A few seconds after Yunque received the message, the Great Demon King strode into Class A with his textbook tucked under his arm.

The classroom, which had been buzzing with the noise of forty students, instantly fell into silence.

Class B, however, remained as loose and idle as ever.

The English teacher hadn’t arrived yet, so everyone was doing as they pleased — chatting away, scrolling through their phones — with not the slightest sense of urgency about an upcoming lesson.

It was against this stark contrast between the two worlds that Yunque sat in the front row of her classroom, pressing down the soundless thudding of her heart, her fingertips curled tightly in her lap.

She couldn’t quite tell whether she felt wronged or simply flustered. She quickly typed: 【You were the one who saw me first.】

Yunque: 【And you were the one who walked into the classroom first.】

It felt good to say, but the moment she sent it, she regretted it.

Neither classroom door was closed.

The Great Demon King’s strong, resonant voice carried through the hallway as he taught. She suddenly worried that Lu Rangchen might be caught looking at his phone during class.

As it turned out, she’d been overthinking it. Lu Rangchen wasn’t afraid at all.

Lu Rangchen: 【Was that Zhao Qijia just now?】

Yunque didn’t understand why he always paid such close attention to Zhao Qijia.

She paused, then replied: 【Yes. What’s the matter?】

This time, Lu Rangchen didn’t respond immediately.

Yunque stared at her phone and waited. It wasn’t until the English teacher finally arrived, fashionably late, that she received his reply.

Lu Rangchen: 【Nothing.】

Lu Rangchen: 【He’s just average.】

The two messages were cryptic and vague. Yunque didn’t quite follow: 【?】

Lu Rangchen had no intention of explaining: 【Class started. It’s inconvenient to talk. See you after class.】

Yunque: “……”

She glanced up — the English teacher had walked in.

She switched off her phone and hurriedly tucked it into her desk. It wasn’t until well into the lesson that it dawned on her, belatedly, what “he’s just average” was supposed to mean.

If she’d guessed correctly, Lu Rangchen was referring to Zhao Qijia as a person — just average.

The English teacher never ran over time.

The moment she dismissed class, students began drifting out in ones and twos.

Yunque wasn’t in a rush to leave. She first prepared the books she’d need for the next class, then retrieved from the very back of her desk drawer a small square gift box she’d been keeping for a long time.

Inside the box was Lu Rangchen’s bracelet.

For the sake of a certain ceremonial feeling she couldn’t quite name, Yunque had also tucked in a small sachet.

Over the past month or so, she’d taken it out from time to time just to look at it — a kind of intangible emotional anchor. She hadn’t expected it to come in handy today.

She held the small square box in her hand, and before she could head out, Xu Linda called her over. She came over and said, “Rangchen is back. Did you know?”

“I know. I ran into him in the hallway.”

Yunque said, “Do you want to come with me to find him?”

Xu Linda was in a bad mood, and on top of that, she was uncomfortable because her period had come. She shook her head and said, “You go. I won’t get in the way.”

With that, she strolled back to her seat with an air of complete nonchalance.

Overhearing this, Zhao Qijia silently glanced in Yunque’s direction.

Yunque didn’t notice at all. She was too preoccupied with pulling on her coat and hurrying out of the classroom.

The hallway in the depths of winter was permeated with a damp, bone-chilling cold.

Tamping down her restless, on-edge feelings, Yunque covered the short distance to the back door of Class A in just a few steps.

Zhou Chuang spotted her and called out loudly, “Rangchen, Yunque’s little sister is here looking for you.”

That shout was far too piercing. Quite a few people in Class A turned to look at her with curious, gossip-hungry eyes.

What Yunque had no idea of at the time was that she had quietly become something of a rising star in their year — so much so that no small number of boys in Class A wanted to get to know her.

She simply stood there the way she always did, reserved and quiet, her gaze drifting toward Lu Rangchen in the last row by the window.

Compared to a month ago, he seemed to have lost a little weight.

There he sat, one hand propping up his head, lazily and unhurriedly reading a suspense novel.

It wasn’t until Zhou Chuang called out to him that he casually glanced her way.

Their eyes met in an instant.

Yunque felt it like a small electric current — she held her breath.

Lu Rangchen gazed at her, and a faint, soft smile surfaced in the depths of his eyes.

He made his way to the door. The young man tucked his hands in his pockets and leaned against the wall in front of her with an easy, unhurried air, then lowered his gaze and extended his open palm toward her.

His fingers were long, his palm a warm, translucent pink — elegant and lovely to look at.

Yunque placed the gift box in his hand.

Lu Rangchen opened it. The rush of gardenia fragrance that greeted him made him raise an eyebrow.

Caught in his teasing, amused gaze, Yunque felt heat rise to her cheeks. Her eyes darted away. “……What is it.”

Lu Rangchen lowered his eyes with a subdued smile and put the beaded bracelet on his wrist, then held it out beneath her nose, gesturing for her to smell it.

The movement was sudden.

Yunque’s mind gave a slight jolt, and her gaze fixed helplessly on the ink-drop mole at his wrist bone.

Lu Rangchen’s expression didn’t shift in the slightest. “It smells the same as you.”

He said it with a perfectly composed face, without the faintest hint of anything improper — yet somehow, precisely because of that, it had an even greater capacity to stir the still water in another person’s heart.

Yunque quietly felt her ears grow warm. “That sachet — I’ve been using it to scent my clothes.”

Lu Rangchen gave a small nod. “It smells nice.”

People streamed through the hallway around them. Feeling slightly awkward, Yunque made polite conversation. “When did you get back?”

“Yesterday,” Lu Rangchen said, playing idly with the box, his voice light and unhurried. “Didn’t you check the group chat?”

Yunque shook her head. “I had a lot of homework last night.”

Lu Rangchen curved his lips in a way that was difficult to read. “Fair enough. All you ever think about is studying.”

Yunque had a vague sense that there was a touch of irony in those words, but she didn’t dare let her mind go further.

She did suddenly remember, though, that tomorrow was her birthday.

She had originally planned to celebrate with Xu Linda and her mom, but now that Lu Rangchen was back, her plans were thrown into disarray.

She didn’t know whether Lu Rangchen would have time tomorrow.

If it was possible… she hoped to spend her birthday this year with him.

At the thought of it, Yunque drew in a small breath, was just about to ask him whether he had plans tomorrow evening — when she was cut off by a clear, bright voice from behind her.

The girl’s voice rang out through the hallway like a melodious oriole, sparkling with undisguised delight.

In a flash, Yunque’s heart was submerged in a tide. She turned her head and saw that Lin Zhinian had appeared before Lu Rangchen at some point without her noticing.

Lin Zhinian paid Yunque no mind whatsoever. Her eyes were fixed on Lu Rangchen, bright with happy surprise. “You came to class today? How come you didn’t tell me in advance?”

Seeing her, Lu Rangchen’s brow furrowed without the slightest attempt at concealment. “Why are you up on the third floor?”

“Looking for my friend.”

Lin Zhinian was always in high spirits, whatever the situation. “And then I happened to see you.”

She stepped forward and blinked up at Lu Rangchen. “Speaking of which, I should let you know — my dad is coming to pick us both up tomorrow evening. My mom still wants to make your favorite beggar’s chicken for you.”

The reminder of this arrangement made Lu Rangchen’s expression falter momentarily.

He scratched at his eyebrow in a not particularly gracious way.

Lin Zhinian’s own brows knitted. “Don’t tell me you’re backing out again. Your uncle already agreed to let you tutor me. How many times have you put this off now?”

She was getting agitated on her end, fussing and fretting.

Lu Rangchen, however, lightly lifted his gaze toward Yunque, who had been nudged to the side. “What were you about to say to me?”

With Lin Zhinian between them, the easy warmth that had existed moments ago grew subtly distant.

Yunque’s fingertips trembled slightly. She said quietly, “Nothing.”

She truly wasn’t suited to be the one who crashed the party, and she truly didn’t have the courage to compete with a girl as outstanding as that one.

All she could do was act like a demoralized worker who surrendered before the other side had even declared war.

“You two chat. I’m heading back.”

With those words, Yunque turned and walked toward Class B, her steps carrying not the slightest hint of reluctance.

Lu Rangchen watched the slight, graceful silhouette of the girl from a distance, his gaze deep and unreadable. He showed no emotion — yet he didn’t move a single step.

A few seconds later, out of nowhere, a soft, derisive laugh escaped him.

Like displeasure.

More like self-mockery.

Lin Zhinian sensed something dimly. Her expression fell. “Lu Rangchen, you——”

Before she could finish.

Lu Rangchen’s cool, cutting glance swept over her. “Something else you need?”

Whether it was because of the snowball fight or not, Yunque felt dizzy and heavy-headed for the entire rest of the day.

Xu Linda laughed and said the two of them were kindred sufferers. After school that evening, she even had her driver take a detour to drop Yunque off, and along the way she casually asked how Yunque’s “communication” with Lu Rangchen had gone.

Yunque was not the sort of person who wore her feelings on her face.

Even with Xu Linda, she only gave a breezy account of it — said she’d just dropped something off, nothing more.

Xu Linda sighed and sighed. “He’s really something, that Rangchen — away for over a month, comes back, and doesn’t even suggest we all get together.”

Then her eyes lit up. “Oh, right — did you tell him your birthday is tomorrow?”

Yunque shook her head. “He has plans tomorrow.”

Xu Linda let out a deflated sound of disappointment.

She lamented the bad timing of it all. If it hadn’t been for this stretch of tension between her and Deng Zhe, she would have organized something long ago.

Then she said, “What if just the four of us celebrate? Leave Deng Zhe out?”

Yunque paused for a moment, then vetoed the idea. “Let’s not. It would feel like we’re deliberately leaving Deng Zhe out.”

The real reason, though, was that she was afraid — afraid that even if Lu Rangchen found out tomorrow was her birthday, he’d still choose not to come.

Xu Linda didn’t know what Yunque was really thinking. She turned it over in her mind and decided it probably wasn’t a great idea either.

In the end, she could only let out a little huff and say: It’s fine, I’ll celebrate with you!

So the plans for the next day were settled just like that. Xu Linda and Yunque agreed she would keep her company after school to celebrate her birthday. As for whether to eat at home or go out, that would be up to Feng Yanlai to decide.

But plans never keep pace with the changes life throws at you.

The very next day, just past noon, Yunque’s mild cold turned into a fever accompanied by a cough.

The first person to notice something was wrong with Yunque was Zhao Qijia. He poured her a cup of hot water and then rummaged up some cold medicine for her.

Yunque took two tablets, but rather than improving, she grew increasingly faint and disoriented.

Zheng Guoxiong, hearing she was unwell, borrowed a thermometer from another teacher especially to check on her, only to discover she had a fever of 39 degrees Celsius.

The school nurse wasn’t in that day.

Zheng Guoxiong had no choice but to call Feng Yanlai and ask her to come pick Yunque up.

But Feng Yanlai’s shop was in the middle of its busiest hours — she simply couldn’t leave.

All she could do was tell Yunque to take a taxi home on her own.

When the call ended, Zheng Guoxiong was at a complete loss. “What does your mom do that she’s always this busy?”

Yunque’s cheeks were flushed a rosy pink from the fever. She said nothing.

In the end, it was Zhao Qijia and Xu Linda who volunteered to walk Yunque out of the school, braving the considerable wind and snow to wait with her for a taxi.

The two of them had actually planned to see her all the way to her front door, but Yunque refused.

She’d had her share of fevers and colds growing up, and she could manage. On top of that, there was a clinic right at the base of her apartment building — just a few steps from the taxi.

Xu Linda couldn’t talk her out of it, so she had to let it go.

Zhao Qijia, though, noticed she wasn’t wearing much and had no scarf. Without a second word, he unwound his own scarf and wrapped it around her neck.

That gesture left Xu Linda completely dumbstruck.

Yunque was foggy from the fever and hadn’t quite caught on when she heard Zhao Qijia say earnestly, “Don’t worry about it being second-hand — I washed this scarf just the other day. It’s clean.”

Xu Linda continued to be dumbstruck.

A little embarrassed by the staring, Zhao Qijia gave an awkward laugh to explain himself. “What was I supposed to do, she’s dressed this lightly and she’s not even wearing a scarf.”

Well, when you put it that way, he wasn’t wrong.

Xu Linda shut her mouth and said to Yunque, “True… just keep it on.”

Yunque’s mind was too muddled to worry about any of that.

She only felt the warmth around her neck and was glad, at least, to be less cold.

Genuinely worried she couldn’t manage on her own, Zhao Qijia ended up getting into the taxi with her after all.

The weather was truly dreadful.

Xu Linda was persuaded to stay behind and headed back to class alone.

Later, as the sky darkened and the final class of the day ended and school was let out, Xu Linda dawdled out of the classroom.

She’d barely taken a few steps when she spotted Deng Zhe standing at the door of Class A like a man without a care in the world, waiting for Lu Rangchen.

Their eyes met.

Xu Linda rolled her eyes and walked straight past him without so much as a glance.

Deng Zhe was truly at a loss with her. He let out a sigh and stepped forward to grab her arm. “Alright, Miss High-and-Mighty. I already returned the gift to whoever it was. Why are you still angry with me?”

Perhaps it was the accumulated grievances of the past few days, combined with her worry over Yunque — Xu Linda’s eyes went red in an instant.

She didn’t care who was around. She practically shouted, “Whether you keep that gift or give it back is none of my business!”

Deng Zhe was struck speechless.

Just at that moment, Lu Rangchen came out of Class A, and right behind him was Lin Zhinian, her spirits as high as ever.

Lu Rangchen raised his eyes to the two of them. His first reaction wasn’t to wonder what they were arguing about — it was to notice that a certain someone was missing.

Xu Linda noticed Lu Rangchen and Lin Zhinian too. She became even more annoyed.

She let out a cold, derisive laugh and went into full broadcast mode: “You guys are all the same.”

With that, she turned and walked away.

Deng Zhe was so irritated he almost laughed. “Xu Linda, give it a rest — if you want to scold me, fine, but what does this have to do with anyone else?”

He’d been prepared to let her go, but Deng Zhe chased after her anyway, grabbing her arm, wanting to sort this out properly once and for all.

Lin Zhinian rolled her eyes at their backs. “What’s her problem? It’s not like you did anything to her.”

Lu Rangchen didn’t bother responding. He moved forward with a slight crease between his brows, following the other two.

He was just about to ask where Yunque had gone.

But then Xu Linda suddenly called out to Deng Zhe at full volume: “What birthday are you even talking about? Yunque came down with something today — she’s gone home to get an IV drip. And even if there were a birthday, the two of us wouldn’t invite you.”

She said “you” — plural. Not singular.

Lu Rangchen’s footsteps halted.

The next instant, he locked eyes with Xu Linda, who was in the full heat of her fury.

Lu Rangchen’s gaze held an urgency that was hard to keep in check. “Today is Yunque’s birthday?”

Xu Linda stared him down, chin raised. “Oh, so you do care about Yunque.”

“……”

“But caring now is too late.”

“Zhao Qijia already sent her home. Even tied a scarf around her neck for her. Very thoughtful of him.”

She had more to say, planning to use it to needle him further — but Lu Rangchen wasn’t listening at all. His brow hardened, and he brushed past Xu Linda’s shoulder and strode downstairs with purposeful steps.

The kind of energy that radiates from someone who won’t be stopped by anyone.

The kind that no one would dare question.

A few seconds of stillness fell.

Lin Zhinian came back to her senses and shot Xu Linda a sharp glare, then immediately moved to follow him.

Xu Linda and Deng Zhe were left staring at each other, equally bewildered.

Xu Linda asked Deng Zhe, “……Did I just cause trouble?”

Deng Zhe let out a hollow laugh. “Good luck to yourself.”

……

That evening, Zhao Qijia had walked Yunque as far as the clinic and then left.

He’d intended to stay with her until the entire IV drip was finished, but Yunque wouldn’t have it and insisted he go.

He went — but the scarf stayed behind. Thick cashmere, wound around her neck and very warm.

Yunque was feeling marginally more comfortable. She curled up in her chair in a hazy, drowsy state.

The second bag of medication was still dripping.

Her phone buzzed.

Feng Yanlai.

Yunque forced her heavy eyelids open, took out her phone, and pressed to answer the call. She heard Feng Yanlai on the other end asking if she was alright, asking whether she still felt very unwell.

Not being the type who liked to burden others, Yunque didn’t even think before saying she was fine.

Hearing that, Feng Yanlai was considerably relieved — and then said she’d try to come back as soon as she could.

Yunque had long since stopped taking those promises at face value. She just gave mechanical, perfunctory replies.

After a while, the call finally ended.

Yunque was about to tuck her phone into her down jacket pocket and go back to sleep.

But then, unexpectedly, her phone rang again.

Yunque glanced down — and her gaze stopped cold.

There on the screen, the words “one hundred” flashed back and forth.

For a moment, she thought the fever had made her delirious. She sat there in a daze for quite a while, unable to press the answer button.

Then the glass door of the small clinic was pushed open.

At the same instant, the ringtone cut off.

Lu Rangchen — appearing as though out of nowhere — swept in amid a gust of wind and snow, and just like that, sudden and dreamlike, sat down beside her.

The crisp cold air mingled with a pleasant scent of dark oud wood, sweeping over her in a rush that made the world tilt and spin.

Yunque’s breath caught in her throat.

She snapped her pale, oval face toward him in startled surprise, too unprepared for any of it.

Lu Rangchen lowered his eyes and looked at her without looking away, the depths of his gaze like a surging sea.

Clearly brimming with emotion too deep to fathom — yet wearing not a single expression on his face — he reached up and swiftly, decisively unwound the scarf from around his own neck.

A cool, sharp wave of presence radiated from him with that movement, dispersing through the air.

Yunque parted her lips slightly. Before she could even manage a single syllable of “you,” she watched Lu Rangchen undo the scarf around her neck and toss it aside.

The next instant, the scarf that had only just been pressed against his own skin — still carrying the warmth of his body — was wound around Yunque’s slender neck without a moment’s hesitation.

In that instant.

They were no more than two handspans apart.

Yunque’s cheeks were blazing red from the fever, her gaze slightly dull and unfocused. She looked at him without blinking.

Lu Rangchen, as though his emotions had finally settled into place, let something soft and deeply captivating seep into his eyes.

His voice was slightly hoarse, yet still carried the warmth particular to a young man: “Today is your birthday?”