Why are you always thinking about dating me?

Luo Shuishui was wearing a white knitted sweater, with her delicate collarbone slightly exposed at the neckline. Her skin was fair, her cheeks were beautiful, and her eyes were as clear as flowing water. She was sitting in her seat, seemingly doing math problems.

"Why are you here so early today?"

Lin An saw that she looked up at him and didn't seem to intend to remain silent, so he chose to ask a question. Luo Shuishui smiled gently and said, "I stayed up too late watching dramas last night, so I'm catching up on my homework today."

She gently rubbed her eyes, and Lin An nodded. Then, as he walked past her, Luo Shuishui gently reached out and grabbed the hem of Lin An's clothes. "Lin An, can I copy your homework?"

Lin An's expression froze for a second, then he answered with particular embarrassment, "I didn't write it either."

Luo Shuishui looked at him with a deep gaze, "I won't cover for you anymore... you're not doing your homework."

"It's okay. Actually, the teacher doesn't check much. She'll probably just say a few words at most. If your grades are good enough, she won't care anyway."

"But I'm the class monitor, I have to play a leading role... It's all because that Japanese drama was too good, um, Lin An, what should we do?"

"Let me write some for you."

Lin An sat down next to her. Normally, the classroom wouldn't be open for at least another twenty minutes. He left home early and arrived at school early so that his schedule wouldn't clash with Xu Qinghuan's; it was their agreement.

So Luo Shuishui pushed the math workbook in front of Lin An. Lin An sat there, glanced at the questions, and then picked up a pen. Luo Shuishui was doing English fill-in-the-blank exercises, but she did them very, very quickly, probably because she had been learning English since she was a child.

Lin An was relatively quick as well. Math problems are based on logical thinking, and there are always a bunch of formulas that can be applied. He only spent ten minutes finishing those few pages of exercises and then gave them to Luo Shuishui.

"As expected of you, Lin An."

Lin An shrugged helplessly, looking at Luo Shuishui's bright smiling face, and casually asked, "What Japanese dramas do you watch?"

"The final kiss is available on Bilibili. It's really good. You should check it out when you have time."

"Ah good."

"I'm talking about scumbags." She said this, looking at Lin An's face, her eyes seeming to hold an emotion that she felt he would understand without her having to say it.

"Huh? Your eyesight... well, if you say so, then so be it." Lin An teased himself helplessly.

"That's not how it works. What exactly is your relationship with Su Yuejin? Were you dating when you were with me? Or... after you broke up?"

"No, nothing at all. Maybe it's just that we're a bit odd, we wouldn't date," Lin An explained patiently. Luo Shuishui listened patiently and nodded gently, indicating that she believed him.

Lin An suddenly had a strange feeling that the two of them were still friends, able to chat simply and share some interesting things in life. It wasn't that people who had been in relationships were not suitable to be friends; Lin An felt that they were actually quite compatible, as long as they didn't break up with regrets.

People who break up with regrets are indeed not suitable to be friends anymore, because there will always be someone who wants to rekindle the relationship, and then they will torture each other again. The process of getting back together is already very tiring, and Lin An hates this.

Lin An returned to his seat, took out his phone, opened the Japanese drama that Luo Shuishui had mentioned, put two earphones in his ears, and started watching the show.

Today is Monday, the day the monthly exam results are released. In five or six days, we'll be on holiday for the National Day holiday.

He didn't take off his headphones until the morning reading session started, and began lip-syncing with everyone. After the morning reading session ended, it was time to announce the monthly exam results. Perhaps to stimulate everyone's competitive spirit, the homeroom teacher began to announce the class rankings on the podium.

There were sixty students in the class, and the homeroom teacher only read out the names of the top thirty. After all, reading out the names of the lower-ranked students might hurt their self-esteem, but the homeroom teacher would still smile and encourage everyone to work hard.

This time, however, the result was somewhat unexpected.

Because this time, the person ranked first in the whole class, or even the whole grade, is Luo Shuishui.

This ending surprised many people, and even quite a few in the class turned their attention to Lin An, who was sitting in the last row. However, Lin An's expression was calm, as if he was not surprised or annoyed at all.

Then, the second place this time went to Lin An.

This ending doesn't seem too surprising, after all, the two of them have been consistently ranked in the top two in the class for most years, it's just that Luo Shuishui has always been overshadowed by Lin An in the past.

Lin An put a lot of effort into his studies. During the summer vacation, he had Xu Qinghuan tutor him so that he wouldn't fall asleep or play on his phone in class and get caught by the teacher.

When Luo Shuishui heard about this, she was also a little surprised. The monthly exam was a week ago, but the two of them had not broken up at that time. She frowned slightly, as if she was thinking about something.

On Friday night, she remembered watching Su Yuejin walk into the back garden after breaking up with Lin An, so she quietly stopped. She thought Lin An was already with Su Yuejin, and that Lin An had found a girl who could satisfy his desires.

Lin An, however, almost completely disregarded Su Yuejin, even showing a hint of disgust. He didn't want to kiss or hug her, even though Su Yuejin was far more alluring than himself.

But ironically, he acted differently towards her, even though he had always been so gentle and righteous before, the ideal boyfriend in Luo Shuishui's mind.

Sure enough, he did it on purpose.

These clues made Luo Shuishui start to connect the dots. So how did Lin An's ranking suddenly drop below hers in this exam? He should be able to answer such simple questions without making any mistakes, right?

Sure enough... he had already planned it all out back then, hadn't he?

For some reason, Luo Shuishui felt a little sad. She didn't know what was making her sad, but perhaps it was a sense of unease.

Why would you rather chat with that Su Yuejin, but refuse even if she takes the initiative to approach you? And yet you take the initiative to approach me… wanting to kiss me? Actually, you just want to embarrass me, and then… dump me?

So, do you love me, or her, or do you love neither of them? Lin An.

Luo Shuishui knew that she did not understand love.

........................

During the morning reading break, Luo Shuishui stood up from her seat and started checking the homework of everyone in her group with her notebook. Most of them had done it, until she got to Lin An.

Their eyes met for a fleeting moment.

Luo Shuishui marked a checkmark on the option indicating whether his homework was completed.

"As for the reward," she said. Lin An casually said thank you, but Luo Shuishui suddenly reached out a hand and placed it on his desk, then leaned forward until Lin An smelled a pleasant fragrance.

The distance was too close. Lin An wanted to avoid her gaze, but found that he couldn't escape from her stare. It was as if the noisy sounds around him suddenly quieted down. Luo Shuishui's pink lips moved slightly, "You deliberately lost to me in this exam, didn't you?"

"Huh? No way, maybe I just didn't notice something wrong. What a pity." Lin An answered seriously. His lie was flawless because he knew he had no reason to lose, lest Luo Shuishui make any connections.

Keluoshuishui, in fact, had already made the connection.

So Luo Shuishui simply nodded slightly, her pink lips curving into a bright smile. Her eyes, which were looking at his face, seemed to have become much gentler, and there seemed to be some love hidden in that gentleness, which made Lin An stunned and his heartbeat seemed to slow down a beat.

The sunlight streaming through the window fell on her snow-white profile.

Lin An stood there for a second or two before saying, "Too close."

Luo Shuishui immediately retreated from Lin An's defensive range. Lin An breathed a sigh of relief, but it seemed as if he had suddenly lost something, and the fragrance lingered around his nose.

“You’ve piqued my curiosity about you, Lin An,” she said.

"what?"

"Didn't you tell me a story before? Girls who stick to the rules actually yearn for boys who can break the mold and take them to see more new and interesting places in the world."

"what?"

"So what do you want to say?" Lin An looked at her.

"No, I'm just a little curious. After all, I don't have many friends because I always have secrets that I don't want to share, so I don't have many good friends."

"secret?"

“Yes, it’s a secret.” Luo Shuishui’s smile was sly.

"So, are you going to tell me?"

"Of course not, unless you actively want to explore my world and enter my life, but it seems you don't want to, Lin An."

"really."

"It doesn't matter, we're still good friends, right, Lin An?"

"Yes."

Lin An looked at her outstretched hand and gently shook it with hers. Then he watched Luo Shuishui return to her seat. Lin An didn't think too much about it. He believed that Luo Shuishui had some little secrets, but he didn't want to know.

He didn't have that much curiosity or desire. If he really wanted to understand a girl like Luo Shuishui and make her fall in love with him, it wouldn't be difficult, right? Because no matter what, she had never been in a relationship, so she had no experience and was easily swayed by hormones and easily deceived.

However, Lin An would never lay a finger on Luo Shui Shui, because he believed in her pure and beautiful nature, like the warm winter sun.

But Lin An would never truly like a girl like that again. It wasn't about whether they were a good match or not. If he didn't consider the future, he could certainly have a lot of fun, but he didn't like that kind of twisted, perfunctory, and ambiguous love. Besides... if he had to consider the future, he knew there would be no future.

He was saddened for a long time because of this incident when he was in junior high school, and he didn't want to go through that pain again.

Lin An understood Jin Mu's pain all too well.

Chapter Thirty-Three: I Won't Let You Come

Luo Shuishui went to the office to get the test paper for today's self-study class, but just as she knocked on the door, she heard a slightly familiar voice.

As she approached the office, she immediately understood why the voice sounded familiar. Su Yuejin was standing in front of the head teacher. Today, she was wearing a light gray knitted sweater, blue jeans, and her hair was tied in a ponytail. She looked pure and obedient.

Luo Shuishui ignored her and went to her homeroom teacher to get her test paper. She vaguely heard Su Yuejin say that she wanted to transfer to a class, specifically to Class 3 of the second year of high school.

She listened quietly without much reaction. After receiving the test paper, she walked out of the office, but instead of leaving immediately, she stood on the balcony and glanced at the sky.

Not long after, Su Yuejin came out with a happy smile on her face, but she was stunned when she saw Luo Shuishui.

Because Luo Shuishui was clearly waiting for someone.

"Are you waiting for me?" Su Yuejin's thoughts drifted slightly. She was a little taller than Luo Shuishui, so she looked somewhat condescending.

"Yes, your name is Su Yuejin, right?"

“Hmm, I think I know you…you are Luo Shuishui?” Su Yuejin replied.

"Hmm." Luo Shuishui nodded slightly, then said, "You're transferring classes, right?"

"Yes, the teacher has already approved it. We'll be classmates this afternoon, Luo Shuishui."

"Mm." Luo Shuishui nodded. Seeing that she seemed to be alright, Su Yuejin asked, "Shall I go now?"

"Mmm." Luo Shuishui simply hummed in response.

She watched Su Yuejin leave with light steps, a faint smile playing on her lips.

"I won't let you come," she whispered to Su Yuejin's retreating figure.

..............................

At noon, in the cafeteria, Lin An wasn't the first to rush there. He didn't mind the long lines or not getting any food, since the latter was a rare occurrence and there was no need to rush. So he turned off the TV series on his phone and strolled leisurely toward the cafeteria.

Sure enough, a long queue had already formed, so he stood at the back and waited quietly. Fortunately, the school was big enough, and the cafeteria was big enough, so Lin An only waited for seven or eight minutes before it was his turn. He ordered two braised chicken wings, a bowl of rice, and a bowl of seaweed and egg drop soup. He found a quiet corner and continued to eat in peace.

The food in the school cafeteria is excellent and quite affordable. Lin An isn't trying to save money; he just doesn't eat that much. No matter how much he tries to save money, he shouldn't make things difficult for himself. He should eat well, but he should cut back on unnecessary expenses.

This time, however, he was interrupted again before he had even finished half of his meal.

And this time it was Su Yuejin again.

Lin An looked up at her. She had probably finished eating and was sitting opposite Lin An. As for why she was opposite him and not next to him, Lin An didn't know. But her light gray sweater clung to her chest, making her bust and waist look very beautiful.

Her ponytail fell over her left shoulder, her eyes were bright, and she rested her chin on her hand, looking into his eyes.

"How am I supposed to eat if you're staring at me like that?" Lin An said helplessly. Su Yuejin smiled brightly, "Then you eat. I have good news for you. There will be a surprise this afternoon."

"surprise?"