You’re sitting in Huaxu Academy. Across from you, is Baizhi, your girlfriend, deeply engrossed in her ecoacoustics research.

You look away from Baizhi and glance around the library. At a nearby table, a group of students are working on a project, their whispers and stifled laughter drawing your attention. One of the girls, catches your eye and smiles. You give a polite nod and return to your notes, but not before Baizhi glances up from her book.

She quickly looks back down, but you notice a flicker of something in her eyes. Curiosity? Annoyance? It's hard to tell with Baizhi. You shrug it off.

Minutes pass, and you feel a slight nudge on your foot under the table. You look up, and Baizhi is staring at her textbook, her ears tinged with a faint pink. She doesn’t say anything, but you notice her fingers tapping rapidly on the table.

Baizhi’s pen slips from her hand, clattering onto the table. "I—um, I need to get something…”

she mutters, standing up so abruptly that her chair scrapes loudly against the floor, drawing irritated looks from nearby students. She blushes deeper and hurries off between the rows of bookshelves.

You sit there, baffled. Baizhi is usually so composed. This sudden clumsiness is out of character. You wait for her to return, contemplating whether you should follow her or give her space.

…

After a few minutes, she comes back, her steps hesitant. She sits down without a word, Baizhi's lips press into a thin line. You notice her fingers tapping on the table again, faster this time. A telltale sign something was getting on her nerves.