Grab his hand
The phrase "I want to try Aunt Li's sandwiches" was like a pebble, creating ripples on the calm surface of the lake between the two.
Shi Xu was clearly stunned. A faint blush rose to his ears, spreading down his neck. This was the first time he had shown such near-flustered emotion in front of her. His usually calm eyes now clearly reflected turmoil—because in every stage of her life before, this request had never appeared. This was a completely new variable.
“…Okay.” His voice was slightly hoarse, and he turned and walked toward the kitchen, his steps a few paces faster than usual.
As Yunxi watched his almost fleeing figure, the panic in her heart caused by discovering the secret strangely transformed into a sweet and soft certainty.
The next morning, Shi Xu was indeed waiting downstairs with that familiar transparent lunchbox.
"Here you go." He handed it to her, his gaze briefly meeting hers before looking away. Their fingertips tightened slightly as they touched, betraying a barely perceptible tension beneath their carefully maintained composure.
Yunxi took the lunchbox, her fingertips brushing against his without her noticing. "Thank you," she said, lowering her head and a slight smile curving her lips.
On the way to school, the atmosphere remained quiet, but the suffocating silence was gone. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the sycamore leaves, dancing on their shoulders.
However, this tranquility was shattered upon entering the school gates.
"Look, it's her..."
"Does Senior Shi Xu really go to school with her every day?"
"I heard the two families are old acquaintances, could it be that this was arranged by their families..."
The murmurs were clearer than yesterday. Yunxi straightened his back, feeling those gazes, like fine needles, falling on him.
Time's fingertips curled slightly at his side. He remembered the direction of these discussions, even the faces of those girls. In a similar cycle, such rumors had been the prelude to an even greater storm. He had to clear these obstacles faster...
During the break between classes, Yunxi was stopped in the corridor by a well-dressed girl. She was accompanied by several friends, whose gazes were openly appraising her.
"Transfer student," the girl said dismissively, "Don't think you can get close to Shixu just because of your family connections. He's not someone like you..."
"Me?" Yunxi interrupted her calmly, her eyes clear. "May I ask, what kind of person am I?"
The girl was speechless for a moment.
"What happens between me and Shixu is between us," Yunxi continued, her voice soft but clear. "As for him, perhaps... you could ask him directly?"
The girl's face immediately turned ugly.
"What's going on?" Shi Xu's voice came from behind. He appeared out of nowhere and stood naturally beside Yun Xi. He didn't even glance at the girls; his gaze was fixed solely on Yun Xi.
The girls fell silent instantly, their faces turning pale.
“It’s nothing,” Yunxi answered first, her tone relaxed. “Just chatting with classmates.”
Shi Xu glanced at her but didn't press the matter further. His gaze swept indifferently over the girls, his eyes as cold as the winter wind.
“Let’s go,” he said to Yunxi, his tone gentler than anyone else had ever heard.
Si Yi happened to see this scene. She watched Shi Xu protecting Yun Xi, and her nails secretly dug into her palms.
During her lunch break, Yunxi received a friend request from a stranger: Zhou Yu.
After the connection was approved, the other party quickly sent a message:
"The source of the rumor is Liu Na from Class 7 of Grade 11. Her cousin and Shi Xu's family are old friends, and she has liked him since she was a child."
Yunxi was stunned. Why did Zhou Yu tell her all this?
"Why are you telling me?" she replied.
"I don't like people stirring up trouble." Zhou Yu paused for a moment, then sent another message: "Shixu doesn't like stupid people."
This statement made Yunxi fall into deep thought. Was Zhou Yu reminding her, or maintaining some kind of order? What did that comment, "Not stupid," mean?
On their way home from school, the setting sun cast long shadows of the two of them.
"Liu Na," Yun Xi said softly.
Time seemed to pause slightly. "Zhou Yu told you?"
"Hmm." She turned to look at him. "Your admirer?"
He frowned slightly: "An unimportant person."
“But she’s causing you trouble, and now she’s causing me trouble too.” Yunxi stopped and looked at him intently. “Shixu, getting close to you seems to really take a lot of courage.”
The setting sun ignited a profound light in his eyes.
"So," he said in a low voice, "do you still have enough courage?"
He was testing the waters, and he was also extending an invitation.
Yunxi didn't answer immediately. She looked at this aloof and profound boy, burdened by his past, yet whose ears would turn red at her words, and suddenly smiled. Her smile was clear and bright in the setting sun.
“Perhaps,” she said softly, her eyes firm, “a little more than you think.”
She is no longer a pawn passively accepting the game.
From the moment she decided to enter his world, she chose to play chess with him across the table.
As Shi Xu watched her retreating figure disappear through the door, the setting sun sank into his eyes, transforming into a cold resolve. Her courage was the only variable in this cycle of despair, and also the most dangerous flame. He had to use all his experience and wisdom to protect this glimmer of light from being devoured by fate.
But the game has only just begun.
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