Chapter Four: This Is My Girlfriend

When a romance arrives too quickly, will one truly cherish it?

He Tianran was not yet certain, but he could sense that his confession to Jiang Xixi carried not a shred of genuine feeling.

The smiles were feigned, the politeness when exchanging contact information was feigned, and the laughter shared over dinner was equally feigned.

He found himself navigating these social interactions with effortless ease, no longer as awkward and constrained as he once had been.

He tried to fall in love with someone the way Wen Liang had, so that he might find within himself that exact feeling, that fluttering heartbeat, which Wen Liang had once felt for him.

Yet...

Nothing seemed to be happening inside him.

Even now, he was able to conceal this "disappointment" remarkably well.

Jiang Xixi was adorable; a month ago, He Tianran would never have dared to dream of having such a girlfriend.

The young girl had mustered up the courage to ask him what he liked about her.

Without much thought, He Tianran answered directly that he liked her short hair—it felt so familiar, the kind of familiarity that naturally made one want to draw close.

The naive little girl naturally took these words as sweet romantic flattery from her new boyfriend, hopped and skipped back to her classroom, and made plans to walk home together after evening self-study.

Normally, the freshman year did not include evening self-study, but Jiang Xixi insisted on waiting, leaving He Tianran with no choice but to go along with it.

Upon returning to the classroom for the afternoon lessons, Xue Yong leaned over almost immediately and asked:

"Didn't you just swear to me that you didn't want to fall for anyone? What's going on? Seeing a cute little freshman girl now, and you just couldn't help yourself?"

He Tianran took out his textbook. "I can control myself, but I can't control others."

"Stop playing games with me, damn it! I'm actually going to hit you!"

Xue Yong's temple twitched.

This time, He Tianran looked at him with complete seriousness:

"Let's have a fight."

"What?"

"Tomorrow at the boxing gym. I'll go. Let's have a proper spar."

There was no anger in his tone, sounding more like a request. No matter how dense Xue Yong usually was, he could tell that He Tianran needed to blow off some steam. Although he did not know the whole story, for boys of their age, physical combat was the answer to everything.

Xue Yong dropped a harsh remark: "Your Brother Yong only fights father-and-son matches."

He Tianran finally smiled. "I've always been the father."

"Go to hell!"

The two bantered back and forth, making a bit too much noise, and were called out by the teacher right then and there.

During the break, He Tianran's phone vibrated intermittently. Jiang Xixi sent a series of messages, and the boy would only reply to the previous one during the intervals of the teacher's lecture.

Opening WeChat once more, He Tianran discovered that his Moments feed had suddenly sprouted a red bubble with 99+ notifications, something that had never happened before. When he clicked on it, as expected, Jiang Xixi had liked every single post he had ever published on Moments.

Xixi-Xi-Xi-Xi: 「Senior He, what should I call you from now on?」

Xixi-Xi-Xi-Xi: 「Senior, Senior! I'm an Aries, my birthday is April 10th, you have to remember that!」

Xixi-Xi-Xi-Xi: 「(Cute kitten sticker)」

Xue Yong glanced over from the side with a mischievous grin. "Things are progressing nicely, huh?"

Too lazy to bother with him, He Tianran replied: 「What do you mean 'what to call me from now on'? Just call me by my name.」

Xixi-Xi-Xi-Xi: 「⁄(⁄⁄⁄ω⁄⁄⁄)⁄ But shouldn't couples have pet names? Like hubby, darling, baby, things like that!」

Forget Xue Yong; even He Tianran felt goosebumps breaking out all over his body.

It seemed he simply could not integrate himself into this relationship.

"Call him 'Scoundrel'!"

Xue Yong, peeking from the side, chimed in first, then slumped over his desk laughing uncontrollably.

He Tianran gave him a blank stare, hid his phone, and—his inner middle-schooler acting up again—replied:

「Call me Master.」

Once sent, the number of people slumped over desks laughing increased by one.

Initially, He Tianran thought the young girl wouldn't get the meme and that sending this would be inappropriate, but to his surprise, Jiang Xixi replied instantly:

「Got it!! Doctor!!」

Well then, not only did she understand, but she even pulled off a crossover reference.

Suppressing a smile, He Tianran replied seriously:

「Jokes aside, I still don't know how old you are. Being a freshman, you must be...」

Xixi-Xi-Xi-Xi: 「16 years old!」

He Tianran: 「Huh? Are you sure?」

Xixi-Xi-Xi-Xi: 「By... lunar... reckoning...」

In an instant, He Tianran felt like absolute human trash.

When he agreed to the confession, he truly hadn't thought that deeply into it. Although he was also a freshman at this age, ever since turning seventeen, anyone fifteen or sixteen felt like a mere child to him.

At this... age... shouldn't they avoid calling each other hubby, wifey, darling, or baby?

Mostly, He Tianran just couldn't quite adapt.

He Tianran: 「You can just call me... Brother He!」

Xixi-Xi-Xi-Xi: 「(♡>ω<♡) Yes! Master!」

What on earth do you even understand? That's not what I meant at all, hey! I've already retired from the anime subculture, please don't do this to me! I don't have these weird fetishes!

He Tianran found it a bit overwhelming, but Jiang Xixi clearly had no intention of letting him off the hook.

Xixi-Xi-Xi-Xi: 「Brother, should we change into a matching couple profile picture?」

Following that, his phone vibrated several times in a row as pairs of matching images were sent over—some anime, some real people, and some landscapes.

Looking at the overwhelming flood of messages, He Tianran was dazed.

He Tianran: 「Don't you have class?」

Xixi-Xi-Xi-Xi: 「I'm sending them in secret!」

He Tianran: 「But I have class. I'm a senior now.」

This time, the phone fell silent, and Jiang Xixi stopped replying. He Tianran put his phone aside. Only after a few minutes did a message vibrate again. The boy ignored it until the afternoon dismissal, at which point he picked it up for a look.

Xixi-Xi-Xi-Xi: 「Senior He, I was wrong. I shouldn't have disturbed you during class...」

He Tianran massaged his brow, then seriously scrolled back through the matching avatars Jiang Xixi had sent earlier. Suddenly, his finger paused on an image of Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask.

She seemed to be using a similar avatar herself.

He Tianran: 「Let's just use this one.」

He Tianran re-sent the chosen image, and Jiang Xixi replied very quickly.

Xixi-Xi-Xi-Xi: 「Yay yay! I've changed mine. Senior, refresh your profile data~ Um, are you still mad?」

He Tianran was speechless: 「I'm not mad. You need to study hard too, you know? Don't daydream in class.」

Xixi-Xi-Xi-Xi: 「Mmhmm, hehe, as long as you're not mad!!」

Reading the reply, He Tianran felt that Jiang Xixi had conveniently ignored something. Feeling slightly powerless, he attempted one more reply:

「Go straight home after school. Evening self-study goes until nine; you don't need to wait for me.」

True to form, Jiang Xixi wouldn't listen:

「But... today is only our very first day together... If we can't go home together, then poor little Xixi is going to turn into pitiful little Xixi...」

Seeing this, He Tianran figured Jiang Xixi actually had some game. He probed:

「Did you write that line yourself?」

After this message was sent, it took a moment before Jiang Xixi responded:

「It was my friend... she saw our chat and sent it for me... Senior, don't be mad... I was wrong, I won't do it next time...」

He Tianran's standing in the game of romance was no longer what it used to be. Recalling Jiang Xixi's confession scene, he knew full well that someone with his shy temperament could casually stir up trouble online, but when it came to actual face-to-face meetings—especially with novice couples who had only known each other for a day—it was unlikely they would be this proactive.

「Are you sure you want to wait for me? There are still four hours left, you know!」

「It's fine, hehe~ I've already planned it with my best friend. We'll go shopping first, then grab dinner, and by the time we're back, the timing will be just about right!」

With no other choice, He Tianran could only yield to her.

When evening self-study ended, He Tianran packed his things, walked out of the teaching building, and headed toward the school gate.

"Classmate He..."

Someone called out from behind him, and the young boy recognized the voice instantly.

"Aiqing? What is it?"

He turned his head to see Cao Aiqing walking toward him. Dressed in her school uniform, she still looked as gentle and pure as ever—to put it bluntly, her innocence was off the charts.

Cao Aiqing paused for a moment. If she remembered correctly, this was the first time He Tianran had addressed her by her given name.

"Nothing, it's just that I didn't get a chance to speak with you today. You haven't been to school for several days, and you didn't reply to my messages either..."

"Ah... I had some family matters to take care of a few days ago, which delayed things."

The two walked quietly side by side through the campus. Cao Aiqing looked at their shadows on the ground occasionally merging into one, and asked:

"Did something go wrong at home?"

Facing Cao Aiqing's concern, He Tianran didn't want to push her kindness away, so he simply said:

"Nothing's wrong. I can... handle it..."

"Well... as long as you're okay... I just felt like you've changed, Tianran..."

He Tianran teased lightly, "You're one to talk. It's only been a few days, and now you're the class monitor. I won't be able to bully you casually anymore, or else you'll go snitch to the teacher."

"I—I would never!"

"Hahaha..."

Walking a bit further, they reached the school gate. After hesitating for a long time, Cao Aiqing finally spoke: "Oh right, during the last arts festival..."

"Brother!"

Just as she was speaking, a girl suddenly walked over from the side. Keeping her head down, her hands hidden inside her sleeves clutching the edge of He Tianran's jacket, she looked somewhat sullen.

Cao Aiqing froze and asked, "Your sister?"

He Tianran looked at the puzzled Cao Aiqing, then lowered his gaze to look at Jiang Xixi. Sensing his gaze, the young girl raised her head with an aggrieved expression before immediately lowering it again.

Having waited for her boyfriend for so long, to suddenly see him walking alongside another pretty girl—anyone in that situation would likely feel unhappy.

And right now, both girls were clearly waiting for He Tianran's answer.

Yet He Tianran, for his part, did not overthink this predicament.

He ruffled Jiang Xixi's hair. The little girl rubbed against his hand like a kitten and lifted her head.

"Not my sister. This is my girlfriend, Jiang Xixi."

He introduced her openly, without any concealment.

Cao Aiqing was rather startled. "Wh—when did this happen?"

He Tianran looked a bit sheepish. "Today."

"Today?"

"Hahaha... yeah... What were you about to say just now?"

Recovering her composure, Cao Aiqing shook her head. "Hmm~ I forgot."

"Forgot?"

Cao Aiqing nodded with certainty. "Yup. I'll tell you when I remember."

"Well... alright then."

He Tianran had no choice, at which point Jiang Xixi looped her arm through his.

"Then we'll be heading off first..." He murmured softly, "Also... regarding me and her, please don't report us to the teacher."

Cao Aiqing smiled and said nothing.

"We're leaving!"

He Tianran waved goodbye to Cao Aiqing.

"Brother, my house is over by Songshi Street. Are you heading that way..."

"Let's go. Even if it's a detour, I'll walk you. You've waited so long."

"Hehehe..."

Watching the couple slowly walk away, Cao Aiqing stayed in place without rushing off.

Her home was also on Songshi Street.

Unconsciously, her mind recalled the moment He Tianran had walked her to the bus stop.

Now, the only shadow on the ground belonged to her alone.