She was certain she had fallen for Zhang Jiye.

Before heading to school in the morning, Xu Chuwan packed her schoolbag, ate breakfast, and then went downstairs to the bus stop to wait for the bus.

The bus has arrived.

Xu Chu got into the car and looked up—she saw Zhang Jiye sitting at the very back.

Has his bicycle not been repaired yet?

Zhang Jiye also saw Xu Chuwan and said to her, "Xu Chuwan! Come and sit next to me!"

Xu Chuwan walked over to the seat next to him and sat down.

Xu Chuwan was a little curious as to whether his bicycle was still not fixed. She couldn't help but ask, "Your bicycle isn't fixed yet?"

Zhang Jiye's bicycle was actually repaired yesterday, but he wanted to be able to take the bus with Xu Chuwan this morning, so he was able to ride his bicycle today.

After Zhang Jiye finished breakfast, his mother said to him, "Aye, your bicycle was fixed yesterday. You don't need to take the bus to school today. You can ride your bicycle."

Zhang Jiye said to his mother, "No need, Mom. I want to take the bus to school from now on."

His mother asked Zhang Jiye, "Didn't you used to love riding your bicycle to school?"

Zhang Jiye made up a reason: "Because... last time I was on the bus I saw Cheng Junming and Lin Nianyu were also on the bus, and I thought the three of us could go to school together."

His mother believed it.

How could it be because of Cheng Junming and Lin Nianyu!

It must be because of—Xu Chuwan.

He didn't want her to ride the bus alone; he wanted to ride the bus with her.

Zhang Jiye answered Xu Chuwan calmly, saying, "I just find riding a bicycle tiring for my legs, so I take the bus instead."

"..."

lazy.

You're quite lazy.

Xu Chuwan responded with an "Oh".

Xu Chuwan put on her headphones and listened to music. She handed the other half of the earphone to Zhang Jiye: "Do you want to listen?"

Zhang Jiye accepted it without hesitation, saying, "Thanks, Teacher Xu."

"..."

This song is different from the last one; it's another song by JJ Lin called "Keywords".

"I'm not entirely sure what the best way to love is."

"Is it a verb or a noun?"

I really want to tell you about the most raw and unfiltered emotions.

But then he forgot the words.

"Parting and reunion are inevitable, as are tears and laughter."

I'm not afraid of the subtext.

There's a kind of peace of mind that comes from knowing my name is in your heart.

The location of fallen leaves composes a poem.

Time is passing, and our story begins.

This is the first time.

"It showed me that love can be both generous and selfish."

"You are my keyword"

You are hidden in the lyrics.

"Representative"

It is a proper noun.

The location of fallen leaves composes a poem.

Time is passing, and our story begins.

This is the first time.

"To love someone so generously yet selfishly."

"You are my keyword."

Zhang Jiye thought the song was quite nice, and he thought it was called something like "Keywords." He asked Xu Chuwan, "Is the song called 'Keywords'?"

Xu Chuwan nodded and hummed in agreement.

Zhang Jiye said in a cheeky tone, "Did you know I like listening to this song, so you played it especially for me?"

"..."

Xu Chuwan said, "I didn't know you liked this song."

Zhang Jiye responded with an "Oh".

They arrived at their destination and walked together to the classroom.

As soon as she entered the classroom, Xu Chuwan took out her math Olympiad problems. Before the morning reading bell had even fully rung, Xu Chuwan's elbow bumped into Zhang Jiyue's school uniform sleeve. She was engrossed in a math problem, her pen drawing messy arcs on the scratch paper, muttering to herself, "Where should I draw the auxiliary lines...?"

Zhang Jiye had just lifted his head from his arms when he glanced at the geometry problem circled in red like a target, then looked at the fine beads of sweat on Xu Chuwan's forehead from her anxiety. Without saying a word, he simply took a mechanical pencil from his pencil case, crossed out the auxiliary line she had drawn incorrectly, and then neatly added a dotted line along the altitude of the triangle.

"Okay. No need to thank me, Brother Zhang," he said in a low voice.

"..."

Xu Chuwan followed his train of thought and said, "Oh, then I'll thank you anyway."

"..."

Amidst the sounds of students reciting their lessons during morning self-study, Zhang Jiye secretly pulled an orange-flavored candy from his bag, unwrapped it, and slipped it into Xu Chu's hand. The sound of the candy wrapper rustling was particularly clear in the quiet corner. Xu Chu held the round candy in his hand, feeling its sweet warmth on his fingertips. When he looked down, he saw Zhang Jiye winking at him, with a few crumbs of candy still stuck to the corner of his mouth.

As Xu Chu thought back to this day, and with the candy Zhang Jiye had given her, the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up.

Xu Chuwan sat at her desk, took out her diary, and wrote in it:

I think I've fallen for someone, and his name is Zhang Jiye.

I used to be too afraid to admit it, but now I'm absolutely certain that I've fallen for him.

He always managed to stir her emotions.

Maybe this is what it feels like to fall in love with someone.

After writing these few sentences, Xu Chuwan closed her diary, put it on the bookshelf, turned off the light, and went to sleep.