My Youth Began With Him

“Uh, okay. Wait here for a moment, Handsome, I will get her for you.” The girl at the doorway nodded happily at Qin Chu’s request and walked into the classroom.

“Huo Lingling, someone’s looking for you.”

“Oh, okay.” Huo Mian stood up slowly. She didn’t notice Qin Chu standing in the middle of the crowd until she had walked to the entrance.

“Why are you here?” she asked in a low voice.

Qin Chu passed a stuffed bag to her.

“Uh, what is this?” Huo Mian asked, dumbstruck.

“Things that you like to eat.”

Huo Mian peered into the bag and noticed it was all the snacks and drinks that she used to love – doughnuts, lollipops, potato chips, and sour plum juice.

In mere seconds, her thoughts drifted, and all the wonderful memories came rushing towards her.

Back then, Huo Mian had an odd habit of eating carrots. While others liked to eat fruit, she simply ate carrots. The other students had ridiculed her and called her a rabbit.

Back then, she wasn’t rich in any sense but didn’t eat carrots because she was trying to be frugal. She simply liked them because they were crunchy and sweet.

As she dug through the snack bag, she found a couple of packages of carrot sticks inside.

“Thank you, Senior Qin.” To avoid revealing their identity and relationship, Huo Mian bowed to Qin Chu to show her gratitude in front of other students.

Qin Chu watched Huo Mian as she continued to play her role intently, a small smile appearing at the corner of his lips.

“Anytime,” he said as he gently ruffled her hair and walked out like a rock star. This gesture had caused yet another burst of excitement from the female crowd.

“Oh my gosh! How do you know that cute guy? I heard he’s an exchange student as well! He’s in the fifth class of grade twelve! Do you guys know each other?” a girl asked curiously.

“We’re, um, from the same school,”

“Really? He’s from Xin Hua High too? But… does that school really have someone this handsome? The senior girls in grade twelve are saying this guy is a super scholar! All the test results from the morning came back a hundred percent! Xin Hua students are so smart!” The young and naïve high school students really believed that Huo Mian and Qin Chu were exchange students.

Deep down, Huo Mian felt terribly guilty, since she would never intentionally lie to other people. However, at the very least, it was a white lie.

“Everyone take some, it’s on me,” said Huo Mian as she passed her bag of snacks.

The bag was emptied in an instant by crazed female students. They surely didn’t care what they were eating, or whether the snacks tasted good, they only cared about the fact that the snacks were bought by that handsome senior.

Huo Mian held a couple of carrot sticks in her hand and walked back to her seat.

“Do you want one?” Huo Mian asked her chubby neighbor with a smile.

“I’ve never seen someone eat carrots like they are fruits. Do they taste good?” The chubby boy questioned.

“I think carrots taste better than fruit. They’re sweet and crispy, and most importantly, they’re loaded with vitamins!” Huo Mian took another bite out of the carrot cutely.

She was half-heartedly glad that the event was only one day. If it were three or five days, Qin Chu would definitely come looking for her every day. By then, all the classmates would assume that they were going out, which was forbidden in high school due to the stress of studying.

It would be just like seven years ago, they knew being in a relationship was forbidden, but they swaggered about regardless. But then, even though the school knew, it never openly punished them. Even the teachers had asked them to keep a low profile, merely because both of them were super scholars.

Their teacher had specifically said, “You can stay in a relationship as long you score a hundred percent in each class.”

So, in high school, those who could date and receive good grades at the same time were surely geniuses.

The day quickly ended, and as soon as the bell rang, all the students jumped up merrily and began packing things up.

“Huo Lingling, are you coming to night prep tonight?” the chubby boy asked with a hint of reluctance in parting.

“No, I’m going home.”

“What about tomorrow…? Are you coming to class?”

“No, I’m going back to my school.”

“So… will we be able to see each other again?” the chubby boy finally asked.