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Lu Panji watched Jiang Yibai walk away with his backpack. He opened his mouth but didn't shout. He scratched his head, muttered "What the hell?", and rushed out of the classroom with his basketball in hand.

Jiang Yibai didn't go far. He leaned against the wall at the end of the corridor, next to the water dispenser. A slight chill seeped through his thin school uniform. This side was quiet and less crowded. He could see the corner of the classroom's back door, but he couldn't be seen there.

The students rushed over like a flood, making so much noise that it hurt his ears. He frowned, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the straps of his schoolbag.

Lin Xiyan was one of the last to emerge. He always seemed a step behind, waiting until almost everyone else had left before he emerged, head lowered, his washed-out backpack on his back. His footsteps were so light, almost inaudible, like a cat walking on tiptoe. He glanced around, seemingly determining his direction, and then headed for the stairs, still avoiding the main crowd and sticking close to the wall.

Jiang Yibai didn't move, watching his thin figure blend into the crowd going downstairs and disappear from sight after a while.

He stood up straight and also walked towards the stairs, his steps slow and steady, keeping a distance between them.

Lin Xiyan went down the stairs very carefully, holding the railing with one hand and stepping firmly on each step before going down. Unlike other boys, who would jump down after three or five steps, making such a noise that the stairs were shaking.

When she reached the first floor, Lin Xiyan didn't go to the playground or the canteen, but turned towards the library. It was quieter and less crowded there.

Jiang Yibai followed and turned around.

There was an old locust tree at the entrance to the library, its leaves beginning to turn yellow. Lin Xiyan sat down on a bench beneath the tree and did nothing else but pull out the book he'd just been reading, flipping back to the dog-eared page and looking down. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting flickering spots of light on his hair and the pages of the book.

He was reading intently, his brows knitted slightly, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the edge of the paper, as if he and that difficult question were the only ones left in the world.

Jiang Yibai sat down on the edge of another flower bed not far away, pulled the physics competition book from his schoolbag, and spread it on his lap. He didn't look at it, his eyes fixed on the person in front of him who was staring blankly at the book.

It's really crazy. It takes so long to get stuck on one question.

The wind blew, and the leaves rustled. A few early yellow leaves swirled down, and one of them landed right on the page of Lin Xiyan's open book.

He seemed startled, raised his head, his eyes a little dazed, looked at the leaf, then looked around. Then he stretched out two fingers, gently picked up the leaf, and placed it on the chair next to him, moving very gently, as if afraid of breaking it.

Putting down the leaf, he continued to look down at the question, returning to the frozen posture just now.

Jiang Yibai watched, finding it a bit amusing. Besides studying and kittens, was there nothing else on this person's mind? Oh, and maybe how to avoid everyone.

He closed the book on his lap with a slight sound.

Lin Xiyan didn't hear it and was completely immersed in his own world.

Jiang Yibai stood up and walked over. His footsteps landed on the concrete floor, not loud, but distinct enough in the quiet corner of the campus before lunch break.

Walking all the way to the bench, his shadow fell on the pages of Lin Xiyan's book.

Lin Xiyan snapped back to his senses and looked up, startled. Seeing Jiang Yibai, his eyes widened a fraction, his amber pupils reflecting his reflection clearly, a look of obvious panic and confusion. His lips moved, but no sound came out, and his fingers subconsciously closed the book, as if trying to hide something.

Jiang Yibai didn't say anything. His eyes fell on the book he closed, then he looked up at his face.

Lin Xiyan felt uncomfortable being stared at by him. Her gaze wandered and finally landed on the fallen leaves beside her. Her eyelashes trembled violently.

"Which question do you not understand?" Jiang Yibai spoke. His voice seemed a little lower and less cold than when he usually spoke to Lu Panji in the classroom.

Lin Xiyan didn't seem to expect him to ask this. She was stunned for several seconds before hesitantly and very slightly pointing at the book she had just closed.

"The one with the folded corner?" Jiang Yibai asked.

Lin Xiyan glanced up at him quickly, nodded, and then immediately lowered her head. The tips of her ears were slightly red.

"Let's see," Jiang Yibai said. It wasn't a discussion, it was a statement.

Lin Xiyan curled his fingers, hesitant, and slowly opened the book again, turning to the folded corner of the page, and pointed his fingertips at one of the comprehensive questions. His fingertips were clean, his nails neatly trimmed, revealing a healthy pink.

Jiang Yibai leaned forward, his hands resting on the backrest of the bench, and read the questions in his posture. The distance suddenly became very close, and he could smell the faint scent of soapberry on Lin Xiyan's hair, mixed with a little warmth from the sun.

Lin Xiyan's body tensed instantly, as if a needle had been pressed on his bloodstream. He dared not move, even his breathing became shallow. He remained rigidly pointing at the question, his head tilted to the side, revealing his reddened earlobes and a small section of his fair neck.

Jiang Yibai glanced at the question. It was a comprehensive mechanics question. The traps were a bit tricky, but not beyond the scope of the syllabus.

"The force analysis is wrong." He said succinctly, his finger passing over Lin Xiyan's shoulder, pointing to a condition in the question. "Here, a smooth inclined plane, by default, is frictionless. You added friction."

His fingertips almost touched the sleeve of Lin Xiyan's school uniform.

Lin Xiyan suddenly retracted his hand as if burned, hugged the book tightly, and leaned back, trying to create some distance. He lowered his head and looked at the place where Jiang Yibai pointed for a long time. His brows slowly relaxed, and a flash of realization flashed in his eyes, and then a little annoyance came over him. He muttered softly, "...Yeah."

The sound was as light as a feather passing by.

Jiang Yibai stood up and distanced himself. The faint smell of soapberry faded a little.

Lin Xiyan seemed relieved, but his body was still a little stiff. He picked up his pen and quickly re-drew the force analysis diagram on the draft paper, the tip of the pen scratching.

Jiang Yibai just stood there and watched, neither leaving nor saying anything else.

Lin Xiyan finished the painting, looked at herself, then raised her head and secretly glanced at Jiang Yibai, as if seeking confirmation.

Jiang Yibai glanced at the draft paper: "Yeah."

With just this one word, Lin Xiyan seemed to have received some kind of assurance. He lowered his head and continued calculating. This time, it went much more smoothly, without getting stuck again.

He quickly came up with the answer, wrote it down, put down his pen, and breathed a sigh of relief, as if he had accomplished something great.

He raised his head again and looked at Jiang Yibai. The panic in his eyes was less, and there was something else, very subtle, like gratitude, but still a little bit at a loss. He opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something.

The bell for class preparation rang at an inopportune time, piercing the quiet corner.

Lin Xiyan seemed to be instantly pulled out of his problem-solving state and returned to his easily frightened self. He slammed the book shut, stuffed it into his schoolbag, and stood up, his movements much faster.

He stood there, looked at Jiang Yibai, moved his lips again, but in the end he just nodded to Jiang Yibai quickly, almost invisibly, then turned around and walked quickly towards the teaching building, his back still revealing a bit of haste.

Jiang Yibai watched him run away like a frightened rabbit again and did not chase him.

The wind blew and blew a few more leaves off the tree, which fell on the empty bench.

Jiang Yibai walked over, bent down, and picked up the fallen leaf that Lin Xiyan had carefully placed on the chair. The edge of the leaf was already a little curled.

He pinched the leaf stem, turned it around, and then threw it with the other fallen leaves.

It's time for him to go back to the classroom.

This section seems to be mathematics.