January 12th, which is also March 2nd in the Gregorian calendar.
High schools in City A began to start school one after another.
The weather had not yet warmed up, and the air was still filled with a biting cold.
Ellie was just entering the class when she was called out by Mr. Johnson.
"The teacher has moved your seat to the third row, to sit with Adrian. It's a good opportunity for you two to discuss problems."
Upon hearing this, Ellie looked up, met Mr. Johnson's gaze, and said, "But wasn't I sitting with William? Why was I suddenly moved?"
Mr. Johnson looked embarrassed and paused for a moment before saying, "Actually, it was William who came to me to change seats. I was quite surprised. I thought you two had a good relationship, and his final exam scores improved a lot."
He didn't know why either.
He was quite surprised when he suddenly received a call from William.
Ellie pursed her lips and didn't speak.
"Maybe he's afraid of holding you back in your studies."
"I understand, thank you, teacher."
Ellie finished speaking and still subconsciously entered through the back door, suddenly remembering that she no longer sat at the back.
Daniel saw Ellie, wanted to call out to her, but forcibly held back.
William was also watching Ellie, and when he saw her look up, he averted his gaze again.
It was still the same face, but Ellie felt that he had changed a lot.
He had become thinner.
So thin that his chin had become pointed, his pair of black eyes were extremely cold, very empty, his hair was cut short, and he was dressed in black, looking very fierce and unapproachable.
They had only been apart for about ten days.
Ellie felt as if she had returned to the time when school just started.
It was even worse than when school first started.
The two passed by each other without speaking.
Ellie saw the scars on his cheek and neck; it seemed he had been in a fight. She moved her lips but found that she had no right to ask him about it.
Daniel felt heartbroken seeing this scene.
Everything was fine before the New Year.
Why did it suddenly become like this?
The two were very good before.
Ellie sat down in the third row, and Theodore turned around and said, "You're really lucky, I also want to sit with Ellie."
Adrian shrugged: "No way, Ellie is now my deskmate, you'll have to wait in line."
Theodore looked at his annoying appearance and wanted to punch him.
She said to Ellie, "Welcome Ellie to the top three rows."
"Thank you," Ellie said, and then asked, "Did you move my seat?"
Adrian shook his head: "No, I wanted to help you move it, but then I found that all your things were already in the third row."
Hearing this, Ellie was slightly dazed.
She had a guess in her heart, which she quickly denied.
She told herself not to think too much.
William looked at the empty seat next to him and always felt a bit uncomfortable.
The person he used to see just by turning his head was now at the front of the classroom.
He still kept his original habit, sleeping facing the side where Ellie was.
Daniel poked William.
"I'll sleep for a while, and then..." The words "call me" hadn't even left his mouth when William saw the empty seat next to him, and the smile on the corner of his mouth quickly faded.
Daniel reminded him from the front: "William, it's time to collect the winter vacation homework, Jiang... Ellie will be here soon."
William took out a stack of neatly arranged papers from his drawer and handed them to Daniel, saying, "Give them to her for me, I'll sleep for a bit."
Daniel was afraid he hadn't written them, thinking of using his own to cover for him, and if he got scolded, he would.
However, after flipping through a few pages, Daniel found that he had actually completed all these papers.
Ellie collected homework and arrived at Daniel's place.
Daniel handed over the two papers in his hand to Ellie, saying, "William's and mine."
Hearing this, Ellie hummed, took the papers he handed over, and then turned around to collect papers from other places.
Perhaps sensing that she had gone to collect papers elsewhere, William raised his eyes and saw her holding a stack of papers in her arms.
Adrian came out of his seat and said to Ellie, "Ellie, I'll help you take it to the office."
Ellie said thank you and let him take half of them.
Adrian saw the top paper with the word "William" on it, and he said to Ellie, "Damn, Ellie, that's great, William actually handed in his paper."
"Is there a problem?"
"Other class representatives never ask William for homework." Adrian finished, whispering, "Because he never does his homework, and William is too fierce."
Hearing this, Ellie paused and said, "He's not fierce."
Adrian realized and said, "I forgot that you used to sit with William too. Why was your seat suddenly moved?"
Ellie didn't quite know how to answer this question.
Before she could speak, Adrian continued on his own, "Maybe it's because both you and William are too good-looking. Mr. Johnson is afraid that if you sit together, something unexpected might happen."
"Unexpected?"
Adrian laughed and said, "Yes, after all, it's puberty now. Maybe Mr. Johnson moved you two apart to prevent early romance. I think that's why."
Ellie softly said, "Maybe."
William watched the two walk in from outside and quickly retracted his gaze.
He was playing with his phone, but the game he used to enjoy often now seemed very boring.
He couldn't get excited.
He looked up and saw Adrian talking to Ellie about homework, and they seemed to be discussing a problem.
She was wearing a pink down jacket today, a white scarf around her neck, and a high ponytail.
The two didn't know what they were discussing, and William saw her frown slightly.
It seemed that without him, she would be better off.
She could discuss problems with excellent people.
Instead of wasting her time explaining problems to him.
But seeing her with others, he still found it very glaring.
Back home in the evening.
William leaned on his chair, playing with his phone, watching Coco keep coming over to look at his phone.
It had been like this for a while.
He put down his phone, looked at Coco, and said, "No more video calls, never again."
Coco seemed puzzled, and its cat paw touched his phone.
William didn't know if he was talking to it or to himself: "I've already bothered her for a long time."
Coco shook its head.
The bell around its neck rang softly.
It was still the thing Ellie had bought for it before.
In the deep night, the night was as dark as if ink had been spilled, with sparse stars dotted in the sky.
William still couldn't help but open the photo album on his phone.
In the video, Ellie was smiling happily, her apricot eyes curved.
Sweet and soft, and well-behaved.
He reached out and touched the phone screen, as if that way he could touch her.
He looked at her smile and couldn't help but smile along.
After watching for a while, he put away his phone.
In the deep night, some people sleep soundly, while others suffer from insomnia.