Zhuang Fanxin was suddenly stunned, his eyes wide with surprise. He hadn't misheard, had he? Gu Zhuoyan said he already fancied someone else? Did that mean Gu Zhuoyan already had a girl he liked?

Who?!

As the movie came to an end, the theater grew a little noisy. When the lights came on, the audience began to leave their seats one by one. Gu Zhuoyan finally sat up straight, leaned over Zhuang Fanxin, and said, "Gu Baoyan, clean up your own trash."

Gu Baoyan obediently gathered her trash and slung her water bottle over her shoulder. Seeing that Zhuang Fanxin was still sitting there hugging the popcorn bucket, she patted his arm. "Brother, are we going?"

Zhuang Fanxin snapped back to his senses. "Go, let's go..."

The crowd was dense. Gu Zhuoyan led Gu Baoyan by the hand as they walked out, with Zhuang Fanxin trailing behind. He was in a daze, still unable to recover from Gu Zhuoyan's words. The one who dropped the bombshell was always calm and composed, while the unsuspecting recipient would most likely be stupefied, their mind racing with thoughts.

Zhuang Fanxin's mind was already racing. After getting into the taxi, he stared at the trees flashing by the roadside, as if a row of female classmates were passing by in formation. He analyzed: the only girls of a suitable age Gu Zhuoyan could interact with were his classmates, so the scope should be narrowed down to the school.

School had only started a week ago, so he probably didn't know girls from other classes yet. So, that narrowed it down to Class 3.

Zhuang Fanxin was stunned again. 'That's right, school only started a week ago!'

He found someone he fancied in just one short week? That's too fast, isn't it?! Damn it, he'd gone a whole school year without meeting anyone he liked. Was he a late bloomer, or was Gu Zhuoyan a natural-born romantic?

That natural-born romantic was leaning against the other car door, clearly seeing Zhuang Fanxin's expression out of the corner of his eye. He'd been in a trance ever since he heard what he said. It seemed the small provocation had been a success.

Gu Zhuoyan thought about it from another angle. Zhuang Fanxin was currently interested in him, so his heart must be in turmoil, desperately trying to figure out who he fancied. Secondly, Zhuang Fanxin knew he was gay, so he might have already narrowed the scope down to the boys in Class 3.

They had known and spent time with each other for over a month, and they thought they knew each other well. They had completely failed to realize that they were heading in opposite directions the entire time.

Zhuang Fanxin was silent all the way until they got out of the car. He couldn't very well ask questions in front of Gu Baoyan. They parted ways at their gates. He and Gu Zhuoyan looked at each other for a few seconds before he moved his lips and said, "...Bye-bye."

The Zhuang Family's gate slowly closed. Gu Zhuoyan and Gu Baoyan went home. The little girl astutely noticed something was off and asked, "Brother, it feels like Brother Xiao Zhuang was unhappy after the movie?"

Gu Zhuoyan thought to himself, 'That's not called being unhappy, that's called "being jealous."' But he couldn't say that to a child, so he said perfunctorily, "Maybe it's because the prince in the movie died."

Gu Baoyan said angrily, "It was the prince's servant who died, you weren't even watching!"

"A servant is a person too." Gu Zhuoyan deflected. "Isn't a servant's death worth grieving over? Didn't you cry when the little chick you were raising died?"

Gu Baoyan could no longer be bothered with whether Zhuang Fanxin was happy or not; she was quite miserable herself anyway.

Back home, Gu Zhuoyan went upstairs to do his homework. He was halfway through, writing smoothly and effortlessly, when Gu Baoyan knocked on the study door, requesting to do homework together.

Gu Zhuoyan cleared half of his desk and said, "Stay quiet, or get out."

Gu Baoyan ran in with her books, and the German Shepherd also came in and lay down under Gu Zhuoyan's chair. The big one, the little one, and the dog created a warm atmosphere. No one was thinking about their own parents, whom they hadn't seen in a long time.

The elementary school student finished her homework first. Gu Baoyan cupped her face and stared into space. Spotting a brand-new notebook at the corner of the desk, she opened it and started writing again.

Gu Zhuoyan remained focused on the computer in front of him and the pen and paper in his hands. There was a competition at the end of the month, and he was grinding through practice problems. It was not yet six in the afternoon, and he wouldn't stop or get distracted before eleven at night.

Unfortunately, Gu Baoyan couldn't hold it in and suddenly let out a strange, dainty laugh.

Without looking up, Gu Zhuoyan said, "Take Bond out to play."

"I'm sorry," Gu Baoyan apologized. As she was about to leave, she said, "Brother, I just wrote a diary entry." Gu Zhuoyan ignored her, quickly filling another page with writing. Gu Baoyan, craving a bit of attention, took the initiative to ask, "Brother, do you want to read my diary?"

Gu Zhuoyan said, "No."

He reached for the new notebook on the corner of the desk, saw it in Gu Baoyan's hands, and instantly understood. "What are you doing writing a diary in my notebook? Did you write it specifically for me to see?"

Gu Baoyan thought Gu Zhuoyan wanted to read it and quickly handed it over. It was a newly bought notebook, still unused. Gu Zhuoyan snatched it up, opened the cover with a displeased expression, and saw the first sentence at a glance.

—I have someone I like. His name is Zhuang Fanxin.

"You..." Gu Zhuoyan almost cursed, but he couldn't help but continue reading—Brother Xiao Zhuang is absolutely perfect. He's the first boy to give me flowers, the first boy to take me to get my hair permed, and the first boy to watch a movie with me.

She even knew how to use parallel sentences. Gu Zhuoyan said, "Little girl, those potted flowers were a first-meeting gift for both you and me. I was also there when you got your hair permed and when we watched the movie. Why did you write it as if it was just the two of you?"

As he spoke, he saw the next sentence—It would have been even better if brother wasn't there at the time.

Gu Zhuoyan had mixed feelings. It would have been even better if Gu Shibo and Xue Manzi hadn't had a second child back then.

A little girl's diary entry. Gu Zhuoyan wished he could burn it after reading. Even if he didn't burn it, he couldn't let it be an eyesore in his notebook. Before Gu Baoyan could ask for it back, he ripped out the page with a tearing sound. Unfortunately, he didn't tear it cleanly, leaving a thin, narrow strip behind.

It happened to be the first, introductory line: I have someone I like. His name is Zhuang Fanxin.

Gu Zhuoyan stared at the childish block characters, pinching a corner of the strip, but hesitated to tear it off. He feigned benevolence, "Forget it, I'll leave this strip. A little something for you to remember it by."

Gu Baoyan asked, "Then can you give me the notebook?"

Gu Zhuoyan said, "In your dreams."

Zhuang Fanxin was still unaware that he had become the object of a young girl's affection. He lay in the massage chair, racking his brain. Who on earth did Gu Zhuoyan like? He mentally reviewed the class like a surveillance camera and it seemed he had never seen Gu Zhuoyan get close to anyone.

First, he identified those who had direct contact. The Chinese representative, Biology representative, Chemistry representative, life skills committee member, vice class monitor, and group one leader. All of them had spoken to Gu Zhuoyan for official business like collecting and handing out homework.

Just as Zhuang Fanxin was about to conduct a deeper filtration, Zhao Jianqiu suddenly called him to weed the backyard. Forget it, he'd conduct his on-site investigation on Monday.

On Monday morning, Zhuang Fanxin and Gu Zhuoyan met at the small intersection and rode their bikes in silence. Zhuang Fanxin stole a few glances at the other boy. His white tennis shirt was washed so white, and he was wearing a new pair of sneakers. Who was he trying to look handsome for?

He wobbled his handlebars to get closer. "Did you know? There's a flag-raising ceremony today."

Who the hell wouldn't know that. Gu Zhuoyan played along, "Oh, a flag-raising ceremony is nice."

Zhuang Fanxin couldn't hold it in any longer. "Who do you fancy?"

Gu Zhuoyan pursed his lips to suppress a smile. He glanced back at him, then, in the tone of someone on a dating show, he said, "What's it to you?"

"...I was just concerned about you," Zhuang Fanxin said, embarrassed. "It's not like I even want to know."

After arriving at school, the representatives for each subject collected homework. Zhuang Fanxin made a round, collected a small stack, and lazily returned to his seat. Qi Nan came over carrying two cups of tofu pudding milk, giving one to him and saying it was a new autumn product from Yinan's Time.

Zhuang Fanxin took a sip. "Deskmate, you and I are still the best."

Hearing this, Qi Nan said, "I'll definitely pay back the two hundred yuan this week. Don't try to sweet-talk me."

Zhuang Fanxin took another sip. "Deskmate, if you had a girl you liked, would you tell me?"

"Of course, we're best buds," Qi Nan replied. "I'm even planning not to take wedding photos when I get married. I'll ask you to paint them for me. You won't charge me, right?"

Zhuang Fanxin completely lost the will to communicate. Just then, the Chinese representative walked past their desk to collect homework, and he turned his head to follow her figure. He watched as she collected homework up to the last row and stood before Gu Zhuoyan's desk, saying, "Please hand in your workbook and weekly journal."

Gu Zhuoyan pointed to the corner of his desk without even lifting his head.

Zhuang Fanxin believed that when you like someone, you can't help but want to look at them. But Gu Zhuoyan didn't even actively look, he didn't even twitch an eyelid.

Okay, first, eliminate the Chinese representative.

Next, he successively eliminated the group one leader, the life skills committee member, and the vice class monitor. If the scope he had locked onto was correct, then only the Chemistry representative Qin Wei and the Biology representative Wang Churan were left.

Zhuang Fanxin felt that he hadn't read all those detective novels for nothing; he had actually zeroed in on two suspects so quickly. He was still twisted in his seat when, unexpectedly, Gu Zhuoyan suddenly looked up and gazed at him from several rows away.

He immediately twisted back, pretending to be calm as he shouted, "Hand in your English homework—"

Gu Zhuoyan chuckled softly, took his cup to the front to get some water. On his way back, as he passed by Zhuang Fanxin, he lowered his gaze and their eyes met. Zhuang Fanxin poked Gu Zhuoyan's thigh again, and Gu Zhuoyan mischievously tugged a strand of Zhuang Fanxin's hair.

"Why do you keep looking at me?"

"I'm conducting an investigation."

Gu Zhuoyan thought to himself, 'You're just lovestruck.' He leaned down. "Don't wear yourself out investigating all morning. How about you give me your tofu pudding milk, and I'll give you a hint?"

Zhuang Fanxin had only taken two sips, but you have to give something to get something. He hesitantly pushed the tofu pudding milk to the corner of the desk, afraid of being tricked. "Don't try to fool me. It has to be a crucial hint."

Gu Zhuoyan said, "It's a class representative."

He picked up the tofu pudding milk and left, catching out of the corner of his eye how Zhuang Fanxin's eyes suddenly lit up, even flashing with a hint of pleasant surprise. This was exactly the effect he wanted. Zhuang Fanxin must be delightedly thinking, 'Could the person he fancies be me?'

One experiences a thousand flavors during a secret crush, and the most joyful of all is undoubtedly when the other person seems to like you back.

However, after Gu Zhuoyan walked away, Zhuang Fanxin was overjoyed. He threw his arm around Qi Nan's neck. "—I really am Holmes' Heart!"

He was inwardly thrilled. To think that after a round of analysis, filtering, and elimination, he had truly and accurately pinpointed the person involved! He shook Qi Nan, who was still in his embrace, and said with self-admiration, "Deskmate, if you ever like someone, definitely don't tell me. I can guess it myself."

Qi Nan was about to suffocate. "Why don't you guess... if I'll be called on for recitation in Chinese class..."

For the rest of the day, Zhuang Fanxin was like a cheerful magpie. If even one broom went missing from the classroom, he would volunteer to solve the case. Watching him, Gu Zhuoyan couldn't help but laugh. Was he really that happy just from hearing his hint?

During the break from evening self-study, Zhuang Fanxin sat at his desk gnawing on bread. He glanced at Qin Wei, then peeked at Wang Churan, unsure which one was Gu Zhuoyan's true sweetheart.

Alright, I should leave him a little privacy!

Zhuang Fanxin silently gave his blessings. Since Gu Zhuoyan had already found someone new he liked, he hoped Gu Zhuoyan's ex-girlfriend would also quickly overcome the sorrow of her breakup and find someone else to win claw machine dolls for her soon.

As he was composing his blessings, the back of his head was patted. Gu Zhuoyan appeared. "I'm on cleaning duty today, so I'll be leaving late."

Zhuang Fanxin said, "I have to clean the little corner, so I'll be late too."

After school, the classroom gradually emptied out. Gu Zhuoyan stayed behind to clean. As he was mopping the floor for the second time, Zhuang Fanxin returned with a broom, washed his hands, and waited to go home together.

Half of the lights were turned off, and the surroundings were not as bright. Zhuang Fanxin closed the windows and stood at the back, helping Gu Zhuoyan pack his schoolbag along the way. Gu Zhuoyan finished mopping and walked over. His clean hands were still damp, and he grazed Zhuang Fanxin's cheek with his fingertips.

Just once, very quickly.

Zhuang Fanxin was a bit dazed, so dazed that all the narcissistic pride from the entire day dissipated. A wave of hesitation even washed over him. "Gu Zhuoyan, you like her, but does she like you back?"

Gu Zhuoyan said, "I don't know."

Zhuang Fanxin stammered inexplicably, "Wh-what if she doesn't like you back?"

Gu Zhuoyan picked up his schoolbag, thinking to himself, 'He's been happy all day, did he finally remember to sound me out?' He didn't answer, just put his arm around Zhuang Fanxin's shoulder as they left for the day. They turned off the lights, locked the door, and both stepped into the empty corridor.

Only then did he say nonchalantly, "Then I'll just have to pursue them properly."