Merged (Revised Version)
On the Monday after the midterm exams, a bombshell announcement, like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, stirred up huge waves in the second-year high school students—in order to optimize teaching resources, the school decided to merge the fifth humanities class and the sixth science class to form a new key humanities class.
The bulletin board was packed with people, filled with whispers and exclamations. Su Anzheng and Jiang Zhao were returning from the playground when they saw the commotion from afar. Before they could figure out what was going on, Jiang Zhao grabbed them and pulled them over.
"Make way! Breaking news!" Jiang Zhao shouted as he squeezed through the crowd. After reading the announcement, he gasped in shock, then burst into a huge cheer, "Holy crap! A merger?! Class 5 and Class 6 are merging?! This is amazing!!"
His reaction was so abrupt that it drew stares from the surrounding classmates. Su An was startled and before she could cover his mouth, her own gaze fell on the bold text on the notice.
[...As decided by the school affairs meeting, Class 5 of Grade 11 and Class 6 of Grade 11 will be merged to form a new key liberal arts class...]
Will Class 5 and Class 6 be merged?
Su An's mind went blank for a moment. That meant… Jiang Qi? He was going to be in the same class as Jiang Qi, spending every day together?
This realization was like a faint electric current, instantly coursing through his limbs and bones, making his heart skip a beat and his fingertips go numb.
"Come on, come on! Su An! Big news!" Jiang Zhao excitedly grabbed Su An's shoulder and pulled him out of the crowd, his voice low with barely suppressed excitement, "My brother! You! Classmate! Do you understand? What does this mean? It means..."
"What does it mean?" Su An asked instinctively, his voice trembling slightly without him even realizing it.
"That means being close to the water tower gives you an advantage! You idiot!" Jiang Zhao slapped his back hard, his eyes shining brightly. "From now on, you two will be sitting in front of and behind each other... no, maybe even next to each other! You'll see each other all the time, let's see how long my brother can keep up his repressed desires!"
Desk mate? Su An was so shocked by this possibility that he gasped for breath. To be desk mates with Jiang Qi? At such close range... just imagining that scene made his cheeks burn uncontrollably, and his mind was in complete turmoil.
"What's got you so happy?" a cheerful voice interrupted. Lin Jun had walked over at some point and naturally stood next to Jiang Zhao.
Jiang Zhao immediately turned around, grabbed Lin Jun's arm, and excitedly babbled, "Brother Jun! Merge! Merge classes! My brother and Su An are going to be in the same class!"
Lin Jun raised an eyebrow, clearly already aware of the news. He glanced at Su An, whose cheeks were slightly flushed, then at Jiang Zhao, who was practically jumping for joy, a knowing smile playing on his lips: "Yeah, I know. So what?"
"So? This is a historic step!" Jiang Zhao waved his arms. "Our 'assistance mission' is about to enter a new era! We need to adjust our tactics! By the way, Jun-ge, are you still in our class?"
"Of course." Lin Jun raised his hand and skillfully ruffled Jiang Zhao's slightly unruly hair. "Otherwise, who will keep an eye on you so you don't get too excited and cause trouble?"
Jiang Zhao shrank back as he was being rubbed, complaining, "Don't mess up my hair," but his body betrayed him. Instead of pulling away, he leaned closer and asked in a low voice, "Brother Jun, do you think... we could find a way to get them to sit at the same table?"
Lin Jun looked into Jiang Zhao's bright, calculating eyes (which he found quite endearing), and chuckled, "Why are you even more anxious than Brother Qi?"
"I'm doing this for my brother's happiness!" Jiang Zhao said matter-of-factly.
Su An watched as his two "wingmen" discussed how to "arrange" him right in front of him, and he was both amused and exasperated, his cheeks turning even redder.
In the following days, the news of the merger became the hottest topic in both classes. The seating arrangement in the new class was the focus of everyone's attention. The homeroom teacher announced that a combination of random drawing and minor adjustments by the teachers would be used.
The lottery is scheduled for Friday afternoon in the newly merged classroom.
That day, a strange atmosphere, a mixture of tension and excitement, filled the classroom. Jiang Zhao was even more nervous than Su An, constantly muttering to himself, "I have to draw a character close to my brother... preferably his deskmate..."
Lin Jun sat behind them, looking at the restless Jiang Zhao, and put his hand on his shoulder: "Quiet down, you seem more nervous than Su An."
Jiang Zhao turned his head, his face contorted with grief: "How can I not be nervous? This concerns my brother's happiness for the rest of his life!"
Lin Jun shook his head helplessly, then gently squeezed his shoulder to comfort him.
The drawing of lots begins. Names are read out one by one, and desk partners are continuously formed.
"Su An".
"arrive."
"Your seat is... third row, fifth section."
Su An walked to the designated spot and sat down. Looking at the empty chair next to him, he felt as if that space was carrying an invisible gravitational pull.
Immediately afterwards, he heard the homeroom teacher call out that name:
"Jiang Qi".
There was no response. Everyone looked towards the back door. Jiang Qi stood there, her figure upright.
"Jiang Qi, your seat is in the third row, fifth section, and you'll be sitting next to Su An."
"..."
Time seemed to freeze. All of Su An's blood rushed to his head. Suppressed gasps and whispers rose from the surrounding area.
Under everyone's gaze, Jiang Qi walked expressionlessly through the classroom, walked to the empty seat next to Su An, pulled out the chair, and sat down.
A crisp, cool scent instantly enveloped Su An. So close. Su An froze, even her breathing becoming soft.
He could feel Jiang Qi's gaze linger on his profile for a moment before moving away.
"Holy crap! I actually got it?!" Jiang Zhao, sitting in the row behind them, let out a suppressed exclamation and excitedly grabbed Lin Jun's arm next to him. "My deskmate! It's my deskmate! Jun-ge, did you see that?!"
Lin Jun felt a sharp pain from his grip, but she didn't shake him off. Instead, she grabbed his excited hand in return and chuckled softly, "You saw it. Are you satisfied now?"
"Satisfied! So satisfied!" Jiang Zhao was so excited he almost danced with joy, completely unaware that Lin Jun was holding his hand.
The drawing ceremony continued, but Su An was no longer listening to anything.
However, the twists of fate were not over.
"Jiang Zhao".
"Here!" Jiang Zhao jumped up.
"Your seat is in the third column, sixth row."
Jiang Zhao, who was in the middle of his excitement, was stunned for a moment. The sixth row? That's... He suddenly turned his head to look at Lin Jun behind him.
"Lin Jun," the homeroom teacher continued reading.
Lin Jun calmly stood up.
"Third column, sixth row, my deskmate was Jiang Zhao."
Jiang Zhao's eyes widened instantly. Lin Jun, as if she had expected this, walked to the empty seat next to Jiang Zhao with a faint smile on her lips, and very naturally put her arm around the back of Jiang Zhao's chair, forming a semi-encircling posture.
"Hey, little Zhao Zhao, please guide me in the future." Lin Jun lowered his voice, with a hint of teasing.
Jiang Zhao's ears burned, and he stiffened his neck, saying, "Who, who needs your guidance!" But he couldn't dodge the hand.
Thus, the seating arrangement in the new class was miraculously fixed—Su An and Jiang Qi became deskmates, and directly behind them were Jiang Zhao and Lin Jun.
The first day of class went smoothly, yet undercurrents were brewing beneath the surface.
In the front row, Su An remained tense, not daring to make any unnecessary movements, even turning the pages of his book with utmost care. Jiang Qi appeared calm, but she would hand Su An her pen when it ran out of ink, and silently push her notebook towards him when Su An was confused by physics concepts.
The style in the back row is completely different.
"Brother Jun, lend me a pen, mine's out of ink."
"Take it yourself."
"Brother Jun, I don't understand this question..."
"What were you doing just now? Sleeping?"
"Please tell me about it..."
Despite her complaints, Lin Jun would always take Jiang Zhao's workbook and patiently explain the problems. Sometimes, when Jiang Zhao became impatient and lost focus, Lin Jun would gently tap his head with her pen, eliciting a grimace from Jiang Zhao in protest. The two of them constantly engaged in these little antics under the desk.
During the break, Jiang Zhao tried to pull Su An out for some fresh air, but Lin Jun grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back: "Let him be alone for a while."
"I'm going to gather military intelligence!" Jiang Zhao protested.
"What you're doing is being a third wheel," Lin Jun bluntly pointed out, then handed him an open bottle of water. "Drink your water."
Jiang Zhao took the water, gulped down a few mouthfuls, and looking at the two still somewhat reserved figures in the front row, leaned close to Lin Jun's ear and whispered, "Brother Jun, when do you think my brother will take the initiative?"
A warm breath brushed against her ear. Lin Jun turned her head to look at Jiang Zhao's slightly troubled profile, which was so close to hers. Her eyes flickered, and she said in a low voice, "What's the rush? We're here to watch over things."
His voice was so close that Jiang Zhao felt a tickle in his ear and instinctively shrank his neck, but a strange sense of calm settled in his heart.
When school was over, Su An was packing his schoolbag. Jiang Qi had already finished packing but didn't leave immediately. He stood up, seemed to hesitate for a moment, and then took out the dark blue mint candy box from his schoolbag and placed it on Su An's desk.
"Yours." He said, and before Su An could react, he picked up his bag and turned to leave.
Su An stared blankly at the candy box she had found again, then picked it up. Opening it, she saw that besides the original white mints, there were several more exquisitely packaged, differently colored fruit hard candies, like colorful jewels accidentally dropped into the snow.
Su An picked up a pink, strawberry-shaped candy, feeling its slightly hard texture on his fingertips. He looked up at the classroom door, but Jiang Qi had already disappeared.
"Wow! They added something extra!" Jiang Zhao's voice rang out from behind, filled with exaggerated amazement. "My brother's amazing! He's finally figured it out!"
Lin Jun quickly covered his mouth and smiled at Su An: "Ignore him. Let's go, Xiao Zhao Zhao, it's time to go home."
Jiang Zhao was half-hug and half-pushed out of the classroom by Lin Jun, and he didn't forget to turn around and wink at Su An.
Holding the small candy, Su An looked at Jiang Qi walking away side by side in front of her, and then at Jiang Zhao and Lin Jun playing around behind her. Her heart was filled with a huge, soft sweetness.
Merging classes seems... really good.
The melting of icebergs is slow and steady, while certain companionships have long since become the most natural presence amidst the daily bickering and commotion.
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