William's hair was disheveled from his frustration with the problem he couldn't solve, with a few strands defiantly standing up on his head.
He still had that pink band-aid on his face.
The more Ellie looked at him, the cuter she thought he was, and she laughed, saying, "Nothing, I just think you're a bit cute."
"Whatever Little Teacher says is what it is."
Ellie looked at their chat window and changed William's nickname to: A Bit Cute Little William.
...
Monday.
Daniel was carefully putting a soup dumpling into his mouth when he looked up and saw William coming in.
The teenager was wearing a loose school uniform, with an upright posture and trousers that wrapped around legs that were excessively long. His eyebrows and eyes were cold, and there was a pink band-aid on his face that was extremely inconsistent with his image.
It was a band-aid that William had applied and reapplied several times in front of the mirror that morning,
Daniel was stunned.
William was actually wearing a full school uniform today, and there was also a... pink band-aid on his face.
He felt like he might not have woken up yet.
The class's first reaction to seeing the band-aid on William's face was: William is in love?
How did they not hear a whisper of it.
William, however, showed no expression and walked straight to his seat, pulling out his chair and sitting down.
"William, would you like breakfast? Mason brought soup dumplings, they're delicious."
"No." William had just refused when he looked up and saw Ellie coming in.
They exchanged glances, Ellie glanced at him and then at what Daniel was holding.
William took the other breakfast from Daniel's hand.
The whole process took less than ten seconds.
Daniel looked back and saw Ellie sitting down and organizing her bag in front.
It had to be Ellie.
"Why do you have a pink band-aid, William?"
William looked up at him without speaking.
Daniel suddenly realized, "It was given by Ellie, right?"
"Mm-hmm."
...
The first morning class.
William sat at the back, watching Ellie in front.
He wished he could carry her and her desk back.
He was resting his head and got distracted for a moment when Ellie turned back to look at him.
He straightened up again.
The second morning class.
Adrian looked at William standing in front of him, swallowed his saliva, and thought for a long time without knowing where he had offended William, nor could he think of anything that would make William want to see him.
He didn't have much contact with William and was still a bit afraid of him.
"Lend me your seat for a while."
"Ah? Oh, sure, William, have a seat." Adrian stood up and gave his seat to William.
"Did you memorize the book?"
"Memorized it, is Little Teacher going to check?"
"No need, I trust you."
"I really want to sit with Little Teacher, not having a deskmate feels not good at all."
"Didn't you not have a deskmate before?" Ellie remembered that on the first day when she arrived, they told her that William had always been without a deskmate.
"But then I had one, right?"
Ellie looked at him, paused, and said, "After the midterms, there should be a seat change. Do well and then ask Mr. Johnson to sit together."
"Okay." William listened to her, and his eyes were full of uncontrollable joy.
Adrian glanced at William and Ellie and somehow saw... tenderness in William's expression.
Because William's usual expression when looking at others was too cold, and he saw his deskmate with a smile on his face.
He might have known a fake William before.
Class was about to start, and Adrian watched William stand up, and the teenager's expression returned to that cold look.
It turned out that William was not fierce.
He was just fierce to them.
...
In the afternoon.
Only a few people were left in the class, and the rest had gone to eat.
Sunlight poured in through the window.
William sat next to Ellie, listening to her soft voice.
After Ellie finished speaking, William said, "You eat first, I'll keep solving problems."
William watched her hold the lunch box and eat small mouthfuls of rice, her cheeks slightly puffed up, and he really wanted to reach out and poke her face.
He thought this way and did it.
Ellie looked at his outstretched hand in a bit of a daze.
William pulled back his hand and said, "It's okay, you continue eating."
"Okay."
The evening glow in the evening was gentle, and the girl beside her was captivating.
For several weeks afterwards, during dinner time, there were two closely pressed heads in the class, bathed in the afterglow of the sunset.
Countless times, William looked at her profile and wanted to lean over and whisper in her ear that he liked her.
...
April 9th, another Saturday.
In the study room.
William was writing problems when he felt Ellie's fingers in his hair, gently rubbing a few times.
"William, is your hair a bit long?"
"Seems like it." William looked up at her.
Ellie took off the hair tie from her wrist, grabbed a bunch of his hair, and tried to tie a little bun on top of his head.
William lowered his head and let her do as she pleased.
After Ellie finished tying it, the more she looked at it, the more she liked it, and she took out her phone to take a picture.
William snatched the phone from her hand, pulled her to his side, and made a V sign next to her cheek.
Ellie looked at the photo and couldn't help but laugh.
Coco barked a few times, trying to get some attention.
"I know, let's take another one with you." William finished speaking and said to Ellie, "Little Teacher, smile."
In the frame was a girl with a sweet smile and a boy with a brilliant smile, with a little black cat in the middle.
After writing for a long time, William stretched and said, "Go for a walk, Little Teacher?"
"Okay, it's also important to combine work and leisure."
The two walked side by side on the verdant path.
William looked at Ellie beside him and suddenly felt like walking on and on.
"Little Teacher, which city do you want to go to after graduation?"
"I want to go to Q University, it's in the south, with a mild climate and beautiful scenery." It was a school and city she had been yearning for since junior high, but she didn't know if she still had the chance to go there.
Ellie looked at William and said, "What about you?"
"Wherever Little Teacher goes, that's where I want to go."
Seeing Ellie stunned, William continued, "I mean, I want to be with Little Teacher, whether it's college or later, I like you, would you consider dating me?"
Ellie heard her own heartbeat.
Beat after beat, it stunned her.
She had never thought that one day William would confess to her.
"If Little Teacher is embarrassed to reject me, it's okay, you don't have to feel any psychological burden, just shake your head at me and I'll know."
This confession, William had thought about it many times and said it in his heart many times, and finally, he said it out loud at this moment.
The teenager's voice was gentle, hitting Ellie's heart beat after beat.
The teenager under the sycamore tree in a black hoodie was thrilling.
"William."
"Little Teacher, speak, I'm listening."
"If you catch up with my pace, I'll consider being with you after graduation." She said consider, not a definite promise.
She didn't dare to make this promise, let alone agree to anything for him, because she didn't know how many more days she could live.
William smiled with his eyes curved, and he spoke softly, "I will try my best to be with Little Teacher."
Facing his beaming gaze, Ellie felt an inexplicable urge to cry.
She felt a deep sense of helplessness.
"Can I have a hug, Little Teacher?"