Aids Student Progress

After walking several dozen more steps, when they brushed against each other for the second time, her fingertips firmly traced the curve of the back of his hand.

This time, it was not accidental. She had forgotten to withdraw her fingers while secretly looking at his profile.

Her fingertips were softer than the back of her hand. As they brushed over the knuckles on his hand, they left behind a warm trail, like a feather skimming across water.

This time, Lin Ciyan did not wait for her to pull away.

His fingers turned lightly in the air, accurately catching her wrist. Then they slid downward, his five fingers threading through the gaps between hers and firmly clasping her hand in his palm.

Her hand curled in his grasp, like a captured butterfly fluttering its wings once. Then it softened, her fingers bending slightly as his fingers gathered them in one by one.

Her palm was still so soft, its warmth against his palm exactly like that half-hot cup of coffee from the afternoon.

Han Ruoruo's steps stopped in that instant.

In fact, his hand had pulled her to a stop.

She turned her head. Her eyes, especially clear in the dusk, looked straight at him. There was panic in them, as well as a thin layer of anticipation she had not even noticed herself.

"Teaching Assistant Lin!"

Her voice was low, but her tone was firmer than it had been in the café that afternoon.

She tried to pull her hand back, using more force than before...

But Lin Ciyan merely drew his fingers together lightly, catching the fingers that wanted to flee and pulling them back. His fingertips rested against her finger bones—not tight, but unyielding.

"No." A trace of urgency entered Han Ruoruo's voice.

"I'm a teacher, and