After distributing the art-science registration form, the head teacher said a few words and left the classroom. The class was clamorous. Students were worried about which stream they should choose.

A boy walked up to Xie Liao Liao with the form and asked loudly, “Monitor, when do we need to hand this in?”　

Xie Liao Liao, who was looking out the window, turned and repeated what she heard from Chen Qi Dong earlier, “Next Monday.”

“That’s late”, the boy mumbled, but did not say another word.
　　
Another boy leaned in, put his arm on the first boy’s shoulder and spoke lazily, “Didn’t I tell you not to call her ‘monitor’? She’s the ‘shorty’ of our class.”

Then, he turned to look at Xie Liao Liao, as if he was looking forward to seeing her mad or have any other reactions. However, Xie Liao Liao merely turned away in a calm manner. Propping up her chin, she looked at the basketball court outside and was again lost in her thoughts.

That boy found it uninteresting. He rubbed his nose and left.

Until the school ended, Xie Liao Liao did not say another word.

* * *

On the way out of the school, Xu Nian gave Xie Liao Liao a correction book. Seeing her so moody, she thought Xie Liao Liao was worried about the art-science registration form and asked, “What are you worried about? You scored well in mathematics and physics. You should definitely choose science stream. My mathematics sucked; I should go study Arts stream…”

Xie Liao Liao took the book and replied, “I’m not worried about that.”

“Then what is it?”

Xu Nian took a guess, “Is it because of Liao Chun Sheng? He talks nonsense, don’t bother him.”

Liao Chun Sheng was the boy who called Xie Liao Liao ‘shorty’ today, but it was not because of him.

Xie Liao Liao shook her head, holding her bag tight after putting the correction book within. She frowned and answered solemnly, “Yesterday during the physical examination, the sports teacher missed two milimeters when he recorded my height.”

Xu Nian just listened quietly.

Their school has physical examinations yearly to ensure the basic physical fitness of students.

Xie Liao Liao continued, “When I looked for the sports teacher, he said he’d already submitted the records and that it cannot be amended.”

Xu Nian couldn’t believe it, “That’s the reason?”

She was unhappy for the whole day because of that?!

“Is this really a trivial matter?” Xie Liao Liao asked indignantly. Her fair little face showed determination that cannot be denied. “155 meters and 157 meters are totally two different concepts.”

There was a moment of silence again. Xu Nian didn’t know how to console her. As the tallest person in class, who has always stood at the very back of the class during exercises, Xu Nian really couldn’t understand Xie Liao Liao’s pain of being one of the shortest people in class.

Strictly speaking, Xie Liao Liao wasn’t very short. 1.57 meters is slightly below average for people her age. However, with her petite build and delicate, youthful appearance, she looked much younger than her actual age. Not to mention that her shoulder length hair made her look more like a little girl from the neighbourhood- which made people want to hug her whenever they see her.

She couldn’t blame the boys in class for liking to tease her often. Having such a lovely and gentle appearance with a serious expression, teasing her was more enjoyable compared to teasing others.

As Xu Nian attempted to change the topic, there was a sudden loud cheering coming from the basketball court on their left.

There were two unknown classes in the middle of a basketball competition. One of the boys snatched the ball from his opponent, leaped and easily stretched his arms forward, and dunked--

A perfect three point shot!
　
“Hey beautiful!”, a student passing whistled at her.

Xie Liao Liao had no interest in such things to begin with. However, she could not tear her gaze from that tall, slender figure over at the basketball court.

The boy clapped his teammate’s hand and pulled up his T-shirt to dry off his hair. He raised his head and his smile was bright and unadulterated.

He was very tall; like a crane within a flock of chickens when he stood amongst the other sweaty boys. His chest and shoulders were broad and stood at about 185 meters. He was the one who made that shot just now. The competition had come to an end, and they won with a score of 79:31 at the last minute.

Someone handed him a bottle of water and he drank it without hesitation.

Sweat flowed down, along his cheeks. His neck was straight and smooth; like a beautiful crane.　

Xie Liao Liao had thought of that animal all of the sudden. Even when she watched him play basketball from her classroom earlier, his actions were both graceful and agile. Despite being a great distance away, she still got the sense that he was very tall.　

“Who’s that?”, Xiao Liao Liao asked- an abnormal behaviour for her considering that something like this usually does not pique her interest. 

Ming De Private High School has more than 60 classes. The first year students have 26 classes and there were more than a thousand students. Although Xie Liao Liao will never be able to know everyone, this person really stood out.

Xu Nian followed her gaze and understood. “Him? He’s class (12)’s transfer student called He Lin. I heard he originally studied at a top provincial high school.”

Xie Liao Liao turned her head, “A student from a top provincial high school transferred to ours?”

Their high school was also highly ranked, but was nothing compared to a top provincial high school. Who on Earth would give up on studying at a top provincial high school to transfer to a small private school?

Xu Nian wasn’t shocked at all; as if she already knew about it. “It’s not that big a deal. Some said that he was involved in a huge fight in that school. He had no choice but to come here to study as he was expelled.”

Xie Liao Liao did not say a word.
　　
“Otherwise, why would he suddenly transfer when the semester is ending soon?”　

Xie Liao Liao looked at the basketball court again, but the crowd had mostly dispersed. He Lin was with the other boys and they were walking towards the school building. When they walked past the girls, He Lin turned to look at them. His gaze was dark yet clear. Just as abruptly as he turned to look, he was already gone.

Xie Liao Liao didn’t notice his gaze because she was still shocked about what Xu Nian said.

Fighting incident? Expelled by the school authorities?

Someone who looked as good looking as him would also fight?

When she looked up again, He Lin was already long gone with his buddies, and had entered the school building. Xie Liao Liao kept her thoughts to herself and walked out of the school with Xu Nian.

* * * 

When she returned home, the living room was quiet, and only news broadcast could be heard. Xie Liao Liao’s father was sitting on the sofa, plucking the vegetables as he watched the television. When he heard the sound of Xie Liao Liao opening the door, he turned and asked: “Your classes have only just ended? Why did you return so late today?”

“The road condition was bad.” Xie Liao Liao took off her shoes and looked around. Her mother was nowhere to be seen. “Where’s Mom?”

“The Dragon Boat Festival is arriving in a few days’ time. Your Mom went to give the neighbours some *zongzi.”, Xie’s father replied.
*a glutinous rice and choice of filling wrapped in leaves and boiled

“Neighbours?”

“Yes. They moved in this morning- a woman with her son.”

Xie Liao Liao was slightly surprised.

The unit that Liao Liao’s family bought was in a newly built area. The environment was excellent and adjacent to the city and there were only two units on each floor. They moved in for almost half a year but no one seemed to have moved in next door. It was originally chosen by a rich boss for either his second or third “wife” to live in. However, they had quite a dispute with the developer and that rich boss didn’t buy it in the end. It was indeed a surprise to hear that someone has finally moved in.

But Xie Liao Liao didn’t care much about it. She just listened and took her bag into her room to start on her homework.

There were more than a dozen assignments given by the different subject teachers. She started with a Chinese assignment; writing down the classical poem from memory, “Looking up towards the vast expanse of the universe as it in turn watches us in its magnificence...”. Her pen had run out of ink. Upon verifying that she had no refill for her pen, Liao Liao took her purse and walked down stairs after informing her father.

There was a mini market below her unit. She could get anything there.

* * * 
Xie Liao Liao picked a box of refills and also bought a few new pens before returning.

The reforesting in this area is good- healthy, green grass and refreshing air.

Perhaps it was because there were not many residents here. So, many stray dogs and cats tend to come from time-to-time. Xie Liao Liao saw a cat hiding amongst the bushes of her block unit. Its tummy was round, as if it was pregnant. She squatted down to play with the cat for a while. She could only find some melted cotton candy in her pocket after looking everywhere. She tore off the wrapping and pushed it towards the cat.

The cat finished it in an instant by licking it with its tongue. Seeing it finish the cotton candy, she stood up with satisfaction. When she turned, she saw a person on a bicycle, watching her. It was He Lin. 

He Lin supported the weight of the stationary bicycle on one leg, while both of his hands held onto the handlebars. The upper part of his body was slightly bent towards the front and a basketball hung by a handlebar. The fluorescent yellow color of his bicycle was particularly bright and stunning under the sunset.

He seemed to have waited for quite some time. His dark brown eyes set on her. Watching her expressionlessly.

Xie Liao Liao was surprised and unconsciously took a step back.

This pathway was quite narrow. The leaves and branches of the bushes had occupied a large space. So, there was only enough space for two people to walk closely to each other; definitely not if one of them was on a bicycle.

Thinking that she was blocking him, Liao Liao stepped on the stones by the path with the cat to let him pass. But He Lin just continued to watch her quietly. Xie Liao Liao thought for a moment before deciding to take another step back. He Lin did not move at all.

Does he still want me to step back? she thought to herself.

If she continued to take a step backwards, she would be stepping onto the grass. So, she decided to put down the cat and turned to walk. The strange thing is that, when she moved, so did He Lin.　

He Lin was following her.

* * *

Xie Liao Liao was staying at Block A, Unit 4. She stood in front of the lift and saw He Lin walking coming with his bicycle. With a “ding”, the lift stopped and opened.

Both of them entered the lift, one after the other. Xie Liao Liao raised her hand to press the 19th floor of the lift’s button, then turned towards that boy next to her.

His hair was neither long nor short and he had a wide forehead. His nose was long and straight. The outlines of his face were distinct. He looked handsome.

Perhaps he was tired after the basketball match at school as his eyelids now were slightly lowered. He looked both casual and absent-minded. She couldn’t tell where he was looking.

Xie Liao Liao didn’t know when he moved in, nor remember there being such a person in the area.

She felt that something was off but didn’t know what exactly it was. However, when the lift was halfway up, she suddenly remembered that He Lin had not even pressed any floor button. Did he forget or is he doing this on purpose? she thought.

Remembering how he didn’t want to walk first earlier and only started trailing after her when she started walking, Liao Liao started to mull things over. Xie Liao Liao glared at him warily, but there was still no reaction from him.

When the lift reached the 19th floor and opened, Xie Liao Liao stepped out of the lift and He Lin followed behind. She stopped abruptly and turned, blocking his path.

He Lin was stuck between the lift with no way in or out. He lowered his head to look at the girl. He quickly understood the situation and thought of it as ridiculously funny. The edges of his mouth raised while his good-looking eyebrows smoothen, his voice was low yet pleasant to hear, “Are you worried that I’m stalking you?”

Xie Liao Liao did not reply but the answer was obvious from her facial expression.

You purposely waited only to follow me all the way back here. Did you think I wouldn’t know that no one is living next door? she thought sarcastically. Then there was a faint feeling that she had forgotten something but Liao Liao could not pinpoint what it was.

There was tension in the air.

Then, the lift started to shrill as it did not close in time. The door of the other unit suddenly opened, a gentle and beautiful woman wearing casual clothes stood at the door and smiled when she saw He Lin. 

“Ah Lin, you’re back.”

He Lin nodded.

Then, Xie Liao Liao’s mother came out from the neighbour’s unit as well and seemed quite surprised to see Xie Liao Liao and He Lin standing together in the hallway. “I was planning on introducing the both of you to each other, but you’ve both returned together.” Then she pulled Xie Liao Liao closer and said, “Liao Liao, these are our new neighbours. This is Aunt He and her son, He Lin. He’s three months older than you and is a first year student at Ming De Private High School as well.”

Xie Liao Liao just stood there; taking in everything that her mother was saying.

She raised her head, then raised it higher again, just to look at He Lin’s face.

At that very moment, Liao Liao was not shocked but was instead stumped.

How on Earth can someone who is only three months older than me grow so tall?!