Bai Jiangxin raised an eyebrow and continued pressing her. “Think we have something going on?”

【Ahhh why does he keep asking! We’re all eighteen already, does he really not get it?! Does he not know how to write the words ‘tact’ and ‘implicit’?!】

Of course Bai Jiangxin understood. He just wanted to see exactly how far she could keep pretending to be pure.

Xiang Di braced herself and said, “I mean, think the two of us are… in an early romance.”

Early romance?

Bai Jiangxin wanted to laugh.

With her filthy brain, she really had the nerve to say “early romance”?

The little schemes she had in her head toward him were far beyond what “early romance” could sum up—they were already at an R18 level.

Just then, a teacher on duty happened to pass by their class and saw that there were still two people in the classroom, one of whom was Bai Jiangxin.

“Bai Jiangxin, evening self-study is already over. Why are you two still not leaving?”

Bai Jiangxin replied, “We’re leaving right away.”

The teacher didn’t say anything else, only reminded them to turn off the lights and lock the door when they left, then walked away.

Bai Jiangxin said, “Let’s go first. We’ll talk on the way.”

Xiang Di froze in place.

【Why didn’t the teacher suspect us at all just now? Do I look that much like a boy?】

Ignoring her dejected inner voice, Bai Jiangxin urged, “Are you coming or not?”

Xiang Di snapped back to her senses and immediately responded.

“Coming, coming.”

─── ꒰ঌ·✦·໒꒱ ───

After walking out of the teaching building, Bai Jiangxin asked, “Where do you live? I’ll take you.”

There was no way she’d really trouble him to see her home. Xiang Di hurriedly declined politely. “No need, no need. I’ll just take a taxi back myself.”

Bai Jiangxin asked calmly in return, “Do you think there’s any chance I’d let you go home alone? Tell me the address.”

Although she was very clear that he was only seeing her home out of a male classmate’s sense of responsibility, she still couldn’t help feeling happy.

She obediently reported her home address. Bai Jiangxin responded with a hm. “Let’s go.”

Good heavens—who could have imagined that one day, she would be walking alone after school with the boy she had a crush on.

Early spring nights were chilly. Walking side by side with Bai Jiangxin on campus, Xiang Di raised her hand to catch the bangs blown messy by the wind, then patted her slightly warm cheeks.

The two of them walked in silence out of the school and reached the roadside. Yet even now, Bai Jiangxin still hadn’t said what exactly he wanted to talk to her about.

But Xiang Di felt that no matter what he wanted to talk about, it didn’t matter anymore.

Because this night, she would probably remember for a lifetime.

The secret delight of unrequited love quietly sprouted in her heart. Xiang Di silently tightened her grip on her backpack strap, until she heard Bai Jiangxin call her, “Xiang Di.”

She immediately looked up. “Huh?”

Under the dim streetlights, the girl’s eyes were unusually bright.

“When classes start again next week,” Bai Jiangxin paused, then said, “come with me to see Teacher Chen and have him change our seats.”

Xiang Di blinked, not expecting that what he wanted to talk to her about would actually be this.

It wasn’t really that sudden. After all, she had already overheard his conversation with the teacher before—he had requested a seat change—and she had already comforted herself back then.

But when he said it to her face, she still couldn’t help feeling a wave of disappointment in her heart.

When one truly feels sad, the heart is often hollow—there’s nothing to ask and nothing to be angry about. Xiang Di smiled faintly, asked nothing, and readily agreed. “Oh, sure.”

Bai Jiangxin frowned slightly.

Why didn’t she ask even once why he wanted to change seats?

And why couldn’t he hear what she was thinking right now either—did she really have no questions at all?

The bus arrived quickly. Bai Jiangxin was just about to get on when Xiang Di said, “Um, how about you don’t see me all the way home? Otherwise, it’ll be really late by the time you get back yourself.”

She really didn’t need him to see her home?

Bai Jiangxin didn’t know, because he couldn’t hear her thoughts at this moment.

Had it stopped working?

Since he couldn’t hear them, he decided to go by his own thoughts. Bai Jiangxin said, “It’s fine. I’ll take you.”

He got on the bus before her, leaving her no room to refuse.

Xiang Di sighed and could only follow him onto the bus.

【Alright then… just treat it as the last dream.】

Although he didn’t know what she meant by “the last dream,” Bai Jiangxin could hear her again.

Since it hadn’t stopped working, then why couldn’t he hear her just now?

After getting on the bus, Bai Jiangxin casually picked an empty seat and sat down. The seat beside him was empty. Xiang Di hesitated.

【…Better not sit next to him.】

She held onto her backpack strap and sat in another seat, not sitting together with him.

The bus traveled along the road. All the way, Xiang Di just stared blankly at the night scenery outside the window, thinking of nothing.

When he was with her, it was rare for his ears to be this quiet. Bai Jiangxin had originally thought he would feel relieved that the world was finally peaceful, but he didn’t.

Watching the back of her head as she leaned quietly against the window, faced with her sudden silence, not only did he fail to feel at ease—he instead felt inexplicably irritated.

After the bus passed several stops, he finally heard some movement from her.

She was humming a song in her head.

Bai Jiangxin had never heard this song before. He didn’t know whether the tune was accurate or not, but he heard the lyrics clearly.

【He never once mentions liking you, yet every sentence from you is “I’m willing.”】

【One response from him when he’s lonely, and you’re already overjoyed.】

【Every time he dodges the topic, you stupidly press close with enthusiasm, crossing so many cities for him, just because he got himself drenched, oh yeah yi yeah yi yeah—】

“……”

He had merely suggested changing seats. How had it come to feel like he’d committed some unforgivable mortal sin?

And was she really that enthusiastic toward him? She hadn’t even confessed to him.

If he hadn’t accidentally drunk that cup of milk tea of hers, he probably wouldn’t have been able to tell she liked him for the rest of his life.

The bus arrived at the stop just like that, amid her heartbreaking love-song concert. After getting off, walking a few hundred meters would bring them to Xiang Di’s residential complex.

Xiang Di really felt too embarrassed to let him walk her any farther. She casually pointed at a bakery by the roadside that was about to close and said, “Um, I suddenly want to buy a piece of bread. You can just walk me here.”

Glancing at the storefront, Bai Jiangxin said, “Go buy it. I’ll wait for you.”

After being silent the entire way, Xiang Di finally couldn’t help muttering in her heart.

What does this mean? This dream still isn’t over?

Unable to figure it out, she simply stopped thinking about it and walked straight into the bakery.

The bakery was about to close. Many breads that hadn’t sold that day were discounted. Since she was already there, Xiang Di thought she might as well buy a pork floss bun and a bottle of plain milk to save for breakfast tomorrow.

Seeing her pick up a pork floss bun, Bai Jiangxin casually asked, “You like pork floss?”

“Yeah.” Xiang Di asked, “Do you like it too?”

Bai Jiangxin hummed. “It’s okay.”

Xiang Di chuckled. “What a coincidence.”

It really was quite a coincidence.

Just as Bai Jiangxin was thinking this, Xiang Di, who was reaching into the refrigerated cabinet for milk, suddenly let out a sneaky little laugh.

【Coincidence successfully manufactured!】

【Actually, I don’t like pork floss buns at all. I used to only like sweet bread. Because I knew you liked it, that’s why I started liking it.】

【I also used to really hate drinking plain milk, but because I saw you drink a bottle of plain milk in the mornings, I started drinking plain milk too.】

【And I really love sleeping in. In my first and second year of high school, I was often cutting it close getting to the classroom and always got scolded by my parents. It wasn’t until senior year, being in the same class as you—if I went to school earlier, I could see you earlier. My parents don’t know that. They even praised me, saying that now that I’m in senior year, I finally know how to get up on my own. I don’t dare tell them that actually, it’s because of you that I overcame my habit of sleeping in. But I don’t dare tell you either.】

【Besides these, there are so, so many more. Every coincidence with your preferences was actually a carefully planned scheme on my part.】

【Sigh… even so, you’ll never know anyway.】

Within the girl’s rambling thoughts was an easygoing optimism, tinged with a bit of bitterness.

“……”

He knew now.

While Bai Jiangxin was still dazed, a bottle of milk was suddenly handed to him.

Xiang Di smiled and asked him, “The milk is buy one get one free. Do you like drinking plain milk? I’ll treat you?”

Her eyes were full of open, straightforward brightness. Clearly, she was the one who liked him—at this moment, the one who should be averting her gaze ought to be her.

Yet it was Bai Jiangxin who looked away first.

She hid it so well. On the surface, there wasn’t a trace—never once saying she liked him—yet in her heart, she liked him this much.

Bai Jiangxin suddenly felt the tips of his ears grow hot, his face too.

Not the kind of physical heat from evening self-study, but a psychological one—his heart suddenly aching dully.

She hadn’t even confessed to him yet, and he was already at a loss.