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“Here to give you your things,” he smiled, holding her backpack. “I figured you’d need it.”
Ah.
“Thank you…” she blushed as she took the bag, feeling even more embarrassed knowing her roommates were behind her. “You really didn’t have to go through all this trouble. You could’ve just sent me a message, and I would’ve come to get it.”
“I did send one, but you didn’t reply,” he said. “I didn’t have anything important to do this morning, so I thought I’d bring it over.”
He sent one?
She blinked and quickly pulled out her phone to check, only to find it powered off and black—ah, it must have run out of battery after she spent so much time fiddling with QQ last night. In her rush to leave that morning, she hadn’t noticed.
“Sorry…” she lowered her head and apologized again.
This was such a familiar gesture. Reflecting on it, she realized she had already apologized to him quite formally many times. He sighed in exasperation, unable to resist reaching out to smooth her hair. “It’s fine. You don’t always have to apologize to me.”
Before Yin Mengxi could respond, she heard her roommates behind her gasp audibly. Her face turned beet red, and she became flustered, unsure where to put her hands.
Xiao Zhi also noticed her roommates. “Are you going to take your exam?”
She nodded shyly, then heard him say, “Then hurry up, don’t be late.”
She was very obedient to him. As soon as he spoke, she immediately acted, turning to leave with her bag. But just as she turned, she spun back around. Her cute earlobes were still pink, and her eyes sparkled brightly.
“I’ll finish around half past eleven,” she ventured to ask him, “…Can we have lunch together?”
He raised an eyebrow and smiled, looking down at her with gentle affection.
“In which classroom are you taking the exam?” he asked. “I’ll come pick you up.”
“No, no, let’s just meet at the cafeteria,” she hurriedly waved her hand, blushing. “How about the first cafeteria?”
“All right.” He agreed again.
She pursed her lips, trying not to smile too obviously or appear too weak, but the two dimples on her cheeks betrayed her completely. She waved goodbye and ran towards her roommates, hugging her bag. They looked composed on the surface, but as soon as they turned the corner, they all changed their expressions, grabbing Yin Mengxi excitedly and shaking her—
“Oh, Yin Xixi, keeping secrets and striking gold! Even snagged Senior Xiao!”
“My God, he’s so handsome!”
“Tonight, you must tell us everything honestly, or you’re not allowed to sleep!”
Thus, love began amidst this strange chaos.
Yin Mengxi had never been in a relationship before. Her only experience was watching Min Rui navigate her suitors. She couldn’t accurately gauge the general process of dating and could only define some “couple behaviors” based on impressions, then cautiously suggest them to Xiao Zhi for replication. For example—
They would eat together at the cafeteria. Sometimes at the first cafeteria closer to the undergraduate dorms, sometimes at the second cafeteria nearer to the graduate dorms. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner—they met at least three times a day. Most of the time, they would encounter some of his friends who would greet him and sneak peeks at her before teasing him with knowing looks.
They also studied together. With the pressure of final exams and numerous papers to write, the Literature and Arts Bookstore closing at ten o’clock wasn’t enough. Fortunately, the all-night study room on the second floor was specially open during finals week. Despite having less coursework pressure as a graduate student, he accompanied her there, staying up late.
He was a well-known figure on campus. Last semester, even walking her back from the infirmary had been secretly photographed. Now, openly being with her naturally drew attention quickly. People on the school forum seemed unusually idle during finals week, gossiping and discussing his relationship with her. Several posts speculated about which grade and department she belonged to, critiquing photos surreptitiously taken of them.
“Wow, a beauty!”
“What’s wrong with you guys? Calling everyone a beauty? She’s just average, isn’t she?”
“Let’s vote, friends. Who’s prettier, her or Princess?”
“To be honest, if we’re talking looks alone, I’m Team Princess.”
“But doesn’t x Senior dislike Princess? Didn’t she get rejected when she confessed?”
“What’s this drama? What happened?”
“Yes, my friend from the drama club told me. He rejected her.”
“Damn.”
“Is x Senior really that bold? Not afraid of offending HL?”
“What does he have to fear? Doesn’t his family also have someone teaching at the school? And I heard his dad is super rich…”
“What’s this drama? Anything else?”
“I blindly guess that this girl from the School of Journalism has an even stronger background than Princess.”
“Agreed. Otherwise, what would x Senior see in her?”
“+1”
“+1”
“+1”
…
Various rumors flew around. Some Yin Mengxi knew were true, some she knew were false, and others she couldn’t verify. She remained confused. She was just an ordinary person, never discussed like this before. Yet now, her photo and name were posted on anonymous forums, scrutinized by countless eyes, judged and compared in jest.
The feeling was truly terrible, but she couldn’t think of how to fight back. Knowing Xiao Zhi never paid attention to such nonsense, she dared not tell him she was reading these posts. Eventually, she bottled everything up inside, praying the semester would end quickly, hoping the summer vacation would make those idle people forget her existence.
Despite these unpleasant factors objectively existing, being with someone she had admired for over half a year was indescribably wonderful. By the end of June, Yin Mengxi still hesitated to buy a ticket home after submitting her last paper. Her parents called several times asking when she would return. Each time, she said she still had a bit of work left and would return after finishing, delaying until early July.
That day, Xiao Zhi went to Mr. Jia’s house and was away from school all day. She waited for him the entire day and finally gathered the courage to text him when he would return. He replied around eight o’clock, and she happily ran to the school gate to wait for him, meeting him at ten past eight.
“Why did you come out to meet me?” he looked both surprised and slightly helpless upon seeing her. “Isn’t it hot?”
A City in July was like a giant steamer. Just walking outside made one sweat. After waiting only ten minutes, her bangs were already wet.
“It’s not hot,” she lied with her eyes wide open, shyly shaking her head. “I only waited a little while.”
Just… wanted to see you earlier.
She kept these words in her heart, but it was as if he heard them. Perhaps realizing she liked to cling to him, he felt a subtle emotion stirring. Unable to scold her, he gently held her hand.
“Let’s go,” he led her into the school gate. “I’ll buy you some ice cream.”
On the top floor of University A’s main building, there was a student-run café with a large terrace outside. During the semester, it was often crowded, but now that it was summer break, it was much quieter. When they arrived, it was completely empty, allowing them to chat freely and stargaze.
He bought her a vanilla cone and himself an iced Americano. Leaning against the rooftop railing, they chatted idly. She intended to ask him what he did today, but before she could speak, her phone rang in her pocket. Pulling it out, she saw it was her mother calling.
She pursed her lips, glanced at him, and said, “I’ll take this call.”
“Hello.”
As soon as she spoke, her mother started bombarding her with questions about when she would return home, complaining that University A treated students poorly by keeping them busy during the summer break.
Her alma mater didn’t know it was receiving such heavy blame. Yin Mengxi felt a twinge of guilt hearing it. Moreover, with Xiao Zhi beside her, answering the call felt unnatural, perhaps worried about exposing her new boyfriend to her mother.
“I’ll be home soon…”
She answered softly, catching Xiao Zhi’s sidelong glance. Feeling a bit uneasy, she locked eyes with him briefly. Her mother continued to press her for the exact date, and she vaguely replied, “In a few days…”
After a long back-and-forth, she finally reassured her mother.
“Auntie urging you to go home?” he asked after she hung up.
“…Yeah.” She nodded slightly, feeling a bit down.
He fell silent for a moment, his fingers lightly rubbing the coffee cup. “Have you bought your ticket?”
She shook her head gloomily, not saying a word this time.
He glanced at her again, pulling out his phone and unlocking it while asking, “Which day do you want to buy?”
What was he doing?
Buying her a ticket?
A subtle stubbornness rose in her heart. She felt a mix of happiness and unhappiness, stealing a glance at him and pouting. “Don’t buy it for me.”
As she spoke, she reached out to turn off his phone.
These seemingly insignificant words and actions simultaneously stirred gentle ripples in both their hearts. Small acts of coquetry and touching each other’s personal belongings were beautiful remnants. Perhaps for young lovers, the “adjustment period” was such a mysterious thing—you think it’s over, but it’s not; you think it’s not over, but it actually is.
How could he not know she didn’t want to leave? The feeling of cherishing someone was gently stirred. He realized he easily developed a special protectiveness towards her.
“You can’t stay at school forever,” his words were restrained. “Your mom will worry.”
Even this simple polite term of address made Yin Mengxi feel a subtle shift.
Though it was a common courtesy—classmates used to call other people’s parents uncle and auntie—when he called her that, it felt special, as if their relationship had become closer.
Her heart melted faster than the ice cream in her hand. At that moment, she wanted to hug him but was too shy. After struggling internally for a while, she only managed to hold his fingers gently.
“I,” her voice was muffled, “don’t want to leave…”
He was startled, suddenly feeling overwhelmed, perhaps because he had never realized this usually obedient little rabbit could be so clingy. She wouldn’t know—he actually wanted to hug her too—but he was worried it might scare her, so he didn’t move, simply holding her fingers.
“The vacation will pass quickly,” his voice tightened subtly, awkwardly. “We’ll talk often, okay?”
She was easy to console. Hearing him mention “talking” made her dizzy and compliant, like clay that could be molded into any shape. Her eyes shimmered with rippling light as she gazed at him.
But—
Sigh.
…I still really want a hug.
Author’s Note:
Rationally, I know this sudden relationship needs a loooong adjustment period to enter a real state of romance.
But in reality, I already want to wild write and jump straight to smut. Who understands?!
(But after raging in my mind, I still have to write pure romance TT)
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