He didn’t like Zoe Young’s calm, unhesitating way of straightening his collar. He had prepared so many words, wanting to cross that chasm. Words buried for a whole year, held back in fear, finally got her to say, “I don’t blame you,” finally got her to look him in the eye—only to suddenly realize that she just saw him as a doll, indifferent even to such an ambiguous gesture as fixing his collar.

Andrew Lane rubbed his temples and started to catch up.

When Ray Cindy saw Zoe Young in the cafeteria, Zoe Young was standing on the edge of the crowded window, staring blankly.

Zoe Young didn’t like crowded places. Ray Cindy thought, at this rate, by the time it’s her turn to get food, there’ll probably be nothing left but vegetable soup.

Just as she was about to go over and ask if she needed help, she suddenly saw a boy squeeze out of the crowd, carrying a big plate of food, standing in front of Zoe Young, grinning foolishly.

Andrew Lane? Ray Cindy was a bit puzzled.

Andrew Lane was the class president of Class 2, good grades, good looks, easygoing personality, and a first prize winner in the provincial physics and math competitions. However, the top spot in science had always been firmly held by Thomas Chase; Thomas Chase was better looking, had better grades, and even more girls liked Thomas Chase than liked him—Ray Cindy couldn’t help but want to sneer.

If there’s already Yu, why have Liang too.

This Andrew Lane must be living a pretty miserable life. Ray Cindy curled her lips, just about to turn and leave, when suddenly a surprised voice came from behind: “Ray Cindy, you’re eating by yourself? Why are you eating alone, doesn’t anyone eat with you?”

“Damn.” Ray Cindy smiled and said to the suddenly appearing Tina Carter, “The girls who usually eat with me are busy today. So I’m on my own.”

Actually, she was always on her own. She and Zoe Young rarely ate together; Zoe Young liked to daydream while eating, eating slowly, while she preferred to finish quickly and go back to the classroom for self-study, so they always acted separately.

But she definitely didn’t want someone like Tina Carter to know the truth, as if she was some pitiful girl nobody wanted.

“Hey, isn’t that Zoe Young? Andrew Lane went to our elementary school too, how come they’re together? Come on, let’s go see!”

Before Ray Cindy could react, she was dragged straight over to Zoe Young and Andrew Lane by Tina Carter.

“Hey, Andrew Lane, haven’t seen you at school in ages. How come you’re eating with Zoe Young?”

Ray Cindy really wanted to laugh. The other three people present would never be as bluntly well-intentioned as Tina Carter.

Andrew Lane didn’t seem to remember who Tina Carter was at all. He shrugged, didn’t even smile, just said “Hi,” and didn’t even glance at Ray Cindy or Tina Carter. Meanwhile, Zoe Young had already lowered her gaze, starting to move the food and rice from her tray onto the table, taking away the tray.

Ray Cindy suddenly felt a sense of being excluded. The way those two were together was almost like… an old married couple.

But back when they were in Class 1, she’d never seen Zoe Young have any contact with Andrew Lane from next door’s Class 2. This strange atmosphere made Ray Cindy full of doubts, and her instincts told her not to stay, so she stood up and said, “Tina Carter, I want to eat on the second floor, there’s no barbecue window on the first floor.”

Tina Carter was totally clueless, and just let Ray Cindy drag her away.

A long-dormant unhappiness washed over Ray Cindy again.

This Zoe Young, so quiet, yet has such a good relationship with a handsome campus star.

I’m not the kind of girl who can’t stand others being happy, I’m not jealous, not at all. Ray Cindy shook her head, trying to shake off the gloom in her heart, focusing on climbing the stairs, step by step, heading higher.

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8. Let’s begin, young man!

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The moment those two left, Zoe Young heard Andrew Lane let out a long sigh.

“Who was that woman…” he muttered, frowning.

Zoe Young shook her head, sat down at the table, and started eating slowly. The food Andrew Lane got was all very light: boiled Chinese broccoli, scrambled eggs with black fungus, dry-fried green beans, and oatmeal chrysanthemum porridge.

“You don’t like meat?” Zoe Young was surprised; in her impression, all boys were carnivores who couldn’t go a meal without meat.

“Do you like it? I was afraid you didn’t like greasy food, so… wait, I’ll go get some more…”

“No need, I really like this!” Zoe Young stopped him, motioning for him to sit down and eat together.

The two of them quietly drank their porridge, as if this wasn’t a cafeteria but a study room, and they were each working on math problems.

Andrew Lane couldn’t taste a thing. This was the first time in his life he’d eaten face-to-face with Zoe Young. Last night, half after careful thought and half on impulse, he’d sent the invitation, and it took ages for Zoe Young to reply to his text. He didn’t dare to press the “view” button.

He didn’t even know if he wanted her to agree or just reject him outright.

He was up half the night, memories churning in the darkness. He almost arrived late to school today. The dark gray cashmere vest he wore over his white shirt under his uniform was his favorite piece of clothing, but this morning, for some reason, he just couldn’t find it. After finally digging it out and putting it on, he felt it was a bit much, really embarrassing, so before heading out at noon, he quickly put on his uniform jacket before going to Class 7 to find her. But that way, the vest was covered up, and wearing it on purpose became meaningless.

Suddenly, he felt his actions were just like a girl’s.

Andrew Lane was so conflicted, the more he ate the more restless he felt, so he just yanked down his zipper and opened his jacket, revealing the cashmere vest underneath.

But right away, he heard Zoe Young’s laughter. He looked up, and the girl across from him was smiling gently, even a little serenely.

“The vest looks great,” she said.

Andrew Lane was so embarrassed he almost wanted to bang his head against the wall.

He took a deep breath, put his chopsticks down on the table, and looked at her seriously. “Zoe, I have something to say to you.”

Suddenly someone called from behind: “Andrew Lane!”

Whoever it is, damn it! Andrew Lane turned around with a defeated look, and it turned out to be Thomas Chase.

“I was just planning to find you this afternoon, and here you are. Let’s set the time for the basketball game between our two classes. The open class preliminary schedule is set, so we have two self-study periods on Wednesday and Friday afternoons, right after lunch, plenty of time. If we don’t set it soon, Nathan Lucas will say our class is afraid to take up the challenge.”

It took Andrew Lane a while to react, then he nodded, “Oh.”

“Oh what, are you out of it?” Thomas Chase finally looked at Zoe Young across the table, who was still quietly sipping her porridge, and was a bit surprised.

“Zoe Young? How come you… oh,” he quickly changed the subject, “The farewell party time is set too, Thursday afternoon, third period, same as the first class meeting of the semester, but not with a farewell theme, so you guys won’t feel awkward. Just treat it as another class meeting.”

“Thanks for being so thoughtful, I got it.” Zoe Young looked up and smiled.

“Let Ray Cindy know too.”

“You tell her yourself.”

Thomas Chase raised his eyebrows in surprise. “What? Did you two have a fight?”

“You’re overthinking it,” Zoe Young smiled, “Anyway, it’s better if you tell her yourself.”

Thomas Chase didn’t ask why, just nodded and said goodbye, and as he left, he winked at Andrew Lane and whispered, “Can’t believe I never noticed you sneaking around.” Andrew Lane didn’t say anything, just elbowed him back.

After Thomas Chase left, Andrew Lane cleared his throat, realizing that the courage he’d built up with that deep breath had been scattered by Thomas Chase’s interruption. He scratched his head for a long time, then suddenly blurted out an invitation that made no sense.

“Come watch me play basketball.”

Zoe Young didn’t look up. “Why?”

Andrew Lane was stunned, scratched the back of his head, and said slowly, “Because… I’m pretty good at basketball.”

He almost bit his tongue after saying it. What kind of reason was that?

Zoe Young suddenly thought of Slam Dunk, which felt like something from a past life. Back in elementary school, there was a time when she and Andrew Lane were friends again, and she’d always go on about how much she liked Fujima, Sendoh, Sakuragi, Mitsui…

But actually, she’d never seen a real basketball game.

Then she thought of Iverson. Mi Qiao’s man, half his face torn off, lying awkwardly on the table.

The corners of her mouth lifted in a smile. “Oh, then I’ll come watch. When is it?”

Andrew Lane, who had been embarrassed by his own bragging, instantly broke into a huge smile, and Zoe Young suddenly felt like she was raising a puppy.

“I’ll let you know when the time’s set, you have to come!”

Zoe Young looked at him and nodded.