The rustling of camphor tree leaves in the wind, the chirping of insects hidden in the grass, and the faint clamor of a distant crowd—all faded away in that moment.
Ji Nian met those earnest, burning gray eyes and could hear nothing but the thunderous pounding of her own heart.
Lu Jinghuai was always patient with her.
He didn’t rush her for an answer.
Instead, he simply watched her with those gentle, water-like eyes.
A cold breeze swept past, raising goosebumps on Ji Nian’s bare arms.
She instinctively rubbed them, thinking to herself that Lu Jinghuai was right—she really hadn’t dressed warmly enough.
"Sorry," she murmured.
"I don’t know how to respond to you."
Ji Nian steadied herself.
Lu Jinghuai asked, "Does 'not knowing' mean you’re rejecting me?"
She had been about to nod, but when she lifted her gaze and saw his expression—as if he might burst into tears at any moment—the words caught in her throat.
"I need some time to think about it," she said evenly.
Ji Nian didn’t dislike Lu Jinghuai. In fact, she quite liked his face.
But for the longest time, she had seen him as nothing more than a kid.
Changing their relationship was a big deal, and she needed to consider it carefully before giving him an answer.
After all, Lu Jinghuai wasn’t just anyone—they had been close friends for years.
"Alright."
Lu Jinghuai agreed when she said she needed time.
But he quickly regretted it.
Because Ji Nian’s attitude toward him had noticeably cooled.
Not that she meant to.
It was just that every time she saw his face, she couldn’t help but remember what he had said to her that night.
Like when Ji Nian was reviewing her recent quiz, checking where she had lost points, only for the questions on the paper to morph into: I like you the moment she heard a classmate call out Lu Jinghuai’s name while handing out tests.
Or when she was in the bathroom, only to glance down and notice the girl in the next stall wearing silver-gray sneakers—prompting those same three words to echo in her mind again: I like you.
All her focus instantly evaporated…
This infuriated Ji Nian.
Other things were whatever, but how dare her bathroom time be interrupted!!
"What’s wrong with you?"
Noticing Ji Nian’s odd behavior during lunch, Shen Qingtang nudged her shoulder.
Ji Nian waved weakly. "You guys go ahead. I brought food from home today—I’ll just eat in the classroom."
"Oh? Well, you definitely won’t finish it all alone. I’ll stay and eat with you."
Shen Qingtang could tell something was up.
She immediately told Lu Jinghuai to go eat with He Xiang instead, while she stayed behind with Ji Nian.
Lu Jinghuai accepted without a change in expression.
But after Shen Qingtang left, his gray eyes darkened almost to black as he watched Ji Nian idly twirling her hair, her chin propped on her hand.
When he informed He Xiang that neither of them would be joining him for lunch, he expected questions—maybe about whether Ji Nian was upset.
But surprisingly, He Xiang just nodded silently and walked away.
Clearly, neither of them had any intention of eating together.
Watching He Xiang’s equally strange behavior, Lu Jinghuai narrowed his eyes, sensing something amiss.
Of course, whatever was going on with He Xiang didn’t matter.
What mattered was Ji Nian’s current attitude.
The thought made it impossible for Lu Jinghuai to keep smiling.
Was she pulling away from him again, just like three years ago?
Just because he had finally decided to stop pretending.
...
"What happened between you and Lu Jinghuai?"
Shen Qingtang plopped down in Ji Nian’s desk mate’s seat, her eyes gleaming with barely concealed curiosity.
"Is it that obvious?"
Ji Nian portioned out rice for her, pausing briefly before setting the container between them and spreading out the rest of the dishes.
"Uh, yeah. You’ve looked at him less than three times today."
That was way too few!
Normally, Lu Jinghuai was like an air freshener in Ji Nian’s life—something she glanced at constantly, whether she needed to or not.
Ji Nian’s chopsticks stilled for a second before she finally admitted in a low voice, "He confessed to me yesterday."
Shen Qingtang’s head snapped up.
"He finally said it?! What triggered it?" she whispered, eyes practically sparkling.
Ji Nian hesitated, then explained the whole situation.
"...That’s what happened."
"I was supposed to meet Wei Junze yesterday."
But Lu Jinghuai’s sudden confession had thrown her off so much that she hadn’t even felt like going.
Now, just seeing Wei Junze’s face would probably remind her of Lu Jinghuai’s words.
Shen Qingtang clicked her tongue.
Though the whole Chen Mo incident had been a misunderstanding, Wei Junze’s sudden appearance must have made Lu Jinghuai realize that Ji Nian wouldn’t wait around for him forever.
Add in the fact that he was already emotionally vulnerable from his injury, and hearing that Ji Nian was planning to meet Wei Junze alone the next day—well, no wonder he cracked and couldn’t hold back his feelings anymore…
Shen Qingtang got so caught up in her own imagination that she nearly snorted in excitement.
"So what do you think? If you didn’t outright reject him, does that mean you like him a little too?"
Ji Nian bit down on the straw of her vegetable juice box, flattening it before finally letting go.
"...I don’t know."
Her usually composed emerald-green eyes were unusually clouded with uncertainty.
It was kind of adorable.
Shen Qingtang immediately wrapped an arm around her, ruffling her hair. "Sweetie, tell me all your doubts. I’ll help you figure it out."
Ji Nian: "...It’s not that serious."
She had been single for two lifetimes now. In her past life, she had been too focused on studying, then later obsessed with research, with no real interest in romance—though she did enjoy looking at pretty faces.
Then again, maybe the real reason she never dated was that there just weren’t many attractive people around her.
Even the rabbits in her lab were better-looking than most humans.
"I think you do have some feelings for His Highness."
Ji Nian tilted her head. "How so?"
Shen Qingtang pulled back slightly, lowering her voice. "Plenty of people have confessed to you before. None as good-looking as him, sure, but they weren’t bad either."
"You always rejected them outright. But this time, your answer was 'I’ll think about it.'"
"That already proves he’s different in your heart."
Nodding emphatically, Shen Qingtang looked immensely pleased with her own logic.
Ji Nian’s gaze drifted blankly for a second.
"Really?"
"But I just felt like he might cry if I rejected him right then."
Not that Lu Jinghuai crying would be a bad sight—but for some reason, she hadn’t wanted to see it in that moment.
"Besides, he’s not like other people. We’ve known each other for so long."
Shen Qingtang shook her head with a knowing smile.
"The moment you start feeling 'I don’t want to see him sad' about someone, that’s when you know they’re special to you."
Once 'not wanting them to hurt' starts, indulgence is the next step.
"You’ll have to figure this one out yourself."
With the air of a seasoned expert, Shen Qingtang patted her shoulder.
Although the conversation didn't yield any concrete results, Shen Qingtang's words lingered in Ji Nian's mind.
So, Lu Jinghuai was indeed different to her...
