Xiao Xi, What Is Xi

Li Muxi, an English major, never imagined she'd have anything to do with Cheng Xiao, the computer science department's top student. He always seemed distant in a crowd, yet from the moment they met, he quietly etched her image into his heart.

From tentative approaches on campus in their sophomore year to sharing the morning light in the library and splitting a pair of earphones in the cafeteria, the aloof genius hides his tenderness in the little things. Then they leave campus side by side and support each other through the ups and downs of work. Their youth is not a whirlwind romance, but a gentle, lasting sweetness: her focus as she translates foreign-language papers for him, his patience as he fixes her computer, and the hands they keep holding, from school uniforms to business suits.

This is a story of two people growing together, with youthful heart-flutters, the inspiration of facing life side by side, and the steadfast companionship that lasts from campus through the rest of their lives.