When she returned home, Grandma was already asleep.

Zhou Wan returned to her room. A notebook was still open on her desk, and on it were the names she had written yesterday, "Guo Xiangling" and "Lu Xixiao".

She sat at the desk, her gaze lowered, looking at the two names.

A line connected the two names.

What if—

What if she got together with Lu Xixiao?

Then Father Lu would probably fly into a rage, and it would be impossible for him to be with Guo Xiangling anymore.

This thought suddenly popped into Zhou Wan's mind.

She was self-aware enough to know that Lu Xixiao had never taken any of his girlfriends seriously. Even if she really did get together with him, she wouldn't be the exception.

But perhaps this was better.

Just being together would be enough.

Just being together, and having Father Lu find out, would be enough.

Just a brief use of Lu Xixiao's wild and casual nature.

It wouldn't hurt anyone.

Zhou Wan had never thought she would one day have such a dark idea, but at this moment, she couldn't control these thoughts.

Like a venomous snake flicking its tongue, it spread through her heart.

She looked up, at her reflection in the mirror.

The room was very dark. The desk lamp cast a fuzzy halo of light around her. The girl's soft black hair fell over her chest. Her skin was fair and delicate, with a small face, a small, exquisite mouth and nose, and clear, round doe eyes, like two black grapes.

Zhou Wan was beautiful; she had been praised by those around her since she was little.

But her beauty was more of a pure and clean type, different from the girls around Lu Xixiao, who were mostly vibrant and flamboyant.

Zhou Wan wasn't sure if she could do it.

But at least—

Lu Xixiao knew her name now.

In September, the sweet osmanthus bloomed, and the entire school was steeped in its fragrance.

Gu Meng picked many osmanthus flowers, put them in a bag, and made a sachet to give to Zhou Wan.

By the time the small osmanthus flowers in the sachet had all withered, the School Sports Meet arrived.

The opening ceremony of the School Sports Meet had a segment where each class entered holding a sign, and Zhou Wan was chosen to be the sign holder.

The girls holding the signs had to wear a uniform—a change from the baggy, thick school uniforms to a white, slim-fit short-sleeved shirt and a pleated skirt, looking extremely youthful.

The moment Gu Meng saw her come out in the changed clothes, she exclaimed: "Wanwan! The person who designed the school uniform should be cursed! You look so good in a short skirt like this!"

The pleated skirt had safety shorts underneath, but they were very short, and the hem of the skirt only reached the upper part of her mid-thigh.

Zhou Wan was a little uncomfortable with the length, tugging at the hem of her skirt, trying to pull it down further.

Gu Meng grabbed her hand. "Don't pull it, it's supposed to be like that."

"I'm afraid I'll be exposed when the skirt sways as I walk."

Gu Meng laughed. "No way. First of all, you have safety shorts underneath, so it's impossible to be exposed. Besides, how could the school give you miniskirts? This is just a regular short skirt, you won't be exposed."

The sports meet let many students' spirits run wild.

Early in the morning, the sports field was already bustling with noise.

It wasn't until the principal's speech ended that the classes began to enter in their formations.

Zhou Wan was in Class 1, holding the "Class 1, Year 2" sign at the very front. Next to them was Class 7.

Lu Xixiao was in Class 7.

Among the ten classes in Year 2, Class 7 had the worst grades and was the most chaotic. Their formation was also a mess, and the girl who was supposed to hold their sign hadn't arrived yet.

Zhou Wan glanced back.

Lu Xixiao and his group of friends were standing at the back, not wearing school uniforms, a cigarette between his fingers, smiling casually.

The sunlight shone down, making Lu Xixiao's skin look even paler. He seemed to have just gotten a haircut; his temples were shaved short, revealing the clean lines of his profile, which gave off a sharp coldness and nonchalance.

And at this moment, there was a girl next to him, sitting on the edge of a flower bed, looking up and initiating a conversation with Lu Xixiao.

Zhou Wan had some impression of this girl. She was the arts and entertainment committee member from one of the liberal arts classes, not from Class 7.

It was noisy all around. The summer sunlight pierced through the lush green leaves, scattering specks of light on them, giving off a faint golden glow.

The girl's smile was dazzling. She stretched out her hand and said something to Lu Xixiao, probably asking him for a hand up.

Lu Xixiao didn't move his head, only his gaze shifted down, looking at her from above. He tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Can't get up on your own?"

"My legs are numb," the girl said with a smile.

Lu Xixiao flicked the ash from his cigarette, still not moving.

The girl didn't feel embarrassed, raising an eyebrow. "So heartless?"

He was completely unmoved, and smiled. "Yup."

The girl "tsk'd", got up nimbly, and dusted off her pants.

At the same time, Xu Yixuan came striding across the sports field—she was Class 7's sign holder, wearing a tight short-sleeved shirt and a short skirt that perfectly outlined her figure.

She ran up to Lu Xixiao, her eyes red-rimmed, her voice thick with tears. "Lu Xixiao, who is she."

Before Lu Xixiao could answer, her forced, righteous questioning collapsed. Xu Yixuan grabbed the hem of his clothes, her eyelashes trembling nonstop, and lowered her stance. "Ah Xiao, I was wrong. I won't pester you all the time anymore. Can we get back together, please?"

Such a beautiful girl, yet in front of Lu Xixiao, she somehow became humble and pitiful.

Everyone around was watching.

"Ah Xiao, I—"

"Xu Yixuan," Lu Xixiao interrupted her. "We've already broken up."

His usual smiling tone and voice were gone, his voice cold and hard, utterly heartless.

Gu Meng stood behind Zhou Wan, leaned close to her ear, and sighed. "I can't believe even a great beauty like Xu Yixuan couldn't tame Lu Xixiao."

Zhou Wan watched them, blinked slowly, then averted her gaze and asked softly, "Mengmeng, they clearly know what kind of person Lu Xixiao is, so why do they all insist on banging their heads against a wall?"

Do they really bet on being the fated one who can make a prodigal son change his ways?

To discard one's self-respect and pride for a relationship was something Zhou Wan couldn't understand.

Zhou Wan thought, if she were unfortunate enough to also fall for someone like that.

She wouldn't tell him.

She wouldn't let him trample on her dignity. She would just guard this crush as a secret unknown to anyone.

Gu Meng said in surprise, "Wanwan! You've finally seen the light! I can't believe a question like that came out of your mouth!"

Then, she shook her head, pretending to be profound. "It's youth, after all. You're bound to meet a few scumbags and get your heart broken a few times. Otherwise, if all your memories are just equations and vectors, how boring would that be."

The host in front of the Podium announced loudly—

"Next up, approaching us, is our Year 2 contingent, led by the students of Class 1, Year 2..."

Zhou Wan gathered her thoughts, held up the sign, and led her class formation forward.

On the other side, a tearful Xu Yixuan was pulled away by her friend, and the other girl, having been snubbed, also left.

A discussion suddenly broke out among a few boys.

"Hey, who's that sign holder from Class 1? How come I've never seen her before?"

"The top student, right? Always second in the year, I think. I thought she was super pure just from seeing her face in the school uniform, a total first-love face. Didn't expect her figure to be good too. Those legs, tsk tsk tsk."

"Holy crap, I think I'm in love. She's so well-behaved and cute." Jiang Fan said loudly. "How come I never saw her before?"

"You skip class every day, it's normal you haven't seen her."

"Does she have a boyfriend? What's her name?"

"She's a top student, where would she find the time for a boyfriend," his companion replied. "I've seen her name on the ranking board a few times, something Wan, suddenly forgot her surname."

"Hey, Ah Xiao," Jiang Fan nudged Lu Xixiao who was beside him. "Know her?"

Lu Xixiao moved his gaze away from his phone, looked up, and raised an eyebrow slightly when he saw Zhou Wan.

"First love or what?" Jiang Fan said. "I finally get what they mean by a 'first-love face'."

Lu Xixiao didn't speak.

Jiang Fan assumed he couldn't possibly know this type of girl and clutched his chest. "No, I can't look anymore, my heart is melting from the sweetness."

Lu Xixiao raised an eyebrow. "Sweet?"

He remembered that day in the arcade. The girl standing against the dim and noisy background, her silhouette youthful, her features clear, her dense, long eyelashes lowered. They were clearly round doe eyes, yet they held a hint of stubbornness and pride from their depths.

She only looks sweet, her personality isn't sweet at all.

Jiang Fan thought he just couldn't appreciate his newfound goddess. "She's not sweet?"

Lu Xixiao scoffed.

After the opening ceremony, the first events to start were the various field events.

Zhou Wan had signed up for the javelin throw.

It wasn't because she was good at it, but because very few girls were willing to sign up for this kind of event, so just by signing up, one could secure a ranking.

The sports committee member had begged her, so she signed up.

Check-in for the javelin throw started very early. Zhou Wan didn't have time to change. She tied her school uniform jacket around her waist and ran to check in, and was quickly led to the competition area.

Due to safety concerns, there were usually no opportunities to even practice with the javelin. This was Zhou Wan's first time touching one, and it was heavier than she had imagined.

The result was, of course, obvious. None of her javelins even stuck in the ground.

Jiang Fan had signed up for the long jump, which was taking place behind the javelin area, and he laughed out loud watching Zhou Wan throw the javelin.

"Isn't this an adorable contrast." Jiang Fan couldn't stop laughing. "Damn, that's too cute. I can't take it."

Lu Xixiao turned his head. "Is that all you've got?"

"Haozi just said this girl's name is something-Wan. I heard she's second in the year, too. Ah Xiao, have you really never seen her name on the notice board? Any impression?"

Lu Xixiao: "Why would I look at that thing."

"True." Jiang Fan tsk'd. "I'll go ask for her name after the competition."

Lu Xixiao glanced at him and silently tugged at the corner of his mouth.

Steeling herself, Zhou Wan finally finished the five rounds of the competition. None of the girls who signed up knew how to throw the javelin, so in the end, Zhou Wan managed to fish in troubled waters and actually secured second to last place, fifth place.

Gu Meng was also laughing at the side. "If I had known, I would've signed up too."

Zhou Wan took off the paperclip holding her number tag and put it in her pocket.

Although it wasn't a lot of activity, the javelin was heavy to hold, and Zhou Wan had broken out in a thin layer of sweat.

"Let's go," Zhou Wan said. "Mengmeng."

"Let's go watch the high jump first, okay?"

"Okay."

At the same time, a voice suddenly came from behind—

"Zhou Wan."

Magnetic and deep, clear and cold, carrying a faint, nonchalant smile.

Her steps faltered, and she turned around.

Lu Xixiao was wearing a black short-sleeved shirt. The wind blew past, outlining his unrestrained broad shoulders and narrow waist. The line of his jaw was smooth and distinct, his neck long, his Adam's apple sharp, and his hair was slightly messy from the wind.

He looked straight at her.

This was the first time he had said her name.

Zhou Wan froze for a moment.

He lifted his chin, gesturing ahead. "You dropped your school tag."