Lin Shu had fully relaxed, but Su Nuan and Gu Chuchu, locked in their little rivalry, now had legs that were killing them.

The sun dipped below the horizon, streetlights flickering on one by one outside campus. Only a few dim lamps illuminated the vast, empty playground.

Just as Lin Shu wheeled out his bike, Gu Chuchu pulled out a rusty, old-fashioned women’s bicycle beside him—far too tall for her. Her feet barely touched the ground, and a basket hung crookedly from the handlebars.

"Ha! No ditching me today," Gu Chuchu declared triumphantly.

"Then shall we all head home for dinner?" Lin Shu suggested. With Gu Chuchu around, signing their contract was impossible.

"Nope. Let’s grab seats at yesterday’s bubble tea shop again. We can figure out dinner there."

"Xiao Nuan, wanna ride on my bike?" Lin Shu asked with a sly grin. He doubted Su Nuan would agree after yesterday.

"Not a chance. But I’ll let *you* ride on *mine*."

"I’ll ride! I’ll ride!" Gu Chuchu shot her tiny hand up. "I wanna be carried by senior! I’m small enough to fit perfectly in his arms. Senior Su can take my bike."

"My legs *are* tired," Su Nuan conceded. "I’ll endure it this once."

She perched on the bike’s crossbar, nestled against Lin Shu’s chest.

"Didn’t you say your butt would ache?" Lin Shu muttered, the faint, sweet scent of her shampoo filling his nose. He felt like he’d shot himself in the foot.

"Less talk, more pedaling!" Su Nuan slapped his thigh.

Lin Shu rode leisurely. Gu Chuchu, despite her little legs, pedaled her oversized bike with surprising skill.

"Can’t you speed up and lose her?" Su Nuan whispered.

"I can’t go fast with you on board. Alone, sure."

"So you’re saying I’m heavy?" Her voice turned icy. *Are all girls this sensitive about weight?* Lin Shu thought. Gu Chuchu obsessed over dieting, and his own sister constantly fretted about hers.

"Of course not! Safety first—we’re not wearing helmets."

"Oh." Su Nuan fell silent, face burning crimson. Lin Shu couldn’t see it.

"More people today. Hope there’s a seat."

"It’s the weekend."

"So tired…" Gu Chuchu panted, lagging behind. She parked beside them and dashed into the shop.

"What’ll you two drink?"

"Same as yesterday for me. I’ll grab us a table." Su Nuan waved.

"Eh? I get one too, senior?" Gu Chuchu pointed at herself, wide-eyed.

"I ate your breakfast today. But don’t buy me meals anymore." *Her allowance must be tight*, Lin Shu realized. *She’d gone hungry just to treat him.*

"Yay! I love you most, senior! Same drink as you!" Gu Chuchu lunged for his chest, but he blocked her forehead with a palm. Her arms windmilled uselessly.

"I have a girlfriend. Get real. I drink unsweetened green tea. Order something else."

"Same tea! 70% sugar—no, full sugar!"

"Free table here!" Su Nuan called from inside.

"Coming!" Lin Shu tried to sit opposite her, but she yanked his arm, forcing him beside her. Gu Chuchu squeezed in too, pinning Lin Shu between them. His hands hovered awkwardly.

"Freshman," Su Nuan snapped, "stop rubbing against my boyfriend. There’s space across from you."

"I’m tiny! We’ll fit. Or I can sit on senior’s lap. Haven’t you achieved your goal yet, senior Su? The whole school knows you’re ‘dating’."

"What goal? I’m Lin Shu’s girlfriend. You’re just clingy glue after getting rejected."

"How about this?" Gu Chuchu leaned in. "You keep the *title* of girlfriend, but I’ll be his *real* girlfriend behind the scenes. Win-win. You don’t even like him."

"Why would you think that? If I didn’t like him, would I stick to him all day? Studying together, walking home, *sleeping together*? Eating his home-cooked meals—you’ve never tasted those, have you?" Su Nuan yanked Lin Shu’s head back, pillowing it against her soft, petite chest. She smirked down at Gu Chuchu.

"T-They’ve gone *that* far already?!" Gu Chuchu gasped, eyes wide. "You’re still in high school! That’s… unhealthy!"

*‘All day’? It’s barely been one day since last night. And ‘sleeping together’ skipped a few key details—like the bus ride where Lin Shu never actually slept.*

"Don’t think this makes me give up!" Gu Chuchu shot back. "I won’t believe it until I *see* you two doing… *that*. I’ve noticed how unnatural you act around each other. And you’ve been classmates for a year—why suddenly ‘together’ right after my confession? Suspicious!"

"You wouldn’t know," Su Nuan purred, tightening her grip on his neck, "we’ve known each other since middle school. Mutual crushes. When we both got confessed to that day, I finally gathered the courage to tell him how I felt. True love wins. Happy ending."

"But senior doesn’t like his sister—or you!"

"That was just an excuse to reject *you*," Su Nuan hissed, grinding his skull deeper into her chest. "Who’d actually like their own sister?"

"Maybe senior *does*! I’d accept it if he liked his sister too—as long as he likes me! But *you* couldn’t handle that, could you?"

"Don’t underestimate my generosity. If I can tolerate your antics here, I can certainly handle a future sister-in-law."

"Sister-in-law?" Gu Chuchu scoffed. "Senior hasn’t even *married* you yet."

"It’s only a matter of time."

Just as tension crackled, a server arrived with their drinks.

"One coconut jelly milk tea. One unsweetened green tea. One full-sugar green tea."

"Mine’s the unsweetened," Lin Shu said, reaching. Su Nuan finally released his neck, snatching the green tea.

"I drink the same as senior! We’re like a real couple," Gu Chuchu chirped, cradling her cup.

"Foolish. Real couples *share* drinks." Su Nuan swapped Lin Shu’s green tea for her coconut jelly milk tea mid-sip. She took a gulp of the unsweetened tea and stuck out her tongue.

"I also—" Lin Shu started, but his left thigh vibrated faintly. *Buzz. Buzz.*

Gu Chuchu pulled out her phone. Seeing "Mom" on the screen, her smile faded. She pressed answer. "I’m with friends… Yeah. Okay. I’ll head home for dinner now…"

"Kids should eat dinner early," Su Nuan said coolly. "Love games aren’t for you."

"You two just wait," Gu Chuchu hissed, standing. "I’ll expose you someday." She turned to leave, but Lin Shu instinctively grabbed her small hand. She froze, looking back.

"Gu Chuchu. Don’t forget your tea." He handed her the cup.

She pressed it to her cheek, beaming. "Thanks, senior! I love you most." She leaned in and pecked his forehead. "I like seated seniors even more~" Skipping out, her mood lifted.

"With your reflexes, you couldn’t dodge that?" Su Nuan pinched Lin Shu’s cheek.

"How was I supposed to know she’d kiss me?!"

"Excuses. Your heart’s bursting with joy after a cute underclassman’s kiss. At least the nuisance is gone. She’s relentless—I knew she’d be trouble, but not *this* aggressive. What exactly does she see in you?"

"I’d like to know too."

"Do you think Gu Chuchu is cute?"

"...Yeah."

"But not cuter than me. Have boys confessed to her?"

*Is she shameless or just confident?* Lin Shu thought. *She did have the right to ask.*

"Probably."

"Then maybe she used *you* as a shield to reject someone else’s confession. Does it hurt? Finding out her confession was fake?"

"I expected it. It makes sense. Yours was fake too, right?"

"Ours is *real*," Su Nuan snapped. "During this contract, it’s real. Maybe she truly loves you. Maybe she can’t live without you."

Lin Shu stood to move opposite her, but she yanked him back down.

"Stay. Pressed close to me."

"Gu Chuchu’s gone. No need to act for her anymore."

Su Nuan smacked his head. "Idiot! What if she doubles back? ‘Forgot my phone’? Or faked the dinner call just to catch us slipping?"

They sat glued together for five silent minutes, sipping tea, scrolling phones, checking the Biaobai Wall for outrageous posts.

"Our ‘relationship’ has totally blown up at school."

Witnesses had screenshot and shared it—spreading like wildfire through groups. It’d fade, then resurface randomly when someone dug it up again.

"Good. Saves me explaining. Wow—you’re officially a playboy now. With that ‘jock’ label, no one will believe otherwise." Su Nuan leaned close, her breath warm on his cheek as she peered at his phone.

"My reputation’s ruined anyway." *And another stereotype about athletes cemented.*

"Finding a real girlfriend at school will be tough. But you like your sister, so who cares?"

"Gu Chuchu really went home."

"Time for tonight’s real talk." Su Nuan pulled a folder from her bag. Inside lay two thin sheets of paper.

At the top, handwritten neatly: **Dating Agreement**.

**Party A:** Su Nuan

**Party B:** Lin Shu

**Clause:** No flirting around.

*Effective upon signatures and thumbprints. Valid from [date].* (The date was blank.)

Both copies were handwritten—identical content, but subtle differences in penmanship and spacing. At the bottom: signature lines.

"*No flirting around*? That’s it?" Lin Shu had expected strict rules: no physical contact beyond X degree, mandatory duties… Nothing.

"Of course! Writing ‘fake couple’ would be evidence for people like Gu Chuchu. As long as you don’t flirt, we’re fine."

"Why is that enough?"

"Simple. If you truly fall for someone else, and she becomes your real girlfriend, our fake relationship collapses naturally. Then suitors swarm me again."

"There’s a start date… but no end date." Lin Shu eyed the paper warily.

"When neither of us has suitors anymore, the act stops. The agreement expires."

"Will that day ever come for you?" *Would this become a permanent contract?*

"I was ignored today. *You* still have admirers. Worry about yourself first."

Su Nuan produced a pen and red ink pad. She signed both copies, pressed her thumb into the ink, and stamped a bright red print beside her name.

"Your turn…"

Hesitating now would make him look weak. Lin Shu signed. Thumbprinted. Each took a copy.

"Late, but… welcome to the No-Love Alliance, comrade." Su Nuan held up her ink-stained thumb. "Looking forward to working with you."

"Likewise."

Lin Shu also gave a thumbs-up.

Su Nuan pressed her thumb against his, their thumbs touching.

"Your thumb isn’t red enough. I’ll share some of mine with you. I’m so hungry—let’s go eat dinner."

"What do you want for dinner?"

"Anything from street stalls is fine. I even want to try stinky tofu."

"Let’s skip that."

"I want to eat it."

Lin Shu walked ahead, pulling his bicycle, with Su Nuan following behind. She rubbed her index finger against her thumb. If she were a fake girlfriend for a lifetime, could it eventually become real?

She needed Lin Shu to always have admirers. Should she give that underclassman a little hope? Anyway, she had zero chance. Su Nuan held a big secret—that someone seemed to have forgotten it completely.

Just thinking about it made her angry. Su Nuan puffed out her cheeks and bumped into Lin Shu.

"What’s wrong all of a sudden?"

"You’re walking too fast. Don’t you know to wait for your girlfriend? What if I get lost?"