◎Orange Yellow, Tangerine Green◎

All along the way, Chun Zao couldn’t figure out what deep meaning Yuan Ye’s cryptic riddle held, or how the topic had jumped to his deskmate.

But fundamentally, today was her lucky day, being able to taste today’s limited special chocolate in excess that very morning.

Could there be a better opening than this?

When they neared the alley entrance, she needed to find Tong Yue, so she said goodbye to Yuan Ye early—this was their sisterly tradition; she couldn’t betray their agreement by being distracted by someone else.

Moreover, once on the main road, there would be fellow students everywhere. Walking with a “campus celebrity” like Yuan Ye might inevitably lead to gossip and speculation.

Watching the boy’s solitary departing figure, the smile Chun Zao had secretly harbored all along could finally bloom without restraint.

Tong Yue was startled by her grinning face so early in the morning: “What’s wrong with you? Why so happy?”

Only then did Chun Zao realize she hadn’t controlled herself, activating her passive lying skill: “I saw a little dog on the way, super cute.”

“Where?” Tong Yue looked over her shoulder into the distance: “I want to see too.”

Chun Zao said, “It left.”

Tong Yue sighed wistfully: “Ah, I want to raise a dog too, but my mom is allergic to fur.”

Chun Zao said, “When you graduate from college and live on your own, you can raise one.” Just like her sister, gaining true freedom from inside and out.

“College graduation…” Tong Yue wrinkled her face into that of a despairing old crone: “How much longer will that take?”

Suddenly, her eyes sparkled bright as she grabbed Chun Zao’s forearm: “How about I find a puppy-like boyfriend to date?”

Chun Zao was speechless for two seconds: “…You’re something.”

Tong Yue said: “What? Achieving dreams through alternative routes isn’t allowed?”

Chun Zao was impressed: “Of course it’s allowed. Don’t you know plenty of boys?” Not only plenty, but she also categorized them in her friends list. She could probably compile a stamp collection book or fill a shelter, and building a zoo would be a small matter.

Puppy-like boys…

Did Yuan Ye have that feeling?

During morning reading, when she got tired of memorizing, Chun Zao took time to ponder this. She couldn’t figure it out. If she had to pick a dog breed, the Yuan Ye in her mind seemed more suited to large dogs—warm and brilliant as a Golden Retriever when smiling, but in interactions, he wasn’t unconditionally friendly and kind either. If you called him a German Shepherd, he also lacked that wolf-like depth and aloofness. Of course, he had nothing in common with the three sled dog idiots.

—Finally concluding that Yuan Ye was a meteorite Border Collie, the kind worth over ten thousand, with clear pupil color, agile movement, and an explosively smart brain.

Having finished this classification, Chun Zao pulled in the corners of her mouth, knowing she’d been smiling “for no reason” too many times recently.

Like neurological dysfunction, it was somewhat terrifying.

—

With those sweet girlish feelings as seasoning, the unchanging school time no longer seemed as dull as before.

When the treetops outside turned orange yellow and tangerine green, students also changed into autumn uniforms, obediently sealing up limbs that had been liberated throughout the entire hot summer.

But no matter how much they sealed up, it couldn’t stop some girls’ pursuit of beauty, like Tong Yue, who had efficiently gotten to know a first-year underclassman.

Though called an underclassman, he was over 180cm tall, standing beside them like a towering peak rising from flat ground. His name was also pleasant—Lu Jingheng.

In Tong Yue’s words, he perfectly satisfied her desired puppy-like quality.

The process of getting acquainted was simple and brutal. The second after catching a glimpse of the school store, Tong Yue chased after him to intercept and ask for his contact information.

The underclassman’s classmates all started jeering, while the tall boy blushed in their midst.

At that time, Chun Zao stood to the side holding water, looking up at the sky and down at the ground, trying to transform herself into an unrelated bystander.

A week later, on Saturday night, Tong Yue notified Chun Zao on QQ: Lu Jingheng and I are dating.

Chun Zao was amazed by her rocket-speed progress bar. Aren’t you too fast?

Tong Yue: Opportunities only come to those with initiative.

Tong Yue: I just got back from a date. We held hands, ate, and watched a movie. Haven’t written a single word of homework. Is your mom home tomorrow?

Chun Zao: Not home. She’s going back early tomorrow morning to get clothes and bedding, said she won’t be back until evening, told me to eat at school by myself.

Tong Yue: Good, I’ll come find you tomorrow. You know what to prepare without me saying it, right?

Chun Zao smiled: I’ve already written it, don’t worry.

Dating…

Holding hands, eating, watching movies…

Chun Zao stared at Tong Yue’s chat records and couldn’t help letting her imagination run wild. The consequence was insomnia from prolonged mental excitement.

After tossing and turning many times, she forced herself to stop.

Facing the wall, she started counting sheep.

And on the other side of the wall was…

The wall seemed to cease existing, becoming a large sieve that left her sugar-water-like scalding and viscous emotions with nowhere to hide.

Chun Zao’s face turned red as a cooked egg, immediately turning around to only leave the back of her head facing it.

But seriously, had Yuan Ye ever dated? With such striking looks and no cold arrogance, there should be quite a few girls who liked him, right? Damn, in the past, he was just a “name” in her eyes. She was never curious about his past or cared about rumors about him. When occasionally hearing girls in class mention him during breaks, it all went in one ear and out the other with complete indifference. After all, at that time, her world was black and white with only studying. How could she have guessed that pink graffiti belonging to “Yuan Ye” would leave heavy strokes here?

Thinking of this, Chun Zao opened her phone again, planning to investigate Yuan Ye’s social media space.

The result was unsuccessful. What was wrong with this guy? His space wasn’t open to outsiders, completely impossible to find any traces.

Chun Zao silently deleted her visitor record.

Looking at her own again—

It wasn’t much better. Her last status update was before the high school entrance exam, very middle-school-like expressions of ambitious determination to get into Yizhong.

Comparing it to Tong Yue’s nine-grid photos, all lifestyle shots covered with cute bright stickers, with girlish vibes hitting you in the face.

No wonder she could capture little Lu’s heart so quickly.

This kind of girl even likes her to death.

The comparison was brutal.

Chun Zao sighed.

But in her visitor list, Chun Zao also made a discovery. On the very first day after she and Yuan Ye added each other as friends, he had visited her space.

Later… it seemed like he never came again…

Sure enough, he also found her boring…

Chun Zao fell asleep under this internal injury.

—

The next day at exactly eleven o’clock, Tong Yue arrived at the rental house right on time after eating brunch.

Chun Zao went downstairs to meet her.

As an experienced veteran, upon entering the entryway, Tong Yue immediately put on her self-bought pink disposable shoe covers and followed Chun Zao into the house with high spirits.

Passing Yuan Ye’s room door, she stopped: “Is Yuan Ye home today?”

Chun Zao: “Keep your voice down.”

Tong Yue was surprised, asking in a whisper: “He’s not awake yet…?”

Chun Zao nodded: “Probably.”

Tong Yue’s worldview was overturned: “The grade’s first place sleeps in later than I!”

Chun Zao laughed silently.

The desk was small and cramped, unsuitable for spreading out several subjects’ materials, so the two still arranged their homework copying base at the large dining table in the living room.

Tong Yue pulled open her pencil case zipper and rummaged around, but couldn’t select a pretty and handy pen.

Before starting to write a single word, she picked up her phone and started typing rapidly, giggling from time to time.

Chun Zao looked at her twice and understood: “Did the underclassman Lu send you a message?”

Tong Yue clutched her heart, smug: “What, underclassman Lu, that’s my new boyfriend.”

Chun Zao tilted her head and made a retching sound under the table.

Tong Yue threw the eraser at her.

Although she had finished her homework, Chun Zao wasn’t idle, excerpting and organizing favorite essay materials, trying to adapt and imitate them below to improve her writing skills and sense of language.

Soon, Tong Yue brought her phone close to her mouth to send a voice message, coquettishly: “Kiss kiss, I’m doing homework, see you at evening study session, love you~ Don’t miss me too much~”

Chun Zao: “…”

Chun Zao: “Just kill me. Can you please do your homework properly?”

Tong Yue looked at her with an unchanged expression: “What, what—is this your first time seeing me date?”

It wasn’t the first time. From elementary through high school, she always had such “transitional boyfriends.”

It’s just that the past Chun Zao didn’t care, but now, having vaguely experienced the chemical reactions involved and being a poor example in the control group, she inevitably felt tired.

Chun Zao said nothing more.

Around noon, Yuan Ye’s door opened. The two girls, writing with their heads down simultaneously, looked up, especially Tong Yue, whose gaze swept over like searchlights.

The boy paused behind the door, also seemingly stunned by the “grand scene” in the living room. After a moment’s daze and greeting, he rubbed his messy black hair and went to the bathroom, closing the door.

“What did I just see—a handsome man’s morning look?” Tong Yue’s mouth hung open for five seconds, then she half-covered it, looking sneaky: “Do you think Yuan Ye is peeing in there right now?”

Chun Zao’s face heated up: “What are you thinking about all day???”

When he came out again, Yuan Ye looked fresh and clean.

On his way back to his room, Tong Yue raised her pen high to greet him eagerly, and he nodded with a smile.

“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.” Tong Yue continued emitting the smallest decibel screams: “Our home-version campus heartthrob is so good-looking too, much better looking than that Lu Jingheng thing.”

Chun Zao frowned slightly: “Not really?” Was it that exaggerated, or had she gotten used to seeing him?

Yuan Ye didn’t close his door.

Although the two girls were excited, they both restrained their gazes and didn’t randomly peek into his room.

About fifteen minutes later, he also came out with some test papers and pens, stopping by the table.

Chun Zao looked up at him.

The boy’s gaze naturally fell, indicating the tabletop covered with their books and papers: “Borrow some space?”

Chun Zao hurriedly made room.

Tong Yue’s eyes widened, unable to hide her excitement: “Are you going to do homework with us?”

Yuan Ye pulled out a chair and sat down, his tone relaxed: “Mm, is that okay? Will it disturb you?”

Tong Yue almost wanted to cup her face and shoot hearts everywhere: “How could it! Of course it’s okay!”

In Chun Zao’s field of vision, the boy’s slender fingers casually clipped a black gel pen between his fingers, shaking it twice. Suddenly, with the sound of fabric rustling, he turned back to find her, his face up close, delicate and clean: “You don’t mind either?”

Looking straight into her eyes.

Chun Zao paused slightly, hurriedly averting her gaze, copying his previous words: “Help yourself.”

Yuan Ye chuckled softly.

Clicking out the pen tip, he wrote his full name in flowing script at the top of the still-blank test paper.

Tong Yue’s pupils darted back and forth between the two of them, looking like she was watching a good show or making good porridge.

The afternoon sunlight moved slowly as the three quietly did their respective tasks.

Yuan Ye’s seat was closer to Chun Zao’s. Her peripheral vision could easily reach him. Chun Zao felt that before she had excerpted even a few famous quotes, the boy’s math test paper had already been turned over.

“You finished all the problems on that side?” Surprise burst out, her tone a bit high.

Yuan Ye hadn’t expected such a big reaction from her, turning his face: “Mm, what’s wrong?”

Chun Zao blushed at her surprise. She glanced at the time on her phone, doubting his problem-solving speed: “How long does it take you to finish a math test paper like this?”

Yuan Ye thought about it, giving a conservative estimate: “Thirty to forty minutes.”

“What about during regular exams?”

“Depends on difficulty, but generally within fifty minutes.”

“…”

The accuracy rate needn’t be mentioned—he was a human answer sheet, that’s all.

Beyond amazement, Chun Zao glanced at his unused scratch paper: “Don’t you need to calculate for multiple choice questions?”

Yuan Ye’s bright eyes looked both innocent and sincere: “I did calculate, in my head.”

Was this the legendary “reading the question is doing the question”?

Chun Zao was astonished.

She finally understood why Yuan Ye could sleep in unrestrictively on weekends. He had the capital, rhythm, efficiency, sufficient wisdom, and ample time. Learning wasn’t the same concept for them. Some people fermented with all their might, some tried every way to stuff filling into their bodies, while others were naturally compressed biscuits, where any impurity or particle was energy-rich.

She and Tong Yue exchanged glances, both filled with mortal disbelief.

Chun Zao asked no more questions, continuing her copying, alone digesting the chasm between people, also comforting herself that being a plain steamed bun was quite good too—it still filled hunger.

After receiving a phone call, Tong Yue suddenly frantically packed up her homework, saying she had something urgent and needed to go home, firmly refusing Chun Zao’s offer to walk her downstairs.

The girl with a high bun bounced down the stairs.

After throwing her shoe covers in the garbage bin at the bottom of the building, she smiled mischievously while calling her boyfriend back:

“Thank you.”

“For cooperating with my light bulb rescue operation.”

“My acting is worth an Oscar for Best Actress, okay? Hahaha, Chun Zao thought I had an emergency and was more anxious than I!”

“Okay, okay, I’ll eat with you before evening study~”

“Kiss kiss kiss.”

…

Author’s Note: Tong Yue, this family can’t function without you