As expected, I couldn’t fall asleep.
Who could sleep like this… There’s someone lying in my arms.
It’s not like Liuyin is tossing and turning or snoring.
It’s just… I’ve never been this close to a girl before.
Well, that’s not exactly true—actually, I’ve been even closer than this.
—
Back when Yezhe was still in school, he wasn’t some wallflower or just a regular guy.
On the contrary, he was pretty popular in the class.
As for why he wasn’t extremely popular, it was simply because he had a bit of a sharp tongue.
He was always happy to help others, but he liked to throw in a sarcastic jab while doing it.
He was a loyal friend, but always found ways to tease them.
Honestly, if those things hadn’t happened at home, Yezhe would’ve been just like any other high school boy—studying hard, enjoying youth, moving on into society.
Of course, along the way, he met all kinds of people.
Including her.
Yezhe had had plenty of seatmates, but never before had he met a seatmate he hadn’t exchanged a single word with in an entire week.
He’d thought about making a sarcastic comment to break the ice, but that didn’t seem polite to the girl beside him.
So, the chatterbox in him had to suffer in silence.
But, you know, things can always take a turn, especially when it comes to such small matters as talking to each other.
One day during lunch, Yezhe’s seatmate was called to the office.
It wasn’t anything big—the Teacher just wanted to ask about her grades and usual performance.
But for the girl, it was different.
Everyone knows how sickening high school life can be, especially in senior year.
The invisible pressure had already overwhelmed her long ago.
It’s just that no one knew.
Day after day of hard work, year after year of studying—she was fed up with this life.
No matter how hard she tried, she could never catch up to those ahead.
She couldn’t even surpass Yezhe, the slacker sitting next to her, let alone the top Student!
In the end, she returned to the Classroom without a word and sat down in her seat.
She couldn’t take it anymore. Looking up, the Classroom was as lifeless as ever.
That slacker beside her was still secretly goofing off.
But she just couldn’t take it anymore.
Suddenly, she pulled out her usual Paper Knife from her backpack.
She really couldn’t take it anymore.
She closed her eyes and stabbed it hard into her arm.
There wasn’t the sharp pain she’d expected, but blood did flow out.
But it was Yezhe’s blood.
“Tss… Damn, what are you doing?!”
The burning pain made Yezhe’s face twist in agony.
“Come on, what’s gotten into you?! Ah, damn, that really hurts!”
Actually, Yezhe had noticed something was off about his seatmate as soon as Self-study began.
He just hadn’t expected her to go this far!
He’d wanted to grab her hand, but she moved so fast he ended up grabbing the blade as well.
“Let go…”
“Let go, let go, let go, let go, let go!!!”
He yelled at the top of his lungs in the Classroom, not just Yezhe—the whole class was startled.
“It’s fine, it’s fine! There’s just a lot of pressure before the Final Exam, and I accidentally upset her.”
“Sorry, everyone, nothing to see here, move along…”
Thinking quickly, Yezhe chose not to make a scene.
Though he still drew the attention of the Class Monitor.
Since the Teacher wasn’t supervising the Self-study, the responsibility for handling the situation naturally fell to the Class Monitor.
Luckily, the desk hid everything, so none of the Students in the Classroom saw the knife or Yezhe’s bleeding hand.
But if the Class Monitor came over, things would be different…
“Yezhe, what are you doing not studying during Self-study?!”
She stormed down.
“If you keep this up, I’ll have to repor—”
“Blood!”
Clearly, the Class Monitor was also shocked by what she saw.
“Shh!!”
“Don’t make such a fuss!”
Seeing this, the Class Monitor was at a loss.
“But… you’re bleeding a lot.”
“You can see that, right? If you can see it, then grab me some tissues!”
The commotion had almost died down thanks to Yezhe’s explanation, but the Class Monitor’s reaction stirred things up again.
At this point, Yezhe could only raise his voice deliberately.
“Even if you’re angry, there’s no need to stab someone with a Red Pen Refill! I tried to use force, and it snapped. Now look, ink leaked everywhere, and the Class Monitor’s mistaking it all for blood.”
“Class Monitor, just don’t spread this around, okay? If this gets out, she’ll definitely have to call her Parent.”
Yezhe lowered his voice as much as he could.
“But this is pretty serious…”
“Oh come on, I’m begging you, do you really want to make things worse?”
“The Final Exam is just around the corner. We can’t let this affect her by calling her Parent, right?”
“But, this…”
“Please, I’m begging you, let’s just leave it at that, or my seatmate’s going to be so shaken she’ll jump out the window.”
Even Yezhe thought this excuse was a bit forced, but the Class Monitor still agreed.
“By the way, could you lend me some clean tissues? Thanks!”
Enduring the pain, Yezhe managed a strained smile.
For the time being, they’d kept things under wraps in the class.
Thankfully, no one in the last row saw the whole thing…
He hurriedly grabbed some tissues and wrapped up his hand haphazardly.
“Seriously, what’s wrong with you… How could you be so desperate?”
Ignoring Yezhe, the girl just sobbed and sobbed.
The farce was finally over.
After crying for a while, she went back to furiously scribbling in her notebook—though Yezhe’s left hand was left worse for wear.
And so, another week passed.
The cut wasn’t very deep, so Yezhe just disinfected it himself and didn’t go to the Hospital.
To avoid drawing attention, Yezhe didn’t use Gauze, but instead went through almost half a box of Band-Aids to cover the wound.
At least this way, the Teacher wouldn’t notice during class.
And as for Yezhe’s seatmate?
She kept studying every day, looking as lifeless as ever, like nothing had happened.
……
Another night of Self-study, Yezhe was, as usual, playing around at his desk.
Suddenly, a Paper Note was tossed over from beside him.
Honestly, that was a rare thing—almost a collector’s item.
His usually silent seatmate actually passed him a Paper Note today.
“Wait for me at the School Gate. If you don’t wait, throw this away. If you do wait, throw it back.”
What kind of trick was she playing this time?
Oh well, guess I’ll wait and see.
……
So… where is she?
Everyone else is almost gone, and I was going to head back to play some Game, but my seatmate is nowhere to be seen.
Five more minutes of waiting.
…………………
No, I can’t wait anymore, I really have to go home.
If I’m late, my parents will worry.
Just as he was about to leave, suddenly, a cold voice called out from behind.
“Stop.”
Yezhe recognized it as his seatmate’s voice.
But… how could she sound so utterly emotionless…
Before Yezhe could even turn around, his seatmate grabbed his backpack in a death grip and, with strength that seemed almost impossible, dragged him into a nearby alley.
Now, the situation was: Yezhe was pinned against the wall by a girl a whole head shorter than him.
“Hey, come on, you’re not really planning to chop me up, are you? I haven’t done anything to you, okay? If you’ve got something to say, let’s talk it out…”
Contrary to Yezhe’s expectations—in fact, contrary to anyone’s expectations—
The girl, who wasn’t even that close to him, suddenly kissed him fiercely, faster than lightning.
And it wasn’t just any kiss.
It was dizzying, suffocating, as if drowning under the sea, hard to believe.
Such a bold move made Yezhe question whether this was even the same girl who sat next to him.
He did try to push her away, but his body wouldn’t listen, he just couldn’t use any strength.
Seeing Yezhe try to push her away, the girl simply went all in, wrapping her arms around Yezhe’s neck.
Like a viper seizing its prey, in a blur of motion, she claimed every inch of him.
But she wasn’t satisfied—even took things a step further.
As soft as spun sugar, as wild as a beast tearing into a meal.
Only when both were gasping for breath did they finally part.
In the moonlight, fine strands still shimmered between them.
“What are you—”
Just as he tried to speak, his seatmate sealed his lips again.
That’s it, his mind went completely blank…