Linshi First High School’s annual start of school season.

“Did you hear? It seems the military training was just changed starting from our year. My god, in such hot weather, we actually have to go to some godforsaken place and stay for half a month. How are we supposed to survive? This is truly a bitter fate.”

Yao Jing held Ma Xuanrui’s arm, her arm bent and raised, the back of her hand shielding her forehead, blocking the glaring sunlight. The two followed the crowd to the flag plaza for the assembly, both wearing the just-distributed military training uniforms, the unpleasant smell of dry glue still lingering.

Ma Xuanrui shook her head, “I don’t know either… let’s see what they say at the assembly.”

They had attended the same middle school and had participated in a dance competition together, so they were somewhat familiar with each other. Just assigned to the same class as deskmates at the start of school, they had already become acquainted in just one morning.

Midway walking to the plaza, a sea of black heads—the lines from each class had more or less already scattered into formation.

But the problem was…

Everyone wore the same clothes, with no class signs or identifiers at all. Yao Jing and Ma Xuanrui panicked a bit.

This…

How were they supposed to find their own class?

Everyone was new classmates who had just met this morning, unfamiliar with each other, and being girls, they were rather shy. They didn’t dare look around randomly, always feeling like unfamiliar boys nearby were watching them.

Afraid their gazes would awkwardly collide.

“How about… we go look at the front of the formations?” Yao Jing bit her lip, suggesting, “There’s no other way. It seems only the front of each class’s formation has their class numbers written on the ground.”

Ma Xuanrui felt troubled. Although she felt it was embarrassing to search for their class in public like this, and awkward too, there was no other option now.

The broadcast carried the urging voice of the dean of students, “—Students who came late, move quickly. The mobilization assembly is about to start! Hurry and stand in your own class lines, don’t dawdle, all of you run.”

“Let’s go.” Yao Jing steeled herself, reaching up to smooth her hair.

Ma Xuanrui lowered her head, following behind Yao Jing. Yao Jing was bolder, leading the way in front, constantly saying excuse me in a small voice. Ma Xuanrui just kept her head down and walked, shoulders hunched, trying to minimize her presence as much as possible.

“It should be there! I recognize that boy, he’s from our class.” Yao Jing’s tone suddenly became excited, her steps quickening too.

Time was running short, the broadcast carried more urging, so they both started running, carefully threading through the crowd of people.

Ma Xuanrui was pulled by the wrist, offset a bit, following behind Yao Jing, unable to see the path clearly.

“We’re here, we’re here, almost there!” came Yao Jing’s voice from ahead.

Suddenly, not paying attention to her feet, somehow tripping, Ma Xuanrui lost her balance and pitched forward. A scream had just emerged from her throat when her arm was caught by a force.

Someone with quick reflexes steadied her.

Her form barely stabilized.

Yao Jing was also startled, turned her head to quickly check the situation.

Feeling quite a few curious gazes gathering around, Ma Xuanrui felt extremely uncomfortable. She slowly exhaled; the boy who had grabbed her arm quickly let go.

A voice came from above her head, “Are you okay?”

Very gentle, a teenage boy’s voice, somewhat deep, also a bit hoarse.

Ma Xuanrui steadied herself before daring to look up.

The sunlight was intense. The boy before her had skin as white as porcelain glaze, his face very thin and handsome. Under thin eyelids, a pair of eyes watched her, his gaze gentle and quiet.

Like something painted in an old picture, a warm breeze on a spring day, yet very plain.

Her heart pounded rapidly. As if scalded, she sprang back, retreating two steps. Feeling her mind had never been this blank, her legs slightly weak, not daring to meet his eyes, she lowered her head slightly and stammered, “I… I’m fine, thank you.”

The young girl’s face flushed with shyness, teeth biting her lower lip, with a bit of the sweet innocence belonging to this age.

“Mm.”

Xu Xingchun quietly swept his gaze over her, nodded once, didn’t continue the conversation. On his face, there wasn’t even any extra expression.

—

After returning to formation, they lined up by height. Ma Xuanrui was relatively petite, so she stood in the front row. She stared earnestly at the ground before her feet. As long as she raised her eyes slightly, she could see the person standing at the very front of the formation.

His profile even and slender.

He must be the class monitor, right? Or perhaps the sports committee member?

Really such a tall stature, slightly thin, but the military training uniform fit just right, wearing it didn’t look empty at all.

Standing at the very front of the formation with great propriety, always silent. Not at all noisy like peers his age, separated from the bustle beside him. Elegant as bamboo.

Ma Xuanrui’s mind wandered for a while, slowly exhaling. What she thought of was actually that just now, her forehead seemed to have touched that boy’s shoulder…

Just touched it once.

She even caught a faint scent from him, very clean, like accidentally spilled ink.

She stood there in a daze, her heart restless for a while, replaying in her mind over and over again those few short minutes of falling.

Repeatedly thinking about that instant when their eyes met.

His hands were slightly cool. The strength gripping her arm was somewhat great, firmly steadying her body that was about to fall.

Although Ma Xuanrui couldn’t claim to be exceptionally eye-catching, she was at least pretty enough to be considered a refined beauty, above average among ordinary people. Add to that excellent grades since childhood and a gentle personality—there were quite a few secret admirers in her previous class. So regarding her own conditions, she was relatively confident.

Recalling his attentive and gentle gaze just now, her heart couldn’t help but flutter slightly.

Just as she was spacing out, more commotion came from ahead.

“Class Nine people, what are you all doing? What are you showing off for?! You’re late and you still don’t know to hurry up! Dawdling around like you’re taking a stroll in the park?! Run! Run!”

A large group of people came walking over in a grand procession, their manner very leisurely—the kind who could walk birds if they had cages in their hands. Anyway, they ignored the dean of students’ exasperated scolding. Among that group, there were both boys and girls, but the dissolute air about them was very obvious.

Each and every one just short of having the four characters “ignorant and incompetent” written on their foreheads.

“Class Nine is here? Damn, searched forever, the sun’s killing me.” A clear, crisp female voice.

Someone else popped out with a sentence, “What are you looking at? Treating us like monkeys?!”

The girls from Class Nine chattering in front temporarily stopped talking. Ma Xuanrui and the others’ gazes all fell on Fu Xueli, eyes unblinking.

She was in that crowd, faintly having a leading posture. All her hair was combed up, tied in a high ponytail, revealing a smooth forehead, naturally beautiful eyebrows, delicate and exquisite features.

The military training jacket was casually left open, underneath only a white camisole, her waist slender, graceful and alluring. The large expanse of skin at her chest was like freshly peeled tender lotus root, blindingly fair and tender enough to hurt the eyes.

This kind of beauty made people very uneasy.

Ma Xuanrui didn’t know how to describe it. She had never seen a girl so beautifully radiant, willful and unrestrained, even reaching the point of being aggressive. As if having some kind of premonition in her heart, she turned her head to look at Xu Xingchun in front.

He gazed toward Fu Xueli for a few seconds.

Falling into Ma Xuanrui’s eyes, her heart faintly felt a sense of loss.

—

Student representative speech—unsurprisingly, it was Xu Xingchun going up.

Behind Class Nine was a bunch of boys who loved to take advantage and make noise. Seeing the grade representative was from their own class, they immediately applauded enthusiastically, constantly cheering, some even whistling wildly. Stealing the limelight like this, as if this glory belonged to them, making students from several neighboring classes turn their heads.

“Hello everyone, my name is Xu Xingchun, from Class Nine of the first year. It’s my great honor to stand here as the new student representative to speak.”

He lowered his eyelids, his expression calm and serene. His voice neither arrogant nor impatient, like a gentle breeze blowing through a peaceful forest.

Applause spread across the flag plaza.

Some classes below exploded in excitement.

“Waaaah oh my god, do you know who our new student representative is? How is he so handsome?”

“Xu Xingchun? I know him, we went to the same middle school. He came in as first in the city.”

One person asked curiously, “First in the city?! So it’s him. I’d heard of him before, but if his grades are so good, why did he come to a private school? Any gossip, any gossip? Tell us, quick—like does he have a girlfriend, or a girl he likes, stuff like that.”

“Such a fangirl, you. I don’t really know that clearly, he was from the class next to ours.” The speaking girl’s eyes had a kind of shining light, her tone becoming different. “I don’t know about other things, just know he’s super smart, often wins awards in competitions, and his grades are excellent. I heard his temperament is also very good. I don’t know who he likes, but I do know many girls at school secretly admire him.”