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

The shadows of the two people were shortened by the midday sun, almost shrinking to their feet and overlapping.

Yan Xi adjusted the angle of her fingers in his palm slightly, finding a more comfortable position.

Li Chen glanced down.

Her index finger rested on the second joint of his middle finger, and her thumb pressed against the outside of his web between his thumb and index finger.

This grip is different from the previous ones.

The first few times, we interlocked our fingers perfectly, with the spaces between our fingers touching.

This time her fingers were looser, but her thumb was clenched tighter.

It's like after walking around many times, I finally found the most comfortable position.

What time is your class this afternoon?

Two points.

"It's 1:07 now."

Yan Xi didn't look at her phone.

The scarf around her neck swayed with her steps, the dark gray yarn brushing against her chin.

Li Chen stared at the scarf.

He wrapped it around her waist one and a half times last night, tucking the end in on the left side.

Before she left the house today, she kept his way of tying the knot exactly as it was.

They did not dismantle and rebuild the enclosure.

"What are you looking at?"

"Look at the scarf."

"What's wrong?"

"You didn't re-tie it."

Yan Xi's steps were a beat slower.

"Too lazy to take it apart."

"You got up at 7:15 this morning, spent 23 minutes washing up, and 11 minutes choosing clothes."

Li Chen's tone was indifferent.

"You have time to re-tie it."

Yan Xi's fingers tightened slightly in his palm.

How did you know what time I got up?

"The screenshot of your step count that you post on WeChat Moments every morning, today's starting time is 7:38. Subtract the time spent washing up and getting dressed."

"You even looked at my step count screenshots?"

"Pinned."

Yan Xi stopped in her tracks.

Li Chen also stopped.

They stood beneath the bare branches of a plane tree, sunlight filtering through the twigs and falling on Yan Xi's hair.

The phoenix hairpin reflected the light.

"Did you pin my post to the top of your Moments?"

"Um."

"When?"

"The day after I added you on WeChat."

Yan Xi looked at him.

Li Chen's expression was very normal, as if he were saying that the weather was nice today.

Do you even know what you call this kind of behavior?

"focus on."

"No, call it surveillance."

Li Chen thought for a moment.

"Then let me put it another way."

"It's not surveillance."

"What is it?"

"I'm the only one looking at the screenshots of your daily step count."

Yan Xi pulled her hand out of his palm.

Li Chen thought she was leaving.

But she didn't.

She reached into his coat pocket, found his hand, and took it again.

It changed from holding it from the outside to holding it from inside the pocket.

It's warmer.

"Let's go."

Her voice came from behind the scarf, muffled.

"You have fifty-three minutes left."

As the two turned back onto the main road of the campus, three female architecture students walked towards them.

When they saw Yan Xi, they were taken aback at first, then their gazes shifted downwards and locked onto the hands of the two of them sharing a pocket.

One of the girls opened her mouth.

The other two turned their heads at the same time and exchanged a glance.

Li Chen felt Yan Xi's thumb press on the back of his hand.

It doesn't mean to take it back.

They pressed it even tighter.

"Chairman Yan."

The girl at the front mustered up her courage and greeted them.

"Um."

Yan Xi's response was brief.

His voice was cold, his posture was rigid, and he was completely out of place with a girl in love.

But her hand was still in his pocket.

He even pressed his thumb a little more.

After the three girls walked by, a hushed murmur of discussion came from behind them.

"Did you see that? Did you see that?"

"Hands in pockets!"

"Good heavens, did Chairman Yan smile?"

"No, she has a stern face."

"But the way he held the pose seemed like he was trying to suppress a laugh."

Li Chen turned his head and glanced at Yan Xi.

She was definitely holding it in.

The corners of her mouth were pressed down, but her cheekbones were slightly raised.

You're laughing.

"no."

"Your cheekbones have become more prominent."

Yan Xi patted him with her free hand.

"Could you please stop analyzing my facial muscles?"

"Don't laugh yet."

She patted it again.

The pressure wasn't strong. My fingertips touched the outside of his forearm, but I didn't pull them back; instead, I traced an inch down the fabric of his sleeve.

Li Chen's arm tensed slightly.

"You did it on purpose."

"What?"

"Your hand."

Yan Xi withdrew her fingers from his sleeve and put them into her own pocket.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

She quickened her pace.

Li Chen followed.

Walk to the fork in the road between the Computer Science Department building and the Architecture Department building.

Yan Xi stopped.

He pulled his hand out of his pocket—the one he pulled out of his pocket.

His fingertips were pulled away one by one from between his fingers.

It's very slow.

He moved so slowly that he could feel the temperature difference in each finger. His index finger was the warmest, and his little finger was the coolest.

"Go in."

"You go first."

"My school building is closer to yours."

"I know. So you go first, I'll watch you go in."

Yan Xi looked up at him.

The sunlight shone in from the side, and her pupils contracted slightly.

"When did you develop this habit?"

"What habits?"

"After dropping me off, watch me go inside."

Li Chen thought for a moment.

"The day I first walked you back to your dorm."

That was three months ago.

"Um."

"You persisted for three months."

"Um."

Yan Xi looked down at the empty space on his neck.

There is no scarf.

The wind was blowing in from the north, and a corner of his shirt collar was blown open.

The skin on the side of my neck is red from the cold wind.

She reached out and pressed down on his collar.

My fingers touched his collarbone.

It's cold.

"Are you wearing a turtleneck?"

"no."

Didn't I text you to wear a turtleneck?

"I forgot when I left home."

Yan Xi's fingers paused for two seconds at the collar of his shirt.

Then she took the scarf off her neck.

One and a half turns. When she loosened it, the dark gray yarn still carried her body heat.

"Lower your head."

Li Chen lowered his head slightly.

Yan Xi wrapped the scarf around his neck.

a circle.

His technique was clumsy, unlike how skillfully he tied it for her yesterday; he got stuck on the second loop.

She tugged hard at the end of the scarf.

"Don't move."

"You've choked me."

"Bear with it."

She tucked the end of the scarf into her collar. Her fingers brushed against his Adam's apple as she did so.

She caught Li Chen swallowing.

Yan Xi looked up.

The two were very close, close enough that Li Chen could see the shadow of her eyelashes cast on her cheekbones.

Why are you so nervous?

"I'm not nervous."

"Your Adam's apple is moving."

"Swallow your saliva."

Yan Xi's lips curved into a smile.

Here's your scarf back.

She patted his chest.

"I'll bring my own tomorrow."

Then he turned and left.

His steps were steady. His direction was straight.

Li Chen stood still.

The scarf still carries her warmth.

It wasn't the warmth of my palm, it was the warmth of my neck.

It was at least two degrees higher than the palm of my hand.

He buried his nose in his scarf and took a deep breath.

It smelled of laundry detergent, and there was that indescribable, faint fragrance about her.