The moon hung high in the sky.
Jiang Yueming lay on the soft bed, unable to fall asleep for a long time.
He reached up and touched his lips, still unable to believe his first kiss had just disappeared like that.
Everything had happened too fast, too sudden. He even wondered if he was dreaming.
“Ping.”
His phone chimed.
It was one twenty-three in the morning.
The message was from Xia He.
“You asleep?”
Jiang Yueming stared at those three words for a long while, then pinched his own cheek. It hurt.
He wasn’t dreaming.
“No.”
Less than two seconds after he sent it, the words “typing…” appeared at the top of the chat window, but the message kept being written and rewritten and never came through.
Jiang Yueming’s heartbeat sped up again.
“Me neither.”
After that the chat window fell silent.
Jiang Yueming’s fingers hovered over the screen for a long time without typing anything.
He wanted to ask Xia He why she had suddenly kissed him.
Did that kiss mean something? Had their relationship changed from now on?
But he hesitated for a long time and never sent the question.
Not long ago he had only just accepted Xia He as a friend, yet in the space of one night that status had undergone a dramatic shift.
What were they now?
Boyfriend and girlfriend?
It didn’t feel like it. Xia He had never clearly said she liked him, and their relationship wasn’t anywhere near that level yet.
Just good friends, then?
Jiang Yueming quickly rejected that idea too, muttering to himself inside his heart: Would good friends do something like that…?
The moon outside the window climbed higher and higher until it reached the top of the sky, then slowly sank westward.
The shadows of the trees in the courtyard drifted from left to right.
Jiang Yueming kept his eyes open, staring blankly at the ceiling.
There was a thin crack running from one end to the other. He had already counted it three times.
***
The next morning at eight o’clock.
Students walked into the campus in twos and threes.
A black Maybach glided up and stopped at the school gate, instantly drawing countless gazes.
Everyone recognized that car—or rather, they recognized its owner, the young miss of the Xia family.
This expensive Maybach was her personal ride.
Every morning it would turn the corner right on time, its sleek, imposing body standing out among all the ordinary sedans like an elegant black cheetah.
Today it appeared at the usual hour once again.
A middle-aged man in a suit stepped out of the driver’s seat, walked quickly around, and opened the rear door.
Xia He got out of the car.
She looked breathtaking as always, long hair fluttering.
The moment she raised a hand to brush it back, the boys’ footsteps slowed on their own.
The eyes coming at her from every direction made Xia He a little uncomfortable.
She had never wanted this kind of attention, but wherever she appeared, the scene always turned out this way.
There was nothing she could do about it.
Yet the gazes that usually annoyed her felt just right today.
Jiang Yueming sat inside the car, secretly watching everything.
He noticed that the way Xia He got out today was different from usual.
Normally she stepped out quickly and cleanly, like she was in a hurry.
Today she moved slowly, every motion deliberate, elegant, calm, and unhurried.
He even suspected she was doing it on purpose.
Doing it so everyone would see, so all eyes would gather on her, turning the school gate on this clear morning into her personal stage.
But why?
Before Jiang Yueming could figure it out, Xia He had already turned around and reached a hand into the car.
The hand was fair and slender, fingers slightly spread, waiting for Jiang Yueming to take it.
A stir ran through the crowd at the gate.
“Who is Xia He waiting for?”
“There’s someone else in the car?”
“No way… Xia He never lets anyone ride in her car…”
“Could it be…”
Jiang Yueming looked at that hand and instinctively tried to shrink back into the seat.
If he took it, it would mean stepping out of Xia He’s car right in front of all these people.
What would that be?
A public claim?
Or a public execution?
He hesitated over whether to reach out. Xia He tilted her head.
“Coming?”
When she saw no reaction from him, Xia He glanced at the gathered stares around them and understood.
Maybe it was progressing too fast. Jiang Yueming still wasn’t used to it.
“You can stay in the car a little longer,” she said gently.
“Wait until everyone has gone inside before you get out.”
Jiang Yueming heard the out she was offering him.
Warmth spread through his chest, and he felt grateful for her thoughtfulness.
Then he watched her withdraw her hand and lower her head slightly.
“If you don’t want to walk with me, I won’t force you.”
Jiang Yueming’s mouth opened.
He saw those hands slowly drop and suddenly felt a burst of irritation.
Not at Xia He—at himself.
He was angry at himself for being so spineless, for not even daring to hold her hand.
Every time Xia He moved closer, he kept stepping back.
Even more infuriating was that, even like this, Xia He still wasn’t angry with him.
“Wait until everyone has gone inside before you get out”—that was the escape route she had built for him so he could retreat with dignity.
She didn’t mind appearing in front of everyone.
She was even willing to take his hand in public. What was he still afraid of? Gossip?
A grown man afraid of gossip?
No. Jiang Yueming was not that kind of person.
Besides, the gossip going around might actually be true.
At that thought, Jiang Yueming spoke up just before Xia He could turn away.
“Wait.”
Xia He looked back in confusion.
Jiang Yueming stepped out of the car and appeared beside her amid a wave of gasps.
He gave a light, covering cough, avoided the stares that were making his cheeks burn, and took her hand.
Xia He froze where she stood.
This was the first time—Jiang Yueming had taken the initiative to hold her hand for the very first time.
“Let’s go.”
She heard him say it, then felt herself being led straight toward the school gate under everyone’s shocked eyes.
His steps were so fast it looked like he was running away. Xia He stumbled along after him.
She looked at his back.
His spine was tense, his grip on her hand tight.
His pace was a little anxious but firm as he pushed forward.
She suddenly realized he wasn’t running away. If he had been running away, he never would have gotten out of the car.
He was charging forward.
Like a soldier on the battlefield rushing fearlessly through a hail of bullets.
Even if his helmet had been blown crooked, he was determined to act like a real man.
The corners of Xia He’s mouth slowly lifted into a happy smile.
The two of them walked through the sea of staring eyes, following the route that had always bothered her in the past.
The gazes landing on her no longer felt annoying. The whispers no longer irritated her.
Even the people secretly snapping photos with their phones didn’t seem so hateful anymore.
From the unusually strong grip of his hand, Xia He could tell Jiang Yueming was incredibly nervous.
Yet from the school gate to the sports field, and from the sports field all the way to the flag-raising platform, he never once let go.
There were even a few moments when Xia He felt his grip tighten further, as if he were mentally cheering himself on: Don’t let go. Hold on. Jiang Yueming, you’re a man!
Surprise, confusion, whispered gossip.
The students around them gossiped just as they always did, but Xia He had never enjoyed these gazes more in her life.