Online Romance

An Nuan ate a few bites of her meal and drank some water, watching the stinky tofu stall not far away. A long line, indistinguishable between tourists and shills, stretched out as steam rose from the large iron pot. Pieces of jet-black stinky tofu were skewered on long bamboo chopsticks, drizzled with bright red chili oil and sauce; it was truly mouth-watering before even taking a bite.

"The most important thing about stinky tofu is actually the seasoning of the sauce. The tofu must be fried until it's both crispy and tender—that's a technical skill, and also the secret recipe of every major brand." Liu Chang'an followed An Nuan's gaze.

"Liu Chang'an, you haven't dated anyone in your three years of high school. Don't you feel any regrets?" An Nuan cut off Liu Chang'an's desire to ramble. This person was truly capable of dragging on; he could find a precedent for anything, pulling out historical references and modern theories to go on and on. Fearing he would start lecturing about the selection of soybeans, the grinding process, the water source for the tofu, and the production methods just to talk about stinky tofu, she blurted it out.

Liu Chang'an looked at An Nuan.

An Nuan felt a bit flustered. Her eyelashes drooped, shielding her flickering eyes. She wasn't even sure what kind of answer she wanted, nor did she know what she was expecting—whether she truly hoped for something to happen, or if she just wanted to confirm something.

Liu Chang'an hesitated for a moment, then said with some embarrassment, "Does an online relationship count?"

An Nuan inwardly cried out that it was a disaster. Oh no, have I been as delusional as Bai Hui? Only then did An Nuan realize that what she most wanted to confirm was whether Liu Chang'an had any affection for her; as for other matters, she wasn't mentally prepared yet.

Consequently, An Nuan relaxed her stiff posture, ate a few more bites of her meal, and then said nonchalantly, "Online dating, I suppose that counts..."

That made sense. That day, Liu Chang'an had only clarified what happened three years ago; he merely thought she looked better than Bai Hui. It didn't mean that today, three years later, he still held any special feelings for her.

This was fine, too. After all, the college entrance exam was imminent, and she shouldn't let her mind wander. Even if Liu Chang'an really did have feelings for her, she wouldn't agree to be with him... Liu Chang'an was muddled and aimless all day, and he liked to tease girls...

Besides, it was enough to prove that she was better-looking than Bai Hui. Seeing Bai Hui suffer such a crushing defeat made her quite happy.

"Do you have a grudge against your chopsticks, or the rice?" Liu Chang'an noticed An Nuan was fiercely stabbing her bowl with her chopsticks, sending grains of rice flying, her gaze fixed intensely on some unknown point. "Don't waste the rice. 'Hoeing at noon, sweat drips into the soil; who knows that the food on the plate, every grain is hard-earned.' That's a poem you learned in elementary school..."

"This bowl is for you, too. Don't thank me. Eat slowly, enjoy your meal, and whatever you do, don't waste it." An Nuan dumped all her rice onto Liu Chang'an's tray and stormed out of the cafeteria.

The little girl had quite a temper. Liu Chang'an smiled and ate his meal slowly, not minding the rice An Nuan had touched. With the college entrance exam approaching, she wasn't the type of girl Bai Hui was; she should focus on her studies and not get distracted.

After finishing his meal, Liu Chang'an ladled a bowl of the cafeteria's free soup—pork bone and kelp soup. There was only one pork bone in the entire pot, though there was plenty of shredded kelp. It seemed like no seasoning other than salt had been added, which made it quite authentic. Liu Chang'an drank it slowly. Actually, adding a few slices of ginger would have made it more flavorful, and fennel would have been nice too, but fennel was rarely seen these days, few people ate it, and it was expensive.

Liu Chang'an checked the news and received a WeChat message.

"A male classmate in our class confessed to me while we were singing at KTV... but I don't like him. The college entrance exam is almost here, and I don't want to be distracted by these things, but he's my desk-mate. What do you think I should do?"

It also included a video—the one of Liu Chang'an at the KTV.

Liu Chang'an watched the video. This was his first time seeing the clip that had spread throughout the student body. He didn't care what others thought or how they viewed him because of it, but watching his own performance felt a bit awkward. His mouth felt a little dry, so he let out a laugh and quickly took a sip of soup.

"Has it become common knowledge in the whole class? Does the homeroom teacher know, too?" Liu Chang'an asked.

"Yes. My mom and our homeroom teacher are classmates, and the teacher forwarded it to my mom. I'm so annoyed right now. The college entrance exam is such an important event. It's not early or late, and it's not just affecting me; it's not good for him either, and it sets a bad tone for the class. It feels truly awful."

Liu Chang'an thought for a moment, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly as he typed a reply: "Since it's his own wishful thinking, I suggest it would be better for your mom to have a talk with him."

"Shouldn't that be the homeroom teacher's job?"

"The homeroom teacher is in a tough spot, too. Besides, they are both his students... He must feel that this is a critical period and that if he handles it poorly, the responsibility is too great. Forwarding the video to your mom is his way of letting the parents intervene."

"That makes sense. I'll think about it some more."

You'll think about it some more? Shouldn't the reply have been, "That makes sense, I'll let my mom think about it some more"?

Liu Chang'an carried the food he had brought for Gao Dewei back to the classroom. He had just set it down when Huang Shan called him to the office.

Once in the office, the topic was naturally about Liu Chang'an and An Nuan. Huang Shan specifically warned Liu Chang'an that An Nuan's mother already knew about the situation and had intended to speak with Liu Chang'an, but Huang Shan had stopped her. Huang Shan's intention was for the emotional soothing, ideological work, and communication on An Nuan's side to be handled by her parents, while he would handle the talk with Liu Chang'an.

This left Liu Chang'an feeling a little bit depressed, as he had actually been looking forward to the meeting.

Huang Shan forwarding the video was merely out of concern and care for the camaraderie between students; it didn't mean he wouldn't handle such matters.

For an old homeroom teacher, dealing with such things was second nature. After a heartfelt lecture on the importance of the bigger picture, Huang Shan arranged for Liu Chang'an and Miao Yingying to swap seats.

There wasn't much time left before the college entrance exam, and the closer it got, the more important it was to avoid any chaos. In Huang Shan's view, handling this matter in a low-key, gentle, yet firm manner was necessary.

"What is the old homeroom teacher thinking, changing seats all of a sudden?" Gao Dewei said, feeling both confused and indignant. "I don't even know that Miao Yingying; I've barely spoken to her. It's so awkward."

Gao Dewei was the only one who didn't know the reason behind the situation, and no one told him, as he wouldn't take the initiative to care about such gossip.

"Maybe since graduation is near, the homeroom teacher wants to let Liu Chang'an get his wish," An Nuan said, helping Liu Chang'an tidy up his desk with a smile on her face. "Safe travels, and don't look back."

Gao Dewei knew the gossip that had been circulating for three years, but he also knew that Huang Shan wouldn't have done this for that reason, so he patted Liu Chang'an on the shoulder to offer comfort.

"I'll come watch you play volleyball after school," Liu Chang'an said to An Nuan.

An Nuan glared at him. He was acting as if nothing had happened... An Nuan couldn't help but think: That day at the KTV, could he have known that if I confessed, I would be rejected by Bai Hui, so he simply used a retreat as a way to advance? Does he actually still like Bai Hui? Was I just a temporary shield for him?

If that were the case, Liu Chang'an was truly formidable. He had completely achieved his goal, managing to get close to Bai Hui in the final moments!

"Ouch!"

An Nuan felt a sting on her scalp. She looked up and realized it was Liu Chang'an who had flicked her head.

An Nuan reached out to pinch Liu Chang'an's waist, but he dodged it.

"Focus on your studies, stop letting your mind wander, or it'll be hard for you to get into the same school as me for the college entrance exam."

"Who wants to go to the same school as you?" An Nuan retorted. "Go take the exam for the same school as your Bai Hui."

Liu Chang'an flicked her head again and left, carrying his books.

An Nuan looked at Liu Chang'an's back, the empty seat beside her, and Miao Yingying, who wore a shy and sweet smile. She suddenly felt a sense of loss, as if the feeling of separation after the college entrance exam had arrived early. Her mood was empty, her vision was empty, and she couldn't grasp anything she tried to reach for; the time she wanted would never return.

Many scenes flowed past her eyes like interwoven light and shadow. Habits were often hard to change, and most people simply changed other things to accommodate their own habits. An Nuan had no way to call Liu Chang'an back; she only felt that her habits had been forcibly altered, and she felt unnatural from her hair to her toes.

She took a deep breath, but the surrounding air felt awkward.

"The three of us have similar grades. It would be nice if we could get into the same university," Gao Dewei said with some anticipation.

"Huh?" An Nuan snapped back to reality. Her grades and Liu Chang'an's were indeed similar, but there was still a gap between them and Gao Dewei. In the mock exams organized by the school, everyone chased each other, and a difference of ten or twenty points might be caught up in the next one. But the college entrance exam only happened once; if you were ten points behind in this exam, you were ten points behind for a lifetime. Gao Dewei was the one meant to replace Huang Shan—or more accurately, to represent the Affiliated High School in competing for the top science student title.

"The gap between the highest and lowest scores for Wudaokou Vocational College in our province is fifty or sixty, sometimes even seventy or eighty points every year." Gao Dewei said encouragingly, assuming An Nuan felt her score was too far off from his.

An Nuan rolled her eyes at Gao Dewei; if anyone else heard this "encouragement," they would surely think he was just showing off.

But An Nuan didn't care. She suddenly snapped back to reality—did Liu Chang'an mean he wanted to attend the same university as her?

An Nuan couldn't help but steal a glance at Liu Chang'an's back, recalling the plots of so many novels and movies, especially her favorite campus romances. Wasn't the greatest wish of the male and female leads always to be on the same university campus?

An Nuan gritted her teeth as she watched Liu Chang'an, because just as she was thinking these things, Liu Chang'an had already arrived at his new seat and sat down, facing Bai Hui, smiling like a chrysanthemum blooming under the brilliant autumn sun.

Yes, Miao Yingying's original deskmate was Bai Hui. After Liu Chang'an swapped seats with Miao Yingying, he became Bai Hui's deskmate.

June had yet to arrive, and the remaining time was even shorter; Liu Chang'an was no longer An Nuan's deskmate.