Jiang Jingxuan was the famously icy academic ace at No. 1 High School, racking up medals in academic competitions with ease. He was the only one who seemed indifferent to social niceties. Huan Nanyu, a humanities prodigy who transferred in during his second year, had dimples when he smiled and was like a mint candy suddenly dropped into a still lake.
At first, Jiang Jingxuan thought the transfer student behind him, who was always leaning over his desk to sketch his profile, was a nuisance. Huan Nanyu, meanwhile, thought his icy desk mate's ears looked even prettier when they turned red than the sunset.
"Jiang Jingxuan, I don't understand this problem."
"...You're in the top ten. What are you pretending for?"
"But I just want you to explain it to me."
And so two shadows began to overlap in the library afternoons. Someone started bringing drinks to the basketball court, and notes passed during evening study filled with thoughts only the two of them understood. When Huan Nanyu handed Jiang Jingxuan a diary filled with three years of secret love at their graduation ceremony, the boy who was always so calm and composed finally leaned down and whispered in his ear:
"You idiot. I've liked you too, ever since the first day you became my desk mate."
Cicadas sang in the midsummer heat, soda fizzed, and the love of seventeen-year-olds couldn't be hidden, any more than the tender smile in Jiang Jingxuan's eyes when he looked at Huan Nanyu.
Theme: From testing the waters as desk mates to mutual devotion, a sweet and innocent romance blossoms
