Chapter 3: His Earphones

"Did you get a haircut?"

That light, offhand sentence exploded like fireworks inside Lucas's brain with a loud *boom*. He froze for a second before mumbling softly, "I went with my sister to get hers done and trimmed mine a bit too."

"Yeah, I noticed."

Having a crush really makes a person's brain function in strange ways.

Ethan's words were, at most, casual chatter between classmates, completely devoid of any deeper emotional meaning. Yet, having the boy he liked notice a tiny change in his appearance made Lucas feel a sweetness far surpassing the strawberry cake he had eaten the night before.

Lucas's hands inside his pockets began to sweat again. He scrambled to think of something to say next to keep the conversation flowing smoothly, but couldn't pick a single suitable line. In the end, he could only walk beside Ethan with a expressionless face, quietly adjusting his pace to match Ethan's rhythm.

They entered the shopping mall and stood side by side on the escalator.

Neither he nor Ethan were particularly talkative types; when Lucas didn't follow up, Ethan didn't say anything further either. Lucas's eyes drifted across the various store signs, occasionally landing on Ethan before darting away quickly out of fear of getting caught.

He had looked at Ethan's side profile in school countless times—he could accurately picture every single detail even with his eyes closed. Yet every time he caught a sudden glimpse of that face, Lucas couldn't help but marvel internally—how could someone be born so perfectly tailored to his exact taste? He loved everything about Ethan, from the slight downward curve of his lips to his high nose bridge, and even the faint, subtle mole on his chin.

Following the line of his jaw downward, Lucas could see Ethan's neck peeking out from his collar, along with an earphone plugged into one ear while the other side dangled loosely...

As if he was afraid of missing anything Lucas might say.

This was undoubtedly a case of Lucas overthinking things. But the instant he realized Ethan was wearing earphones, Lucas suffered a sudden lapse of sanity. He reached out, took hold of Ethan's dangling earphone, leaned in close, and popped it straight into his own ear. "...What are you listening to?"

"Ugh..." Ethan visibly stiffened for a moment.

The familiar voice of the female broadcaster from their English listening comprehension class drifted through the earbud.

"...English practice?" The moment the words left his mouth, Lucas wanted to die of regret. How could he do something so abrupt? But now, he could only bite the bullet, pull the earphone out, and act as natural as possible. "You're so studious."

Ethan quietly took out the other earbud and shoved them into his pocket. "Exams are coming up."

"Oh, right."

—*He's definitely bothered by that.*

*Dead dead dead...* Lucas kept his face rigid, staring strictly in the opposite direction, swearing to himself that he wouldn't dare look at Ethan's face again.

In silent yet tacit harmony, the two made their way to the cinema on the top floor. Ethan went to exchange the tickets while Lucas took the initiative to run over to the concession stand, buying a tub of popcorn to cradle in his arms and holding an orange juice in each hand as he jogged back to Ethan. Ethan took one of the juices and asked naturally, "How much?"

"Don't worry about it. You bought the movie tickets," Lucas said. "Snacks are on me."

Ethan nodded without pushing further.

Lucas rarely went to the cinema, mostly because he was too lazy to leave the house, and partly because he didn't have friends to watch movies with. Ethan handed the tickets to the usher and led him to the correct theater room. Once inside, they quickly found their seats right in the middle row of the hall.

"...These are great seats." Lucas sat down, placed his orange juice in the cup holder, and tossed a few pieces of popcorn into his mouth. "Your family has great luck."

"It's alright," Ethan responded casually, pulling out his phone to text someone.

Lucas wanted to sneak a glance, but felt that prying into someone's privacy was inappropriate. He shifted his gaze away, focusing intently on eating his popcorn while waiting for the movie to start.

Lucas's favorite pastime growing up was staying cooped up in his room watching movies or sitting in the living room watching TV shows with his mom and sister. He genuinely enjoyed films, but he had little interest in standard blockbuster commercial movies like *So Close, Yet So Far*.

He was only here because of Ethan.

If Ethan hadn't asked him, he definitely wouldn't have gone out of his way to watch a newly released commercial hit.

As the movie started, the hall lights dimmed, casting a soft, flickering glow from the screen onto Ethan's face, giving him an almost otherworldly charm. Lucas leaned against his outer armrest with the popcorn resting on his lap, propping his head up with one hand as he watched the movie, occasionally stealing glances at Ethan's profile. Ethan was much more focused than he was, sitting up straight with his eyes glued to the screen. However, the movie turned out to be far more interesting than expected, and Lucas soon found his attention completely captured, gradually forgetting that the person he secretly loved was sitting right next to him.

When his arm grew sore, Lucas unconsciously shifted, leaning toward the other side—still in that tilted posture with his hand supporting his chin. At first, he didn't notice anything wrong, but about five minutes later, during a slower-paced scene, it suddenly dawned on him—his head was only a fraction of an inch away from Ethan's shoulder.

If he lifted his hand right now, he would naturally rest his head right on Ethan's shoulder.

Lucas instantly tensed up every muscle in his body, not daring to touch Ethan, yet not daring to pull away abruptly either. Shielded by the dim light of the theater, his face began to burn again. He knew it had turned bright red without even looking. A faint, familiar scent drifted off Ethan, the exact same scent he had caught on the scarf a few days ago.

He couldn't focus on the movie at all anymore; his mind was entirely consumed by this impossibly close physical distance.

Ethan seemed completely oblivious, remaining seated upright and motionless.

—*No wonder couples in stories always go to the movie theater for dates.* This darkness, this proximity—it was the ultimate catalyst for reckless impulses. He wanted so badly to simply lean over and rest against Ethan, yet he didn't dare move an inch, remaining frozen on the spot as he listened to his own hammering heart.

—

He hadn't fallen in love with Ethan at a specific point in time because of some grand gesture.

At first, he simply thought Ethan was very good-looking. Later, Ethan occasionally teamed up with him at the dessert counter for discounts. Ethan spoke in a calm, quiet manner that wasn't difficult to reply to, and he wasn't the overly familiar type that Lucas struggled to handle. After hanging out more often, Lucas found himself constantly staring at Ethan while lounging lazily at his desk in school—watching his side profile as he listened intently in class, or his expressions when explaining homework problems to others.

By the time he realized it, he was already so in love with Ethan that all his daydreaming was occupied by Ethan's image. Even his innate laziness seemed to obediently subside whenever he was in front of Ethan.

And everyone in the world is the same: when you like someone, you want to look at them, and you want to get closer.

...And you start to fantazise that maybe, just maybe, they like you back.

—

In the end, Lucas had no idea what happened in the second half of the movie.

The instant the lights came back on, he finally broke his frozen posture. Hanging his head, Lucas scrambled to his feet and brushed past Ethan. "I need to use the restroom."

Without waiting for Ethan to reply, Lucas rushed down the steps like a fugitive, exiting the theater along with the rest of the audience and heading straight for the bathroom. He didn't actually need to go; he just needed to cool down before his head started smoking. Standing before the sink, he didn't even dare look at his own face in the mirror. He turned on the faucet, buried his face in his hands, and splashed cold water over himself.

To manage to stay right next to Ethan for over half an hour without blowing his cover—Lucas thought he was a total genius.

It took quite a while for the burning heat on his face to subside. Staring at his dripping reflection, he slowly dried his face with a paper towel and patted his cheeks to make himself look normal before stepping out of the restroom.

"...Huh? Lucas Tong?!" Before he could even walk out of the hallway, a voice called out his name in surprise.

Lucas's footsteps slowed down, followed by Ethan's calm voice: "Yeah."

"That's crazy! You actually came to the movies with Lucas Tong?... No way, he actually comes out to the movies with classmates? That guy practically has 'DO NOT APPROACH' written across his face... Did you invite him, or did he invite you?"

Ethan: "I invited him."

"This combination is insane, seriously... You barely talk, and Lucas looks miserable every single day. How do you two even watch a movie together?"

"It's fine," Ethan said. "Not as dramatic as you think."

"Just you two coming out to the movies together is pretty dramatic..."

—*When did he ever look miserable? At most, his facial muscles were just too lazy to move!*

Lucas complained in his head before stepping around the corner. The person chatting with Ethan was their classmate—Ethan's desk mate, Leo. Seeing Lucas appear, Leo immediately scratched his hair and gave an awkward smile. "Ah, didn't expect to run into you guys at the cinema!"

Lucas gave a quiet nod, walked over to Ethan's side, and asked, "Do you need to use the bathroom?"

"No."

Leo thought to himself: *How is that face not miserable? We're classmates, and he's too lazy to even say a full sentence!*

The room felt like two human icebergs standing together in the middle of winter. Leo quickly read the room and said, "I'll head out first then! Got a few friends waiting over there for lunch... Bye!"

Watching their classmate walk away, Lucas finally asked, "Are you heading home? I want to go to McDonald's to buy—"

"Together."

As if reading his mind, Ethan gave an affirmative answer before Lucas could even finish his sentence.

Ordering the exact same flavor of ice cream, Lucas and Ethan walked side by side toward his apartment, enjoying their treats. He had to admit, the "buy one, get second half price" discount was truly amazing for people who had a companion. The moment the cold, milky ice cream hit his mouth, Lucas shivered. "...Brrr, so cold."

"Eating ice cream in the middle of winter," Ethan noted. "You really like these?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Then why don't you eat two?"

"I have a sensitive stomach," Lucas replied offhandedly, lowering his gaze. Having something to do (eating ice cream) made talking to Ethan feel much more natural. "If I eat two at once, I'll get an upset stomach... Are you heading this way too?"

Ethan glanced at him sideways, though Lucas was eating so attentively he didn't notice at all. "...I'm staying around here lately, same direction as your house."

"Oh, then we're heading the same way." Lucas said, "Does your family own that many houses?"

"...My grandfather's house."

"Oh, okay..."

—

When he got home that day, Lucas remained floating on a romantic high for a long time. He tossed and turned in bed, rolling around endlessly. Whenever he thought of Ethan's face, the corners of his mouth curled up uncontrollably—only to droop back down whenever he remembered that they were both guys, and the most likely outcome was just staying friends. In the end, because his emotions fluctuated so wildly, Lucas grew exhausted and fell asleep surprisingly early.

What he didn't expect, however, was Monday morning.

Holding a piece of bread in his mouth with sleepy eyes, he stepped out of his building only to see Ethan passing right in front of his gate, wearing his earphones.

Ethan wore that signature black scarf. The instant he saw Lucas, he pulled off his earbuds and used his index finger to hook the scarf, pulling it down slightly.

"Morning."

"Ah... morning."

—*Going to school is truly the happiest thing in the whole wide world!*

Chapter 4: His Warmth

The morning's biting wind made Lucas hunch his shoulders, timidly nibbling on his piece of bread.

With his eyelashes cast downward, it was hard to tell whether he was looking at the road or his breakfast as he walked beside Ethan in his usual lazy, effortless manner. They walked with just enough space between them to avoid brushing against each other, yet not enough for a third person to squeeze in. One side of Ethan’s earphones hung loosely around his neck, swinging slightly with his movements, making it particularly eye-catching in Lucas’s peripheral vision.

Underneath an exterior that looked perpetually sleepy, timid, and listless, Lucas’s heart was enduring a brutal stress test. Ever since he caught sight of Ethan walking past his front gate, his heart rate had been racing out of control, unable to settle down for a long time. Just seeing the earphones made him recall the escalator at the mall; remembering the escalator reminded him of how they had sat together in the movie theater with almost zero distance between them... Lucas’s imagination only ever took such wild leaps when it came to Ethan.

This had to be fate.

If he had slept two minutes longer or woken up two minutes earlier, he would have missed Ethan completely.

Even though this was the shortest route to school from their direction and all students had the exact same start time, Lucas was still convinced that this was purely fate at work.

They walked silently toward the school like this for a short while, Lucas’s nose quickly turning red from the cold. After devouring his bread in a few quick bites, he yanked up his jacket collar, burying his lower face inside to shield it from the chill.

—*No, I have to find something to say.*

—*What if Ethan finds this awkward and chooses a different route next time?*

Lucas: "You..."

Ethan: "You..."

To his surprise, Ethan spoke up at the exact same moment he did.

Lucas tilted his head slightly, looking over at Ethan’s usual nonchalant, calm face. "...What is it?"

"Aren't you wearing a bit too little?" Ethan said. "Are you cold?"

"A little."

"Here then." As Ethan spoke, he suddenly began unwinding his scarf. It was the same black knit scarf—the very one Lucas had secretly sniffed before, carrying Ethan’s distinct scent. Ethan's long, slender, well-defined fingers looked strikingly pale against the black wool, drawing Lucas's gaze.

Lucas's mind briefly wavered between "politely decline" and "accept," but soon, too tired to overthink, he reached out and took it. "Thanks... Aren't you cold?"

Ethan’s Adam’s apple was exposed to the crisp air, but he didn't offer any extra elaboration, simply saying, "I'm fine."

"Oh... Thanks then."

"Don't say it twice."

The scarf, still carrying Ethan's body heat, settled gently over his skin. Lucas carefully wrapped it around his neck, letting Ethan’s scent envelope him from every angle.

*Ah, I'm truly done for.* Walking side by side with Ethan earlier hadn't bothered him much, but breathing in the scent on this scarf made his throat tighten irresistibly. Yet, Lucas concealed his chaotic thoughts impeccably well. Ethan didn't seem to notice his wild inner monologue at all, smoothly following up: "What were you going to say earlier?"

"...I forgot," Lucas admitted truthfully. Realizing right after that this might kill the conversation, he quickly added, "Do you usually leave for school at this time? I thought you'd be going much earlier..."

"Around this time, yeah. Going too early doesn't make much sense."

Which meant—as long as he left at this time tomorrow, he would likely bump into Ethan again. Lucas secretly pressed his phone screen inside his pocket, covertly glancing at the time. 7:43 AM... Tomorrow, he would stand outside waiting at 7:35 AM sharp.

The walk to school felt drastically shorter because he was in Ethan’s company; before they knew it, they had arrived.

Inside the classroom, students were scattered about chatting in small groups. Ethan and Lucas entering one after another didn't attract much attention, but Lucas removing the scarf and handing it back to Ethan was caught right in the eyes of Leo, who entered right behind them.

"Morning, Bro Ethan... Huh? Did you two walk here together?" Leo was holding a bag of steamed pork buns, the savory scent drifting over along with his words.

Lucas mumbled a quiet "Morning" before quietly retreating to his seat and slumping down. Meanwhile, Ethan pulled out his chair and replied, "Yeah, bumped into each other on the way..."

Leo immediately launched into a noisy conversation with Ethan, his loud voice almost drowning out the rest of the chatter in the room. Lucas couldn't clearly hear what Ethan was saying. As he lay on his desk, drowsiness washed over him again, and he half-closed his eyes to play dead.

—

"Studying is the single most important task for you at this stage! Time flies in the blink of an eye, and the college entrance exams will be here before you know it. This is your very first chance to shape your own future through your own hard work..." The homeroom teacher preached passionately in a raspy, screeching voice while students below lazily passed back the graded monthly exam papers.

The student in the front row tossed the papers back without looking, landing one squarely right on top of Lucas’s sleeping head.

Lucas's desk mate was Nina, a girl with good grades who was always helpful. Seeing this, she nudged his elbow a couple of times.

"Mm...?" Lucas yawned as he sat up, pulling the test paper down. He glanced at his score and immediately shoved it into his desk drawer. The papers weren't handed out by subject individually; instead, on test result days, all subjects were handed out together.

*Chinese: 40. English: 92. Math: 37...* After this monthly exam, he would officially drop out of the middle-tier rankings and join the bottom dead-enders.

Before all the papers were finished being distributed, Leo’s voice—attempting to whisper, yet failed miserably at keeping it quiet—suddenly reached his ears: "Whoa, bro! You're insane! Perfect scores in three subjects... You're definitely number one in the whole grade this time!"

These words were undoubtedly directed at Ethan. No one else could achieve such monstrous results.

Lucas instinctively turned his head to look back. Ethan was looking down, reviewing his rare mistakes on the test paper. At that moment, Lucas’s gaze felt almost tangible; the very next second, Ethan sensed it, looked up, and caught his eyes.

"...How did you do?" Unexpectedly, Ethan asked.

"...Ah, I... just the usual... Ouch!"

Before Lucas could finish his sentence, a piece of chalk thrown by the homeroom teacher struck his forehead with pinpoint accuracy.

"Lucas Tong! You still have the nerve to chat in class?" the homeroom teacher barked. "Look at your test results—third from the bottom! You used to sit comfortably in the middle tier, so what happened this month? Every single subject teacher reported to me that you didn't write a single word besides answering the multiple-choice questions!"

"..." Lucas rubbed his forehead and collapsed back onto his desk, feeling his embarrassment peak.

The homeroom teacher cleared his throat and continued, "This is our class's average score. Do the math yourselves and see if you dragged us down. Ethan placed first in the entire grade this time, yet our class's average is still ranked fourth! What does that tell you? Is one Ethan not enough to carry the rest of you?"

After lecturing the class for a while longer, the teacher finally called Ethan and a few other top performers out into the hallway, allowing a semblance of self-study atmosphere to return to the classroom.

Lucas propped his chin on his palm, tilting his head to stare out the window. From his angle, he could clearly see Ethan’s face as he spoke with the teacher. He tried to mimic the movements of Ethan’s lips as he spoke, trying to guess what was being said. But lip-reading proved far harder than he had imagined; he couldn't decipher a single word.

How could someone be so perfect? Excellent grades, handsome looks, great at sports, and even a impressive height.

While his mind was entirely occupied with Ethan, Nina placed her own test paper on Lucas’s desk. "Correct your English paper first; you missed fewer points on that one... Lucas?"

"Ah? What?"

"I said, use my paper to correct yours," Nina said patiently. "I've already finished mine. If the teacher checks later and sees yours uncorrected, you'll get scolded again..."

However, Lucas didn't respond, nor did he shift his gaze away from Ethan outside the window.

"Lucas Tong, if you don't want to copy, at least say something!"

"If he doesn't want to copy it, I will," the male classmate sitting in front, who wore glasses, suddenly turned around and spoke rudely. "Why bother talking to him? He's always like this—ignoring everyone, acting like some cold cool guy. It's childish as hell..."

"..." Only then did Lucas snap his thoughts back, saying softly, "Oh, I'm not copying..."

Having his lazy, laid-back attitude misinterpreted as "acting cool" was nothing new to him. Back in middle school, it had even caused trouble: after he ignored a girl's confession, she recruited several upperclassmen to give him a hard time. Luckily, he didn't end up getting beaten up—perhaps because seeing his completely indifferent, unbothered expression drained all their motivation to fight.

Unsurprisingly, upon hearing his quiet response, the guy with glasses flared up. "Nina was nice enough to lend it to you, couldn't you at least say thank you? What's with that attitude..."

"Forget it, it's fine," Nina hurriedly mediated. "Hey, you go ahead and copy it then, I'll keep revising mine..."

Lucas pursed his lips and said helplessly, "Thanks, but I won't copy. I just didn't catch what you said earlier."

The moment the words left his mouth, he realized that in other people's ears, this explanation probably sounded equally terrible. Just as the classmate in front was about to start an argument, the top students who had been called out began filing back into the classroom. The homeroom teacher's smiling face instantly turned stern, and his sharp gaze locked straight onto Lucas: "Lucas, step outside!"

"Ugh..."

—*Looks like a scolding is inevitable. If I knew this would happen, I would've written a few more answers.*

Thinking this, Lucas stood up sluggishly and dragged his feet out of the classroom with slumped shoulders. Outside, the cold wind howled furiously. Hunching his neck to make himself look as small as possible, he hung his head before the homeroom teacher, braced for the lecture.

"...Is your mind actually on your studies or not? Do you want to graduate? Do you want to go to college? Be honest with me," the homeroom teacher demanded, throwing a barrage of questions right at him. "If you don't want to, I won't bother wasting my energy."

"...Wasting what energy?" Lucas blurted out offhandedly.

"Having poor grades right now can easily be turned around with two years of hard work. Plenty of students make a late push and end up in top-tier universities... The main question is whether you *want* to learn yourself. Do you understand? I even called your parents—what is going on with your family? When I raised concerns about your academic performance, your mother just told me to speak with you directly! That is utterly uncooperative..."

Lucas apologized silently in his head: *Sorry, my whole family is pretty much like this.* But aloud, he remained silent, looking quite obedient as he listened to the teacher's long-winded rant.

"...As long as you're willing to learn, I'm willing to help you, and your classmates will be willing to help you too," the teacher finally reached the core topic after taking a long detour. "The top students in our class are willing to tutor those of you at the bottom. But it all depends on whether you actually want to put in the effort. If you don't, forcing a one-on-one tutoring setup on them will just be a waste of their time..."

"Who's willing to tutor me?" Lucas suddenly perked up, cutting in eagerly.

"Ethan is willing to tutor you. It just depends on whether you're willing to take it seriously—"

"I am!" Lucas's eyes widened, shining with a glaring, undisguised passion. "I'll study!"

The homeroom teacher nearly wept with relief internally—*Has this bottom-ranked slacker finally seen the light and decided to study? I sure hope the other struggling students snap out of it too.*

Chapter 5: His Eyelashes

The homeroom teacher certainly loved to lecture and scold, but few students in the class actually hated him. Much like the idea of having top students lend a hand to those at the bottom—once the teacher brought up a plan like that, everyone usually went along with it, willing or not. Still, the homeroom teacher was thoughtful enough to ask for the top students' input first before calling the struggling students out one by one for heart-to-heart talks.

Returning to his seat, Lucas couldn't resist pulling out his phone.

Lucas: *[The homeroom teacher said you're going to tutor me.]*

Slumping over his desk, his gaze secretly drifted toward the back, locking onto Ethan's profile. Ethan was currently correcting his test paper, while Leo was busy copying his answers. Suddenly, the pen in Ethan's hand stopped moving, and he lowered his head to glance down.

So even the top student secretly checked his phone during self-study, looking no different from anyone else. Lucas couldn't help thinking to himself, the corners of his mouth curling into a faint, uncontrollable smile—*a top student sneaking a peak at his phone is actually pretty cute.* But less than two seconds later, his phone buzzed with Ethan's reply.

Ethan: *[Yeah, he mentioned it.]*

Lucas: *[He asked you first? You didn't refuse?]*

Ethan: *[Nope.]*

Ethan: *[Do you not want to?]*

Lucas: *[It's not that. I just thought you were forced into it.]*

Ethan: *[I volunteered to tutor you.]*

When those words popped up on the screen, Lucas felt his heart pounding like a drum, as if translating those words directly yielded "I like you too." Just as he was completely flustered, unsure of how to reply to the message, his phone buzzed again.

Ethan: *[I'm not very familiar with the others.]*

*Ah, right. That makes total sense.* If he had to tutor a classmate, it was naturally better to pick someone he had at least interacted with rather than a complete stranger among the struggling students. Lucas let out a sigh of relief. As the tension and fluttery excitement passed, a subtle wave of disappointment filled his heart in their place.

He turned his head, not daring to look back in Ethan's direction. After replying with a simple "OK," he immediately pulled his abysmal test papers out of his desk drawer, flipping through his textbook to correct his answers problem by problem.

---

Very few students voluntarily stayed behind in the classroom to study after school; those who wanted to learn preferred studying at home, leaving only the students on cleaning duty in the room.

"Bro Ethan, let's go play basketball! Come on, come on!" Right as the bell rang, Leo grabbed his basketball and rushed over to Ethan excitedly. "Hurry up, before the court gets taken..."

Drawn by his voice, Lucas instinctively looked over at Ethan, catching him casually flipping through his textbook notes before saying calmly, "Can't make it today. The homeroom teacher asked me to tutor him." As he spoke, he gestured with his chin toward Lucas.

Caught completely off guard, Lucas's eyes locked directly with Ethan's.

"Uh..." Lucas stiffened. "It's fine if you go play basketball. I can just study on my own..."

"We already agreed on it, didn't we?" Ethan said simply.

"Hiss... Alright then, I'm heading out first! Hey guys, you coming to play ball or what?!" Leo slung his bag over his shoulder, holding the basketball as he walked out boisterously with a few other boys. Even though there were still classmates cleaning up in the classroom, Lucas somehow felt an eerie quiet settle around them, as if only he and Ethan were left in the entire room.

The top student acted completely nonchalant, casually flipping open his book. "Come sit over here. Bring your test papers."

"Oh..."

The two of them together really did make an unusual pair. As Lucas walked over with his stack of test papers, the two classmates on cleaning duty glanced over at them. But Lucas didn't have the mental space to pay attention to them. He tried his best to steady his breathing, making an effort to look completely normal as he pulled out Leo's chair and sat down next to Ethan.

The distinct scent on Ethan instantly drifted toward him—faint and subtle, hard to describe, but exceptionally pleasant to Lucas.

"...Did you fix any of your mistakes? Let me take a look first," Ethan said.

"Here." Lucas pushed the stack of test papers over, propping his chin up lazily. "I fixed the English ones, but not the others..."

"...Didn't write a single word besides the multiple-choice questions," Ethan murmured, his eyes lowered as he leafed through the papers attentively. "Are you truly unable to do them, or are you just too lazy to write?"

"A bit of both..." Lucas said guiltily.

—*He hadn't even flipped to the back pages or read the questions, so whether he knew how to do them was entirely out of the question.*

Fortunately, Ethan didn't press the matter further. As if accepting the explanation, he pointed his mechanical pencil at a wrong multiple-choice question, reading through the stem at a steady pace and lightly circling key words while explaining it to him.

Ethan's pronunciation when reading English sounded great, like a charismatic, highly intelligent male protagonist in a foreign film. As Lucas listened, his gaze uncontrollably drifted away from the test paper and landed on Ethan's face. The distance between desk mates was far closer than he had imagined; he could clearly see Ethan's long, delicate eyelashes. When Ethan looked down, his eyelashes shaded most of his pupils, adding a touch of softness to his usually aloof, hard-to-approach demeanor.

—*I want to touch them.*

—*Just once.*

"...So the answer to this question is C. Was that clear enough... Hm?"

By the time Lucas snapped back to reality, his hand was already reaching toward Ethan's eyelashes, his fingertip lightly brushing against them. After a brief moment of confusion, Ethan immediately leaned back, his brows furrowing slightly as he asked, "What are you doing?"

"..." Lucas withdrew his hand awkwardly. "Your eyelashes are really long."

"Did you listen to the question at all?"

"No..." Lucas answered honestly, finally bringing his focus back to the test paper. Looking at the key words Ethan had circled, he hazarded a guess, "Ah, so the answer is C? I didn't notice this word during the exam..."

"You actually know it, you're just too lazy to write," Ethan said, starting to pack up his textbook and papers. "Then you don't need my help. Just answer a few more questions on the next exam."

In that instant, Lucas acted completely out of character, pressing down on the book Ethan was about to close with surprising speed: "No, there's a lot I don't know! Teach me... I really just zoned out for a second because I was thinking about how long your eyelashes are... I promise I'll listen carefully this time."

Ethan stopped his hands, pausing for a moment before saying, "Read through the test paper first. Ask me if there's anything you don't understand."

"You're not going to teach me directly?"

"This way is faster."

"Oh..." Not daring to do anything out of line again, Lucas obediently took back his English test paper—the one he scored highest on—and began reviewing it question by question. Ethan pulled out his own notebook and started writing on his own. Lucas could hear the soft rustling sound of the pen tip gliding across the paper, carrying a unique sort of magic that made the test paper in front of him seem a little less dull.

Without them realizing it, the two classmates on cleaning duty had already left, leaving the large classroom so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The atmosphere felt strangely magical—his heart raced simply because Ethan was sitting within arm's reach, yet he felt immensely peaceful, influenced by Ethan's calm demeanor. It felt almost cozy.

After a long while, Lucas stretched his neck and glanced down at the sports field below. Leo and the others were sweating it out on the court, looking like they were having a great time. Normally, Ethan would play with them every few days. Lucas had secretly watched Ethan play basketball before; his sharp, energetic posture on the court was quite a sight to behold.

Lucas suddenly spoke up: "You don't actually have to stay and study with me on purpose. In the future, I can just ask you if I run into something I don't get."

"Hm?" Ethan responded without raising his head.

"Don't you usually play ball with them? It's fine if you want to go play."

Ethan still didn't stop writing, the rustling sound serving as a background noise: "Do *you* want to go play?"

"No, I don't," Lucas said. "I hate exercise."

"You're too lazy."

"...Plenty of people hate exercise, don't they?"

"But very few people give up on exams just because they're too lazy to answer the questions." Ethan glanced at Lucas's test paper. "You should get some exercise... Is there anything you don't understand?"

"Yeah... I marked them all. I was planning to ask you all at once."

Just as he finished speaking, Ethan suddenly handed an English textbook over to him. "I marked all the core knowledge points tested this time in the table of contents. There are notes for each of them, so cross-reference them while reviewing. And remember to memorize your vocabulary."

"When did you mark all this...?" Lucas asked, taking the book and flipping it open. On the title page, the name "Ethan" was written in a casual, flowing handwriting. They say handwriting reflects a person's character; while Ethan appeared cool and detached on the outside, his handwriting was bold and expressive.

"Just now."

"Oh..."

The more they talked, the more comfortable Lucas felt. Admiring his crush's beautiful notes, he accidentally blurted out what was on his mind: "If I do well on the final exam, will there be a reward?"

"A reward?"

Ethan suddenly looked over at him, but Lucas didn't notice, keeping his eyes lowered as he pondered: "Like..."

"Hm?"

Lucas pursed his lips, thinking to himself *'Like letting me kiss you once'*, but out loud he only dared to say, "Like buying me dessert."

"Isn't it the other way around?" Ethan said. "I'm tutoring you. If you make progress, you should be thanking me."

"Oh, right, that's true." Lucas stopped his pen, tilting his head to lay flat on the desk. He rested his cheek lazily against the English textbook, thoughtfully clicking the push button of his gel pen. "Then if I make it into the top twenty, I'll buy you dessert."

---

They ended up taking the same path home again, chatting casually along the way.

"Oh, I'm home now. Bye-bye," Lucas said, waving Ethan's English textbook. "I'll remember to bring it back to you tomorrow."

"Yeah, bye." Ethan nodded, shifting his gaze away with a slightly peculiar expression before turning to leave. Lucas stood at the entrance of his apartment building, watching Ethan's back until he disappeared around the corner. The joy he had suppressed all day could no longer be contained, and his eyes crinkled into a smile.

Speaking of which, he really had to thank his homeroom teacher. If the teacher hadn't cared so much about his grades, he wouldn't have gotten the chance to stay behind in the classroom alone with Ethan to study... Maybe he'd get the teacher a nice gift on Teacher's Day next time.

Thinking this, Lucas was just about to turn around and go upstairs when someone grabbed his shoulder from behind. "Standing here giggling all by yourself... do you like that boy from just now?"

"..." Surprised, Lucas turned his head, only to see his sister's lazy face. "...When did you..."

"It was my turn to take out the trash today, so I happened to see you two," Chloe said. "...Who would've thought? Our little Lucas has reached the age of having a crush."

"Chloe, don't talk nonsense..." Lucas pouted, uncomfortably slipping away from his sister's grip. "I'm going upstairs."

"Wait up, let me throw this out and we'll go up together," Chloe said. "Don't worry, I won't tell Mom. I'm not a gossip... Is he your classmate? He looks older than you. How are his grades?"

"...And you call that 'not a gossip'..."

"Have you confessed yet? Does he like you back?"

"...Chloe!"

"So that's a no," Chloe tossed the trash into the bin, turning around to link arms with him as they walked up the stairs, smiling sweetly. "Do you want your big sister to give you some pointers? I've written tons of romance stories about secret crushes—want me to lend you a few books for reference?"