Zhu Yunque had never forgotten: her story with Lu Rangchen began in 2013, when she was in Year Two of high school.

That year, the Shenzhou spacecraft successfully docked with the Tiangong space station, and a lunar rover set out for the moon. Wang Fei and Li Yapeng abruptly announced their divorce, shaking the entire entertainment world.

But for Zhu Yunque, none of those headlines came close to the vividness of what happened that semester.

In the very first month after school began, she received the worst exam results of her life.

It was September then.

The summer heat still lingered.

Zhu Yunque, laboring under the dual burden of her period and heatstroke, had stumbled through two days of exams in a daze.

When the results came out, she had dropped from a stable position in the top ten of Class B all the way down to the C tier of the school year’s ranking. This meant she might be reassigned to Class C at the beginning of next semester — and it meant she might be shut out of a top university entirely.

The homeroom teacher, Zheng Guoxiong, was furious. The moment class ended, he called Zhu Yunque to his office.

The seventeen-year-old girl arrived in the school’s standard summer uniform. Her expression was calm and distant.

Her fine-cut bangs and glasses concealed her delicate features. A full, gently curved back-of-head was adorned by a low ponytail. Her skin was the kind of pale that suggested a lack of sunshine, and in the daylight it had the texture of cold custard.

By every indication, she was the most obedient and well-behaved student in the class.

Zheng Guoxiong knew better, though. This girl was stubborn to the bone — no less so than the worst troublemakers in the room.

Take this exam, for instance: she was clearly capable of scoring far higher, yet had deliberately left several major questions blank, and had answered her strongest subject — English — in a way that was completely unlike herself.

Zheng Guoxiong went through each subject with her, marking it up and berating her at length, then set down his cup and took a drink of tea.

He put down his teacup, fanned himself with his fan, and looked at her with disappointed resignation. “You can’t keep going like this. Tomorrow I want your parent or guardian to come in personally.”

At those words.

Zhu Yunque had the faintest reaction — no more than a slight pressing of her lips.

In the end, she nodded. “All right.”

…

Coming out of the office.

It was the afternoon break between classes.

The teaching building buzzed with laughter, chatter, and the sound of footsteps.

Young, lively faces everywhere.

Zhu Yunque had barely taken a few steps before Xu Linda, who had been waiting deep in the corridor, came running up to her, urgent and breathless. “What happened? Did Old Zheng scold you?”

Zhu Yunque was slightly taller than her.

She lowered her eyes, expressionless. “No. He just wants a parent or guardian to come in.”

Xu Linda, who was terrified of that phrase above all else, drew the syllables out in a pitiful lament and exclaimed, “For a single bad exam? Isn’t that a bit much?”

If it had truly been just a single bad exam, perhaps it wouldn’t be. The real problem was her recent state of mind in class.

In Zheng Guoxiong’s words: her spirit had gone wandering somewhere and couldn’t be found.

Faced with Xu Linda’s righteous indignation, Zhu Yunque said nothing.

She was always sparing with words. Xu Linda simply assumed she was in a bad mood, and looped her arm through hers, walking with her along the corridor toward the exit.

Outside the teaching building stretched a sweep of pure blue sky, plump clouds hanging from it — white and loose as cotton candy.

It was a rare fine day. Xu Linda decided to treat Zhu Yunque to an ice cream cone.

The two turned left and headed for the small shop at the back of the school grounds.

The shop during the break was packed and lively.

Xu Linda went to the refrigerator section to pick out ice cream. Zhu Yunque stood in front of the shelves, eyeing the colorful row of drinks, trying to decide what to choose.

It was then that a ripple of restless excitement broke out near the entrance.

And then came the whispering laughter of girls — giddy and probing, with all the exuberance and trembling curiosity of that age.

A sweet voice said with a smile, “Lu Rangchen — let me treat you, okay?”

The girl’s voice was not loud, but suggestive enough to ignite the surrounding atmosphere in an instant. The response came quickly — a chorus of “ooh”-ing and teasing from the people around them, boys and girls alike, acquaintances and strangers alike.

“Nice try, big brother. Wherever you go, someone’s after you.”

“God, I wish someone would offer to treat me. I’m running out of pocket money this month.”

“Come on, one more person won’t cost much.”

“Wow, you’re so generous!”

“Generous my foot — she’s in Year Two just like us.”

The back-and-forth banter drew plenty of attention.

Zhu Yunque’s lashes trembled faintly, and her heart skipped a beat or two.

She stopped deliberating and simply picked up two bottles of green plum tea.

When she went to pay, Lu Rangchen was standing at the register with his back to her.

The young man wore the same blue-and-white school uniform as everyone else, but his height — over 185 centimeters — gave him a bold, upright bearing, naturally setting him apart from the crowd without any effort.

The boy next to him was still grinning and teasing him about something. He finally spoke — a laughing, casual “get lost.”

It was a thick Beijing accent — not from Nanchen at all.

Languid and magnetic, with a trace of a young man’s unpolished roughness, wild and unguarded.

The hand gripping the bottle of green plum tea tightened.

Zhu Yunque stood silently in line near Lu Rangchen, watching as he tilted his long neck slightly and patiently settled the bill for everyone — soft drinks, mineral water, ice cream, lollipops, chips, and two packs of cigarettes.

By that year, mobile payment had already spread widely.

He still paid in cash.

Several crisp red notes were tucked into a black wallet. As he took out the money, Zhu Yunque clearly saw his right wrist — a black obsidian bracelet with silver fittings, its beads strung like the ribs of an umbrella. His fingers were slender and strong, the skin around his fingernails clean and neat.

She found herself staring for a few seconds, without meaning to.

Xu Linda appeared out of nowhere and tapped her on the shoulder.

Zhu Yunque flinched, shoulders jolting. Before she could speak, Xu Linda leaned in with a significant look and whispered close to her ear, “Look — Lu Rangchen.”

“…”

Zhu Yunque’s gaze returned to the young man.

Lu Rangchen, having paid, left the crowd with a few friends. Several girls followed, laughing and chattering. She caught only a brief glimpse of his profile.

His nose bridge was high. The line of his jaw was sharp and clean. His throat moved prominently.

His eyes were long and narrow, double-lidded on the inner corner, with outer corners that fanned open like the tail of a swallow. His lashes were thick and long.

The skin beneath the sunlight was porcelain-white and translucent.

There was something brilliantly alive and keenly handsome about him — a quality that was purely the sharpness of youth.

Zhu Yunque’s eyes followed him involuntarily, far longer than she intended.

Until Xu Linda spoke with gleeful schadenfreude, “Gaoge is going to suffer. If she found out that the beauty from the art class was also interested in Lu Rangchen, she’d probably be furious.”

The beauty from the art class — that was the girl who had just offered to pay for Lu Rangchen.

And Gaoge was the top student in their class — proud and self-centered — and also Zhu Yunque’s partner on classroom duty.

Zhu Yunque came back to herself, startled after the fact.

Xu Linda blinked and went on. “Though honestly, even without that girl, I don’t think Gaoge has a chance.”

“…”

“This Lu Rangchen — he’s impossibly hard to get close to.”

After the break ended.

Class B of Year Two had two self-study periods.

The exam results had just been released, and the whole class was dead quiet with gloom.

Everyone had done poorly. Zheng Guoxiong simply let them use the period for self-study and reflection. He also issued a warning: if their results in the remaining two exams this semester were still like this, they would certainly be reassigned to Class C next semester.

Class C was a far cry from Classes B and A. There were ten classes in the C tier — students of wildly mixed ability, and teachers with their own brand of demanding unpredictability.

Nobody wanted to go to a new class and start over, so everyone buckled down and studied during those two free periods.

With two exceptions, of course.

Xu Linda was one, and Gaoge — who had come in first this time — was the other.

Xu Linda had already made peace with going to Class C. Her family had money, and she had nothing to fear, not even her teachers.

As for Gaoge, her grades would put her in Class A next semester regardless — so she had a certain fearlessness that came with being the best.

Neither of those was a position Zhu Yunque could envy, and she happened to be wedged right in the middle.

When the self-study period ended, the girl in the seat in front of her — Gaoge — came by again to ask for a favor. She said she had something to do after school that evening, so she couldn’t stay for classroom duty. She wanted Zhu Yunque to cover for her, and promised she’d do all of it alone next time.

Xu Linda, sitting to Zhu Yunque’s right, overheard and gave a sharp little sound. “Gaoge, aren’t you laying it on a bit thick? You made our Yunque do the whole morning exercise cleanup alone, and now you want her to handle everything after school too?”

Gaoge and Xu Linda had always been at odds. When Xu Linda put it like that, Gaoge’s expression fell. “I said I’d make it up to her — next duty shift, Zhu Yunque doesn’t have to do anything.”

Xu Linda snorted. “Easy to say. Who knows what excuse you’ll come up with next time.”

Gaoge was anxious. “But I really do have something tonight.”

Xu Linda tilted her head and needled her. “What is it? Ambushing Lu Rangchen?”

Zhu Yunque had her head bowed, working through a practice problem. At the mention of that name, her pen skidded off course and poked a hole clean through the test paper.

Gaoge stamped her foot. “Xu Linda, keep your voice down!”

Xu Linda gasped, and her voice only got louder. “So you really are going after Lu Rangchen!”

Gaoge, furious, lunged forward to cover Xu Linda’s mouth. Their flailing knocked Zhu Yunque’s arm, and with a sharp tearing sound, the test paper split open.

That stopped the two of them.

One flung an arm around her and apologized in a rush — “I bumped you, I’m so sorry, sweetie.”

The other looked at her, awkward and expectant. “Are you going to say something or not?”

Zhu Yunque stared at the ruined test paper and said nothing.

Gaoge pressed her again.

Just as she was about to make more promises, Zhu Yunque looked up at her. With quiet, precise coolness, she said, “No.”

The word fell, and the air went still for a moment.

Gaoge stared, open-mouthed.

Xu Linda looked on in astonishment.

Zhu Yunque simply lowered her gaze, flipped the paper over, and went back to her work.

After school.

Students slowly packed up and filtered out of the building.

Before leaving, Xu Linda stayed with Zhu Yunque and helped her carry her mop bucket to the utility room. Along the way, she filled her in on the gossip about how Gaoge had given Lu Rangchen a confession gift during morning exercises.

Zhu Yunque’s hands paused over the mop. Now she understood why Gaoge had made the unusual effort to keep her out of the classroom that morning.

She asked, “Did he accept it?”

“Of course he did.”

Xu Linda said matter-of-factly, “Lu Rangchen never rejects girls publicly. What happens after that is a different story.”

As they talked, she gave Zhu Yunque a pointed look. “Let me warn you — Gaoge can hold a grudge. Be careful she doesn’t pile all the dirty work onto you.”

Zhu Yunque smiled in spite of herself, and nodded.

Xu Linda strode off, leaving in high style.

As it turned out, Xu Linda’s concern was justified — Gaoge was indeed in a sulky mood, wielding the broom with an air of bitter resentment.

Zhu Yunque acted as though she didn’t notice.

The two worked in separate silence, each doing their own part.

Then she went to rinse the mop a second time. When she came back, she found the classroom door locked.

Zhu Yunque tugged the handle twice, and her heart sank.

Everything she owned was inside — her school bag, her phone, her bus card, and the test paper she had planned to redo that evening.

She might even have to walk home.

She felt a small throb of a headache coming on.

Worse, the office was empty at this hour — all the teachers had already left.

Mop in hand, she started walking back, turning over in her mind whether to ask the security guard at the gate for help, when a tall, upright silhouette leaning in the doorway of Class B, Year Two suddenly caught the edge of her vision.

Compared to their earlier encounter at the shop, Lu Rangchen had changed into sportswear suited for tennis — a loose white T-shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the shoulder, exposing two lean, powerful arms. His track pants outlined the straight, strong line of his legs.

Seen directly from the front, his hair was neatly styled to the side, making his face — all sharply defined bones and clean angles — look more refined and crisp.

Perhaps catching the figure at the edge of his peripheral vision, Lu Rangchen paused his typing. His direct, deep gaze turned steadily toward her.

Zhu Yunque’s footsteps slowed involuntarily, and her heartbeat stumbled like an electrical short — one beat missing.

The skin behind her ears began to warm.

Lu Rangchen, however, made no move to look away. He watched her in silence, unmoving, until she had walked all the way back to the classroom door.

He pocketed his phone and straightened, standing casually at Zhu Yunque’s side.

A pleasant scent — dark agarwood — mingled with the particular warmth of a young man’s presence, seeping without restraint into the surrounding air. Like a net thrown wide across the sky.

Caught within it, Zhu Yunque’s heart raced.

He was so tall.

She didn’t even dare look up at him.

Fortunately, Lu Rangchen finally spoke, calling her “classmate.”

His magnetic, pleasant voice poured into her ears, rippling quietly in the depths of her chest.

Zhu Yunque “reluctantly” looked toward him, and saw Lu Rangchen holding out a paper bag, eyebrows raised in her direction. “Do me a favor.”

A pink shopping bag. Inside was a large gift box — Gaoge’s.

Lu Rangchen looked at her through the lenses of her glasses and said, “Please return this to Gaoge for me. Thank you.”

At those words, Zhu Yunque’s gaze shifted faintly.

Even though she had always known that Gaoge and he were next to impossible, in that moment, her mood lifted unexpectedly.

She pressed her lips together briefly, took the bag, and without thinking said the word “you.”

Lu Rangchen, who had already turned to leave, stopped. He looked back at her with patient curiosity. “What is it?”

Zhu Yunque held her breath and looked at him steadily.

She had wanted to say: do you remember me?

But in the end, all she managed was: “Could you lend me two yuan? I need it for the bus home.”

Her voice was sweet and soft, with a guarded, fragile quality.

Apparently not expecting her to have held her breath all that time just to say this, Lu Rangchen looked up in visible surprise.

Zhu Yunque turned her eyes away. “Gaoge left early and locked me out.”

Her voice trailed off. She stared at the floor, wishing she could throw the mop as far away as possible. “If you don’t want to—”

She didn’t get to finish.

Lu Rangchen was already going through every pocket on his body.

He was in luck — he found money. Just not two yuan. A hundred-yuan note.

Back then, a hundred yuan was still quite a lot for a student.

Lu Rangchen, however, didn’t seem to think much of it. He folded the note into a small, precise square and, without looking up, tucked it into the gap between her fingers where she gripped the mop handle.

Zhu Yunque’s back went rigid.

Their eyes met.

Lu Rangchen looked down at her from his height, lips curving into a languid, unhurried smile. “I don’t have two yuan. Only a hundred.”