"What a coincidence."

Wen Xiaoyu pushed open the door, holding several books. As always, she was dressed plainly—a simple short-sleeved top paired with jeans, looking fresh and neat.

Jiang Yueming opened his mouth. His hand was still suspended in midair, frozen in the posture of just having flung Xia He's hand away.

"Y-yeah, what a coincidence."

"Are you here to buy books?"

Jiang Yueming noticed the books she was holding. Most were exercise collections. Given that final exams were approaching, it wasn't hard to guess she was here to buy review materials.

"Ah... yeah. Exams are coming up, so I thought I'd see if there were any useful books."

Wen Xiaoyu blinked, smiling faintly.

"Classmate Jiang is so hardworking even during break."

"It's nothing, really." Jiang Yueming laughed sheepishly. "I've fallen too far behind usually, so I need to cram a bit."

He himself had no idea when he'd become so studious.

"If you're brushing up on Chinese, that blue collection of past exam papers is pretty good. It covers a wide range of question types," Wen Xiaoyu pointed back into the bookstore. "Over there, near the edge of the third row."

"Oh, okay. Thanks."

"You're welcome."

The conversation should have ended there. Jiang Yueming stood rooted to the spot, neither leaving nor staying, racking his brain for a topic of conversation, but honest truth, he couldn't think of one.

The air suddenly fell silent, leaving only the sound of traffic passing by on the street.

"Well..."

They both started to speak at the same time, then stopped simultaneously.

"You go ahead," she said.

"You go ahead," he said too.

They both stopped again. The silence deepened. Jiang Yueming desperately wanted to slap himself. How had he made a simple chance encounter so awkward?

After a moment, as Jiang Yueming was battling internally, Wen Xiaoyu broke the silence first.

"I was just going to say," her voice was soft and gentle, "is there any other book you need? I could help you look."

Jiang Yueming instinctively didn't want to trouble her and quickly shook his head, "N-no, that's it."

The moment the words left his mouth, he regretted it. She was clearly offering an excuse to stay a bit longer, and he had just turned her down.

His hand was itching. He really wanted to slap himself twice.

Wen Xiaoyu looked at Jiang Yueming quietly for a couple of seconds, then gave a small smile.

"Alright then. I'll be off."

Jiang Yueming replied woodenly, "Oh, okay."

"Bye bye."

Wen Xiaoyu carried her books toward the exit. Jiang Yueming felt dejected. He lowered his head and sighed. But after only a few steps, he heard the sound of footsteps halting.

"Um..."

Jiang Yueming turned back.

Wen Xiaoyu, books in arms, had half-turned around. Her gaze seemed to land on Jiang Yueming's empty hand—the one that had just been holding Xia He's. Her glance passed over it briefly before shifting back up to Jiang Yueming's face.

Jiang Yueming noticed where her eyes had gone, and his heart skipped a nervous beat.

"Never mind."

In the end, she said nothing. As she turned away, her gaze swept over Xia He for an instant before she turned and left.

Jiang Yueming watched her figure gradually recede, finally disappearing around the street corner.

"Done looking?"

Xia He's voice suddenly sounded beside him.

Only then did Jiang Yueming abruptly remember that Xia He was still there. He had been so engrossed in speaking with Wen Xiaoyu that he'd completely sidelined her.

"Ahem, let's go inside too."

Xia He's expression was unreadable. She had merely stood quietly by, observing the interaction, silent as a statue.

"Fine."

She released her tight grip on her skirt hem. The light blue fabric had been crumpled into a patch of wrinkles that wouldn't smooth out.

The bookstore was very quiet. They stepped through the entrance one after the other. Underneath the checkout counter, two orange cats chased each other around, darting past Jiang Yueming's feet.

Jiang Yueming kept walking, but his mind was still on the look in Wen Xiaoyu's eyes just now.

‘What had that glance meant?’

She must have seen, right? Would she misunderstand and think there was something between him and Xia He?

He lowered his head, his fingers curling slightly inward.

"Get the book," Xia He said.

Jiang Yueming paused in confusion.

"What book?"

He looked up and met Xia He's faint, lingering gaze.

"Weren't you going to buy that blue book of past exam papers?" She repeated Wen Xiaoyu's words, her tone peculiar.

"Third row, near the edge."

Xia He stood with her arms folded, leaning against the bookshelf. Not far above her head was that very blue exercise collection, but she didn't move, simply waiting for Jiang Yueming to get it himself.

For some reason, Jiang Yueming had a feeling that if he actually reached out and took that book, something bad would happen.

He glanced at Xia He's expression, then at the book.

"Xia He."

"Hmm?"

"Are you mad?"

Xia He smiled with her arms still crossed, but the smile lacked any warmth.

"Me? Mad? Why would I be mad?"

"Then why are you pouting?"

Jiang Yueming hadn't actually meant to say that. But seeing her standing there with her arms crossed, radiating an "I'm unhappy" aura, he suddenly remembered how his mom used to look when she was angry at him as a child.

Not speaking, not arguing, just pursing her lips and looking at him with that "Think about what you did" gaze.

Xia He's lips twitched. Caught red-handed but unwilling to admit it, she gave a slight twitch.

"I'm not pouting."

"You are."

"I'm not."

"Your lips were puckered enough to hang a plastic bag off them just now."

Xia He shot him a fierce glare. "No way!"

Jiang Yueming looked at her and suddenly found it a bit funny, though he absolutely dared not laugh out loud.

Her glaring was hardly intimidating, like a kitten gently batting with its paw—it didn't hurt, just tickled.

She then turned her face away, refusing to look at him. Though her mouth insisted she wasn't angry, her whole demeanor screamed otherwise.

Jiang Yueming scratched his head. All Xia He gave him was her profile. That patch of skin was very fair, with a few stray hairs near her ear catching the sunlight in shades of light brown.

‘Could she be…’

He recalled that moment when he met Wen Xiaoyu, how he had flung Xia He's hand away without a second thought.

‘Could she be jealous?’

The thought flickered through his mind but was immediately dismissed.

Impossible. The lofty eldest daughter of the Xia family had no reason to be jealous over an ordinary student like him. Thinking that would be way too narcissistic.

One must have self-awareness.

"I won't buy it. Even if I did, I probably wouldn't read it. Waste of money."

Jiang Yueming didn't reach for the exercise book. Xia He turned her head slightly back, her fine eyebrows furrowing as she cast a sidelong glance at him with those peach blossom eyes, carrying the charming petulance of a girl in a sulk. It was quite a sight.

"Why not buy it? Buy it. Buy it and then go home and study it properly, carefully." Her final notes stretched out.

Jiang Yueming raised an eyebrow.

‘Why is she pushing this so hard now?’

Feeling helpless, he made a move as if to take the exercise book. The moment his hand neared it, he glimpsed Xia He's little mouth gradually puffing into a pout.

He pulled his hand back, and the pout slowly flattened out again.

So cute... Jiang Yueming couldn't help but think to himself.

"Alright, alright. It's too expensive anyway. I don't have the money," Jiang Yueming waved his hand dismissively, changing the subject with a grin. "What were we originally coming to the bookstore for?"

Xia He shot him another glare but didn't push further.

She took Jiang Yueming's hand again and led him deeper into the bookstore.

"I brought you here to see something."