Every year, the Olympiad winter camp training team would choose a school as the training venue. This year, it happened to be held at the Capital Affiliated High School.

The range and depth of the final exam content were all far above the difficulty level of the college entrance exam, not to mention the midterm exams or the few second-year topics—it couldn’t even be compared. For such an exam, Jiang Qihuai truly had no need to care.

The questions he answered casually were already the limit of Tao Zhi’s current ability.

That was the distance between them.

A distant yet realistic gap.

To say she wasn’t affected would be a lie. Tao Zhi even felt a little regret for having wasted those three years.

Every choice a person makes at every stage of life affects the trajectory of their future. She didn’t know—if she could go back, would she still act as willful and self-destructive as before?

Tao Zhi thought, if fate had let her meet Jiang Qihuai earlier, just a little earlier, how good it would have been.

At an age when her feelings had just begun to awaken, when she didn’t even know that such affection between boys and girls could exist—if it had been him, then the flower in her heart would surely have bloomed because of him, and she would have liked him.

Wouldn’t she then be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with him now?

She took her phone out of her pocket, opened WeChat, and stared dazedly at Jiang Qihuai’s profile picture for a while.

When she realized she liked him, she changed his remark name—to “A Secret.”

Then she pinned the chat to the top.

Their conversation had stopped at the midterm exam, when she went to the first exam room to find him and asked him to come out.

Tao Zhi’s finger rested on the screen for a long time. Then she tapped on his profile picture and unpinned the chat.

He was already standing too high up.

She couldn’t let him occupy the top of her list even in a social app.

Tao Zhi’s grades were improving at an astonishing speed. Even Wang Zhezi said she was the fastest-progressing student he had ever taught in all his years of teaching. Wang Er specially called her to the office and gave her a small photo frame as a reward.

There were other teachers correcting papers nearby. Hearing this, one turned around and smiled, “Teacher Wang, what did you say last time? You were going to do a handstand for your student, right?”

Another teacher also turned around, face full of amusement. “Oh, really? Teacher Wang, then you can’t go back on your word. As teachers, we should set an example for our students.”

Wang Er: “…”

He turned his head and saw Tao Zhi looking at him expectantly. “Teacher Wang, are you really going to do a handstand?”

“Handstand my ass!” Wang Er’s face flushed red as he laughed and scolded her. “Alright, alright, you—what’s there to be so proud of? You only scored 110 and you’re already satisfied? Let me tell you, in my class there’s only moving forward, never backward. To me, this just means you barely have the qualifications to start. Don’t let this little bit of success go to your head.”

Tao Zhi answered softly, then hugged the photo frame and the pile of papers as she left the office.

She knew better than anyone that she had only just barely earned the right to begin.

For a whole week, Tao Zhi didn’t send Jiang Qihuai another message.

Ever since she had confessed her feelings, the little girl had become more and more unrestrained in both speech and behavior. She would often, for no reason at all, bother the boy she liked—usually with some meaningless small talk, or sometimes by sending him a photo of a problem she couldn’t solve to ask for help.

Although this sort of thing had become much less frequent after she got a tutor, she would still occasionally find something to talk to him about.

But for the entire week, she seemed to have disappeared—completely quiet.

Jiang Qihuai guessed it was because she hadn’t done well in the midterm exam.

On the evening before the finals, he sent a WeChat message to Li Shuangjiang.

【Grades out yet?】

Evening self-study at the experimental class was about to end. Li Shuangjiang was still struggling with the last problem in his sea of exercises. When he received the message, he checked several times to make sure it really was from Jiang Qihuai.

【Li Shuangjiang】: You actually care about that kind of thing?

【Li Shuangjiang】: They’re out. Don’t worry, your first-place spot is still unshakable—your lead over second place even widened a bit.

Sitting at his dorm desk, Jiang Qihuai pressed his lips together slightly.

At that moment, he was alone in the room—two roommates were at the library, another had gone to shower and hadn’t returned yet. The dorm was quiet and empty. Jiang Qihuai’s fingers hovered above the screen for a moment before he finally typed.

【Jiang Qihuai】: What about our vice class monitor?

【Li Shuangjiang】: Her improvement is so great it honestly scares me.

The corners of Jiang Qihuai’s lips curved silently.

He hadn’t seen the grade sheet yet and didn’t know what Tao Zhi scored. He had waited an entire week for the little girl to come find him for praise—but she never did.

He had thought it was because she didn’t do well.

Jiang Qihuai wanted to see her subject scores.

【Jiang Qihuai】: Take a picture for me.

Li Shuangjiang went quiet for a moment, then quickly sent a photo.

The classroom lighting was bright. The girl was leaning over her desk, pen in hand, working on a paper. Her brows were gently furrowed, long lashes lowered—she seemed to have encountered a difficult problem, her expression showing faint confusion.

Jiang Qihuai: “…”

He didn’t quite understand what went on in Li Shuangjiang’s head. From what he said, any normal person would know he wanted a picture of the grade sheet, not of Tao Zhi herself.

Jiang Qihuai’s eyes lowered; his gaze paused on the girl in the photo.

The dorm door opened. A roommate came in, holding a stack of books. He set them down on the desk beside him and casually glanced at Jiang Qihuai’s phone screen.

At first glance, Lu Jiacheng thought his aloof, taciturn roommate—who could barely string together a few words most of the time—was secretly looking at a pretty girl’s photo while everyone else was gone.

He leaned in slightly, peering closer, and realized it was clearly a clumsy candid shot taken by some straight guy, probably in a classroom.

The boy grinned, as if he’d found new entertainment. “Your girlfriend?”

Jiang Qihuai turned his head, exited WeChat, and the girl’s face vanished from the screen. “No.”

Lu Jiacheng narrowed his eyes, leaning lazily against the ladder of the bunk bed, watching him with interest. “No? Then why were you staring at her picture like that? Your head was practically about to dive into the screen.”

Jiang Qihuai said nothing.

Lu Jiacheng thought this was truly something rare.

They had known each other for over a year. Their relationship wasn’t close, but not distant either. Later, when Jiang Qihuai transferred schools, they ended up sharing a dorm room. Though they’d only been roommates for that brief week, it was enough time to figure out what kind of person Jiang Qihuai was.

He was indifferent to people and things alike—no friends, no emotions, no humanity. He couldn’t be swayed by kindness or force. Extremely hard to deal with.

Lu Jiacheng was the type to be very gentlemanly toward girls. Jiang Qihuai was not.

He treated everyone equally. In his world, perhaps aside from himself, everyone else—male or female—was just trash in his eyes.

Lu Jiacheng pulled out the chair beside him and sat down, continuing to ask, “She’s pretty cute. From the experimental class?”

Jiang Qihuai glanced at him. “You’re really this idle?”

“Just trying to understand our Boss Jiang’s rare emotional life,” Lu Jiacheng said, sliding his chair closer, clearly entertained. “Need a brother to give you some pointers?”

“Stay away from me.”

Lu Jiacheng was about to speak again when the dorm door opened once more. In the middle of winter, the boy who entered was wearing only a pair of boxers, his upper body defined with smooth muscle lines. With a towel in hand, he was rubbing his wet hair as he walked in.

“Boss He,” Lu Jiacheng called out to him, waving. “Got a girlfriend?”

“No,” He Zhixun tugged off the towel and said carelessly, “What would I need one of those for?”

Lu Jiacheng pointed at Jiang Qihuai. “Your bunkmate does.”

He Zhixun paused, turned around, and looked genuinely bewildered. “Someone actually likes him?”

“A pretty little girl, too,” Lu Jiacheng added lazily.

He Zhixun: “Hidden depths.”

Lu Jiacheng: “Never judge a book by its cover.”

“…”

With a sharp click, Jiang Qihuai locked his phone and tossed it onto the desk, face expressionless. “I said she’s not.”

He Zhixun: “Didn’t manage to get her yet?”

Jiang Qihuai was silent for a moment. “Still a bit short.”

Lu Jiacheng: “Short by how much?”

Jiang Qihuai pulled a book toward him, picked up his pen, and said lightly, “About 350 points.”

Lu Jiacheng: “…”

He Zhixun: “…”

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

Tao Zhi had been listless the entire week. It wasn’t obvious at school, but at home, it showed clearly.

As soon as she got back from school, she’d lock herself in her room. She wouldn’t come out until mealtime, and after dinner, she’d wordlessly head upstairs again. She barely said a few words the whole day.

Ji Fan couldn’t stand watching it anymore.

After dinner, just as Tao Zhi was about to go upstairs, he grabbed her and pulled her back.

“What’s going on with you?” Ji Fan frowned.

Tao Zhi was a little too full and hiccupped. “What do you mean what’s going on?”

Ji Fan: “Did you have a fight with Jiang Qihuai?”

Tao Zhi blinked. “No.”

“He bullied you?”

“No.”

“Then why have you been moping around like half-dead these past few days?” Ji Fan said, sounding impatient. “Just because he hasn’t come to school for a week, you’re already lovesick like this? If you miss him that much, why don’t you just go see him?”

Tao Zhi pouted. “Why would I go see him? I didn’t get enough marks.”

Ji Fan stared at her in disbelief. “You can’t be serious, right? You like someone so much you’ve forgotten who you are? That’s not like you—you’ve always been the type to do what you want. What’s with all this overthinking lately?”

Tao Zhi didn’t answer.

Ji Fan went on, “Besides, if Jiang Qihuai really only cared about scores, then wouldn’t he just be with Li Sijia already? Why’d he turn her down then? You think he’s the admissions officer for some top university, and you need 700 points just to apply?”

Tao Zhi froze.

Ji Fan waved a hand in front of her face. “You hear me?”

Tao Zhi licked the corner of her lips.

It did seem like that.

Why had she suddenly gotten stuck in this dead end, thinking she had to reach his level just to be worthy of being with him?

The two things clearly could happen at the same time.

Liking someone was supposed to be something pure and simple. Because it was him, she liked him. Even if one day Jiang Qihuai’s grades plummeted and he only scored 300 on every exam, she would still like him.

Because he was Jiang Qihuai—and that alone was enough.

If possible, she hoped he could feel the same way—that he wouldn’t think about reasons or conditions either, but simply like her because she was her.

If possible.

Tao Zhi suddenly lifted her head, walked to the entryway, grabbed her coat, slipped on her shoes, and called out, “I’m going out for a bit—tell Dad for me!”

Before her words even finished, the door slammed shut with a “bang.”

“…”

Ji Fan rolled his eyes.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

The Olympiad winter camp this year was being held at the Affiliated High School—Jiang Qihuai’s former school. It was almost a whole city away from the Experimental School, one in the east and one in the west, far from Tao Zhi’s home too.

It was rush hour, and traffic was heavy. After a one-hour delay, it was already past eight when Tao Zhi arrived.

Because the finals were tomorrow, the training team’s evening self-study had been canceled, and all participants were preparing on their own. Tao Zhi asked the security guard at the gate and walked toward the dormitory building used by the training team.

The road was quiet. The senior-year teaching building glowed brightly under the cold night. A gust of winter wind rolled through, and Tao Zhi hunched her neck, bracing against the chill as she walked forward.

Standing beneath the dormitory building, she reached into her pocket, intending to send Jiang Qihuai a message—only to realize she had left in such a hurry she hadn’t brought her phone.

She hesitated for a moment, then decided to go inside.

The temporary dormitory for the training camp had two designated floors, shared between both sexes: the second floor for boys, the third for girls.

When she entered, the dormitory attendant only glanced at her—probably assuming she was one of the training students—and said nothing.

Tao Zhi went up to the second floor. In the stairwell, she could already hear boys talking. She paused for a moment, then pushed open the door to the corridor and stepped inside.

Two boys holding basins and towels were heading toward the bathroom at the end of the hallway. When they suddenly saw a girl appear at the stairwell entrance, both of them froze.

Tao Zhi’s face was calm as she asked steadily, “Excuse me, may I ask if you know Jiang Qihuai?”

One of the boys looked at the other. “He’s from your dorm, right?”

The other boy let out an “ah” of realization, then turned back. “You’re looking for him?”

Tao Zhi nodded.

The boy handed his towel to his friend. “I’ll go call him. You wait here for a bit, alright?”

Tao Zhi exhaled softly, leaned against the wall with her head lowered, and waited quietly.

The other boy had already gone ahead into the bathroom with his things. The hallway was empty and quiet. A silver-gray radiator stood beside her; Tao Zhi shifted closer, pressing her cold fingers against the warm metal.

She let out a small sigh of comfort.

A noise came from the hallway. One of the dorm room doors opened, and Tao Zhi lifted her head at the sound. Under the bright light, a head suddenly poked out from behind the door.

Then another one followed.

And finally, the boy who had gone to call Jiang Qihuai stuck his head out too.

Three male heads were now lined up at the door, halfway across the hallway, peering curiously in her direction.

“That her?”

“Yeah, the same girl from the photo.”

“Damn, she’s real.”

Tao Zhi: “…”

She straightened up from the radiator, and saw Jiang Qihuai step out from behind the three heads, raising a hand to smack one of them.

The heads instantly withdrew.

Jiang Qihuai turned around, closed the door behind him, and walked toward her.

His shadow stretched along the floor as he came closer, step by step. Tao Zhi felt her nerves tighten with every inch of the shrinking distance.

When he finally stopped in front of her, his figure cast a shadow over her face. He raised a brow. “A midnight visit to the boys’ dorm?”

Tao Zhi was so nervous she couldn’t even feel the warmth of the radiator anymore. She cleared her throat. “I thought about it—”

“…”

She thought again.

Jiang Qihuai gave a small hum, patient but waiting. “Go on.”

“I didn’t score 700 this midterm either. Even with a discount, it’s not enough. But you said yourself—I can take the test multiple times.”

Once she got the first words out, it became easier to speak. “So just let me take it twice, alright?”

Jiang Qihuai looked at her strangely. “Twice is enough?”

“Enough,” Tao Zhi held up two fingers. “I got 350 last time, and 580 this time. That’s 930 combined.”

Jiang Qihuai: “…”

Tao Zhi lifted her eyes slightly, carefully watching his expression. “That’s more than two hundred points higher than you.”

“…”

“So?” Jiang Qihuai continued to ask.

“So,” Tao Zhi said slowly, “I’ve scored enough now. When are you going to agree to be my boyfriend?”

Silence fell for a moment.

Jiang Qihuai lowered his gaze, the corner of his lips curving as he suddenly laughed.

He stepped forward half a step and leaned down, bracing one hand against the radiator behind her as he moved closer.

The height difference shrank sharply; the warmth of the radiator burned against his palm and climbed up his arm, as if setting his whole body aflame.

Jiang Qihuai lowered himself, caging her between his arms. His eyes lifted, gaze level with hers. “Remind me.”

The boy’s breath was warm and close—so near, so tangible, so overwhelming it seemed to swallow the air between them. Tao Zhi’s mind went blank; she stammered softly, “…What?”

Jiang Qihuai looked straight at her. The pale color of his eyes deepened slightly as he spoke in a low voice, “When, exactly, did I ever say that I’d be your boyfriend once you scored enough points?”