I was born with a naturally sweet scent. When the transfer student—our campus beauty—arrived, she crinkled her nose and called it "artificial fragrance," saying it smelled terrible. My childhood friend sitting next to me immediately turned cold, frowning at me. "It is strong. Chloe, change seats." I was moved to the back row. Right next to the school's notorious bad boy. Later, the bad boy pinned me against the wall in the stairwell, inhaling deeply, when my childhood friend stumbled upon us. He crushed the soda can in his hand, eyes red with rage, gritting his teeth: "Chloe, I'm counting to three. Get your ass over here!" 1 I was born a little slow. My childhood friend, Liam, was a genius—top of our major. When I couldn't grasp a concept after he explained it several times, he'd say, "It's okay if little Chloe is a bit dumb. I'll just take care of you in the future." He never hid it. He said it loudly, like staking a claim. The whole class would look at us with暧昧 (ambiguous) grins: "Oooooh~" I'd flush with embarrassment, puffing out my cheeks. "Liam! I can learn it myself! I don't need you to take care of me!" Then I'd grab my notebook and study the wrong answers again and again. It was hard. But give me enough time, and I could learn anything! But the whole class had already mentally bound me and Liam together. So when Bella, the transfer student and campus beauty, appeared, tilting her chin arrogantly and tapping on Liam's desk to ask if she could sit next to him... Everyone looked at me and whispered. "Tsk, the way Liam looks at Bella isn't innocent. I bet he says yes." "Of course he will! Bella is gorgeous and smart. They did Math Olympiad together. What does Chloe have to compete with? Her big boobs?" "Hahahaha—" "Poor little childhood sweetheart is getting dumped by the academic god. She's gonna cry, isn't she?" My pen shook in my hand. Hearing the endless chatter, I couldn't help but hunch my shoulders. It felt like ants were crawling all over me. It was unbearable. I had reminded Liam not to reveal our childhood connection when we ended up in the same class. He was the one who insisted on binding us together. But I was the one getting mocked. Just because I was slow and he was a genius. Next to me, Liam slammed the table and stood up, glaring around the room. "Anyone else want to say something about Chloe? Try me!" The room went silent instantly. Bella, unsatisfied, hopped onto Liam's desk, her pale, slender legs dangling. She nudged his chest with her knee, impatient. "Liam, do you want me sitting next to you or not? I'm only asking this once." "Look, so many guys want me as their desk mate." She lifted her chin, gesturing to the eager boys around them. Liam stared at her long, pale legs for a moment, his Adam's apple bobbing. He smirked. "I already have a desk mate. Can't change." "But you can sit in front of me." 2 I have a natural sweet scent. Liam always liked to stick close to me. Even in class, he'd rest his head on my shoulder. My face would burn. I'd whisper, "Liam, the professor is watching." "Mmh, he turned around to write on the board." He'd move away quickly, acting like nothing happened. But after Bella transferred, everything changed. She sat in front of him, high ponytail exposing a slender neck that glowed under the fluorescent lights. Liam would often stare, dazed, chin in hand for the whole class. Every break, Bella would turn around to discuss problems with him. They got very close. Sometimes her long hair would brush against Liam's face. His ears would turn bright red. Walking home, he told me: "Girls like Bella are too loose. She relies on her looks to flirt with every guy. I don't like it. Our little Chloe is much better behaved." But when I encountered a difficult problem I couldn't solve after two days... I went to ask Liam during break. He stared blankly at the empty seat in front of him, pushing me away coldly. "You're so slow. Teaching you takes all afternoon. Other people need to ask me questions too. Can't you just Google it?" I tried Googling. I still didn't understand. I bit my lip. "Liam, I've been studying this for days. If you explain it, I'll definitely get it." "Just once. If I still don't get it, you don't have to teach me anymore..." Before I could finish, he shot out like an arrow from a bow. Straight toward the slender figure in the hallway. Bella wore a white blouse and a pleated skirt. The wind blew, lifting the hem slightly. Liam moved closer, blocking her completely from view. I stared at them blankly. Before my vision was blocked, I caught Bella's provocative glance. She did it on purpose. "Ooh, little childhood sweetheart gonna cry? Told you Liam likes Bella, you didn't believe me." "You're so dumb, what will you do without Liam?" "Why don't you sit with me? I'm third in the major, not much worse than Liam, right?" A hand reached out to pull me. Oscar stared straight at my chest, tone arrogant. I backed away, bumping into the corner of a desk. Just as I was trapped... A bottle of Coke smashed into him. Oscar howled in pain, clutching his hand and curling up on the floor. A tall, lean figure walked over from the back row, holding a jacket. His face was cold and gloomy. He kicked Oscar hard. "Move. You're blocking the way." Oscar scrambled away. I gulped, packing my things to leave too. Someone knocked on the desk with their knuckles. "Which problem can't you solve?" I froze, following the finger to see Jax's strikingly handsome face. "What... did you say?" Jax's ears turned red. He coughed lightly and repeated: "I asked, which problem can't you solve? I can teach you too." 3 Liam was number one in the major. Jax was number two. But Jax was a delinquent. Fights, skipping class, bad temper, and a scary little scar by his eye. Almost everyone was afraid of him. Including me. Usually, I'd detour around the back row to avoid him. But finals were in two weeks. I wanted to keep my GPA up for grad school recommendations. But I still couldn't solve the last big math problem. Liam wouldn't help me anymore. If I didn't learn it now, I'd run out of time. I steeled myself and followed Jax to the back row. He sat alone. plenty of space. I sat right next to him. Unexpectedly, Jax wasn't scary at all when teaching. His voice was like a gentle breeze and soft rain, pleasant to the ear, with zero impatience. And his teaching style was totally different from Liam's. Liam spoke fast. My brain would still be processing the previous step while he was on the next one. It made me dizzy. Jax deliberately slowed down, breaking the problem down step by step. Once through, and I understood ninety percent. I corrected the mistakes with a red pen. I looked up, smiling until my eyes curved. "Jax, I got it! Thank you!" Jax smirked. "You're welcome." I don't know if it was an illusion. But Jax's face seemed even redder. The tips of his ears looked like they were about to bleed. 4 The PE teacher was sick, so no Tai Chi. Free period. I went to the study hall alone. Liam was there. Um, and Jax was dazing in the back row. He didn't go play ball today! I gathered my other wrong answers, planning to take advantage of the opportunity to ask him more. But my hand was pinned down. "Little Chloe, which problem did you ask about at noon? I have time to teach you now." Liam, back to his usual slacker vibe, reached to flip through my notebook. I quickly held it down. "I already learned it. Go enjoy your free time." He paused. Looking at me suspiciously: "You learned it that fast? By yourself?" I wanted to say Jax taught me. But remembering his aloof, "stay away from me" vibe, I shook my head. What if everyone found out Jax was a good teacher and swarmed him? Disturbing him wouldn't be good. Plus, I had a little selfish wish. If Jax could teach only me forever... I could learn so many more problems! "Self-taught. I studied it for days, then suddenly it clicked." Liam scrutinized me. "Then I can help you with other problems." I shook my head vigorously. "I want to learn to solve them myself." Liam's hand on the notebook tightened, knuckles turning white. He stared at me for a while, then laughed coldly. "Chloe, think you're grown up now?" "If you're so capable, don't ask me anything ever again." "Don't get jealous when I teach others later." My face fell. That wouldn't work. Even though Jax taught better, we weren't close. What if he changed his mind and stopped teaching me? "Liam..." I tugged at Liam's shirt, trying to salvage the situation. Suddenly, a beautiful figure appeared at the classroom door. When she smiled, dimples appeared on her right cheek. Her small face was translucent white. She waved at Liam coquettishly. "Teacher asked me to help write exam questions, I'm swamped. Help me, please?" Her voice was sticky sweet. Liam immediately grabbed his jacket and walked out, skillfully draping it over her shoulders, frowning. "Stop wearing short skirts. The guys are staring." Bella tickled his chin, raising an eyebrow. "Dare to say you don't like it?" Liam smirked, not answering. Watching them leave. Surprisingly, my heart didn't ache anymore. Instead, I felt a trace of relief. After all, no rule says childhood sweethearts must end up together. I can find someone else too. I exhaled, taking my notebook and walking slowly to the back row. 5 I tentatively sat next to Jax. He didn't stop me. Yes! I opened my notebook, clasping my hands together. "Jax, you teach so well. Can you teach me again?" Jax stopped spinning his pen. Raised his eyes to glance at me. Lips curled slightly. "Treating me like free labor?" I froze, feeling like a bucket of cold water was dumped on me. Quickly wrote down my contact info. "I can Venmo you. Name your price." Jax put the note in his pocket, corner of his mouth lifting. "No money. I have a basketball game on Saturday. Just bring me water and cheer for me." I vaguely remembered Liam telling me he had a game too. And asking me to bring water and cheer. So I nodded. Delivering two is still delivering. Jax raised an eyebrow. "Only for me." I hesitated for a second, then nodded vigorously. The person helping with math is the boss. Besides, Bella would definitely bring water for Liam. I'll just deliver to Jax. Jax finally smiled widely. He pulled my notebook over. "Which one first?" Wind blew in from the window, lifting his slightly long hair, revealing a bright purple ear stud. It gave him a somewhat devilish look. I swallowed, blushing secretly. Suddenly, I felt that compared to Jax, Liam wasn't that handsome. Or that gentle. If only Jax would teach me math forever.
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