The hair tie was one she had casually bought at a roadside accessory shop, five yuan for a bundle.

Very ordinary, the kind you could see everywhere on the street.

No particular style.

And she had been using this hair tie to put up her hair regularly.

…

Lin Zhexia pinched the black hair tie, taking it off Chi Yao’s wrist: “Why did you wear it directly?”

Because of this simple hair tie, the atmosphere suddenly became ambiguous.

Perhaps it was her misconception, but Chi Yao’s gaze toward her contained some other emotions. However, those emotions disappeared in an instant, and when he spoke again, he said: “How else should I carry it, dangling in my hand?”

Lin Zhexia thought for a moment: “Carrying it in your hand would indeed be inconvenient.”

She glanced at Chi Yao’s hair and fearlessly said: “You could tie it up.”

She added, “When we were little, I braided your hair once, do you remember?”

Chi Yao: “And then you were chased out by me, do you remember?”

Lin Zhexia: “…”

She remembered.

She had secretly given him two little pigtails while he was sleeping, and because of those pigtails, Chi Yao didn’t speak to her for a week.

As they talked, they had already walked to the vicinity of their building.

Lin Zhexia, holding the hair tie, said to Chi Yao, “I’ll head back first.”

She ran into the building, and only after the door locked behind her with a “click” did she let out a sigh of relief.

She raised her hand to touch her earlobe and found it as hot as she had imagined.

Lin Zhexia lowered her head, looked at the black hair tie in her hand, and discovered that her current feeling was like the one on the high-speed train. So this was what it felt like to like someone—emotions could fluctuate so easily with it.

After the short holiday, Cheng’an No.2 High School presented an award to the competition team.

“So amazing,” during the flag-raising ceremony, Chen Lin repeatedly exclaimed, “I didn’t expect they would really get first place.”

Lin Zhexia looked at the people on the stage, momentarily recalling those brief two days in Haicheng City.

Chen Lin: “Speaking of which, when you went to Haicheng City, you were discovered by Old Liu?”

Lin Zhexia still felt very angry thinking about it: “It’s all that psycho Xu Ting’s fault.”

Chen Lin: “By the way, I heard there’s gossip in the competition team, something about someone confessing to someone else?”

“…”

Lin Zhexia hadn’t expected this kind of thing to spread.

Chen Lin: “Who confessed to whom?”

Lin Zhexia couldn’t casually disclose other people’s private matters, so in the end, she only said: “I’m not sure either, I haven’t heard about it, maybe it’s just a rumor.”

Life at school was the same as usual. The two days in Haicheng City seemed like a brief dream. Life hadn’t changed at all, except that the name “Chi Yao” had become different for her.

After school, Lin Zhexia was doing homework at home.

When she encountered problems she didn’t understand, she still habitually poked Chi Yao to ask—

I’m humbly seeking guidance—

Please tell me, physics competition first-place winner, how do I solve this problem?

A moment later, Chi Yao sent her a photo.

Chi Dog: [Image]

Class 1’s homework was mostly different from Class 7’s.

Lin Zhexia opened the photo and saw Chi Yao working on an unfamiliar test paper. Next to that more difficult test paper, someone had written a few simple steps with a black pen.

Lin Zhexia copied down those few simple steps.

After copying, she replied to Chi Yao with a kowtowing animated image.

Then, just as she was about to exit the chat box, before leaving, she caught sight of her previous nickname for Chi Yao: Chi Dog.

Even though there was no one in the room, she still felt a bit guilty as she looked back.

Confirming that the door was closed and there was no other movement outside, she clicked into the friend card and then clicked to modify the nickname.

She deleted the two characters for “Chi Dog,” stared at the empty box for a long time, moved her fingers, and carefully typed four characters: “Person I like.”

At that moment, Chi Yao happened to send her a new message.

Person I like: Did you understand?

Sometimes the nickname you give someone represents your thoughts about that person.

After changing to this nickname, even an ordinary chat box became special.

But Lin Zhexia hesitated at the chat box, modified the nickname again, and finally secretly changed it to two characters: Chi Certain.

The weather always turns cold quickly. As November approached, everyone began wearing fall jackets.

Although Cheng’an strictly required wearing school uniforms, some students would be a bit clever, still wearing the summer uniform underneath, but with their jackets on top.

Lin Zhexia had never thought about doing this before; it was just a school uniform, and she wasn’t particular about what she wore.

But now it was different.

“Why do you suddenly want to wear your own jacket?” early in the morning, Lin He asked.

Lin Zhexia used the reason she had already thought of: “The school jacket is too thin, I’m afraid of getting cold.”

Lin He: “Last year, you complained it was too hot and argued with me for half a day, have you forgotten?”

“…”

At that time, she was a bit rebellious. When Lin He tried to dictate what she should wear, she stubbornly insisted she wasn’t cold.

Lin Zhexia: “I was ignorant then, now I’ve grown up. I think you were right, the temperature difference between morning and evening is significant, so I should prioritize staying warm.”

Lin He didn’t pursue it further, saying, “I’ll look for your jacket. If I remember correctly, I should have put it in the cabinet.”

Lin Zhexia got ahead of her: “I know which cabinet, I’ll find it myself.”

She finally found a white jacket at the bottom of the cabinet. The jacket didn’t have any particular style either, just a loose fit, but subconsciously, she felt it should look a bit better than the uniform that everyone in school wore.

However, when she walked to school alongside Chi Yao, he just glanced at her once without saying anything more.

She couldn’t help herself, during a pause while waiting for the bus: “Ahem.”

Chi Yao was concise: “Speak.”

Lin Zhexia slowly said, “Don’t you think I look different today?”

Chi Yao: “Where?”

Lin Zhexia had bustled about all morning and couldn’t help but angrily accuse: “…Your observation skills are too poor. The saying ‘having eyes but not seeing’ was made for people like you.”

Chi Yao glanced at her.

The girl had rarely not worn her school uniform today. The jacket she wore was very large, hanging loosely, and the white color suited her well. Her hair was smoothly tied back.

After a while, Chi Yao looked away, unusually not retorting.

The bus arrived quickly. Just when Lin Zhexia thought the topic had ended, before boarding, she heard Chi Yao say: “The jacket is okay.”

“…”

After arriving at school, Chen Lin and Tang Shuxuan also noticed her jacket: “You look very pretty today.”

Lin Zhexia was a bit happy: “Thank you.”

She then asked, “What were you talking about just now? I heard something about a market when I came in.”

Chen Lin: “Shuxuan saw a creative market online. The pictures looked really beautiful, and she’s asking if we want to go together this weekend. It’s not far either, just near the temple we visited last time.”

Lin Zhexia looked at the phone handed to her. The market was brightly lit with a long row of stalls selling all kinds of things.

Lin Zhexia: “Sure, looks interesting.”

Chen Lin: “Then it’s settled. Just the three of us? Will Chi Yao go? This kind of market with more people should be more lively.”

In the evening, the group walked together from the school gate toward the bus station.

Before Chi Yao could speak, Xu Ting raised his hand next to them to answer first: “I’m free this weekend!”

Lin Zhexia: “No one asked you.”

Xu Ting: “…”

Xu Ting snorted: “Anyway, I’ll come too. Since I heard it, I’ll consider it as you inviting me.”

Chen Lin and Tang Shuxuan were also speechless.

Chen Lin: “This guy is so effeminate.”

Tang Shuxuan: “Was he always this effeminate?”

Although that’s what they said, they still tacitly accepted Xu Ting’s participation.

As for Chi Yao…

Anyway, when it came time to go out, Lin Zhexia could always drag him out.

Lin Zhexia did indeed drag Chi Yao out before they left.

“If you don’t go,” Lin Zhexia thought as she dragged him, “Xu Ting will be very awkward. We’re all girls, and he’s the only boy.”

Chi Yao: “What does his awkwardness have to do with me?”

Lin Zhexia was speechless: “Indeed.”

After a while, Lin Zhexia said again: “I don’t want to take the bus alone, and you’re free anyway.”

Chi Yao, being pulled out by her, looked down and said: “Which eye of yours saw that I’m free?”

Lin Zhexia: “Both eyes saw it.”

“…”

The market only operated at night. When Lin Zhexia pulled Chi Yao off the bus, they could already see the crowded market from a distance. Each vendor’s stall had two lamps lit, with lights extending down.

They sold all sorts of things here—handicrafts, food, and many strange little trinkets.

The group browsed as they walked.

Lin Zhexia bought a squid skewer, finished it, and bought a cup of milk tea. And halfway through drinking it, I saw a cotton candy machine and enthusiastically bought a huge stick of cotton candy.

The colorful candy was as big as a balloon in her hand.

She had to walk especially carefully, or else she might brush against passersby.

Chen Lin and Tang Shuxuan saw something interesting and turned back to call Lin Zhexia to come look, but instead saw that as Lin Zhexia received the cotton candy from the vendor, Chi Yao naturally reached out to take the half cup of milk tea she had been holding.

Lin Zhexia and Chi Yao often had these subtle yet tacit small gestures between them.

They might not easily notice it themselves, but onlookers would realize that there was always an invisible wall separating them from these two.

Lin Zhexia, holding the cotton candy, heard someone calling her and shouted to them: “Were you calling me just now?”

Chen Lin said, “Yes, come look, there’s a photo studio here. Shuxuan wants to take photos. Should we take a photo together?”

Where Chen Lin and Tang Shuxuan were standing was a small stall called “Creative Photo Studio.”

Many small-sized photos were posted at the entrance of the photo studio, all taken by previous customers at the small stall.

Lin Zhexia didn’t think much and agreed.

However, when Tang Shuxuan eagerly asked the stall owner, “How much for one photo?” the owner glanced at her: “Just you alone taking the photo?”

Tang Shuxuan turned back to point at Chen Lin and Lin Zhexia: “And my friends too.”

The stall owner pointed at his shop name. In front of the words “Creative Photo Studio,” there were two small characters that were easy to overlook: “Young lady, you might not have seen clearly. This is a ‘Couples’ Creative Photo Studio.”

Tang Shuxuan: “…”

Chen Lin: “…”

Lin Zhexia: “…”

Your shop name.

If you could highlight the two most important characters and not make them so small, it might be better.

Lin Zhexia was about to say Forget it, when she saw Tang Shuxuan suddenly pull Xu Ting to her side, then demonstrate her exceptional social skills to everyone: “Boss, I can take a photo—this is my boyfriend!”

“…”

“He’s quite shy, so he was standing farther away from me just now.”

Xu Ting, suddenly pulled over, was completely stunned: “???”

By the time he came to his senses, the stall owner had already “snapped” several photos of him and Tang Shuxuan.

Stall owner: “Twenty-eight, scan the code, anyone else want to take photos?”

After scanning the code, Tang Shuxuan nudged Lin Zhexia with her arm: “Are you going to take one?”

Lin Zhexia: “…How would I take one?”

Lin Zhexia added, “Publicly announce my relationship with Chen Lin?”

Tang Shuxuan pointed at Chi Yao: “No, isn’t there another person here?”

Lin Zhexia opened her mouth, but before she could speak.

Tang Shuxuan continued: “It’s not real anyway. It’s rare to come out and play. It’s just taking a photo as a memento, nothing more. Just grab Chi Yao over as a tool person.”

Tang Shuxuan spoke quite loudly, and Chi Yao might have heard.

Lin Zhexia’s face suddenly became very hot.

In the brief few seconds, she thought about many things.

She didn’t know what reaction she should show to appear “normal.”

If she seemed too resistant, it would be quite obvious.

Just like Tang Shuxuan, because she had no feelings for Xu Ting at all, she could so openly shout at the stall owner.

But given her personality, accepting would also seem very strange.

…

Finally, Lin Zhexia used a tone only she knew was unnatural to say: “Who wants to take photos with him…”

Her voice got lower as she spoke, and she still didn’t finish the sentence.

Because she did want to take photos.

She didn’t even know how she ended up standing in front of Chi Yao asking if he could accompany her for photos: “Tang Shuxuan, well, wanted to ask you…”

“Of course I’m not meaning anything by it,” she spoke for a long time without making herself clear, “just if you could, you know, never mind. Just pretend I was never here.”

Lin Zhexia was about to give up when she saw Chi Yao holding that cup of milk tea, speaking in a flat tone: “What, don’t need a tool person anymore?”

He had! Heard it!

Lin Zhexia’s face was almost smoking.

When she and Chi Yao walked over, the stall owner looked at them: “You two as well?”

Lin Zhexia’s attitude was ambiguous: “Ah.”

The stall owner pointed to the QR code nearby: “Scan first, the price is the same, twenty-eight.”

Chi Yao scanned the code before she prepared to do so.

Lin Zhexia felt a bit regretful at this moment. Thinking back on this day later, she felt as if her brain had frozen at that time, stiffly holding a huge colorful cotton candy, her face rigid. The stall owner seemed to say “that girl shouldn’t stand so far away” when taking the photo, but she didn’t hear.

So the person beside her reminded her: “Lin Zhexia.”

Lin Zhexia raised her head following the voice.

She saw the young man’s Adam’s apple moving up and down as he spoke, saw his lowered eyes, and that earring that happened to face her right ear.

“Come closer.”