Joy

 　　The midday

　　sun was baking the patience of everyone on the sports field. Even the freshmen, full of excitement, were slowly starting to feel tired. Only one girl from the Theoretical Chemistry Class 3 was still tirelessly dancing to the music with her ribbons, leading her classmates in shouting encouragement as they ran. Unconsciously, everyone in the stands was drawn to her.
　　Xiao Yang also noticed this special girl, reluctantly putting on his headphones. Compared to the others who felt the excitement, he only felt annoyed. Actually, he had noticed her before; she always arrived early to reserve seats for public lectures. If he had to ask Xiao Yang what he thought of her, he could only say she was an enthusiastic girl. He quietly dozed off for a while, then heard the surrounding noise suddenly increase. He could barely make out that it was cheering for a girl named Qin Qiyue. However, their class's slogan was quite interesting: "Qiyue, Sparrow, soar to the sky!" They were indeed full of energy! The girl named Qin Qiyue was the only one who had been jumping around on the field earlier, and now she was running a relay, even overtaking others after falling behind by more than ten meters. Xiao Yang suddenly became curious about this girl.
　　The sports meet's purpose for the freshmen was to further unite this newly formed class, and clearly, this sports meet had perfectly fulfilled its mission. By the end of the holiday, all the students in the theoretical chemistry major had become close friends, and of course, the most talked-about topic was the eye-catching girl from the sports meet—Qin Qiyue from Class 3.
　　As soon as class ended, her roommate Song Rong grabbed Qin Qiyue and said, "Little Yueyue, do you know what? You're famous! My fellow townsman, the one who sat next to the top student in Class 4, asked me for your QQ number. Should I give it to him or not?"
　　"The one next to the top student? Who's the top student in Class 4?"
　　Clearly, their focus was different, but Rongrong, with her weak willpower, was easily swayed. "You don't know the top student in Class 4? You don't know who your enemy was who took first place in the English placement test? Come on, let me tell you, his name is Xiao Yang. Look ahead now, the one coming downstairs, the one in the black baseball uniform." Qin Qiyue followed the direction, and just then, Xiao Yang noticed her gaze and looked up. In that instant, Qin Qiyue decided, "Rongrong, believe me, the number one spot is mine, and he will be mine too!" From that day
　　on
　　, Qin Qiyue rushed into the classroom before Xiao Yang every day, followed him to the library after class, and always insisted on studying half an hour longer than him. That's how she spent her first semester of university.
　　On the day the final grades were released, Qin Qi was so nervous that she couldn't wait for the loading progress bar to load, constantly clicking refresh. To make matters worse, her internet connection was unreliable, so she bombarded her roommates' QQ with messages: "Rongrong, has Xiao Yang checked his grades yet? You have to tell me when he does!" "Hey beautiful, have you checked your grades yet? Please check for me, my internet speed is going crazy!" In the end, as the start of the semester approached, it was said that Xiao Yang hadn't checked his grades either.
　　Upon arriving at school, she eagerly dragged her suitcase into the class representative's dormitory. "Ziyun, please let me see the semester grade sheet first, considering how devout I am!"
　　"Yueyue, first place is definitely yours, calm down!"
　　Hearing this, she was about to leave excitedly when she heard Zhao Ziyun say, "Hmm~ but you seem to be second in the major ranking. The first place is a boy from Class 4, what's his name, Yang?" After
　　hearing this, Qin Qiyue gritted her teeth and angrily said, "I'm so angry, Ziyun, just you wait, I'll definitely crush him under my feet next time." Just saying it wasn't enough to vent her anger, so she stomped her foot hard on the ground, as if Xiao Yang had already turned into mincemeat.
　　Three.
　　Helping others seemed to have become a natural habit after the first time.
　　The teacher asked for experimental design proposals that everyone was interested in for open experiments, and the best ones would be selected for open experiments. While Qin Qiyue was frantically searching for papers, she received a picture from Xiao Yang, which was exactly the key step of the synthesis process she needed! Although she was very disdainful, she had no choice but to secretly borrow it when no one was looking. Seeing the radiant smile on the face of the girl not far away, Xiao Yang couldn't help but smile as well. Chen Yun, who was about to pack up and go back to the dormitory, teased him, "Bro, you're beaming! You've been flirting with all the beauties in Class 3 lately, which one have you set your sights on now?"
　　Xiao Yang turned and replied nonchalantly, "Are you sure there's a difference between the two?"
　　He then walked over to Qin Qiyue with a businesslike expression and said, "The academic affairs office is observing classes tomorrow, and the teacher wants you to sit in the back so the leaders can inspect."
　　Qin Qiyue was surprised that the person who had just texted her had suddenly appeared in front of her. By the time she realized what he had done, he had already left. Recalling what Xiao Yang had said, she felt a pang of annoyance. She was used to reserving seats in the front; he must be jealous and taking revenge! She didn't know that this was actually a case of using official business for personal gain.
　　Because the next day, she discovered that only she and Xiao Yang were in the last row, naturally becoming "deskmates." When she questioned Xiao Yang, he answered innocently without batting an eye, saying the teacher only mentioned her as well-behaved and academically gifted, not others, so he naturally couldn't think of anyone else who needed to sit in the back.
　　Hearing this, Qin Qiyue angrily grabbed her bag and stormed off, missing the smug look on the man's face behind her. Who told her to lament on social media about not having a deskmate back then?
　　Soon, most of university life was over. In the second semester of their junior year, while everyone was busy preparing for graduate school entrance exams or finding internships, Qin Qiyue was no exception. Unfortunately, she lacked mathematical talent and could only struggle with linear algebra every day. Seeing her constantly frowning and growing thinner, Xiao Yang couldn't bear it any longer and decided to tutor her himself.
　　However, when Xiao Yang sincerely expressed his goodwill, Qi Yue said unhappily, "Explaining problems is fine, but don't show off your intelligence in a roundabout way, and don't call me 'Sparrow,' and of course, I'll never call you 'Little Shower' again." Hearing that she not only wasn't grateful but also made conditions, Xiao Yang was both amused and exasperated; she was simply pushing her luck. He should have just ignored her. He wondered who was chasing after him with questions every final exam, and who was bothering him with all sorts of inexplicable reasons, attending various activities while he was busy with competitions. Why did she have to create trouble for him?

　　Graduation
　　season is also the annual campus breakup frenzy. Fortunately, Qin Qi Yue chose to pursue further studies at the same university. Plus, her grades were already good, though a little unbalanced in some subjects. She had been involved in various activities and organizations throughout the four years, allowing them to successfully avoid the typical 8 PM soap opera scenario. They wrote their graduation theses while waiting for their university admissions results, although neither of them confessed their feelings. Because their thesis topics were different, while Xiao Yang spent all his time in the lab, working himself to exhaustion, Qin Qiyue spent her time researching literature, conducting surveys, helping her supervisor process experimental data, and doing logistical support for Xiao Yang—a rather leisurely life.
　　As the Qingming Festival approached, Qin Qiyue, seeing Xiao Yang's near-breakdown state due to his perfectionism, couldn't bear it and secretly planned a trip for him to relax during the holiday. However, no matter how she hinted or suggested, the answer was always: "No time, the experiment is too important!" She decided to help Xiao Yang finish most of the work before the holiday, so she packed a sleeping bag and compressed biscuits and went to the lab, prepared for a long haul. When she excitedly rushed to the door, amidst the teasing and winking of her seniors, she reluctantly found Xiao Yang, only to see him being pulled away from the crowd by a girl, whispering to each other. Afterwards, Xiao Yang affectionately patted the girl's head, looking quite intimate. She had never heard of or seen any other girl with Xiao Yang before. Besides her, when had he ever been so intimate with another girl?! But pride made Qin Qi turn and leave, only to be secretly astonished: When did he, who had always been so reserved, become so cheerful?! He used to have "keep away" written all over his face!
　　Back in her dorm, Qin Qiyue reflected and realized that she had been the one bothering him all along. From her initial competitive spirit to her unknowingly falling for him, he had never expressed his feelings. She simply assumed they were already a couple, and there was no need to explicitly say it; Xiao Yang's behavior seemed to confirm it. Now, thinking back, he had never asked her to be his girlfriend. Reality was too ironic and too sudden. Rather than dwelling on it, she decided to use this trip to clear her head.
　　Xiao Yang, having finally finished his experiment before the holiday, suddenly realized Qin Qiyue hadn't contacted him in a long time. He dialed her number but couldn't get through. He rushed to her dorm, only to find the dorm supervisor saying Qin Qiyue had left with her suitcase two days ago. His heart pounded. Did she really think he hadn't been there for her? He had just wanted to finish his experiment quickly and didn't want her to worry about him. Suddenly, he remembered her childhood friend at the sports academy. After much searching, he found the boy's dorm, only to be told he had left two days ago. The day before yesterday, again the day before yesterday, he couldn't help but comfort himself, thinking maybe they were out having fun together and the signal was bad, which was why it had taken so long to get through. He dialed her childhood friend again, and she answered immediately: "Li Shao? This is Xiao Yang..." Before he could finish speaking, he heard a roar on the other end: "You fucking have the nerve to call? If anything happens to Yueyue, ten of you wouldn't be enough!" Then the phone was hung up.
　　Xiao Yang felt something was wrong. Thinking that they must have gone to the place Qin Qiyue had mentioned, he immediately rushed to the train station, constantly calling Li Shao along the way, only to have his calls repeatedly hung up. He felt an unprecedented fear suffocating him. When he finally arrived at the scenic area several hours later, the phone was finally answered: "Is this never going to end? What if Yueyue calls at the same time! You're just showing off because Yueyue likes you, aren't you? Let me tell you, she's only doing this out of pity. Can you get lost now?"
　　"Tell me what happened! She left without saying a word!"
　　"She's missing, are you satisfied now? There were so many people on the mountain, I only glanced down for a second, and she was gone. Her phone was off too..."
　　The call was disconnected again, and Xiao Yang had no choice but to run and search everywhere.
　　When he saw Qin Qiyue, her face streaked with tears and filled with terror, whom Li Shao had found, he knew he was wrong. Perhaps, he had liked her from a very long time ago, from seeing her energetic leaps, her unwavering determination despite her exhaustion, her calm and composed command in front of others...
　　The fear that had just overwhelmed him wasn't from responsibility, but from the fear of loneliness, and... losing her.
　　Li Shao grabbed Qin Qiyue with one hand and punched Xiao Yang with the other: "I used to think I was the root of all her nightmares, so from middle school to university, I never dared to appear in front of her, only dared to stand behind her. But now, I realize you're simply her bad luck! In that case, you, get out of her sight! The farther the better!"
　　"Okay, I just want you to tell me, what happened to her?"
　　"Then you should ask yourself why you made her come all this way! She went back to school early to do experiments despite having just had her tonsils removed, and when she picked you up in the rain, did you even care about her? And what did you do? You were flirting with other girls. Then go ahead and do it! What are you doing here now? See if she's pitiful enough. Let me tell you, from now on, I'll protect her, that's enough. Don't show your face again!"
　　He said that when Xiao Yang upset the whole team by refusing to participate in the sports meet, she ran out in the sweltering heat and bought ice cream for the whole team out of her own pocket to comfort them, resulting in her suffering from heatstroke and vomiting and diarrhea for a week. At that time, he thought she was just acting like a princess. When the college was selecting outstanding individuals for the city, she spoke well of him in the student union, used her connections to garner votes for him everywhere, and took him to participate in so many activities to accumulate extra points. When he wasn't a good student representative, she overheard the teacher's complaints while organizing materials in the office, and she volunteered to do the forms that were supposed to be done by him, resulting in her being locked out of the dormitory because she was too busy... Xiao Yang never knew about all her sacrifices.
　　Five
　　. Originally, Li Shao no longer trusted Xiao Yang, but seeing him tirelessly caring for Yueyue day and night, talking to her, and even the way he looked at her remarkably similar to him four years ago, or even earlier, Li Shao ultimately chose to let go. He found a job and returned to his hometown to hold onto his memories. Perhaps their fate should have ended four years ago when Li Shao's father had a car accident right before their eyes. Before leaving, he said: "At the beginning of my freshman year, Yueyue called me and told me that she saw a boy who looked a lot like her back then. He had a thick protective shell and seemed very lonely. She wanted to help him get out of that shell and believe in the world." At that time, he knew they would inevitably have a tangled relationship, after all, they were so alike.
　　Qin Qiyue unsurprisingly passed the postgraduate entrance exam and became a student of Dean Zheng, just like Xiao Yang.
　　From then on, the academically gifted couple could be seen at various chemistry department lectures and conferences. The boy was the object of many girls' infatuation because he always smiled gently, though only at the beautiful senior next to him. The senior always had a cold expression, but she also had many male admirers. The two became known as a beautiful couple in the chemistry department, and were the envy of many. Once, a senior who was with them asked, "Xiao Yang, it's been two years. You'll graduate next year. Even if you did something wrong, she should forgive you by now!" After a long silence, the warm-hearted senior replied, "Perhaps, I neglected her for too long before. Maybe she did many things for me that neither Li Shao nor I knew, and I haven't been able to repay her yet! When we're even one day, fate will turn her back into that chirping little sparrow. But it's fine now; it's my turn to annoy her, to experience how annoyed I was back then."