Shu Nian’s words instantly froze Chen Hanzheng’s expression. He wanted to lash out at her, but her demeanor remained calm, without any edge, as if she were simply stating a fact.

Chen Hanzheng took a deep breath and returned directly to his seat.

At first, Shu Nian didn’t understand why he was angry.

Worried that he might think she was deliberately mocking him, Shu Nian walked over to him and earnestly began to explain.

“I’m not lying to you. That boy is very good-looking, the kind that doesn’t need to deliberately emphasize it like you do, yet people still find him attractive.”

As a result, Chen Hanzheng became even angrier, glaring at her and directly telling her to get lost.

Shu Nian was stunned by his shouting. After recovering, she immediately understood what had made him angry. Her expression turned a bit strange, but she didn’t say anything more, obediently responding with an “oh” and returning to her seat.

With Chen Hanzheng’s path proving unsuccessful, Shu Nian didn’t know who else to ask.

It wasn’t that she didn’t get along with others, but rather that Chen Hanzheng had extensive connections, even knowing the older students at Shiyan High School. Shu Nian thought Chen Hanzheng would probably know who she was looking for.

But now Chen Hanzheng believed that he was the best-looking boy at Shiyan Junior High, and would get angry at even one truthful statement that contradicted this.

Shu Nian didn’t want to lie, so she had to find another way. She sighed worriedly.

Her deskmate He Xiaoying noticed her expression and asked curiously, “What’s wrong?”

Shu Nian didn’t hide anything and answered honestly, “I’m trying to find someone.”

And then apologize to him.

“Who? Someone from our school?” He Xiaoying asked.

“Mm-hmm.” Shu Nian didn’t think He Xiaoying would know, but since she had asked, Shu Nian didn’t see any reason not to tell her. “From junior high, not sure which grade, a very beautiful boy.”

“Ah—”

With only three identifiers—”junior high,” “beautiful,” and “boy”—it was like searching for a needle in the sea. There should have been quite a few possible answers. But He Xiaoying could only think of one person and hesitantly asked, “Is it Xie Ruhe from Class 5?”

“Xie Ruhe?” Shu Nian blinked, surprised that she had come up with a name. “Do you know him?”

“Of course I do. Didn’t Wan Qiong give him a love letter last week? Don’t you know?” He Xiaoying lowered her voice mysteriously. “And many girls in our class like him. I’ve heard it several times when they exchange secrets—they all say they like Xie Ruhe.”

Shu Nian frowned. “Really? How old are they now?”

“…” He Xiaoying quickly changed the subject. “What do you want with him? If it’s Xie Ruhe, you’d better not look for him. He’s a bad student, always skipping class. And he’s gloomy, looks frightening.”

When Shu Nian heard the words “skipping class,” her frown deepened, but upon hearing “gloomy” afterward, she suddenly brightened up. “Then it must be him.”

“No way, it’s him?” He Xiaoying was shocked by her response. “Why would you look for a bad student?”

Shu Nian lowered her eyes, her dense eyelashes hiding her emotions. She tugged at a loose thread on the corner of her clothes with her fingertips, seemingly ashamed, her voice very low and indistinct: “I did something wrong.”

He Xiaoying didn’t hear clearly. “What?”

Just then, the bell rang for class.

Shu Nian breathed a sigh of relief and sat up straight. She didn’t repeat herself, raising her eyes and avoiding He Xiaoying’s gaze.

“Class is starting.”

The longer this matter dragged on, the more guilty and uneasy Shu Nian felt. She kept thinking about it, and her mood remained heavy. She felt as if she had suddenly grown many years older.

She had become like an adult with many worries.

She couldn’t act openly and frankly anymore, even hiding things from He Xiaoying.

Shu Nian wanted to return to her former self.

After class, she immediately left the classroom, went up to the third floor, and stood at the door of Class 5. She stood outside for a while, not daring to enter someone else’s classroom rashly.

Afraid that class would start again before she could see Xie Ruhe, Shu Nian had no choice but to stop a girl who was coming out.

“Classmate, could you call Xie Ruhe from your class for me?”

The girl looked at her, seemingly familiar with this kind of situation, and replied knowingly, “I don’t dare call him. If you want to find him, go in yourself. He’s in the last row of the group farthest inside.”

Shu Nian responded with an “okay” and entered nervously through the back door.

Most of the students were inside.

Junior high school studies weren’t particularly intense, so few students studied during breaks. Most gathered in groups to chat, with several students turning their bodies backward.

Noticing Shu Nian’s unfamiliar face, they all showed curious expressions. Even the students sitting facing the podium turned around to look at her, somehow giving the impression they were watching a show.

Shu Nian withdrew her gaze, no longer looking elsewhere.

Class 5’s classroom was divided into four groups, each with five rows, two students per row. But only the last row of the innermost group had just one desk, where a boy was currently sleeping with his head down.

The boy was wearing a jacket, and only his exposed neck and slender fingers were visible. Only the curtain on his side was drawn, but there were still speckles of sunlight falling on him from an angle.

Dust floated in the air, and there was a faint light on his hair.

Shu Nian hesitated, walked over, and stood beside him.

The boy didn’t move at all; without calling him, he seemingly wouldn’t wake up. Shu Nian was too embarrassed to call out to him, so she just stood there, her gaze fixed steadily on him.

Eager, expectant, as if filled with warmth.

As if wanting him to feel her intense gaze and wake up.

But it was a boy who couldn’t bear to watch any longer.

Perhaps because the anticipated drama hadn’t materialized due to one party’s unawareness, there was no chance for it to unfold. The boy actively called out, “Hey! Xie Ruhe! Someone’s looking for you!”

He still showed no response.

After about half a minute, the boy before her finally raised his head lazily.

First revealed were those almond-shaped eyes, clear and distinct, seemingly drunk yet not smiling, somehow giving a false impression of deep emotion. His facial features had clean, cold lines, naturally carrying a hint of fierceness. His thin lips were drawn straight, with no emotional expression.

Shu Nian breathed a sigh of relief.

She had found the right person.

The next moment.

Xie Ruhe turned his head and looked at Shu Nian standing beside him.

Their gazes met.

Time seemed to freeze.

Shu Nian nervously clutched the hem of her school uniform, too embarrassed to apologize directly here. She struggled with how to begin.

Xie Ruhe scanned her up and down.

One second, two seconds.

Shu Nian swallowed and was just about to ask him to talk outside.

Xie Ruhe lowered his eyes and lay back down on the desk. His movement was natural, as if he had been sleeping uncomfortably in that position, had gotten up to change positions, and was resuming his sleep.

Completely ignoring her presence.

“…”

Because of this, Shu Nian received mocking laughter from the Class 5 spectators.

Shu Nian had a good temper and wasn’t angered by this, but through Xie Ruhe’s attitude, she realized the seriousness of the situation.

In her view, although Xie Ruhe couldn’t speak, based on their previous two encounters, Shu Nian thought he was still quite a polite person. But this time, he was so angry that he even abandoned his good manners.

It seemed what she had done was indeed somewhat excessive.

To apologize, Shu Nian ran up to the third floor during every class break, but couldn’t find a suitable opportunity.

Xie Ruhe either slept at his desk throughout the break or disappeared for the entire break, only returning when the bell rang for class. No one knew where he went.

Once, as soon as Shu Nian reached the third floor, she saw him returning from the direction of the bathroom.

This rare opportunity was one Shu Nian truly wanted to cherish. She quickly ran over, slightly out of breath, and spoke beside him, “Xie Ruhe, I have something to tell you.”

They were already nearly at the door of Class 5.

Shu Nian was very worried he would go straight into the classroom, but she didn’t dare make physical contact with him, fearing he would harshly push her away again. She raised her voice, becoming anxious, though her voice remained soft.

“I’m here to apologize to you!”

As soon as she finished speaking, his footsteps stopped.

Xie Ruhe turned his head to look at her. His eyes were very deep, with eyelashes like crow feathers making those eyes appear even more profound. His skin was as thin as paper, with blood vessels faintly visible underneath. He looked sickly, yet his lips were vividly colored.

He stood quietly in place as if his attitude had softened.

Shu Nian finally felt a sense of relief after hardship. Her expression relaxed considerably. She licked her lips and said earnestly, “So, last time I—”

Shu Nian hadn’t even gotten to the main point and hadn’t even finished her opening statement.

The next second, Xie Ruhe slightly tugged at the corner of his mouth and strode into the classroom.

Shu Nian: “…”

This was the most emotionally unpredictable person Shu Nian had ever met in her life.

She admitted she wasn’t worldly, but she had encountered eccentric people before.

Like the uncle who opened a breakfast shop but could never wake up early enough to make breakfast; like the convenience store auntie’s son, who, despite being a grown man, always wore women’s clothing and asked her to call him “sister”; or like the school security guard uncle, who liked to sing with a megaphone at the school gate during dismissal time.

But Shu Nian only found these cases amusing and interesting.

Xie Ruhe’s behavior, however, made her somewhat angry, but because she was in the wrong, she had no choice but to continue to humble herself.

This was the most stifled Shu Nian had felt in her thirteen years of life.

This back-and-forth continued for two or three days.

Eventually, Shu Nian stopped going to every class break. Only when she had time when she remembered, would she run up to the third floor to find Xie Ruhe.

The most recent time.

As soon as Shu Nian reached the door of Class 5, she saw several boys surrounding Xie Ruhe, with the leader saying something. After he finished, the group burst into laughter.

Xie Ruhe said nothing and turned to walk in another direction.

Seeing this scene, Shu Nian’s mind inexplicably conjured up a scenario—they were mocking Xie Ruhe for not being able to speak, poking at his wound, and even wanting to rub salt in it.

Even though during this time, Shu Nian had been unhappy because of Xie Ruhe’s attitude.

She pressed her lips together and still followed him.

“Xie Ruhe.” Shu Nian walked beside him and asked softly, “Were they making fun of you?”

Xie Ruhe didn’t respond, keeping his eyes lowered.

Shu Nian didn’t know how to comfort him. Based on the impression in her mind, she stumbled through her words: “Did you notice that boy just now had dimples?”

“…”

“Do you know? Dimples are caused by a defect in the facial muscles.” Shu Nian looked up, her palm-sized face white and clean. “So that person is someone with a defect.”

“…”

Shu Nian didn’t even know what she was saying anymore: “Anyway, I mean, I mean, you can mock him back…”

Hearing this, Xie Ruhe suddenly looked at her. His bangs hung to his eyebrows, and his eyes were deep, with a layer of grayish-blue beneath them. His usually emotionless face now carried a thoughtful expression.

He stared at the dimple on Shu Nian’s cheek.

After a long moment, Xie Ruhe spoke to her for the first time. The boy’s voice was clear and mellow, his emotion subdued.

At that moment, Shu Nian even felt as if she was hearing things.

“You have them too,” he said softly.