Cherry blossoms, bicycles, and the warmth of my back
In early April, the cherry blossoms on campus reached their peak bloom. Pink and white petals fluttered down like snow, transforming the entire campus into a fairytale world. With midterm exams approaching, the library and study rooms became extremely popular.
"I'm doomed, I'm definitely going to fail this midterm." Jiang Zhao slumped onto a table in the library, the math textbook spread out in front of him looking like a book written in a foreign language.
Lin Jun, sitting opposite him, glanced up at him upon hearing this and said, "Now you're in a hurry? Where were you before?"
"I...I've got something on my mind," Jiang Zhao said guiltily, touching his nose. His "something on my mind" referred to his recent obsession with a new game.
"Turn to page 78 of your textbook," Lin Jun sighed helplessly. "I'll highlight the important points for you."
In the front row, Su An was diligently reviewing his studies. Jiang Qi sat next to him, a university physics textbook open in front of him, but his attention was clearly more focused on Su An.
“Here,” Jiang Qi suddenly reached out and lightly touched a spot in Su An’s notebook with her fingertip, “the formula is wrong.”
Su An exclaimed "Ah!" and upon closer inspection, realized it was indeed the case. She quickly corrected herself, saying, "Thank you..."
"You're welcome." Jiang Qi's gaze lingered on his serious profile for a moment before returning to her book.
Sunlight streamed through the library's glass windows, casting dappled shadows on the pages of the books. Occasionally, cherry blossom petals were carried in by the breeze and gently landed on the open pages.
"Brother Jun, how do you do this problem?" Jiang Zhao asked in a low voice, pushing the workbook in front of Lin Jun.
Lin Jun glanced at it, picked up a pen, and started working out the calculations on the draft paper: "First like this... then like this... understand?"
Jiang Zhao blinked, looking completely bewildered: "I don't understand..."
Lin Jun took a deep breath, about to explain it again, when Jiang Zhao suddenly leaned closer and said with a grin, "Brother Jun, you look so handsome when you explain the problem!"
"Focus." Lin Jun gently tapped his head with her pen, her ears turning slightly red.
On the last weekend before the midterm exams, Jiang Qi suggested going to the city library to study. It was quieter there, and the materials were more complete.
“I want to go too!” Jiang Zhao immediately raised his hand.
Lin Jun held him down: "Are you going to cause trouble?"
"I can save you seats!" Jiang Zhao said matter-of-factly. "Besides, Brother Jun, you promised to tutor me!"
In the end, it became a group of four. The city library was two bus stops away from the school, and Jiang Qi brought his bicycle.
“I’ll give you a ride,” he said to Su An, his tone as natural as if he were remarking on the beautiful weather.
Su An looked at the black bicycle, his cheeks slightly flushed. He had never ridden on the back of Jiang Qi's bicycle in front of so many people before.
"Wow!" Jiang Zhao immediately exclaimed, "Brother, when did you become so good at this!"
Lin Jun grabbed his arm: "Let's take the bus."
The bicycle moved slowly along the street lined with cherry blossom trees. A spring breeze caressed their faces, carrying the fragrance of flowers. Su An carefully held onto Jiang Qi's clothes, feeling the warmth from her back.
"Are you cold?" Jiang Qi asked.
"It's not cold," Su An replied softly, her fingers unconsciously tightening slightly.
When they reached a traffic light intersection, Jiang Qi braced herself on one foot and glanced back at Su An: "Hold on tight, we're going downhill."
Su An's face flushed instantly. After a moment's hesitation, he gently wrapped his arms around Jiang Qi's waist. Through the thin spring clothes, he could feel the other's firm waist and warm body. His heart suddenly started racing.
"Yo—"
Familiar cheers came from the side. The bus that Jiang Zhao and Lin Jun were on happened to pass by, and Jiang Zhao had half his body leaning out of the window, but Lin Jun pulled him back in time.
Upon arriving at the library, Jiang Zhao was still chattering: "I saw it just now! He was hugging me really tightly!"
Su An blushed and didn't dare to look up. Jiang Qi, without changing her expression, pulled him closer to her and said to Jiang Zhao, "If you make any more noise, you'll have to leave."
The four of them found a seat by the window. Sunlight streamed in through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, casting warm dappled patterns on the wooden tabletop. Outside the window was a row of cherry blossom trees in full bloom, with occasional petals drifting down onto the windowsill.
Halfway through his review, Su An encountered a difficult problem and frowned as he pondered it for a long time. Jiang Qi noticed his distress, gently took his notebook, and wrote down detailed solution steps next to it.
“This is the key,” he said, tapping the tip of his pen on a certain step.
His voice was low, and his warm breath brushed against Su An's ear. Su An felt a slight tickle in her ear, but a sweet feeling welled up inside her.
On the other side, Jiang Zhao had already fallen asleep, slumped over the table. Lin Jun shook her head helplessly, took off her coat, and gently draped it over him. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the cherry blossom trees, casting dappled shadows on Jiang Zhao's sleeping face.
"Look how soundly he's sleeping," Su An whispered.
"He must have stayed up all night playing games again last night," Lin Jun said helplessly, but her eyes were gentle.
They studied until evening, then prepared to go home. The setting sun painted the sky orange-red, and the cherry blossoms looked even more beautiful in the twilight.
Jiang Qi pushed her bicycle, walking alongside Su An in front. Jiang Zhao and Lin Jun followed behind, with Jiang Zhao still arguing with Lin Jun about a problem.
"That's clearly how it's solved!"
"Your method is too complicated."
"Then tell me how to solve it!"
When they reached the fork in the road, Jiang Qi said to Su An, "I'll pick you up tomorrow."
"No need to trouble yourself..."
“It’s no trouble at all,” Jiang Qi interrupted him. “I wanted to come pick you up.”
Jiang Zhao shouted from behind, "Brother! I want to ride a bicycle too!"
Jiang Qi didn't even turn her head: "Walk by yourself."
Back home, Su An received a photo from Jiang Qi. It was taken earlier that day at the library when Su An wasn't looking—he was writing intently with his head down, and a cherry blossom petal happened to fall into his hair.
"It looks great." Jiang Qi's message followed closely behind.
Su An looked at his own oblivious expression in the photo and couldn't help but laugh. He saved the photo and set it as his phone wallpaper.
Outside the window, a gentle evening breeze rustles through the cherry blossoms like rain. This spring, even studying has become sweeter because of someone's company. And the unspoken thoughts hidden beneath the petals are quietly conveyed to each other's hearts on the spring breeze.
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