Chapter 1 First Encounter

  Early summer, near dusk, the golden sunlight slanted into the room, sprinkling on my face. I was standing quietly in front of a ordinary wooden desk, feeling very dazzling, yet still didn't raise my hand to block it, squinting slightly, puffed out my cheeks, and stared at the boy in front of me with an air of superiority. The boy sitting in front of me had a handsome face, but was still expressionless, his eyes glancing sideways at me only showed cold light.

  "Hmm." Every time he saw me, he would only squeeze out a monosyllable from his nose, without any intention of continuing the conversation. It's been more than a semester already, and he still can't recognize me at all?

  "It's really not worth it, you've already forgotten about me! Stinky winter melon!" With a hint of resentment in his heart, he finally loudly blurted out his milk name.

  The classroom was filled with chatter and laughter, no one noticed the slight movement in the corner. At this time, someone who had never looked at me straight in the eye before was staring at me with an unbelievable gaze.

  His cold eyes melted, looked up at me, and there seemed to be a little starlight in his eyes: "Lumimi! You, you're really... that Lumimi?"

  As he spoke, his hands grasped my arms, shaking me back and forth, carefully examining the eighteen changes in my face. Finally, the tightly knitted black eyebrows relaxed: "Mimi! My Mimi!" He suddenly jumped up from his seat and hugged me tightly in his arms.

  At the classroom door, their head teacher Bai was just about to enter and saw this scene. She suddenly froze at the door, with one foot that had stepped forward withdrawing back again.

  I was shocked and started struggling, but his hands were like sturdy vines, tightly wrapped around me, refusing to let go.

  "Rice, I didn't expect to see you again, my fiancée, I'm so happy!" The classroom also had a group of classmates with their eyes wide open and tongue-tied, they probably couldn't have imagined that the good student representative would put on this show in class.

  Teacher Bai finally broke the silence, coughing a few times. I pushed him out with all my might, and her gaze gave me a lot of strength. Finally, I used my elbow to push him away and quickly retreated several steps backward.

  As soon as the teacher came, he returned to his normal state, shaking his head from side to side with a lazy expression, and a look of indifference on his face. Teacher Bai looked at him, shaking her head in dismay.

  "Mimi, come to my office after school!" She ignored Ji Dong, said softly to me, patted my shoulder, and walked out elegantly.

  I sneaked a glance at Ji Dong, his gaze was calm as water, and met my flustered eyes. I let out a long sigh, quickly walked to my own seat, and sat down quietly.

  *?

  I pushed open the office door, and Teacher Bai smiled and pointed to the position beside her, indicating for me to go over and sit down.

  A single-person office, decorated with her unique preferences.

  Teacher Bai, who teaches Chinese language and literature, has a fondness for growing flowers. She treats all kinds of potted plants as treasures and keeps them in her office, which has also become a decorative scene. Every time she comes to report on class affairs, I always smell the fresh scent of soil, but this time it's different - it's the fragrance of jasmine that is so refreshing.

  In early summer, jasmine flowers have gradually emerged, with small white and textured flower buds, holding their heads high, occupying a piece of the sky. The fragrance wafts through the air, making me involuntarily take a deep breath.

  I walked in quietly with my head down, adjusted the hem of my school uniform skirt, sat down gently, clasped my hands together and placed them on my knees, looked at her face with light makeup, then shifted my gaze to her busy hands.

  Mr. Bai was taking out a small silver tin watering can from under the black wooden desk, starting to water the plants on the table, with affection in his eyes.

  The small plant's leaves are slender and long, with a green and white color. The delicate leaves are curled outward and downward, fresh and tender, not yet fully matured. It's an orchid, I smile lightly, remembering when my aunt brought two pots to our home, still hanging on the balcony now. My aunt's family is in the business of flower arrangement and potted plants, from a young age, I was influenced by it quite a bit.

  She finished what she was doing, then crawled into the flower cluster and carefully picked off two large jasmine flowers, put them in a teacup, poured in hot water, smiled and handed it to me. I thanked her and took it, looking at the small petals curled up floating on the surface of the water. Gently blowing a breath, the light yellow tea water rippled, and several petals slowly sank to the bottom of the cup. Taking a sip, the fresh jasmine fragrance rushed into my throat, and suddenly I felt refreshed and invigorated.

  "Wow, Mei Mei, you're first in grade again this time!" said Bai Laoshi with a smile, blowing on her flower tea.

  "It's... " I smiled awkwardly, my face feeling hot, my eyes fixed on the tea water, where the flower petals were frolicking and chasing each other.

  "Mei Mei, there's something the teacher wants to ask for your help. You're almost in high school now, and some of your classmates aren't doing well in their studies. Can you give them some tutoring after class?"

  There are two hangers-on in our class, everybody knows that.

  "Is that what Teacher Ji said?" I clenched the tea cup in my hands, feeling nostalgic, apologetic and fearful.

  "It's Li Xiaoyan." Teacher Bai gazed at me with warm eyes, smiling slightly and saying: "Ji Dong, you'd better keep a distance from him, or else I won't be at peace!"

  "Alright, I understand."

  The next day

  Ding ding ding ding......?

  The dull bell in the high school department is more pleasant to students than any popular song. Basically, they all pack up five minutes before class ends and wait for the teacher to dismiss them.

  I glanced at Xiaorong, she had already packed up her things and was about to leave the classroom. I didn't even have time to tidy up my desk, I hastily ran to her front, stood firmly and said: "Xiaorong, don't rush off! Teacher Bai said that starting today, after school you need to stay behind for me to tutor you!"

  This is the first time I've taken a close look at Xiao Ruan, she has light makeup on. Her bright and sparkling big eyes, small nose, cherry lips, and an exquisite doll-like face, her long hair was blown by the wind, like someone who walked out of a painting, exuding a kind of gentle beauty.

  Unlike me, her eyes are not big but double eyelids, round nose was once ridiculed as San Mao's reincarnation, and her ear-length hair is slightly more neat. I'm an ugly duckling, she's a white swan, can't help but make me feel a bit inferior.

  Xiao Ruan slightly pouted: "Please, class monitor, I really have something very important today, can't it wait until tomorrow?"

  "But... Teacher Bai said..."?

  "You think I'm sick, so I'll just go home then! Thanks, I'll be off!"

  The conversation was interrupted, and before I could react, Xiao Ruan gave me a sweet smile and disappeared at the end of the corridor.

  I stared blankly at her beautiful back, my brain short-circuited for a moment, paused and came to my senses, persisting to the end is my style. I didn't even care about the messy desk, pulled up my legs and chased after her first.

  Panting, I finally saw Xiaoruan hesitating and looking around at the entrance of the milk tea shop not far away. Xiaoruan seemed to have seen me too, smiling and walking towards me. Just as I was about to go up to her, a tall boy suddenly appeared out of nowhere. I saw Xiaoruan laughing and hooking her arm around his wrist, the boy grasping her pale hand tightly, Xiaoruan handing him the milk tea in her hand, the two of them moving very intimately, walking away hand in hand.

  I stood there in a daze, and I wasn't very familiar with Xiaoran before. It's not an exaggeration to say that Xiaoran is the school flower, as she has always been pursued by many boys, both inside and outside of class. I often see many "bodyguards" surrounding her, but none of them have caught her eye. Among them are top students, handsome guys, the basketball team captain, and the student council president, etc. This boy who only left me with his back view seems to be quite extraordinary.

  I don't want to think too much about it, I've never been a gossip person anyway.

  I walked into the milk tea shop under the Chinese parasol tree, called "Tea Enthusiast's Voice and Color". The owner was a very kind-hearted young woman, about twenty years old. I ordered a cup of vanilla milk tea, and the one who served me was a girl around my age, wearing a pink T-shirt, washed-out jeans, with a clear face and neat short hair. The girl handed me a large cup of milk tea, I took it from her, smiled and said: "Ruo Xi, you've been abandoned again today!"

  "Yes, no choice, 'milk tea western beauty' has gone on a date, leaving only poor me. Unlike you Lumiemi, so leisurely!" She looked innocent, then we burst out laughing together.

  Haha, I've got your back!

  Ruoxi is like a child who grew up with me, and we are as close as sisters. Only in front of her will I take off the mask of being a good student at school.

  I quickly put on my uniform and helped her welcome the incoming students, studying hard and assisting her with a smile, it's all just routine for me now.

  After school hours, this place is crowded like ants, and the two of them are already busy running around but still can't keep up. Yu Xi holds a full tray of cups, after delivering to several tables, her face twists in distress, panting heavily as she shouts with me behind the counter.

  "Which table are the milkshake, strawberry and blueberry for?"

  "Two tables! Two tables!" I flipped through the records and shouted along with her.

  She listened and freed up one hand, gave me an OK gesture, then turned around to send it over, but unexpectedly, someone walked by behind her, the two of them collided unintentionally, that person dodged too late, the milk tea splashed all over him, the tray with cups held by Ruo Xi's single hand fell to the ground without a sound, shattering into pieces, glass shards flying everywhere, people around scattered away, clearing out a large empty space.

  The noisy crowd suddenly fell silent for several seconds, with many exaggerated gasps, and everyone's gaze shifted over. The boy's eyebrows were tightly knitted, staring at her with a look that could kill.

  "You!"

  Ruo Xi covered her head with both hands, her gaze moving from his body to the ground and then back to his body. The man was already soaked all over, with glass shards still stuck to his white sneakers, a sight that could only be described as pitiful.

  "Wow, look quickly, it's Zhang Juyu from Class 8 of Grade 3!"

  "What? No way! Really?"

  "She's dead meat! How dare this ruthless character provoke me!"

  “……”?

  The soft murmurs of the girls in the crowd were endless, and I felt anxious for Ruoxi, frowning and staring at that unfamiliar face, wishing to see through it. Is this person so famous? Why haven't I heard of him? Putting down the account book, I casually pulled someone over to ask.

  "Hey! Classmate, who is he?"

  The man's mouth was like a clamshell and he couldn't get out half a sentence, he just stared at me in surprise and then turned to watch the commotion.

  "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, it wasn't intentional..." She nodded like a chicken pecking at rice, bowing her head and waist like a shrimp. He looked at her with a disheveled appearance, his eyes staring at her like they were about to spit fire. Yu Xi took out a clean handkerchief from her pocket, wanting to wipe him down, but he jerked away from her gesture in disgust.

  Can't help but say, this man, even with a five-color milk tea on his head, is still handsome and intimidating. His sword-like eyebrows, starry eyes, straight nose bridge, plump lips, and clear-cut resolute face, combined with the current scene, make him exude an aura of coolness, as if the temperature has suddenly dropped to subzero levels.

  Behind him, a group of people were following, each with a fierce and sinister look, staring at Ruoxi with their eyes. I anxiously watched, but for half a day there was no movement, it just felt like a staring contest.

  Suddenly, a figure flashed out from among them, with golden light flashing in his eyes. He said to the boy in front of him, "Brother Yu, leave it to me." In a few steps, he walked forward and roared in a fierce and rough voice, "Are you tired of living? Dare to treat Brother Yu like that!" He raised his hand and was about to slap Ruo Xi's face.

  I hastily pushed through the crowd and went in, his hand rose and fell, "slap"...... a very crisp sound, it was clear that it hurt a lot. Yu Xi closed her eyes and trembled with fear, I had already stood in front of her and taken that slap for her. My face felt burning hot with pain, I thought it probably swelled up, that slap hit me so hard that my head jerked backwards and downwards, my neck seemed to be twisted a bit too.

  I bit back the pain and slowly lifted my head. Gnashing my teeth fearlessly, I said: "I've already apologized, what more do you want?"

  The boy covered in milk tea slightly narrowed his eyes, with a thoughtful expression, carefully sizing me up.

  Ruoxi stepped out from behind me, her eyes filled with worry. I didn't think I was still so brave, it's been years since I last fought, and this slap almost made me unable to bear it. If time hadn't been pressing, I really wouldn't have wanted to use my own face to take this slap...

  I held her hand and gave her a smile: "I'm fine, don't worry."

  The person who was at a loss for words also froze instantly, his face suddenly turned red to the base of his neck, and his voice trembled: "Mimi, you..."?

  Just recognized him as a relative yesterday, and was slapped in the face by him for the first time, what an unexpected irony!

  Looking at his familiar face, I fell into memories again. When we were young, my family and Ji Dong's family were neighbors, and it can be said that we were childhood playmates. Our parents had even jokingly arranged a marriage for us when we were kids, playing house with him as the father, me as the mother, and our dolls as the babies - it was a scenario we often acted out, never getting tired of it.

  Later, Ji Dong's parents got divorced, and the so-called third party took away his father; later, Ji Dong was awarded to his mother by the court, and his mother cried all day long, even at night when she slept, her sobbing could be heard; later, they moved away and were no longer neighbors, and the two families rarely came into contact with each other.

  Later, I was admitted to the best high school in the city and entered the best class. However, that face which I thought would never be seen again appeared, and he was actually in my class. At first glance, I recognized him, and he was still the same as before, only less naive and more cold-blooded. It turned out that his mother had remarried a very influential person, and he was sent to school by his stepfather's money, even though he didn't want to study.

  Every time I see him, I recall that many years before meeting Ruoxi, we went through thick and thin together, and it's inevitable to feel a sense of closeness. At that moment, I smiled at him, but he was on guard, rolling up his sleeves to reveal a huge dragon-shaped tattoo, glancing at me sideways with cold eyes, saying: "Don't mess with me."

  I actually had fantasies about what would happen to Ji Dong after he left. When his family was in trouble, my mother always said, "Poor Ji Dong, this life is ruined for him." It's not hard to imagine that his days must have been difficult, even if he later had a shiny new stepfather.

  I pulled back my wandering thoughts and looked at Ji Dong, who was blaming himself in front of me. I felt a bit uncomfortable in my heart. It turned out that Ji Dong still remembered the engagement joke our parents made when we were young. But to me, it was just a joke! Although Ji Dong has now grown into a handsome young man, I'm not an idiot and have always treated him like a "sister". When we were young, I basically protected him every time kids fought, and he would be the one who cried on the spot. At that time, he really looked like a girl, but now he's become so strong!