Rule One for Avoiding Social Death: never, ever let the artsy stuff you wrote fall into the hands of people around you. Best case, your whole body starts crawling. Worst case, instant social death.

And right now, Yan Ningning hadn’t just read the lines he copied down.

She’d read them out loud.

“Whole body discomfort” wasn’t enough to describe how Lu Huai felt right now.

It was more like every pore on his body was steaming.

For most people, this would just mean blushing a little and feeling embarrassed.

For Lu Huai, it was at least ten times worse.

“Y-you-you-you-you put that down!!”

Lu Huai was stammering so hard he could barely speak. Red-faced like Guan Yu, he charged over. Anyone who didn’t know better might’ve thought he was rushing in to swear brotherhood in the Peach Garden.

The girl glanced at him.

Then she raised the notebook straight over her head.

“What? I’m just looking. Just looking!”

Lu Huai couldn’t care about anything else anymore. In his eyes, the notebook in her hand had basically become the imperial jade seal, or s1mple’s AWP. How could he let someone else hold it and play with it?

He lunged to snatch it back.

Lu Huai was already right in front of her. The girl had no chance to stand up, so she could only keep hiding the notebook all over the place.

In front of her.

Behind her.

Even behind her head.

Anywhere Lu Huai couldn’t reach, basically.

“Stop reading it, seriously... I didn’t even write that! I copied it!”

“You did write it. Why can’t I read it? It’s pretty good. Like this one: ‘My universe and my galaxy are unbearably lonely. My solitude and confusion make the night too long, dreams too many.’”

“Stop reading it, stop reading it!!”

Lu Huai’s hands were shaking.

The girl, meanwhile, was smiling all over. Maybe she thought this was fun. Maybe she thought this flustered version of Lu Huai was vivid, like how a boy his age should be. And also... it had been a long time since the two of them could joke and laugh like this.

“I’m gonna read it~ It’s written so well, so why won’t you let me? I’m reading it. And there’s this too! What was it... ‘I act like I dislike everything, because I’ve never truly gotten what I wanted’... ah!”

Crap.

Even though Lu Huai had told himself over and over that melodramatic scenes like this only happened in fiction, and definitely wouldn’t happen to a guy like him who was obviously unfit to be the male lead...

It still happened.

Because he was too desperate to grab his notebook back, and because he kept trying to avoid touching her tempting legs, he leaned forward, bending slightly at the waist.

Which meant the more he wanted to reach the notebook she was holding high above her head, the more he had to lean in.

And there was only so far his balance could take that.

Obviously, he’d finally crossed the limit.

The instant his fingertips barely brushed the notebook, he lost his center of gravity and his balance. His whole body pitched forward, straight toward Yan Ningning, who was still laughing softly in the computer chair.

Before it even fully happened, Lu Huai already knew what was about to happen.

The dazed Yan Ningning, on the other hand, clearly hadn’t expected it at all. She only had time to let out a startled cry, then froze against the back of the chair like a shocked marmot, her whole body stiff.

Of course... Lu Huai definitely didn’t feel like he’d fallen onto a steel plate.

She wasn’t flat, either. The moment he fell, the curve of her body and that unmistakable softness and elasticity were painfully clear.

So clear that... it felt like all the blood had drained from his hands and feet, leaving them limp and weak. As for where that blood had gone, Lu Huai knew.

He just wasn’t saying.

The air went silent.

With a dull thump.

It really did go quiet.

The computer was off. The TV outside sounded distant, like it was calling to them.

But it seemed like no matter how it called, it couldn’t pull the young man and woman in this room back to their senses.

Their overlapping bodies.

Their pressed-together warmth.

And... their breathing, this close.

Harmonious, and yet chaotic.

Lu Huai seemed to have given up thinking.

Or maybe... his thoughts had gone even crazier.

This was the first time he’d ever had such intimate contact with a girl. He wasn’t one of those guys who talked like they were experienced, when in reality the only time they’d ever held a girl’s hand was during ice skating. He seriously had never even held a girl’s hand before!

What could he feel?

Other than his blood surging naturally, his pounding heartbeat, and his ragged breathing, there was also her soft figure, and that springy... chest pressed against him.

He was really lying fully on top of her. His feet weakly braced against the floor, his hands hanging awkwardly open, as if trying to prove he was a proper gentleman who didn’t dare touch her.

But... weren’t all the other parts still pressed against her anyway?!

This... was a misunderstanding. An accident. It should be easy enough to explain, right?

She should know that with his personality, there was no way he’d dare do anything inappropriate. It was just that she was so soft. So this is what a girl’s body feels like... no, crap! That wasn’t the point at all!

The real issue was whether she’d believe him.

That was what he wanted to say.

But he couldn’t stop certain improper thoughts from appearing.

What guy could resist this kind of temptation?

But why... wasn’t she saying anything yet? Did she think he was in any state to talk right now? He was so nervous his heart would probably jump out the second he opened his mouth!

So what was Yan Ningning, who still hadn’t spoken, thinking?

Her brain was currently shutting down and rebooting.

Lu Huai had never been this close to a girl before, sure. But did that mean Yan Ningning had? Of course not. Right now, every part of her body felt like its senses had been amplified without limit.

His body wasn’t especially strong.

But it was burning hot.

Even through their thin clothes, she could feel it clearly.

Her head exploded with a buzz.

Her face was red, redder than it had ever been before. Her throat felt blocked, and she couldn’t say a single word. She couldn’t even make a sound. All she could feel was the hot breath at the tip of her nose, and his breathing seemed just as unsteady.

She turned her head a little and bravely opened her eyes.

Good grief, was that the sun? Had morning already come?

Oh. It was Lu Huai’s face.

How was his face even redder than hers?!

That brief flutter in her heart still couldn’t beat the shyness at the bottom line of a girl’s heart.

“Y-you... get up already. I don’t have any strength...”

Her whole body was limp right now. She really didn’t have the strength to push Lu Huai off.

There was nothing especially distinctive about the smell on him. It wasn’t that clean, sun-dried scent from novels. It was laundry detergent.

One sniff and you could tell it was Blue Moon.

It wasn’t unpleasant, exactly. It was just... really hot. Seriously... hot.

Lu Huai had no dignity left.

Because...

“I think... I don’t have any strength either.”

“Are you kidding me?!”

The girl’s cheeks were so red they looked ready to drip. She was mortified.

Lu Huai felt helpless, but it was the truth.

His body was even easier to defeat than his emotions.

Right now, his limbs really were weak. It wasn’t that he was deliberately trying to take advantage of her. He genuinely wanted to move and couldn’t.

“S-sorry, but I... I can only try...”

“Then move already!”

“I... I know. Stop rushing me. If you rush me, I’ll get even more nervous!”

“Are you even a man?!”

“I am! But... it’s not like I can just move because you say so!”

“Shift a little...”

“Okay...”

“Don’t touch me!”

“I can’t help it. I don’t exactly float. If I don’t use my hands, what am I supposed to brace myself with...”

“I got it, you... just hurry up!”

“I’m fast... I’m the fastest...”

“Ah! Where are you touching?!”

“Sorry... eh—eh?!”

Thump!

In the middle of that disastrous exchange, Lu Huai accidentally touched somewhere he absolutely shouldn’t have. The girl instantly reacted on reflex and shoved the humiliating boy right off her and onto the floor.

Getting knocked down by life and getting knocked down by a girl looked different.

But really, they were kind of the same.

Because Lu Huai would choose to lie down either way.

So he lay there on the floor.

Spread out flat, limbs splayed wide.

If life wanted to knock him down, then fine, he’d lie down. No resistance, only cowardice.

If a girl wanted to knock him down, then fine, he’d lie down too. Though please allow him to blush a little.

Yan Ningning leaned against the chair, cheeks flushed red, glaring at Lu Huai on the floor.

“You pervert! Why are you lying on the ground?”

With one blink, Lu Huai could see her embarrassed and annoyed but still cute face. So he rolled over and lay on his side facing the bed.

“I wasn’t being a pervert...”

Even his voice sounded weak.

He knew it too. What had just happened really wasn’t all that convincing...

Looking at the boy, who was acting like an ostrich and had even turned his back to her, the girl felt both annoyed and amused. She stretched out her toes and poked him in the back.

“So I was the one harassing you, then?”

“Th-this... was an accident.”

“Oh~”

Her face was still red, but she’d already forgotten some of the shyness and the earlier tension.

She stretched out her foot again and nudged his back.

“I thought maybe you’d planned this all along.”

“How could I...”

“Hey, don’t tell me you’re this old and still haven’t had any intimate contact with a girl?”

Lu Huai felt a little depressed. He stared at the bed and instantly forgot that this pose of his was a little too... alluring.

“I know it’s embarrassing, so stop making fun of me. Looking like this, how was I supposed to get intimate with anyone?”

“So I’m the first one, then?”

The girl’s eyes brightened a little. Lu Huai didn’t seem to notice. Or maybe, instinctively, he just didn’t want to let his thoughts wander too deeply into details like that.

“...I’m sorry.”

An apology was all Lu Huai could manage. Though... whose fault had this started as, exactly?

“What are you apologizing for? It’s my fault too. Why was I teasing you?”

“If you know it’s your fault... why do you keep poking me?”

Every time she said something, she poked his back with her toes. Who could handle that?

“Why not? Aren’t otaku guys like you into girls’ toes?”

“Who said that... I’m not... don’t make stuff up...”

Of course Lu Huai denied being the kind of guy with weird fetishes who refused to admit them. But... now that he thought about it, a girl’s toes...

This was not something he could afford to think too hard about.

Since it made teasing Lu Huai easier, the girl had dragged the chair closer. She crossed her legs, propped an elbow on her knee, and every time she spoke, she’d poke Lu Huai in the back with those slender, soft, rounded toes.

The damage was basically zero.

The humiliation was immense.

“Hey, is there any girl in class that you like?”

One of the easiest topics to bring up between a boy and a girl.

The moment he heard that question, Lu Huai’s heart tightened.

He wanted to say something, but in the end all he could manage was a calm, steady, “No...”

The girl nodded thoughtfully.

“Oh.”

“Th-then... do you have a boy you like?”

That was how it always was.

He couldn’t answer certain questions directly. He couldn’t even reveal a bit of affection. And because he was worried about something, he would throw the question back instead.

He refused to admit the tiny bit of selfish desire and... fondness in his heart.

Even though this kind of probing could shatter his fantasy.

“Mm. I do.”

Watching the boy’s back, Yan Ningning blushed. Her toes tapped lightly against his back.

For one instant, Lu Huai felt his whole body go cold, and a tight pain twisted in his chest. Then it slowly loosened, slowly turning into a sour ache in his heart.

There was no need for him to overthink it anymore.

Because that person wouldn’t be him.

Even if a tiny bit of luck made him wonder whether she might like him...

After all, she was the girl he’d known the longest.

But feelings had never been about how long you’d known someone, right?

His looks weren’t enough to make her fall in love at first sight.

And his personality wasn’t enough to make her fall for him over time.

Keep your fantasies in the novel. Why drag them into reality?

So he didn’t even ask who the boy was that the girl had mentioned liking.

He wasn’t willing to imagine any potential candidates for her, either.

He turned his back, silent, as if asleep.

Yet deep within the girl’s clear eyes, a trace of disappointment welled up.