It wasn’t until both their breaths had grown unsteady that Lu Xun finally let Qian Wei go. “There. Low-key, like you asked.”

Qian Wei could have cried. Was that his idea of low-key?! Pinning her against a tree trunk and kissing her that long—modern college students really had no restraint!

But before Qian Wei could even recover from that kiss, Lu Xun leaned in again. If the first kiss had been gentle and restrained, this one carried a domineering, almost claiming intensity that brooked no refusal. He cupped her face with both hands, tilting her chin up, leaving her no choice but to meet him fully.

This was the first time Qian Wei realized a single kiss could release such a dizzying rush of feeling. She couldn’t quite put into words what Lu Xun tasted like, but in that moment, she felt utterly enveloped in him, as if marked as his, every breath she took filled with his presence.

When Lu Xun finally ended the kiss, Qian Wei stood there flushed and dazed, unable to meet his eyes.

She made one last feeble attempt at protest. “This is against the rules—weren’t we supposed to be in a probationary period? How are we already this far along?”

Far from looking ashamed at the accusation, Lu Xun looked at her and said with total conviction, “So what if it’s probation? Does probation mean you don’t get paid? Is it illegal for me to collect a few benefits?”

“…” What was she supposed to do with a boyfriend whose eloquence and legal expertise were this formidable? Qian Wei wondered if it was too late to have regrets.

“Honestly…” Lu Xun glanced at her again, his voice sounding faintly frustrated, a light flush creeping across his face. “It’s like the moment I see you, I lose all control.”

Qian Wei looked up at him. Lu Xun turned his gaze elsewhere, staring off into the distance, the blush slowly creeping up to his ears. His voice came out with a note of barely restrained roughness. “Seeing you makes me want to kiss you.” He paused, then added, almost like a grim aside to himself, “I need to get a hold of myself.”

He glanced at her again, seemingly trying to change the subject, and abruptly shifted topics. “Where are you headed next?”

Qian Wei checked the time. “I’ve got my library shift!” Beauty really was dangerous—one look at Lu Xun’s face and she’d nearly forgotten about work entirely! Under normal circumstances, she’d never make such a rookie mistake!

“I’ll walk you there.” With that, Lu Xun naturally took her hand, and though his face still carried a faint flush, he kept his usual composure, eyes straight ahead as he led her forward.

He only let go of her hand once they reached the library entrance.

A University’s library had a written policy: to preserve the studying atmosphere inside, couples were prohibited from overly intimate behavior within the building, including kissing, hugging, and horseplay. The rule had originally been established after an incident during one finals season, when a few couples had gotten so carried away that they disturbed other students studying at the same table, sparking a brawl that even made negative news headlines. The school then imposed a blanket ban on public displays of affection in the library. Though the school no longer strictly enforced this rule these days, years of ingrained awareness meant it now had plenty of grassroots supporters—any couple caught getting too cozy in the library would instantly draw a wave of disapproving stares.

Qian Wei had just reached the entrance to East District Branch 2, the section she worked in, when the floor’s librarian called out to her.

“Qian Wei, perfect timing. There’s a batch of books on the seventh floor at the Original Text Library that need to be moved to our branch. Go up and confirm with Teacher Zhu, then bring the books down and get them sorted.”

“Got it, Teacher Zhang!” Qian Wei said, then turned and whispered to Lu Xun, “I’m off to work. You should head back.”

“I’ll come help you move the books.” Lu Xun kept up that same aloof, above-it-all demeanor, hands tucked back into his pockets, standing there with the same understated expression. He glanced at her and added, “I’ve been meaning to check out the Original Text Library anyway.” As if to make it sound more natural, he added, “I’ve borrowed original-text legal case compilations there before.”

Qian Wei thought, you’ve never actually been to that library in your life. Lu Xun might not know it, but she knew perfectly well that the Original Text Library didn’t carry a single legal text—not one. It was entirely stocked with science and engineering originals. She wanted to ask him, exactly where had he been borrowing these legal case compilations from?

Saying one thing while meaning another. He was clearly just worried she couldn’t carry all the books herself.

Even once they were in the elevator, Lu Xun still wore that “just happened to be passing by” expression. Qian Wei didn’t call him out on it, because she thought this version of Lu Xun—saying one thing while meaning another—was actually rather endearing.

Unusually, there was no one else in the elevator today. In the enclosed space, it was just the two of them. As Qian Wei’s mind wandered, a hand reached over and took hold of hers. Startled, she looked up at Lu Xun, but he kept his eyes fixed straight ahead on the floor buttons, as if the hand gently holding her fingers belonged to someone else entirely.

The library’s elevator was old and painfully slow to rise. Normally, Qian Wei had zero patience for this, but today felt different—with Lu Xun beside her, even things she usually couldn’t stand seemed to take on a certain charm, as if the sluggish old elevator existed solely to give her a little more time with him. She found herself stealing glances at his profile again.

The hand holding hers suddenly tightened. The next moment, Lu Xun pulled her into his arms.

Qian Wei tensed up. “The cameras! There are security cameras in the elevator! The library staff check them sometimes!”

“Then let’s just make sure they can’t see.” With that, Lu Xun reached up and covered the camera lens with his palm, then leaned down and kissed her again.

Taking full advantage of his height, he simply disregarded the rules entirely—one hand covering the camera, the other wrapped around Qian Wei, pressing her against the elevator wall and kissing her thoroughly.

So much for restraint, huh?

“Ding.”

Unfortunately, having the elevator entirely to themselves was rare enough that just as the kiss was getting good, the elevator was already slowing to a stop.

Someone was getting on at the fifth floor.

Qian Wei instinctively tried to push him away, but Lu Xun kept kissing her. Caught between the soft, tingling sensation of his lips and the need to keep half an eye on whoever might be entering, every sense felt heightened—even the hand wrapped around her waist seemed to radiate heat straight through the fabric of her clothes.

Inappropriate thoughts flickered through Qian Wei’s mind—she understood now why so many people had affairs; this stolen, secretive feeling really was a little thrilling…

The moment the elevator doors opened, Lu Xun finally, reluctantly, ended the kiss and released her. Both their faces were flushed, breathing slightly unsteady.

Three girls got on at the fifth floor, chattering away as they entered, instantly dispelling the charged atmosphere from before.

As if trying to cover their tracks, the two who’d just been locked in a passionate kiss now stood at opposite ends of the elevator. Even so, Qian Wei felt certain the whole world could tell at a glance that something was going on between them…

“Hey, hey, isn’t that Lu Xun?” One of the three girls, round-faced with a ponytail, nudged her friend and murmured quietly.

The name “Lu Xun” seemed to be some kind of password—the two girls, chattering away moments ago, instantly hushed into shy whispers.

“He almost never comes to the library, and now here he is…” another girl said, eyes locked entirely on Lu Xun.

The ponytailed girl mouthed silently to her friend, eyebrows waggling: “Go for it! Go on!”

Finally, the liveliest of the three stepped toward Lu Xun, her tone shy and hesitant, as if she’d mustered up all her courage. “Lu Xun, could I get your number?”

The girl had fair skin, round eyes, small delicate lips, a sweet, pretty face, and a soft voice—even Qian Wei felt that, in her place, she’d have found it hard to refuse such a request.

“No.”

Unfortunately, Lu Xun was never an ordinary person.

His voice was cold, his expression distant and unapproachable—as if he were an entirely different person from the one who’d just been kissing Qian Wei senseless moments before the doors opened.

“I have a girlfriend. She’d get jealous.”

The rejected girl, whose face had dimmed at his coldness, immediately perked up with curiosity. “You have a girlfriend?”

“Mm.”

Normally, if Lu Xun could settle something with one word, he’d never use two; if two words would do, he’d never use three. Yet today, surprisingly, he volunteered a full sentence unprompted—not just the three girls, but even Qian Wei was a little taken aback.

Though rejected, having unexpectedly gotten an explanation from Lu Xun softened the awkwardness for the girl who’d approached him. Soon the elevator reached the sixth floor, and the three girls returned to their lively chatter as they stepped out, one of them glancing back at Lu Xun one more time.

The elevator was finally empty again, just Lu Xun and Qian Wei.

Qian Wei finally let out the breath she’d been holding, still a little shaken, and shot Lu Xun a resentful, accusing look. “We almost got caught, I was so scared!” She grumbled, “Didn’t you say you were going to show some restraint?”

Lu Xun’s tone showed not a trace of remorse. “That’s what you get for looking at me like that just now.”

“What look did I give you?”

Lu Xun tilted his chin up, looking away with obvious awkwardness. “That look.”

“Huh?”

“That whole dazed, silly expression.”

“Huh???”

“Like you were really hoping I’d kiss you.”

That was exactly what Lu Xun thought, and exactly what he did—the moment he finished speaking, he leaned down again and brushed a light kiss against Qian Wei’s cheek.

By the time he straightened up, the elevator had reached the seventh floor. Lu Xun instantly reverted to his aloof persona, hands back in his pockets, timing it down to the second. He stepped out of the elevator with perfect composure, that same detached, ascetic expression on his face, as if the person who’d just spent the last few minutes stealing kisses against the wall had been someone else entirely.

“What are you standing there for?” Lu Xun glanced back at Qian Wei. “Which books need to go down? I’ll carry them.”

Watching Lu Xun’s usual calm, composed expression, Qian Wei suddenly felt a mischievous urge. She played dumb. “Oh, weren’t you going to look for legal original texts here?”

“…” Lu Xun said stiffly, “I just suddenly don’t feel like it anymore.” He shot her a bluffing glare. “You women get to be fickle, but we men can’t?”

Sure, sure, with a face as good as yours, you can change your mind seventy-two times a day if you want.

There weren’t many books to move from the Original Text Library to East Branch 2—just one trip on the library’s book cart would do it, and Qian Wei was perfectly capable of pushing the cart herself. But Lu Xun insisted, in his usual overbearing way, that she stand aside while he single-handedly, lips pressed tight, moved every book onto the cart and wheeled them all the way to East Branch 2.

“I’m off.”

Once the books were delivered, Lu Xun waved goodbye to Qian Wei.