In the second week of their first year of high school, Wen Nanxu transfers from the capital back to a middle school in a small Jiangnan town.
Before she left, her older brother specifically warned her to watch out for a boy in her class named Jiang Ye. He was eye-catching and came from a wealthy family, but everyone called him a good-for-nothing who never studied.
By chance, they become deskmates. Jiang Ye draws a firm line down the desk with a black marker and lays down the rule that they won't bother each other. Their first meeting is full of hostility and mutual prejudice: he thinks she's a spoiled little princess from the capital, while she believes the rumors and decides he's arrogant and has given up on himself.
Wen Nanxu accidentally discovers the truth about Jiang Ye's hidden talent. They make a bet, and Jiang Ye loses. Wen Nanxu tells him seriously, “Then give it everything you've got. Show me what you're really capable of.”
In the class placement exams during the second semester of their first year, Jiang Ye stops deliberately lowering his scores and gets the impressive result of third place in the entire grade. When the students are divided into arts and science tracks, they both end up in the top science class.
Over the long years of high school, in the old library, during bamboo-weaving class, and in the evening breeze by the river, their prejudice gradually fades. They come to understand the loneliness and hurt hidden in each other's family backgrounds. Feelings slowly take root, carefully kept close to their hearts.
They don't rush into a confession at graduation, only promise to find their way to each other. When they meet again at university, the line down their old desk can no longer keep their hearts apart.
Theme: Study hard and keep improving.
