Being seat partners changed things.
Not suddenly.
Not loudly.
But slowly, in ways XinYue didn't expect.
They started talking—not about feelings, not about rumours. About notes. Homework. Teachers who talked too much. Small, normal things. The kind of things friends talk about when they're trying not to think about anything else.
Li Hanyan explained concepts without being asked. XinYue teased him when he overcomplicated things. Sometimes they argued softly over answers, sometimes they laughed before realizing they were laughing.
It felt… easy.
Too easy.
That's when it started to crack.
During lunch break, a group of students passed by their desk. One of the girls glanced at XinYue and said, loud enough to be heard,
"So this is where she sits now."
Another smirked.
"Upgrading fast."
XinYue stiffened but said nothing.
Li Hanyan did.
He stood up so abruptly his chair scraped loudly against the floor.
"What's your problem?" he said.
The room went quiet.
Everyone stared.
XinYue looked up at him, startled.
The girls laughed nervously.
"Relax, we were joking."
"No, you weren't," Li Hanyan said, voice sharp. "And keep her name out of your mouth."
Silence.
He realized it then—how loud he was, how exposed. His hands were clenched. His heartbeat was everywhere.
Too much.
XinYue touched his sleeve lightly.
"It's fine," she whispered. "Let it go."
That stopped him.
He looked at her. Really looked.
Then he sat back down, breathing hard, eyes avoiding everyone.
After a moment, he muttered, "Sorry. I didn't mean to—"
"It's okay," XinYue said quickly. "Thanks."
They didn't talk for the rest of the break.
But something had changed.
Later, during class, XinYue slid a small note toward him.
You didn't have to do that.
He wrote back without looking at her.
I know.
Another pause.
Then—
But I wanted to.
She read it twice.
This wasn't romance.
Not yet.
It was something steadier. Something quieter.
Friendship built on understanding. On showing up. On losing control once—and choosing to stay anyway.
And XinYue realized something important.
If Li Hanyan could lose control for her without meaning to…
then this story wasn't simple anymore.
Not for either of them.