Oh no! I've only been a freshman and I've already been targeted by a mean upperclassman.

Monday morning at 10:00 AM, Lecture Hall 201.

The Film and Television Appreciation course is a well-known "easy" course throughout the school.

No roll call, a paper due at the end of the semester, and air conditioning—this is a paradise for getting credits easily.

Li Chen sat in the middle of the fourth row.

This is a strategically important location – you won't be the professor's main target for questions, and you can still see the big screen clearly.

He spread four books out in front of him, like a miser guarding gold coins, completely enclosing the seats on both sides.

The phone vibrated so fast it felt like it was about to explode.

[Wang Qiang]: @Li Chen's godfather! Hang in there! Lao Zhao and I are on our way to the battlefield with jianbing guozi (Chinese savory crepes)!

[Chen Mo]: According to probability theory, this class is 120% full. Your current behavior is challenging the limits of the patience of all the boys in the class.

[Li Chen]: Stop talking nonsense. If you don't come soon, I'm taking the books away. A guy from the physical education department has already glared at me three times.

Li Chen pushed his schoolbag aside, blocking the covetous glances coming from the aisle.

Last night's phrase, "Maybe next time," played on repeat in his mind all night long, like a curse.

This has resulted in his eyes being completely black and blue, and his mental state is comparable to that of someone who has failed in their cultivation journey.

Is this the price of being in a relationship?

Before things even get sweet, I have to stay up all night.

There are three minutes left before class starts.

The lecture hall, which was originally as noisy as a vegetable market, suddenly experienced a precipitous drop in volume.

That feeling was strange.

It's like having a mute button pressed.

Li Chen was typing away, scolding Wang Qiang for being so slow, when he sensed something was off about the atmosphere around him and instinctively looked up.

A person came in through the door.

A simple white T-shirt, layered with an oversized dark gray blazer, and paired with slim-fit jeans.

Minimalist style.

Wearing it, she somehow managed to exude the oppressive feeling of Milan Fashion Week.

Yan Xi.

She wasn't holding a book, just a cell phone.

His gaze swept lightly across the lecture hall.

Wherever that gaze fell, whether they were freshmen or seasoned seniors, everyone fell silent and paid their respects.

Li Chen's throat tightened. Could it be?

That gaze pierced through the crowd without hesitation, fixing itself on him.

Yan Xi strode over.

Legs that were originally stretched out in the passageway were pulled back, making way for a wide road.

As Li Chen watched her approach, his palms began to sweat.

Are third-year architecture students really that free?

Yan Xi walked to his row and stopped.

On the empty seat next to Li Chen was Wang Qiang's crumpled "Computer Basics".

Is someone here?

Yan Xi lowered her eyes and glanced at the prop used to reserve seats.

"Ah...that's for Wang Qiang..."

Li Chen hadn't finished speaking.

Yan Xi picked up the book with two fingers.

A slight tremor of the wrist.

"Smack."

The book landed precisely in the empty desk drawer in the back row.

The movements were fluid and effortless, without the slightest psychological burden.

Followed by.

Under Li Chen's horrified gaze, she pulled out a chair and sat down gracefully.

"There's no one here now."

Li Chen: "..."

If the gazes from the surrounding boys could materialize, Li Chen would be a pincushion by now.

The back door was suddenly kicked open.

Wang Qiang, with a pancake in his left hand and soy milk in his right, rushed in with Zhao Zixuan and Chen Mo in a flurry of activity.

"Old Li! Where's the seat? I knew you were the worst..."

The sound stopped abruptly.

Wang Qiang's bulky body jiggled three times due to the sudden braking.

He saw Yan Xi sitting next to Li Chen.

Then I saw my own lonely book in the drawer of the desk behind me.

Yan Xi turned her head to the side.

He nodded slightly to the three people standing dumbfounded at the door.

It's a way of saying hello.

"that……"

Wang Qiang swallowed hard, hid the jianbing guozi behind his back, and forced a smile that looked more like a grimace.

"Since you're giving guidance, we won't disturb you!"

"We actually prefer sitting in the last row; the feng shui is good there!"

Done.

The three of them sprinted towards the corner of the classroom without even turning their heads.

These bastards who betray their friends for personal gain!

Li Chen gritted his teeth, just about to post something in the group chat, when the class bell rang.

The elderly professor, carrying a thermos, walked onto the podium and looked around with a smile.

"Everyone's here today."

The professor opened the PowerPoint presentation and said, "It seems everyone is very enthusiastic about classic films."

My gaze swept over the fourth row.

The professor paused.

He taught at Linjiang University for thirty years and didn't know many students, but Yan Xi was definitely one of them.

The architecture department is renowned for winning awards left and right.

"Hey, isn't this Yan Xi?"

The old professor was somewhat surprised. "What, you want to switch careers and go into film studies?"

All two hundred pairs of eyes in the class instantly focused on it.

Public execution.

Li Chen felt as if the chair beneath him had grown thorns, making him extremely uncomfortable.

Yan Xi, on the other hand, remained very composed.

She sat up a little straighter, a perfect smile on her face.

"Teacher Zhang is joking."

The sound is clear and has a strong penetrating power.

"I know absolutely nothing about movies."

Yan Xi tilted her head slightly.

His gaze fell on Li Chen, who looked like he wanted to disappear into the ground.

Their tone was so natural, as if they were discussing what to have for lunch.

"I'm mainly here to accompany my boyfriend to class. Professor Zhang, would you mind if there's another person?"

boom--

The classroom erupted instantly.

The sounds of shouting, whistling, and countless heartbroken young men mingled together.

It was just a rumor before.

Now the person in charge is personally endorsing it in the main lecture.

It's the kind of attack that comes straight to your face.

The word "boyfriend" came out of her mouth so smoothly it was unbelievable.

The old professor on the podium paused for a moment, then burst into laughter.

"I don't mind, of course I don't mind."

"Young people these days are more romantic than us old folks."

"Alright, since you're here, listen properly and stop talking about romance."

The whole class burst into laughter.

Li Chen's lips twitched.

He quietly tugged at Yan Xi's sleeve under the table and whispered, "Senior Yan Xi, this is a large lecture!"

Yan Xi let him pull her along.

She even moved closer to him.

"What's wrong with the large lecture?"

She rested her chin on one hand, turned her head to look at him, and her eyes were full of mischievous smiles.

"Is it against school rules for me to accompany my boyfriend to class?"

"But……"

"Shhh."

Yan Xi raised her index finger and placed it against her lips.

"The lights are going out."

The voice just fell.

The classroom lights were turned off.

A huge projection screen lit up, playing Shunji Iwai's "Love Letter".

Darkness instantly engulfed the entire lecture hall.

Only the changing light and shadow on the screen reflected on everyone's face.

With visual perception limited, other senses begin to be amplified dramatically.

Li Chen could clearly smell the cool, woody scent around him.

You can even feel the warmth of her body when her arm occasionally brushes against you.

He sat stiffly, staring straight at the screen, pretending to be an emotionless movie-watching machine.

On the screen, Fujii Itsuki is running in the snow.

Under the table.

A hand reached out silently.

Li Chen's muscles tensed instantly.

The hand covered the back of his hand precisely.

Slightly cool, soft.

Yet it possesses an irresistible force.

He instinctively tried to pull his hand back.

This is a classroom!

Even though it's dark, what if someone has good eyesight...

"Don't move."

Yan Xi's voice was very low, coming close to his ear.

The hot air sprayed onto his earlobes, sending a tingling, electric-like sensation through him.

She didn't just cover it up like she did last time.

He squeezed his fingers one by one between his fingers.

Clamp it tightly.

Ten fingers connected to the heart.

Li Chen felt as if the organ in his chest cavity was about to break his ribs and pop out.

The flickering light on the screen reflected the two people's clasped hands.

He was sweating.

My palms were damp with sweat from nervousness.

Why are your palms so sweaty?

Yan Xi leaned closer, her voice clearly teasing.

"Li Chen, it's just a movie, why are you so nervous?"

Li Chen's expression remained unchanged. He didn't dare turn his head and could only retort in a low voice, "You know we're watching a movie? This is a classroom!"

"So what if it's a classroom?"

Yan Xi gently scratched his palm with her fingers.

The fingernail traces across the palm lines.

That moment.

It almost killed Li Chen.

His legs went weak, and he almost slipped off the chair.

"Focus on watching the movie."

Yan Xi lectured him seriously, but her hands didn't stop moving at all.

He rubbed his fingertips against the pounding pulse on the inside of his wrist.

Once, twice.

She was counting his heartbeats.

"This movie is quite touching. We should learn from how people date."

Learn what?!

With you holding me like this, who can possibly watch a movie?!

Li Chen's mind was now filled with the sensation of her fingers and the immoral feeling of "cheating" in front of everyone.

The area around me was clearly full of people.

Professor Mingming was right there on the podium.

But this small space seemed to have become their private forbidden zone.

This feeling is both incredibly exciting and incredibly torturous.

The longer the movie played, the longer Li Chen suffered.

Until the end credits rolled and the lights came back on.

Yan Xi finally let go.

She casually straightened her sleeves, as if she weren't the one who had touched him inappropriately in the dark.

"Let's go."

Yan Xi stood up. "I'm hungry."

Li Chen glanced at his left hand, which was still in a clenched position.

It seemed as if her warmth and the touch of her fingernails still lingered on it.

He stood up; his legs were a little numb.

In the back corner, the trio from row 302 were sneaking around peeking out.

My phone vibrated.

[Wang Qiang]: @Li Chen, when you turned off the lights just now, I saw that your shoulders were pressed quite close together? Confess honestly, were you doing anything underhanded?

[Zhao Zixuan]: Is there even a need to ask? When Lao Li came out, his face was as red as a monkey's bottom.

[Chen Mo]: Based on my observation, Lao Li's left hand remained stiff, suggesting that there had been prolonged physical contact.

Li Chen did not reply to the message.

He followed Yan Xi out.

As soon as I stepped out of the classroom, the cross breeze from the corridor couldn't dispel the heat.

"that……"

Li Chen quickened his pace to keep up with hers. "Don't you have class this afternoon?"

"have."

Yan Xi kept walking.

"Then why..."

"Two more hours."

Yan Xi stopped and turned around.

The midday sun streamed through the corridor windows, gilding her with a golden hue.

She tilted her head slightly and looked into Li Chen's eyes.

"These two hours are yours."

Li Chen was stunned: "It belongs to me?"

"Um."

Yan Xi reached out and straightened the folded corner of his T-shirt collar.

The movements were natural and intimate.

"Where would you like to go? Eat? Go shopping? Or...?"

She paused, then a familiar, slightly mischievous smile curved her lips.

"Shall we find a secluded spot and finish what we didn't complete last night?"

Li Chen's face instantly turned bright red.

"Eat...eat!"

He stammered his reply, afraid that if he hesitated even a second, the female demon would eat him.

"Let's go to the second canteen! Their clay pot soup is pretty good!"

Watching his retreating figure as he fled in panic, Yan Xi stood there and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

He's really easy to tease.

but……

She looked down at her palm.

Although he was nervous when he held her hand, he eventually turned around and grabbed her hand in return.

That kind of innocent response is more addictive than any seasoned routine.

"Wait for me."

Yan Xi quickly caught up with him.

This time, before Li Chen could react, she reached out and took his arm.

"Why are you running away? I'm not going to eat you."

Li Chen stiffened for a moment, then slowly relaxed, letting her hold his arm.

"Senior."

"Um?"

"Next time... don't do that in the classroom."

"What?"

"Just like that."

"Oh, you don't like it?"

"...It's not that I don't like it."

Li Chen's expression was somewhat unnatural.

"It's just... my heart can't take it."