It's the students' fault if they are too popular.

Bai Lu breathed a sigh of relief. On this sleepless night, there were still people awake, which was a little comfort to her:

"Yeah. Why aren't you asleep yet?"

Xu Dongyang put down the cup and asked softly:

"Want to sleep together?"

……

Soon, two little girls squeezed into the small lower bunk bed.

"You always have dark circles under your eyes during exams. They're too obvious." Xu Dongyang whispered. In the darkness, her words were full of passion, like the whisper of a lover, which made Bai Lu think more.

"You care about me so much..." Bai Lu said as if she was expecting something.

Xu Dongyang said: "From childhood to adulthood, when did I stop caring about you?"

Bai Lu was speechless, too embarrassed to say what was in her heart, so she quickly changed the subject:

"what time is it now?"

Xu Dongyang chuckled: "Don't worry about it, go to sleep."

Bai Lu: "..."

Xu Dongyang: "The pressure is high because I didn't study hard and now I'm not sure about myself."

Bai Lu covered her face, feeling very ashamed. She gently clamped one of Xu Dongyang's legs, and seeing that the girl in front of her had closed her eyes, she asked:

"Um... Dongyang, can I kiss you?"

Xu Dongyang opened his eyes and was puzzled for a moment, thinking that Bai Lu wanted to relieve stress in this way.

Is it reliable? She doesn't know.

She picked up the pillow and exhaled:

"After the kiss, go to sleep."

Bai Lu: "!"

Actually... he agreed to her again.

With a trembling heart, she approached with a blushing face. The first time was new, the second time was familiar, she gently kissed the girl's lips, this time Xu Dongyang's reaction seemed to be greater than the last time, Bai Lu could clearly feel the body in her arms tense for a short time. She tentatively stuck out her tongue, and the next moment her legs were tightly clamped by Xu Dongyang, which was an unconscious behavior, but it fully demonstrated the other party's nervousness.

This kiss ended as easily as peeling off a cocoon. Bai Lu was slow in her approach, trying to prolong it a little, fearing that she would miss any corner.

Afterwards, Xu Dongyang said nothing but wrapped himself tightly in the quilt and said, "Go to sleep."

Bai Lu suddenly felt guilty. She knew that this was not the kiss Dong Yang had imagined. What was Dong Yang's attitude? Disgusted? Indifferent? Or did he have a little... liking for her?

But Xu Dongyang was hugging the pillow, looking autistic, so she couldn't ask.

She couldn't sleep any more, so she hugged the girl in front of her, mustered up her courage, and moved closer again. This time, she just gently touched her with her lips. Xu Dongyang opened her eyes again, and this time, her voice was much more shy, and there was a little bit of weak annoyance:

"Go to sleep!"

Bai Lu nodded repeatedly, and the little person in her heart was already screaming with joy.

At least, I don't hate it. Maybe, I even like it a little bit.

Extra: Winter Sun (19)

It was probably when Bai Lu was six years old.

When she was young, she went to call her mother for dinner. Her father cooked the meal, but her mother was busy running an online store on Taobao. She became impatient and extremely irritable when she heard people urging her, and she even yelled at her:

"Don't you see that mom is so busy? Eat first!"

Then, she would return to the table feeling wronged. She felt sorry for her mother, but she would also feel sad when she was scolded. Whenever this happened, her father would frown and couldn't help saying:

"Why are you so mean to the child?"

This statement ignited the powder keg.

"I'm fierce? Don't you know how busy I am? Who am I busy for?!"

"…It won't take up much time if we eat first."

"It's easy to say! You don't know how hard I work! I'm the only one in the family who can make money. If I don't do this, will our family starve?!"

During the quarrel, the father, who was laid off and unemployed at home, always lacked confidence. The mother was also full of grievances and would start to cry during the quarrel.

Bai Lu sat on a chair, having barely eaten a few bites of her meal, and cried loudly amid her parents' quarreling.

Only when she cries will her parents put aside their quarrels and come together to comfort her. Although they like to quarrel, at least they care about her.

But she felt embarrassed when she accidentally heard the people across the street say, "The kid next door is so crybaby."

After entering elementary school, she unexpectedly discovered that a cute girl in her class actually lived downstairs from her home. After that, they quickly became friends and their relationship was so good that they could even go to each other's homes for meals and sleep.

One day, when her parents quarreled again, she did not cry, not because she was not sad, but because she did not want to be heard by her classmates downstairs. Whether it was "she was crying" or "her parents were quarreling", she felt that either would make her feel inferior.

So she hid in her room.

There is one less person to mediate the quarrel between parents, but the war will still end - in a cold and strange way.

In the past, after a quarrel, the family would hug each other and cry, tolerate each other's shortcomings and bad tempers, and recall the happiness in the past. Now, there is only an endless cold war, and see who will shout at the other first.

When she found the divorce agreement hidden by her parents, she wasn't that surprised, but she was still so sad that she cried until her tears dried up.

This family eventually fell apart.

She had never suffered much since she was little. Her mother looked much more haggard, but her business became more stable year by year. She paid off her mortgage and bought a car, and she was willing to spend money on her food and daily necessities. Her father often took odd jobs, and would buy her new clothes whenever he earned money.

This kind of life is peaceful and false, like the moon in the water, which will disappear in the daytime when she graduates.

……

Morning.

When the wake-up bell rang, Bai Lu just woke up. She rubbed her eyes drowsily and realized that she seemed to have dreamed about her childhood last night. She yawned and half-raised herself, and found that everyone else in the dormitory had gotten up.

"You guys got up so early..." She looked around, "Where's Dongyang?"

The roommate laughed: "You ran to Dongyang's bed again? I didn't see you because you had your head covered. Get up quickly, or the cafeteria will be full."

On exam days, few people stayed in bed, and even the toilets had to be lined up. Everyone wanted to get to the classroom as quickly as possible, and the more they could review, the better.

Bai Lu sat on the bed for a while, and when she felt that she was in good spirits, she patted her face and got up. After helping Dongyang fold the quilt, she took the toothbrush into the bathroom, and then saw Xu Dongyang brushing his teeth in front of the mirror.

Xu Dongyang also saw her in the mirror, turned around, held the toothbrush in his mouth, and spoke incoherently:

"How did you sleep?"

Bai Lu squeezed over and insisted on occupying the same sink. She squeezed the toothpaste and filled a glass of water:

"I slept well."

Xu Dongyang smiled, her eyebrows curved and beautiful. She finished washing up first, and was about to go out, Bai Lu closed the bathroom door, took her hand, stared at her face, and plucked up her courage, her eyes seemed to be shining.

Dong Yang got her hint and turned away, his smile still lingering but he was avoiding her:

"Don't make trouble."

Bai Lu looked expectant: "One last time, just one kiss!"

Xu Dongyang did not do as she wished. Just at this time, her roommate was about to come in to wash up, so Bai Lu had to let her go.

After washing up, Bai Lu found that Dong Yang did not wait for her today and went to the cafeteria alone.

Seeing her in a daze, her roommate teased her, "Hey, your wife doesn't want you anymore?"

She didn't say anything, picked up her schoolbag and chased after him. When she got to the cafeteria, she looked around for a while before finding Xu Dongyang in a corner of the cafeteria. Then she sat down with a plate in her hand, feeling a little aggrieved:

"You didn't wait for me today."

Xu Dongyang was surprised that he was found and whispered: "I forgot, sorry."

Today's breakfast is fried rice, probably because there was a lot of leftover rice in the cafeteria yesterday.

The two of them ate in silence. Bai Lu would sometimes glance at Xu Dongyang's profile, wondering what he was thinking. Why didn't he wait for her? Was it because she wanted to kiss her in the morning?

Kissing between girls can be explained as experimentation, curiosity, and intimacy once or twice, but if it happens several times... it probably can't be explained away no matter what.

Does Dongyang think it’s time to stop?

Bai Lu didn’t know and didn’t dare to ask.

-

-

There are eight subjects in total for the midterm exam in the second year of junior high school.

Xu Dongyang was flipping through her notes. The examination rooms were divided according to the last scores. Gu Nian was in the same examination room with her, and also... Shen Ao.

There was still half an hour left before the exam. Shen Ao came with the book of wrong questions to ask her questions. Bai Lu, who used to come all the way to ask her before every exam, didn't come this time. She felt relieved, but also a little confused.

Bailu is... very important to her.

She had become aware of their excessive intimacy.

But she didn't want to hurt Bai Lu even in the slightest.

Sleeping together, taking a bath together... There are always some things that you can do when you are a child but are not suitable when you grow up. Having lived with her aunt Ruan Xi for so long, she should have known that there should be boundaries between people of the same sex, but her curiosity did not let her push Bai Lu and Gu Nian away at the first time.

She didn't want to make herself worse.

She's not ready to like someone yet.

Xu Dongyang explained to Shen Ao absentmindedly. The question was not simple, and she felt anxious. She simply said:

"Or... you should ask the teacher."

Shen Ao smiled and nodded: "Okay, I'll tell you when I find out."

The other party's politeness made her reflect on her own impatience.

The preparatory bell rang, she shook her head, put down her baggage, and concentrated on preparing for the exam.

I took four exams on the first day, and they lasted from morning to night. I was so busy that I felt dizzy.

When it was late at night and everyone was asleep, Xu Dongyang looked at the bed board above him, wondering if Bai Lu was suffering from insomnia.

She herself was suffering from insomnia.

-

-

"Liberation!"

After the exams comes the weekend, a time for unbridled revelry.

At the school gate, Xu Dongyang opened the car door, and Tong Yao looked behind her:

"Where's your friend?"

Dongyang fastened his seat belt and said, "They are not going this way."

"Don't you usually go out together?" Tong Yao smiled and just said it casually without continuing the topic.

After the exam, even a top student like Xu Dongyang didn't feel like studying for the time being. When he got home, he found an American TV series to watch on the sofa. Not long after watching it, a WeChat message popped up.

【Ergua】: Are we going out to eat or go shopping tomorrow?

Ergua is Bailu, this person always has some strange names.

Dong Yang's finger stopped a few centimeters away from the screen, wondering whether to reply after a while, or... refuse.

When this option flashed through her mind, she subconsciously frowned. Rejection should not be necessary. As long as it was not a matter of principle, she did not want to reject Bai Lu at all.

Then... I'll reply later.

Xu Dongyang silently scrolled back to the American TV series. The sofa suddenly sank and someone sat down next to her with a special tenderness:

"What are you looking at?"

"……"breaking Bad"."

Dongyang glanced at his aunt, leaned his head gently on her arm, and even his sitting posture gradually became crooked.

"Is it beautiful?" Tong Yao asked, "Let me take a look too."

Dongyang did not give any comment, but moved his phone to the middle.