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

"Then why are you holding me so tightly?"

Yan Xi paused for a moment.

She glanced down at the pocket they shared.

"Your hands are hot."

"so?"

"So I'll borrow your temperature."

Her tone was flat, as if she were stating something perfectly natural.

Li Chen turned to look at her.

Her pale yellow sweatshirt accentuated her radiant white skin, and her black hair was tied in a low ponytail that cascaded down her shoulders.

She wasn't wearing makeup, and her eyes and brows carried a cool, refreshing quality unique to the early morning.

But the tips of the ears are red.

Li Chen did not expose her.

He tightened his grip on her fingers, his thumb gently brushing against the back of her hand.

Yan Xi's eyelashes trembled.

She did not speak.

The two walked all the way to the architecture department building.

Yan Xi withdrew her hand.

The sensation of fingertips gliding across his palm lingered for half a second.

What time does get out of class end in the afternoon?

"Four o'clock."

"I'll come pick you up."

Yan Xi glanced at him.

"What time do you finish class?"

"3:30."

"It will take you fifteen minutes to run here."

"Twelve minutes, I've measured it."

Yan Xi's gaze lingered on his face for two seconds.

That quiet, still gaze, like the surface of a windless lake, reappeared.

"Li Chen".

"Um."

"Have you measured how long it takes to get from your school building to my school building?"

"Um."

When was the test taken?

"months ago."

Yan Xi's breath hitched.

months ago.

They had just gotten together at that time.

At that time, he was just a freshman who was forced to "confess his feelings" by a dare.

She opened her mouth, as if to say something.

Li Chen had already turned around.

See you at four o'clock.

His figure blended into the flow of people heading towards the computer science department.

Yan Xi stood at the entrance of the teaching building.

The January wind blew her ponytail up and draped it over her shoulder.

She put her right hand, which Li Chen had just held, back into her pocket.

The pocket had already cooled down.

But the lingering sensation on my fingertips is still there.

She lowered her head and walked into the teaching building lobby, then turned into the elevator.

My phone vibrated.

News of Leng Qingge.

[Leng Qingge: I saw the photo of you and Li Chen holding hands as you entered the cafeteria. It's currently been shared 47 times on WeChat Moments. Should I reduce the number of shares?]

Yan Xi replied with a single word.

Yan Xi: No need.

She locked the screen.

The elevator doors opened on the eighth floor. She stepped out and, as she turned the corner of the corridor, bumped into Professor Zhang, the counselor from the architecture department.

Teacher Zhang, who was in his early forties and wore gold-rimmed glasses, paused for a moment when he saw Yan Xi.

"Yan Xi?"

"Hello, Teacher Zhang."

"You're wearing a bright color today."

Yan Xi looked down at the pale yellow color she was wearing.

"Just something I wore."

Teacher Zhang adjusted his glasses, asked no further questions, and stepped aside to let him pass.

Yan Xi walked into the classroom and sat in the second row by the window.

She opened her laptop, and the screen lit up.

The desktop wallpaper is a photo of the river in the ancient town.

In the lower right corner of the photo, the red and gold lights of two river lanterns float on the water.

Her gaze lingered on the two lights for three seconds.

Then I opened the courseware folder.

The phone vibrated one last time.

[Li Chen: The hoodie you're wearing today looks really good.]

Yan Xi placed her phone face down on the table.

The screen is facing down.

But the corners of her lips, which had been pursed, curled up.

……

At 3:28 PM, Li Chen closed his laptop.

The professor was still on the podium announcing the end of the course, his attention no longer on the classroom.

Wang Qiang nudged him from the side.

"Going to pick up your partner again?"

"Um."

"I receive them every day."

"Um."

"We accept orders even in winter."

"Um."

Aren't you tired?

Li Chen stood up and stuffed the laptop into his bag.

"Not tired."

Zhao Zixuan peeked out from the back row.

"I'll answer for him."

"Not only is he not tired, he also complains that the distance is too close. It only takes twelve minutes to run there, which is not enough time for him to process his feelings of longing."

Chen Mo pushed up his glasses.

"Strictly speaking, his window of opportunity to build up his emotions was the last fifteen minutes before the end of the class."

"Based on my observation over five consecutive days, he enters a state of low-frequency blinking and high-frequency phone checking around 3:15 pm every day, which I define as the 'ready state for receiving guests'."

Li Chen zipped up his backpack.

"Instead of wasting your time analyzing me, the three of you should analyze the key points for the final exam."

"There are still three weeks until the end of the semester," Wang Qiang said.

"Three weeks is enough time for you to fail three subjects."

Wang Qiang's expression froze.

Li Chen patted his shoulder and went out the door.

There weren't many people in the corridor.

He glanced at his phone; it was 3:29.

He walked the route four times, ran twice, and cycled once, all the way from the Computer Science department to the Architecture department.

Walking for 15 minutes, running for 12 minutes, cycling for 7 minutes.

Today he chose to run.

My sneakers clicked steadily on the stone pavement of the teaching area.

As I passed by the library, I saw several students sitting on the steps at the entrance, basking in the sun.

As I passed the administration building, student council members were moving event display boards.

Someone recognized him.

"Fierce God!"

He raised his hand in greeting, without stopping.

3:39.

The entrance to the architecture department's teaching building.

When he arrived, Yan Xi hadn't finished class yet. He leaned against a stone pillar by the flower bed and calmed his breathing.

My phone vibrated.

News about Yan Xi.

[Yan Xi: You've arrived?]

[Li Chen: Mm.]

Yan Xi: I see you.

Li Chen looked up, his gaze sweeping over the exterior of the architecture department's teaching building.

On the far right of the fifth floor window, a figure wearing a light yellow hoodie leaned against the window frame, looking down at his phone.

She looked up.

Their eyes met in the air.

There was a height of five floors and a distance of twenty meters between them.

Yan Xi's lips moved slightly.

Li Chen couldn't see what she said, but his phone vibrated.

[Yan Xi: Wait five minutes.]

five minutes.

Li Chen put his phone away and stood up straight.

His gaze never left the window on the fifth floor.

Four and a half minutes later, Yan Xi walked out of the teaching building.

She carried a beige canvas bag, and her hair was still in the low ponytail she wore in the morning. The phoenix hairpin was pinned at the base of the ponytail, inconspicuous, but it would reflect light in the sunlight.

She walked up to him and stopped.

"Did you run here?"

"They left."

"Your forehead is sweaty."

Li Chen rubbed his forehead with his sleeve.

"I squatted down for a while, and then I stood up too quickly."

Yan Xi looked at him for two seconds but didn't expose him.

"Let's go."

"Where to?"

"you say."

Li Chen thought for a moment.

"The library? Didn't you say you needed to look up some documents?"

Yan Xi paused slightly.

She mentioned that document casually in the car three days ago.

He remembered it.

"OK."

The two walked side by side toward the library.