“What’s there to talk about when both sides wanted it? I thought about him, he said mm, and that was that. Come to think of it... you’re Lin An’s ex-girlfriend, right?” Xiao Chacha asked.

“I am.”

“Ah... then this has nothing to do with you, does it? Move aside, move aside. I’ve still got things to do.”

Xiao Chacha brushed past her, but the girl named Qin Xueming quickly followed, stopping behind her.

“I still have a few questions for you.”

“But I don’t want to tell you. I’ve got things to do.”

Xiao Chacha had never been the type to smile at strangers, or people she wasn’t close to. Her arrogance was the same as Su Yuejin’s. It was something they were born with.

She ignored Qin Xueming following her. She walked to her own car, opened the door, and slipped inside. The moment she shut it, Qin Xueming stood outside the car door, her eyes fixed on Xiao Chacha’s profile.

“You dared to hook up with him... Xiao Chacha?”

Xiao Chacha rolled down the window, looking genuinely confused instead.

“Are you his girlfriend?”

“No.”

“Then what’s it to you? Besides, he wanted it and I wanted it too. So what if we slept together? You think you can stop it? Come to think of it, shouldn’t you be busy with something, Miss Qin Xueming?”

“I’m free today, so I came to find you. I want to know some things.”

“But I don’t want to talk to you. You’re not his girlfriend. Even if I did something with him, what’s it got to do with you? You don’t have the right to condemn me on moral grounds... this isn’t arrogance. Your brain’s just broken.”

Xiao Chacha started the car and drove off.

Qin Xueming stood there, watching her leave. In the end, she said nothing more.

...

Lin An was in the classroom, working on today’s exercises.

A hazy drizzle was still falling today. Everything was dim and blurred, as if the distant scenery had been dyed with a layer of mist. The air was especially damp. He wore a black denim jacket, and it felt a little cold.

There was only a day or two left before break. Lin An could hear his classmates discussing where to go for National Day. But National Day really wasn’t that suitable for traveling. Outside would be a tide of people. Better to stay home and play games.

For some reason, though, Lin An thought of someone from his memories, someone so distant she had already gone blurry.

That ex-ex-girlfriend of his was called Qin Xueming. Back in middle school, she already had a slim waist and long legs, the kind of goddess-level beauty everyone in school knew. It was also said her family was especially wealthy. Luxury cars picked her up and dropped her off. Even the clothes she wore from time to time had been identified online as the newest pieces from some luxury brand. One outfit could nearly equal a normal family’s yearly income.

And that person had been his ex-girlfriend.

In Lin An’s memory, Qin Xueming had plenty of flaws. Arrogant. Looking down on everyone. Self-centered.

But when she fell into the whirlpool of love, she was also blind, foolish, lovely, and sweet in that delicate girlish way. It was like she was two completely different people. The two of them broke up in their third year of middle school. They were both still young anyway. It all counted as one of those childish stories from when they didn’t understand anything yet.

Lin An had long since let it go. He just didn’t know why Qin Xueming had asked to meet Xu Qinghuan yesterday. She had already left back then, so why was she suddenly thinking of contacting Xu Qinghuan again now?

Back when Lin An had been dating her, Xu Qinghuan knew Qin Xueming. The three of them could even be considered fairly good friends.

But all of that was old history now. If Lin An looked back on it, all he could do was laugh at himself. In a way, his younger self had actually been pretty lucky. After all, his first love had been a super beautiful, mature-type girl.

But the current Lin An took everything more lightly. He went with the flow. If Qin Xueming showed up again, then sooner or later he’d find out what she wanted. There was no need to think too much about it now. He drifted off like that until school let out in the evening.

He was getting ready to go home. The rain had already stopped. But right after class ended, he took out his phone and found two missed calls. They were WeChat calls, and the caller was Xiao Chacha.

The teacher had already left anyway. Lin An waited until more than half the class had gone, then took out his phone and called back.

“Hello?”

“Hello, hello, An’an, I might need a tiny favor from you.”

“Huh? Go ahead.”

“I’ve already apologized to three girls. But the last one... she still seems to like me a little. I need to make her give up.”

“Huh? What does that have to do with me?”

“She wouldn’t accept my apology. She told me she still likes me... but I’ve figured it out now. I don’t like her. I still like boys more. So, do you want to come pretend to be my boyfriend?”

“No way.” Lin An refused with absolute decisiveness.

“Why not?”

“You should just explain it clearly to her and apologize properly. Whether she accepts it or not, you’ve already apologized, so at least your conscience will be clear. If you tell her you’ve got a boyfriend too, you’ll only hurt her more. It’d just be crueler.”

“...That actually makes sense.” Only then did Xiao Chacha realize her little clever trick had been seen through with ease. She had no idea whether Lin An had noticed.

“Then are you still playing games tonight?” Xiao Chacha asked.

Before Lin An could answer, Su Yuejin had already walked into his classroom and sat down in front of him. She seemed to notice he was on the phone, so she didn’t speak.

“What is it, Yuejin?” Lin An asked casually instead.

“I booked tickets for tonight. Let’s go watch a movie, hehe.” Su Yuejin’s voice was gentle and sweet.

“Ah... let me think. What are we watching?”

“Yesterday Once More. It’s being re-released. Didn’t you write about this movie in your novel? Let’s go watch it together?”

“Mm... okay, sure. We’ll go later.”

Lin An agreed. Then he said softly to the girl on the other end of the phone, “Looks like I’ve got something tonight after all. Sorry.”

“Mhm, mhm. Go do your thing.” Xiao Chacha’s voice didn’t sound any different, but she hung up first.

Su Yuejin looked at Lin An, and a few traces of suspicion appeared in her eyes for no clear reason.

“Which girl were you talking to on the phone?”

“No one.” Lin An spread his hands, looking innocent.

“I don’t believe you. I heard a girl talking just now.”

“No way. You heard wrong.”

“Let me see.” The moment Su Yuejin said that, she reached for Lin An’s phone.

Lin An froze for a second, then immediately hugged the phone and dodged away. For some reason, he didn’t really dare let Su Yuejin know he was in contact with Xiao Chacha.

So Lin An dodged, but Su Yuejin was especially persistent. She leaned in close, trying to snatch it. Lin An kept swaying away from her, and she still couldn’t grab it. In the end, Lin An himself slipped.

Smack.

Lin An watched his phone fall to the floor.

Crack. The screen shattered.

The two of them both froze for a second or two. Su Yuejin instinctively felt a little guilty. She looked at Lin An carefully, but he didn’t seem very angry.

He just picked up the phone, checked it over, and confirmed it was beyond saving.

“It’s fine. No need to apologize. I was just thinking of replacing it anyway.”

That one sentence completely blocked Su Yuejin’s urge to apologize. He even added on his own, “Out with the old, in with the new.”

“Th-then... should I pay for it?”

“Huh? It’s fine. I dropped it myself.” Lin An smiled it off, feeling lucky the phone had broken. Otherwise, if Su Yuejin had seen it, it probably would’ve been troublesome.

“So who were you talking to just now? And why were you suddenly busy tonight...” Su Yuejin muttered under her breath.

This time, though, she wasn’t nearly as forceful. Because she had realized again that she wasn’t his girlfriend. Asking like this would only humiliate herself.

When you were something like a lover, a certain amount of jealousy could feel like acting cute. It could be charming. But once it crossed the line, that sense of distance became clear, and painful.

But unexpectedly, this time Lin An didn’t say, What’s it to you?

“Just a normal friend. She was asking if I wanted to play games tonight.”

“Then why didn’t you dare show me?”

“Ah... well.”

“Games... let me think. Don’t tell me it was Xiao Chacha?!” Su Yuejin suddenly asked.

Lin An was shocked by women’s intuition. Was it always this terrifying?

“Ah, yeah.” He could only nod.

“I knew it. She’s the only one with that much free time every day, always gaming. If it’s her, then whatever... but let me warn you, Lin An. You absolutely can’t start getting ideas about her. She’s the ultimate scumbag girl. Even if she doesn’t mess with guys.”

“Ah, I see. I know. She said she wanted a gaming companion, so I just applied for the job. Twenty yuan a match.”

“Then play with me. I’ll pay forty a match.” Su Yuejin lifted her face slightly.

But Lin An gently tugged her hand and pulled her onto his lap. The classroom was already empty. His fingers lightly pinched her earlobe as he whispered, “No thanks. With her, I’m just teasing an idiot. With you... it’s different.”

“So I’m special?” Su Yuejin caught the key point in his words and asked.

“If that’s how you want to understand it, I don’t mind.”

Lin An smiled helplessly and pinched her soft cheek twice. It felt nice. Su Yuejin carried that familiar faint fragrance on her. She turned her head slightly, then cupped Lin An’s face with both hands.

Lin An’s eyes were clean and clear. No matter how Su Yuejin looked at him, his gaze was always like this.

That was why she loved kissing him like this.

The classroom was empty anyway.

But after only a little more than ten seconds, Lin An seemed to hear footsteps near his ear. He wanted Su Yuejin to pull away first, but she was holding his neck, and he couldn’t speak. Then, one second later, someone coughed lightly.

Su Yuejin jumped in fright.

Luo Shuishui was standing at the classroom door, her smile gentle, her eyes bright.

Su Yuejin was flustered at first, but then, after a second thought, she immediately realized she had no reason to be flustered at all. She stayed seated on Lin An’s lap, looking all clingy, then looked at Luo Shuishui and asked, “What is it?”

“The rain got heavier outside. I was going to ask if you wanted me to drive Lin An home. I happened to bring the car today. But now it looks like I interrupted you two.”

There wasn’t a trace of jealousy in Luo Shuishui’s eyes. She was smiling gently instead.

“Then... carry on?” Luo Shuishui shrugged slightly, lifted her chin a little, and even reached back to help close the classroom door.

Lin An’s heartbeat finally started to settle back down. Su Yuejin gave two little hums, and who knew what she was so happy about.