Lin Jiang was even more surprised to hear this, her Mandarin stumbling for a moment. "How do you know everything?"
"I went to play pool with them the other day and heard someone mention it. So, is she really that '38.6°C' girl?"
Lin Jiang shook her head quickly. "She shouldn't be. She quit the station not long after the semester started."
Wang Jiaqian sighed. "Well, I guess it couldn't be that much of a coincidence."
"But her leaving the station was quite sudden. Looking at it now, it was probably because of Jiang Weifeng," Lin Jiang remarked with a sigh.
Wang Jiaqian chuckled. "Listen to that resentful tone. If I didn't know better, I'd think you had a crush on Jiang Weifeng too."
Lin Jiang’s scalp went numb at those words. She hurriedly replied, "Nonsense."
Wang Jiaqian had picked up a pair of matching rings and was examining them. "Oh, I was just saying. But do you think Jiang Weifeng could actually fall for Cheng Yunclu?"
Lin Jiang turned away, pursing her lips. "I don't know."
"Anyway, I feel like most guys can't resist it when a girl throws herself at them," Wang Jiaqian laughed.
Lin Jiang licked her dry lips. "But didn't people say before that Jiang Weifeng transferred to the West Campus specifically for Zhao Siyi?"
"Really? I haven't heard that one."
Wang Jiaqian smiled, finally deciding on the rings and heading to the counter to pay.
Lin Jiang feigned composure, smiling behind her. "You make Jiang Weifeng sound like such a playboy."
Wang Jiaqian gave a profound smile. "If he weren't a playboy, he’d be wasting that face."
This finally made Lin Jiang laugh. She teased Wang Jiaqian for being superficial, and Wang Jiaqian shot back that she was just being honest. The two shared another round of laughter.
After shopping with Wang Jiaqian, Lin Jiang didn't go home. Instead, she went to school early for the evening self-study session. As the bus passed the Starlight KTV, her mind wandered for a moment.
The evening session was supervised by their homeroom teacher. During the first period, he took ten minutes to go over the exam papers from Thursday, asking students to pick a few problems for a brief explanation, leaving the rest for a detailed lecture the next day.
As it turned out, a single exam paper took up the entire period.
During the second period, Lin Jiang took her chemistry textbook to the stairwell to memorize formulas; the teacher was planning a dictation test the next day.
She placed a piece of scratch paper on the step to sit on, rested the book on her lap, and covered her ears while whispering the formulas. She was just getting to the section on chemical reaction rates when a shadow fell over her vision.
She looked up, dazed for a split second.
"Classmate, could you do me a favor?"
Zhao Siyi was wearing a crisp school uniform, with the same Adidas hoodie underneath that Lin Jiang owned. Lin Jiang stared at her face for a moment before shifting her gaze to the trefoil logo on her clothes.
"What is it?"
Zhao Siyi stepped back two steps, making it easier to look her in the eye. "Could you go to Class 16 and call Jiang Weifeng out for me?"
Lin Jiang wasn't entirely surprised, yet she still froze. She closed her book and asked, "Why don't you go yourself?"
"It’s... not convenient for me," Zhao Siyi answered urgently, her voice low. "I know you're in the class next to his. Last time in the office... I saw you."
Lin Jiang immediately understood which occasion she was referring to.
"But everyone is in self-study right now. Can't it wait until after class?" Lin Jiang stood up, leaning over to pick up her scratch paper.
Zhao Siyi moved up two steps to get closer. "I really have something important. Could you please help me? Just go to the back door, call him, and bring him here."
Up close, Lin Jiang could see Zhao Siyi's skin—clean, fair, and without a trace of makeup. Lin Jiang felt a bit dejected; she rarely found herself envious of someone else's complexion.
"Alright then, I'll go see," she said flatly.
Lin Jiang avoided her eyes, pretending to adjust the zipper of her uniform.
Zhao Siyi grabbed her hand excitedly. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"
Lin Jiang walked numbly toward Class 16. Their back door happened to be cracked open slightly. She crouched down and peeked inside, hardly daring to breathe.
Jiang Weifeng wasn't in his seat. Lin Jiang looked left and right, but he was nowhere to be seen.
Just as she was wondering where he was, she felt a sudden weight on her left shoulder.
Her eyes widened as she turned her head. If she had possessed even 0.1 percent less self-control, she would have screamed out loud!
The person quickly called her name. "What are you doing, Lin Jiang?"
"Shitou?" Lin Jiang recognized him. Her heart was still thumping wildly, but she maintained a calm exterior. "Where were you?"
"The bathroom, obviously," Shitou laughed, his tone matter-of-fact and loud as usual.
Lin Jiang quickly hissed at him to be quiet. "Um, where's Jiang Weifeng?"
Shitou blinked. "Why are you looking for him?"
Lin Jiang found it hard to explain, so she stammered, "Just... just tell me where he is."
"Playing games inside, probably. You can't see him from here. He's afraid the homeroom teacher will suddenly interrupt and make him go AFK, so he's specifically crouching in a blind spot," Shitou replied, a hint of gossip in his eyes.
Lin Jiang didn't notice. Shitou's voice was too loud; in the silent corridor, every word was like a firecracker. She decided to just say it all in one breath: "Tell him to go to the stairwell. Um... someone is looking for him."
"Who?"
"He'll know when he gets there," Lin Jiang urged him. "Go call him quickly, I'm going back to class."
"Wait, you have to tell me clearly!" Shitou called out.
After turning away from him, Lin Jiang felt an emptiness in her chest.
She passed the stairwell and forced a slight smile, giving Zhao Siyi an "OK" gesture before returning to her classroom.
Shitou scratched his head and went inside.
He walked up to Jiang Weifeng and said something to the student sitting next to him. That student took a Chinese textbook and a manga and went to sit in Shitou's seat instead.
Shitou poked Jiang Weifeng. "Hey, Jiang, someone's looking for you outside."
"Who?" He was focused on his game, his brow furrowed, eyes fixed on the screen.
"Don't know."
"..." His energy was entirely poured into the game. Hearing this, he didn't speak, but gave Shitou a kick.
Shitou let out a muffled groan. "Damn it, you kicked my left leg again!"
Jiang Weifeng ignored him.
"Lin Jiang was acting all sneaky at the door, saying someone's looking for you but wouldn't say who. I'm so pathetic—just a messenger, and I get kicked for my trouble," Shitou grumbled in a long string of complaints.
Jiang Weifeng's hands didn't stop moving. "Who?"
"Lin Jiang."
Shitou raised his hushed voice a notch. "Who else? Did you really forget or are you faking? Your IQ goes offline the moment you start gaming..."
"Oh." Jiang Weifeng's mind blanked for a second as he played.
"Here, you take over. If you lose, I'm giving you a 'plane ride' after class." Jiang Weifeng stood up from his chair with a casual air, patted Shitou on the shoulder, and walked out of the room with a swagger.
Shitou took over the game and winced. It was painful to look at; the character's health was almost drained. Still trying to get kills? Kill your uncle!
The "plane ride" was definitely happening now.
For the rest of the evening study session, Lin Jiang's mind was all over the place. When class was almost over, she used the excuse of accompanying He Lai to the bathroom to steal a few glances as they passed Class 16.
On their way back from the bathroom, He Lai ran into the Class 16 academic representative, who was returning from delivering assignments, and they started chatting.
Lin Jiang naturally linked arms with He Lai, taking the opportunity to peer into the classroom.
After checking several times, that person... didn't seem to be there.
It made sense.
Zhao Siyi had come all this way during class; there was no way he could remain indifferent.
Lin Jiang suddenly lost all interest in staying. She told He Lai she was going back to work on some problems.
As Lin Jiang walked away, the academic representative watched her back and sighed. "He Lai, your classmate is really good-looking."
He Lai smiled. "Right? Look at which class she's from."
The other girl rolled her eyes at her.
He Lai's eyes darted around as she grabbed the girl's arm. "If we're talking about good looks, it's still your class's Jiang Weifeng."
"Is it?" The girl made an exaggerated face. "He's handsome, sure, but maybe not *that* good-looking."
"What's wrong? Did he skip class again today?" He Lai knew she had been acting as the discipline monitor lately.
"Today was okay. I don't know what got into him, but he went out for a bit during class. When he came back, he sat in his seat very obediently and didn't even play games."
"Huh? Where did he go?" He Lai looked surprised.
"I don't know, maybe for less than a minute. He slammed the door when he left, and slammed it even harder when he came back. No idea who pissed him off..."
"Then where is he now?" He didn't seem to be in there.
"I just saw him heading toward the rooftop when I was delivering assignments. Probably went for a smoke."
He Lai didn't dare ask any more questions.
She had already asked too much.
When Lin Jiang returned to the classroom, it was still recess. She took out some math problems to try and focus her mind.
But her efficiency was low. She worked on a sequence problem, but the scratch paper wasn't filled with many numbers—it was covered with Jiang Weifeng's name.
Finally, school ended. Shen Yan noticed something was wrong with her. He leaned down to look into her eyes, but she frowned and dodged his gaze.
Shen Yan got on his bike, thought for a moment, and asked, "Why are you so distracted today?"
Lin Jiang countered, "Am I?"
Shen Yan scoffed, saying she definitely was.
Lin Jiang remained silent. After a while, when they reached a red light, Lin Jiang poked Shen Yan's back. "Shen Yan, what is it like when you guys like someone?"
Shen Yan sat on the front seat, twisting his body to look back at her. "Why are you asking that?"
"Oh, just tell me."
"It's hard to say. Everyone is different, I guess."
Lin Jiang asked again, "Then tell me about yourself."
Shen Yan's body visibly stiffened. "I..."
"Wait," Lin Jiang interrupted him. "Do you have someone you like?"
"Of course I don't," Shen Yan said quickly, his voice rising a few pitches.
Lin Jiang sighed. "Then forget it. Asking you is useless."
Shen Yan's hand shook, nearly losing his grip on the handlebars. His voice was steady and clear as he asked, "Then do you have someone you like?"
Lin Jiang's eyes dimmed. "I... of course I don't either."
Shen Yan laughed. "Good. You should be focusing on your studies. Careful, or I'll tell your parents."
With that, he accelerated, humming a song by Top Combine all the way.
But Lin Jiang didn't share his good mood. That night, she stayed up late reading *Letter from an Unknown Woman*, crying as she read, leaving a floor covered in tissues.
When she read the line, "There is nothing in the world that can be compared to the secret love of a child, a love that remains unnoticed, because it is hopeless, humble, subservient, and passionate," her heart felt a bitter, heavy ache.
***
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