On the other side, in front of the Pure K lobby, Liu Sijia leaned against the wall in a black dress, watching the two figures walking away one after the other.

The expression on her face was complicated.

She reached into her pocket and drew out a slim mentholated cigarette, clamping it between her lips. Her fingers worked the wheel of the lighter, pressing again and again — not a single spark came. Instantly her agitation deepened.

She was about to hurl the lighter in her hand when a figure in black drifted lazily down nearby. Ning Chao, hands tucked into his pockets, extended one — a cigarette clamped between his lips, a lighter sliding out from his palm as he bent his head to light up, a sharp, defined jaw line emerging into view.

Liu Sijia’s craving was stirred by the sight of Ning Chao lighting his cigarette. Out of habit she tipped her chin up and said: “Hey — lend me a light.”

Ning Chao took the cigarette from his lips, looked at her once — and flatly refused her to her face: “No.”

Liu Sijia recognized instantly that the silver lighter he was playing with was the very Zorro lighter she had given him. She said with an imperious tone: “That one was a gift from me.”

Ning Chao couldn’t be bothered to deal with her. He smoked his own cigarette. Liu Sijia suddenly felt it was completely pointless, and turned to leave. Then, unexpectedly, a solid arm blocked her path. He turned his palm sideways and held the flame out toward her.

With a click, the orange-red flame ignited. Liu Sijia looked over — the firelight lit up a defiant, untamed face. But the stunned feeling lasted less than an instant, because the next second, that same mouth proved it was still incapable of saying anything decent:

“Look at you girls and your petty little ways.”

Liu Sijia nearly rolled her eyes clean up to the ceiling.

Fortunately, in the next minute, the nicotine filling her lungs eased Liu Sijia’s agitated mood. She stood and smoked alongside Ning Chao. The atmosphere between them was, for once, calm.

Ning Chao took the cigarette from his lips and grinned in a way that was clearly asking to be punched: “That doesn’t feel great, does it.”

It was obvious he had seen that scene just now as well.

“What?” Red lips exhaled a small cloud of white vapor. Liu Sijia hadn’t quite surfaced from her own thoughts yet.

“Right, so — from the many years of experience of this young master navigating the world: if something is yours, it’s yours. If it’s not yours, don’t force it —” Ning Chao said, cigarette between his fingers, tone flippant and casual.

Liu Sijia’s expression darkened. She cut him off: “Enough. You sound exactly like a busybody right now.”

Ning Chao was just about to say something at that when his eyes caught sight of Liu Xiping approaching not far away, and his expression shifted.

Old Liu had been roped into singing several songs by his students back in the private room and had only now managed to slip out and catch his breath — only to walk out and find two students huddled together blowing smoke.

“Of all the nerve, you two —” Liu Xiping was so furious the veins in his forehead were visibly pulsing.

A wide, broad hand closed around her wrist. His palm was scorching hot. Liu Sijia hadn’t even had time to react before Ning Chao was pulling her and running. She was wearing red square-toed heeled leather shoes and was dragged along in a stumbling half-jog behind him.

In their haste, the two of them tossed their cigarettes away. The warm wind swept along the street, their heart rates climbing with the run. The two cigarettes traced parabolic arcs and landed on a rubbish bin not far away.

Like two brief meteors streaking across their bodies before burning out.

Old Liu gave relentless chase behind them, shouting as he ran: “Don’t think hiding will save you — you can’t hide from me forever.”

Liu Sijia was so winded she began to slow down: “I can’t go on. I can’t run anymore. Would you, Ning Chao, be afraid of him?”

“Yes — I’ve already got this semester’s courtyard cleanup duty. I’m not looking to sign up for next semester’s too!”

Ning Chao pulled Liu Sijia by the wrist, his eyes scanning left and right, and spotting a billiards hall nearby he turned sharp left at the corner, pulling her inside.

The bead curtain swayed. Ning Chao brought Liu Sijia ducking under a billiard table to hide. The table they had picked was in the corner, directly facing another one.

The table next door was surrounded on all sides by people, which just happened to block the view of where they were crouching. Liu Sijia’s forehead was damp with a thin sheen of sweat. Crouched on the ground and panting continually, she peered through the gaps between people and saw Old Liu’s pair of worn leather shoes shuffling across the floor — it was obvious he was looking for them.

The atmosphere in the billiards hall wasn’t the best. The smell of cigarette smoke mixed with the scent of peanuts and snacks. The person standing beside Liu Sijia reeked so strongly of alcohol she wanted to gag.

From the billiard table above, the sharp crack of cue striking ball and sending it into the pocket rang out repeatedly.

Liu Sijia covered her mouth and her nose along with it, bracing herself to endure until Old Liu left. But Old Liu seemed to have calculated that the two of them were right here — he paced back and forth and simply would not go.

The space under the billiard table was very cramped. Ning Chao had been turned sideways the whole time, keeping watch on Liu Sijia’s side, eyes fixed on Old Liu’s movements. Fortunately, Old Liu took a few turns inside the billiards hall, then pivoted and headed for the door.

Liu Sijia had been holding her breath. The moment Old Liu left, she couldn’t tolerate that suffocating stench for even one more second. She swung her arm up over her mouth and nose and made to stand — and bumped straight into Ning Chao, who was turning around at that exact moment, exhaling in relief.

At the same instant, Ning Chao’s lips brushed inadvertently against Liu Sijia’s soft, pale arm.

Pupils widened, reflecting another pair of shocked eyes.

With a sharp crack, the cue struck the billiard ball and sent it precisely into the pocket with a crisp ring. The onlookers cheered in succession.

Moist and strange — that sensation, like a feather landing on the heart. Liu Sijia’s heart gave a small movement, like a leaf instinctively curling in upon itself when disturbed.

Liu Sijia snapped back to her senses. That vivid, striking face shattered in an instant. She immediately cried out: “Are you insane? What’s wrong with you?!”

Still shouting, she scrambled out from under the billiard table on all fours. The young lady’s face was a mask of indignant fury as she walked briskly toward the exit, vigorously rubbing her arm the whole way, her expression one of utter disgust.

Ning Chao slid sideways out from under the table after her. Hands stuffed in pockets, he paused for a moment — then tilted his chin up and gave a cold snort through his nose: “I’m the one who got the short end of the deal. Young lady, you got a mouthful of arm hair on me.”

Liu Sijia completely fell apart. Her almond-shaped eyes flared wide: “I did not! Your arm is the one with hair on it, you man-ape Tarzan!”

The adults playing billiards and chatting nearby were startled to see a boy and a girl — clearly high school students — crawl out from under the table across from them. They watched as the girl with striking, glamorous features stormed out in furious embarrassment, while the close-cropped boy followed with his hands in his pockets in reluctant pursuit — though when he dropped his head, the corners of his lips curved into a barely perceptible smile.

The bystanders could only think: what a peculiar pair of young people.

After Ban Sheng had finished celebrating Lin Weixia’s birthday and finally let her go, it was already very late.

Lin Weixia got home deep in the night. After washing up, she sat at her desk. She thought about how she hadn’t written in her diary in a long time. Her right hand was toweling dry her long black hair, still dripping, while her left hand pulled open the drawer to take out her soft leather-covered journal.

With a sharp sound, a leaf-shaped amber pendant fell to the floor. Lin Weixia bent to pick it up. At the same moment, the phone on the desk let out a buzzing vibration — a message had come in. She tapped to open it — it was a text from Li Yiran.

【Your future boyfriend is quite something. The moment you agreed to him, he bought the tab for everyone in the bar tonight.】

Lin Weixia’s lashes fluttered. She stared at the message for a long while before finally going to sleep. The night was deep. From time to time the rumble of cars on the elevated highway drifted in.

The rest of the time was relatively quiet, but Lin Weixia tossed and turned and simply couldn’t fall asleep. She couldn’t quite believe that she had actually said it — and even her sleep felt unsettled.

Lin Weixia reached under her pillow for her phone, lit up the screen, and found that Ban Sheng had sent her a message ten minutes earlier.

Ban: 【Asleep yet?】

Lin Weixia stretched two slender pale arms out from beneath the thin air-conditioned blanket and held the phone to type: 【Not yet.】

Immediately afterward, another message appeared on the screen — she could almost picture Ban Sheng’s perfectly serious tone as he sought confirmation.

Ban: 【You’re sure?】

【Yes.】 — Xia

Ban Sheng had just come out of the shower. He was wearing nothing but a pair of black trousers, the firm, defined muscles of his abdomen still dotted with water droplets. He bent down, picked up his phone from the coffee table, and saw that single word of affirmation. The corner of his mouth pulled into a faint, spreading curve.

That night, he didn’t rely on any sedative medication. His dreams were no longer a boundless darkness shot through with dark red. He no longer woke in the night from palpitations.

A full night of restful sleep.

Lin Weixia had gone to bed late the night before due to the emotional upheaval, and as a result she woke up late the next day. She hurriedly washed up, slung her black backpack over her shoulder, and dashed out the door.

What she hadn’t expected was that on Monday morning she would walk straight into Ban Sheng, who was waiting at her front door.

One hand resting at his trouser seam, one hand holding breakfast — his middle finger hooked around a white plastic bag containing the savory glutinous dumplings and fresh congee she always ate — the other hand occupied with his phone, his neck slightly bent, his posture unhurried.

He was in Shengao’s school uniform, his figure upright and tall — every inch the picture of a young lord stooping to wait for someone.

“What are you doing here?” Lin Weixia panted lightly.

Ban Sheng pocketed his phone at the sound of her voice, walked over, and handed her the breakfast. His eyes fixed straight on her:

“Came to confirm — in case you changed your mind.”

Lin Weixia felt a little helpless. But she knew what Ban Sheng wanted, so she raised her eyes to meet his directly. Her dewy lips replied:

“I’m not changing my mind.”

Ban Sheng dipped his head and laughed lightly, then asked Lin Weixia to hand over her keys. She took them out. She watched as the boy reached into his trouser pocket and produced something — his knuckle-defined hand sliding out a small dinosaur keychain, dangling it in front of her eyes.

“Won it at the bar last night betting on the match. Yours is the keychain, mine is a dinosaur baseball cap.”

Ban Sheng held the keychain out to her. He was always someone who liked to hold the initiative. Rather than take the key and attach the keychain himself, he insisted on watching Lin Weixia take his gift and clip it on herself.

From the very first day, Lin Weixia felt his possessiveness.

“Oh, maybe I shouldn’t — what if someone notices —” She caught Ban Sheng’s gaze, and her voice grew quieter and quieter.

But she still didn’t take it. He stepped forward two paces, bent his neck down, that roguishly insolent air of his pressing down over Lin Weixia.

Meeting his gaze, she stepped back one step. Ban Sheng stepped forward one step.

Leaving her nowhere to retreat to.

“Lin Weixia — don’t make me kiss you,” Ban Sheng leaned toward her, forcing her to look back at him, utterly roguish.

Lin Weixia had no choice but to take the dinosaur keychain and clip it onto her keys.

The sky grew brighter and brighter. Gold-tinged sunlight spread across everything. Lin Weixia boarded the bus, got off at the Shengao Yizhong stop, and from behind her, a shadow followed — unhurried, keeping the same pace.

He had done this before, once.

But now, something was different.

Lin Weixia walked into the classroom with her heart beating a little fast, forever afraid of someone noticing. Shortly after, Ban Sheng followed her in. The moment he stepped through the door, Qiu Minghua went straight for him, hollering:

“Brother Ban — what does ‘Day One’ mean in your social media post?”

Lin Weixia’s hand paused on the chair she was pulling out, then she continued to sit down and began eating the breakfast Ban Sheng had bought her. Ban Sheng passed right by her. The back of his hand — one knuckle arching up slightly — whether intentionally or not, grazed the side of her pale neck. Not hard, not gentle — a single brush.

Like a piece of ice. Lin Weixia startled.

The hot congee she had just spooned into her mouth almost made her choke.

Qiu Minghua kept on shouting non-stop over there. Ban Sheng, without so much as a change in expression, walked over, yanked Qiu Minghua’s phone straight out of his hands, locked his throat from behind, laughed softly, and without any visible effort tightened his grip:

“None of your business.”

Two math classes back to back — most of the classroom had slipped into a drowsy haze. During the break, Lin Weixia received a message from Ban Sheng. She turned to look out the window.

Ban Sheng was in the corridor talking to someone, his manner careless and unhurried — yet he kept glancing at the phone gripped tightly in his hand, obviously waiting for her reply.

Ban: 【Lunch together? I’ll take you somewhere special.】

Lin Weixia stared at the screen and grew conflicted. She typed into the message box: 【I can’t — Sijia made lunch plans with me.】

The night before, Liu Sijia had sent a message saying she wanted to have lunch together on Monday, and that she would have her housekeeper prepare two portions of a bento.

After the message declining went out, it was like a stone dropped into water — Ban Sheng never replied again.

She guessed he was probably upset and ignoring her.

Now that they had made a commitment to each other, it was only day one, and of course it was natural that he wanted to be closer to her and have more time together — yet Lin Weixia had already made plans with Liu Sijia in advance, without considering him.

Thinking of this, Lin Weixia added another message: 【Next time, for sure.】

But Ban Sheng still didn’t reply.

After the third class — Chinese — Old Liu sent Lin Weixia to the office to fetch the exercise workbooks. Lin Weixia carried a towering stack of workbooks back and piled them on the podium, then distributed them to each group.

When she reached the fourth group, Lin Weixia’s gaze paused. She picked out Ban Sheng’s workbook from the pile, intending to give it to him personally.

Lin Weixia hoped to use the act of returning the workbook as an opportunity to speak to him. She placed the workbook in front of Ban Sheng and said: “Your workbook.”

Ban Sheng was busy examining his drone remote control — something seemed to have malfunctioned with it. When he lowered his head, the blue vein on the side of his neck tightened and rose visibly, carrying an inexplicably compelling tension.

Lin Weixia was speaking to him, yet Ban Sheng didn’t so much as lift an eyelid in response. He continued working at his remote control, treating her as if she didn’t exist.

The workbook hovered in the air, going nowhere. Lin Weixia quietly let out a sigh.

When the morning dismissal bell rang, the students scattered like fish leaping from a tank and went streaming out, animated discussions about what to have for lunch already underway.

Lin Weixia and Liu Sijia walked arm in arm to the cafeteria as they usually did — but she could sense that something in Liu Sijia’s mood was off.

She wasn’t putting on her usual bright, striking smile. She spoke very little. When Lin Weixia tried to talk to her, Liu Sijia was distracted and unfocused in her replies.

Then, Liu Sijia’s phone rang out with an urgent ring tone. She didn’t even glance at it — just pressed it to silence, her eyes as cold and sharp as shattered ice.

Lin Weixia caught a glimpse of the screen. It looked like a call from her mother.

Liu Sijia’s lunch was, as always, a meager diet meal, accompanied by a glass of green cleansing juice. Because of that phone call, Liu Sijia’s mood seemed even worse. She poked at a few pieces of vegetables with her chopsticks, looking completely disengaged.

Liu Sijia had apparently caught wind of something and fixed her upward-slanting eyes on Lin Weixia: “Weixia — is there anything you’ve done to wrong me?”

Lin Weixia chewed slowly on her snow peas and asked: “What would count as wronging you?”

Liu Sijia paused, caught off guard by the counter-question, and was just about to say something when she noticed the small dinosaur keychain on the keys on the table. An uneasy intuition rose up in her immediately. She eyed it with suspicion:

“Where did that keychain come from?”

Lin Weixia glanced at Liu Sijia — at the collarbone protruding at her neckline, the clothes hanging off her frame, making her look even more frail inside them — and her gaze moved to the untouched food in front of her.

She was eating even less than before.

“Finish more than half of this, and I’ll tell you.” Lin Weixia passed her the chopsticks.

The two of them held each other’s gaze for a while. Liu Sijia relented, picked up the chopsticks, and began eating with her head down. Seeing this, Lin Weixia stood up and went to the cafeteria counter to fetch a bowl of corn-braised pork rib soup for her.

A moment later, Lin Weixia came back carrying her tray, set the soup in front of Liu Sijia, and glanced at her lunch — more than half the food in the bento box had already been cleared.

Liu Sijia chewed on her broccoli and gave Lin Weixia a shrug, her tone carrying a trace of smug pride: “I ate it. Now tell me.”

Lin Weixia stood before her with both hands in her pockets, and for a long moment said nothing. Then she leaned in slightly and reached out one hand, firmly parting Liu Sijia’s lips.

Liu Sijia yelped in pain and reflexively opened her mouth. Lin Weixia held the slight lean, her amber eyes calm and perceptive, her tone decisive:

“You fake-ate.”

Though Liu Sijia’s pretend-chewing had been quite convincing, it still hadn’t fooled her eyes. Long lashes swept toward the rubbish bin in the corner nearby — the still-vivid-colored food had been deposited there.

A flash of embarrassed fury crossed those beautiful eyes. Liu Sijia knocked Lin Weixia’s hand away, losing control of her composure, and her voice rose sharp and cutting: “What right do you have to interfere in my life?!”

With a loud bang, Liu Sijia slammed her soup spoon onto the table, sending a crash echoing through the air. The surroundings went briefly silent. The students eating nearby all looked over, expressions ripe with spectacle-watching.

Liu Sijia stood up immediately and left the cafeteria without looking back. She walked fast, and in her haste accidentally collided with Ning Chao, who was strolling along leisurely, one hand holding a young coconut.

With a sharp thud, the young coconut was knocked to the floor and its juice splashed across the ground. Ning Chao’s shoulder took the hit and ached sharply — fury rising in him, his face clouding over as he moved to block the girl in front of him: “What the—”

But when he saw the expression on Liu Sijia’s face, he froze. The other half of what he’d been about to say — “is wrong with you” — was swallowed back down his throat. Liu Sijia, face set and cold, knocked his hand away and ran.

Lin Weixia stood there, gaze lifted, watching her retreating figure — her thoughts adrift.

The people in the cafeteria finished lunch and one by one picked up their trays and left. After washing her hands, Lin Weixia passed by the convenience store. She walked straight past without looking — then took two steps, stopped, and turned back.

The first class in the afternoon was art calligraphy. The teacher lectured at the front, and the students daydreamed below. Lin Weixia held her pen and was sketching on paper, glancing over toward Ban Sheng several times in between.

He still hadn’t looked at her.

After class, Lin Weixia went up to the podium to write out a notice — passing on Old Liu’s announcement. They were to subscribe to a Chinese language study supplement. Anyone who didn’t want to subscribe could come find her, and she would handle registering their names.

The second class was PE. The boys had long since grabbed a basketball and surged out of the room in a crowd. The girls fixed their hair and examined themselves in mirrors until they were satisfied, then slowly shuffled toward the changing room.

When Fang Mo called Lin Weixia to go with her, the latter shook her head and smiled gently: “You go first — I’ll be there in a moment.”

“Alright then, I’m heading off!” Fang Mo waved at her.

Ban Sheng was still sitting in his chair, hunched over and tinkering with his drone. Lin Weixia stayed in her seat the entire time, until every last person in the classroom had left.

Neither of them spoke first.

Lin Weixia stood up and walked toward him. Her shadow fell over him. She looked at him and spoke: “Ban Sheng.”

Her tone was very gentle. A faint, sweet fruit fragrance drifted over. The hand Ban Sheng was holding the craft knife with paused — but he still didn’t raise his head.

Seeing that he still wasn’t acknowledging her, Lin Weixia withdrew her gaze from him, stepped straight past his desk, and made to leave. Then a hand shot out and grabbed hold of her arm. Dark eyes were still downcast.

“Your workbook.” Lin Weixia had handed it to him.

Once she was gone, Ban Sheng tossed the craft knife onto the desk, reached up and rubbed the back of his neck, then casually picked up the workbook from the table. A shower of salted plum candies cascaded out.

Ban Sheng was stunned. He picked up one of the candies and stared at it. The curve of his lips lifted — then kept widening and widening. Those normally cold, sharp eyes and brows were like spring wind caught in a snare, brimming with joy.

Hmph. An act of coaxing, was it?

During PE class, following the teacher’s instructions, Lin Weixia and a few classmates went to the equipment room to fetch the tennis rackets. She carried a box of green tennis balls toward the sports field, and snatches of the boys’ banter floated to her ears on the breeze.

Qiu Minghua stared at his watch, looking genuinely shaken: “Brother Ban, just stay with that cool face of yours — I’m not used to you smiling at me like that. It gives me a serial-killer’s-last-smile kind of feeling.”

Lin Weixia’s pocket buzzed with the sound of an incoming message. She gave the box a jolt upward to free one hand and pulled out her phone. When she read Ban Sheng’s text, she caught her breath — and felt as though the wind surrounding her had wrapped around her all at once, hot enough to make her cheeks burn.

Lin Weixia had asked him: 【What did you mean by ‘Day One’ in your social media post this morning?】

Ban: 【Day one of the final sprint before the college entrance exam.】