We ordinary people also need to fall in love.

"Qiuhe, do you like our vice class monitor?"

In the girls' dormitory that night, Deng Yi suddenly asked a question.

"No, Deng Yi, why would you ask such a question?" Chen Qiuhe asked in surprise.

"During today's IT class, I saw you guys were standing quite close together, and I thought you were already together."

The other girls immediately started gossiping. Except for Xie Shu, who was still reading, Ye Manqi was washing up.

"How could that be! Don't talk nonsense, I don't want to date in high school."

"Look, your face is all red," Liu Ting teased.

"I was in a hurry!"

"So what are your thoughts on the vice class monitor?" Deng Yi asked.

Chen Qiuhe gradually calmed down. Her cheeks were a little hot from rushing to explain. After thinking for a moment, she said, "I don't have any particular thoughts. We're just classmates."

"All right."

"Hey, what do you guys think of the six boys in our class?" Liu Ting asked.

"I think it's Wang Rui."

"Actually, the vice class monitor isn't bad either, he just doesn't usually show himself off."

"Where's Jiao Yong?"...

"Never date someone from your own class, or it will be really awkward if you break up."

The girls' dormitory chatter ranged from the boys' appearances in the class to their dating histories and views on love.

Xie Shu did not participate in the discussion. The dormitory lights had been forcibly turned off. She put on her headphones and gently closed her long eyelashes.

The thought of possibly going to inspect the sanitation with Xie Shu the next morning made Li Mubai feel uneasy and nervous. He tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep, so he took out a book to read.

"Set off, facing all the setbacks, confusion, friends, courage, compassion, and wisdom that come your way. On the arduous journey, one day you will hear the gradually clear and melodious sound of the tide behind you. When you look back, you will see a wide and rushing river—its waves flowing and surging, just like the sea."

Will there be any gains as long as we move forward? Li Mubai thought of a sentence he learned in philosophy: the future is bright, but the road is tortuous. His life is not just about love. As long as he works hard, will the future always be bright?

……

On Tuesday morning, Li Mubai arrived even earlier than the student council members, so he didn't have to worry about not being able to bring his breakfast into the classroom. After a quick breakfast, he began reciting his lessons.

"Good morning, Mr. Li," Chen Qiuhe greeted Li Mubai as she arrived.

"morning."

Li Mubai didn't understand why Chen Qiuhe said good morning in English today, just as he didn't understand why Chen Qiuhe wore her school uniform backwards.

Their school uniforms include summer and winter uniforms, and Chen Qiuhe was wearing the short-sleeved version of the summer uniform backwards.

"Why are you wearing your school uniform backwards? Is this some new trend at school?" Li Mubai asked.

"Oh? I was in such a rush this morning that I put my clothes on backwards. That explains why so many people were staring at me on the street." Chen Qiuhe smiled awkwardly.

"Hey, can I borrow your jacket? I need to go back and change into a short-sleeved shirt."

"Why didn't you borrow it from a girl?" Li Mubai asked.

"Do you see any girls in the class wearing jackets?"

Li Mubai glanced at it and it seemed to be true. It was summer, and most of his classmates were wearing short sleeves. Except for him, who didn't like to show his arms, he usually wore a jacket.

"You can rush back to the dorm. You've already worn it to the classroom, so don't worry about wearing it back to the dorm." Li Mubai clearly didn't want to lend out his jacket.

"Oh dear, I didn't notice it when I came to the classroom. If I wear it back, it'll be so embarrassing on the way back. Class is about to start, so please lend it to me."

Chen Qiuhe's tone carried a hint of coquetry, which Li Mubai found irresistible.

"All right."

Li Mubai lent his coat to Chen Qiuhe, who thanked him and ran back to her dormitory.

As it approached morning reading time, Chen Qiuhe hadn't returned yet, but Xie Shu arrived and said softly, "Let's go."

As Li Mubai left the classroom, he noticed that Xie Shu was carrying a hygiene inspection form. He asked, "Should I bring a form, class monitor?"

"No need, just bring one."

"OK."

The two slowly walked towards the first-year high school classroom when Xie Shu suddenly asked, "Where's your school uniform jacket?"

"I... I lent it to a classmate." Li Mubai suddenly felt a little guilty. He didn't think too much about why Xie Shu would ask this question.

"oh."

Fortunately, she didn't press him further. She started explaining how to check the hygiene, and the two divided the work, with each person checking half of the classroom area. Li Mubai nodded to indicate that he understood.

Upon arriving at Class 1 of Grade 1, the bell had already rung to begin morning reading. Xie Shu walked straight in to check the cleanliness of the classroom, and Li Mubai followed her in and went to the other side.

Feeling like a teacher moving among the students, he quickly swept the floor, checked the trash cans, and finally left the classroom with Xie Shu.

"How is it?" Xie Shu asked.

"It's alright, there's no trash on the ground, and the trash cans are empty."

"Okay." Xie Shu then began to score on the form.

"Let's go, to the next shift."

After inspecting several classes in a row, Li Mubai's initial nervousness gradually subsided. After all, inspecting hygiene meant being under the watchful eye of an entire class!

Compared to him, Xie Shu seemed calm and composed. In some classes, teachers would supervise morning reading, and Xie Shu would gently knock on the door and greet the teacher. Li Mubai, on the other hand, didn't know how to respond and could only lower his head and silently check his own hygiene.

While checking the classes behind, Li Mubai vaguely heard words like "pretty" and "good-looking." He thought they were talking about Xie Shu, and that there might be another post about him on the confession wall this afternoon.

After inspecting the hygiene of Class 16 of Grade 1, today's work was finally over.

The journey back to the classroom was quiet, with almost no other students, as everyone was engaged in morning reading. It was just him and Xie Shu. Li Mubai didn't want to make small talk, but Xie Shu suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong, class monitor?"

Xie Shu took out a bag that looked like a snack from her pocket and handed it to him: "Here you go."

Li Mubai was a little confused. Just as he was about to refuse, Xie Shu continued, "During evening self-study, I would like to trouble you to help clean the club activity room."

Oh, I see. He wondered why Xie Shu would suddenly give him something for no reason.

"Okay, thank you, class monitor." Li Mubai took it; it was all in English, which he couldn't understand. He gently squeezed it; it looked a bit like bread.

"Are you always so polite?"

Li Mubai fell silent. He didn't know what to say, so he could only say thank you. It was rather ridiculous, though. It was just payment, and he had to thank the other party. Would he have to thank his boss for paying his salary when he started working?

Seeing that Li Mubai did not answer, Xie Shu seemed to sigh: "Let's go back to the classroom."

Back in the classroom, he was still thinking about the question from earlier. Why did Xie Shu ask him that? Did he think he was a strange person?

His coat was on the table. Chen Qiuhe had returned, and he put it back on, giving off a faint fragrance.

Class was about to start, and the first period was math. Li Mubai snapped out of his reverie; it would be terrible if the teacher caught him daydreaming.

A notebook was shoved onto his desk: "What do you think constitutes love?"