Oh no! I've only been a freshman and I've already been targeted by a mean upperclassman.

"What are you looking at?"

Yan Xi didn't turn around, but her tone indicated that she knew.

"It's up to you."

"Have you seen enough?"

"no."

Yan Xi paused for a moment.

In less than half a second, she regained her rhythm and even sped up a bit.

Li Chen sped up to catch up.

After running five kilometers, the two stopped at the finish line.

Yan Xi bent over, supporting herself on her knees, her breathing rapid but even, with a thin layer of sweat on her forehead.

Li Chen took out a pack of tissues from his pocket, pulled one out, and handed it over.

Yan Xi took it, wiped her forehead, and straightened up.

"canteen?"

"Okay, I'll peel two eggs for you today."

One is enough.

"You're too thin, eat one more."

"I know my own weight."

"Your BMI was low on your last physical exam report."

Yan Xi stopped in her tracks.

How did you find out about my medical report?

Li Chen's expression remained unchanged.

"You opened a folder in the office last time, and I accidentally glanced at it."

"careless?"

"Um."

Yan Xi looked into his eyes.

Li Chen's gaze was open and honest.

But he unconsciously clenched his right fist.

Yan Xi noticed it.

She didn't ask any further questions and turned to continue walking towards the cafeteria.

"Two eggs."

she says.

The sound wasn't loud, but it was clear.

Li Chen followed, the smile on his lips hidden under his scarf.

The cafeteria is at 7:10.

As the morning rush hour just began, crowds poured in from all directions.

Li Chen was queuing at the window, while Yan Xi sat at a two-person table by the window, her phone screen lit up.

Seven or eight messages popped up in the student union's work group, all about the venue setup for next week's welcome dance.

She glanced at it, typed two lines and sent them, and the group instantly fell silent.

She put down her phone and looked through the crowd to find Li Chen's back.

He stood in the middle of the line, a head taller than the people in front and behind him.

The dark gray coat had wide shoulders and a tight waist.

The two girls in front of him in line were whispering to each other, their eyes occasionally glancing at his face.

Yan Xi tapped her fingers lightly on the table.

No need.

She told herself.

It's not worth wasting your emotions on this.

When Li Chen walked over with the tray, the two girls turned around and glanced at him again.

Then I saw Yan Xi.

The two of them turned their heads back at the same time, faster than the school bell rang.

Li Chen put down the plate.

Two bowls of plain congee, a small dish of pickled vegetables, two tea eggs, and a cup of warm milk.

The milk was placed near Yan Xi.

"The cafeteria is out of sweet soy milk today, so we've given you regular milk instead."

"Um."

Li Chen sat down, picked up a tea egg, and tapped the shell twice with his fingertip.

The shell has several cracks.

He peeled it piece by piece along the grain, the shell fragments falling onto the napkin, without taking a single piece of egg white with them.

Ten seconds. A perfectly smooth tea egg was placed into Yan Xi's bowl.

He picked up the second one and continued.

Yan Xi picked up her milk and took a sip, watching his hands peel the egg.

The joints are distinct, the fingertips have thin calluses, and the movements are quick but steady.

The second egg was peeled and put into her bowl again.

"And you?"

"I'll just have porridge."

"no."

Yan Xi picked up one of the eggs and put it back in his bowl.

"eat."

There was no room for negotiation.

Li Chen looked at the egg in the bowl and did not argue.

The two ate quietly for a while.

The sound of the porridge bowl hitting the porcelain spoon was exceptionally soft against the noisy background.

"How long did you talk to your mom last night?"

Yan Xi stopped eating.

"More than twenty minutes."

Did she say anything bad about me?

"I said so."

Li Chen's hand stiffened for a moment.

"What did you say?"

"I'm telling you, you're lazy. You don't fold your clothes or tidy your room."

"That was before."

"She also said that you pushed the neighbor's kid off the swing when you were a child."

He took mine first.

"Pushing people when trying to grab a swing?"

I was only four years old at the time.

Yan Xi took a sip of porridge.

"He started bullying people when he was only four years old."

Li Chen opened his mouth, then closed it again.

He found himself completely powerless on this topic.

His mother had already stripped his underwear completely.

"What else did she say?"

Yan Xi put down her spoon and looked at him.

Her eyes looked different than usual.

At school, Yan Xi usually looks at people with a distance, cold, scrutinizing, and condescending gaze.

She would be gentler with him, but there was always a sense of control beneath the surface.

Not at this moment.

At this moment, her eyes were calm, like a lake without wind.

She said you're a good kid.

Yan Xi's voice was a notch lower than usual.

"He's thoughtful. He remembers what fruits she likes to eat, and he'll secretly order a cake for her birthday. He's not very good at expressing himself, but he does more than he says."

Li Chen put down his chopsticks.

The noise from the cafeteria seemed to fade into the distance.

"When she said these things, her voice was different from what you described."

Yan Xi picked up the milk glass.

"You said she's talkative, passionate, and like a flame."

"But her voice was soft when she talked about you."

Li Chen stared at her profile.

"Xi Xi".

"Um?"

Do you like her?

Yan Xi's finger paused on the side of the cup for a moment.

She didn't answer directly.

"She told me to call her Mom."

Li Chen's breathing stopped for half a second.

"What did you say?"

"I said call her Aunt Shen first."

Li Chen's shoulders relaxed slightly.

He didn't realize he had been tense just now.

"No rush," he said.

"I know." Yan Xi put down her cup. "But when she said there was no rush, her tone was exactly the same as yours now."

Li Chen was stunned.

"You and your son said you weren't in a hurry, but your voices were full of anticipation."

Yan Xi stood up and picked up her plate.

"I'm leaving, I have class at eight."

Li Chen stood up and put the two of their plates in the recycling bin.

As I stepped out of the cafeteria, a cold wind rushed in.

Yan Xi put her hands into her hoodie pockets.

Li Chen walked to her right, his gaze falling on her hands that she had tucked into her pocket.

"cold?"

"fine."

He didn't ask any more questions, but reached out and pulled her right hand out of her pocket, then held it in his hand.

Yan Xi's fingers were icy cold.

"Is it alright?" Li Chen's tone carried a hint of dissatisfaction.

"Cold hands don't mean you're cold."

"What does that mean?"

"constitution."

Li Chen didn't reply. He stuffed her hand, along with his own, into his coat pocket.

The inside of the pocket was lined with velvet, and Li Chen's palms were warm.

Yan Xi's fingers curled slightly in his palm, but she didn't pull them back.

The two of them walked along the main road in front of the teaching building, each holding a pocket in one hand.

More and more students gradually appeared on the road.

Some people saw them and slowed their pace.

Someone took out their phone, at a deliberately angled angle.

Li Chen felt Yan Xi's fingers tighten slightly.

"care?"

"I don't care."