Finally... class is over." I endured the strong drowsiness and felt a sense of relief as soon as I heard the dismissal bell. It was like a traveler walking through the desert seeing a water source, I was thrilled.

Just as I was about to rest my head on the desk for a short break, my pocket shook twice, startling me. I sighed with a tinge of annoyance, thinking it was a bit ill-timed. I took out my phone from my pocket.

"Brother You, are you free?" "Um... can we meet?" After exchanging email addresses, it was the first time An Lisi messaged me. But the content seemed like she had something to tell me. However, I really wanted to take a short nap during the break, even though it would be brief, it would at least suppress the drowsiness. But I couldn't refuse such a request. So, just like I initially thought, I decided to drink a can of black coffee to get rid of the drowsiness.

"The vending machine on the first floor, let's meet there." I quickly typed and sent the message. As I stood up, I noticed Su Yuqian glancing at me. When I looked back at her, she quickly turned her head away. Her attitude towards me remained as cold as ever... It made me feel a little disappointed. But now is not the time to dwell on negative emotions, I had to hurry to the first floor.

Thinking that, I ran out. Sometimes, when your mind is in a state of confusion, you tend to forget about the prohibition of running in the hallway. Fortunately, I didn't run into any teachers and escaped unscathed.

On the right side of the stairs on the first floor, there were several vending machines and long benches for resting. Luckily, there weren't many people around. But I didn't see An Lisi near the vending machines, so it seemed she hadn't arrived yet. I bought a can of black coffee from the vending machine, as well as a can of strawberry soda...

Drinking alone felt a bit awkward, so I bought an extra can of strawberry soda for An Lisi. But I didn't know if she liked strawberry soda or not.

"Brother You..." An Lisi ran towards me with a smile on her face.

"Sorry... seems like I'm late." An Lisi apologized.

"I've only been here for a moment, at most a minute early. It's not like it's a date, so there's no need to worry."

"...Next time, I'll make sure not to keep you waiting, Brother You."

"It's okay even if you make me wait a bit."

"But... every minute spent with Brother You is precious." An Lisi whispered something softly, but I couldn't hear it clearly.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing... it's nothing."

It was a bit strange, I could have sworn she said something. But since she said it was nothing, I decided not to think too much about it. I handed her the strawberry soda, "I don't know if you like this kind of drink or not."

An Lisi held it carefully and had an expression that seemed like she had obtained a treasure. It was a bit exaggerated, wasn't it? But since I didn't know if she liked it or not, I said, "If you don't like it, you can choose a drink you prefer from the vending machine over there." I pointed to the vending machine behind me.

"No... there's no need for that. Brother You is so considerate... my heart's beating so fast." An Lisi blushed, and something seemed off.

"What's wrong?" I asked, looking at her still calm demeanor.

"It's nothing... I really like it." An Lisi smiled.

"Well then, can I sit next to Brother You?" An Lisi pointed to the empty seat next to me.

"Of course you can," I replied nervously as An Lisi happily sat down beside me.

"Do you like black coffee, Brother You?" An Lisi asked as I took a sip.

"Not really. I heard it helps with waking up, though," I replied. The taste was just bitter, not something I would drink as a beverage.

"Brother You, are you very tired?" An Lisi stared at me intently, making me feel a little shy. I quickly averted my gaze to the floor. "A little bit," I admitted. After all, I had woken up very early today because An Lisi said she was coming to school. I couldn't believe how early it was, probably around 6:15 a.m. When I went to the living room, my mother was preparing breakfast.

"Youjie, you woke up really early today. It's rare to see you like this," my mother said with surprise.

"I... I just woke up early by accident," I lied. To be honest, I wouldn't sleep before midnight, so I was really tired now and felt like I could fall asleep with just one blink of my eyes.

"Brother You, you should rest well. Getting enough rest is the most important thing," An Lisi said with a cute smile. I couldn't help but be captivated by her. Over the past few weeks, I noticed that she had become more cheerful and optimistic. I firmly believed it was not an illusion. Compared to her previous gloomy and lifeless face, she was much better now. What kind of magic was at play here? Could it be because she overcame her addiction? I thought about it but still couldn't figure out the reason.

"By the way, you mentioned earlier that we should meet... Is there something you wanted to talk about?"

"Something?" An Lisi's shoulders trembled, showing a nervous expression.

"Nothing..."

"I just wanted to... see you, Brother You..." An Lisi mumbled.

"To see me?"

"Not... not really. It's just that I feel uncomfortable... After all, it's my first time coming to school..."

"That's true. It's understandable that you feel a bit out of place after not coming to school for more than a month." I nodded slightly.

"That's right... And also..."

"What about classes? Can you still understand them? We've already covered a lot of material, and it must be difficult to catch up without prior knowledge, especially with the big jumps in the curriculum."

"Yeah... there are some challenges, but thanks to your notes and patient teaching, I can still keep up with the current curriculum."

"That's good..." My hard work didn't go to waste. At least I took very detailed notes.

"What were you going to say just now?" I suddenly remembered that I had interrupted something An Lisi wanted to say.

"It's nothing..." An Lisi flashed a smile, but it didn't seem genuine.

"Are you sure? But now that I can see An Lisi coming to school, even though it feels like a dream, I'm still very happy. After going through a rough time, it's satisfying to see the present result," I couldn't help but smile. This was a difficult task to accomplish, but I managed to achieve it and even got this good end result. I genuinely felt happy deep in my heart.

"Brother You, do you really want me to come to school?"

"Of course... Isn't that what everyone hopes for?" I replied.

"Oh..." An Lisi's response was flat, and she seemed a little unhappy. Did I say something wrong?

"More importantly, An Lisi, you should make more friends. That way, you can enjoy campus life to the fullest and make it more meaningful," I suggested.

"I just want... Yu-gege." An Lisi murmured, head lowered.

"Eh? What did you say again?" Why did I use 'again'?

"It's nothing... I will try to do that..." An Lisi said without much enthusiasm.

"Don't force yourself too much. Take things slowly." After all, it might be difficult for someone to make friends quickly. At least for me, I'm not confident that I can make friends in a short period of time, as I am somewhat introverted.

But sometimes I can be stubborn, like when I pursued Su Yuqian. Although I don't regret it now and I am genuinely happy because the blonde, blue-eyed beauty has become my girlfriend. It's something that only happens in manga. Thinking about it still excites me. By the way, An Lisi also has blonde hair. I glanced at An Lisi's silky blonde hair, which is now shiny and emits a faint pleasant smell. Is it the scent of shampoo? It smells good.

"Yu-gege, what are you sniffing?" An Lisi asked me with confusion.

"Ah...nothing." I quickly turned my head, feeling embarrassed. I unintentionally revealed that I was attracted to that scent. Luckily, An Lisi didn't notice. I let out a sigh of relief.

"I used orchid scented shampoo... and sprayed some perfume on my body too." An Lisi suddenly said without warning.

"Ah... um..." Now I was completely tongue-tied. It felt like she had already noticed my previous action. This wasn't good at all, and it wasn't good for my heart either.

"Because... after sniffing it, I felt like there was a strange smell on me... so..." An Lisi said hesitantly.

So that's the reason. I thought I had exposed myself earlier. In fact, I did expose myself. If it weren't for that action, An Lisi wouldn't have said that. I truly wanted to find a hole to hide in due to my embarrassment.

"Will you dislike me for it, Yu-gege?" An Lisi suddenly looked a little worried and said.

"Eh? Why would I have such thoughts... Being able to see An Lisi so full of life, like a blooming flower... It's what I've always dreamed of seeing," I said.

"Is that so? Yu-gege, you actually said that... Hmm... my heart is beating so fast... No, no... my heart might stop," An Lisi blushed and said in a trance. I pretended not to hear clearly.

"Um... What I meant to say is... An Lisi's current appearance is particularly lively..." I realized that what I had just said was rather ambiguous, so I quickly corrected myself.

"Is that so?" Why does An Lisi have an unhappy expression again? Although I'm not very good at expressing myself, I still clearly expressed what I wanted to say. It's just a little embarrassing.

"In any case... just stay like this, An Lisi, it's fine," I said.

"Will Yu-gege like it?"

"Huh? I don't dislike it."

"Then I'll stay like this..." An Lisi suddenly felt quite happy. I really can't understand her. Just then, the class bell rang. I had already unknowingly finished drinking the black coffee in my hand.

"It's time for class. Let's go back to the classroom," I said and prepared to go up the stairs. An Lisi suddenly grabbed onto the corner of my clothes from behind.

I turned around with confusion, "What's wrong?"

"Can I be in the same class as Yu-ge?" The tone was filled with insecurity.

"Well... it's difficult. Class assignments are already sorted, and they can't be changed easily. Why is being in that class not good?"

"...Yu-ge is not there..."

"Ah... I'm sorry..." Someone unexpectedly bumped into me and quickly apologized.

"So, An Lisi, what did you want to say? I didn't hear clearly," I asked An Lisi after saying it's okay.

"N-nothing..."

"Let's go back to the classroom then." Since it was time for class, we had to hurry back to the classroom. I bid farewell to An Lisi at the corner of the second floor and returned to my own classroom. I wondered what she wanted to say earlier with that hesitant expression, but even if I racked my brains, I couldn't figure it out.