The sudden touch made Lin Tiao instinctively lower her eyelids, her curled lashes brushing against the boy's fingers resting near the corner of her eye.
She awkwardly bit her lip and softly retorted, "I didn't cry, it was just water that splashed."
At first, Lin Tiao felt a hard-to-explain grievance, thinking he was being unreasonable and indifferent. But when she saw the serious look on his face as he lowered his head, her sense of grievance seemed to disappear in an instant.
Standing before her was the boy she liked, so close she could almost reach out and touch him. How could she still feel wronged?
Jiang Yan withdrew his hand, his fingertip still damp from the water. He gently rubbed it until all traces of moisture disappeared.
He looked up, meeting her gaze. After scanning her face, seeing no signs of crying, he let out a quiet sigh of relief. He turned the faucet back on and began rinsing her red, burned hand with cold water.
The cold water felt soothing.
But Lin Tiao's heart was inexplicably warm, and she quietly stole glances at his profile. Suddenly, their eyes met. They locked gazes for a few seconds before Jiang Yan was the first to avert his eyes, focusing on her still-red hand. The previously straight line of his lips softened into a subtle smile.
Lin Tiao couldn’t help but smile back, her voice light and cheerful, "Classmate."
"Mm." He didn’t look up, turning off the water. Not finding any paper towels, he rolled up the hem of his shirt and gently wiped her hand.
Lin Tiao watched his movements, her ears turning red. She quickly defended herself, "I really didn't have puppy love."
There was a brief silence before Jiang Yan let go of her hand, his eyes lowered as he spoke, "I know."
"You know nothing."
Lin Tiao silently cursed to herself, no longer wanting to continue this topic. She raised her hand and touched the burn on her hand, still feeling a sharp sting. Frowning slightly, she asked, "Should I go back to the classroom?"
"You go ahead, I have something to do." He replied.
"What are you doing? You skipped two classes already. If Mr. Yu finds out, he’ll want to talk to you again."
Jiang Yan didn’t answer, instead reaching up to ruffle her hair. His palm was warm and clear against her scalp. "I'll be back before the bell rings. Anyway, isn’t this physics?"
"Yeah." She looked at him, confused.
Jiang Yan chuckled, the smile more obvious now. "Mr. Yang is definitely going to review the test papers. With my perfect score in physics, it doesn’t matter if I listen or not. But you, shouldn’t you hurry back and catch up on the lesson?"
Lin Tiao felt her temper flare. This guy always had a hundred ways to annoy her. She rolled her eyes in exasperation and stormed off.
As she passed him, Jiang Yan grabbed her wrist and shoved her thermos back into her hand, laughing. "Your water bottle."
Lin Tiao looked down at the cup in her hand.
When it had fallen earlier, the bottom had hit the ground, chipping off a small piece of paint, making it look very noticeable.
The more she looked at it, the angrier she got. Without a second thought, she shoved it back into his hands, her mood like a little lion throwing a tantrum. "I don’t want it."
With that, she quickly walked away.
Jiang Yan glanced down at the cup in his hand and smiled, then walked downstairs.
Back in the classroom, Mr. Yang was indeed reviewing the test papers from the mock exam.
Mr. Yang was the class teacher for Class 14, strict but in a good mood today since their class’s performance in physics had been quite good. He didn’t comment on Lin Tiao’s late arrival. "Come in. Just make sure you're on time next time."
Lin Tiao quickly responded, hurrying back to her seat.
The papers were handed out during this class. Lin Tiao flipped through her own paper, quickly scanning it. She still struggled with the same sections—especially the last big question, which was worth twelve points. She only managed to get a small fraction of the score.
After glancing at her own paper, Lin Tiao grabbed Jiang Yan’s and quickly scanned it. The thought that immediately crossed her mind was: This person is a devil.
His problem-solving process was clear and logical, his solutions simple and concise. Just by looking at his answers, Lin Tiao instantly understood the points she had been struggling with.
In that moment, Lin Tiao deeply realized the immeasurable gap between herself and Jiang Yan.
Mr. Yang’s teaching style was different from Mr. Yu’s. He preferred to cut straight to the point, often finishing a question in just a few minutes. Afterward, he would give students some time to organize their thoughts. He didn’t go into too much detail about the problem—only by understanding a concept thoroughly could one truly make it their own.
This teaching style worked for some students, who quickly grasped the material, but for others, it left them confused and unable to make sense of things.
Lin Tiao was often one of those who struggled to understand, needing someone to point out the problem clearly before she could fully comprehend it.
Compared to Mr. Yang’s no-nonsense approach, she preferred Mr. Yu’s more deliberate, step-by-step method.
The physics class passed by quickly, and half of the test paper had already been covered.
Mr. Yang paused to give everyone some time to organize the material so far. He casually mentioned, “The teacher who set this physics paper has previously designed competition problems, so the difficulty may be a bit high. However, you all performed well, which was beyond my expectations.”
A few scattered chuckles echoed through the room.
Lin Tiao lowered her head, holding her pen and writing down the answers.
At that moment, a voice came from the door, “Report.”
Everyone turned to look.
Mr. Yang’s smile was obvious when he saw the boy standing at the door.
Jiang Yan, ranked first in the grade, held the top spot in all subjects except for Chinese and English, where he was second. Ever since the results came out, Mr. Yu had been praising him everywhere.
As Mr. Yu’s good friend, Mr. Yang had heard a lot about this kid. Since Jiang Yan was also the only one in the class to score full marks in physics, Mr. Yang couldn’t help but feel proud. He waved his hand, “Come in.”
Jiang Yan gave a slight nod and quickly returned to his seat, putting something into his desk drawer as he sat down.
When Lin Tiao glanced over, all she saw was the shadow of a white, transparent plastic bag. She didn’t pay much attention to it and returned to her notes, focusing on writing.
At this age, moods changed quickly, and Lin Tiao had already forgotten the unpleasant encounter in the water room. Pointing to the last question on his test paper, she asked, “How did you come up with this step? I calculated for so long but couldn’t figure it out.”
Jiang Yan raised an eyebrow, not teasing her as usual. Instead, he reached for a draft paper on the desk and quickly wrote down a few formulas, handing them to her. His voice was clear, “These kinds of problems are all essentially the same; I just simplified the steps. In the end, it’s still the same few formulas.”
Lin Tiao took it and studied the formulas for a while. Following his method, she quickly solved the problem, excitedly exclaiming, “Ah!”
Jiang Yan glanced at her and smiled faintly, then turned his attention back to his work.
After the physics class ended, Lin Tiao was about to rest her head on the desk when Jiang Yan suddenly grabbed her wrist and held it in his hand.
“What are you doing? We’re still in class.” Lin Tiao was startled, looking around at the other students, feeling as though she had done something wrong.
Jiang Yan gave her an amused look, released her wrist, and took out the plastic bag from his drawer, placing it on the desk. Inside were a tube of burn ointment and a package of cotton swabs.
“What did you think I was doing?” he asked with a smile, opening the burn ointment and looking at her with an expression that lingered with meaning.
Lin Tiao hurriedly turned her gaze away, her ears reddening again.
Without saying another word, Jiang Yan took a cotton swab, dipped it into the ointment, and gently applied it to the burned area on her hand.
The burn wasn’t too serious anymore, and the ointment only had a slightly pungent smell, with no other notable sensation.
Outside the window, dusk was approaching, and the campus was bathed in a warm glow. The hallway was filled with students laughing and chatting, while the boy lowered his head, the fading light casting a beautiful backdrop behind him. The clouds gathered in layers, and the light played off the shadows, creating a breathtaking scene.
The soft black hair was right in front of her eyes, a few rebellious strands swaying in the light and shadow. Lin Tiao tried to look away, but it felt as though her gaze was trapped, unable to move. Everything she saw seemed to be focused on him.
A background hum of noise filled the room. Lin Tiao slowly raised her hand, about to brush those stray hairs aside, but at that moment, Jiang Yan suddenly looked up.
“Alright, you can go back now.”
Her palm unexpectedly brushed against his head, the black hair pressing into her hand. It was the soft sensation she had imagined. She couldn’t help but curl her fingers slightly.
Jiang Yan’s body stiffened. A tingling, almost electric sensation spread from the top of his head down his limbs. His back straightened, and his throat vibrated slightly as he asked, “What are you doing?”
It was as if something had been triggered inside her. Lin Tiao snapped out of her trance, quickly retracting her hand, but her elbow accidentally bumped into the corner of the desk.
She gasped in pain but still defended herself, “I just noticed some stuff in your hair.”
Jiang Yan gave an “Oh” and remained serious, saying, “Thanks.”
Lin Tiao felt embarrassed and rubbed her arm, not daring to look at him.
The bell rang for the next class, and the previous awkward moment was left behind.
The final class was self-study, and Mr. Yu, instead of his usual laissez-faire approach, surprisingly started a conversation with the class.
He began by discussing academic performance. Although everyone seemed uninterested, Mr. Yu quickly shifted the topic to something far more sensitive: early relationships.
As soon as those words were spoken, the classroom erupted in noise. The boys pounded their desks, excitedly, while the girls blushed and either looked down or smiled shyly.
Lin Tiao, especially sensitive to these two words, instinctively glanced at Jiang Yan. He, too, was looking at her.
Neither spoke, but it felt like everything was said in that brief exchange.
“Anyone have questions about early relationships? After all, this topic only applies to your age,” Mr. Yu said, closing the door. “Once we leave this room, it’s like this conversation never happened. Whatever is said here doesn’t count.”
Although he said that, the mere mention of early relationships was a touchy subject, a forbidden zone for most. No one immediately spoke up.
Mr. Yu, seeing the silence, shrugged and asked, “Alright, it seems like no one has anything to say. Let me ask it another way: Do you support early relationships or not? And why?”
The discussion quickly began.
A boy named Chen Qing stood up to speak, “I support early relationships. I think love doesn’t have an age limit. Why should kids be forbidden from having relationships? If two people genuinely like each other, what does age have to do with it?”
A girl, Qin Shuang, refuted him, “I don’t support it. Our main task at this age is to study. Our parents worked hard to send us to school, not to let us chase after love. Early relationships affect our studies, and that’s true.”
Lin Tiao couldn’t help but notice that the boy who had spoken earlier suddenly became very downcast.
Did she uncover a hidden secret?
The debate on early relationships heated up, with everyone chiming in. It was lively and full of opinions.
Mr. Yu, standing at the front, watched with a smile.
Lin Tiao, resting her head on the desk, glanced sideways at the boy next to her. Jiang Yan seemed unaffected by the conversation. He lowered his head, focused on his test paper, his pen moving over the page.
Sigh.
Lin Tiao silently sighed and pulled out her phone, logging into a forum to update her post.
LZ: The road ahead is long and far.
“What's going on with you lately?”
As soon as Lin Tiao finished posting, she heard Jiang Yan’s voice, indifferent but with a hint of curiosity. She looked up to see him frowning, staring at her phone.
She panicked, quickly turning off the screen, trying to look innocent. “What’s wrong?”
Jiang Yan remembered Mr. Yu mentioning her browsing early relationship posts earlier and felt a prickling sensation in his chest. “What’s with all the phone use? What are you looking at?”
“Oh, just browsing,” Lin Tiao replied casually, licking her lips. “I joined a study forum. Just studying there.”
She added silently, A forum for flirting with boys.
Jiang Yan didn’t bother responding, turning his attention back to his test paper.
Lin Tiao leaned in closer, “Classmate.”
Without looking up, he continued writing his answers.
Lin Tiao was used to his aloofness, blinking her eyes before asking, “Do you have any thoughts on Mr. Yu’s topic?”
Jiang Yan’s hand slipped, and his pen left a dark streak on the paper. He let go of the pen, turning his head to glance at her without saying a word.
“You supporting or not?” Lin Tiao leaned over his desk, gazing up at him.
Her face was delicate, with large almond-shaped eyes sparkling, long lashes
Jiang Yan's hand slipped as he was writing, and the pen tip dragged a black line down the paper. He released his grip and, without changing his expression, turned his head back to look at her. "What’s your opinion?"
Lin Tiao leaned over his desk, looking up at him with her face tilted.
The young girl’s features were delicate, with a pair of almond-shaped eyes sparkling with light. The outer corners of her eyes curved beautifully, her lashes were long and curled, and unlike the current trend of sharp features, her chin was slightly rounded, giving her a rare oval face.
Jiang Yan lowered his gaze. The late afternoon sun streamed through the window, casting a warm glow. His silhouette, framed against the light, appeared somewhat hazy. Without saying a word, he turned the question back to her. "What about you?"
Lin Tiao was momentarily speechless. After a few seconds of silence, she quietly replied, "Actually, I think the term 'early relationships' itself is wrong. Every age has its own rights. What does age have to do with liking someone?"
She finished speaking, her fingers gently gripping the corner of the book. "I guess I’m in support of it."
He curled his lips into a slight smile, seeming to agree with her response. "Mm, you're right."
Lin Tiao let out an "ah," raised her hand to touch her face, and furrowed her brows. "But didn’t you say before that you were the successor of socialism and absolutely wouldn't engage in early relationships?"
A breeze from outside blew in, and Jiang Yan raised his hand to press down on the exam paper that was about to be lifted by the wind. He glanced at her from the side, his eyes holding a hint of light.
"Different times, different circumstances."
Comments