Chapter 158 There is a letter in your desk drawer

"Oh... I..."

Seeing that the envelope had been spotted, the girl with twin pigtails shyly hid it behind her back. She stammered, wanting to explain, yet unable to form the words.

As if remembering something, she quickly asked, "By the way, Senior Bai, I wanted to ask, are you and Senior Lu a couple? I often see the two of you walking quite close lately."

At that moment, Bai Qingxia's mind was still in a daze, as if she hadn't heard the twin-pigtail girl's question.

Staring at the girl before her, her first impression was that this girl was very pretty, very cute, with flawless, tender white skin that looked as smooth as jelly. The hairband and hairpin she wore were exquisite styles that must have been quite expensive.

Even the envelope in her hand was a lovely pink one adorned with cartoon patterns.

"Senior Bai?"

Bai Qingxia snapped out of her daze, hurriedly shook her head, and lowered her gaze slightly. "No."

"You scared me! I thought you two were a couple." The girl with twin pigtails patted her chest in relief, then asked, "Senior Bai, could you tell me which desk is Senior Lu's?"

Bai Qingxia reached out and pointed toward the rear row near the window. "That's the last row on that side, the outer one."

"Okay, thank you, Senior!"

With the classroom currently empty, the twin-pigtail girl hurried inside. She first checked the name on the books on the desk to confirm, and after verifying, she slipped the envelope into Lu Yuanqiu's desk drawer.

As Bai Qingxia walked through the door and saw the girl running toward the exit, she quickly stepped aside to let her pass.

"Thank you, Senior Bai. Goodbye."

Leaning against the doorframe, Bai Qingxia nodded slightly.

Returning to her seat, she took out her collection of past exam papers and opened it to the latest page, though her gaze drifted intentionally or unintentionally toward Lu Yuanqiu's desk drawer.

At that moment, Bai Qingxia realized that compared to the flustered helplessness she felt when receiving a love letter herself, there was a scenario that could leave her feeling even more helpless.

Yet, there was nothing she could do to change it.

Outside the window, rain began to fall once more, splashing noisily against the sill. Bai Qingxia quickly stood up to close the window.

Lu Yuanqiu had been right after all—she should have hurried to get lunch while the rain had stopped, or it would start pouring again soon.

At the thought of those words, Bai Qingxia sat quietly in her seat, suddenly falling into a daze for a long while. She shook her head slightly, trying to banish the three characters "Lu Yuanqiu" from her mind, even if only for an hour; she needed to focus on her practice problems.

Ten or twenty minutes later, a young man with a buzz cut walked through the classroom door, shaking the water from his head.

"Damn it! How long is this rain supposed to last?"

Lu Yuanqiu muttered to himself.

Normally, he would go home to sleep after eating lunch at the cafeteria, but with the rain falling again, he couldn't be bothered to make the trip back, and besides, Bai Qingxia would definitely be in the classroom.

Bai Qingxia originally didn't want to speak with him, intending to concentrate entirely on her problems, but after turning her head and catching sight of Lu Yuanqiu's thoroughly soaked appearance, her heart softened. She knew Lu Yuanqiu never carried tissues.

"Wipe your head."

The girl reached into her pocket and handed over a pack of tissues.

"Oh, thanks."

Lu Yuanqiu took the tissues, casually wiped his face and head, and asked, "It wasn't raining this morning. Did you bring an umbrella today?"

"No."

"Perfect, I brought a raincoat. When school lets out this evening, you can sit on the back of my bicycle and just tuck yourself under the raincoat."

"Okay."

Having wiped away the water, Lu Yuanqiu no longer felt sleepy. He pulled his exam papers out of his desk, his thoughts suddenly turning to the New Year's Day event.

"Right, for the New Year's performance, are you going to wear one of those ballet costumes? Those short skirts and white silk stockings..."

Opening his exam booklet, Lu Yuanqiu looked with a grin at the girl's profile.

"I suppose so..."

"Do those dance costumes need to be bought or rented?"

"Not sure."

Bai Qingxia's answers lacked focus.

She was wondering why Lu Yuanqiu still hadn't lowered his head to see the envelope; only once he read the letter could she truly focus on her practice problems.

Of course, it was also possible that once Lu Yuanqiu finished reading the letter, she would find it even harder to concentrate.

This felt less like simple bewilderment and more like restless anxiety.

...Bai Qingxia thought to herself how much better it would have been if this hadn't happened right in front of her, if she hadn't returned to the classroom so early.

Beside her, Lu Yuanqiu began working on his practice problems.

In the classroom shared by just the two of them, a quiet stillness gradually settled, broken only by the sounds of pens scratching across paper and pages turning.

With the windows closed, the sound of the rain outside was muffled. The tranquility of this moment made Lu Yuanqiu feel strangely content. Silence was best; he and Bai Qingxia simply engaged in their own respective tasks.

Hearing each other's breathing, without even needing to look, one could sense the presence of a seatmate.

After finishing a page, noticing that the girl beside him was staring in his direction, Lu Yuanqiu turned his head with an amused smile. "Why are you looking at me? The exams are on Friday, am I not allowed to do practice problems? Besides, I do them at home too, you know."

"There's a letter in your desk drawer."

Bai Qingxia reminded him in a soft voice.

"Huh?"

"There's a letter."

Lu Yuanqiu was momentarily stunned. His chair scraped back against the floor with a harsh sound as he bent down and peered into the desk drawer, where he indeed spotted a pink envelope.

Pulling it out, he smiled at Bai Qingxia and asked, "Did you give this to me?"

Bai Qingxia shook her head, keeping her gaze lowered. "A girl from the freshman year gave it to you. She even asked me where your seat was."

"Then why didn't you say anything just now? You waited until now to remind me."

Bai Qingxia remained silent.

The smile on Lu Yuanqiu's face lost its earlier radiance. He had genuinely thought Bai Qingxia was playing some kind of romantic trick on him; after all, given her preferences, she certainly would have chosen a pink envelope.

Still, receiving a love letter felt rather novel—he had never received such a thing in his past life.

"Ahem, let me have a look then."

Lu Yuanqiu readjusted his chair, sat up straight, tore open the envelope, and pulled out the stationery inside.

The stationery was pale yellow, also decorated with adorable cartoon patterns. Bai Qingxia glanced at it, and four words instantly popped into her mind: *How exquisite.*

The handwriting on the letter paper was cute and rounded—complete opposites to Bai Qingxia's neat script.

Lu Yuanqiu skimmed through it roughly. The letter was quite long, but could be summarized in a single paragraph:

*Senior, you looked so handsome during the sports meeting and on the basketball court, and you seem like you'd have a humorous personality in private. I've been paying attention to you for a long time. I'd love to get to know you and add you on QQ, if that's alright?*

The girl hadn't left her name or class, but she had included her QQ number, presumably hoping to chat in more detail online.

Since Lu Yuanqiu happened to have his phone with him, he took it out and began searching for her QQ number to send a friend request.

Watching this unfold, Bai Qingxia let out a stifled breath from the tightness in her chest. She clicked her fountain pen twice and prepared to resume her work.

As he added the QQ contact, Lu Yuanqiu said with a smile, "Do you want to take a look? I have no idea who she is, but she praised me for a whole page, saying she's been watching me since the sports meeting."

Listening closely to every word Lu Yuanqiu spoke, Bai Qingxia shook her head on the outside. "I won't look."

Since the QQ request wasn't accepted immediately—the girl probably didn't have her phone on her—Lu Yuanqiu put his phone away and slid the letter over toward Bai Qingxia's side of the desk.

"Take a look. Learn a thing or two about how people are supposed to compliment me."

Without a word, Bai Qingxia furrowed her brow, swatted the letter back onto Lu Yuanqiu's side of the desk, pushed her study materials closer to the wall, and turned her back slightly toward him.