We ordinary people also need to fall in love.

Li Mubai casually found a table and sat down. Lan Shiyu sat directly opposite him. She picked up a piece of cauliflower and put it in her mouth. As if she had thought of something, she chewed it, swallowed it, and then asked:

"Hey, why isn't that girl who left with you at noon with you anymore?"

"That's our class monitor. He just went to the regular meeting with me at noon."

"Oh, so you're the class monitor. What's your name?"

Li Mubai glanced at her, somewhat puzzled, and asked:

Why are you asking this?

"I was just asking, if you don't want to tell me, that's fine." Lan Shiyu lowered her head and continued eating; this was a tactic called retreating to advance.

"Oh." Li Mubai lowered his head and hurriedly ate his meal; he still had to do his dictation.

"You really won't tell me?" Lan Shiyu asked, seeing that he remained silent.

"No, why are you asking this?" Li Mubai looked at the person opposite him with a rather strange expression.

"It's nothing." She continued eating, and without saying anything, she went to ask the other classmates.

Why is Lan Shiyu so concerned about Xie Shu? Li Mubai wondered, could it be... could it be that she thinks he likes Xie Shu and is planning to tell Li's mother?

However, if he really did fall in love early, Li's mother probably wouldn't do anything. She might just advise him not to let early relationships affect his grades. It seems that Li's parents have been quite indulgent towards him and Li Muyong since junior high school.

But would dating affect his grades? Li Mubai didn't know, since he had never been in a real relationship before, so he would just let things take their course.

He quickly finished his meal, said goodbye to Lan Shiyu, and rushed to the club activity room...

"Schedule, schedule."

Xie Shuzheng was reading from the vocabulary list, while Li Mubai's pen was scribbling away in his notebook, finishing in no time.

He looked down, waiting for Xie Shu to read the next word, but no sound came for a long time. Li Mubai looked up in confusion. The word list blocked his view, and Xie Shu was hidden behind it. So he spoke up:

"The dictation is done, class monitor."

"——Well, prefer, prefer."

……

"The dictation is finished, class monitor." Li Mubai handed the dictation notebook to Xie Shu, who quickly corrected it and returned it to him.

Two wrong, not bad, Li Mubai glanced at it.

"Is there a problem today?" Xie Shu asked.

Li Mubai put down his notebook, looked up at Xie Shu, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke:

"Yes, it's just... class monitor, is something on your mind?"

"Um?"

Xie Shu looked up at Li Mubai, who was also looking at her. Their gazes met briefly before quickly separating, and she looked away.

"It's nothing, I was just thinking about a question from a book," Xie Shu said calmly.

Um--

"Class monitor, if you don't mind, could you tell me which problem it is?"

Li Mubai would be happy if he could help Xie Shu solve this problem, after all, the other party had helped him so much, and he had not yet given anything good in return.

"Have you read 'The Little Prince'?" Xie Shu didn't answer his question directly.

"I've seen it."

"There's a line on the cover of *The Little Prince*: 'I was too young to know what to do…'" Xie Shu paused briefly before continuing, "...'love,' on page forty-eight. How do you interpret that?"

He coughed a few times, recalled the chapter for a moment, and then began to speak:

"This chapter seems to be telling the story of the Little Prince and a rose. The Little Prince likes her very much and takes good care of her, but he is also always in pain because of her little lies and fickleness, doubts her love, and finally chooses to leave her."

Li Mubai briefly summarized this chapter.

"Yes, that's right. You watched very attentively." Xie Shu paused, then added, "And you have a very good memory."

"No, I just happened to see this part last night." Li Mubai smiled sheepishly.

What a coincidence…

"When the Little Prince said that, he probably meant that we shouldn't listen to what the rose says, but rather look at her actions. Her fragrance and blooming are all expressions of love," Li Mubai continued.

Xie Shu gave a soft "hmm." She could see the logic in it too, but... that wasn't what she wanted to ask.

What do you think this "love" is?

hiss~

Li Mubai took a deep breath; he hadn't thought about this question yet.

"Love" is a word that high school students never, or rarely, talk about. They only say "like," for example, "So-and-so likes so-and-so," but they will never say that "So-and-so has fallen in love with so-and-so."

Of course, love encompasses many forms and doesn't necessarily refer to feelings between men and women.

"Love between friends?" Li Mubai asked. He actually knew the answer, but he didn't want to discuss the topic with Xie Shu.

Hearing his words, Xie Shu gently shook her head and said:

"No, it's about the meaning of the Little Prince's love, not its nature."

Um--

Li Mubai fell into thought, and two pensive figures appeared in the quiet club activity room.

"Sorry, class monitor, I don't know yet."

Li Mu Bai finally said that he really didn't know. Just as the Little Prince said, he was still young and didn't know what love was. He only knew how to like.

"It's okay, I don't know yet either," Xie Shu said. She paused, then skipped the topic, "Any math problems today?"

Upon hearing this, Li Mubai breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't want to discuss what love was with Xie Shu.

"No, today's math was pretty easy."

Xie Shu chuckled lightly, then quickly composed herself and said:

"You're making progress gradually."

"Because of your help, class monitor," Li Mubai said solemnly.

"It's okay. Like I said before, while I'm tutoring you, I'm also reviewing old material." She paused. "It's still early, how about we go to the rooftop?"

Wasn't the rooftop locked? Last time, Xie Shu tricked us.

"it is good."

But Li Mubai still agreed. He was willing to accompany Xie Shu, even though he knew it might be another "trap." He was willing to fulfill someone else's expectations, which was a way of giving back.

The books and pens were put away in the same manner as before.

He and Xie Shu walked from the fifth floor, and without encountering anyone else along the way, they went straight to the rooftop.

Unlike the dim lighting in the stairwell before, light from outside streamed in through a half-open door.

"The door is open, class monitor." Li Mubai's tone was tinged with surprise.

Xie Shu nodded and walked up to the rooftop with him.

With no other classmates around, Li Mubai glanced at the eaves and realized why the rooftop had been reopened: a surveillance camera had been installed under the eaves of the school.

Xie Shu ignored the surveillance cameras under the eaves and went to the railing.

The weather today was neither good nor bad; the thin clouds couldn't block the blazing, bright sun, so the blue sky was tinged with a few pale gold streaks.

He walked to Xie Shu's side, gazing at the endless mountain range in the distance, wondering... what would the distance look like? The future, in terms of time, could also be considered a kind of distance.

Suddenly a strong wind blew up, causing him to squint involuntarily. He glanced at Xie Shu beside him; her face showed neither sorrow nor joy, but she simply lowered her eyes slightly.

The wind gradually subsided until it disappeared completely, and she said:

"We are currently looking east."

East? Jiangnan? Li Mubai wondered.

Before he could speak, Xie Shu continued:

"Let's stay a little longer and then go back to the classroom; it's a bit windy today."

"it is good."