Chapter 3

I woke up a little earlier than usual.

Not because of nerves.
At least... I don't think so.

Maybe I slept lightly.
Maybe the house felt cooler this morning.
Or maybe my mind just wasn't ready to rest as deeply as normal.

Either way, when sunlight slipped through the curtains, I knew there was no point staying in bed.
I sat up, stretched, and went to wash my face.

The cold water cleared my thoughts.

Another school day.

But not exactly the same.

Today was the first day Class 2-A and Class 2-B would share the morning period in our classroom.

I didn't feel excited—
not like Cheng,
and not like half the class who couldn't calm down yesterday.

Still—
it wasn't true to say I felt nothing.

Yesterday afternoon replayed unexpectedly.

Xia calling out to me—loud, confident.
Yiyi beside her, bowing politely.
Barely a ten-second moment, yet somehow it stuck with me.

I shook the thought away before it became bigger than it needed to be.

Downstairs, Mom was already in the kitchen.

She looked up with her usual warm smile.

"Yuan'er, you're early today."

"I woke up before the alarm."

"That's rare."
Her smile deepened.
"Good. It means today will go smoothly."

She placed a simple breakfast on the table—porridge, a boiled egg, stir-fried vegetables.
Comforting, familiar.

I sat and ate quietly.

Mom joined me with her morning tea.

"You mentioned your class will join with Class 2-B today, right?"

"Yes. The first shared morning period."

"How do you feel?"

"...Normal, I guess."

"Only normal?" she teased gently.

I thought for a moment.

"It'll be... different. New people. New groups. New interactions."

Mom sipped her tea.

"That's not a bad thing," she said.
"You're at an age where meeting different kinds of people matters. Opportunities come in small forms."

"...Maybe."

She reached over and patted my hand.
"You'll be fine, Yuan'er. Just be yourself."

"I wasn't planning to be anyone else," I murmured.

Mom laughed—soft, warm, the kind of sound that made mornings calmer.

I finished breakfast, grabbed my bag, and put on my shoes.

Before I stepped out, she called from the kitchen:

"Come home safely! And say hello to Cheng for me if you see him this morning."

"I will."

The door closed behind me as I stepped outside.

The air was crisp, the sky clear.
A typical Tuesday morning...
with just enough difference in it to make me feel slightly more alert.

As I started walking toward school, I exhaled slowly.

Whatever today brought—
I would deal with it.

I left the house earlier than usual.

Not intentionally...
I just walked out without checking the time, and by the time I realized it, the streets were quieter than they normally were.

The sky was a pale morning blue, the breeze cool and refreshing.

As I turned the corner near the convenience store, I noticed someone ahead walking in the same direction.

Medium-length hair.
Light steps.
Calm posture.

Ye Ling.

She seemed lost in thought, holding her schoolbag lightly in front of her.

I considered slowing down to give her distance.
But before I could decide, she turned slightly—and our eyes met.

She blinked.

"...Tang Yuan?"

I stopped for a moment.
"Good morning."

A soft smile appeared on her lips—warm and effortless.

"Good morning."

She stepped aside, waiting for me to catch up.

"You're early today," she said.

"So are you."

Her smile widened just a little.
"I woke up before my alarm. It felt like a good day to walk slowly."

"...I see."

We naturally fell into pace beside each other—
not too close, not too far.

The silence between us was gentle, not awkward.

After a few steps, Ling spoke—quietly, choosing her words.

"Um... we'll probably have our group discussion soon. Since... we're in the same group, it's good we ran into each other."

"...Right."

She let out a soft, nervous laugh she tried to hide.

"I'm the representative for Class 2-B, but... honestly, I'm not used to leading anything."
She lowered her gaze.
"I'm worried I might not coordinate well with everyone."

"You've handled everything well so far," I said.
"That's enough."

She blinked, surprised.

"Really?"

"You're organized. And you think things through before acting."
I paused.
"Cheng and Qing rely on you. That means something."

Her steps slowed just a little.

"...You noticed that?"

"It's obvious."

Ling's expression warmed—gentle, relieved, almost glowing in the morning light.

"Thank you," she said softly.
"It... actually helps hearing that from you."

The rest of the walk felt smoother, the earlier tension easing into something more comfortable—
not close, but not distant either.

Something in between.

When the school came into view, two familiar figures stood near the gate.

Cheng, waving dramatically.
And beside him, Cai Qing—calm posture, observant eyes.

Cheng spotted us immediately.

"Oh? Yuan? You're early—"

He froze.

His eyebrows rose.
A grin spread slowly.

"...You came together?"

Ling stiffened.
My shoulders tensed automatically.

"It was just coincidence," I said.

"Ahh, coincidence," Cheng repeated, leaning in with ridiculous suspicion.
"Right. Right."

Cai Qing stepped forward, arms loosely crossed.

"Well, unexpected," she said with a calm smile, "but... it suits you two."

Ling's cheeks turned faintly pink.

"Qing..."

"What?" Qing asked innocently.
"I'm just saying you look comfortable together."

Cheng elbowed me.
"Yuan, you didn't tell me you were this smooth."

"...I'm not."

Ling bit her lip, flustered but trying to hide it.

"I just happened to leave early," she said quietly.
"And we walked from the same direction. That's all."

Qing raised an eyebrow.

"Mhm. Just coincidence."
Her tone clearly didn't believe it.

Ling looked away.

Cheng leaned toward me again.

"I'll hear the full story later," he whispered.

"There is no story."

"Sure."

He grinned wider.

The morning bell chimed, saving everyone from further teasing.

Ling exhaled softly.

"Let's... go inside," she said.

We entered the school together—not as a group, not as anything special—
but somehow, the atmosphere felt different.

More eyes.
More awareness.
More potential for misunderstanding.

Not unpleasant.

Just... complicated.

And I wasn't sure what today would bring.

By the time Cheng and I walked upstairs to Class 2-A, the hallway was already lively. Students moved in small groups, chatting about the joint project or scrambling to finish homework they forgot about.

Cheng pushed our classroom door open with his usual energy.

"Morning!" he called.

Several classmates replied.

I stepped in behind him—quiet as always—and headed to my seat by the window.

But the room felt... different.

It didn't take long to see why.

A pair of girls near the front glanced at me, whispered behind their hands.

A student by the aisle raised an eyebrow as I passed, nudging his friend.

Someone in the back muttered—loud enough to hear:

"Isn't that the Class 2-B rep he walked with?"

I exhaled quietly.

So people had seen us.

Cheng heard it too.
His grin was immediate.

"Oh? Oh ho? You're popular this morning, Yuan."

"Don't start," I said.

He leaned closer, voice lowered only slightly.
"But really—Ling? The rep of 2-B? Walking together? This is prime gossip fuel."

"It was coincidence."

"Sure. And coincidence is exactly what gets people talking."

I ignored him and took out my notebook.

The room was more animated than usual.

Some students were re-checking group lists they already memorized.

"I heard our group's using the science lab later."
"We need materials for brainstorming, right?"
"Do you think 2-B is easy to work with?"
"My group has someone from the basketball team—lucky."

Cheng flopped into his seat.

"This project is gonna be chaos. But fun chaos."

I didn't respond.

Not because I disagreed—
but because I felt something subtle shift.

A pair of eyes.

Soft.
Quiet.
Observing.

I glanced sideways—

Zhao Yiyi sat at her desk, arranging her notes with calm precision.

She wasn't staring.
Not exactly.

More like... measuring the room.
Taking in the atmosphere.
Noticing the changes—
as she usually did.

Our eyes met for half a second.

She blinked and looked down again.

I looked away too.

A small moment.
But it lingered more than expected.

In the middle row, a boy stretched and said:

"Hey, did you guys see Tang Yuan with that girl earlier? That Class 2-B rep?"

"Yeah, they came from the front gate together."

"Are they close?"

"Are they in the same group?"

"They are," someone answered.
"With Liu Cheng and Cai Qing."

"Ahh, that makes sense."

The conversation drifted.

Cheng burst into laughter.

"See? Even I'm not this popular. And that hurts."

"It doesn't matter," I said.

"Maybe not to you. But to everyone else? Oh, it matters."

He wasn't wrong.
But thinking about it would only make it worse.

"Morning."

I looked up.

Lin Xia stood beside Yiyi's desk, smiling as she put down her bag.

Her eyes swept the room once—
and she immediately picked up on the gossip.

Her expression tightened with amused annoyance.

"You're trending," Cheng whispered.

"Don't say trending."

Xia chuckled softly, glancing between me and Yiyi.
I couldn't tell if she was amused by the gossip—
or by the way Yiyi had been smoothing her notebook pages ever since she looked up earlier.

She didn't comment.
She didn't have to.

More students entered, the noise swelling.

I leaned back, listening to the familiar mix of chatter, footsteps, and chair scraping.

It was busy.
It was noisy.
It was normal.

Except for one thing:

Everyone was preparing for the project...
But it felt like everyone was also preparing to watch each other.

The bell rang, and conversations died down as our homeroom teacher entered.

"Good morning, Class 2-A."

We answered together. She set her folder on the desk, scanned the room once, and began.

"As you already know, today will be your first joint project work session with Class 2-B. Homeroom will be brief so you can move to your assigned locations on time."

She opened her attendance sheet.

"Group room assignments are as follows:

Groups A and B: remain in this classroom

Groups C and D: Science Lab 2

Groups E through H: multipurpose room"

Soft murmurs spread as people confirmed their groups.

"Today is only the initial planning stage," she continued.
"You will not finalize themes until later this week. When the second bell rings, gather your materials and move to your assigned rooms. Class 2-B will meet you there."

Simple, efficient.
The second bell rang moments later.

Chairs scraped softly as everyone stood.

Time to start.

Cheng and I headed down the hall toward the multipurpose room. A few students from other groups walked ahead of us—some excited, some half-asleep.

"Man, I hope our group doesn't get stuck doing something boring," Cheng said, swinging his bag.
"Like historical research. Or charts."

"You're hoping too much."

"Let me dream a little."

The multipurpose room door was already open.
Inside, Group E from our class claimed the front-left corner.

Cheng and I took a table near the center—four seats, enough space to work comfortably.

"Good spot," he said, dropping his bag.

I set my notebook down. Cheng started rambling about wild project concepts he clearly hadn't thought through.

Footsteps approached.

I looked up.

Ye Ling and Cai Qing walked in together, both carrying notebooks.

Qing gave a small wave.
"Morning, you two."

Ling's eyes flicked to me.
"Good morning."

Cheng grinned. "Perfect timing."

They sat—Ling beside Qing, across from me, Cheng to my right.

For a moment, none of us spoke.
Not awkward, just the calm before deciding how to start.

Qing tapped her pencil lightly.

"Well, we should at least begin," she said.
"Teacher said today is only pre-planning."

Cheng nodded. "Yeah, no need to finalize."

Ling opened her notebook with careful precision.

"I wrote a few basic ideas last night," she said softly.
"Just possibilities. Not themes yet."

She turned the notebook toward us.

Her handwriting was neat and small:

Community-related concepts

School environmental projects

Cultural exchange ideas

Daily-life improvement themes

Cheng whistled. "You're really prepared, Ling."

Ling shook her head.
"It's nothing. I just didn't want to waste time today."

Qing smiled.
"That's exactly why you're our representative."

Ling's ears turned slightly red.

I scanned the list.
"They're broad enough to build on. Good starting point."

Ling looked surprised—almost too surprised—then lowered her gaze.

"...Thank you."

Cheng leaned in.
"Okay! So which direction should we explore first?"

"Calm down," Qing said, pushing his forehead back with one finger.
"We're only comparing ideas."

He grinned sheepishly.

Ling tilted her head.
"I think we should choose something all four of us can contribute to. Something balanced."

Qing nodded.
"Not too technical, not too artistic."

"And preferably no outdoor work," Cheng added.
"It's been too hot."

"You're just lazy," Qing said.

He didn't deny it.

Ling looked between us, then suggested timidly:

"...We can each choose one broad category and compare later? It might make discussion easier."

Simple.
Efficient.
Not pushy.

"I'm fine with that," I said.

"Same," Cheng added.

"Works for me," Qing agreed.

Ling relaxed slightly.

For the next twenty minutes:

We exchanged general ideas

Defined what "broad" meant

Agreed to gather references tomorrow

Assigned each person a small task

No arguments.
No awkward silences.
No one dominating the room.

Ling spoke softly but steadily.
Qing kept us on track.
Cheng loosened the atmosphere.
I filled the gaps when things slowed.

If someone watched from afar, they might think we already knew each other.

We didn't—
but the balance wasn't bad.

Near the end, Ling hesitated, looking at her notebook before glancing at me.

"Um... about the list... if you think it's too simple, you can say so."

"It's not," I said.
"It keeps us from going in circles."

She blinked.
"Really?"

"Really."

Her shoulders eased.

Qing nudged her gently, smiling.

Cheng leaned toward me, whispering with a smirk:

"She relaxes around you fast, huh?"

I ignored him.

The bell rang for lunch.

Students packed up, chairs scraping lightly as the groups dissolved.

Qing stretched.
"Well, that went smoother than I expected."

Ling closed her notebook neatly.
"Yes... it wasn't bad."

Cheng stood.
"Lunch? Yuan, let's go."

I nodded.

Qing and Ling exchanged a glance, then smiled politely at us.

"See you this afternoon," Qing said.

Ling bowed her head slightly.
"See you later."

Cheng and I stepped into the hallway—buzzing with voices from both classes again.

But my mind lingered on the quiet table we'd just left.

It was only the first session—
but something had started to shift.

Slowly.
Subtly.

Enough for me to notice.

The hallways felt unusually crowded after the morning work session.
Students from both classes spilled out at the same time, heading toward the cafeteria in loose clusters.

Cheng walked beside me, already complaining.

"I swear that planning session drained my energy. I need food or I'll die."

"You're dramatic."

"Correct."

We turned the corner—

—and nearly bumped into Cai Qing and Ye Ling coming from the opposite direction.

Qing slowed.
"Oh—coincidence."

Ling gave a small nod.
"Hello."

Cheng grinned.
"You two heading to lunch?"

"Yes," Qing replied. "It's crowded today, so we thought we should go early."

"That makes four of us, then," Cheng said.

The hallway traffic pushed all of us the same way anyway, so we naturally ended up walking together.

Not much conversation—just the kind of quiet that happens when people aren't strangers anymore, but not close enough to talk without thinking.

The cafeteria was packed—students weaving between tables, balancing trays, fighting for space.

"War zone," Cheng muttered before charging toward the food counters.

We separated briefly to get our meals.
When we regrouped, Qing spotted two empty tables at the back.

"There."

"Nice," Cheng said. "Move before it disappears."

We took the table closer to the wall—quiet enough, not isolated.

Cheng dug in immediately, sighing like he'd avoided death.
Qing opened her lunchbox neatly.
Ling sat across from me, lowering her gaze with her usual calm poise.

Cheng started—of course he did.

"So! About group work... I think we're doing pretty well."

"It's only been one session," Qing reminded him.

"Still counts as progress."

Ling nodded softly.
"I'm glad we could discuss so many possibilities. It'll make tomorrow easier."

Cheng tapped his chopsticks on the tray.
"Yuan's the reason it stayed organized, honestly."

I frowned.
"I didn't do anything special."

"He always says that," Cheng told them.

Qing chuckled quietly.
"I noticed. You're good at keeping us focused."

Ling's expression brightened just a little.
"Yes... it helped a lot."

I wasn't sure how to answer, so I just took a sip of my drink.

Lunch wasn't loud or dramatic.
Just warm—ordinary in a comfortable way.

Qing asked Cheng about a manga adaptation.
Ling listened attentively, offering quiet comments.
I answered when someone asked me something.

Nothing forced.
Nothing stiff.

Just four people sharing lunch because the day guided us to the same table.

When the bell rang, all of us stood almost at once.

Qing fixed her sleeves.
"We'll see you two this afternoon."

Ling bowed her head slightly.
"Thank you for the meal."

Cheng saluted her with his chopsticks before tossing them away.
"See you later."

We stepped out and merged into the noisy hallway.

It wasn't much—just lunch.

But it was enough to make today feel different from yesterday.

After lunchbreak, the hallway gradually thinned as students returned to their classrooms.
Cheng and I blended into the slow stream heading back to Class 2-A.

By the time we arrived, most of our classmates were already in their seats.

Afternoon sunlight poured through the windows—warm, steady, almost sleepy.

Cheng collapsed into his chair with a dramatic groan.
"My body is ready. My mind, however, left this world ten minutes ago."

"You should've eaten less."

"Impossible."

A few students laughed.
The room fell into that familiar sluggish quiet that always came before afternoon classes.

Our teacher arrived soon after, and language arts began.

Some students fought sleep.
Some took notes mechanically.
Others whispered the moment the teacher turned toward the board.

I listened, my handwriting almost automatic.

Snippets of conversation drifted across the room:

"Group C already has two ideas."
"Our group is meeting after school."
"Did you see Class 2-B's rep? She looks strict."

And then:

"I heard Tang Yuan's group has two people from 2-B."

I ignored it.

Rumors moved faster than truth.
And once they spread, they didn't stop easily.

When the teacher passed out worksheets, I looked up—
and noticed Zhao Yiyi across the room.

She worked with steady concentration, unfazed by the noise around her.
Lin Xia leaned over to whisper something; Yiyi listened with a small nod before continuing her writing.

Nothing unusual.

But the calmness around her row felt grounding—
as if everyone nearby unconsciously matched her pace.

I went back to my worksheet.

During the ten-minute break, Cheng turned his chair toward mine.

"So," he said, tapping his pencil, "how do you think our group will go?"

"It depends on whether we choose a direction fast."

"Yeah, but... personality-wise, it's not bad, right?"

"...Not bad."

He looked satisfied.

"Qing is smart, Ling is prepared, and you—well—you're you. I'm the only chaos."

"That's accurate."

"Hey!"

The corner of my mouth twitched—barely noticeable.
Cheng saw it and grinned wider.

Across the room, a pair of classmates whispered again, glancing our way.
I let it pass.

Rumors weren't worth the energy.

The bell rang, ending break.

The last period moved slowly—
as if the entire class was waiting for the clock to catch up.

The teacher lectured.
Chairs creaked.
Someone cursed quietly after dropping a pen.
Class 2-A behaved just enough to avoid trouble.

When the final bell finally rang, the room exhaled together.

Students stretched, packed up, and rushed into the hallway.

Cheng rolled his shoulders.
"All right. Bookstore time. A new manga volume came out."

He glanced at me.
"You're coming, right?"

I nodded.
"I said I would."

"Good. If not, I'd drag you."

We stepped out into the hallway—noisy, crowded, familiar.

"I'm getting that manga before someone else buys it," Cheng said, adjusting his backpack.

"I'm going with you."

"Perfect."

We turned toward the stairwell—

—and that's when someone called out.

"Yuan!"

Not loud.
Just clear enough to cut through the noise.

Both of us stopped.
Cheng blinked.
I turned.

Lin Xia jogged up, slightly out of breath.

"Ah—sorry," she said quickly. "I meant... Tang Yuan."

She stepped aside—

revealing Zhao Yiyi standing just behind her.

Yiyi straightened slightly when we made eye contact.
Not nervous.
Not flustered.
Just composed, as always.

"Sorry to stop you both," Xia said.
"We were talking about project stuff earlier, so—uh—we figured we should say good luck for the week."

Yiyi bowed her head politely.

"Yes. Good luck."

I hesitated a beat.

"...You too."

Cheng waved lazily.
"Good luck to you girls too."

Xia beamed.
"Thanks!"

They walked past us and disappeared into the flow of students heading downstairs.

Cheng elbowed me.

"Hey," he said, smirking, "look at you. Being social."

"I didn't do anything."

"That's the point."

I ignored him and started walking.

But as we moved down the stairs, I caught myself replaying the brief exchange—
not because anything meaningful happened...

...but because it was the first time we'd spoken directly.

Barely a handful of words.

Still—
more than before.