"What class are you in?" Shen Jingyan looked at Jiang Shengyan. The tail end of his voice carried a hint of a smile, his tone clean and clear.
"Class Three," Jiang Shengyan replied with feigned composure, though inwardly she wondered how anyone could possibly be this captivating.
"What a coincidence, we're in Class One," Xu Jingyan interjected. "By the way, I'm Xu Jingyu. I haven't asked your name yet, have I? I still haven't formally apologized to you for what happened last time. Let's grab lunch together at noon—my treat."
Jiang Shengyan was just about to refuse when Xu Jingyu went right ahead on his own. "It's settled then. Yan-ge and I will come find you guys at noon, and you can come along too," he said, turning to Lin Mengke beside Jiang Shengyan.
She moved her lips, just about to speak, when she crashed straight into Shen Jingyan's pitch-black eyes. He had a pair of peach-blossom eyes that naturally radiated affection, refracting tiny flecks of light that made him look exceptionally focused.
For some reason, the refusal on the tip of her tongue swallowed itself back down.
"Alright, then let's meet downstairs after school at noon," she agreed. It was just a meal, after all, nothing to make a fuss about.
After collecting their textbooks, Jiang Shengyan led a few classmates back. The September breeze carried a hint of chill, fluttering the stray hairs around her ears.
She hugged her books and walked at the very front. Lin Mengke sidled up to her, excitement practically spilling over. "Yanyan, you actually know the high school entrance exam top scorer?"
"It was kind of an accidental meeting, we aren't really that close," Jiang Shengyan explained, recounting how it all happened.
"So that's how it was! But Shen Jingyan is seriously a legendary god-tier student. I've been hearing about him winning all sorts of awards since middle school," Lin Mengke reminisced.
"If only I could steal his brain," Jiang Shengyan sighed.
"Huh? Yanyan, I used to think you were so aloof on the outside, I never expected you to have such a comedic side," Lin Mengke said, tilting her head to look at her with a teasing smile.
"..." Jiang Shengyan suddenly felt rather embarrassed.
The two of them didn't speak further.
Jiang Shengyan's thoughts lingered on their earlier encounter. There was an indescribable air about Shen Jingyan—he clearly looked devil-may-care, yet those eyes always carried a scattering of smiles, twinkling like starlight.
Jiang Shengyan didn't dwell on it much longer. Her sole thought right now was to quickly pull her grades up. The start of the term meant the monthly exams weren't far off, and she wanted to test out her learning results.
Back in the classroom, she lowered her head to tidy the books on the podium, yet she still felt as though a faint, lingering scent of mint hovered around the tip of her nose.
She and a few classmates handed out the textbooks one by one, then returned to their seats, took out their pens, wrote their names in each book, and organized them.
The phoenix trees outside the window rustled, and sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting mottled shadows on the ground. This summer, it seemed something was quietly changing.
When school ended at noon
Jiang Shengyan packed up her things and, thinking of the midday appointment, asked, "Keke, are you all packed? Let's go, they should be waiting downstairs."
Lin Mengke hesitated a little. After all, the guy was treating them to lunch to make amends to Yanyan; it had nothing to do with her, and she felt a bit shy about going.
"Yanyan, maybe I shouldn't go after all? I mean, he's only apologizing to you."
"Don't worry, I'm not that close with them either. Do you have the heart to leave me facing them all by myself?" Jiang Shengyan put on a pitiful tone.
"Well... alright then! But livening up the atmosphere is my absolute specialty!" Lin Mengke linked her arm through Jiang Shengyan's and walked out of the classroom.
In the September dusk, the sunlight dyed the teaching building a golden hue. Shen Jingyan was leaning against a pillar of the bicycle shed, idly spinning his phone. He was wearing a black hoodie today, the sleeves casually rolled up to his elbows, revealing his solid forearms.
"Why aren't they down yet?" Xu Jingyan paced back and forth beside him. "They wouldn't stand us up, would they?"
Shen Jingyan glanced at him sideways. "What's the rush? It's totally normal for girls to take their time packing." He remembered whenever his mom and dad went out, his mom needed at least a two-hour head start to get ready.
"They're coming, they're coming!" Xu Jingyan said in pleasant surprise.
Shen Jingyan looked up and saw two girls walking out of the teaching building.
Jiang Shengyan walked in front. She hadn't paid much attention when she picked up her books, but now she finally noticed.
She had tied her hair into a high ponytail today, exposing her slender neck. The afterglow of the sunset spilled over her fair skin, making her look as if she were gilded with a layer of gold. She wore a white shirt paired with high-waisted jeans, looking impossibly clean and fresh.
"Sorry to keep you waiting so long," Lin Mengke said, skipping over.
"I was organizing my notes just now, which delayed me a bit," Jiang Shengyan explained.
Shen Jingyan noticed that Jiang Shengyan was still holding a notebook, her name neatly written on the cover. Her handwriting was delicate yet strong, just like her.
Lin Mengke felt a bit moved; Yanyan really was a little fairy.
"No worries, we just got here too," Xu Jingyan said with a smile. "Let's go, I know a good restaurant nearby."
The four of them walked down the street after school.
Xu Jingyan and Lin Mengke seemed to hit it off immediately. Walking ahead, they let loose their social butterfly traits, chattering nonstop. Shen Jingyan and Jiang Shengyan lagged just a tiny bit behind, a subtle distance separating them in the middle.
Shen Jingyan observed the girl beside him out of the corner of his eye. Her posture while walking was very upright, her gaze fixed straight ahead as if everything around her had nothing to do with her. Her eyelashes were very long, casting a tiny shadow beneath her eyes.
"Are you always this quiet?" Shen Jingyan couldn't help speaking up.
Jiang Shengyan turned her head to look at him, her gaze clear. "Maybe I'm just naturally quiet. You weren't talking either."
Jiang Shengyan felt like Shen Jingyan was messing with her state of mind; she couldn't fall for it.
Shen Jingyan raised an eyebrow. "I'm naturally quiet too."
"If you don't like talking, then forget it." Jiang Shengyan was a master at giving nonsensical replies to read receipts. Relaxing for a second, she blurted it out before realizing what she'd just said, and hurriedly turned to break into a small run, catching up with the two in front.
Shen Jingyan: "..."
Shen Jingyan paused, stunned. What was this situation? Then he let out a low chuckle; it was the first time he'd ever been left speechless like that.
At the restaurant, Xu Jingyan ordered a whole table of dishes. Lin Mengke kept talking, cracking everyone up with laughter. Jiang Shengyan ate her meal, occasionally looking up to chime in with a word or two, and glancing at her phone every now and then.
Shen Jingyan noticed she deliberately avoided spicy dishes when picking her food, so he quietly spun the milder dishes over to her side. Jiang Shengyan glanced at him and softly murmured a thank you.
Jiang Shengyan had a very low tolerance for spice, but she actually really liked eating spicy food. She would eat it at home sometimes, but even the slightest bit of heat would leave her watery-eyed. So whenever she ate out, she generally avoided spicy food—it was a bit embarrassing.
"Right, let's exchange contact info!" Xu Jingyan suggested after the meal. "That way it'll be easier to stay in touch."
The four of them added each other's contact information. Jiang Shengyan looked at Shen Jingyan's profile picture—it was a white Samoyed. She sent a friend request, and once everyone was done adding each other, she tapped to accept before putting her phone away.
On the way back to school, the sky had already darkened. As they passed a milk tea shop, Xu Jingyan suggested buying some bubble tea. Jiang Shengyan shook her head. "I don't drink sweet things." She had been managing her sugar intake, though she truly didn't care for overly sweet things anyway.