Faced with the girl who’d suddenly appeared, Bai Chen froze for a moment. A question surfaced in his mind before he could stop it: Was there someone like her in our class?

In the month since school started, Bai Chen had often stood out on the court, and plenty of girls in his class had struck up conversations with him. But this was the first time he’d seen her.

Her long black hair fell neatly down her back. Her uniform didn’t fit quite right, and a pair of black tights showed beneath her skirt, framing her long, slender legs.

Most striking of all were her eyes.

Bai Chen liked eyes with no highlights. He wasn’t just trying to convince himself of that. The girl in front of him had eyes as still and dark as the deep sea, with not a glimmer of light piercing that endless black. Perhaps they’d once shone like pearls, but now every trace of their luster was gone, leaving only emptiness and indifference.

Intriguing.

Coming back to himself, Bai Chen suddenly recognized her face. “You’re the girl from last Friday…”

“Mo Qiu.”

“Oh, right. Mo Qiu. So we’re classmates. What a coincidence.” Bai Chen scratched his head and looked away, only for Lao Zhu to tug at his collar.

“You said you were going to work! And you were hiding this from me?”

“What are you talking about? I’ve only met her once.”

Who knew whether Lao Zhu believed him or not? Either way, he gave Bai Chen a thumbs-up and nodded encouragingly.

Bai Chen glared at him, then turned back to Mo Qiu.

“Did you need something?”

If she was trying to hit on him, he’d definitely turn her down. Even if Mo Qiu was cute and had the kind of unlit eyes he liked.

“It’s about what happened last Friday.”

“That? It’s over and done with. Don’t keep worrying about it…”

Before he could finish, the girl suddenly bent down and knelt on both knees, apparently unconcerned about getting her tights and skirt dirty. She raised both hands, holding out a heart-shaped lunch box.

“This is to thank you. I hope you’ll accept it.”

It was still break time, and her gesture startled Bai Chen so badly he nearly fell out of his chair. Two students happened to pass by in the aisle, saw what was happening, and quietly took another route.

Lao Zhu’s eyes widened too. He blinked at the pink lunch box, then suddenly burst out laughing.

“Uh, I just remembered I’ve got something urgent to take care of. You two talk!”

With that, he dashed out of the classroom, leaving Bai Chen standing there in a daze.

Though her head was bowed, Mo Qiu could still sense how surprised Bai Chen was. This had worked even better than she’d expected. So Bai Chen hadn’t been lying when he said he liked girls who took the initiative.

She’d caused a little commotion, but everything was going according to plan.

Hurry up and be moved. Accept the lunch with a smile.

As Mo Qiu rehearsed the next step of her plan in her mind, Bai Chen suddenly grabbed her wrist and pulled her to her feet.

Bai Chen’s face rushed closer in her field of vision. Mo Qiu even held her breath, barely managing to suppress the urge to defend herself.

“Let’s talk outside.”

Bai Chen’s hand was warm and firm, giving Mo Qiu no chance to resist. He led her out of the classroom and didn’t stop until they reached the turn by the stairs.

“This should be far enough.” Bai Chen wasn’t even running that fast, yet he was out of breath.

It was quiet here, a good spot. Mo Qiu thought to herself, lowering her gaze to the wrist he was still holding.

Bai Chen quickly let go. “Oh, sorry. Did I scare you?”

Mo Qiu shook her head and held out the lunch box while standing.

Bai Chen asked quietly, “This isn’t some kind of prank, is it?”

“It’s not a prank.”

“Then if someone’s threatening you, blink.”

Mo Qiu didn’t blink. Her doll-like face showed no emotion at all, making Bai Chen so uncomfortable he could barely stand it.

“It’s not a prank, and no one’s threatening me.”

“Really?” Bai Chen raised an eyebrow.

“Really.” Mo Qiu nodded.

So this really could happen… Bai Chen sighed and scratched his head. Turns out, even the things you only imagined could become real.

He’d have to tell his coworkers all about it when he got back.

For now, he answered, “No. I can’t accept it.”

“…Why?”

Had he caught a flicker of surprise on her face? Bai Chen wondered as he met her gaze.

“Listen, Mo. I did help you, but you thanked me. That settled things between us last Friday. You don’t need to go this far or make a scene like this.”

He pointed down. When Mo Qiu had knelt, dust had rubbed onto the knees of her black tights.

Bai Chen pulled a partly used pack of tissues from his pocket and handed it to her.

“Wipe them off.”

He turned to leave, but this time Mo Qiu grabbed his wrist.

“Wait. Could you wipe them off for me?”

“Huh?” Bai Chen stared at her, his gaze shifting between her tights and her face. “Are you serious?”

“I’m serious.”

Bai Chen gave up trying to read her thoughts from her expression. She’d worn the same look from beginning to end; there was nothing to figure out.

If he refused, she’d probably keep pestering him, so Bai Chen gave in.

When he crouched down to look, he could make out the faint outline of her knees beneath the black tights. He focused on carefully wiping away the dust.

Bai Chen swallowed. His movements were gentle, and his heart was racing.

Meanwhile, Mo Qiu was lost in her own thoughts.

Why had he refused?

That didn’t make sense. I was so sincere, so forward… This isn’t how the plan was supposed to go.

Had something gone wrong? Or had I not done enough?

She recalled Bai Chen’s expression when he turned her down. He’d looked so serious, as if he were deliberately keeping his distance.

I see. I haven’t shown him enough sincerity? Playing hard to get… I didn’t know you were into that.

Now that Mo Qiu knew what the problem was, she could think of a solution. While Bai Chen wiped the dust from her knees, she set the lunch box on the railing and tried to think of another way to prove how sincere she was.

This should do it.

Bai Chen looked over the cleaned black tights and nodded with satisfaction. Now they were truly even.

“Mo, you…”

Bai Chen had just stood up when the scene in front of him made his heart stop.

Mo Qiu had changed her appearance in a way that was far too revealing for school. Bai Chen froze, shocked by how brazenly she was trying to get him to accept her gift.

Mo Qiu picked up the lunch box again and bowed to him. “Please accept my lunch.”

She held the lunch box out with both hands, her posture making the gesture even more awkward.

“Mo, what are you doing?”

“Showing you how sincere I am. I hope you’ll like it.”

The bento box lifted the White Rabbits up, and Bai Chen could even hear their cries of longing for freedom, worrying that they would leap completely out of her clothes at any moment.

“Don’t you like it?” she asked softly.

“…”

Bai Chen didn’t know how to answer. He could only swallow. He was a perfectly healthy young man, after all, even if his better judgment was telling him to say no.

The girl with the deep-sea, lifeless eyes was making an outrageously bold attempt to win him over, all without changing her expression.

Had the heavens decided to reward him for all the good deeds he’d done? Bai Chen nearly gave in. She was being so sincere—maybe accepting the lunch wouldn’t be so bad.

Just as Bai Chen raised his hand, a few memories flashed through his mind.

A honey trap. A monster. A bunch of delinquents who’d gotten into trouble. The girl’s unlit eyes suddenly seemed cold and ominous.

At the same time, the bell rang. When Bai Chen came back to himself, sweat had broken out across his back.

Students hurried past. He quickly told Mo Qiu to fix her uniform, then spoke firmly.

“I’m sorry, but I still can’t accept it.”

He fled in a panic, leaving Mo Qiu staring blankly after him. Students rushing back to class ran past her, the breeze making her uniform skirt sway slightly.

She’d actually failed.

Mo Qiu couldn’t believe it. For a moment, her thoughts were in disarray.

A beautiful girl had knelt to offer him lunch and then gone to outrageous lengths to persuade him, and he still turned her down?! It made no sense. What was going on in his head? No normal person would refuse. What was he pretending to be, some kind of saint?

She soon regained her composure.

The first step of her plan had already hit Mo Qiu like a blow to the head, forcing her to face reality.

She lowered her eyes to the lunch box in her hands and pressed her lips together slightly.

Just you wait, Bai Chen. You can’t get away from me.

Today, whether you want it or not, you’re accepting this lunch!

After that little incident, Bai Chen’s school life returned to normal. But from that moment on, he started noticing that there was such an unusual classmate sitting in the corner.

During class, he’d glance toward Mo Qiu from time to time. Sometimes she looked down; sometimes she watched the board. Unless the whole class had to speak, as during a group reading, Bai Chen rarely saw her say a word.

She was quiet and expressionless, and her eyes had no highlights. Even though she was pretty, sitting in that corner meant she naturally faded into the background, unnoticed by almost everyone.

Bai Chen stayed a little on edge through the rest of class, worried she might come after him again. He didn’t relax until lunch break.

As soon as class ended, he grabbed Lao Zhu and went to the office to ask a question.

“She hasn’t come looking for you again. Did you two fall out?” Lao Zhu asked.

“What do you mean, fall out? I barely know her.”

“She even brought you lunch. My girlfriend’s never given me a treat like that.”

Speaking of that treat reminded Bai Chen of the awkward scene, and his expression turned uneasy.

“Old Bai, I just don’t get you. Why turn down every girl who comes right to you?”

“I guess I’m just not interested.”

That was a lie. Bai Chen couldn’t stop thinking about all the bad possibilities. He hoped it was only his imagination.

“I don’t buy it. The guys who say they’re not interested in girls are usually perverts.”

“Am I the only one who thinks that’s just you?”

After chatting with Lao Zhu and asking his question in the office, Bai Chen parted ways with him and headed back to the classroom alone.

He’d finally solved a math problem that had been bothering him for days, and it left him feeling much better. His appetite had picked up, too.

Thinking about the ingredients he’d carefully prepared that morning, he wondered what to eat first: the sausage or the meatballs?

As he entered the classroom, he accidentally bumped into another student.

“Watch where you’re going!”

Bai Chen didn’t make a fuss. He apologized and moved on. He couldn’t be bothered getting tangled up with the class’s notorious delinquents.

When he returned to his seat, Bai Chen suddenly froze.

The familiar lunch box lay on the floor. The dishes that should’ve been waiting for his triumphant return were scattered everywhere, reduced to a real mess.

Several careless footprints marked the food, stinging his eyes.