"I think I remember something about this scar..." Xue Rui mused.

Gu Muxue’s expression turned a little unnatural. "What did you remember?"

’She’s the one who burned him back then. Don’t tell me he’s remembered?’

’What do I do? What if he holds a grudge?’

Gu Muxue was a nervous wreck. This was a little secret she had buried deep in her heart.

Seeing Gu Muxue’s reaction, Xue Rui instantly understood.

The girl who dropped the cup that day must have been Gu Muxue.

"I remember who that girl was," Xue Rui said, his brows furrowed.

Gu Muxue swallowed. ’So, he’s finally found me out?’

She didn’t know what Xue Rui would think. She had been so scared back then—scared of her family shouting at her, scared of the elders reprimanding her...

But looking back now, none of that really mattered. What she feared most was Xue Rui ignoring her.

Although she wasn’t the main cause of the accident, she had never once apologized...

The more Gu Muxue thought about it, the sadder she became. Her beautiful, almond-shaped eyes started to well up...

Due to her proud nature, Gu Muxue had done many things in private to make it up to Xue Rui, but she never considered them apologies.

Xue Rui sighed. ’So it really was this girl,’ he thought. ’Isn’t this expression a tacit confession?’

"So... what are you going to do to that girl?" Gu Muxue asked, her head lowered. Her tears splashed onto her dark blue uniform pants, leaving behind inky spots.

"Oh? Let me think." Xue Rui was a little surprised. ’She’s this hung up about it?’

He didn’t really feel anything about it. It didn’t matter who the girl was; so many years had passed.

He didn’t want to use this to hold anything over Gu Muxue, but if he just casually brushed it off, she would probably still feel troubled by it.

Xue Rui thought for a moment. "Every time I think about it, I get so mad I could just bite someone. One bite to vent my anger, and I’d call it even."

Gu Muxue secretly rolled up her uniform sleeve under the desk. ’If only it were that simple...’

The moment Xue Rui finished speaking, Gu Muxue placed her slender, pale wrist right next to his lips. Her beautiful eyes were still wet as she stared out the window.

He froze. ’Did this girl just admit it so openly?’

Xue Rui let out a wry, internal laugh. ’The most stubborn thing about this girl is her mouth. She’s willing to put her arm up to my lips, but still refuses to admit it out loud.’

Xue Rui looked at her slender, beautiful wrist, then moved his head up slightly and bit down on the fleshier part of her forearm.

He knew Gu Muxue wasn’t a melodramatic girl. If he just pretended to bite, she would probably only feel worse about it.

Gu Muxue bit her lip hard. She didn’t really think this could make it up to Xue Rui, since she often bit him herself...

’It really does hurt...’

Just then, Mei Lili noticed Qiu Mengze was stuck on a problem. The corners of her mouth lifted slightly in a disdainful smirk.

Qiu Mengze felt her gaze and glared back unkindly.

Then, out of the corners of their eyes, they both noticed something strange happening with Gu Muxue.

"What... the...?" Qiu Mengze muttered, whispering the two words.

’The scene was too shocking. Xue Rui is actually biting a girl?’

Mei Lili stared blankly. ’Why is Xue Rui biting Gu Muxue?’

"Xue Rui, get your filthy mouth off her!" Mei Lili roared in fury.

"Lily, stay out of this," Gu Muxue said flatly.

Mei Lili’s shout made all the students in the classroom turn around. They, too, saw Xue Rui biting Gu Muxue, and their eyes widened in surprise.

Seeing he couldn’t drag it out any longer, Xue Rui bit down a little harder for one final nip.

"Sss..." Gu Muxue clenched her jaw, trying her best not to make a sound.

"Actually, I never remembered a thing. You’re the one who admitted it," Xue Rui said with a wicked grin, before hastily bolting out of the classroom.

Gu Muxue froze. ’Was he just bluffing?’

Seeing his wicked expression, she didn’t know what came over her, but she suddenly wanted to bite him back.

"You jerk, you tricked me again!" Gu Muxue cursed under her breath and ran after him.

She stopped dramatically at the classroom door, pointing a finger in the direction Xue Rui had fled, pretending to threaten him.

Just then, Lin Ruoxi happened to be passing by the back door of their classroom and saw the red bite mark on Gu Muxue’s arm where her sleeve was rolled up.

"Did Xue Rui do that?" Lin Ruoxi asked.

"Mhm," Gu Muxue said, her lips curling into a smile as she watched the direction Xue Rui had gone.

Xue Rui hadn’t really deceived her. Before, when he’d said he didn’t hold a grudge against that girl, she had been secretly worried. But after today, she no longer had to agonize over it.

She looked at her arm. Xue Rui had deliberately chosen a fleshy spot to bite...

It hurt, but it hadn’t left a real injury.

She loved his straightforward personality. He was usually carefree, but sometimes he was as thoughtful as a girl, which was really reassuring...

Lin Ruoxi’s brows knitted together as she stared. The bite mark was from Xue Rui; she remembered the alignment of his teeth...

"I’m sorry..." Lin Ruoxi said meekly.

Gu Muxue was a little surprised. ’Why is this girl apologizing to me?’

But she didn’t dwell on it. Lin Ruoxi was always a bit strange, often giving nonsensical answers.

’Well, geniuses... they’re always different from ordinary people.’

Gu Muxue waved her hand dismissively and walked back to her seat with a smile.

’How strange,’ Lin Ruoxi thought. ’Why are good friends always fighting?’

’But that girl was bitten by Xue Rui, she even had tears in her eyes, so why did she look so happy?’

She couldn’t understand such feelings.

Lin Ruoxi wandered through the school building for a while, then silently sat down next to Xue Rui.

"Why did you bite her?" Lin Ruoxi asked.

’Gu Muxue was the one bitten by Xue Rui, which means he wasn’t the one who was wronged.’

’But I don’t want to see him fight...’

Xue Rui smiled, not sure how to explain it to Lin Ruoxi.

He thought for a moment. "When you’re angry, you have to let it out. You can bite me when you’re angry, too."

Of course, Xue Rui was just being polite. ’There’s no way Lin Ruoxi would ever bite someone, right?’

Lin Ruoxi tilted her head and gently offered her wrist to his lips. "Are you still angry now?"

"When you get angry, you... you can bite me too," Lin Ruoxi said quietly.

Xue Rui couldn’t help but laugh. ’Is this girl a natural-born pushover?’ he thought.

"Then who do you bite when you get angry?" Xue Rui asked.

"I don’t get angry," Lin Ruoxi said softly.

"I mean, if you did get angry, who would you bite? You have to pick someone," Xue Rui said with a smile.

Lin Ruoxi was conflicted. She didn’t want to bite anyone, but it seemed like Xue Rui was insisting she choose.

"Does biting myself count?" Lin Ruoxi asked, secretly watching Xue Rui’s reaction. She didn’t know if her answer would make him angry.

If she had to hurt someone, Lin Ruoxi would rather it be herself.

’It’s like this girl is just waiting for me to bite her. I have no idea what’s going through her head.’

A wave of exasperation washed over Xue Rui. Looking at the pale, delicate hand before him, he opened his mouth and gave it a gentle bite.

Just then, Qiu Mengze returned with his books. Seeing Xue Rui biting Lin Ruoxi, he couldn’t help but let out a shocked "God. Damn.", putting heavy stress on both words.

"What are you, a dog? Biting everyone you see?" Qiu Mengze was exasperated.

’In the span of a single afternoon, Xue Rui has bitten the two prettiest girls in the entire school.’

"No, it’s not like that! I asked him to bite me," Lin Ruoxi hastily explained.

Hearing this, Qiu Mengze felt a knife twist in his heart. The pain was unbearable!

’What is wrong with all these pretty girls? Have they all lost their minds?’

’Just a moment ago, Gu Muxue explained it to Mei Lili the same way, saying she was willing to be bitten.’

’And now Lin Ruoxi is saying the same thing?’

He thought about himself. He’d lived this long without so much as holding a girl’s hand, yet Xue Rui was going around biting them.

’Aren’t girls supposed to be the ones who bite boys? Who ever heard of a boy biting a girl?’

’And the key point is, they were willing!’

’How can the gap between people be so vast?’

"SIGH..." Qiu Mengze heaved a long sigh, opened a textbook, and dove headfirst into the ocean of knowledge.

He figured it might make him feel a little better.

Xue Rui had only bitten her gently, just to tease her. He hadn’t used nearly as much force as he had with Gu Muxue, so it only left a faint mark.

"I’m going back to my village tomorrow to burn joss paper for my grandmother," Lin Ruoxi said quietly. She was worried he would come looking for her in the morning and find no one home.

"Wait for me tomorrow morning. I’ll go with you this year," Xue Rui said.

Lin Ruoxi froze for a second. ’He’s coming too this year?’

She walked out of the classroom in a daze. For some reason, seeing the bite mark Xue Rui had left made her feel quite happy.

Director Wang walked over curiously, only to spot a bite mark on Lin Ruoxi’s hand.

"Who bit you?" Director Wang asked, his brow furrowed.

"Xue—" Halfway through the name, Lin Ruoxi quickly bit her own hand.

Pointing to the new mark, Lin Ruoxi said, "I bit this one myself."

Director Wang: "..."

...

「Class Two Classroom.」

"See? It’s not like I wanted to bite her," Xue Rui said, nudging Qiu Mengze’s arm.

"I know, I know!" Qiu Mengze bit out through clenched teeth.

Qiu Mengze knew everything about Xue Rui. Gu Muxue, one could say, was the result of years of accumulated feelings—a childhood sweetheart, more or less.

But what was the deal with Lin Ruoxi? Xue Rui’s first real interaction with her was only in their second year of high school. Back then, she was like a little stray cat, ready to bolt at any moment. So why was she so close to him now?

Qiu Mengze put down his pen, pressed his palms together, and asked with utmost sincerity, "Brother Rui, teach your little bro a few of your tricks."

Xue Rui leaned back against a desk and said with an air of profound wisdom, "Matters of the heart can’t be forced. You can’t force a melon off the vine and expect it to be sweet."

Qiu Mengze thought for a moment. "That’s not right. Last time, you said even a melon forced off the vine can quench your thirst."

Xue Rui’s brow twitched. ’Did my own words just come back to bite me?’

"What I mean is, the relationships that last all have very ordinary beginnings. Not many whirlwind romances last a lifetime."

"That’s too deep. Put it in simple terms," Qiu Mengze said, completely lost.

Xue Rui sneered. "Simps never prosper."

"What’s that supposed to mean?"

"It means you won’t get anywhere with one-sided devotion. I’d give it up if I were you. There are plenty of girls in college," Xue Rui said.

"That’s not right. You were the one who encouraged me to go after her in the first place," Qiu Mengze said, looking confused as to why Xue Rui had suddenly changed his tune.

Xue Rui waved his hand in resignation. "Suit yourself. You’ve been chasing her for a damn year and you haven’t even held her hand."

Back then, he just hadn’t wanted his childhood friend to have any regrets. Now, Qiu Mengze had certainly cleared that bar, but Xue Rui felt that if he stubbornly kept chasing her, he’d end up with a different kind of regret...

"How do you know I haven’t?" Qiu Mengze’s face flushed crimson.

Xue Rui scoffed. "If you had, you would’ve been showing off to me long ago."