Luohua No. 2 High School.
"Classmates, this semester our class is welcoming a new student."
As the words fell, murmurs immediately broke out across the classroom as everyone eagerly speculated what the new arrival would be like.
Except for the boy in the very back row.
"You can come in now."
She was seventeen years old this year. Her features were exceptionally delicate, her oval face brushed with a faint flush, and long eyelashes veiled her eyelids, trembling slightly every now and then. A straight, refined bridge gave her face a three-dimensional depth, her lips were naturally rosy, and the dimples on either side of her cheeks added an infinite sweetness.
As she stepped inside, almost everyone's gaze was instantly drawn to her.
Yu Zhang: "Introduce yourself to the class, please."
"Hello everyone, my name is Luoyi Zhao. I'm very glad to enter a new campus and join a new class, and I'm really looking forward to the high school life ahead."
No sooner had she finished speaking than enthusiastic applause erupted from the students below.
Yu Zhang adjusted his glasses and glanced over the empty seats in the classroom.
"Luoyi Zhao, there's an empty seat over there. Why don't you sit there for now."
Following the direction of Yu Zhang's finger, Luoyi Zhao looked toward the corner in the last row, where a boy with his head lowered sat beside the vacant desk.
He seemed completely indifferent to what had just happened in the classroom.
Luoyi Zhao assessed the seat, and then the boy next to it who was about to become her deskmate.
Only when she reached the desk did she realize her new deskmate was deeply engrossed in a math problem, the scratch paper beside him covered in corrections.
Clenching her hands into fists, her cheeks slightly flushed, Luoyi Zhao mustered the courage to greet him.
"Hello deskmate, my name is Luoyi Zhao."
Mufeng Su looked up, and Luoyi Zhao's delicate features and faintly flushed oval face immediately filled his vision.
The very first sight of her left him momentarily dazed.
Seeing him stare at her in silence, Luoyi Zhao didn't know what to do for a moment, her palms breaking out in nervous sweat.
"What's your name?"
Luoyi Zhao waved a hand gently in front of his eyes.
Mufeng Su snapped out of it, realizing his unseemly lapse. His cheeks turned red, and he sheepishly scratched his head in embarrassment.
"Sorry, I just zoned out for a second."
"My name is Mufeng Su. From now on, we're deskmates."
Luoyi Zhao couldn't help being amused by his reaction.
"So shouldn't you let me in now, deskmate?"
Since Mufeng Su sat on the outer side and there wasn't much space left behind him, Luoyi Zhao had no way to reach the inner seat unless he stood up.
Yu Zhang tapped the blackboard.
"Alright, the new student has introduced herself, let's begin the lesson..."
Luoyi Zhao took her things out of her schoolbag one by one, arranging them neatly on the desk.
Meanwhile, Mufeng Su had already shifted his focus right back to the math problem he was working on.
Once she finished tidying up, Luoyi Zhao turned her head and noticed that her deskmate was still hard at work solving problems.
She had originally just been curious about what kind of problems he was doing, but unconsciously, her gaze lingered on Mufeng Su's profile.
She hadn't looked too closely at first, but upon closer inspection, it seemed her deskmate was actually quite handsome.
Yu Zhang happened to catch Luoyi Zhao looking at Mufeng Su.
"Classmate Luoyi Zhao, are you perhaps curious about your newly met deskmate and have a lot of questions for him? Actually, you can ask those during the break. You should be more focused during class. Let's pay attention to the lecture now."
Luoyi Zhao's face instantly turned as red as a ripe apple, and she dared not look at Mufeng Su again.
The girls in the class started to chime in with teasing remarks.
"Did you fall for our top student in the grade?"
*He's the top student in the grade?*
Luoyi Zhao thought to herself.
The boys in the class were instantly displeased—how could the pretty new transfer student be like this?
Mufeng Su turned his head to look at the girl beside him, who was so mortified she looked ready to bury her head inside the desk, and then scribbled a few words on a slip of paper.
He gave her arm a gentle nudge.
To her surprise, her deskmate had passed her a note.
"Is there something you wanted to ask me?"
She looked at Mufeng Su. He gazed back at her with a deadpan, serious expression, and then flashed her a slight smile.
"Do you have time at noon to take me to the cafeteria? And could you trouble you to show me around the school afterward? It's my first day here and I don't know my way around."
A moment later, he passed the note back with a single word written on it.
"Okay."
Noon arrived quickly. Seeing everyone heading out in twos and threes, Luoyi Zhao looked at Mufeng Su and asked tentatively, "Deskmate, let's go get some food too."
Mufeng Su looked at the problem on his desk—he was down to the very last step.
"Give me just another moment, I'm about to finish this problem."
Luoyi Zhao found it a bit curious. Instead of listening to the teacher in class, he had constantly been solving problems—did he really love doing math problems that much?
Because all morning, aside from getting up to drink water and use the restroom, Mufeng Su had spent the entire time studying various problems: one moment math, the next physics, and he had even pulled out a book that had no business being in a high school classroom—economics.
This only heightened Luoyi Zhao's curiosity about her deskmate.
It took Mufeng Su about three minutes to finally finish the problem and stand up, leading Luoyi Zhao toward the cafeteria.
The moment Luoyi Zhao appeared, she drew everyone's attention.
The main reason was simply that she was breathtakingly pretty.
In just one morning, Luoyi Zhao had already become the universally acknowledged campus belle in the hearts of most boys.
Soon they reached the cafeteria, and Mufeng Su brought Luoyi Zhao to the food lines.
As she watched him buy his meal, Luoyi Zhao noticed that Mufeng Su's tray held only simple greens and tofu, alongside a bowl of free egg drop soup that seemed to contain nothing but broth, devoid of any substantial ingredients.
The two found a spot near a corner and sat down opposite each other.
When Mufeng Su looked up and their eyes met, his face flared a bright red. He quickly dropped his head, eating the most basic meal from his bowl.
Luoyi Zhao took all of this in.
Suddenly, Luoyi Zhao stood up and headed back toward the food windows. Mufeng Su assumed the cafeteria food wasn't to her liking, his gaze drifting to the lavish dishes on her plate: sweet and sour pork ribs, braised pork belly, steamed fish, and scrambled eggs with tomatoes.
He swallowed hard in secret, then shoveled a mouthful of plain white rice into his mouth, washing it down with a sip of clear broth.
Suddenly, a small hand appeared before him, setting a small plate down right in front of him. On it lay a chicken leg glistening with oil.
Mufeng Su looked up in confusion at the owner of that hand.
Luoyi Zhao gave him a sweet smile, then said, "This is your reward. You showed me the way to the cafeteria, so I'm treating you to a chicken leg."
A warm smile radiated across the young girl's face.
Mufeng Su wanted to refuse, but Luoyi Zhao cut him off a step ahead: "If you don't eat it, I'll just have to throw it away. I already have so many dishes; there's no way I can finish all of this."
Looking at Luoyi Zhao, who wore the victorious expression of someone who had won a battle, Mufeng Su smiled helplessly and accepted the chicken leg.
"Hurry up and eat. You still have to show me around the school after you're done."
Hearing that, Mufeng Su found it hard to refuse further, especially since the chicken leg smelled so wonderful.
He lowered his head and ate his meal bit by bit, finally finishing the chicken leg she had given him under Luoyi Zhao's watchful eyes.
Seeing Mufeng Su finish the chicken leg she bought him, a satisfied smile finally bloomed on Luoyi Zhao's face.
After taking a few more bites, Luoyi Zhao found she couldn't eat anymore. Looking down at the remaining food on her plate, she said somewhat self-consciously and in a soft voice, "Um, I still have a lot of food here. Why don't you help me finish some of it?"
Mufeng Su looked up at her in bewilderment.
Luoyi Zhao's cheeks flared red instantly, and she hurried to explain: "Look, I haven't touched any of these."
Seeing that Mufeng Su still hadn't spoken, she added: "Well, I'm trying to lose weight lately, but I also wanted to taste the food at our school cafeteria, and I ended up ordering way too much. Don't get the wrong idea, it's just that wasting food doesn't feel right... you wouldn't mind, would you?"
Mufeng Su shoveled another mouthful of rice into his mouth, shook his head with puffed cheeks, and after swallowing his food, said softly, "I don't mind. And you're so thin—why are you even trying to lose weight?"
"Ah!"
...
After finishing their meal, the two went for a walk around the campus. Since Mufeng Su had eaten quite a bit at lunch, he decided to use the lunch break to walk her through every single path on school grounds.
"Do you know your way around now? If you still don't, I can take you on another tour next time."
In the past, Mufeng Su had never interacted much with others, let alone had a deskmate.
As a result, even now in the second year of high school, he had barely any friends in class, and people didn't know much about him.
"You said it yourself—you're going to be my guide from now on. If I need your help with anything, you have to help me."
She said with a hint of excitement.
Mufeng Su answered without missing a beat: "Of course, we're deskmates."