33

The young man's lips were soft and warm. In just a moment, it felt as though they were stretched infinitely, and the area where they had touched seemed to burn intensely.

Lin Tiao looked up, her gaze moving from below to see the young man's pronounced Adam's apple and slightly tense jawline.

His facial features were clean and sharp, with long eyelashes partially veiling his emotions.

Before she could react, the young man had already grasped her shoulder, gently but firmly pulling her slightly away from him.

Jiang Yan quickly released his hold and glanced at the group of boys in front of him. His expression was indifferent, and his voice, no longer as slow and mellow as before, was now cold and detached, carrying an imposing aura. "Apologize."

The boy holding the basketball, who had been about to argue, was stopped by a taller boy next to him. After a brief exchange, the boy's expression changed noticeably, and he looked at Jiang Yan with an expression of uncertainty.

A few seconds later, the boys subdued their previous impatience and reluctance. The boy turned to Lin Tiao, his head lowered, and his voice dejected. "Sorry, classmate."

Without waiting for Lin Tiao to respond, he was pulled away by his companions.

As they went down the stairs, one of the boys remarked with a sense of relief, "Damn, that was Jiang Yan, you saw that, right? His look was like he was about to eat me alive."

One of his friends snatched the basketball from him, spinning it on his fingertip and mocking him. "You almost knocked down his girlfriend, and you're lucky he didn't beat you up."

"Come on, how is that my fault? She wasn't paying attention and didn't move out of the way," the boy said, then suddenly realized, "Wait, Jiang Yan has a girlfriend? I thought he was the typical school bully who's all about that 'emotionless' persona."

His friend thought for a moment and said seriously, "Maybe this school bully prefers a romantic image instead."

As the corridor cleared, Lin Tiao finally glanced at the person standing beside her.

The young man stood bathed in the twilight, his silhouette glowing with the evening light, his features illuminated but still maintaining a cold, indifferent demeanor.

Lin Tiao looked at him, her tone tentative. "Actually, it wasn't entirely their fault. I was walking backward and didn't see them."

"And I didn't fall, since you caught me in time."

Her voice trailed off.

Not only did you catch me.

You also kissed me.

The image of the earlier moment replayed incessantly in Lin Tiao's mind. Although she hadn't seen the actual touch, it felt as if the sensation had returned to her senses.

Warm.

Soft.

The touch.

Her rapidly beating heart left her momentarily speechless. Her fingers, resting by her side, curled slightly, and a thin layer of sweat formed in her palms.

Jiang Yan had been waiting to hear what she would say next. The sudden silence made him look up at her, observing her strange expression. Her normally pale face was now slightly flushed, her unadorned almond eyes clear and captivating against the twilight.

The irritation she had felt earlier vanished in an instant.

Jiang Yan felt a bit uncomfortable and quickly averted his gaze. After a few seconds, he spoke again, his voice returning to its usual deep and magnetic tone. "Why did you stop talking?"

Lin Tiao looked up at him, her voice flustered. "Oh, it's nothing. I just wanted to say that I didn't actually fall, so you don't need to be so upset."

"I'm not angry," Jiang Yan said, his gaze lowered, his eyes slightly angled. After a few seconds, he added, "Just be careful walking in the future."

Hearing this, Lin Tiao replied somewhat reluctantly, "I was just following Mr. Yu's instructions to keep an eye on you."

"Is that my fault?"

"Isn't it you who asked me to keep an eye on you?"

"Bro, if you're going to shirk responsibility like this, I'm not happy about it."

"Why do you listen to Mr. Yu so much?"

"Mr. Yu is a teacher, and I always listen to teachers," Lin Tiao replied, looking at him.

"I see." Jiang Yan looked at her for a few seconds, his brows relaxing, long eyelashes like crow feathers, dense and curled. He smiled, revealing a pleasant curve at the corner of his lips. Then he suddenly bent over, leaning down to her eye level.

His voice was slow, with a slight hook at the end.

"Do you listen to your desk mate?"

The clear and bright features of the boy were fully exposed to Lin Tiao, his unique and refreshing aura overwhelming her.

Lin Tiao stiffened, her whole body feeling electrified, tingling. She felt uncontrollably flustered, her heartbeat racing faster than before.

The boy maintained his bent posture, persistently asking, "Do you?"

His already deep voice became even more magnetic, each word pressing into Lin Tiao's ears repeatedly.

Lin Tiao felt like she might faint any second from her rapid heartbeat.

In the dusky corridor, the boy's smiling face was just inches away.

Every moment.

Was slowly soaking into Lin Tiao's soul.

"Yes," she answered uncontrollably.

Satisfied with the response, the boy suddenly lowered his gaze and chuckled, his eyes curving into a small hook. His deep laughter brushed against her ear, warming it gradually.

Lin Tiao looked at the boy's amber-colored eyes and suddenly felt that the situation seemed to be going in an unexpected direction.

But strangely, she didn't mind at all. In fact, she found herself enjoying it.

It was so strange.

She thought.

The classroom, still chaotic with the post-exam buzz, was even more lively and energetic than before, filled with the noise of students celebrating.

Mr. Yu stood at the classroom door with a tea cup in hand, watching the students fooling around with a kind expression. He saw nothing unusual about it.

At their age, they should be carefree and joyful, as that is what youth is all about.

Mr. Yu stood at the door for about ten minutes before noticing two students who had missed the exam coming down the stairs. They came back so late, obviously not the type to hand in their papers early.

Thinking of this, Mr. Yu's smile grew wider, and he sincerely said to the two students who had just arrived, "Jiang Yan, Lin Tiao, you've worked hard during this period."

"…"

"…"

Mr. Yu didn't notice the exhausted looks on their faces as they waited to be let in. He continued, "How did you find the exam? Was it difficult? Did you encounter any questions you couldn't answer?"

"It was okay, not difficult. I didn't have any problems," Lin Tiao answered before Jiang Yan could speak. "Even if I didn't know how to answer something, I copied the questions onto my paper."

"…"

"…"

Mr. Yu was surprised that this student, whom he thought of as a model pupil, went to such lengths for the exam. It seemed the test papers were indeed more difficult than expected.

To encourage the student's enthusiasm for studying, he praised her, "Well done. When you encounter questions you can't answer, it's good to write as much as you can. Even if you don't know the answers, writing something might get you a few points if the teacher overlooks it."

—

Mr. Yu started another lengthy explanation, but in the end, Jiang Yan interrupted him, saying, "Mr. Yu, we've been taking exams for two days, and we're really tired. We want to go back to our seats and rest."

Mr. Yu looked surprised. "Well, go ahead. I'll talk with your desk mate for a bit longer."

Lin Tiao was the first to protest, blinking her eyes and yawning as if to make it look convincing. "Mr. Yu, I'm also very tired."

Mr. Yu clearly had more to say, but seeing the exhausted and unwilling expressions on their faces, he reluctantly said, "Then let's continue this conversation next time."

Lin Tiao, who had already stepped into the classroom, almost stumbled over her own feet at his words.

Next time?

She didn't want to talk anymore at all.

The seats in the classroom had already been returned to their original positions by students who had come back early. Lin Tiao and Jiang Yan returned to their seats, one after the other.

Once Jiang Yan was seated, he took out his phone and began playing with it.

Behind them, Hu Hanghang, Xu Yichuan, and Song Yuan huddled together. When they saw the two, Hu Hanghang was the first to speak, patting Lin Tiao on the shoulder. "Lin Tiao, how are you planning to spend the holiday?"

Lin Tiao thought for a moment. Based on the usual practice during the National Day holiday, it would likely be, "Staying at home."

Xu Yichuan was shocked by her lackluster holiday plan. "How can you waste the seven-day holiday our ancestors fought so hard to give us like this?"

Lin Tiao was a bit stunned, unable to process his long string of uninterrupted words. After a pause of about ten seconds, she took a deep breath and, mimicking Xu Yichuan's tone, said in one breath, "So how do you plan to spend the seven-day holiday our ancestors fought so hard to give us?"

Hu Hanghang started counting on his fingers. "I don't remember the previous years, but let's take last year as an example. The first day was our country's birthday, so we skipped that."

"On the second day, we went to Brother Yan's internet café and played there all day. Then we went to an internet café in the next block and spent another day there. In the middle, we ran into the police checking for illegal internet cafés and ended up spending half a day at the station."

Hu Hanghang counted on his seventh finger. "On the last day, we went back to Brother Yan's internet café, finishing what we started."

"...."

After Hu Hanghang finished, the four people sitting nearby went silent for a few seconds, not knowing who started laughing first—maybe Xu Yichuan or perhaps the quiet Song Yuan. Laughter erupted, and Lin Tiao saw her desk mate, with his head lowered, shaking with laughter.

Lin Tiao had initially expected him to talk about traveling around the country, seeing the great landscapes of the nation, but instead, it was a six-day internet café tour in Xicheng, with half a day at the police station.

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but laugh as well, her almond eyes curving into a smile.

Hu Hanghang.

What a talent.

After everyone laughed together, Hu Hanghang, still unbothered, started planning for this year. "This year, I don't want to spend it like this. How about we go out and have some fun?"

"How about going to Haicheng to see the sea?"

"I've never properly seen the sea in my whole life."

This plan quickly gained support from everyone except Jiang Yan and Lin Tiao. Jiang Yan remained silent, and Lin Tiao was unsure if she had any family arrangements.

Hu Hanghang gave up on Jiang Yan and turned to Lin Tiao. "Lin Tiao, come with us. Don't you have a friend? Bring her along too. We can have an impromptu trip to Haicheng."

Lin Tiao didn't agree immediately. "I'm not sure if I have any plans. I'll ask about it tonight and let you know."

"Okay, let's leave it at that for now."

Just as they were finalizing their plans, Mr. Yu saw that most of the students had returned to the classroom and asked the cleaning committee to start the big cleanup.

Li Jiang, the head of the cleaning committee, had already arranged the tasks for each group and explained, "Group one will clean the windows, group two will sweep the floor, group three will mop the floor, and group four will handle the trash and bring water and supplies to group one."

With clear divisions of labor, everyone quickly got to work.

Mr. Yu stood at the classroom door, constantly nagging, "Remember, the cleanliness of a class reflects its overall demeanor. Don't be careless."

"Hu Hanghang, don't scrub the windows so hard. And that person in the back, stop walking around with the broom; there's dust everywhere."

"Wang Yuyang, do you have a grudge against the floor? Don't look so fierce while mopping."

"The trash can is plastic, but your relationship with your classmates is not. Everyone needs to work together and get the job done."

"..."

"Ha ha ha ha ha"

Someone in the classroom started laughing, and soon everyone joined in. Mr. Yu, standing at the door, seemed to recall something funny and started laughing too.

As dusk fell, the last rays of the setting sun streamed in through the window.

In the clean classroom with messy desks, a blackboard reflecting the seriousness of exams, a boy standing by the window, classmates chasing each other with brooms, and plastic trash cans representing their friendships.

Everyone was bathed in the warm glow, with light hidden in their eyes.

Lin Tiao stood at the back of the classroom, holding a clean cloth she had just gotten from Li Jiang, laughing along with everyone, unable to stop.

She smiled so hard her eyes were squinted and, in the moment she turned her head, saw the boy standing beside her.

He was bathed in the twilight, his white t-shirt loose and slightly revealing his collarbone, with smooth and attractive lines. His skin was very pale, giving him an unreal look in the light.

His deep-set eyes, with the corners slightly upturned, were tinged with the warmth of the evening.

Lin Tiao looked at him and suddenly remembered that Hu Hanghang had mentioned his opinion not long ago. She asked casually, "Are you going to Haicheng?"

"Mm."

Lin Tiao leaned against the desk behind her and met his gaze, repeating the question, "Are you going to Haicheng with Hu Hanghang and the others?"

The boy's eyes softened, and his gaze, once sharp, relaxed. The light seemed to reflect a shimmering warmth in his eyes. His voice, carried by the wind, was a bit scattered. "If you go, I'll go too."