The start of tenth grade.
"Hi, is anyone sitting here?" Jiang Wei rushed into the classroom, panting as he arrived just in the nick of time.
"No one." Tang Zihe looked at the person before him—whose school uniform jacket wasn't even buttoned properly—and failed to form a particularly good first impression.
Jiang Wei pulled out a chair and sat down. He took a pink notebook and a black pen out of his bag and arranged them on the desk.
"Hey, our notebook colors match pretty well. One red, one blue. What a coincidence."
Tang Zihe gave Jiang Wei a strange look as the latter smiled at him, but he didn't respond. Perhaps he had never encountered someone so overly familiar before. He always felt that people like this were a bit difficult to handle.
***
"Wow, you're amazing. You only lost a few points in Chinese and English."
Jiang Wei scanned the rankings for the monthly exam. Tang Zihe looked up, but his gaze drifted down one line. This guy was nearly as impressive as himself; he had only lost two more points and was ranked second.
"Why do you always..." *pay so much attention to my business?* Tang Zihe wanted to ask, but he felt the question was too prone to ambiguity. It would be embarrassing if people thought he was being conceited, so he swallowed the rest of the sentence.
"Hmm?" Jiang Wei seemed to understand anyway, the smile on his face widening. "Because I like handsome guys with good brains."
"So, Mr. Handsome, are you interested in being friends with me? I’m pretty good-looking too, so you won't be losing out."
How could someone love to smile this much? Tang Zihe was dazed for a split second.
"Sure."
***
"For this physical fitness test, Omega boys will run the 1000-meter, and Alpha boys will run the 1500-meter. Group yourselves by gender. Alphas go first."
As the PE teacher gave instructions at the front, Jiang Wei and a few other boys were chatting in the back.
"Although I’d love to stay with you guys..." Jiang Wei blinked. "Mainly to go through thick and thin with a handsome guy like Brother Tang, but..."
He took a step back, shifting into the Omega boys' camp. "My physical condition simply won't allow it. I’ll have to let you all go on ahead."
Tang Zihe’s eyelid twitched. He never would have imagined that this guy—who usually spent his free time frolicking on the court with that basketball nut, Ding the Great Immortal—was actually an Omega.
He wasn't sure if he felt more surprised or more shocked.
***
Most of the time, Jiang Wei was like a child who had just discovered the world, full of enthusiasm and curiosity about everything. The smile never left his face, making him look exceptionally easy to fool.
And in fact, he was.
"What are you doing here?" Tang Zihe frowned as he walked into the overgrown grass near the bike shed. This was the only patch of unkempt weeds in the entire school.
Jiang Wei immediately hid his hands behind his back, spinning around in a crouch with a smile. "Noth... nothing."
After spending so much time together, Tang Zihe had discovered that this person's greatest strength was also his greatest weakness: he couldn't lie. For instance, right now, he was stuttering and scratching his cheek with his index finger—telltale signs of a lie.
"Hands," Tang Zihe said, taking two steps forward. "The one behind your back. Bring it out."
Jiang Wei’s expression suddenly contorted. Tang Zihe quickly pulled him up from the ground and saw fresh burn marks on his fingertips. In his palm lay a cigarette butt that had just been pinched out.
"Who taught you to smoke? It's bad for your lungs," Tang Zihe scolded, frowning.
"No," Jiang Wei waved his hands frantically. "See that pile of fallen leaves in the ditch? I wanted to light them on fire."
Tang Zihe: "...?"
"Isn't it my turn to sweep this area today? They told me the weeds here could be put in the ditch and burned," Jiang Wei said, his confidence wavering as his voice grew smaller. "I just wanted to try..."
"..." Tang Zihe was speechless as he dragged Jiang Wei away from the weeds.
"Where are we going?"
"To put some ointment on your fingertips."
"Do you know you're acting like a nagging mother right now?"
"Shut up."
***
"Can I really receive this many love letters on 520?" Jiang Wei looked at the pile of gifts on his desk in surprise. "It's only seven-thirty. Why did everyone come so early?"
"Whoa, it looks like you received even more than I did." Jiang Wei stared at the precarious stack of gifts on his desk-mate's side. "Are you going to read them?"
"Are you?" Tang Zihe countered.
"I used to read them when I only got one or two, but with this kind of turnout..." Jiang Wei paused. "Better not. I don't want to show favoritism."
Tang Zihe found him quite amusing.
"Do you like flowers or chocolate?" Jiang Wei asked out of the blue.
"Chocolate, I suppose."
"Here, this is for you." Jiang Wei turned his head, pretending to organize the gifts on his desk, but he actually pushed a box of chocolates into the corner of Tang Zihe’s desk. The tips of his ears turned slightly red. "I just found it among the others... it's imported chocolate, too..."
*Please, if you're going to lie, at least pick one that isn't so easy to see through.*
The smile on Tang Zihe’s face widened.
Jiang Wei stuffed all the love letters into his drawer and gave away the edible gifts to others, finally clearing some space on his desk.
When school let out that afternoon, Jiang Wei deliberately packed his bag slower than usual, planning to dispose of the love letters when no one was around. But as he pulled them out of the drawer, he noticed something—
There was a blue love letter. It stood out strikingly among the sea of pink envelopes.
Jiang Wei thought of a certain person almost instantly. He impatiently tossed everything else aside and tore open the letter.
Inside were only two bookmarks made of dried flowers.
Red Geranium and Red Calla Lily.
He tucked the bookmarks back into the envelope, shoved it into his bag, and dashed out the door.
"Tang Zihe! Wait for me! Let's walk home together—"
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 江惟 | Jiang Wei | Character name (MC/Bottom) |
| 唐子鹤 | Tang Zihe | Character name (ML/Top) |
| 丁半仙儿 | Ding the Great Immortal | A classmate's nickname; "Banxian" means half-immortal or soothsayer. |
| 520 | 520 / May 20th | A romantic holiday in China because "520" sounds like "I love you." |
| 红色天竺葵 | Red Geranium | Flower language: Comfort, "You are always in my thoughts." |
| 红海芋 | Red Calla Lily | Flower language: Passion, "I love you." |
