Agree

The leaves on the ginkgo tree outside of their classroom had begun to fall, covering everything in sight with a blanket of yellow. It was still warm enough to crack open the window, though many teachers preferred to keep them closed because of the draft that would blow the papers from their desks. If you were lucky, you could stretch a hand out of those windows and catch a cascading piece of the sun.

With the falling of the leaves, there was a change to Li Jun Jie that Chen An couldn't quite pinpoint. But, it made her uncomfortable nonetheless.

The boy who had once competed fiercely with her at every opportunity now seemed to have completely forfeited their lifelong rivalry and instead made a habit out of sleeping in class. Every time Chen An caught a glance of him in her periphery, she found him resting on his empty desk, not even going through the effort to pretend to have an open textbook, his hair turning copper from the light that reflected through the descending leaves. It was a curious thing, how the sunlight loved him so.

Most of their teachers paid him no mind, giving him a pitying glance every time their eyes scanned over his figure on his desk. It seemed they had all been informed of Li Jun Jie's illness and decided it would be best just to let him go.

But, their math teacher, Mrs. Wu, was no such woman.

"Li Jun Jie!" She slammed her textbook on his desk, causing the metal legs of the table to teeter in fear.

Li Jun Jie woke from his slumber and raised his head lazily to look up at her, unfazed by her sudden outburst.

His unapologetic expression caused Mrs. Wu's face to redden with anger, and Chen An wondered for a second whether she would explode like an overripe tomato. "If you have the audacity to sleep in my class, at least sit in the back row!" she shouted, spittle like tomato seeds flying from her lips and landing with a splat on the desk.

Without a word, Li Jun Jie grabbed his backpack still half-asleep and trudged to an empty seat near the back of the room, resting his head on the table once again.

In any normal circumstance, Chen An would have been glad at Li Jun Jie's sudden transformation: the one person getting in her way of the top rank in the senior class at Jinling High School was no longer her competition. But, this was no normal circumstance, and Chen An became more worried the more it seemed like worry left him.

The walk back to her home was peaceful, but her thoughts about what to do with Li Jun Jie ran much too fast for her to think of any solution. The blanket of fallen leaves that covered the sidewalk softened her footsteps, and Chen An swore she could hear the rare chirping of songbirds in the air.

Li Jun Jie walked leisurely ahead of her, and she sent silent curses at his back. Why did he have to make her job so hard?

But, no matter how difficult Li Jun Jie was being, Chen An had an agreement to uphold. And the first step in her carefully organized plan was to become his friend. She bound to his side, landing with a small hop next to him.

Startled by her sudden enthusiasm, Li Jun Jie took a small step back.

She managed the best smile she could, thinking about swinging an arm around his neck but decided she would be too tempted to strangle him. "Li Jun Jie! Do you want to revise together for the math exam?"

He looked at her strangely, appearing almost terrified. "Why are you smiling like that?"

"Like what?" Chen An continued to grimace, her eyes shifting awkwardly.

"I can tell you're not really smiling." Li Jun Jie poked a finger into her cheek. "When you smile, your dimple shows right here."

Chen An's face dropped, and she raised a hand up to rub at where his finger touched her cheek. "Do you want to study together or not?" Her normal aggravated tone when addressing Li Jun Jie returned, and he looked satisfied at its familiarity. "You know, Mrs. Wu is already unhappy with you. You should try to do your best on the upcoming exam to earn back some brownie points from her."

Li Jun Jie didn't say a word and instead drifted around the width of the sidewalk as if daydreaming, one moment balancing at its edge and the next bumping shoulders with Chen An.

When he neared her again, he asked, "Why are you pretending to be so nice to me all of a sudden?"

"Hmm?" Chen An gave an unknowing expression, though she was afraid Li Jun Jie could see right through her.

"Do you pity me too, An An?" Li Jun Jie laughed bitterly.

Chen An could feel her heartbeat quickening in her chest. She couldn't bear to fail her agreement this early on. "Why would I pity you?"

"I don't know," Li Jun Jie responded, seeming to drop his suspicions. "It seems like everyone does. Aren't you glad that I'm no longer competing with you?"

Trying to befriend him wasn't going to work, Chen An realized. She would have to change her strategy.

Chen An pointed a finger at Li Jun Jie's face, so close he became cross-eyed trying to focus on it. "Listen here, Li Jun Jie," she lectured. "Why should I be glad that you don't care anymore? Shouldn't I be more offended that you're giving up so easily?"

Li Jun Jie laughed, a laugh that filled his ribcage. "Okay, then. Your apartment or mine?"

Chen An stared at the paper in shock, and she knew her mouth must have been agape. Indeed, Li Jun Jie was none other than Li Jun Jie.

His practice exam for math lay in front of Chen An, every question answered correctly. "How... is this possible?"

Li Jun Jie leaned back in his chair, a smug smile beginning to grace his lips. "Not offended anymore, are you?"

The sun had begun its daily descent behind the city skyline, bathing Chen An's apartment in hues of orange. With his back to the window, Li Jun Jie seemed to glow, and Chen An seemed to truly wonder if the sun really favored him.

Yawning, Li Jun Jie returned Chen An's scored practice exam to her, a few questions circled in bright red pen. He stood up from the table, wandering into the kitchen as if it was his home. It might as well have been, given the uncountable number of times Chen An's grandmother had invited Mrs. Li and her family over to their home.

"Is Grandmother Chen still out of town? Do you have anything to eat?" Li Jun Jie began to rummage through the bare fridge.

"Ah." Chen An had forgotten about dinner as she often did while studying. Taking one last glance at the sheet incredulously, she walked to Li Jun Jie's side. "I can order something, but it'll take a little while to get here."

"No need," Li Jun Jie pulled out a few simple ingredients that Chen An had picked up at the grocery store while her grandmother was gone: an almost stale loaf of bread, half a jar of grape jelly, and the last two of her precious eggs.

Li Jun Jie began to cook, expertly pulling out pans and an assortment of tools from the cupboards. Chen An tried to peer over his shoulder while he worked to make sure nothing caught fire, but he shooed her away, setting her at the table to wait for his creation.

Chen An smiled to herself. It was unlike her idea of Li Jun Jie, who always had help around the house, to do things by himself.

After a long while of anticipation, Li Jun Jie approached the table with two steaming plates in his hands. "My specialty." Li Jun Jie served the plate with a flourish.

The bright purple jelly and the half-scrambled eggs shook as Chen An pulled the plate hesitantly toward her. Under Li Jun Jie's hopeful gaze, she took a bite, bracing herself for the attack on her tongue.

Chen An was suddenly assured. Li Jun Jie was indeed not good at everything. The concoction was so much worse than she could have ever imagined. The eggs tasted only of salt with a faint touch of a grape that seemed to have rolled its way into the chicken pen. She let the bite of toast in her mouth fall back onto the plate.

"Come on. Now, that's a bit harsh." Li Jun Jie chewed his serving slowly, his cheeks swelling like a hamster's. Perhaps Li Jun Jie's real talent was eating this monstrosity. "You don't want yours?"

Chen An pushed her plate towards him incredulously and watched as he ate the second slice. "How did you even come up with this?"

Li Jun Jie shrugged. "My parents are always out for business meetings. I had time and very little cooking skills as a kid."

"Seems like you still have no cooking skills," Chen An almost muttered under her breath. "Why don't you just go with them? I'm sure their steak dinners must be nice," she said aloud.

"I'm not interested in meeting their upper-end friends. They only approach me to get closer to my parents. I think I end up with more business cards than food in my stomach."

"But, don't you get lonely by yourself all the time?"

"I'm fine with it. I know my parents will be back to see me at the end of the day. It's like when Grandmother Chen is not around." He smiled. "We have that in common."

Chen An pondered for a moment. "I guess we do."