He once said, "I will chase you a hundred times over."She smiled and looked back, "But I've never truly given up on you."Liu Ling Xi didn't know that Jiang Zhi Xian's love for her had never stopped.
Before reading:This is the story of 17-year-old Jiang Zhi Xian, who secretly admires his 22-year-old teacher Liu Ling Xi. In the early school chapters, the story is told from the boy's perspective. Later, through hard work, he enters the same chemistry program as her and finally gets noticed by her.
Before graduating as adults, there is no intimate content. The female lead, as a teacher, remains rational and restrained.
Note: This is not a purely sweet story. Early chapters of secret admiration may feel slightly bittersweet. Please read reasonably and understand the characters' identities and growth.
One-line summary: She is both a secret and a home.Theme: Study hard, be with the one you like
Seventeen-year-old Jiang Zhi Xian had never imagined that one day, because of one person, he would suddenly start looking forward to first-period chemistry.
—Lin Xian No.1 High School
The September wind carried a faint touch of coolness, yet still wrapped in the leftover warmth of summer.On the first day of school, the hallways buzzed, classrooms were noisy, and no one had settled down yet.
Class 2-A was chaotic as always—someone shouting about basketball, someone showing off new headphones bought over the summer, and someone sleeping on the desk.
Jiang Zhi Xian belonged to the last group.
He lazily used his jacket as a pillow, half his face buried in his arm.Earphone wires peeked out from his sleeve.His eyelids were heavy, clearly not planning to pay attention.
Just then, a clear voice sounded from the podium:
"Class, please be quiet."
The voice wasn't loud, but it fell like a pebble into a lake—instantly calming the restless ripples.
Jiang Zhi Xian hadn't planned to look up, but the voice was different.Clear, a little sharp, yet irresistibly pleasant.
He reluctantly opened his eyes—and froze.
A young female teacher stood at the podium.
She wore a light blouse, sleeves neat, hair falling smoothly over her shoulders.Her eyes were bright as she smiled and wrote her name on the board.When the chalk moved across the surface, her wrist was slender, movements clean and precise.
Liu Ling Xi.
"I'm your new chemistry teacher," she said gently."I'll be teaching your classes from now on. I hope we get along well."
Someone whispered,"Teacher, you look so young… did you just graduate?"
Laughter spread across the room.
Liu Ling Xi wasn't upset. She simply smiled, her tone light and warm."Yes, I did just finish university.So I guess I am young.Please take care of me from now on."
When she spoke, her eyes shone—like early-autumn sunlight, warm but not blinding.
Jiang Zhi Xian stared blankly, his breath slowing for half a beat.
Class continued.
Liu Ling Xi wrote formulas on the board.Her handwriting was neat and beautiful, quiet and restrained—just like her.Whenever she reached an important point, she would glance back, checking whether everyone understood.
Jiang Zhi Xian had always been unfocused in class, but now he watched her every movement.Even the soft "tap tap" of chalk made his heart beat faster.
"Would anyone like to try this question on the board?" she asked softly.
The class erupted; no one raised a hand.
She waited a moment, smiling."Then I'll pick someone…"
Her gaze swept the room.Jiang Zhi Xian tensed instinctively, feeling like her eyes brushed across him.
But she pointed at a girl in the front row instead.
He silently let out a breath—relieved, yet oddly disappointed.
"Chemistry isn't about memorizing," she said."It's a way of understanding the world through rules."
She turned and smiled at the class.
His best friend, Lu Sheng Qi, whispered,"She's so gentle…"
Jiang Zhi Xian heard him but didn't answer.He lowered his head and flipped open his textbook.When his fingers brushed the wrinkled periodic table tucked inside, a strange feeling rose in his chest.
He wanted to listen seriously.
When the bell rang, the classroom erupted into noise again.
Liu Ling Xi packed her materials, looked at the class, and smiled with her eyes curved."Thank you for cooperating in the first lesson.I know exams are coming and everyone feels pressured…but I hope I can help you like chemistry a little more.Keep it up."
Then she left with her materials.
Jiang Zhi Xian stared at her disappearing figure until she vanished around the hallway corner.
The wind blew through the window, lifting a few pages on his desk.
He stared at the empty podium, feeling something tight—but also warm—inside his chest.
At that moment, he thought the wind felt gentler than usual.But even so, it still wasn't as gentle as the look in her eyes.
He didn't yet know that a deep secret had already been planted in his heart.
When he got home, Jiang Zhi Xian found the house unusually quiet.His father, stepmother, and younger stepbrother had left for a trip to Vietnam that morning and hadn't returned yet.
The entire house was so still that he could hear his own breathing, almost the faint movement of air slipping through the curtains.
He didn't feel lonely—he was used to this.
He changed his shoes, walked into his room, and took out his calculus books and exercises, starting on the hardest problems.
The pen glided over the paper, leaving neat numbers and formulas behind, and his mind seemed as orderly as the equations themselves.Unnoticed, his desk became cluttered with sheets full of scribbled numbers.
Time passed quietly as he worked, and the light outside gradually turned a warm orange.
It was six in the evening when he finally closed his books, put on his sneakers, and headed down to the open-air basketball court.
The summer wind carried warmth and the glow of the setting sun.The court echoed with the sounds of sneakers scraping the ground, nets swishing, and occasional shouts—a soundtrack of his youth.
"Hey, handsome Jiang, why are you in the mood to drag me out for a game today?"Lu Sheng Qi dribbled the ball and teased him, eyes sparkling.
Jiang Zhi Xian didn't tease back as usual. He simply said,"I was thinking about my mom. I'm afraid she'd worry if I only focus on studying and forget to take care of myself."
Lu Sheng Qi paused for a moment, remembering,"Oh right, it's Auntie's birthday today."Then he went back to his usual joking tone,"Come on, let's see if you can keep up with me today."
On the court, they passed the ball, fast breaks, drives, defenses—every dribble and jump made sweat slide down his sharp jawline.
Before the final whistle, he caught a pass, leapt, and made a perfect shot—the net swished crisply, freezing the moment in time.
After scoring, he bumped chests with his teammate, shouting, eyes ignited with fire.
On the sidelines, the sunset painted their young, powerful silhouettes across the ground.
He felt the trust between friends, the challenge of rivals, and the breeze brushing his face.Sweat and breath blended into the rhythm of this evening.
After the game, Jiang Zhi Xian felt as if he had shed the weight of the day.The wind blew gently across the court, carrying the warmth of the sunset—and sweeping away the heaviness in his chest.
He looked up at the sky. The fading light stretched his shoulders, and the sweat glistened warmly in the sun.Today, he felt a mix of longing and warmth—a sense that even his mother, perhaps looking down from above, could see him smiling sincerely.
At ten o'clock, Jiang Zhi Xian opened his pale-blue notebook and wrote,"Today, I met someone as gentle as the wind."
He closed the notebook, sitting for a while, when a sudden thought came to him.
Today was his mother's birthday.
Slowly, he stood, quietly pushed open his bedroom door, and stepped into the living room.Then through the sliding glass doors outside—night air immediately wrapped around him, cool enough to make him inhale sharply, yet it calmed his heart.
The balcony was small, the railing old with chipped paint in a few spots.He leaned against it, looking up at the sky.
This night sky had been familiar since his childhood.The year his mother passed away, he was still very young. That night, he cried so hard he could barely breathe.His mother, on her sickbed, gently stroked his head and said her last complete words to him:
"Zhi Xian, if you ever miss me, just look up at the sky.The brightest star… that's me.I'll always be watching over you from there."
Since then, every year on this day, he would come and look at the stars.
Jiang Zhi Xian's fingers lightly tapped on the cold railing, and he spoke softly, as if afraid of disturbing the night wind:
"Mom… happy birthday."
His voice was soft, yet sincere, like a vow.
"This year… I've been doing okay."
He paused, gathering the scattered emotions in his heart,"Studying is going well, my temper is about the same as before, and I haven't embarrassed you."
The wind brushed past his ears, as if comforting him, and his breathing slowed.
"I met a teacher today," he said, his tone softening involuntarily,"She… is very gentle. Just like you."
The night was quiet, yet saying this felt like letting a day-long flutter in his heart finally find a place.
"I'll keep trying my best."
Jiang Zhi Xian pressed his lips together, still staring at the star that shone as if it could pierce the night."Don't worry about me. I'm really… doing fine."
The wind ruffled a few stray hairs across his forehead.The stars twinkled, almost as if responding.
He stayed there silently for a long while, until his neck ached.Then he exhaled softly, hiding all his emotions inside, just as always, keeping his vulnerability perfectly tucked away.
As he closed the balcony door, he whispered again:"Mom, today… I met someone as gentle as the wind."
For the first time, he wanted to become a better person for someone.Just as his mother had always wished.