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

Yan Xi stopped in her tracks.

She didn't turn around.

"What do you want to do?"

"I'll take you somewhere."

"Where?"

I'll tell you on Saturday.

Yan Xi's shoulders twitched slightly.

She walked away.

As I reached the classroom door, her voice drifted over from ahead.

"Please include the dress code when you notify me."

The door closed.

Li Chen sat in the empty classroom.

My phone vibrated.

Group 302.

[Wang Qiang: Have you eaten?]

He typed.

[Li Chen: I ate.]

[Wang Qiang: What did you eat?]

[Li Chen: Steamed Pork Ribs with Pumpkin.]

[Wang Qiang: ?? Isn't that my sister-in-law's? ? ? ]

[Li Chen: She fed him.]

The group was silent for eleven seconds.

[Chen Mo: Sample #188 entered. Note: Yan Xi has voluntarily relinquished her food distribution rights to Li Chen. The relationship intimacy index has once again broken historical peaks.]

[Zhao Zixuan: Speak like a human being.]

[Chen Mo: My sister-in-law felt sorry for him because he hadn't eaten.]

Li Chen locked the screen.

He glanced down at the insulated bag.

There was a small pumpkin stain on the outside of the bag.

Orange-yellow.

……

It was exactly 2 PM.

Li Chen stood at the entrance of the storeroom on the first floor of the student union building.

The door was half open. Inside were twelve display boards, on wooden frames, each about 1.8 meters high and half a meter wide.

Yan Xi leaned against the door frame.

I changed into a pair of flat sneakers, tied my hair back up, and rolled up my sleeves to my elbows.

"They're here."

"On time".

"Where to move to?"

Lecture Hall No. 3. West Wing.

Li Chen walked into the warehouse and reached out to test the weight of the display board.

It weighs approximately fifteen kilograms. It has a wooden frame and a foam board core.

"Twelve pieces, one person makes six trips."

"Three more people from the student council will help. You'll be in charge of carrying the four heaviest pieces."

"And you?"

"I'm in charge of command."

Li Chen picked up the first display board and carried it on his shoulder.

"command."

"Um."

"They just stand by and watch me work."

"Stand by your side and watch you work, and evaluate your efficiency in real time."

Li Chen carried the display board and walked out.

"What are the evaluation criteria?"

"It depends on my mood."

he's gone.

Forty minutes later.

All twelve display boards were in place. They were arranged in a row on the side wall of Lecture Hall No. 3.

The three student council members sat on the steps, panting heavily. Li Chen had a thin layer of sweat on his forehead.

Yan Xi walked in through the back door of the lecture hall, carrying a bottle of water.

She passed by three officers.

"Thank you for your hard work. You can go now."

The three men, as if granted a pardon, filed out one after another.

Yan Xi walked up to Li Chen.

Hand him the water.

"drink."

Li Chen took it, unscrewed the cap, and took two sips.

"Your hand."

Yan Xi looked down at his right palm.

The sharp edges of the wooden frame left two red marks on my palm.

"let me see."

She took his hand and turned it over.

The red mark is not deep and there is no broken skin.

"Does it hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt."

"You think I'd believe you just because you say it doesn't hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt at all."

Yan Xi gently pressed her thumb on the red mark.

Li Chen's fingers twitched slightly.

"You still say it doesn't hurt."

"It hurt when you pressed it."

Yan Xi released his hand.

She took a tube of hand cream out of her pocket, squeezed a small amount onto her fingertips, and rubbed it on the red mark on his palm.

The movements were careful and the force was even.

Li Chen looked down at her fingers as she applied hand cream.

The nails were trimmed neatly and rounded. There was a small ink stain on the ring finger.

"Did you draw this afternoon?"

Yan Xi's fingers paused for a moment.

How did you figure that out?

"There's ink on your ring finger. From a technical pen. A 0.3 nib."

Yan Xi withdrew her hand.

"Your observational skills could be very useful in solving cases."

"I'm only observing you."

Yan Xi stuffed the hand cream back into her pocket.

"I'm gone."

"Where to?"

"I'll treat you to dinner. I already said that."

"Have you made your choice?"

"Um."

"What store?"

Yan Xi pushed open the side door of the lecture hall.

"Let's talk about it on Saturday."

Li Chen followed.

"Didn't you say you'd tell me tonight?"

"I've changed my mind."

Why?

Yan Xi turned around and glanced at him.

"Because you said you'd take me somewhere on Saturday. But you didn't tell me where."

The corners of her mouth curved into a smile.

"fair."

……

Friday night.

Li Chen sat in the computer chair in his dormitory and stared at his phone screen for forty seconds.

The memorandum listed three alternative options.

The first one is crossed out. The weather forecast says there will be showers on Saturday afternoon, so an outdoor picnic isn't suitable.

The second one is also crossed out. Yan Xi mentioned last week that the dessert shop changed chefs, so it's not worth making a special trip there.

The third one wasn't marked.

He opened the map and checked the route.

The drive takes 45 minutes. There is ample parking. Arriving at 2 PM will allow you to get there before the peak hours.

He exited the map and opened a chat window with Yan Xi.

The last message was forty minutes ago.

[Yan Xi: What's the dress code?]

Li Chen's thumb hovered over the keyboard for five seconds.

He typed a line of text.

Deleted.

Another line was typed.

Deleted.

the third time.

[Li Chen: As long as I'm comfortable. I'm walking a lot.]

Send it out.

Eight seconds.

[Yan Xi: How much more walking?]

[Li Chen: Approximately 10,000 steps.]

[Yan Xi: Flat shoes.]

[Li Chen: Mm.]

Six seconds.

[Yan Xi: Should I get a thick or thin coat?]

Li Chen opened the weather forecast and checked the temperature for tomorrow afternoon.

Temperatures will range from 7 to 12 degrees Celsius. Showers will turn to cloudy skies.

[Li Chen: Medium thickness. Waterproof fabric. May experience light rain.]

Four seconds.

[Yan Xi: Send me the weather forecast.]

He took a screenshot and sent it over.

Nine seconds.

[Yan Xi: You even checked the precipitation probability?]

[Li Chen: 64%. Concentrated between 2 PM and 4 PM.]

[Yan Xi: So you brought an umbrella?]

[Li Chen: I brought it.]

[Yan Xi: How many should I bring?]

Li Chen's fingers stopped.

[Li Chen: One.]

There was no immediate reply from the other end.

Fourteen seconds later.

[Yan Xi: One is enough.]

Li Chen stared at those four words for three seconds.

He placed his phone face down on the table.

Wang Qiang poked his head out from the top bunk.

"He's grinning like an idiot again."

"no."

"The curve of your lips is exactly the same as when she fed you pumpkin yesterday. Chen Mo has the data."

Li Chen ignored him.

He stood up and walked to the wardrobe.

Open the cabinet door.

There were six coats hanging inside. His gaze lingered on the third one for two seconds.

Dark gray windbreaker. Waterproof fabric. Zipper with snap closure.

The last time I wore this was in the ancient town. Yan Xi once said, "This one is alright."

He took off his windbreaker and draped it over the back of the chair.

Then she pulled out a dark blue scarf. It wasn't Yan Xi's—that one was with her.

Zhao Zixuan passed by and glanced at the clothes on the back of the chair.

"Wind jackets? You're going hiking tomorrow?"

"I won't climb mountains."

"Then why are you wearing a windbreaker?"

"water proof."

"Waterproof? You're taking your sister-in-law rafting?"

"rain."

Zhao Zixuan's expression changed.