"Gu Xiao, I get your excitement, but please be quieter," Mr. Shen lectured.
Zhang Yongyin turned around to Gu Xiao with teary eyes and cried, "I did! Now I'm 24th."
"Ok, ok. You both don't need to announce your ranks to the entire class. Why don't you do it when you both pass 75%, alright?"
A smile escaped Lan Yuning's lips, but then it gradually faded.
"I will ask Mr. Shen to change seats," Lan Yuning said.
"Why?"
"Isn't that what you wanted?"
"No?"
Lan Yuning tilted his head, but his heart strangely skipped from that immediate response.
"Did I say that I wanted you to move back? I don't want you to move away though."
Looking back, Lan Yuning realised he had never actually heard those words come out of his mouth personally, but he just assumed Gu Xiao wanted to. But even so, he was still confused on why he wouldn't want to.
"Why?"
"I want to be with you."
Lan Yuning whipped his head around and his lashes trembled for a moment as if he wanted to restrain the warmth that itched his heart.
"Do you always speak like that to people?" Lan Yuning stammered.
"Like what?"
The itch in Lan Yuning's chest didn't dissipate. Instead, it became a little too much for him to hold back that an intense pink flush coursed throughout his cheek. Gu Xiao, after realising what his words sounded like without context, was stunned for a moment.
He looked at the side of Lan Yuning's neck, and his pale skin seemed to exude a faint red tone. Yet, this nervousness coming from Lan Yuning was like a rush of water pouring onto this seedling in his chest, and that sprout that had finally spread its roots, spreading open and revealing his inner and honest feelings.
"It's nothing," Lan Yuning said, quickly dismissing his previous comment. "Why do you want to keep sitting next to me?"
"Because I want to talk to you."
"You're not supposed to talk during class."
"And? No, no, I don't want to. I don't want to," Gu Xiao whined.
"What exactly do you not want to do?" Mr. Shen asked, tapping on the table with his pen.
Gu Xiao shut his lips and stopped fidgeting, leaving Mr. Shen to sigh in annoyance and continue going through the semester's outline.
Lan Yuning covered his mouth with his palm, continuing to jot notes down as he mumbled, "...Then what do you want?"
With the same grin, Gu Xiao propped his head with his palm pressing against his cheek, puckering his lips as he pondered what to say.
"I..."
Just from this comfortable distance, Gu Xiao caught each subtle flutter of Lan Yuning's lashes, watching the strands of his ink-coloured hair swaying over his forehead from the gentle breeze that seeped between the window opening.
Noticing the silence, Lan Yuning turned around with the same unchanging expression, and their eyes directly locked with one another.
A trembling swell rose within Gu Xiao's chest when he looked at him. There was an endless depth, though perhaps it was because of the window's glare, but a small light reflected within his eyes.
Someday, this light may scatter, but at this moment, the light was still there. Gu Xiao wanted to say something, but nothing seemed to leave his throat, and he only allowed silence to descend upon them.
He couldn't turn his head away, and he couldn't avert his gaze either. This feeling was so similar each time they made eye contact.
"I want to take a photo with you on graduation," Gu Xiao gleamed with the same smile.
He tried his best not to let his emotions show, and he tried to not let his eyes reveal the unsettledness of his feelings.
Lan Yuning's brows slightly raised, but he simply turned back around, his palm covering his mouth, and continued writing. "Do what you want."
It had been so long since Gu Xiao exhorted such efforts to suppress these different whirling emotions; he was unsure what his current expression was like.