Li Xinya sat at her desk after class, biting her pen. Her diary lay open, filled with scribbled-out rules and frantic doodles.
"Ugh… Rule #5 was the worst. I wanted to be perfect, but Zhao Lin saw me at my clumsiest! And Yuxuan… he looked annoyed. I can't let that happen again. I need to prove I'm serious."
She jotted down:
Rule #6: Keep a little mystery. Don't let him know everything about you.
She smiled proudly. Yes! That way, he'll always be curious about me. No more embarrassing oversharing.
Lunchtime – The Courtyard
Xinya sat on the bench with her lunch when Zhao Lin plopped down beside her, flashing a grin.
"Alone today? Guess your boyfriend's busy."
She flinched. "H-he's just in class still. Don't get the wrong idea!"
Zhao Lin chuckled, leaning closer. "Relax. I'm not trying to steal you away… though, if I wanted to, I bet it wouldn't be hard."
Her face burned red. "W-what are you saying?!"
He glanced at the small pink notebook poking out of her bag. "What's that? Looks important."
Xinya quickly shoved it back inside. "It's nothing! Just—secret girl stuff!"
"Secret, huh?" Zhao Lin smirked. "Sounds like you're hiding something from your boyfriend."
Later – The Misunderstanding
When she finally found Yuxuan in the library, she noticed his expression was unusually cold. He closed his book without looking at her.
"…You were with Zhao Lin at lunch."
Xinya blinked, panicked. "Oh—y-yeah, but only because—"
"And you're hiding things from me?" His gaze dropped briefly to her bag where her notebook was tucked.
Her heart jumped. Oh no. Rule #6 backfired!
She waved her hands frantically. "N-no! It's not like that! It's just… something silly, not important at all!"
Yuxuan's jaw tightened. "If it's silly, why can't you tell me?"
The silence between them felt heavy. Xinya wanted to explain, but the words tangled in her throat.
At the doorway, Zhao Lin leaned casually against the frame, watching the scene unfold with a knowing smirk.
That night, Xinya hugged her diary to her chest, her eyes stinging with frustrated tears.
Rule #6: Keep a little mystery.(FAIL — mystery created distance instead of closeness.)New Rule: Don't let secrets become walls between us.
But deep down, she worried: What if Yuxuan really thinks I'm hiding something from him?