After a moment, the water was turned off, and the soaked teenager lifted his head. He pushed his sleeves up past his forearms, then casually wiped his face with the camouflage T-shirt clinging to his stomach before shaking his wet hair and heading back inside the supermarket.

A while later, the classroom was still buzzing with noise. With hands shoved in his pockets, and in full view of the boys he’d just been talking to, Zhou Ye walked over to her desk.

“I’m the class president. I heard you couldn’t find the cafeteria at lunchtime?”

His voice was deep, resonating in his chest with each word, the ending notes dropping with a low, rumbling quality. He had a nice voice, even better when he sang, the kind of mature male voice that could probably heighten a girl’s pleasure during s*x. But Zhou Ye himself wasn't used to it. When his voice changed, he always felt like it was ruined, like he’d been smoking too much. It felt strange, especially since he'd only secretly smoked a couple of times and couldn't figure out why his voice had changed so much.

The girl, who had been sitting alone at her desk flipping through a textbook, looked up at him. Her dark eyes were like deep pools in a forest, clear and bright. Her long, soft lashes curled upwards, casting shadows on her delicate cheeks like tiny brushes.

“…What?” she asked, her expression slightly dazed. She clearly hadn't heard him properly. She was innocent and beautiful, the corners of her eyes tinged with pink. The delicate flush made the skin around her eyes look incredibly fragile, as if it would redden easily if someone were to wipe away her tears.

Zhou Ye’s Adam’s apple bobbed in his slender neck. Though his expression remained impassive, his breathing quickened, and his ears and neck slowly turned red.

“Get up. I’m going to the cafeteria now, I’ll take you.”

The boys behind him stared, eyes wide. The one who had asked for her number earlier practically lunged forward, only to be held back by his friend.

She finally seemed to understand, nodding slowly. After standing up, she dipped her head and politely murmured, "Thank you, class president."

Zhou Ye noticed her ears were completely red, likely from embarrassment, but she remained quiet. She seemed so soft, almost slow, as if her reactions were a beat behind everyone else’s. A girl like this must be easy to bully…

Zhou Ye walked ahead, and she followed behind him. Their shadows stretched out along the school building wall. Under the bright sunlight, cicadas buzzed incessantly in the bushes.

Drops of water from his damp hair fell onto the cement, spreading into small puddles that evaporated almost instantly in the heat. With each step he took, another faint water stain disappeared behind him.

He led her to the cafeteria in silence.

It was on the third floor. As they climbed the stairs, the whirring of the ceiling fan filled the air. Zhou Ye felt his heart pounding unsteadily, each beat heavy, as if trying to escape his chest.

“Here it is. You can come directly here next time, but come early, it might get crowded later.”

“I understand. Thank you, class president.”

She looked around the cafeteria, her eyes taking in everything. Zhou Ye wondered how a girl’s eyes could be so large and so bright. Her whole being seemed tender, as if he could squeeze water from her skin.

“What’s your name?” he suddenly asked, a question that even he found a bit odd. He could just check the class roster. He was the class president, he could just walk up to the podium and look.

“…My name is Xia Yao.”

She hesitated for a moment before answering. Zhou Ye stared at her for a few seconds, then abruptly turned away.

He pulled out the rice ball he’d been carrying in his pocket and held it out to her.

“If you haven’t eaten lunch, take this.”

She didn't respond for a moment. Unable to help himself, Zhou Ye looked back at her.

His Adam's apple bobbed. He saw her staring at his hand, or perhaps at the pulsing vein in his arm.

He wasn't sure if it was the heat, but the redness that had been confined to her ears now spread across her cheeks.