The envelope was a pale pink, and holding it close, one could catch a faint, delicate sweet fragrance. The handwriting on the front was neat and graceful, and the little heart sticker sealing the flap was dainty and charming.

No matter how you looked at it, this was an unmistakably girlish letter.

In other words — a love letter.

“……”

Lin Tao stared blankly for a few seconds, then quickly came to her senses. She placed the envelope on his desk, her tone perfectly ordinary, betraying nothing unusual. “It’s your thing. Remember to put it away next time.”

Over the past while, Jiang Yan’s popularity at No. 10 High had been steadily growing. Lin Tao had heard the rumors before — that people would slip love letters into his desk drawer while he wasn’t around.

But in those cases, he generally didn’t even look at them. He’d toss them straight into the trash. For Lin Tao to actually witness a love letter right in front of her own eyes — this was a first.

She felt a vague, inexplicable sulkiness she couldn’t quite put into words.

Writing a love letter was one thing — but spraying perfume on it? What was that about?

Lin Tao’s gaze drifted sideways to the pink envelope sitting on his desk. Amid the sulkiness, a thread of curiosity crept in. What on earth was written inside this love letter?

Back in middle school, she’d received love letters from boys too. But boys back then were clueless — every letter was wall-to-wall “I like you, I really like you, I like you very very much,” nothing but blunt, simple declarations.

There was absolutely nothing worth reading.

A love letter this beautifully packaged, one that radiated a girl’s hidden, bashful feelings from every angle — honestly, Lin Tao had never seen anything like it either.

She was desperately, achingly curious about what was written inside — but she couldn’t let it show. She watched the boy out of the corner of her eye.

Jiang Yan hadn’t expected things to work out so coincidentally. During the short window of the flag-raising ceremony, someone had still managed to slip a love letter into his drawer.

The pink envelope was picked up by the girl with calm hands, held for only a few seconds, then quietly set back on his desk.

What followed was an awkward silence.

Jiang Yan hadn’t processed what happened yet, while Lin Tao didn’t know what to say. One of them stared blankly at the love letter on the desk; the other stole glances at that one’s every move.

Neither thought of anything to say. The atmosphere went quiet.

After a few seconds, Jiang Yan finally moved.

He reached out and picked up the love letter from the desk, gave it a casual glance, didn’t open it — but didn’t toss it away like before either. Instead, he slipped it back into his own drawer.

Lin Tao’s gaze froze. Without thinking, she looked up at him, her eyes filled with disbelief. “……”

Jiang Yan raised a hand and touched the tip of his nose, but that felt a bit inappropriate, so he smoothly shifted the gesture and scratched his cheek instead. He asked, with a completely straight face, “What’s wrong?”

“Noth… ing.” Lin Tao squeezed the two words out through her teeth.

She was genuinely about to be driven to her death by rage.

What is wrong with you?

How do you have absolutely zero sense of self-restraint?!

Jiang Yan had tucked the love letter away. Lin Tao didn’t know whether he’d actually read it, or what was written inside.

What she did know was that the quiet sense of ease she’d nursed for so long had been completely shattered by this one suddenly appearing love letter — as though a territory that once belonged entirely to her had, one day, been quietly claimed at one corner by a stranger.

It was a small corner. But it was still her territory. Having a stranger inch into it this way forced Lin Tao out of her comfort zone and flooded her with an overwhelming sense of crisis.

For the rest of the day, Lin Tao’s thoughts were consumed by that love letter. When evening self-study arrived and she sat down to work through test papers, all she could see were those two words — “love letter.” She’d barely written a few answers when the smoldering irritation that had been building up inside her finally pushed its way out.

She tossed down her pen, restless in a way she couldn’t articulate. Out of the corner of her eye she caught Jiang Yan sitting quietly beside her, working through his test paper, and she could have gladly bored several holes into him with her stare alone.

The classroom was warm from the heating.

Lin Tao rubbed her face, fished her phone out of the drawer, and logged into the familiar app.

Ever since she’d posted on the “How to Flirt with Guys” forum that one time, her thread had remained pinned to the forum’s front page. The replies had been accumulating day by day, and at some point they’d broken ten thousand.

She generally updated once a week, mostly summarizing whatever had happened during that period before posting it.

People in the comments had been urging her to confess.

But Lin Tao always felt like something was still missing between herself and Jiang Yan — what exactly that something was, she couldn’t quite say.

One reply in the thread had really spoken to her heart:

Reply 1667: I think even though the poster and her deskmate seem to be only one thin layer of paper away from something, has anyone considered that this layer of paper might be made of reinforced concrete? From the very beginning we’ve all been seeing things from the poster’s point of view, naturally assuming that her deskmate must like her — but from the content of this thread, other than treating the poster a little better than he treats everyone else, has he really done anything particularly special? So I think the reason the poster has been holding back from confessing… might also be because she’s not completely sure he likes her back?

When Lin Tao had seen that reply, she’d wanted to give it a hundred likes in a row.

She genuinely hadn’t fully figured out Jiang Yan’s feelings yet — which was why she’d never dared to be too direct, only testing the waters carefully, trying not to let it show.

The two of them were like the red and black pieces on opposite banks of the Chu River, each probing the other in a back-and-forth dance — yet neither ever crossing that boundary.

The little sweetness of the ambiguous stage was often more intoxicating than what lay beyond it. Lin Tao had placed herself and Jiang Yan together inside a comfortable bubble.

At first, the bubble held only the two of them. But as time passed, those outside saw the people inside and, drawn by what they saw, wanted to step in too.

Cracks had begun forming in the bubble. The sense of security that belonged to Lin Tao was under threat. She had no choice but to think of ways to patch it back up.

After much deliberation, Lin Tao updated her post:

Everything passes if you take it in stride — that’s the way to live life with a high 🙂

The update had barely gone live.

The comments instantly flooded with responses:

Aaaaaaaaah girl!! What happened!!! —

Is my favorite teen CP about to crash and burn!!!! —

I REFUSE!! I want to eat lemons!!!!!!!!!! aaaaaaa!!!!! —

Where did my love life go?? —

These eyes of mine have seen too much [laughing.jpg]

It had to be said — the passionate users of this forum were a constant source of entertainment. Lin Tao scrolled through everyone’s ridiculous comments and felt her mood lift considerably. She started chatting with everyone in the comment section.

The long evening self-study session came to an end before she knew it.

During this period, because of the flasher incident near the school, Lin Tao had been driven to and from school by the family driver. Tonight was supposed to be no exception.

But when the second evening self-study session ended, Lin Tao received a message from Fang Yisong saying that the driver had been caught in a multi-car chain collision on the way over, and was stuck on an overpass with no way off anytime soon.

Fang Yisong had been thinking of coming to pick her up herself, but Lin Tao turned her down. The flasher had already been caught anyway — she’d just take the bus home.

Fang Yisong agreed.

After school, Lin Tao still slowly packed up her schoolbag as usual. There was just over a month until the final exams, and she was still spending every evening at home reviewing after she got back.

Jiang Yan was the same as always — head down, playing on his phone, standing to the side waiting for her.

It was as though they’d developed an unspoken understanding. Once Lin Tao finished packing, he naturally moved to reach out and take her schoolbag — but his hand found nothing.

Lin Tao sidestepped his outstretched hand, her gaze lowered. “I’ll carry it myself.”

While Jiang Yan was still blinking in confusion, she’d already started walking ahead. He pressed his lips together, not sure what he was thinking about, but in the end, rather than getting annoyed, he actually laughed.

Seeing that she was about to walk out of the classroom, he quickened his steps and followed after her.

The winter night was cold with a biting wind. The weather forecast had said it might snow these next few days.

Everyone around them had already bundled up in all sorts of puffer jackets. Lin Tao glanced at the boy who was still wearing nothing but his school uniform jacket, and after a whole day of refusing to speak to him, her resolve finally cracked. She muttered quietly, “Aren’t you cold dressed like that?”

“I’m fine.” Jiang Yan didn’t have any particular sensitivity to temperature. Even in the coldest part of winter he’d wear at most a heavier jacket — rarely a puffer coat.

“……”

They walked in silence. When they reached the school gate, Lin Tao turned her feet toward the bus stop — only to be hooked back by someone grabbing her schoolbag from behind. She stumbled a half-step, steadied herself, and looked back at him in confusion. “What is it?”

Jiang Yan glanced at her. “Don’t you get picked up by the driver?”

“There’s a traffic jam, he can’t make it. I’m taking the bus home.”

With the low temperature, speaking sent visible clouds of warm breath misting around their lips.

A few seconds of silence. Jiang Yan released her bag. “Come on, I’ll walk you over.”

“No need, it’s not far.” Lin Tao tugged at her zipper, tucking her hands into her pockets. “Go home. It’s getting late.”

Jiang Yan completely ignored her refusal and walked off toward the bus stop.

“……”

Lin Tao made a small, indignant fist at his retreating back, then quickly hurried after him.

There were noticeably more students at the bus stop that evening. Now that the flasher had been caught, the fear and worry that had gripped everyone before had melted away. People looked relaxed, talking and laughing.

Not long after Lin Tao followed Jiang Yan to stand by the stop, some of the girls nearby noticed him. One grabbed her companion’s sleeve, looking excitedly worked up.

Before long, the small pockets of hushed whispering had swelled into a wide and lively discussion — and even some bold girls had gotten out their phones to take sneaky photos.

But one of them seemed to have forgotten to turn off the flash. The moment she pressed the shutter, a blinding burst of light flared up.

“……”

Both Lin Tao and Jiang Yan looked up toward the source. The commotion around them went still.

The atmosphere became exceptionally awkward for a moment.

Jiang Yan, seemingly oblivious, tilted his head and looked at Lin Tao, asking something he clearly already knew the answer to. “Was she just taking a photo of me?”

“……” Lin Tao couldn’t help rolling her eyes. She lifted her chin, showing the underside of her jaw, her tone sharp. “Obviously — what else, is she photographing me?”

He made a sound, drawing out the note, his expression perfectly innocent. “Why would she take a photo of me?”

Oh my god.

Lin Tao pressed her lips together, drew a slow, deep breath, and said, “Probably because you’re an idiot.”

“……” Jiang Yan looked at her puffed-up little expression, lowered his head, and — catching his thumb lightly against the bridge of his nose — laughed out of nowhere.

At that, every girl standing nearby who’d been secretly watching him abruptly erupted into excitement. Hushed whispering wasn’t enough anymore.

“Oh my god! He laughed! He just laughed — is he always that adorable when he smiles?!!!”

“Aaah — I’m dead!! He’s so handsome!!!”

“Did you get a photo?!”

“Got it, got it!”

“Quick quick quick, send it to me on QQ!! I need to post it in our dorm group chat!!”

“……”

Jiang Yan scratched his ear awkwardly, met Lin Tao’s utterly incredulous stare, and denied it with a straight face. “I didn’t laugh. They were seeing things.”

Lin Tao stared at him. The hands hidden in her pockets curled into fists. After a long moment she exhaled, saying lightly, with deliberate indifference, “What does that have to do with me.”

Jiang Yan watched her, and out of nowhere, laughed again.

“……”

Oh my god.

Still laughing.

Lin Tao was just about to say something when a tall girl standing at a diagonal angle ahead of them was abruptly shoved forward by her companion, coming to a halt barely half a meter from where they stood.

She paused — then, with a bashfully flushed expression, she was already the first to speak. “Hi, Jiang — I’m Fang Ran from Class 5, Second Year.”

The girl looked a little familiar.

Lin Tao couldn’t place her for a moment.

“Um… I have a few questions about studying I wanted to ask you. Could we exchange contact information?”

“……”

Lin Tao remembered now.

Fang Ran.

Ranked eighth on No. 10 High’s campus beauty rankings. Back when she’d been competing to play the female lead in the school’s cultural festival promotional video, she’d gotten into a dispute with Tang Yushi, who was also vying for the role.

The two of them had made quite a scene of it at the time.

Lin Tao had actually rather admired Fang Ran back then — the enemy of an enemy was a friend, after all. Though they’d never actually become friends, Lin Tao had always had a decent impression of her.

But right now.

She genuinely found absolutely nothing about Fang Ran to her liking — and besides, she remembered perfectly well: Fang Ran was in the Second Year humanities track, not the sciences track.

So.

What kind of studying questions do you possibly have that you could discuss with a science student?!

Were you hoping he’d explain to you what the correct socialist path in life looks like?!

The people all around were watching for the spectacle.

Someone had already mentally composed the title of the post they were going to put on the school forum that night:

School Beauty Steps Up Personally to Flirt with School Delinquent — The Outcome Was Actually…

The key players: present. The incident: present. The outcome: still a mystery.

Now that was something worth watching.

This was definitely going to be another massively popular post.

After Fang Ran spoke, Jiang Yan remained silent for a long time. The crowd was getting a bit anxious waiting. Lin Tao was getting anxious too.

What is this person thinking?

Can’t he just give everyone a clean answer, quickly?!

After a prolonged silence.

Jiang Yan moved his head, turned to meet Lin Tao’s gaze — which had nowhere to land — and slowly said, “What do you think — should I give her my contact?”

“……”

Lin Tao could have screamed.

Are you out of your mind?!

Was he trying to push her right into the center of everyone’s attention?!

The moment Jiang Yan said that, the stares of everyone around immediately zeroed in on Lin Tao with burning curiosity. Even Fang Ran’s gaze shifted from Jiang Yan to her face, her expression something that defied description.

Lin Tao swallowed her irritation, ground her teeth, and — under the weight of everyone’s impossible-to-ignore stares — squeezed out a sound. “Of course… give it to her.”

Jiang Yan actually looked as though he was going to take her word for it. He nodded and pulled out his phone as if about to exchange contact information — but then, the next second, put it away again and held his hand out toward Lin Tao. “Your phone.”

“……What are you trying to do now?” Lin Tao was this close to landing a punch on his face. She had never seen someone so endlessly pushy in her life.

Jiang Yan gave a helpless laugh. “My phone is dead. Borrow yours to add her.”

“……”

With so many people watching, Lin Tao didn’t say anything more. She reached into her pocket, pulled out her phone, and handed it to him.

Jiang Yan took it, unlocking it with practiced familiarity, pulled up Lin Tao’s WeChat QR code, and held it out toward Fang Ran, helpfully explaining: “I don’t use WeChat much — this is my deskmate’s. If you have any questions, tell her, and she’ll pass them on to me.”

Fang Ran: “……”

Everyone: “……”

Lin Tao: “……”