Zuo Luohuan had been following Ji Xixiu’s son for a long time. At first, she just wanted to know Ji Xixiu’s whereabouts, but later, things gradually changed. Seeing him even for a moment each day brought her inexplicable joy.

Ji Yuezhi.

That was his name.

Zuo Luohuan would scramble to a spot under the tallest tree in the school, watching from afar as Ji Yuezhi sat writing in his classroom. He was so handsome, and his fingers were immaculate.

If only I could be friends with him.

Back then, the young Zuo Luohuan had only this one simple thought in her heart.

They were both in the same school and in the top classes, which weren’t far from each other. During that time, Zuo Luohuan even became enthusiastic about attending school and rarely skipped class.

She often passed by Ji Yuezhi’s classroom and, through the window, would see him sitting at his desk reading, his back perfectly straight. His small, fair face was dazzlingly beautiful.

After about half a semester of this, Zuo Luohuan finally took the first step. Finding an opportunity, she cornered Ji Yuezhi in a corner of the school and said forcefully, “Let’s be friends.”

It was her.

Ji Yuezhi recognized Zuo Luohuan at a glance. She was always the one making a public self-criticism on Mondays, yet her grades were often ranked alongside his. His father had told him she was General Zuo’s daughter and exceptionally talented.

She wanted to be friends with him?

Ji Yuezhi was a little curious.

He didn’t know if she had just been in a fight or had crawled out of some hole. Before Ji Yuezhi could figure it out, he saw people fighting in the distance behind Zuo Luohuan. They were his classmates.

Ji Yuezhi furrowed his handsome brow, glanced at Zuo Luohuan, and quickly walked away. He was a member of the disciplinary committee and was responsible for maintaining order when the gym teacher was absent.

By the time Ji Yuezhi had separated the two fighting classmates and went back to find Zuo Luohuan, he discovered she was already gone.

He ran into her at school several times and wanted to go up and speak to her, but she seemed to have no intention of paying him any mind.

Ji Yuezhi had always been sensitive to the emotions of others. He retracted the step he was about to take, but from then on, he started paying a little more attention to Zuo Luohuan.

They grew up year by year, and Ji Yuezhi gradually discovered that Zuo Luohuan often got into fights because those people always bullied the younger students. But when she made her self-criticisms, she would never mention this, only saying that she found those people disagreeable.

The Zuo family daughter’s reputation for being arrogant also began to spread from that time.

Sometimes, when Ji Yuezhi saw her laughing and having fun with the Jiang family’s only son, he would feel unhappy.

She was clearly the one who had come over and said she wanted to be friends with him, but then she ignored him.

In truth, he was filled with regret. He should have agreed before he left that day, or at least asked her to wait.

Later, during an autumn sports meet, he had participated in too many events scheduled too closely together. He collapsed from exhaustion on the field. When he woke up, he was on Zuo Luohuan’s back as she ran towards the nearest infirmary.

Ji Yuezhi lay quietly on her back, his consciousness not entirely clear. He thought to himself: They aren’t even friends, so why is she carrying me? But his hands holding onto Zuo Luohuan tightened.

Zuo Luohuan noticed and thought he was struggling. She turned her head to explain, “I’m taking you to the infirmary. We’ll be there soon.”

Ji Yuezhi pressed his lips together, listening to her speak and gazing at her side profile. The person she was now was completely different from the arrogant girl who stood on the podium making self-criticisms. She was incredibly gentle.

A subtle jealousy for Jiang Hong, who was able to be her friend, began to grow in his heart.

If they had become friends back then, would she always be like this with him?

Perhaps he could be a little more proactive.

After Zuo Luohuan placed Ji Yuezhi in the infirmary and had the doctor check on him, Ji Yuezhi planned to wait for the doctor to leave before proactively asking her if her offer still stood. But she had already left.

Ji Yuezhi sat in the infirmary with his eyes downcast. She must be a kind person, to friends, to bullied younger students she didn’t even know… That’s why she had taken the initiative to carry him here.

But he didn’t want this kind of generalized kindness.

Ji Yuezhi looked up at the window. He wanted her to be good only to him, for her heart and eyes to be filled with nothing but him.

Greed arises, love and desire are born.