The temperature dropped a little the next morning.

Although it's not as freezing as winter, the cold wind after the autumn rains is still quite unpleasant; the wind stings your face like needles.

Wen Mo exhaled a breath of hot air, which instantly turned into white mist. His earlobes were frozen red, but fortunately, he could still hold Xia Lian's hand, so it wasn't too cold.

"Aren't you cold?" he asked, turning his head. "Why aren't you wearing the scarf I gave you? It would be perfect to wear it now."

"No." Xia Lian shook her head stubbornly. "I want to cherish this for a lifetime."

She placed the gift in the most conspicuous spot in her wardrobe, hiding it away like a treasure. If it weren't for the extremely cold weather, she would probably cherish it so much that she wouldn't even wear it once.

"I'm just a little worried you'll get cold. It's freezing cold this early in the morning. Humans shouldn't get up at 6 a.m.," Wen Mo complained.

Xia Lian nodded in agreement.

Their relationship seemed unchanged; they remained as close as ever, even holding hands on their way to school.

But only Wen Mo knew the truth. After confirming his feelings, Xia Lian's every move made him feel anxious. Even though it was so cold, his palms were still sweating.

"Oh right, take this cake and share it with Yin Tao and Qing Zhou later."

Wenmer held up the small box he was carrying in his other hand, which contained several pieces of cake.

There's still a lot of food left from last night, and most of the cake is left too. I don't know when we'll finish it if it's just the two of us.

After consulting Xia Lian, Wen Mo cut half of the cake and brought it to school to share.

"You probably can't bring your cutlery in, but I've put disposable gloves inside. You can use them later."

"Um."

Xia Lian nodded obediently.

The ground was slippery after the rain, and every now and then a few raindrops dripped from the leaves, forming small puddles that reflected the two figures.

Wen Mo didn't know how to describe the relationship between the two. To put it nicely, they could be described as cousins ​​with a close relationship. To put it bluntly... he just couldn't bring himself to say it.

Last night's events had a significant impact on him, because his cousin wasn't wrong. Even if he really liked Xia Lian, so what? He couldn't bear to imagine what their life together would be like.

If we changed the relationship, would it be more natural than it is now?

Wen Mo couldn't help but think this way, and in a moment of distraction, he looked at Xia Lian beside him. Her adorable profile seemed oblivious to her cousin's gaze, and she just kept looking straight ahead.

"Huh? Wenmo's here. Are you looking at me?"

Perhaps she had been staring for too long, Xia Lian blinked and finally felt Wen Mo's gaze.

"Yeah, I'm watching you." Wen Mo shrugged, a helpless smile spreading across his face.

Perhaps, only this kind of relationship feels more natural.

After all, without this connection, the two might not have even had the chance to meet. From this perspective, he even felt fortunate.

As a guy who had just started dating, he didn't know what to do next. Their relationship was like an invisible shackle, firmly binding them together.

Wen Mo is not a dating expert. He can even feel extremely embarrassed just by holding hands once. In addition, Xia Lian's personality is rather special, and he can never guess what she is thinking.

Looking up at the distant sky, Wen Mo could sense that the road ahead was long and arduous, and for a moment he couldn't imagine what the future would hold. Perhaps there was no standard ending for cousins.

...

"You're here really early today. You usually arrive at the last minute for class, don't you?"

As soon as Wen Mo stepped into the classroom, Qin Zhou immediately ran over and sat down next to him, patting his shoulder with a grin.

Wen Mo looked around and saw that most of the students hadn't arrived yet, so it seemed that they were indeed arriving earlier than usual today. "I just got up a little earlier today."

"It's rare to see you before the morning reading class. I wish I could be like you and be late every day without getting scolded."

"Stop teasing me. Do you really think I can't tell?" Wen Mo rolled her eyes and took out the box from beside her. "Want some?"

The remaining cake was divided into two portions, just enough for both sides to have a taste.

Qin Zhou peeked forward and then noticed the small box at his feet. "What are you eating? What's in this box?"

"Good stuff, you can keep it to yourself."

Wenmer casually said, removing the ribbon tied to the cake to reveal two perfectly cut pieces inside. Because he had held it very steadily the whole way, the cakes looked as good as new.

"Oh? So generous? This cake must be expensive, right?" Qin Zhou rubbed his hands together, but didn't rush to eat it. Instead, he became suspicious of Wen Mo's sudden generosity.

"It's not cheap, but this is what's left over. You can take it and eat it." Wen Mo shrugged and tossed over a disposable glove. "Wear gloves to eat. You can't bring a knife and fork into school."

"So it was leftovers. I was wondering why you were being so generous all of a sudden."

"Fine, don't eat it then."

"No! I love eating leftovers!" Qin Zhou quickly grabbed a piece and started eating it without any hesitation.

He ate and laughed, his face covered in white cream.

"It tastes good. By the way, why are you suddenly eating cake?"

"Didn't I tell you last time that I was going to celebrate someone's birthday? Have you already forgotten?"

Hearing Wen Mo's explanation, Qin Zhou frowned slightly, only then remembering that he had indeed mentioned this matter, but it was only more than ten days ago, so how could he possibly remember it now?

"So you knitted a scarf during class because of this?"

"Of course, otherwise I'd be knitting a scarf during class if I had nothing better to do, right?" Wen Mo said irritably.

The whole class knew about what happened before, since knitting a scarf in class is too conspicuous. Fortunately, there were others in the class who were even more conspicuous than him, such as the guy sitting in the back who could start cooking right there with a rice cooker.

While eating cake, Qin Zhou didn't stop chatting about the girl, though he also had some other complaints in his mind.

He's even willing to knit a scarf for her during class, and this guy previously said he wasn't interested in her. I really don't know what to say to him.

"I know, you're going to say your relationship is just a simple one again." Qin Zhou didn't know what Wen Mo was thinking at the moment, but he just brought up what he had said before.

Wenmo shook his head and turned his face away somewhat embarrassed.

"I think... I've fallen for her."

...

As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Zhou's jaw stopped moving, as if he had heard something he shouldn't have.

It took him a while to realize what his good friend had said, and he asked in disbelief, his voice trembling slightly, "Didn't you say before that you two were very innocent?"

"Yes, I'm not wrong."

Wen Mo pursed his lips, his tone seemingly a little helpless.

"Right now, I simply really like her."