On the first Monday of August, the senior-year students started school early.

The affiliated school had many boarding students and traditionally held early evening self-study sessions before the term began.

Sheng Xia rode her electric scooter toward school against the backdrop of sunset.

She hadn’t dared tell Sheng Mingfeng about that minor accident. Her father liked to make definitive judgments about people and things, and would certainly use “you’re just not suited for riding” as an excuse to take back the electric scooter.

She quite enjoyed riding – the wind flowing across her cheeks seemed able to smooth out all her scattered thoughts. After practicing for several days, she would occasionally get a sudden surge of courage and twist the throttle to its limit. In that moment of acceleration, everything around her would rush backward, as if she had broken free from time and space, advancing recklessly along her independent track.

She was the sole controller of this track.

She named her Mount Little White.

…

At 18:30, half an hour before evening self-study, Sheng Xia arrived at the school’s bike shed. Though she thought she was early enough, the shed was already nearly full.

This was perhaps the self-discipline of a provincial key school. At No. 2 High School, on the first day of term, you couldn’t even be sure if everyone would show up, let alone arrive early.

Sheng Xia slowly maneuvered her electric scooter, searching for a spot. Just as she was about to give up and park at the next teaching building, she spotted a gap in the corner.

Two mountain bikes were parked diagonally, imperiously occupying space for four vehicles.

She parked Little White in the walkway and went to move the rear of the bikes.

The mountain bikes had large wheel hubs and no rear seats; she wasn’t sure how to handle them.

That’s when she noticed one of the bikes wasn’t locked, with a backpack hanging from the handlebars, its outer zipper half-open – unclear if it hadn’t been zipped properly or simply forgotten.

This owner was quite careless.

It seemed she could only pull the bike out and push it back in straight.

She carefully pulled the bike out and was just about to push it back after adjusting it when she heard a shout.

“Who are you? What are you doing?”

“Let go!”

Sheng Xia suddenly looked up toward the voice, her hands instinctively obeying and releasing —

With several clattering sounds of chaos, the bicycle lost balance and fell toward the side with the backpack, spilling the contents through the half-open zipper all over the ground.

“No way!” The boy who had shouted came running over, looking at the “tragedy” before him. “When I said let go, I didn’t mean like that, you…”

He looked at the girl frozen helplessly in place and was stunned himself. “It’s you again?” Then he turned back to call to another boy walking unhurriedly behind him, “Shu, your bike…”

Sheng Xia didn’t know where to put her hands, unsure whether to right the bike first or pick up the scattered contents of the backpack.

She glanced at the situation on the ground, and just as she was about to explain, she froze — that glance nearly sent her to heaven!

This… a ground full of magazines and DVDs.

This was too…!?

Her eyes went wide, she stood petrified for two seconds, then quickly turned her head away.

Although she couldn’t understand a single character of Japanese on the magazine covers, no medium could convey the subject matter more precisely than the images.

Those pale white bodies, those seductive expressions, and poses, those parts that even she as a girl didn’t dare look at…

Sheng Xia’s heart pounded like a drum, feeling as if it would burst out. She felt her breath catch, her brain lacking oxygen, her ears instantly burning, her complexion more colorful than the sunset.

Now she didn’t know where to look or what to say, her expression and movements froze. She could only look toward the approaching boys as if awaiting judgment.

Both boys were very tall, one fat and one thin in stark contrast. The fat one was the one who had just spoken, while the thin one held a can of soda, walking leisurely behind.

As he came closer, the spotlight above the bike shed shone directly on his jet-black hair whorl, his lazy gaze visible beneath his fluffy bangs, his lips curved slightly in what might have been a smile, though without much animation.

He seemed rather casual.

The sunset grew redder as night approached, spreading crimson brocade behind the young man, the evening breeze making the leaves rustle.

The world fell silent, everything within view like a picture frame.

The two figures before her seemed very familiar, bringing back memories of the accident from a few days ago.

She had been too nervous then to notice what the two boys looked like, only remembering one fat and one thin, riding mountain bikes…

And now, the fat boy gave her the answer with his grin.

“Classmate, failed at playing victim so you’ve changed tactics?”

It was them.

“I’m sorry, I… I just wanted to park.” I didn’t mean to knock over your bike and discover your secret.

She certainly didn’t say the latter part out loud.

Both boys looked at the familiar white electric scooter parked nearby, and the fat one snickered: “Oh, still dare to ride?”

The thin one seemed uninterested as he crouched down to pick up the scattered books and DVDs, stuffing them back into the backpack.

Sheng Xia’s gaze couldn’t help but follow, seeing his long fingers fall on those indescribable images…

Though he was just picking things up, it made her blush and her heart race again.

As for him, his movements were unhurried, showing no embarrassment at being “caught.”

After collecting everything, he closed the zipper, slung the backpack over his shoulder, pushed the bike to the very edge, then turned back and jerked his chin to indicate, “Park there.”

Then he stood aside to make room, leaned against the railing, and lifted his can of soda to his mouth for a sip, his Adam’s apple bobbing, looking completely unconcerned.

Sheng Xia stuttered, made a sound of acknowledgment, quickly parked her bike, grabbed her bag, and hurried away, not even giving a polite nod goodbye.

She just wanted to leave quickly.

If time could turn back, she would have been willing to walk several hundred meters to park at the second-year teaching building’s bike shed.

She started out walking quickly, then suddenly broke into a run after a few steps, soon disappearing at the end of the teaching building’s corridor.

“Why’s she running like she’s being chased? This girl is really funny. Shu, did you see? Her hands were shaking like she had palsy, hahahahaha, was it that scary?”

“You’re exaggerating,” Zhang Shu gave Hou Junqi a sidelong glance. “Why did you yell at her?”

Hou Junqi’s laughter cut off abruptly as he stared: “?”

Zhang Shu threw his backpack to him, “If you hadn’t made such a fuss, nothing would have happened. What did she owe you?”

Hou Junqi clutched the treasures he’d worked so hard to obtain, only now remembering what mattered, and asked anxiously: “She won’t report us, will she?”

Zhang Shu said: “She won’t.”

“That’s good,” Hou Junqi sighed in relief, “How can you be so sure she won’t! What if she does?”

Zhang Shu recalled those wet eyes and pale lips, “Does she look like she has the courage?”

Someone who got that scared just from seeing it – how could you expect her to describe it to others?

Though he didn’t quite understand what there was to be so afraid of, he could be certain that it wasn’t just simple embarrassment – she had been truly frightened.

Hou Junqi nodded: “True. Every time we see her she’s trembling. Hey, Shu, she’s so pale, have you ever seen a girl that pale? I think she’s even paler than Chen Mengyao. And her hair is so long, flying in the wind. When she’s not blushing she looks like a ghost…”

Zhang Shu: “You worry about so many useless things but never lose weight.”

Hou Junqi: …

The two sat on the railing enjoying the evening breeze. Hou Junqi checked his watch, “Still not here, these bastards. Don’t tell me they want me to deliver it to the classroom.”

Zhang Shu was impatient too: “Hurry up and ask if they’re coming, if not don’t come begging grandfather another day. The bell’s about to ring.”

Hou Junqi: “You’re worried about being late? That’s hilarious.” Not reporting the supplementary classes was already decent of you.