Little Light

I went to the library again today.

I was telling Li about yesterday's events as if they were a joke.

I said, "A few guys from your class came up to chat with me, so we had a friendly conversation."

Her reaction was completely unexpected.

She set down her pen, her delicate brows furrowed tightly, her beautiful eyes full of concern.

"Did they cause you trouble?"

Her gentle voice was a little higher than usual.

"No, I'm going to go talk to them about this."

And with that, she stood up.

The way she was carrying herself, she really looked like she was about to go find those guys in their classroom and confront them!

I was really startled.

There was no way I could let that happen! That would be like a lamb walking right into the wolf's den!

"No, no! Don't worry, I'm not afraid of them!"

I quickly reached out and grabbed her hand.

Her fingers were cool, and they trembled slightly in my palm.

I quickly added, "The moment I called out, about a dozen guys from my class came running over, and those guys ran off scared! Seriously, they ran faster than rabbits!"

She stood there, head down, not saying anything.

But she turned her head away slightly, and her ears started to turn red again.

Then, slowly, she sat back down in her chair, still looking down.

"... How much longer are you going to hold my hand?"

She mumbled.

Only then did I realize I was still holding her hand.

Her fingers were slender and soft...

And kind of hard to let go of!

I blinked, quickly let go, raised my hands in a surrender gesture, and said with an innocent look, "I didn't do anything!"

She let out a soft snort, rolled her eyes at me, and pushed that workbook over to me.

"Today, do this problem."

I took a look.

I already knew how to solve that problem.

I mean, I could see the answer right away.

She was probably...

Feeling a bit distracted herself, huh?

Hehe...

...

This afternoon we had PE class. I was playing soccer with a few friends on the field.

I was playing winger, charging towards the penalty area with the ball...

When I caught a glimpse from the corner of my eye of someone by the edge of the field.

She was standing there, her long black hair gently lifting in the wind.

The class next to us also had PE that period.

She was looking our way.

I got distracted, and someone stole the ball from me.

"Fang Qi, what's wrong with you! Pass it to me!"

A friend was yelling over there!

I ignored him.

I stood on the field, across half the pitch, just watching her from that distance.

It seemed like she noticed me looking too, and she tilted her head slightly.

And then...

I burst into a sprint and won the ball back!

Kept playing!

For the rest of the game, I gave it my all!

Tackles, passes, shots—I was running way more actively than usual.

She stood by the field for quite a while.

Several students passing by couldn't help but sneak a few more glances at her, and even some of the guys playing soccer from the other class kept looking over.

During halftime, a few friends came over.

One of them poked my shoulder with a cheeky grin, another was wiggling his eyebrows and smirking.

"Fang Qi, your lady's here!"

I almost choked on my own spit!

"Hey, don't say that!"

I lowered my voice and shot them a glare.

"We're not in that kind of relationship! Saying that is really disrespectful to her!"

The group of friends were all stunned for a moment.

Their joking expressions turned into a look of utter confusion.

"Huh? You guys aren't together?"

One of them scratched his head.

"Aren't you guys... sneaking off to the library every day to meet up, all alone together?"

"How are you not boyfriend and girlfriend yet?"

What kind of talk is that!

That's just nonsense!

I glared even harder.

"What do you mean 'all alone'! The library is full of people! Everyone's studying! I'm there to study too!"

"Then why did you look at her at least ten times while you were playing soccer just now? Is that part of your studying?"

"I was... I was analyzing our corner kick tactics!"

Then, lowering my voice a bit, I added, "And don't say stuff like that anymore. We're just friends."

The friends looked at each other, shrugged, and gave me these really dismissive looks.

The kind of look that screams, "Yeah, right, as if I believe you."

I muttered to myself again, "...Even though, I do want to be with her..."

Instinctively, I looked back at where she had been standing.

... But the spot was empty now.

She'd already left at some point.

I stood by the field, dumbfounded for a long time, until a friend shouted from behind me.

"Fang Qi! We're starting the game! What are you spacing out for!"

I snapped out of it and ran back onto the field.

But I was running a little absent-mindedly.

...

I've made up my mind. I'm going to confess my feelings to Li!

The reason is a bit complicated.

It has to do with those remarks my friends made during soccer that got me all worked up.

And also...

Today, another girl confessed to me.

To be honest, I barely even know that girl.

She's in my class, sure, but we've never really talked much.

She stopped me in the hallway after school today, her face red as a tomato, and said she liked me and asked if I'd go out with her.

I was stunned for a few seconds.

Here was a girl I barely knew, and she had enough courage to confess her feelings...

That courage was really something.

Of course, I turned her down.

I told her honestly that there was already someone else I liked.

Her eyes welled up a little, and she just said "It's okay," before turning and running off.

Watching her run away, a thought suddenly hit me.

That girl barely knows me, but she still had the guts to confess...

So what about me?

I sit with her in the library every day. I see her smile at me every day. I hear her explain homework problems to me every single day.

The fact that I like her has been absolutely certain for ages.

And I still haven't had the guts to say a word.

I can't just let this drag on forever, can I?

What if some other guy goes after her someday? What if she says yes to someone else? I would...

... Well, let's not think about how murder is illegal.

Anyway, I definitely don't want to just stay ordinary friends with her forever!

Even if I fail...

At least I'll have let her know how I feel.

So I've decided.

I'm going to confess my feelings to Li!

Oh, and one more thing.

Those thugs from before—I heard they ran a red light on their souped-up e-bikes and got hit by a car. They're all in the hospital now. I overheard someone say one of them...

Well, life sure is unpredictable, huh?

Also, just a little while ago...

That girl who confessed to me—she slipped and fell down the stairs in the hallway, and they had to take her to the infirmary.

Luckily, she wasn't badly hurt, just a sprained ankle.

... I'm not some kind of jinx, am I?

Never mind.

I shouldn't let my mind wander.

I'll go to the library tomorrow to find her.

And I'll confess!

...

Today, I confessed my feelings to Li!

After school, in the corner of the library, she was sitting in her usual spot, doing homework.

Like always, the setting sun was shining on her profile, and she looked beautiful.

I sat next to her for a while. But I couldn't read a single word!

My heart was pounding so fast, it felt like it was going to leap right out of my throat!

Then she looked up at me. Maybe I looked a bit pale, because she put down her pen and asked me what was wrong.

I couldn't hold it in anymore.

Taking a deep breath, I just let it all out in a rush!

I told her I liked her!

I told her I wanted to be with her.

I told her I'd had my eye on her ever since the first day of school.

I told her I never went to the library to study at all—I just went there to see her!

I told her I wasn't satisfied with just being friends anymore!

I poured it all out in one big burst!

Then I closed my eyes, waiting for the verdict!

After she finished speaking, she was silent for a long time.

"Next exam," she suddenly said.

I opened my eyes, and the setting sun had shifted slightly across her face.

"Next time, if you can rank in the top fifty of the grade..."

"Then I'll agree to be your girlfriend."

My eyes went wide!

Huh?!

Top fifty in the grade?!

There were over a thousand people in our grade!

The top fifty were all outstanding students!

My best score had only been around three hundredth!

This condition was really, really hard!

But I immediately thought of something else.

Li was in the top ten of the whole school!

...A chance!

"Then, can you actually tutor me?"

I felt like my expression had never been more serious!

"I'll absolutely work hard!"

"As long as you're the one tutoring me, I might actually make it into the top fifty!"

The corner of her mouth lifted slightly.

"That depends on your attitude," she said.

"If you want me to tutor you, fine."

"From now until the next exam..."

"No more playing soccer, or any other activities."

"After school, come straight to the library for tutoring."

"If you can do that, I'll tutor you."

I was stunned for a moment.

Then blurted out, "Of course I can!"

I couldn't ask for more!

...

...

Li was a demon.

No, worse than a demon!

From the day I agreed to be tutored...

I completely lost my freedom!

Every day as the bell rang after school, just as I was about to get up...

I could already see her figure in the hallway.

She would lean against the door of the next classroom, holding her exercise books, quietly waiting for me.

A gentle smile on her pretty face.

My friends tried to drag me off to play soccer.

She wouldn't say a word, just smiled like that.

So gentle it gave you goosebumps.

What could I do?

I scurried over to the library with her.

And then it was hell!

The homework she assigned me was more than the school gave!

Math—two sets of papers!

Physics — Accompanying Practice Problems!

Chemistry—memorize equations!

She personally checked every single problem!

Mistakes had to be redone three times!

Classic problem types were reviewed over and over until I knew them by heart!

She even organized all my wrong answers into a special notebook and made me redo them regularly until I fully understood!

She also said that if I wanted to get into the top fifty, there couldn't be any weak spots.

Then she added, if you skip a day, I won't tutor you anymore.

I gritted my teeth.

I worked my butt off!

Now, at school, my only options were class or being tutored. At home, it was finishing the homework she assigned...

Then straight to sleep!

I felt like I wasn't preparing for final exams...

I was preparing for the college entrance exam!

I was only a freshman in high school!

But I had to admit, my grades were skyrocketing.

In the most recent monthly exam, I ranked 136th in the grade, which even got my homeroom teacher's attention.

She called me in for a talk, looking so pleased, saying that I, the troublemaker, had finally wised up!

Honestly...

I was never a troublemaker!

My grades weren't bad before either!

...

...

The final exam results came out.

Ranked 82nd in the grade.

I stared at the report card for a long time, checking that "82" over and over again.

Eighty-two, not twenty-eight.

So, not top fifty.

Ah...!

I was so dejected...!

Actually, it was a huge improvement.

Before, my scores were around 300th or 400th. Now I was in the top hundred—from a ranking perspective...

It was a qualitative leap!

The teachers looked at me with much warmer eyes!

My homeroom teacher even praised me in front of the class.

A few friends came over and patted my shoulder, saying, "Fang Qi, what miracle drug did you take? Your grades shot up like crazy."

But...

I still hadn't met Li's requirement.

Was my girlfriend flying away from me?

Sigh...!

I sat in my seat for a long time, dazed, then stood up and walked out of the classroom.

Some classmates were messing around in the hallway. Someone asked about my grades, and I brushed them off with a few words.

My feet, out of habit, were already heading toward the library.

I knew that route so well I didn't even need to think about it.

The library wasn't crowded today.

Just after finals, everyone was relaxing.

She sat in her usual spot, a book open in front of her, though I couldn't tell if she was actually reading it.

I walked over and sat down beside her. She looked up at me, the corner of her mouth lifting slightly again.

"Got your results?" she asked.

"...82nd place."

She smiled.

"That's such great progress," she said.

"...I didn't meet your requirement."

"Yeah. You didn't."

I immediately slumped onto the table, burying my head in my arms...

"Nooo—!"

A long, miserable groan!

It made other students in the library turn to look.

She quickly reached over and covered my mouth!

Her palm pressed against my lips, smelling sweetly of strawberries.

That move would have made her blush for ages before, but now...

We were used to it.

She kept her hand over my mouth and leaned in a little closer.

"Since you didn't meet the requirement," she said softly, "then over the summer break... we'll continue the tutoring."

"Huh?!"

I jerked my head up.

"Summer break?! Tutoring?!"

"Yeah. Until you meet the requirement in the next exam."

I stared at her with wide eyes!

Wasn't it enough...?! Studying over summer break too?!

Just after finals, we're already getting ready for summer tutoring?!

Was this a life for a human being?!

Demon!

Monster!

She narrowed her eyes slightly, her smile unwavering.

"What, do you mean you want to give up?"

Her expression was still so gentle.

But somehow it sent a chill down my spine.

"...Of course not!"

I said with righteous determination.

"If I can see you every day during summer break too, I'd be absolutely thrilled!"

Wahhh...!

My summer break and my girlfriend had both flown away...

She gave a satisfied smile.

"Since you didn't meet the requirement, but you still improved so much... so..."

She paused.

"You can change how you address me."

I blinked.

"From now on, you don't have to call me Li. You can..."

Her eyelashes fluttered downward slightly.

"Just call me Liguang."

"Or..."

She tilted her head a little, looking at me. The setting sun fell on us, warm and soft.

"Call me Xiaoguang."

Then her voice softened.

"And I'll call you..."

She chuckled lightly.

"Aqi."

I was speechless.

Those two words, spoken by her, carried a tender warmth, as if they were an answer that had been waiting for a long, long time.

I looked at her gentle expression and felt like...

I had forgotten something important?

She said we would continue tutoring over the summer.

I still had a chance.

In the next exam, I would make it into the top fifty. I would...

Oh...

I remembered.

Remembered what I had forgotten.

That crazy girl, you really are...

"Okay," I said.

"Xiaoguang."