Squeak... squeak... squeak...

The cicadas outside the window emitted a piercing cry.

He squatted in the hallway, tied his shoelaces, and stood up to straighten his sweatpants.

"Woof!"

The dog saw him getting ready to leave and quickly pounced over.

"Are you going out?"

"Woof!"

It wagged its tail, continuously nodding its head.

"It's really hot outside~"

As he spoke, he put a leash on the dog.

"Let's go."

"Woof!"

He closed the door and headed downstairs.

"It's about time you shed some weight too."

This man's name was Samson Nan, male, 27 years old.

Today was the weekend, and he had made plans to play basketball with friends.

"Woof!"

This dog's name was Waiwai, a Shiba Inu.

He rode his bike and tied the leash to the handlebars.

"Can you keep up with me..."

He looked at the increasingly chubby Waiwai with some doubt.

"Woof woof!"

It seemed very confident.

The June sun brought the first wave of summer heat.

He started sweating after riding a short distance, so he slowed down to let the dog keep up.

"..."

He looked up at the clouds drifting in the sky.

After a moment, he shifted his gaze back.

"Woof!"

Suddenly, Waiwai seemed to smell something and pulled on the leash to one side.

"Hey!"

With no choice, he had to get off the bike and push it over.

"What's going on..."

Approaching, he saw three high school-aged girls.

The short girl with glasses in the middle seemed to have noticed him.

"Ah..."

The two stood facing each other.

In a split second, he averted his gaze, tugged on the dog leash, and said, "Waiwai, let's go."

"Ignoring me?!"

The girl suddenly called out to him loudly.

Realizing she seemed a bit too excited, she immediately changed her tone and smiled as she said softly to the other two girls, "You guys can go ahead, this is my friend~"

"Oh, okay~"

The two girls shared meaningful smiles, glanced at Samson Nan, and then left.

...

"Hey, listen!"

Now that the two were far away, the girl stopped smiling, turned to look at him.

"Dare to ignore me? Are you asking for trouble?"

She pointed her finger at his chest.

"And you are?"

"Tong Xiaoling! Are you blind?!"

She took off her glasses, pointing at her face and yelling.

Whether he was being intentional or not, how could he not recognize her once she took off her glasses?

"..."

Samson Nan looked her up and down. She had put on glasses and neatly tucked her shirt into her skirt, exuding a "good student" vibe.

"Did you... change your image?"

This stranger, was she really Tong Xiaoling?

"I..."

She hesitated, looking to the side.

"Isn't this the tutoring center? I, I understand, you know?"

"Seems like this person is the kind who would repackage themselves in a new environment. But this good student persona and Tong Xiaoling..."

"Alright, got it~"

The bizarre contrast made him want to laugh, but he managed to hold it in.

"With just a month left before the college entrance exam, keep up the good work."

As he spoke, he prepared to leave.

"Is that it? Don't you care about my current grades?"

"Huh?"

He turned back, scratching his head.

"Asking that... wouldn't that be impolite?"

"You!"

Tong Xiaoling fumed.

"Get lost, who do you think you are looking down on! We'll see about this!"

"Fine, we'll see if you can live up to your words~"

After saying that, he waved goodbye, hopped on his bike, and rode off.

"Oh, by the way~"

Tong Xiaoling suddenly spoke up, deliberately raising her voice.

"I heard that Yuyu..."

"..."

He slammed on the brakes, freezing in place.

After a moment, he turned back to look at her.

"What is it?"

"It seems like she won't be back next month."

"Isn't next month the summer break for college?"

"Yeah, but she's not coming back. Yuyu is quite busy now~"

Tong Xiaoling squinted, watching him like that.

"Is that so."

There wasn't much expression on his face.

"Huh? You didn't know?"

She leaned closer to him, a bit aggressive and mocking.

"Hehe, you don't know, as an elder brother, don't you know? Didn't Yuyu tell you about the confession she got at university? No way~"

"..."

He paused, not saying a word, apparently lost in thought.

"Is something bothering you?"

Tong Xiaoling looked at him with interest.

"Bothering me?"

"Yes."

"If you say so~"

He smiled and raised his mouth slightly.

"Waiwai, let's go."

With that, he pedaled away on his bike.

"Hmph, boring~"

She sighed and glanced at his retreating figure, seemingly not satisfied with his response.

...

...

"Samson Nan! Over here!"

Wei Wei threw the ball to him.

"Where were you? It took you so long to get here?"

"Uh... ran into something."

He said as he tied Waiwai to a bench by the court.

Bending down, he tightened the laces on his basketball shoes.

"Pass it!"

A female voice came from the front.

"Oh, thanks."

He reached out to catch the mineral water she tossed.

"Here's yours!"

Saying that, she threw another bottle to Wei Wei.

"Why are you here too?"

Samson Nan looked up at Yun Luojia.

She wore a baseball cap, and her long black T-shirt covered her shorts, revealing her fair legs.

"Hehe, Wei Wei said you guys were playing basketball today, so I came to cheer you two on~"

She smiled and sat down on the bench.

Looking around, she seemed to be the only girl who could withstand this kind of sun and come to the basketball court.

"Be clear, are you cheering for me or Samson Nan?"

Wei Wei smirked and pointed at her.

"What's wrong with me?"

Yun Luojia looked up and stared at him like that.

"..."

Wei Wei stood there frozen, as if he could hear the sound of his own throat swallowing.

"Fine, every time you come to cheer for us, the opposing team always seems to play extra aggressively!"

"Adding a bit of pressure would be good for you guys, right?"

She squinted and smiled, patting Waiwai on the head.

"Woof!"

"Samson Nan, it's our turn, hurry up!"

Wei Wei awkwardly changed the subject.

"Okay."

Samson Nan looked at him, smiled helplessly, but didn't say much.

"Let's get going!"

Rising to his feet, he walked towards the center of the court.

As he walked, he looked up at the sky.

The deep blue sky was like a transparent dome, sometimes close, sometimes far away, seemingly within reach.

...

"Yuyu, what are you looking at?"

Lin Ruoxi turned her head, waving her hand in front of her eyes.

"Huh?"

She snapped back to reality.

"You've been staring at the sky for quite a while."

"Not, not really..."

She replied, shifting her gaze back to the book.

"Is that so..."

Lin Ruoxi propped her chin on her hand, leaning on the table, and stared at her.

"What are you smiling about?"

She seemed to notice Lin Ruoxi's faint smile.

"It's so unbelievable."

"What?"

"Although our freshman year is almost over, I still find it unbelievable that we're still in the same class, and it gives me a sense of security being around you."

"Is that so..."

Was she praising her? She felt a bit confused, scratching her cheek.

"I often think if I were the only one to go to a strange city for university..."

Lin Ruoxi blinked her eyes and said softly.

"It'd be so scary."

"That's a bit exaggerated~"

She chuckled helplessly.

"Hehe, with you around, I can just hide behind you. I feel that the longer I stay around you, the more I realize how reliable you are, smart, and good-looking. No wonder..."

She said, looking at Raina Nan.

"That South brother is so fond of you~"

"..."

She fell silent.

Her face felt a bit warm, and she turned to the side.

Seeing her reaction, Lin Ruoxi chuckled, opening her book.

"Let's review and study."

...

"Oh, by the way!"

She suddenly exclaimed but then realized it was the library, so she lowered her voice:

"Xiaoling just said in the group chat that she ran into Nan gege today."

"..."

She paused, stopping her flipping of the book pages.

Lin Ruoxi mentioned it, pulled out her phone, and opened their three-person group chat.

"..."

She scrolled through the messages.

"Take a look."

She handed the phone to her.

"..."

Besides Tong Xiaoling's lengthy complaints, there was also a picture she had secretly taken.

Both of them looked at the photo in the group chat.

"Is that Gege Nan?"

Lin Ruoxi, enlarging the photo, asked.

In the picture, he was riding a bike with Waiwai.

When zoomed in, his slightly blurry profile could still be seen.

"Oh, Yuyu, you're smiling~"

"..."

She raised the corners of her mouth, staying quiet and just supporting her chin, looking at the sky outside the window.