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

The third floor of the library at Linjiang University.

This is a battleground for postgraduate entrance exam takers, and also a place of ascension for top students.

The only smell in the air was the fermenting smell of old paper, and it was so quiet that even the sound of turning pages sounded like thunder.

Li Chen followed behind Yan Xi, feeling his back burning with every step he took.

Those heads that were buried in piles of books were now pulled out like radishes from the ground.

Dozens of gazes intertwined to form a high-voltage electric grid, trapping him and Yan Xi tightly in the middle.

"Is that Yan Xi?"

"Who's that in the back? His lackey?"

"What are you thinking? When has Yan Xi ever had a follower? Is that... her boyfriend?"

Whispers buzzed into my ears like flies.

Li Chen felt a chill run down his spine and instinctively wanted to shrink into the shadows behind Yan Xi.

The figure in front suddenly stopped.

Yan Xi stretched out her finger and pointed to an empty table by the window.

"sit."

Short, powerful, and irrefutable.

Li Chen forced himself to sit down.

The two girls across from me were so engrossed in memorizing CET-6 vocabulary that their eyes almost popped out of their books; they didn't even realize they were holding the books upside down.

"I've had breakfast."

Yan Xi pulled a thick book, "Building Structure Selection," from her bag and slammed it on the corner of the table.

She didn't open the book, she just looked at him.

Li Chen had no appetite.

But under the gaze of those cold, clear eyes, he could only mechanically unpack the package.

The sandwich tasted like cardboard.

He was like an emotionless paper shredder, swallowing the contents in a few gulps, then chugging down most of a cup of soy milk before finally suppressing the suffocating feeling in his throat.

"Finished eating?"

Yan Xi rested her chin on one hand and tapped lightly on the table with the other.

The nails were trimmed neatly and rounded, and the tapping sound was rhythmic.

"Hmm." Li Chen quickly pulled out the brand-new calculus book, laid it out, and said, "I've reviewed it."

I need to find something to do.

Even facing those headache-inducing calculus symbols is safer than facing Yan Xi's eyes that seem to pierce through one's soul.

Chapter 1, Functions and Limits.

I recognize all the characters, but when they're put together, it's like reading gibberish.

Li Chen stared at the pages of the book, but his peripheral vision kept drifting toward the other side of the page.

Yan Xi didn't read the book at all.

She maintained her chin-resting posture, her beautiful eyes slightly upturned, brazenly surveying his face.

It slid from his brow bone to the bridge of his nose, finally stopping at his tightly pursed lips.

This gaze is not aggressive, but rather like a feather brushing against the skin.

itch.

An excruciating itch.

Li Chen's cheeks burned, and he abruptly turned a page of his book, trying to break the eerie atmosphere with the crisp sound of the paper.

"Um..." he lowered his voice, his throat dry, "Aren't you going to read?"

Yan Xi switched her hand to support her chin, her tone languid.

"It's boring."

"Then what are you doing here?"

"It's up to you."

Li Chen's hand holding the pen froze.

We can't talk today.

Yan Xi glanced at his ears, which quickly turned red and flushed, and a smirk appeared on her lips.

"Formulas haven't changed for centuries, they're so rigid. How can they be as fun as you?"

The pen tip drew a long, harsh line on the paper.

This woman is a vixen.

Absolutely.

The two girls opposite me had already given up on memorizing vocabulary; their faces were buried behind their upright books, and their shoulders were shaking like leaves.

Li Chen gritted his teeth and decided to block out external interference.

He's here to retake the exam, not to be prey.

We must never be defeated by the enemy's sweet-coated bullets.

Problem: Find the value of $lim_{x to 0} frac{1 - cos x}{x^2}$.

look familiar.

The teacher mentioned it.

L'Hôpital? Taylor expansion?

My mind was a complete mess; the aftereffects of last night's insomnia were starting to show, and with that burning gaze from across the room, my thoughts were completely stuck.

Stuck in his thoughts, Li Chen habitually put the end of his pen in his mouth and bit it, his brows furrowed.

Sudden.

A fair and slender hand reached out.

They snatched the pen directly from his mouth.

"Is it dirty or not?"

Yan Xi glanced at the end of the pen with disdain, then pulled out a wet wipe from her bag and slowly wiped away non-existent saliva.

Li Chen's mouth was slightly open, like a dumb goose whose food had been stolen.

"Won't?"

After wiping the pen, Yan Xi didn't return it to him. Instead, she twirled it between her fingers, the pen tip moving nimbly between them.

"I... forgot a bit." Li Chen's gaze wandered.

"fool."

The word had just been pronounced.

Instead of sitting back down, she suddenly stood up, leaned her upper body over the table, and pressed down on me.

The distance vanished instantly.

The chilling scent of fir trees forcefully entered Li Chen's nostrils, displacing the surrounding murky air.

Li Chen's back was stiff, his back pressed tightly against the back of the chair, and all his muscles were tense.

too close.

I was so close I could count her extremely long eyelashes, so close I could see the panicked reflection of myself in her pupils.

"Look at the question, why are you looking at me? Do I have the answer on my face?"

Yan Xi's voice rang out above his head, slightly hoarse as if she had just woken up.

She held his pen, the tip touching the crooked equation.

"The formula is used incorrectly here."

She looked down and wrote the steps on the draft paper.

As she moved, a strand of long hair slipped down from behind her ear.

The ends of her hair brushed against the back of Li Chen's hand, which was resting on the table.

Slightly cool and smooth.

It felt like an electric current was flowing through my body from that one point of contact.

The fine hairs on the back of Li Chen's hand stood up.

The itch traveled along my blood vessels and burned all the way to my heart.

The heart inside his chest began to pound wildly against his ribs, so loudly that he worried the person on the other side might hear it.

He wanted to pull his hand away, yet he craved that little bit of touch.

"Equivalent infinitesimal substitution," Yan Xi murmured as she wrote, "$1-cos x$ is equivalent to $frac{1}{2}x^2$. You've forgotten the basics?"

The hot air sprayed onto the side of his neck.

Li Chen's mind went completely blank.

Infinitesimals and substitutions are all just noise.

His senses were amplified to an extreme degree, leaving only the hand with distinct knuckles in front of him, the cool fragrance at the tip of his nose, and the tangled strand of hair on the back of his hand.

This is hardly a discussion of the topic.

This is a test of his willpower and endurance.

"Do you understand?"

After Yan Xi finished writing the last step, she pressed the pen tip heavily on "1/2" and turned her head to look at him.

The tips of their noses were only five centimeters apart.

Li Chen could even feel the breeze that her lips created when they opened and closed.

His Adam's apple bobbed violently.

His eyes were fixed, and he nodded subconsciously, "I understand... I understand."

"You really understand?" Yan Xi raised an eyebrow.

"Really...really."

In an attempt to prove himself, Li Chen frantically reached for the water glass on the table, his hand trembling so much that the glass nearly tipped over.

Yan Xi reacted quickly, pressing down on the cup and grabbing his wrist.

My palms were slightly cool, yet incredibly soft.

Li Chen shuddered, as if he had been burned.

Yan Xi didn't let go.

She stared at him intently, then gently rubbed the inside of his wrist with the pad of her thumb.

That's where the pulse beats most violently.

"Li Chen".

She called his name, her voice so soft that only the two of them could hear it, the last syllable hooked.

Your heart is beating so fast.

boom--

Li Chen's face instantly turned bright red, the color spreading all the way down to his neck.

He felt he must look incredibly stupid, like a respectable man being harassed.

"I...I'm hot!" he stammered. "The library doesn't have air conditioning!"

In September, where would you find air conditioning?

Yan Xi couldn't help but chuckle softly.

A beautiful flower bloomed on the ice field.

She let go, sat back down in her chair, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and instantly reverted to her aloof and unapproachable senior student demeanor.

"Since it's hot, let's calm down."

She tossed the pen back to Li Chen and pointed to the next question.

"If you can't make this, you're not allowed to eat lunch."

Li Chen held the pen that still carried her warmth, looking at the delicate handwriting on the draft paper, his heart still pounding in his chest.

He secretly glanced at Yan Xi.

She had already opened that thick textbook, her expression focused, as if the person who had flirted and run away just now was not her at all.

Only her slightly reddened earlobes betrayed the turmoil in her heart at that moment.

Li Chen looked down at the question.

The corners of his mouth involuntarily turned up.

Although it was embarrassing, and although I was completely under their control.

But this feeling...

It's damn sweet.

My phone vibrated.

Li Chen glanced at the screen; it was the 302 dormitory group chat.

[Wang Qiang]: Image.jpg

(In the photo, Li Chen's face is flushed, and Yan Xi is almost pressed against him across the table, creating a very intimate atmosphere.)

[Wang Qiang]: @Brother Li Chen, is this what you mean by "explaining things clearly"? I think you're planning to get married right here in the library!

[Chen Mo]: Body language analysis shows that Yan Xi is leaning forward at an angle exceeding 30 degrees, indicating extremely strong aggression. Old Li, your defense system has completely collapsed. I suggest you give up resisting and enjoy life.

[Zhao Zixuan]: Stop talking nonsense. Did Yan Xi touch that pen? Lao Li, don't throw this pen away. I'll offer fifty yuan to buy it!

Li Chen stared at the screen, typing through gritted teeth.

Damn it!

[Li Chen]: Get lost, not for sale.

He put down his phone and gripped the pen tightly again.

Take a deep breath and force yourself to look at the next limit problem.

This time, the fog in my mind cleared up.

It seems that the answer can actually be calculated.