As Zhuang Zi'aered the , he spotted Lin Mushi enjoying some shengjian bao (pan-fried pork buns, a popur breakfast staple in Shanghai). The neointed css president, Xie Wenyong, was h around her, fawning over her and attempting to engage her in versation.

  Sure enough, the school beauty was never short of admirers. However, all of Xie Wenyong’s scheming got him nowhere; Lin Mushi paid him no mind.

  When Lin Mushi saw Zhuang Zi'ang, she looked a bit embarrassed a pelled to expin, "Zhuang Zi'ang, I told him I wasn't ied, but Xie Wenyong insisted on buying these for me anyway."

  Zhuang Zi'ang smiled wryly. "Why are you tellihis?"

  Lin Mushi was momentarily stunned. She had felt an undeniable urge to distance herself from Xie Wenyong the moment she saw Zhuang Zi'ang.

  In the past, Lin Mushi had occasionally messaged Zhuang Zi'ang, requesting that he pick up breakfast for her. Perhaps it was simply a pcebo effect, but the breakfast Zhuang Zi'ang got her always tasted better than Xie Wenyong's.

  Lin Mushi was chauffeured to and from school each day. Earlier, while being driven past the bus stop, she had glimpsed Zhuang Zi'ang through the car window, holding two cups of soy milk.

  Lin Mushi, perhaps a bit presumptuously, assumed one was definitely for her. However, Zhuang Zi'ang now held only a single cup, which he was currently drinking from.

  Had the other cup been for that girl with the peach blossom in her hair? A pang of something akin to jealousy pierced her heart.

  Initially, she had sidered her retionship with Zhuang Zi'ang to be purely ptonic. But now, with a rival threatening her perceived status, she felt a newfound sense of unease.

  Zhuang Zi'ang had no idea Lin Mushi's thoughts were in such turmoil. He settled into his seat and borrowed a magazine from Li Huangxuan's desk.

  Li Huangxuan, with his notorious tardiness for m reading, was frequently subjected to Old Zhang's ary punishment of standing outside the door.

  "Mushi, here's some milk for you. It's still warm," Xie Wenyong persisted in his attentions.

  "Xie Wenyong, I'd appreciate it if you stopped buying me breakfast. I wouldn't want Zhuang Zi'ang to get the wrong idea," Lin Mushi said, her delicate brows furrowing.

  Xie Wenyong's heart sank like a stone in an icy ke. A desote se of swirling snowfkes, a howling north wind, and a world bed in white filled his mind... (This is a line from a popur ese meme song).

  In Lin Mushi's eyes, Zhuang Zi'ang had always been the most exceptional boy in their css. Xie Wenyong was a buffoon, not even worthy of shining Zhuang Zi'ang's shoes.

  Especially after seeing Su Yudiel yesterday, Lin Mushi's petitive instincts were ignited. She wasn't versed iters of love, but the sight of Zhuang Zi'ang with anirl created an unpleasaion withihe thought brought a delicate flush to her cheeks.

  During css, Zhuang Zi'ang had reverted to his usual studious demeanor. Wu Qiufang, the math teacher, made a point of cheg in on him, remembering his tears on the podium yesterday.

  "Thank you for your , Ms. Wu. I'm doing much better now," Zhuang Zi'ang replied, genuinely moved.

  Zhang Zhiyuan had maintained fidentiality regarding Zhuang Zi'ang's dition, simply inf Wu Qiufang that he had experienced a momentary emotional pse.

  When the lunch bell rang, Zhuang Zi'ang and Li Huangxuan headed to the cafeteria. He'd sidered texting Su Yudiel for lunch, but he had just seehat m. He didn't want to appear overly eager.

  The cafeteria was a hive of activity. Zhuang Zi'ang and Li Huangxuan mao snag a table in a retively quiet er, vely located he vending maes.

  "You seem a bit out of it, man," Li Huangxuan ented, his words slightly muffled by a mouthful of braised pork.

  "Not at all, I'm fully focused on my food," Zhuang Zi'ang insisted, though his as belied his words.

  While going through the motions of eating, Zhuang Zi'ang's gaze darted around the room, as if searg for someone. He was so preoccupied that he didn't even notice he was holding his chopsticks upside down.

  It takes oo know one. Li Huangxuan could easily read between the lines. He leaned closer, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Tell me again, how'd you meet that girl?"

  Zhuang Zi'ang, with a hint of reluce, reted the events, starting from their enter beh the ginkgo tree, to their fishing trip by the river, and finally, to seeing her off on the No. 19 bus.

  "You two shared a milk tea?" Li Huangxuan excimed, his eyes widening in disbelief.

  "Yeah, she practically forced it on me. What was I supposed to do, say no?" Zhuang Zi'ang replied with a sheepish grin.

  "Man, that's practically an i kiss! You know what they say, kissing lead to, well, you know..." Li Huangxuan teased, his voice rising in mock arm.

  "Are you messing with me? Do I look like I was borerday?" Zhuang Zi'aed, unceremoniously dumping a piece of braised pork into Li Huangxuan's bowl.

  Li Huangxuan, the self-procimed eternal bachelor, unabashedly pressed Zhuang Zi'ang to describe sharing a milk tea. Was it sweet? Was it awkward? Did your heart skip a beat?

  Zhuang Zi'ang, choosing to ignore his friend's releeasing, focused on his meal.

  Suddenly, his gaze was drawn to a pair of pristine white vas shoes that entered his peripheral vision, followed by two slender, pale legs that seemed to have been lifted straight from the pages of a manga.

  "Excuse me, is this seat taken?"

  The voice, as melodious as a songbird, was soft and pleasant.

  Zhuang Zi'ang looked up, his eyes log with Su Yudiel's.

  Li Huangxuan, ever the opportunist, quickly interjected, "Please, have a seat!"

  Su Yudiel gracefully pced her tray oable, smoothed her skirt, and took the seat beside Zhuang Zi'ang. A delicate, sweet fragrance wafted from her.

  "Hi, I'm Su Yudiel. I'm a friend of Zhuang Zi'ang's," she said, introdug herself to Li Huangxuan with a bright smile.

  "I… I'm Li Huangxuan, Zhuang Zi'ang's, uh, his friend," he stammered, momentarily flustered, having never engaged in versation with such a stunningly beautiful girl before.

  Pathetic, Zhuang Zi'ang thought with a sigh. The guy 't even string a senteogether in front of a pretty girl.

  "Let me get the drinks. What are you guys having?" Su Yudiel offered, gesturing towards the nearby vending mae.

  "In that case, Fanta for me!" Li Huangxuan excimed, not oo pass up a free drink.

  "Coke for me," Zhuang Zi'ang chimed in, any previous s about doctor's orders regarding soda now fotten. He craved that fizzy, sugary "elixir of happiness," as the i so aptly dubbed it.

  Returning with the drinks, Su Yudiel turo Li Huangxuan and asked, "Is Zhuang Zi'ang usually this b?"

  Li Huangxuan nodded emphatically. "Relentless study mae. No good at anything else, especially games. Makes me cry, he's so bad."

  "Games?" Su Yudiel looked puzzled.

  "Terrible. One hero—a fish—and still sucks," Li Huangxuan pined.

  "Hey, I'm good! 'Maing Fish of the yon'," Zhuang Zi'ang protested, hating to lose face.

  "Bragger. More like a dumb, fat fish," Su Yudiel scoffed.

  "Little Butterfly, I'll prove it. You’ll see how good I am," Zhuang Zi'ang boasted.

  "Little Butterfly?" Li Huangxuan blinked. Days known, and already with the mushy niames?

  "Butterfly is me, and I am the butterfly," Su Yudiel said, pointing at herself. (Refereo Zhuangzi’s “Butterfly Dream”).

  Familiar line. Li Huangxuan suddenly felt like a third wheel.

  Lunch done, not even 12:30. Zhuang Zi'ang pnned a nap. "Going back to sleep," he said to Su Yudiel. "Want to e along?"

  "Huh?" Su Yudiel blushed furiously. Asking like that?

  Li Huangxuan just froze, mortified.

  So, uh… I’ll just be going?