Sunlight streamed through the glass, illuminating the uplifted cheeks of the young girl, her large, cat-like eyes filled with confusion and fear, staring directly at the boy.
Shen Mo suddenly met those big eyes and was momentarily stunned.
His rage froze inside him, and he slightly furrowed his brow, his eyes unwaveringly fixed on her face in a fierce gaze.
Familiar yet unfamiliar, unfamiliar yet familiar.
After studying her face, he then observed her clothes.
Clothes that Hua Jie had never worn, trousers she had never put on, shoes she had never worn.
Unfamiliar.
But those eyes, large and sparkling, with the corners slightly upturned, always seeming to carry a smile when they looked at someone.
And those thick eyelashes, the clear, distinct black and white of her eyes…
These details had constantly appeared before him over the past two months.
He had looked at them intently countless times, gazing at them as they widened with curiosity, watching them curve into crescents with joy…
“Um…” He slightly furrowed his brow, wanting to call out Hua Jie’s name.
He felt that this female classmate with little ponytails had Hua Jie’s eyes.
Yet his pride couldn’t bear the embarrassment of recognizing the wrong person, hesitating between two difficult choices.
In these years, he had never again felt this nervous, yet now…
“???” Hua Jie stared at him, her face full of question marks.
As classmates occasionally entered the classroom with their backpacks, they saw Shen Mo and Hua Jie intensely locking eyes.
After a moment, Hua Jie suddenly stood up, her expression revealing sudden realization, and exclaimed in astonishment:
“Shen Mo, you couldn’t be—”
Shen Mo’s gaze quickly swept over the scattered classmates in the room, then swiftly, like lightning, he covered her mouth and pushed her back down into her seat with a threatening glare.
Hua Jie hurriedly zipped the imaginary zipper on the back of his hand covering her mouth, signaling that her lips were sealed and she would not speak.
Only then did Shen Mo let go of his hand.
As his palm pulled back, he suddenly felt very clearly the elasticity of her lips.
It reminded him of the same sensation he had felt when his hand had pressed there before.
Coming back to his senses, he felt the damp warmth in the palm of his hand, where it had just been pressing against her soft, pouting lips.
“…,” His coffee-colored eyes slightly narrowed, he stepped over her legs and moved to his seat, sitting down neatly with his back to her, resting his chin on his hand and looking out the window, isolating Hua Jie and the entire class behind him.
He rubbed his palm, clenched it into a fist, feeling its warmth and wanting to retain that touch.
And moreover… why had Little Potato changed her hairstyle?
Changing her hairstyle was one thing, but why had she changed her clothes and shoes as well?
His brow furrowed tightly, his gaze darkening.
Hua Jie stared at the back of his head, blinked, and wiped her lips with the back of her hand.
She lowered her head to spread out the book in front of her, glanced at it, then suddenly turned her head and poked his arm with her finger, asking softly:
“Do you have intermittent amnesia?”
“Or… a facial recognition disorder?”
“…,” he turned his eyes back to glare at her.
Hua Jie quickly covered her mouth.
“Really? What’s that like? Does your brain fail to recognize? Do you see gibberish? Or do you see it, but can’t remember?”
“…,” He turned back sharply, his fist as big as a sandbag pressing down on her book, full of threatening intent.
“Really curious though…” she suddenly thought of how he often retorted to others with “Who are you?” It wasn’t arrogance?
He genuinely didn’t recognize them?
He often fought, becoming the school bully, was it really because of this?
Hua Jie felt her entire worldview was being overturned!
The world you see is not really as you perceive it!
Shen Mo, by his own power, had shocked Hua Jie into contemplating her life.
She then thought about what it would feel like not to recognize anyone—what kind of experience would that be?
Hua Jie imagined living in a world where everyone around her was a stranger, every day.
As if she were in a foreign land every day, walking alone.
Whether in moments of joy or pain, she could never find the warm atmosphere of a familiar environment.
She felt a bit of heartache.
She gently shook his sleeve, but he ignored her.
She shook it again, still he ignored her.
Leaning in closer, she noticed his face was still flushed, his eyes stiffly staring out the window, lost in thought.
So, she rested her chin on the desk next to his arm, whispering very softly, “Brother Shen Mo…”
“?!” Shen Mo suddenly turned his head, glaring at her face that had moved closer, and said in a low, fierce voice, “What did you call me?”
“Shen Mo.” She played dumb.
“No!” He accused.
She chuckled, poking the back of his hand.
Shen Mo pulled his hand back, still glaring at her with a look of accusation, his cheeks still flushed.
“This is heaven protecting you!” Seeing that he had finally turned to face her and was no longer awkwardly retreating into himself, Hua Jie dropped her previous whiny and coquettish demeanor, speaking earnestly.
“?”
“Think about it, you learn everything at a glance, never forgetting.”
“You can understand any book, well-read, and exceptionally intelligent.”
“You are the smartest, most wise person I’ve ever met!”
“He’s tall, handsome, even better looking than a big movie star, and has a head full of hair.”
“…” What’s with the head full of hair?
“He’s good at basketball, strong, and full of energy.”
“A true renaissance man! A top representative of genius!”
Hua Jie said this with her chest puffed out, her eyes wide and nodding to show she was serious.
“…” He pursed his lips, his gaze shifting back from elsewhere, landing on her cat-like eyes.
“Look at you!” she gestured up and down with her hand, “You have no flaws!”
And he’s loyal, attentive, and gentle—what a great guy!
“…” He arched an eyebrow nonchalantly, “Really?”
“Yes!” Hua Jie nodded vigorously.
“Being such a person, born between heaven and earth, isn’t it easy for the heavens to be jealous of a hero, jealous of beauty? Your dad didn’t give you a protective name like ‘Goudan’ or ‘Tushuan’, so heaven, wanting you to live a long life, had to give you some flaws.”
“Isn’t this for the balanced development of humanity, to ensure the ecological balance of nature?”
The girl spoke with utter nonsense but with a straight face.
“…” Shen Mo squinted his eyes, helplessly staring at her.
“Really!”
“Moreover, the heavens couldn’t bear to mar your handsome face with a birthmark, nor could they impair your sharp wit. After much deliberation, they had to give you a trivial, tiny flaw.”
Hua Jie said, extending her finger to show a tiny length of 1 millimeter.
“…” He just watched her.
Let’s continue, to see what else she can come up with.
The girl chuckled, propping her cheeks with her hands, her gaze suddenly softening.
“I was thinking before, maybe my desk mate is too perfect, so perfect that I even feel jealous. Like a god, awe-inspiring.”
“Now I know you… um, that…” Hua Jie gestured to her face, he didn’t want her to speak, so she had to manually indicate ‘face blindness’.
Then she continued very seriously:
“I suddenly feel you’re much more approachable.”
“…” Although he felt there was a bit of truth in what she said, he couldn’t help but blush.
It was incredible that she could say those things without showing any embarrassment.
“Aren’t you mad anymore?” Hua Jie poked his shoulder.
“I wasn’t mad to begin with.” Shen Mo’s gaze nonchalantly drifted elsewhere.
“Really?”
“Of course.”
“Then, since I’m so good-looking, please take a good look and remember me well.”
“…You should know how to be embarrassed, young lady!”
“So that later, when I change my hairstyle or clothes, you won’t be banging the table and scaring people again.” She patted her chest, pretending to be frightened.
“…” Shen Mo felt an itch in his hand and finally couldn’t resist; he flicked her forehead hard.
“Ah!” Hua Jie covered her head, glaring powerlessly.
Shen Mo smiled, “Learning from your tricks.”
Then he pulled out the book he had been reading recently, *One Hundred Years of Solitude*, and pretended to read.
Hua Jie smiled, withdrew her gaze, and straightened her book, preparing to start studying.
Her hand subconsciously touched her eyebrows and eyes—was her appearance really that hard to recognize?
Do everyone else’s eyes look this big? He still couldn’t remember, really…
“…” Shen Mo rubbed the book pages, his gaze unconsciously shifting back to Hua Jie.
He knew she said all those words, colorful flattery and jokes, all to help distract him and ease the awkwardness and other emotions.
The sunlight streamed in through the window, warming his outstretched arm.
It also illuminated the girl’s profile, her long eyelashes fluttering with each page read, her fair cheeks showing a hint of blush, and a light golden fuzz on her skin, making her look especially soft and pitiable.
His gaze then fell on her left hand pressing down on the pages, the light blue veins visible under her skin, appearing so fragile.
Her fingers were slender like scallions, the tips tinged with pink, and her nails small and round, very cute.
He then looked at his own hand, large, with distinct knuckles, his little finger longer than her index finger.
If he placed his hand over hers, he could completely envelop it.
He pursed his lips, then suddenly shifted his gaze outside the window, pursing his lips again and taking a deep breath, his index finger tapping on the desk in slight irritation.
Restlessness.
…
…
Since there was an exam on Wednesday, all teachers stopped introducing new content on Tuesday, focusing on review instead.
With the exams approaching, students under pressure tended to act out, which is why the dean of discipline was especially diligent in patrolling the school buildings these days, fearing some students might get into fights due to stress.
In Class 1-7, however, there were no fights. After all, Shen Mo was there to keep order. Anyone considering a fight had to think twice, wondering if they could withstand Shen Mo’s fists should he feel his status as the class tough was being challenged.
But besides fighting, other things were brewing.
As Hua Jie walked through the corridor to school that afternoon, she was pondering the mnemonic for the trigonometric functions—sine, cosine, tangent…
Suddenly, someone caught up with her from behind and walked alongside her.
Hua Jie turned her head, meeting Yu Tonglin’s somewhat nervous eyes.
“?” She raised an eyebrow, sensing he had something to say.
“Hua Jie!” He suddenly stopped in his tracks, facing her seriously.
“…” Hua Jie was startled; she had known this person for what felt like two lifetimes, had a crush on him in middle school, but had never seen him with this expression or attitude.
What’s up?
So serious…
With many students passing by around them, Yu Tonglin looked around, thinking Shen Mo might be in the class, and then decided to brace himself against the stares in the corridor.
“I like you!” he suddenly blurted out, then pulled out a bunch of flowers he had prepared earlier from his chest and held them out to Hua Jie.
He had run to the city center at noon to buy them, keeping them warm tucked inside his jacket.
These days, he had been thinking about Hua Jie.
He thought about how attentive she had been to him in middle school, about her gradually unfolding charm in high school, about her serious expression and graceful movements when leading exercises, about her focused and stylish demeanor when painting the wall, about how she looked yesterday in her white sweater…
He thought, if he didn’t speak up now, someone else might beat him to it.
He had heard that boys from other classes were planning to confess to Hua Jie, and he needed to be the first to do so.
“…” Hua Jie had never experienced anything like this in either of her lifetimes!
And the person confessing was Yu Tonglin?
The same Yu Tonglin from middle school whom she had secretly loved, who only saw her as a friend, yet happily enjoyed her attentiveness?
Surrounded by whispering voices, Hua Jie awkwardly scuffed her toes on the ground. With a quick thought and no time to deliberate, she snatched the flowers from Yu Tonglin. As he beamed with joy, she hummed softly in tune with his confession:
“I like you, you are my exclusive memory~~”
“?” Yu Tonglin raised an eyebrow in confusion.
Dodging the straightforward confession from Yu Tonglin, Hua Jie grabbed his sleeve and pulled him in another direction, quickly moving away from the onlookers.
The classmates immediately followed her lead, wondering, are they confessing, or is this just a playful act?
And what song was the girl humming just now? The melody was quite catchy.
As Yu Tonglin was being pulled away, everyone inadvertently started humming the tune she had hummed, shifting the focus away from the campus confession.
Yu Tonglin, pulled along by her, watched as she hummed a few lines, turning the ambiguous atmosphere of his confession into a patriotic sentiment, leaving him confused.
Looking at the bouquet she was holding, he wondered where she was taking him.