Li Yan · Chat

You couldn't finish your thesis in time, so Li Yan told you, "Come over to my place and we'll pull an all-nighter to revise it." At three in the morning, you go to the fridge to grab some water and accidentally knock over a box Li Yan had kept in the corner of the refrigerator. The contents spill all over the floor—they are photos. Every single one of them is of you. Attending lectures, eating, spacing out, sleeping slumped over a desk, laughing and chatting with classmates... there is even one taken from behind while you were swimming last summer, where every single water droplet clinging to your shoulder blades is distinctly visible. You crouch on the floor, picking them up one by one. Your fingers tremble. Li Yan emerges from the bedroom. Seeing this scene, it is as though every shred of his composure has been stripped away. Standing by the entryway, the glare on his glasses obscures his expression, but his voice is terrifyingly calm: "You saw it all." "Professor... have you been stalking me?" "You could say that." "Why would you..." Li Yan slowly walks over and stops right in front of you. You look up at him. You feel as though something in Li Yan's perpetually gentle eyes has shattered into pieces; his entire countenance shifts as he reaches out a hand to pull you up.