After Zhao Ming's "announcement" about Jiang Chen's supposed feelings, Su Ran couldn't look at Jiang Chen normally for the rest of the day.
Not because she believed Zhao Ming.
But also… not because she didn't.
Which made everything worse.
Whenever Jiang Chen passed her a pen, she would say thank you too quickly.
Whenever he explained math, she would nod too much.
Whenever their hands almost touched while passing a notebook, she would immediately pull back like she touched fire.
Zhao Ming watched all of this like it was the best entertainment in the world.
"This is amazing," he whispered to himself. "I don't even need TV anymore."
The Seat Change
A week later, the teacher walked into class holding a seating chart.
"Everyone listen. We are changing seats today."
The entire class immediately started complaining.
"Nooo…"
"I like my seat."
"Why change now?"
Su Ran slowly turned toward Jiang Chen and Zhao Ming.
"This is bad," she said.
"This is very bad."
"Why?" Zhao Ming asked.
"Because what if we don't sit together anymore?"
Jiang Chen didn't say anything, but he stopped writing and looked at the teacher.
The teacher started calling names and assigning seats one by one.
Every time she called a name, someone would move, chairs would scrape the floor, bags would move, people would complain.
Su Ran squeezed her pencil tightly.
"Please last row, please last row, please last row…" she whispered like she was praying.
Finally, the teacher called,
"Su Ran – Row 3, Seat 5."
Her heart dropped.
"That's not the last row," she whispered.
Then the teacher called,
"Zhao Ming – Row 4, Seat 2."
Zhao Ming looked shocked.
"We are being separated like a tragic story."
Then the teacher called,
"Jiang Chen – Row 3, Seat 6."
Su Ran slowly turned her head.
Seat 6 was right next to Seat 5.
Right next to her.
Zhao Ming stood up dramatically.
"This is favoritism. I am being abandoned."
Su Ran tried not to smile, but she couldn't help it.
Jiang Chen picked up his books and moved to the new seat beside her without saying anything.
But when he sat down, he quietly said,
"Looks like we're still sitting together."
She nodded and tried to act normal.
"Yeah… looks like it."
But inside, she felt strangely happy.
Zhao Ming Alone
From his new seat behind them, Zhao Ming leaned forward and whispered,
"This is unbelievable. The universe is helping your love story."
Su Ran turned around immediately.
"There is no love story!"
Zhao Ming nodded seriously.
"Yes, yes. Of course. This is just two people sitting together, sharing pens, sharing umbrellas, studying together, walking home together… very normal friendship activities."
Jiang Chen said calmly,
"You talk too much."
Zhao Ming grinned.
"And you talk too little. That's why I talk for both of us."
The Window Seat
Their new seats were closer to the window than before.
In the afternoon, sunlight would fall across their desks, making everything look warm and quiet.
One day, Su Ran was drawing random shapes in her notebook instead of listening to the teacher.
Jiang Chen looked at her notebook and said quietly,
"You're not even pretending to listen."
"I am listening emotionally," she replied.
"That's not a real thing."
"It is for me," she said.
He looked at her drawing for a moment.
"You always draw little stars when you're bored," he said.
She froze.
"You noticed that?" she asked.
"Yes."
She didn't know why that made her feel so strange.
Out of all the things in the world, he noticed something that small.
Not her loud talking.
Not her bad math.
Not her messy desk.
He noticed the little stars she drew when she was bored.
She looked at him for a moment and then said quietly,
"You notice a lot of things."
He thought for a moment and replied,
"Only important things."
She didn't know why, but after he said that, she couldn't focus on the lesson for the rest of the day.
So she just kept drawing small stars in the corner of her notebook,
while sitting next to the boy who noticed things no one else did.