At exactly 11:40 AM, the bell echoed throughout the entire teaching building.

Accompanied by “Goodbye, teacher” from all directions, the front and back doors were swiftly pushed open by students who had been ready to spring into action. Having been cooped up in classrooms all morning, the flowers of the nation transformed into hungry ghosts, taking off downstairs to rush toward the cafeteria.

“Hey, Zhou Shiyu, if you don’t hurry up, there won’t even be a drop of soup left!”

Qiu Si had reached the door before realizing his good brother wasn’t there. He clicked his tongue and turned back, looking toward the tall, lean boy in the back row: “Or are you not going to the cafeteria again today?”

“Mm, not going.”

Zhou Shiyu didn’t look up, only responded faintly, his gaze glancing at his wristwatch and seeing the minute hand slowly sliding toward the number “10” as he unhurriedly packed his books.

Seven more minutes, and she would leave the classroom.

“Why aren’t you eating again—ah, forget it, I can’t control you. I need to go gnaw on my chicken leg.”

Qiu Si muttered as he left, his figure quickly disappearing from view. Zhou Shiyu patiently waited for the minute hand to align with the number “10” before getting up to leave his seat.

April was the height of spring’s vibrant season. The bright spring light slanted down on the corridor eaves, casting the boy’s shadow in the hallway especially long and slender.

As a provincial key high school, No. 3 Middle School had distinctive architectural design. Three teaching buildings were arranged in parallel, connected by long corridors for easy passage.

Zhou Shiyu’s second-year building was in the middle, with the third-year building on the left and the first-year freshmen who entered in autumn on the right.

The semi-open corridor eaves on the right side of the classroom were empty, with only occasional solitary or returning students passing by.

Zhou Shiyu wandered aimlessly in the long corridor, waiting for that familiar figure to appear.

When the minute hand crossed the number “11,” from the opposite classroom in the distance, a girl with a high ponytail finally emerged.

Due to her slender frame, the already loose school uniform appeared overly baggy, with both the hem and her long ponytail swaying gently in the rising breeze.

Zhou Shiyu’s steps paused slightly, his lazy gaze stopping on that figure, a rare warmth appearing in his indifferent eyes.

The girl came out of the classroom alone, holding a square box wrapped in coarse cloth against her chest, walking downstairs without looking back, her steps hurried.

She was completely unaware that not far behind her at an angle, a pair of dark eyes hidden behind glasses were watching her intently.

Zhou Shiyu didn’t panic because of her departure or change his route. He just calmly watched the girl leave, then went downstairs.

He knew where she was going.

Being able to meet Sheng Sui again at No. 3 Middle School didn’t surprise Zhou Shiyu much. That winter when he was hospitalized, he had heard a lot of news about her from the nurses’ gossip and had long known she was an excellent student.

Later, through his convenience as a student council officer, he knew even earlier which class she would be assigned to and how far her position was from his.

At that time, he might not have been able to distinguish his feelings for Sheng Sui. For this girl who had unexpectedly entered his life from the outside world and then suddenly bid farewell, Zhou Shiyu always had some special attention that was not merely out of curiosity and never treated her as a sister.

After leaving the teaching building, Sheng Sui went straight toward the basketball court, while Zhou Shiyu walked directly toward the flag platform opposite.

—From there, he could clearly see the girl who was now lowering her head to untie the coarse cloth knots and take out a plastic lunch box by the flower bed behind the basketball court in the shade of trees.

Light and shadow fell through the leaves, outlining Sheng Sui’s slender arms, shoulders, and back. Zhou Shiyu didn’t realize that his searching gaze and following footsteps had long crossed the line. He just looked at Sheng Sui’s protruding shoulder blades and frowned slightly, feeling the girl had lost more weight recently.

Whether it was actual weight loss or his imagination, Zhou Shiyu couldn’t tell.

He had never observed any girl so persistently, with such patience, and even so carefully.

Tuesdays and Thursdays were the days all students loved the cafeteria most. On these two days, students would have their minds full of nothing but chicken leg sets and the accompanying small piece of chocolate mousse even before class ended.

And on these same two days, Sheng Sui would bring lunch to school, leaving the classroom precisely at 11:55, holding her lunch box wrapped in floral coarse cloth, going alone to find a place to eat behind the basketball court in the small grove.

Initially, Zhou Shiyu thought she avoided the cafeteria because of diabetes and couldn’t eat sweets.

Until the final exams last semester, when he didn’t see the girl’s figure in the corridor eaves but saw Sheng Sui eating mousse cake in small bites by the flower bed when he “happened to pass” through the small grove. A palm-sized cake that Qiu Si could finish in one bite took the girl a full half hour to eat.

That afternoon, Zhou Shiyu learned for the first time that Tuesday and Thursday set meals cost five yuan more than regular days.

Poverty was a taste he had never experienced, just like that cake that Sheng Sui treasured like a precious gem in her palms at noon, it all made Zhou Shiyu particularly curious.

What she was eating for lunch today was stir-fried cabbage with pork, rice with some wrinkled preserved vegetables, the dishes monotonous and bland, with no appetite appeal whatsoever.

Yet Sheng Sui ate with relish, her hamster-like cheeks puffing in and out, occasionally stopping to seemingly casually look toward the boys gradually gathering by the basketball court.

Zhou Shiyu moved to sit on another set of steps. The glaring noon sun made him squint slightly, his gaze also turning toward the laughing boys not far away, confirming they were all unfamiliar faces.

He had always had a good memory. After several flag-raising ceremonies, he easily remembered all the male faces in Sheng Sui’s class—none of them appeared on the basketball court.

Zhou Shiyu had never thought deeply about the deeper meaning behind this behavior.

He just vaguely sensed that whether Sheng Sui’s gaze would linger on a particular boy seemed very important to him.

“…Zhou Shiyu, what are you doing here too? If you’re not going to the cafeteria to eat, what are you doing sitting here alone?”

A familiar shout came from behind. Zhou Shiyu turned to see Qiu Si running up the steps, following his gaze toward the basketball court, thinking he had an epiphany: “Are you thinking of playing basketball?”

“What a coincidence! I made plans with some guys to play against the third-years at noon. We’re just short one person. Are you coming?”

As Qiu Si spoke, he was about to put his arm around someone’s shoulder, but Zhou Shiyu dodged to the side, treating any physical contact as crossing the line, saying flatly:

“Not coming.”

He always acted cautiously without leaving traces. Ever since Qiu Si appeared, Zhou Shiyu had withdrawn his gaze from the flower bed, unclear whether it was to conceal his thoughts or simply unwilling to share the side of Sheng Sui that only he had seen.

“What’s wrong with you? I saw you staring at the basketball court from far away. What, are you a big man who’s shy?”

Qiu Si was used to Zhou Shiyu’s coldness. Not minding that his attempt to put his arm around him failed, he casually jerked his chin toward the court: “See that? So many senior and junior girls are watching. Great opportunity—shouldn’t you perform well?”

Zhou Shiyu looked up toward the sidelines. Wherever his calm gaze swept, girls immediately screamed softly, causing quite a commotion.

“Worthy of being the school heartthrob. This charm is really something else.”

Noticing the changes outside the court, a tall, strong boy who had just made a three-pointer smiled and leaped up the steps, immediately punching Qiu Si’s shoulder: “Not bad, kid. How did you ‘climb so high’ to befriend our school heartthrob?”

After speaking, the boy turned to Zhou Shiyu, his solid arm muscles barely concealed by his school uniform: “Third year Class 1, Deng Cheng. How about it? Want to play a game?”

The smell of sweat from across the way wafted into his nostrils with the wind. Zhou Shiyu had little interest in group sports and was about to refuse when Qiu Si answered for him first:

“Of course we’re coming! With so many girls watching, if even one of them takes a liking to me, I’ll never be mocked as a single dog by those beasts in my dorm again!”

“Who asked you? You talk the most nonsense,” Deng Cheng laughed and cursed, turning to Zhou Shiyu: “What about the school heartthrob? Coming or not?”

Zhou Shiyu quietly looked at the third-year student who was challenging him again.

The boy’s eagerness to show off in front of girls was too obvious. Unfortunately, Zhou Shiyu had no interest in such ridiculous and pathetic competition.

His gaze swept over the slender figure quietly passing by outside the crowd. The words of refusal on Zhou Shiyu’s lips paused. He raised his eyebrows slightly and met Deng Cheng’s half-challenging eyes.

Seeing the slight smile on his own lips reflected in the other’s eyes, Zhou Shiyu nodded, his tone unhurried: “Fine.”

He was indeed uninterested in Deng Cheng’s little tricks.

But if this could put him in Sheng Sui’s field of vision, playing a basketball game seemed to have no downside for Zhou Shiyu.

Deng Cheng was a typical brute. Brave but brainless, with strength but nowhere to vent it, plus his eagerness to perform, he was quickly exploited by Zhou Shiyu’s team. Without much teamwork, they won easily.

The surrounding crowd grew thicker and thicker in layers. After Zhou Shiyu made another three-step layup, he could no longer find the girl’s figure among the screaming and cheering crowd, and his patience hit rock bottom.

The basketball in his palm had passed through countless sweaty hands. Zhou Shiyu looked down and unconsciously frowned, not seeing any need to continue.

When the whistle blew, Zhou Shiyu casually threw the ball out and indifferently withdrew from the competition circle for the rebound. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Deng Cheng intercept to block the ball, but he didn’t control his strength properly, causing the basketball to fly straight toward the sidelines.

The spectators all cried out softly and jumped aside. Fortunately, the ball didn’t hit anyone, just rolled forward along the space cleared by the crowd, finally being picked up by a slender, snow-white hand.

“Good thing it didn’t hit anyone,” Qiu Si patted his chest with lingering fear, about to run quickly toward the girl who picked up the ball:

“Hey! Girl over there, please throw the ball back—”

“Don’t throw it yet.”

Zhou Shiyu, who had been silent the entire game, suddenly spoke. As he spoke, he actively walked toward the girl holding a lunch box, not realizing that his pace was already faster than Qiu Si’s quick trot.

Only when he got closer did he notice that Sheng Sui was much taller than when he saw her in the hospital that year. One hand couldn’t hold the ball so she had to hug it, obediently standing quietly in place, waiting for Zhou Shiyu to come over.

In the few steps walking over, even the wind blowing around Zhou Shiyu seemed to suddenly become gentle and warm.

“Just give the ball directly to me,” he finally stopped one step away from Sheng Sui, considering this the distance where he could see the other person clearly without crossing the line offensively. “Throwing it again might hit someone else.”

He never wasted words explaining to people, so the second half of his sentence became an obvious cover-up that could no longer deceive himself or others.

In that moment of eye contact, Zhou Shiyu had to admit he experienced a contradictory moment of nervousness and anticipation, both hoping Sheng Sui still remembered him and not wanting her to recall his sickly self from that time.

Sheng Sui had no impression of him whatsoever.

The girl was simply unprepared. Her other hand was still holding the lunch box. When passing the ball, her hand couldn’t grip the basketball properly. Seeing the ball about to fall, she hurriedly withdrew her hand to catch it.

Their fingertips touched, then separated immediately.

Like a dragonfly touching water before gracefully departing, only the lake knew the ripples that had once formed. When Zhou Shiyu came back to his senses, Sheng Sui had already walked away, leaving him with the most familiar slender back and the high ponytail that swayed gently with her movements.

If not for the residual warmth she left on his fingertips, Zhou Shiyu might have doubted that the touch just now was merely his imagination.

“You could have just had her throw the ball over. Why run so far? Class is about to start—”

After returning to the court, Qiu Si was chattering in his ear again. Zhou Shiyu suddenly remembered something and stopped, turning to ask:

“Whose basketball is it?”

“Whose else could it be? Deng Cheng’s,” Qiu Si wiped the sweat drops from his face, reaching for the ball but grasping air. “This damn weather is really hot—hey, what are you doing?”

Zhou Shiyu controlled the ball with his long fingers, took out his meal card from his pocket, and casually tossed it over.

“What’s this for?” After catching the card, Qiu Si’s smile immediately reached his ears. “What, is Young Master Zhou planning to treat everyone and buy cold drinks for the whole court?”

Zhou Shiyu glanced at him with a look that was neither smile nor frown. Qiu Si immediately got the hint and turned to call his brothers. Soon, a group of people went arm-in-arm toward the convenience store.

The dense crowd dispersed accordingly.

For a moment, only Zhou Shiyu and Deng Cheng remained on the basketball court.

The boy whose show-off attempt had backfired was lifting up his school uniform, roughly wiping the sweat from his head. Seeing Zhou Shiyu approach from his peripheral vision, he stopped his movements.

Deng Cheng chuckled, without any malice: “You play pretty well. Ever consider joining the school basketball team?”

“Not considering it.”

Zhou Shiyu refused as straightforwardly as always, stopping two steps away from the boy to avoid being splashed by sweat. He played with the basketball in his hands:

“Qiu Si told me this basketball is yours.”

“Yeah, it’s mine,” Deng Cheng was asked out of nowhere, feeling uncomfortable under Zhou Shiyu’s deep, dark gaze. “What about it?”

“Nothing,” Zhou Shiyu, who had remained expressionless throughout, shook his head. After a few seconds of eye contact, he suddenly showed an appropriately polite smile:

“I just wanted to ask if Senior Deng could give me this basketball.”

–

“Bro, you’ve been staring at that broken ball for almost the whole afternoon.”

During the break between classes, when Qiu Si came to find someone to play again and discovered that Zhou Shiyu was still looking at the basketball hanging in a plastic bag on his desk hook, he couldn’t help but complain: “What’s wrong with this basketball? Is there a treasure map drawn on its surface?”

What responded to him was Zhou Shiyu’s silent rest with closed eyes.

Asking for the basketball was his momentary impulse. It wasn’t until he deliberately put the sweat-stained and handprint-covered round ball in a transparent bag that Zhou Shiyu suddenly realized the abnormality of his behavior.

Staring at the basketball in a daze, watching someone eat from afar, his mind uncontrollably replaying the scene of their fingertips touching… All these abnormal behaviors, Zhou Shiyu wasn’t unaware of the danger, yet he silently indulged in letting this ball of yarn-like emotion grow larger and larger.

Since he could remember, he had divided everyone in the world into two categories: people he despised, and people who were irrelevant.

Obviously, Sheng Sui didn’t belong to either category.

Unlike his violent father and verbally abusive stepmother, and unlike the principal, teachers, and classmates around him who were always trying to please him, the girl was just a brief bright spring light that had fallen into Zhou Shiyu’s world—brief but unforgettable.

The peace charm she gave him was carefully placed by Zhou Shiyu in the innermost part of his backpack, only taken out to be gently caressed during sleepless early morning hours.

Zhou Shiyu thought he probably hoped Sheng Sui could enjoy her high school life, or perhaps hoped she would be well and safe.

That was all, nothing more.

That’s why he didn’t rashly approach to reacquaint himself, not wanting to disturb her hard-won peaceful life.

However, this confession didn’t seem very convincing.

With some exploratory intent, Zhou Shiyu went alone to the small grove behind the basketball court during the evening dinner break.

Every evening, Sheng Sui would go to the cafeteria with a girl named “Xiao Ming.” After figuring out the pattern, Zhou Shiyu never followed them there again.

When there was a third person present, he was unwilling to be in a position where he could only follow far behind, like a despicable stalker.

The seemingly knowing looks from around would also expose his hidden thoughts.

The night was dim, the silver moon hidden behind thick clouds. The playground was dotted with students in groups of two or three—girls chatting and strolling, boys playing ball and running, and groups of boys and girls gathered together playing and frolicking.

There were even couples hiding at the end of the small grove, thinking no one was around, lost in passionate kissing.

Zhou Shiyu sat by the flower bed where Sheng Sui always came at noon, unmoved by the continuous ambiguous smacking sounds, his face expressionless.

Compared to what the young couple was doing in the grove, Zhou Shiyu was more concerned about what intentions lay behind his obviously excessive special attention to Sheng Sui.

His right fingertips curled slightly. Zhou Shiyu looked down, no longer able to recall that slight tingling sensation when the girl lightly touched his finger during the most intense noon sun.

He was even beginning to forget the warmth of her fair fingertips.

After all, this was the first physical contact between them since their reunion. Zhou Shiyu allowed himself to spend more time thinking about whether his attention to this momentary touch could be more appropriately described as “savoring.”

“…Good, you two again. You wrote guarantee letters just half a month ago, and today I catch you again, still in the small grove—”

When the three people in the small grove were enjoying a rare moment of quiet, accompanied by hurried footsteps, the disciplinary director’s furious scolding instantly echoed throughout the grove:

“How many times have the school rules emphasized that romantic relationships between students are forbidden, and all intimate behavior must be eliminated! You two are good—you actually dare to go against the wind!

“Now holding hands isn’t enough for you, so you’re hiding here kissing, is that it! All of you get to the office now, call your families immediately! School-wide criticism!

“…”

For a moment, the small grove echoed with the disciplinary director’s scolding, the girl’s sobbing, and the boy’s desperate pleading. Even after the three noisy people gradually moved away, Zhou Shiyu still sat quietly by the flower bed, lost in thought.

After a while, he looked down, letting the desolate moonlight fall through the gaps in the leaves onto his palm, and the right hand that had touched the girl curled slightly.

Those two early-dating students weren’t satisfied with simple hand-holding, so they wanted to try kissing next.

What about him?

Regarding Sheng Sui, was he only satisfied with the superficial fingertip contact?

Or rather, could the feelings he harbored for Sheng Sui really be considered innocent?

On that evening when early spring arrived, Zhou Shiyu first realized that he had long crossed the line without knowing it, and this awakened his long, seemingly endless secret love that would define the rest of his life.