We all once suffered from a condition, officially known as—Mary Sue Syndrome.

Girls afflicted with this condition suffer from mild delusions, believing themselves to be the protagonists of life, complete with a protagonist's halo. Severe cases are often accompanied by complications such as a fragile heart and affectedness.

A young girl's feelings are always like poetry.

If you protect me for a moment, I will love you for a lifetime.

But youthful emotions are always extremely contradictory: yesterday I loved you, today you said one more word to another girl, and tomorrow I won't love you anymore; or yesterday I didn't love you, today you shared half a candy from your pocket with me, and I decide to love you starting tomorrow.

Simple and pure.

Ding Xian was also a walking contradiction at the time. On one hand, she didn't think she liked Zhou Siyue, but on the other hand, when he talked about problems with other girls, her heart indeed felt sour.

She thought the type of boy she liked should be gentle and gentlemanly like Xu Ke, not an arrogant peacock like Zhou Siyue.

But what was she feeling sour about?

'Oh, it must be her Mary Sue Syndrome acting up.'

Ding Xian didn't look at either of them after speaking, instead she lowered her head to clear the books on her desk to make space for the girl. In the quiet lunch break classroom, sunlight cast a shadow, and the only sound was the rustling as she packed her things.

Light and shadow intertwined.

"What's wrong with you now?"

Zhou Siyue's voice was neither loud nor soft, but in the quiet classroom, it sounded particularly cold.

Ding Xian's hands paused in packing, her pencil case half-zipped, her entire body frozen in place. Students around them unanimously turned their heads, dozens of gazes falling on her.

She explained in a low voice, "I'm making space for you two during the lunch break, so it'll be easier for you to teach."

Zhou Siyue leaned back in his chair, watching her sarcastically, letting out a sneer. "Look how considerate you are."

Ding Xian ignored him completely, simply continued packing her things with her head down, and smiled at the girl. "I'll be done in a moment."

The girl, confused, asked, "Oh, do you really want to switch?"

Ding Xian: "Yes, I'm switching."

Zhou Siyue lowered his head to write, not looking up. His fluffy hair shimmered in the sunlight, like a docile hound.

"If you switch, don't come back."

He said.

Ding Xian had originally only intended to switch for the lunch break; she just wanted a quiet place to sleep for a bit. Now, with his outburst, she stood there holding two books, unsure whether to go or stay.

After Zhou Siyue said that, he never looked up again; even the back of his head seemed exceptionally indifferent.

Ding Xian gritted her teeth in indignation and snapped, "I'll come back later to move my desk!"

With that, she tossed her ponytail and walked proudly towards her new seat.

Zhou Siyue's paper was torn by his pen.

Outside the window, cicadas chirped twice, fitting the mood.

Ding Xian moved to the fourth row directly in front. Her new deskmate was still a boy named He Xingwen, this year's top scorer in the high school entrance exam. He looked very ordinary, with a buzz cut, dark skin, always wearing a set of long-sleeved shirt and pants that were washed faded and wrinkled. He sat very upright, like an elementary school student, and never went anywhere during breaks, just stayed in his seat doing problems.

This was a "normal" deskmate, not some non-human like Zhou Siyue.

The only difference with He Xingwen was that he had a bit of premature gray hair; just looking at the back of his head, he resembled a little old man.

But he was still better than that arrogant peacock.

In the afternoon, Kong Shadi came over to talk to her, leaning halfway on her desk, trying to persuade her: "Are you really not going back?"

During the break, the students' chatter was noisy, but she could still clearly hear his half-joking, teasing voice, which floated straight into her ears through the crowd.

Ding Xian rested her head on the desk, unconsciously doodling with her pen on her scratchpad, her expression stubborn: "No, I'm not going back."

Kong Shadi drew out the sound, "Oh—", then reached for her scratch paper and gasped softly, "Then why are you writing his name?"

Ding Xian suddenly woke up, springing up from her seat and lunging towards Kong Shadi, snatching the scratchpad from her hand, and looking at it.

There was no name at all, just a bunch of scribbles.

Kong Shadi gave a triumphant smirk: "You have a guilty conscience."

Ding Xian sat back absentmindedly, sighing, "You're so annoying."

Kong Shadi pouted: "I just wanted to remind you that the pavilion near the water enjoys the moon first. You're giving up such a good opportunity; it's your loss. Deng Wanwan clearly has a thing for Zhou Siyue. If he gets taken, don't you dare cry."

Ding Xian puffed out her cheeks indifferently, drawing a harsh line on the paper with her pen, saying, "Go away, if those two end up together, I'll set off two big firecrackers at the school gate, just to thank student Deng Wanwan for sacrificing herself to rid the people of a menace!"

Kong Shadi deliberately said, "Really? Then I'd better quickly buy a stool and go to the school gate in a few days to watch the fireworks."

Ding Xian eyed her sideways.

Kong Shadi: "They're chatting so well now. Deng Wanwan even asked him to play games together."

"Let them play," Ding Xian grumbled.

Kong Shadi scoffed, too lazy to argue further with her, and issued an ultimatum: "Move back tomorrow, quickly! I'm really tired of having a chirping little bird behind me. And also, if you don't quickly cultivate some feelings within this month, after a month, the homeroom teacher will rearrange seats, and you'll have even less of a chance."

"I'm not moving," Ding Xian was as stubborn as a donkey. Kong Shadi, about to glare in anger, saw her slowly sit up straight, lower her head, and softly add, "He told me not to come back."

Kong Shadi: "Oh, oh, oh, are you two having a marital spat? Look, isn't it like that, 'If you leave, don't come back!' Your mom must often say that to your dad, right? And then when your dad comes back, doesn't your mom still serve him good food and drinks?"

Although she said that, every time it was Ye Wanxian who couldn't hold back and called Father, only then would he move back from a friend's house.

Ding Xian slowly turned her head.

Zhou Siyue was wearing a black T-shirt, casually leaning back in his chair, chatting happily with Song Ziqi. When he got excited, he displayed his usual languid smile, his teeth white and even. When he smiled, the corners of his eyes curved slightly upwards. With the evening glow behind him, his fluffy hair was bathed in the translucent red afterglow, making him seem to glow.

Ding Xian remembered a saying.

You are an unintentional draft, yet you provoke a mountain flood.

A boy leaned in at the doorway, calling him to play basketball after school, and he smiled faintly, turning his head to say okay. Girls passing by couldn't help but glance inside twice, but he seemed oblivious, only focused on chatting with Song Ziqi.

Song Ziqi joked with him: "Hey, hey, hey, someone's here to see you again."

Young Master Zhou kicked his stool, "What nonsense are you talking about?"

There really were girls who came to see him, but they didn't dare to do anything at the time. They would just hide at the back door under the guise of looking for a classmate, secretly glance at him twice, and then discreetly ask, "Is that Zhou Siyue?"

At first, the classmates were quite patient, but after being asked too many times, they would eventually just say, "See that boy at the door? Yes, that's Zhou Siyue from our class. He doesn't have a girlfriend yet."

The girl shyly hit her classmate's shoulder: "Who asked about that?"

But her thoughts were all written on her face.

Song Ziqi said.

Anyway, Zhou Siyue was the kind of person who could make friends with anyone. He read a lot of leisure books, so he could always say a few words on any topic. If someone asked, he was willing to answer. He was indeed noble, but without any pretense, able to chat with anyone.

Sometimes he could even exchange a few words with Mute Zhang at the Hutong's entrance.

He had many friends, so one less friend, like her, wouldn't make a difference.

She had switched seats with Deng Wanwan, yet he was still chatting and laughing with others, completely unaffected. Only she was in a state of chaos here.

Despite what she said, she soon regretted it.

The reason was that one time Ding Xian didn't bring her Chinese textbook and wanted to share one with He Xingwen, but He Xingwen ignored her. Ding Xian thought he disliked sharing books and didn't dare bother him again.

She just sat there dumbfounded for an entire class.

During that time, she was even called on by the Chinese teacher once.

During the break, Ding Xian went to the restroom. The class was distributing a newly arrived textbook. He Xingwen took one for himself, didn't save one for her, and just passed the rest down. The next day, when it was time to use the book in class, Ding Xian somehow remembered that this book hadn't been distributed yet.

As a result, students one by one pulled out new books from their desks.

Only then did she ask He Xingwen in surprise, "When was this book distributed?"

He Xingwen: "Yesterday."

"You didn't get one for me?"

He Xingwen thought for a moment: "I forgot."

And for example, when Ding Xian sharpened her pencil, He Xingwen would say, "There's a lot of dust. Go sharpen it outside."

So Ding Xian could only stand by the trash can at the back of the classroom to sharpen it. Without the leverage of a desk, it became extremely difficult, and in a moment of carelessness, she scraped a small cut on her finger.

In comparison, that peacock instantly seemed grand again.

He usually acted cool and ignored people, but when books were distributed, he would always save one for her. If she wasn't there for homework assigned by the teacher, he would specially remind her, and he never complained about her pencil dust.

'Suddenly I feel that Zhou Siyue is truly a deskmate like the spring breeze.'

After thinking for a while, she tilted her head and asked Kong Shadi, "Do you think if I talk to Deng Wanwan about switching seats now, she'd agree?"

Kong Shadi chuckled at her: "You're overthinking it. They're doing great now. They discuss problems during class and games after class. Where would you even fit in? Young Master Zhou doesn't need another confidante like you."