Zhou Sheng was reading a book.
This wasn't a particularly unusual sight; in fact, it was commonplace. But now was after school. Normally at this time, Zhou Sheng would either be on his way home or tutoring Lin Sitian. He certainly wouldn't be leaning against the classroom window, bathed in the fading sunlight, skimming through a book at breakneck speed.
One hand braced on the windowsill, his eyes paused only briefly on the summarized English points before drifting, almost imperceptibly, towards the basketball court.
At the edge of the court, a girl's figure was gilded by the last rays of the sun. Standing before her was another figure, tall and broad-shouldered.
A hundred meters and three stories away, Zhou Sheng couldn't hear a word they were saying. Oblique sunlight sliced through the window, carving the classroom into light and shadow. On Zhou Sheng's expressionless face, only the stark lines of the window frame were imprinted.
They seemed to be chatting easily; Lin Sitian's face showed no sign of reluctance.
Zhou Sheng withdrew his gaze impassively, refocusing on the book in his hands.
Soon, the school building was gradually swallowed by the sunset's afterglow.
There were staircases on both the east and west sides of the building. Class 1 was closest to the left staircase on the third floor.
"—So Saturday it is!"
The clear, bright voice rang out in the west stairwell before its owner appeared. The next second, a girl bounded lightly up the steps. Someone below seemed to say something. Having just reached the second floor, she leaned over the railing and called down, "—Got it! 10 AM!"
Then she continued upwards. Moments before, she'd distinctly heard footsteps descending, yet she saw no one on her way to the third floor. When she turned into Class 1, she was greeted only by an empty classroom.
Lin Sitian's steps faltered.
"Said he wouldn't wait, and he really didn't," she muttered to herself with a self-deprecating smile before walking to her seat to pack up.
A workbook lay conspicuously on her desk – the one Zhou Sheng used to assign her problems, deliberately placed where she couldn't miss it.
Lin Sitian's heart gave a sudden lurch. Eagerly, she flipped to the latest page, but what greeted her wasn't a note. Instead, she found neatly written problems, each carefully annotated with solution hints and corresponding key concepts.
Her hopeful excitement was doused with cold water. Lin Sitian slumped into her seat, resting her chin on the desk. Annoyed, she blew a puff of air directly at the pages, a childish form of displaced frustration.
See? That guy has no heart. All he cares about is studying.
But after staring at the fluttering pages for only a moment, she smoothed them out carefully and tucked the book back into her bag—after all, Zhou Sheng had prepared these problems for her.
Reaching the school gate, Lin Sitian stopped abruptly.
To the left was the way home; to the right, the bus stop. At this time every day, Zhou Sheng would be here, saying "See you tomorrow." In those moments, the light was always perfect, the sky dimming into twilight, brushed with gold and blue. He'd look at her with a slight curve to his lips, his spring uniform softened by the gentle evening. Everything felt just right.
Now she was alone, and it felt strangely unfamiliar.
It must just be unfamiliarity, she told herself. I definitely don't want to be the one to like Zhou Sheng first. Because he has no interest in dating.
Monday morning, Lin Sitian was running late. She dashed towards the school gate, a piece of bread clamped between her teeth, eating as she ran. But the retractable gate snapped shut with ruthless finality just fifteen seconds before she reached it.
The strains of The Athletes' March were already echoing across the campus. Lin Sitian was marked down for tardiness. When she rejoined her class formation for the flag-raising ceremony, she had to stand at the very back.
Monday mornings always featured a speech under the national flag. Today's speaker was special. The announcement over the PA system declared it was Zhou Sheng, the student representative from the sophomore year.
Lin Sitian couldn't recall what the speech was about. All she heard was the hushed whispering from the students ahead of her.
"Is that Zhou Sheng? I got such a shock this morning."
"Yeah, I never realized he was so handsome."
Handsome? Lin Sitian didn't get it. Before, Zhou Sheng's name had never been associated with looks among their peers. No one paid attention to his face because, compared to his face, Zhou Sheng's brain was truly on another level. And he seemed to inhabit a different dimension because of it.
Lin Sitian rose on tiptoe, but the line was too long, the podium too far. She still couldn't see him.
Back in the classroom, Zhou Sheng hadn't returned yet, probably called away by a teacher. Lin Sitian pulled out the workbook of problems Zhou Sheng had assigned her over the weekend. She'd just checked a few answers when a sudden buzz of hushed conversations erupted near her seat. She turned to see a tall, lean-limbed boy with an aloof expression slide into the seat beside her.
Once again, she saw those phoenix eyes, now unveiled and reflected clearly in her pupils.
It was Zhou Sheng. But his glasses were gone.
"Did you lose your glasses?" Lin Sitian leaned closer to ask.
The teacher hadn't arrived yet. Students were still murmuring amongst themselves.
Zhou Sheng tidied the materials the teacher had given him, pulling out the textbook for this class from his bag. "Got contacts," he stated calmly.
"Huh? Why?" Lin Sitian pressed.
Zhou Sheng didn't reply.
Honestly, he didn't know why either. Zhou Sheng had been severely nearsighted since childhood; those glasses had been with him for at least five years. Wearing contacts was genuinely uncomfortable; his eyes had been dry and red all weekend. Even his mother didn't understand, asking why he was putting himself through this. But the Zhou household was open-minded; their son could decide for himself what he wanted to do. When he'd come home Friday suddenly insisting on contacts, they'd taken him to get fitted on Saturday. Efficient.
The arrival of their Chinese teacher saved Zhou Sheng; the topic died abruptly.
During breaks, girls came by under the guise of curiosity to chat with Zhou Sheng, restoring the lively atmosphere near his seat. Only Lin Sitian seemed restless, disappearing outside the moment class ended. The two of them barely exchanged a word all day.
During one break, that Meng Qiaoyu appeared again, chatting with Lin Sitian in the hallway. When Zhou Sheng passed them on his way to the restroom, Meng Qiaoyu even shot him a glance.
Finally, the school day ended. Zhou Sheng began packing up.
He packed slowly. Lin Sitian, seated beside him, was still working on the problems he'd assigned that day. Because she'd kept disappearing, she hadn't had time to finish.
Once again, they were the only two left in the classroom.
"Give it to me tomorrow," Zhou Sheng said, shoving the last book into his bag and zipping it up.
Just as he was about to leave, a hand suddenly grabbed his.
"Aren't you tutoring me today?" Lin Sitian looked up, her expression tinged with an unreadable hurt.
Zhou Sheng froze. "…Do you still want it?"
"What do you mean, 'still want it'?" Lin Sitian was confused.
"For the problems… I can explain them during breaks from now on. If only the two of us stay behind after school… your boyfriend might not like it." The word "boyfriend" came out mumbled, lacking his usual clarity.
Lin Sitian frowned, her mouth falling slightly open. "What 'boyfriend'?"
"…The one from Class 8?"
Lin Sitian thought for a second. "Meng Qiaoyu?"
Zhou Sheng's heart clenched. He turned his head away. "Mhm."
Lin Sitian's face flushed crimson instantly. She shoved him hard. "Are you crazy? When did he become my boyfriend?!"
Zhou Sheng stumbled back a couple of steps, catching himself on a desk. His heart started pounding wildly. He locked eyes with her. "He's not?"
"Of course not!" Lin Sitian glared at him, furious. "Don't go pairing people off randomly! How did he suddenly become my 'boyfriend'?"
"Weren't you going out with him Saturday…"
"Who went out with him Saturday?!"
"Saturday morning at ten?"
Lin Sitian's frown deepened. "That was my grandma! Meng Qiaoyu's family runs a traditional medicine clinic. My grandma's been seeing them. I was just helping her make an appointment for acupuncture this weekend—"
"But that letter… wasn't it a love letter?"
Lin Sitian stared blankly for two seconds before mumbling, "…It was a love letter."
Zhou Sheng didn't understand. But hearing her confirm it sent his heart plummeting, leaving him feeling hollow and misplaced.
"I'd been to their clinic a few times with my grandma before. He said that's when he started liking me, so he tried confessing that day."
Zhou Sheng listened intently, so focused he didn't even notice he'd half-sat onto the edge of a desk.
Lin Sitian touched her hair, her cheeks still flushed. "He's a nice guy, but I don't feel that way about him. So I turned him down."
Suddenly, Zhou Sheng thought of himself.
—Well, to her, I suppose I'm also a 'nice guy'.
The phrase "I don't feel that way about him" seemed to echo back at him personally.
"But… how did you know we arranged to meet Saturday at ten?" Lin Sitian suddenly caught on, narrowing her eyes.
Zhou Sheng stiffened, his jaw tightening. "I… just heard you."
"You eavesdropped on us?"
"I didn't eavesdrop," Zhou Sheng defended himself quickly. "You shouted it loud enough for anyone to hear!"
Lin Sitian couldn't be bothered to recall when she'd supposedly shouted. The important thing was cleared up. She only cared about one thing now—
"So… will you still tutor me?"
Zhou Sheng's bag was already packed. Her question, combined with his earlier misunderstanding, made his expression awkward.
He didn't want to be just a "good guy."
"Tomorrow," he said. At least not today.
Studying was better. Studying was simple. No convoluted feelings. He wanted to go back and do problems.
"Can't it be today?"
The hand holding his hadn't let go. Zhou Sheng glanced down at it, his thoughts unreadable.
Her fingertips were cool, their touch intensely present. Zhou Sheng's fingers were warmer. Her grasp sent his blood racing.
"Today… you wouldn't be able to focus anyway," he said. "If you really wanted to, you wouldn't have been so restless all day."
He'd thought his transformation today might make a difference. Just not this kind of difference. But if Lin Sitian wasn't dating anyone, why was her attitude different? The only change between them was probably… him taking off those glasses.
He remembered her saying "It looks better without them." Yet now that he wasn't wearing them, she didn't seem to think so after all.
His eyes felt uncomfortable. Contacts really weren't for him.
The classroom light dimmed again. It had been sunny all morning, but now a dark cloud rolled in, threatening rain.
Lin Sitian bit her lip. "It has nothing to do with the problems."
"I know," Zhou Sheng said. "You don't like how I am now."
"I… Was I that obvious?"
Zhou Sheng nodded, his expression utterly detached in that moment. "I'm going home."
"Don't go!" Lin Sitian tightened her grip. "Fine! Yes, I don't like you wearing contacts!"
Even though he'd known the answer all along, hearing it confirmed from her lips still stung.
Problems. He wanted to go back and do problems.
Lin Sitian pulled him down sharply. Standing face to face, hands clasped, one bending down, the other leaning against the wall, they were confined within the small space in front of her desk.
"It was supposed to be just for me to see."
The air before the rain was heavy, oppressive. The classroom was silent, motes of dust drifting between them.
"Zhou Sheng without glasses… that was my reward."
—Belonging only to me. None of them would have noticed.
Zhou Sheng was stunned.
"But what about now? They didn't do anything. Why do they get the reward too?" Anxiety and resentment colored Lin Sitian's flushed cheeks. "It's really upsetting."
He had no idea how hard she'd worked.
She wasn't naturally brilliant. So she had to spend twice the time just to get a little closer to him.
He understood nothing. Because he didn't care. He'd even misunderstood her about a boyfriend, thinking she needed to consider his feelings.
Suddenly, she felt like the Little Mermaid, trading her voice for legs, only for her ending to be a vanishing wisp of foam.
The faint sound of rain hitting leaves filtered in. It had started raining outside.
"…Lin Sitian." Zhou Sheng's throat felt parched as he called her name softly.
"I didn't finish the problems today…" Lin Sitian squeezed his hand, her nose stinging. Tears welled in her eyes, as damp as the weather outside, misted with moisture. She struggled for a long moment before finally breaking into helpless sobs. "I-Is… is it… that I… won't get any more rewards…?"
"No." Zhou Sheng raised his left hand, his thumb brushing the corner of her eye.
"I'm sorry… I didn't… didn't finish the problems… You specially… specially found them for me…"
—So annoying. The tears wouldn't stop.
—It has nothing to do with the problems at all.
Zhou Sheng stared fixedly at her face. The sky had darkened to deep grey, and Lin Sitian's features were immersed in shadow. But her eyes were bright. He could see the tear clinging to her lashes.
It was about to fall.
His thumb brushed again and again. At a loss, he pressed his lips together once more, swallowing a shaky breath. "It's okay, Lin Sitian," he whispered.
"…It's okay."
Those problems never cried. They never made his heart ache.
But she did.
The rain poured down outside, drumming loudly against the eaves.
"Don't cry."
"Lin Sitian."
"…Stop crying."
"It is your reward."
—And it belongs only to you.