On that Monday, Zhou Tingzhao was unprecedentedly late.

Since it was his first offense, the English teacher merely rebuked him verbally before letting him return to his seat. As the morning reading voices resonated around him, Zhou Tingzhao finally felt he had returned to reality.

It was as if he had experienced a very long dream, where he had progressed far into the future—his studies successful, his career similarly advancing steadily, yet her figure was nowhere to be found.

Later, he did encounter her, but only after many long years had passed. They became reacquainted, and while what he truly wanted was her heart, they became entangled in carnal pleasures. His increasingly withdrawn personality and equally proud demeanor led them into a back-and-forth tug of war.

Then the dream abruptly shifted, and he returned to the present.

Zhou Tingzhao woke up. Those scenes had felt too real, as if some voice from the depths was telling him: hold on tight, hold on tight.

The seat beside him was empty—Sang Ru was late as well.

If his memory served him correctly, just the night before, she had become his girlfriend.

His girlfriend arrived fashionably late. Zhou Tingzhao somehow felt as if he was meeting her for the first time in this capacity, with an inexplicable nervousness that he couldn’t quite articulate. Feigning composure, he asked, “Why are you late today?”

Sang Ru spared him a glance from the corner of her eye and said flatly, “Nothing.”

Zhou Tingzhao paused slightly and responded with an “Mm.”

For several consecutive days, Sang Ru’s attitude remained exceptionally cold. She either ignored him completely or responded to his questions with extremely concise, short sentences. If not for the two red cords still circling their wrists and the occasional amorous glances cast their way by classmates sitting in front, Zhou Tingzhao would truly have believed that her declaration “as your girlfriend” was merely his own fabricated fantasy—

Teacher Zhang announced to the class that the sports meet would soon begin. As the class president, setting an example, Zhou Tingzhao signed up for several events. Yang Fan was responsible for handling the registrations, and Li Chenfei persuaded Sang Ru to sign up for the mixed 400-meter relay.

The two encountered each other at the relay practice field. Sang Ru was the first leg, Zhou Tingzhao the second.

The weather forecast had said today would be breezy with clear skies.

Zhou Tingzhao stood a hundred meters away, his back to her. His silhouette looked tall and refined. The wind slipped into the hem of his clothing, causing the edges to flutter slightly, revealing a youthful quality in him that she had never noticed before.

The weather was indeed very pleasant. Sang Ru’s eyes were dazzled by the sunlight, and she once again found her mind somewhat foggy.

Waking up shocked by the bold actions she had taken in recent days, Sang Ru couldn’t understand what madness had possessed her to ignore her studies and pursue a male classmate, especially one she had previously found most disagreeable, to the point of becoming boyfriend and girlfriend.

It was simply inconceivable.

She patted her face to help herself think more clearly.

At the teacher’s signal, Sang Ru started running swiftly. The sound of wind rushed past her ears as the distance between her and Zhou Tingzhao gradually narrowed.

Just as she was about to enter the baton exchange zone, Zhou Tingzhao turned his head. The contours of his profile were sharp and striking. He reached his hand backward in preparation and then began running as well.

Sang Ru followed in pursuit. Although Zhou Tingzhao must have controlled his speed, she still found it difficult to catch up. The palm of her hand gripping the baton seemed to be perspiring slightly.

Just a little bit more…

A loud whistle sounded. The physical education teacher asked them to stop and said to the third and fourth runners observing from the side, “Watch carefully, this is how not to do it.”

Sang Ru: …

“Zhou Tingzhao, why are you running so fast? Is there a bomb chasing you?”

Zhou Tingzhao looked at the teacher steadily: “No.”

“And you, Sang Ru, are trying to pass the baton before reaching the proper distance. Is it a bomb?”

“…No.”

“Alright, you four pair up and practice how to pass and receive the baton properly.”

The two stood one in front of the other, following the PE teacher’s instructions to position their arms and maintain proper running posture, practicing back and forth for a while.

Sang Ru ran until she felt somewhat numb. At the moment of mechanically passing the baton, she suddenly felt a warmth on the back of her hand. She instinctively withdrew her hand, and with a clear sound, the baton became unstable and fell to the ground.

Sang Ru stood still, watching it roll toward the feet of the person in front of her.

The PE teacher might be late sometimes, but he never misses class. He walked over and began his sarcastic commentary: “Is this stick too hot to handle? Neither of you can hold onto it.”

It wasn’t the stick that was hot—it was his hand that was too warm.

Sang Ru glanced at the baton that had accidentally fallen to the ground. It lay there quietly until someone quickly picked it up.

Those hands had distinct knuckles, with clear veins visible on the back. Sang Ru’s gaze moved upward, seeing Zhou Tingzhao looking down at the baton in his hand as he spoke: “I’m sorry, teacher. I didn’t grip it firmly enough.”

Sang Ru suddenly felt somewhat guilty—after all, she was the one who had let go first…

As the sun grew stronger, the teacher went to the nearby office to drink some water, telling them to find a cool place to rest for a while before continuing practice.

There was a patch of shade at the corner of the equipment room, enough for them to run a short distance.

Sang Ru stood against the wall, enjoying the breeze, inexplicably nervous about being alone together.

Zhou Tingzhao stood silently for a while, then suddenly disappeared. When he returned, he had two bottles of water in his hands. Without a word, he handed one to her.

Sang Ru accepted it and said, “Thank you.”

This was her boyfriend in name, yet their relationship seemed to have reached a freezing point, worse than ordinary classmates. Even as partners in class until now, the words they had exchanged totaled fewer than five sentences.

After spending some time with neither speaking, Sang Ru heard Zhou Tingzhao ask, “Shall we practice?”

“Yes.”

The repetitive motions were simple and monotonous. Sang Ru’s arms and legs ached. The further they went, the more she felt unable to catch up with him, just like the first time.

At first, she thought she was tired and couldn’t run fast enough, but after several rounds, it remained the same. Sang Ru realized that Zhou Tingzhao had indeed subtly increased his speed, mischievously preventing her from catching up.

She stopped: “Slow down a bit.”

Zhou Tingzhao turned his head and gave her a deep look: “What’s wrong?”

Sang Ru felt somewhat guilty for no apparent reason: “You’re running too fast. I can’t pass it to you in time.”

Zhou Tingzhao’s expression remained blank. After a while, he said: “Understood.”

After their negotiation, he did reduce his speed, but for her to successfully pass the baton, there was still always that little bit missing.

Sang Ru stopped, bent over with her hands on her knees, panting. Looking up, she saw Zhou Tingzhao appearing completely unaffected. Anger rose from her heart, and Sang Ru stated with certainty: “You’re doing this on purpose.”

Zhou Tingzhao just looked at her without saying anything.

Taking his silence as admission, Sang Ru’s earlier guilt instantly vanished. She said sternly: “How childish.”

As she turned to leave, she heard him suddenly speak: “Sang Ru.”

She stopped but didn’t turn around.

“How does it feel to chase and never catch up?” Zhou Tingzhao asked.

His voice carried no inflection, as if this was just a casual act of retaliation on a whim.

Sang Ru turned around in disbelief and saw that his eyes were deep and piercing.

This version of Zhou Tingzhao was somehow frightening. Sang Ru said, “Not great.”

His tightly pressed lips suddenly relaxed. Zhou Tingzhao smiled slightly and said, “Let’s try again, one last time.”

Enticed by his “one last time,” Sang Ru returned to the starting point and began following the steps they had practiced earlier.

Arm positioning, running, sprinting, slowing down…

Sang Ru extended her hand. Along the extended line of the baton, Zhou Tingzhao’s hand was waiting to meet hers.

The lines on his palm were so clear. Sang Ru was surprised that she even had time to notice such details. By the time she came back to her senses, the other end of the baton was already in his grip.

Sang Ru didn’t manage to let go in time. A tremendous force was transmitted from his end, and she stumbled, falling right into his embrace.

The tip of her nose collided with his chest, causing such a sharp pain that tears nearly sprang to her eyes. Sang Ru felt dizzy and tried to back away, but her waist was firmly encircled and pulled closer.

She felt somewhat annoyed and mumbled, “What are you doing?”

Those hands, with strength from who knows where, held her tightly. Then she heard Zhou Tingzhao say through gritted teeth: “Am I that easy to bully?”

Sang Ru pushed against him: “Who’s bullying you?”

“You.”

Who was it that had just been mischievously making her chase behind him?

Sang Ru laughed in exasperation: “How have I bullied you?”

Zhou Tingzhao’s tone, which had been ice-cold moments ago, now sounded like that of an abandoned puppy: “You’ve been ignoring me. For four days.”

Her indignation was immediately doused. Sang Ru was speechless, as indeed she had found their situation strange and deliberately avoided him.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?”

“What should I say?”

Zhou Tingzhao was silenced by her retort. After a long while, he emphasized word by word: “You are my girlfriend.”

Seeing that Sang Ru still said nothing, Zhou Tingzhao felt his head spinning with anger, yet he couldn’t bring himself to do anything to her. Through clenched teeth, he asked: “Do you regret it?”

The person who always appeared so cool and aloof now sounded somewhat pitiful, even when threatening her.

Sang Ru stammered: “No…”

His embrace suddenly loosened. Zhou Tingzhao lowered his head to look at her: “Then why are you ignoring me?”

Sang Ru uncomfortably shifted her gaze: “I… I’m not used to it yet.”

The gaze from above was too scorching. Sang Ru felt as though she was pinned firmly within the range of his vision, unable to move an inch.

That presence approached unexpectedly, and then Sang Ru realized her lips had touched something soft. Sang Ru immediately pushed him away reflexively. Zhou Tingzhao obediently backed off a little.

So this was what kissing felt like…

In her memory, her boldness had exceeded the maximum limit she could imagine, and kisses with Zhou Tingzhao had occurred more than once. But those sensations seemed vague and hazy, while this one felt more real than any before.

In her subconscious, there was always a strange thought—to hold onto him. But now her thoughts were tangled in confusion. Sang Ru heard Zhou Tingzhao say decisively: “You need to get used to it.”

She looked up at his serious expression and asked: “What if I can’t get used to it?”

He frowned, as if contemplating for a moment, and said: “Then I’ll help you get used to it once every day.”

Sang Ru: …

She had always been so hard to deal with, but now she was blushing terribly. The girl before him helplessly covered her face and, hiding behind her palms, slowly nodded.

Zhou Tingzhao felt in his heart that his girlfriend was incredibly adorable.