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

"I'm telling you, you've been love-obsessed ever since you met me."

Li Chen opened his mouth.

"You told my advisor that I'm love-obsessed?"

"Um."

"What was his reaction?"

He laughed and said, "That's fine, as long as the output is high."

Li Chen took a deep breath.

"Yan Xi".

"Um."

"Could you please stop embarrassing me in front of my advisor?"

"I didn't sabotage you."

Yan Xi drew a line on the back of his hand with her thumb.

"I am stating the facts."

Li Chen's palms were burning hot.

She drew it in the same spot as yesterday, between the base of her index and middle fingers.

This time it's not a circle, it's a very small hook.

It looks like a checkmark.

The two walked to the fork in the road between the dormitory areas.

Li Chen stopped.

"arrive."

Yan Xi did not immediately pull her hand away.

She stood under the streetlight and looked up at him for a few seconds.

The scarf covered half of her face, revealing only her eyebrows and eyes.

"Li Chen".

"Um."

"Don't go to the cafeteria tomorrow at noon."

"Where to?"

"I made a reservation at a restaurant, the one outside the East Gate that serves congee in clay pots."

Li Chen was stunned.

"you……"

"Didn't you think that store was good?"

He didn't say the restaurant was good; he just ordered takeout once.

But she deduced his opinion from a bowl of porridge.

"What time is it?"

"12:10, I finish class at 12:00."

"Ten minutes is enough time for you to walk from your teaching building."

Something bumped into Li Chen's chest.

It's not heavy. But it is.

"it is good."

Yan Xi pulled her hand out of her pocket.

As their fingertips parted, they brushed across his palm.

This time, the line drawn is an arc.

From the base of the index finger to the wrist.

It's very light.

She turned and left.

When she pushed open the glass door of the girls' dormitory, she was holding one end of her scarf in her left hand.

It's his scarf.

She didn't pay it back.

Li Chen stood still.

My phone vibrated in my pocket.

He didn't look at it immediately.

He raised his right hand and glanced at it under the streetlight.

There was nothing in my palm.

But the feel of that curved line remains on the skin.

He even remembered the exact route he took.

He took out his phone.

News about Yan Xi.

[Yan Xi: I'll return the scarf to you tomorrow.]

He typed a reply.

[Li Chen: No rush.]

Delete it.

[Li Chen: You look better in it than I do.]

Delete it.

[Li Chen: No need to return it, it's yours.]

Send it out.

Read.

Ten seconds later.

[Yan Xi: Then wear a turtleneck tomorrow.]

[Yan Xi: Don't catch a cold.]

Li Chen locked the screen.

He stood under the streetlight and smiled.

Then he turned around and walked towards the boys' dormitory.

My phone vibrated three more times in my pocket.

He read the messages in group 302 this time.

[Wang Qiang: Li Shen, where's your scarf? You clearly wore it when you left.]

[Zhao Zixuan: Do I even need to ask?]

[Chen Mo: The Scarf Transfer Incident. According to behavioral psychology, proactively leaving intimate clothing for one's partner is a nonverbal territorial marking behavior. Interestingly, in this case, it's impossible to determine who initiated the marking behavior—whether Li Chen gave it to her or Yan Xi left it behind. These two possibilities point to drastically different models of relational power structures.]

[Wang Qiang: Speak like a human being.]

[Chen Mo: His scarf was confiscated.]

Li Chen tossed his phone back into his pocket.

The dormitory building door is three meters away.

He pushed open the door, and hot air rushed out from the crack.

There was a smell of instant noodles in the hallway.

The light in room 302 is on.

……

The next day at 12:03 PM.

As Li Chen emerged from the teaching building, a message from Yan Xi popped up on his phone screen.

[Yan Xi: We're out. Second intersection on the right after turning right at the east gate.]

He glanced at the location.

A seven-minute walk.

He walked two steps faster than usual.

The street outside the East Gate is not wide, with two lanes, and is lined with plane trees.

In January, the tree branches are bare, drawing fine lines against the gray-white sky.

The congee shop is the third one at the intersection.

The storefront is small, and the signboard is handwritten in calligraphy and covered with a layer of plastic film.

There was a blackboard stand by the door, with today's recommendations written in chalk.

Yan Xi stood at the door.

Today I'm wearing that light gray sweater with a white down jacket over it.

He had a dark gray scarf wrapped around his neck.

The way he tied it was the same as the way he tied it for her last night.

One and a half turns, with the tail tucked to the left side.

She didn't change.

Li Chen walked up to her.

"How long have you been waiting?"

Two minutes.

"I'm late."

"You're not late, I left early."

Yan Xi pushed open the door of the porridge shop.

The shop is not large, with six wooden tables that are clean.

A row of menus hung on the wall, with white background and red lettering.

There is a two-person table at the back, a quiet spot, and the furthest from the kitchen's food preparation area.

Yan Xi walked directly to the table and sat down.

Li Chen sat down opposite her.

"Have you been here before?"

"I checked this store after you placed your order yesterday."

"What did you investigate?"

"Location, ratings, menu, speed of service, hygiene rating."

She picked up the menu and flipped through it.

"Shrimp congee, the same as yesterday?"

"You order."

Yan Xi waved to the waiter.

"Two servings of shrimp congee, one serving of stir-fried seasonal vegetables, and one serving of boiled shrimp."

"The shrimp must be live, not frozen."

"The porridge should be served without scallions or cilantro, and at a moderate temperature, not too hot."

After taking notes, the waiter glanced at Li Chen and left.

Li Chen leaned back in his chair.

"You've memorized my nickname."

Yan Xi put the menu back on the table.

"No scallions, no cilantro, and the temperature should be moderate."

Her tone was flat.

"You always order these three items."

"Not just porridge, but also spicy hot pot, noodles, barbecue, everything."

Li Chen's fingers paused on the table for a moment.

"You've discovered it."

"You think I won't notice?"

Yan Xi's gaze fell on his face.

"You don't eat scallions because you find the taste too pungent."

"You don't eat cilantro, not because of the taste, but because of the texture."

"When you bite into the cilantro stem, you'll make a tiny frown that lasts no more than 0.3 seconds."

Li Chen opened his mouth.

"When did you...?"

"The first time I ate in the cafeteria."

Yan Xi picked up the tissue box on the table, took out a tissue, and placed it under her chopsticks.

"The time you peeled a tea egg for me."

"The cafeteria lady put a pinch of cilantro on your plate. You pick it out with your chopsticks and place it on the edge of your plate."

"The movement is very natural, but the angle of the chopsticks shows that you didn't just randomly pick them out; you deliberately did it."

She aligned the edges of the tissue and folded it to create a crease.

"Then I started paying attention to what you avoided when you ate."

Li Chen stared at her for three seconds.

"Have you been observing me since our first meal together?"

"Observation is a neutral term."

Yan Xi pressed her finger on the tissue.

"You're observing me too."

Li Chen did not refute.

Because she's right.

The waiter brought over the porridge. Two clay pots were placed side by side on a tray.

Li Chen pushed Yan Xi's portion in front of her and then handed her the serving chopsticks.

Yan Xi took the chopsticks.

"You have a habit."

She scooped up a spoonful of porridge and blew on it twice.

"Every time you hand me something, the round end of the chopsticks faces me, and the pointed end faces you."

Li Chen looked down at the chopsticks in his hand.

indeed.

"Private tutor".

"Did your mother teach you that?"

"My grandfather."