We ordinary people also need to fall in love.

"Qiuhe, aren't you going to eat?"

"Huh?" Chen Qiuhe raised her head, her eyes still showing a hint of surprise. "It's only five o'clock. I'm not very hungry. Xie Shu, you can go ahead. I'll read for a while longer."

After she finished speaking, she lowered her head again, but a few seconds later, Xie Shu did not leave as she had expected.

"What's wrong, Xie Shu? Is there anything else?"

Xie Shu sat sideways in the chair, his back slightly straight, his hands neatly placed on his knees, exuding a quiet and serene aura.

Compared to her, Chen Qiuhe felt like a roadside weed blown about by the wind. No, her family was no different from that of an ordinary rural family, and in some ways even worse.

"I heard that Liu Xiaoqing and the others are having a conflict with you and Deng Yi. What exactly happened?" Xie Shu asked.

"It's nothing serious," Chen Qiuhe waved her hand. "Let them talk. Anyway, I've done nothing wrong..."

"Qiuhe, I'm your friend first, and also your class monitor. I'd like to help if there's anything I can do." Xie Shu softened his tone.

"Really, there's no need to trouble yourself." Chen Qiuhe forced a smile, still avoiding eye contact. "You need to study too, and... tutor Li Mubai. Don't waste your time here."

After she finished speaking, she herself felt that her words were somewhat awkward.

The classroom was quiet for a few seconds.

She raised her head again and smiled at Xie Shu: "It was just a small disagreement, it's really nothing."

"Autumn Harvest".

"Um?"

Her gaze accidentally met Xie Shu's in the air, then quickly looked away.

"I once told Li Mubai that he looks a bit like you," Xie Shu continued.

Chen Qiuhe's heart tightened slightly. She scratched the back of her head: "Really? I thought he was more like you. You two are both quiet and reserved. Compared to me, he's nowhere near as good!"

Xie Shu seemed not to hear what she was saying and continued to speak to himself: "You two are alike in one way: you both keep everything in your hearts and are unwilling to say it out loud, and you both want it to rot away naturally."

Chen Qiuhe's smile froze for a moment, then returned to normal: "Haha, really? I never would have guessed Li Mubai was such a scheming boy."

She always changed the subject. After Chen Qiuhe finished speaking, the whole classroom fell silent, and Xie Shu looked at her quietly.

She felt that she had nowhere to hide her secrets in front of Xie Shu, so she awkwardly looked away.

"Qiuhe," Xie Shu spoke up, "you like Li Mubai too, don't you?"

Chen Qiuhe seemed to have been pricked by a needle; her eyes widened slightly, and she opened her lips before managing to squeeze out a sound:

"No... How could that be? Xie Shu, how could you think that? Li Mubai and I are just ordinary classmates and friends."

Her tone was somewhat anxious, eager to refute Xie Shu's words.

Xie Shu nodded gently, and Chen Qiuhe breathed a slight sigh of relief.

"This is a declarative sentence, not an interrogative sentence," Xie Shu said.

"Is someone talking behind my back? Didn't I say I wouldn't get married? So how could I like someone?" Chen Qiuhe scratched her cheek, her tone no longer as tense as before.

"Qiuhe," Xie Shu changed the subject, "I'm going abroad after my college entrance exam."

"Go abroad?" Chen Qiuhe was taken aback.

"Yes, it was arranged by my family. I'm going to study in the UK for eight years."

"Eight years?!" Chen Qiuhe couldn't hide her surprise. "Does Li Mubai know about this?"

"He knows."

"Then you'll come together?" Chen Qiuhe asked.

"No, he won't go." Xie Shu shook his head.

"Then you'll be in a long-distance relationship? No, it'll be in different countries."

Xie Shu lowered his gaze, seemingly tacitly agreeing with this statement.

"It's okay. As long as you like each other, it doesn't matter if you're in different countries. Besides, you can come back during summer and winter vacations," Chen Qiuhe comforted her.

"I'm wondering, what will we be like eight years from now?"

"Eight years from now, you'll all be in your twenties, and maybe you'll even be getting married by then," Chen Qiuhe joked.

"People change. What if he changes and stops liking me?"

"Impossible!" Chen Qiuhe's tone was firm for a moment, but when she caught Xie Shu's gaze, she added somewhat hesitantly, "If he doesn't like it anymore... I'll just beat him up."

Xie Shu smiled slightly, but the smile was brief and quickly disappeared.

"So Qiuhe, I want to ask you to keep an eye on him for me. If he doesn't like me anymore, I can't let him be with other bad girls."

"Me, supervise him?" Chen Qiuhe's eyes widened.

Xie Shu nodded.

"No, no," Chen Qiuhe quickly waved her hand, "You should handle this yourselves."

"You can be with him if necessary," Xie Shu said.

With a muffled thud, Chen Qiuhe slammed her fist on the desk and stood up, the sound somewhat abrupt in the quiet classroom.

She rushed around the table to Xie Shu, grabbed her shoulder, and said in a hurried and angry tone:

"No! Xie Shu, what are you thinking? Have you been possessed? How could you say something like that? What do you mean I can be with him if necessary? Although I liked him for a while, I don't want to be a jerk who interferes in my friend's relationship!"

Her voice trembled slightly at the end, and then she saw Xie Shu's lips curve into a slight smile before he reached out and pushed away her hand that was on her shoulder.

Chen Qiuhe then realized that she had let something slip in her haste.

"So, during that period, you started to like him?" Xie Shu's tone remained calm and indifferent.

"I was just talking nonsense," Chen Qiuhe forced a smile, still trying to get away with it.

Xie Shu didn't respond, but just looked at her quietly, making Chen Qiuhe feel quite uncomfortable.

"Alright, alright, really." Chen Qiuhe waved her hand and sat back down in her seat.

She decided to throw caution to the wind and let things be, whether Xie Shu disliked her or Li Mubai disliked her, so be it.

Anyway, she had always lived alone before, and even after they got together, she was often alone again.

"Not long after, during the last semester, I found myself feeling lonely taking the bus home alone on Saturdays. I would wonder where he was and why he didn't come to ride the bus with me. Later, I asked him what it felt like to be with someone he liked, and he said he felt happy."

Chen Qiuhe paused, as if hesitating whether to continue.

"So you feel happy when you're with him?" Xie Shu asked.

Chen Qiuhe remained silent for a moment, then nodded.

"But I later realized that this was not a good idea. Xie Shu, you are my friend, and I shouldn't interfere, so I gradually put away these thoughts."

She finished speaking with her head down, and then slowly awaited Xie Shu's judgment.

She was prepared to cut off all ties? To sever all contact with both Li Mubai and herself...

"Qiuhe." Xie Shu stood up and walked to her side, gently placing his hand on her shoulder. "I don't blame you. It's only natural to develop feelings of attraction during puberty."

"But the person I like is Li Mubai! Aren't you afraid I'll steal him away?"

"Don't worry, you said yourself that you know this is wrong, and..." Xie Shu paused, "I also know that his feelings won't change."

Chen Qiuhe was taken aback: "Then Xie Shu...didn't you just say...people change?"

"I was just talking about other people, and I made assumptions about him based on those other people, but reality tells me that Li Mu Bai is no other person."

The classroom was quiet for a few seconds. Chen Qiuhe lowered her head, seemingly lost in thought.

"Honestly," she finally spoke, her tone tinged with complaint, "you guys are always messing with me."

"I just feel that our youth is coming to an end, and if we don't say some things, we may never have the chance again," Xie Shu said.

Chen Qiuhe remained silent and did not respond.

"Let's go, Qiuhe, it's almost 5:30, time to go eat." Xie Shu patted her shoulder.

"…………good."