Liang Meiyu returned to school the next day, feeling slightly better and completely nervous. The moment she stepped into the classroom, she felt a dozen eyes turn to her.
And one particular gaze she tried very hard not to meet—but could feel anyway.
Zhao Yichen was already in his seat, lazily spinning his pen between his fingers, pretending not to notice her.
She sat down beside him. Quietly.
He didn't say a word.
"...Thanks," she said after a moment, without looking at him. "For the soup. And the notes."
Yichen scoffed. "Told you, I didn't do it for you. I was worried our group grade would suffer."
She smiled faintly. "Right. Of course."
He glanced at her, lips twitching—but still didn't say anything more.
---
Later that day, between classes, Meiyu headed to the library to return a book when someone called out, "Liang Meiyu?"
She turned to see Lin Chen, a polite, soft-spoken boy from Class 3-C. He smiled at her, holding a thick history reference book.
"You dropped this the other day in the hallway," he said, handing it to her.
"Oh—thank you!" she replied, surprised.
"I heard you're working on the revolution project too. If you need any material, I have some great notes you can borrow."
Before she could answer, a voice cut in behind her.
"She doesn't. We're doing just fine."
Zhao Yichen.
He appeared suddenly, hands in his pockets, a blank expression on his face.
Lin Chen looked between them, confused. "Ah… I was just offering—"
"Well, don't. She doesn't need extra help. I've got it covered," Yichen said flatly, his tone just sharp enough to sound territorial.
Meiyu's eyes widened. "Zhao Yichen—"
He turned to her. "Didn't you say we should keep the report focused? No point in bringing in notes from other people."
She stared at him, mouth opening to argue—only to close it again.
Lin Chen cleared his throat awkwardly. "Well… if you change your mind, Meiyu, let me know."
He walked off.
Yichen exhaled loudly. "Seriously. What was that guy's deal?"
Meiyu turned to him. "What is your deal?!"
"What?"
"You scared him away like a wild dog guarding territory!"
He crossed his arms. "I was just—he was being weird."
"He was being nice!"
"He was flirting."
"He was talking!"
Yichen looked away. "Whatever."
Meiyu narrowed her eyes. "Are you… jealous?"
"W-what? No!" he scoffed. "Why would I be jealous?"
"You literally just glared a guy into silence."
He looked down at his shoes. "I don't like people getting in the way. That's all."
"In the way of what?"
He hesitated.
Then, quietly, he said, "...Us. Our project. Our desk wars. Our thing."
Meiyu stared at him.
He cleared his throat and quickly added, "I mean, it's annoying when things change, right? I've gotten used to you yelling at me every morning. It'd be weird if someone else took that spot."
She turned away to hide her smile. "You're ridiculous."
"I know."
---
As they walked back to class, their shoulders bumped lightly.
Neither of them moved away.