The sky was still dim, with a faint sliver of the moon lingering on the horizon. Jiang Luxi walked up the school steps, her foot tapping lightly on the stone. She reached for the corridor lights, but they stayed dark under her touch. Frowning, she pressed harder. After a moment of hesitation, the lights flickered to life.
From a distance, Cheng Xing watched the scene unfold. The sporadic flickering lit up the third-floor hallway, revealing a lone figure. At first, he could only guess her identity from the silhouette cast by the moonlight and the scattered streetlamps outside. But as the dim lights steadied, he saw her clearly—it was Jiang Luxi.
She wore a plain white T-shirt and a pair of light-washed jeans. The simplicity of her outfit stood out, even more so because it lacked the trendy, ripped designs most of their classmates favored. The early autumn breeze teased loose strands of her dark hair, framing a face that seemed untouched by blemishes or worries. Cheng Xing, a former novelist who had once filled pages describing fictional heroines, found himself unable to embellish her with words. He could only think, Ethereal.
The corridor lights went out again, casting a fleeting glow over her face before plunging her back into the soft shadows of dawn. As she approached, her steps steady and unhurried, her gaze fell on Cheng Xing sitting on the floor. A brief flash of surprise crossed her usually composed expression.
Normally, Jiang Luxi wouldn't be surprised to see someone waiting outside the classroom. But Cheng Xing was different. He rarely arrived early—usually showing up well after morning self-study had started. For him to be here now, before 5:40 AM, was beyond unexpected. Still, Jiang Luxi brushed it aside. She didn't concern herself with others' habits. For her, school was a battlefield, and studying was her only weapon to change her family's future. Everything else was irrelevant.
Without acknowledging him further, she stopped a short distance away and opened her English textbook. Her lips moved silently as she began reciting vocabulary, her focus unbroken. In the quiet corridor, Cheng Xing could see her mouth forming the words, but no sound reached him.
He hadn't intended to disturb her, but the classroom remained locked, and time seemed to crawl. Finally, he stood and stepped closer. "Hey," he said, breaking the silence for the first time since they became classmates.
Jiang Luxi looked up, her clear, indifferent eyes meeting his. She said nothing, waiting for him to speak.
"Can I borrow a book?" Cheng Xing asked.
Her response was calm, almost disarming. "What if I say no? Would you hit me?" Her gaze remained steady.
Cheng Xing blinked, startled. Of all the reactions he'd expected, this wasn't one of them. Hit Jiang Luxi? He wouldn't even consider it—and he doubted anyone else in the school would either. Jiang Luxi wasn't just admired; she was untouchable. Her quiet confidence created an invisible barrier that no one dared to cross.
Before Cheng Xing had made his public declaration of affection for Chen Qing, most of the boys in their school had admired Chen Qing openly, some even pursuing her. But that wasn't because Chen Qing outshone Jiang Luxi. No, Jiang Luxi stood in a realm of her own, unreachable and enigmatic, having built invisible walls around herself that no one dared to breach.
While some boys gathered their courage to confess to Chen Qing, Jiang Luxi was a different story. She was never approached, not because she wasn't admired, but because her unattainable nature left her untouchable. It had become an unspoken consensus among the boys to keep their admiration for Jiang Luxi a secret—a treasure locked away in their hearts.
That image, untarnished by rejection or the awkwardness of unreciprocated affection, would remain with them for years. The thought of having shared the same school corridors with someone like her would one day become a cherished memory of their youth.
Sometimes, secret admiration is the most eternal kind of love.
You might forget the name of your first girlfriend or the details of a first love. But the memory of a quiet, unspoken crush—the one who awakened the first flutter of your heart—lingers. That kind of love is pure, untainted by material concerns or ulterior motives.
"No," he said after a pause, shaking his head.
"Then I won't lend it to you," she replied flatly. Jiang Luxi loved her books and couldn't risk losing one—especially to someone like Cheng Xing, whose reputation didn't inspire trust.
"Okay," Cheng Xing said, nodding. His reaction was calm, but Jiang Luxi frowned slightly, surprised.
"You're not angry?" she asked, unable to hide her confusion. She had seen Cheng Xing's temper before. He'd fought classmates and even strangers without hesitation. If anyone else had rejected him like this, they'd probably end up begging for mercy.
"No, I'm so furious, that I'm barely keeping my calm" Cheng Xing said, deadpan. "The first time I ask someone for something, and they say no? You'd better vanish after school tonight."
His attempt at sounding threatening came off more like a joke, but Jiang Luxi took it seriously. "Then you can only hit me once," she said. "And after you do, don't bother me again."
Her calm, matter-of-fact tone threw him off balance. She acted as if being hit for refusing him was inevitable—a price she was willing to pay to protect her books. Cheng Xing found himself at a loss. He hadn't meant to scare her, and now he felt like the villain in a story he didn't want to tell.
For a moment, neither of them spoke. The corridor was silent except for the faint hum of the lights overhead.