Sunday morning sunlight carried a soft warmth. Lin Chen arrived at the library a full half-hour early. Moving with practiced ease, he walked straight to their usual window-side seat. From his bag, he carefully placed a carton of strawberry milk on the corner of the desk—room temperature, so Su Wanqing's stomach wouldn't get upset. Then he pulled out a brand-new notebook, setting it beside the milk.
On the inside cover, written in red pen, were the words: "Error Notebook Template (For Lin Chen & Su Wanqing)"—with a goofy lopsided smiley face he'd doodled, the grin tilted way up on purpose.
After that, he opened his math textbook to preview the next chapter, though his fingers kept absentmindedly rubbing the page edges. He knew Su Wanqing had been hurt by her mother's words yesterday, and he hoped these little gestures would ease the sting.
"Lin Chen!"
Her bright voice rang out not long after. Su Wanqing hurried in with her pink backpack bouncing, quick steps carrying her straight toward him. Her eyes instantly lit up like stars when she spotted the milk and notebook on the desk. "This… this is for me?"
"Mm. I remembered you always pick strawberry snacks, so I chose that. And the notebook—see, I divided it into three sections: left for the mistake, middle for the reason, right for the correct solution. We'll both use it. It'll save us a ton of time."
Su Wanqing picked it up gently, her fingertips brushing over the writing. A blush crept onto her cheeks as she whispered, "Thank you, Lin Chen. You really think of everything." Twisting open the milk, she took a sip. The sweet strawberry flavor spread across her tongue and through her chest, melting away most of yesterday's bitterness.
They sat down and dove straight into review. Lin Chen handed her his organized collection of function problems, pointing at one with patience. "See this composite derivative? Last time, you skipped a step in the chain rule, so the whole thing went off. This time, break it down—outer derivative first, then multiply by the inner. No mistakes that way."
Su Wanqing leaned closer, listening intently. Whenever she hit a snag, she asked right away, and soon their thoughts fell perfectly in sync.
Midway through, her gaze drifted out the window at falling sycamore leaves, and her voice dropped. "Yesterday my mom called the homeroom teacher… she wants them to separate our seats." Her eyes reddened as she added softly, "I explained we're just studying together, but she wouldn't believe me. She even said our families are too different, that we're not suited at all."
Lin Chen set down his pen, leaning forward to meet her gaze with unwavering eyes. His voice rang with resolve. "Don't worry. I'll just make myself better. I'll study hard, get into the best university, keep building up the stall business, and find more ways to make money. I'll prove I can protect you—and show your mom I can give you happiness. She'll see and approve."
Su Wanqing's head shot up, her eyes crashing into his determined stare. Warmth surged through her chest, nearly spilling out as tears. She nodded fiercely, a smile slowly breaking through. "I believe you! We'll work hard together. Next monthly exam, let's both break into the top ten. We'll prove to her with our grades that studying together only makes us better!"
"Deal! Pinky promise!" Lin Chen hooked his little finger out.
She laughed and hooked hers around his. Sunlight streamed through the window, gilding their joined hands in warm gold, as if sealing their promise.
With that pact between them, studying became even more charged with energy. Lin Chen drilled her on formula memory tricks, while Su Wanqing helped him refine tricky Chinese translations and idioms. When they clashed on methods, they'd whisper-argue a bit before dissolving into laughter, harmony quickly restored.
By noon, as the library prepared to close, Lin Chen glanced at the time. "Let's grab lunch. In the afternoon, we'll focus on English reading. You've been losing too many points there."
She nodded right away. Packing her things, she carefully tucked both of their error notebooks together, placing them securely in her bag.
On their way past the school gate shop, Lin Chen suddenly grabbed her wrist. "Hold up." He darted inside and came out with two strawberry ice creams. Handing one to her, he said with a grin, "Reward for our secret pact. From now on, every time we hit a small goal, we'll celebrate with one."
Sitting side by side on a bench, they ate their ice creams and chatted.
"My mom really isn't bad," Su Wanqing murmured around her spoon. "She's just stubborn. Once she sees our scores, she'll change her mind."
"I know she wants the best for you," Lin Chen said gently. "I'll use actions to prove myself. I won't let her down."
The afternoon flew by with high-efficiency study. Before long, the library announced closing time. Lin Chen walked her home. Under the lamplight at her community gate, Su Wanqing whispered, "Tomorrow morning, let's walk to school together? I'll wait for you at the gate."
Lin Chen smiled wide. "Deal. I'll be early—won't be late!"
She giggled, then ran toward the building, turning back to wave before disappearing into the stairwell. Lin Chen watched her go, heart brimming with anticipation. Together, they could conquer anything.
But neither of them knew—at that very moment, Zhao Kai was crouched in a shadowy corner of the schoolyard with Zhou Tao and Chen Hao. In his hand was the sports meet schedule. He jabbed at the 1500-meter event with a finger, his voice dripping venom.
"Next week, Lin Chen's running this. You two make sure that during the race, he 'accidentally' takes a hard hit. Best case, he eats dirt and withdraws injured."
Zhou Tao immediately nodded. Chen Hao hesitated, mumbling, "But if he really gets hurt… won't the teachers notice?"
"What's there to be scared of? Just say it was an accident in the run." Zhao Kai's glare was icy. "If you don't want to do it, then be ready to stay in Lin Chen's shadow forever."
Chen Hao clenched his jaw and finally nodded. Zhao Kai smirked, satisfied, eyes gleaming with cruelty. In his mind, he could already see Lin Chen sprawled on the track, humiliated, proving to Su Wanqing once and for all that he was nothing.