Xu Huaishi leaned against the wall, clutching her phone without moving for a long time. She only stirred when she faintly heard Xu Huaisong's voice outside the door: "I'll wait for you out here. Be careful of the steps in the dark."
Followed by Ruan Yu's reply: "Got it. I know this place well."
Straightening up as Ruan Yu entered carrying a bag, Xu Huaishi waved at her: "Thanks for this, sis."
"Your brother's the real hassle," Ruan Yu whispered, handing her the sanitary pads. "I just said I was going to the school store to buy something without leaving campus, but he insisted on coming along."
Xu Huaishi chuckled softly: "Is my classmate still waiting outside?"
"You mean Zhao Yi? He's chatting with your brother."
"Oh great, another hassle."
Ruan Yu paused slightly, detecting something unusual in her tone. Just as she was about to ask, Xu Huaishi beckoned: "Sis, lend me your hand."
She extended her hand, and Xu Huaishi pressed her thumb against the phone to unlock it.
Unlock failed.
Xu Huaishi then used her own thumb—success again.
She scoffed: "How childish." Handing the phone back to Ruan Yu, she went into the stall.
Holding the phone, Ruan Yu quickly pieced together what had happened. After a moment, she approached the stall door: "Huaishi, you—"
"I'm not puppy-loving!" Xu Huaishi blurted out, then opened the stall door to emphasize, "Definitely not puppy-loving..."
Ruan Yu smiled and returned her phone: "Let's go then."
Nodding, Xu Huaishi followed her out but suddenly stopped at the doorway: "Sis, I won't go be an extra today. It won't matter without me. Are you needed on set? If not, could you take me to the store for some oden?"
Ruan Yu agreed and managed to send Xu Huaisong and Zhao Yi away at the door before going alone with Xu Huaishi to the store.
Xu Huaishi remained silent most of the way, only speaking up near the store: "Sis, I actually figured it out a while ago."
Ruan Yu turned: "Figured what out?"
"That Zhao Yi likes me." She exhaled into her palms and rubbed them together. "We see each other every single day—unlike you and my brother who went three years barely speaking. How could I not notice if he likes me?"
If he didn't like her, why would someone who couldn't be bothered to lift a broom—preferring to "sweep" trash with an electric fan—volunteer to clean the blackboard during her duty shift, getting chalk dust in his mouth while claiming "this chalk brand tastes pretty good"?
If he didn't like her, why would someone whose homework for every subject remained pristine white—not even bothering to copy answers—shamelessly hunt down answers when he learned she'd missed an English test paper, saying "that girl must have a crush on me, forcing these answers into my hands despite my protests"?
If he didn't like her, why would the predicted high jump champion withdraw upon realizing his event conflicted with her 1500-meter race, choosing instead to pace her while claiming "the judges this year are my sworn enemies—this isn't jumping, it's risking my life. Not worth it"?
Yet she'd still been oblivious enough.Just because he teased her for being short while cleaning the blackboard, mocked her with "so you have today too" when giving her answers, and said her face was as pale as a ghost when accompanying her for a run, she had overlooked the true meaning behind these actions, long mistaking his kindness for "boring provocations."
It wasn’t until six months ago, when she and Li Shican were secretly photographed by paparazzi, sparking rumors in class, and he got into a fight for her, that she truly began to realize.
But once she realized, she became afraid.
That day, while talking to Xu Huaisong on the phone, she casually mentioned a classmate ending up at the police station, then self-deceptively told Ruan Yu that she didn’t think Zhao Yi had fought for her—all because she was scared.
If passersby hadn’t intervened in time, Zhao Yi might have taken things too far. Such intense affection left her breathless, as if a weight of a thousand pounds had suddenly been placed on her previously unburdened shoulders. She didn’t want to bear it.
So after that incident, she started deliberately avoiding Zhao Yi, keeping her distance the entire summer break. Eventually, sensing her aloofness, he began chatting animatedly with other girls in class after school resumed, no longer speaking to her.
By the time autumn passed and winter arrived, she thought his feelings must have been fleeting, that he no longer cared. Feeling awkward about the prolonged tension, she took the initiative to joke around with him, mending their friendship.
Yet, in the atmosphere of the New Year’s fireworks earlier, he seemed to have crossed the line again.
Or perhaps, he had never stepped back at all. Because the fingerprint unlock on that phone could only have been secretly registered by him while she was asleep—except she hadn’t taken a nap in the classroom since the cool weather of October.
Flirting with other girls while sneakily adding her fingerprint—he truly surpassed "her brother" in audacity.
At this thought, Xu Huaishi pursed her lips, suddenly hearing Ruan Yu ask, "He likes you. So how do you feel about it?"
"Look at me pretending not to know despite knowing—what does that tell you?"
"Hmm… pretending not to know doesn’t necessarily mean you feel nothing."
"Come on, sis," Xu Huaishi shot her a glance, "since when do you encourage youngsters to date early?"
"Not that." Ruan Yu chuckled. "Do you know why teachers and parents discourage early romance?"
"Afraid it’ll affect studies, obviously."
"But why would early romance affect studies?"
Xu Huaishi faltered, shaking her head.
After all, it was a cliché adults repeated—who ever questioned the real reason?
"Assuming adulthood, theoretically, a stable, well-balanced relationship shouldn’t have negative effects. But in reality, romance often involves the frenzy of infatuation and the turbulence of the adjustment period. If the adjustment fails, there’s heartbreak—so it’s usually unstable. Romance itself isn’t bad; it’s the emotional instability it brings that causes trouble. So if you didn’t know his feelings, fine. But once you know and are affected, continuing to evade will only trap you in repeated emotional instability—which also affects studies."
Xu Huaishi blinked, guiltily murmuring, "Oh.""Huaishi, what people flee from is the plague, not feelings. You're a smart girl. At this point, instead of hesitating and overthinking, you should face this issue head-on. Think it through clearly, then handle it rationally in a way that's good for both you and him."
Xu Huaishi spent the entire New Year holiday pondering Ruan Yu's words.
On the day of returning to school, she left home half a day early and called Zhao Yi, asking him to meet at a milk tea shop near campus.
Since it was a last-minute invitation, Zhao Yi arrived slightly late. He took off his scarf upon entering, rubbing his hands together. "What's up? Planning another secret mission to break into the school history museum?"
Xu Huaishi shook her head, eyeing him carefully. "Did you finish your New Year homework?"
"Do I look like someone who does homework? If you wanted to copy, you should've said so earlier. I'll go ask someone—"
"I finished mine," she said deliberately, then pulled out a stack of test papers from her bag.
"Oh, you're offering to let me copy? No need—"
"Zhao Yi!" Xu Huaishi cut him off. "Who said anything about copying? You don't pay attention in class, never review after school, never do homework, and just guess during exams. Do you even want to go to college?"
He froze. "What's with you? Channeling our homeroom teacher now?"
Xu Huaishi frowned seriously. "Answer me properly. The college entrance exam is in just over five months. Do you want to go to university or not?"
He paused. "If I get in, great. If not, whatever."
"Then..."
"Then what?"
"Then..."
After stammering twice without finishing, she changed tack. "Give me your phone."
Zhao Yi handed it over, then watched in astonishment as she unlocked it with her own thumbprint.
"..."
After a moment of silence, he suddenly became animated. "Holy shit, when did you sneak my phone to add your fingerprint?"
Xu Huaishi glared at him through gritted teeth. "Say that again? Did I steal your phone, or did you steal my hand?"
Zhao Yi swallowed hard and muttered, "Oh," tacitly admitting to the latter.
"Let's finish what we were saying earlier. You said if you get into college, great, if not, whatever. Then... then do you also not care whether this fingerprint will still unlock your phone in the future?"
Zhao Yi blinked. "What do you mean?"
"What I mean is..." Xu Huaishi took a deep breath. "Don't you want to go to the same university as me?"
Author's note: Xu Huaishi: Saving wayward youth starts with me, starts small.
OpenNovel