If they were together on the third day, his love wouldn’t just triple—it would increase by 1x2x3, sixfold.

Xu Xing wanted to tell Lu Che that, even if he hadn’t loved him as intensely from the start, he’d grow to love him more, just like the exponential growth of n!.

Xu Xing quietly looked at his phone, counting to sixty, waiting a full minute with no response. Then he turned off his phone and stared at the ceiling.

Just then, he noticed a faintly glowing red string on his chest, pulsing softly in the darkness, matching his heartbeat.

Curiously, he looked towards the dorm door, and just then, his phone screen lit up with a message:

LC: I’m at the door.

Xu Xing’s heart leapt. He tiptoed out of bed, grabbed his jacket, and followed the glowing red string to the door, opening it gently—

Lu Che stood in the dim moonlight, offering him a warm smile.

Perhaps it was the beauty of the night, or the enchanting atmosphere, but that smile completely stole Xu Xing’s heart.

Once Xu Xing closed the door, Lu Che took his hand and led him to the stairs.

The third-floor light had been out for nearly a week, flickering but never quite turning on. In the dim glow of the hall, the two boys’ shadows embraced.

Xu Xing leaned against the wall, his head resting in Lu Che’s hands as they kissed deeply, unable to tell who was leading, their kisses more intense than ever.

After the heated kiss, Lu Che peppered gentle kisses on Xu Xing’s face, the corners of his mouth, cheeks, nose, brows, and forehead—every part he cherished.

Xu Xing giggled at the ticklish sensation, retreating only to lean forward and give Lu Che a playful bite.

As he lost himself in their kiss, Xu Xing thought, finally, tonight he could have a sweet dream.