Deskmate, Are You Trying to Reel Me In?

[School story, mutual healing, dual perspectives]

#A tsundere top who's good at talking himself into things x a cool, teasing, beautiful but tragic bottom#

In Ruan Qingping's original plans, his life was going to be plain and dull, and he would never become the center of attention again.

Then Xia Qiu came along.

This guy was his polar opposite: handsome, top of his class, and from a good family.

He had all the makings of a novel's male lead, and naturally, plenty of secrets and gossip surrounded him.

Reason told Ruan Qingping to stay away, but his feelings made him break his own rules again and again.

Ruan Qingping hadn't even figured out why he kept acting so awkwardly. Out of habit, his body had already chosen to run away.

As the two grew closer, he told Xia Qiu to his face, "I'm trying to figure out how to avoid you."

It was blunt enough to hurt.

Before long, everyone in Class Eight knew the two of them didn't get along.

Even the teachers started trying to mend their broken relationship.

Ruan Qingping's ordinary life had completely gone off course.

During chemistry lab,

The two were assigned to the same group. When Xia Qiu said something, Ruan Qingping's hand slipped and he accidentally broke an empty test tube.

What the homeroom teacher heard: "What? Ruan Qingping deliberately staged a chemical explosion because he can't stand Xia Qiu?"

During the fitness test,

They were in the same group again. With his arm injured, Ruan Qingping couldn't hold on during the pull-ups, and Xia Qiu, standing nearby, was forced to break his fall.

What their classmates spread: "What? Ruan Qingping deliberately knocked Xia Qiu down to embarrass him?"

At the sports meet,

They were forced to run the relay together. Xia Qiu was the final runner, but someone tripped him near the finish line. Ruan Qingping hoisted him onto his back and carried him to the infirmary.

What the teachers and students saw: "What? Ruan Qingping had someone trip Xia Qiu on purpose, then played the hero to save face?"

Ruan Qingping, finally realizing how he felt: Seriously, when will this end? Does nobody realize I'm trying to win him back?

Ruan Qingping thought he had fallen for Xia Qiu's captivating eyes and his own vivid imagination.

Then he found out Xia Qiu had been doing it on purpose all along?

Ruan Qingping: I think my deskmate is trying to seduce me, but I have no proof. What should I do?

Please help, this is urgent!

For a long time, Xia Qiu was glad he had hidden his act so well.

Ruan Qingping had never suspected his motives.

He really shouldn't have wanted anything more.

Until the boy from his memories appeared before him again, holding that old photograph and demanding an explanation.

"Because I'd seen you in your finest moment, I never suffocated in the darkness. So fate brought us together again, returning to you the courage you'd left behind in me."

* One-on-one pairing, happy ending, a little angst.

* A slow-burn school romance. If you like it, feel free to bookmark it and let the chapters build up!

* The bottom falls for the top at first sight. At first, the top likes him without realizing it. After being drawn in, he starts talking himself into the relationship, with a little groveling arc.

* The leads are adults when they officially start dating.

Theme: Knowledge is power.