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Chen An often had dreams about the West Lake in Hangzhou. It was a place she had never visited, but her mother had loved that place, loved it to the point where she would rather spend her days by the water instead of returning home. Her mother wrote about the lake in her journal more often than she did about her university classes, the real reason she was in the city at all.

In those dreams, Chen An sometimes saw her mother, or a woman she assumed to be her mother, long sable hair obscuring her face.

She often had dreams about not being able to breathe, of gasping for air and only gulping down water. She would reach for her mother for help, but her mother would only stand there and stare down at her until the water swallowed her too.

Chen An would wake up right when her burning chest felt like it was going to snuff out, when her consciousness would begin to drift to peaceful blackness.

But, she didn't wake up this time. Indeed, this was not a dream. The words on the page were real. The diagnosis was real. The sick boy out there was real.

Chen An came to her senses and quickly put everything back to where she found it, even the dreadful expression she was sure had made its way onto her face.

When she returned to the living room, Li Jun Jie was awake, rubbing the remnants of sleep from his eyes groggily.

"I thought you left." His voice was hoarse but gentle, like an abandoned puppy waiting for its estranged owner.

"I was in the bathroom," Chen An lied. Before he could say anything else, she continued, trying futilely to control the rush of words from her mouth. "You're okay by yourself now, right? Mr. and Mrs. Li should be back soon. I have to go home now."

Gathering her backpack in her arms, Chen An rushed out of the door without meeting Li Jun Jie's confused eyes.

When the door to his apartment clicked shut behind her, all of the energy drained out of her body at once, and Chen An fell to the floor, dazed. She rested her head against the door, staring up at the familiar gold-plated numbers marking the apartment.

Numbness prickled at her skin, and Chen An thought then that this feeling must be worse than drowning. She was no stranger to illness; an illness of its own kind had taken away her mother. But, Li Jun Jie had always been his normal self. Yes, that was it, Chen An determined. She was afraid of losing the constancy of his nagging presence. After all, she always liked things just the way they were.

And so, Chen An kept things the way she liked. She decided to pretend like everything was just like it was before, as if she had never seen anything at all.

But, despite her resolve, her mind kept drifting to that paper, the words printed cruelly on the page with a certainty that was frightening.

"Don't you dare eat that." Lu Xi Xi's threatening voice shattered Chen An's thoughts. Lu Xi Xi glared at her; she had never looked this scary since Chen An knew her.

Chen An put the chocolate cookie that she had picked up mindlessly down on the table slowly in surrender. Lu Xi Xi brushed it off and placed it gingerly with the rest in the cellophane bag on her desk, tying it closed with a perfect pink ribbon.

Before Chen An could ask what they were for, Lu Xi Xi placed the package on Li Jun Jie's desk, accompanied by a "get well soon" note with a hesitantly drawn heart.

As if on cue, Li Jun Jie sauntered into the classroom, investigating the bag on his desk. Without a second glance, he held it out to Chen An. "You look cookies, don't you? Here, you'll like these much more than I will."

Chen An could already feel Lu Xi Xi's searing gaze on the back of her neck. "No, no, I couldn't possibly take such a personal gift," she refused profusely, swallowing down the awkward laughter that threatened to spill from her lips.

"Why not? You know I don't like sweets." Li Jun Jie shook the bag at her impatiently. "How about this? If you feel bad, we can make a trade."

"What trade?"

"I don't know." Li Jun Jie pushed the cookies onto her desk mid-sentence. "You buy me something to eat someday."

Taking her silence as agreement, Li Jun Jie turned away to his notebook, pretending to study the contents of the empty pages seriously.

Chen An looked at Lu Xi Xi sheepishly, but the latter turned away too, pouting dramatically at no one in particular. The opening bell rang, and Chen An wondered how in the world she got trapped between those two.

The sound of chatter in the hallway signified the arrival of lunchtime. Drawn by the commotion, the students rushed to finish their essays, turning them in to Mr. Wen before muttering half of a farewell and scurrying out the door.

As Chen An handed her papers to Mr. Wen, he said the words no student wants to hear. "Before you go to lunch, the principal wants to see you in her office."

Lu Xi Xi, who was waiting by the door, gave Chen An a sorry grimace and reluctantly left Chen An to fend for herself on the way to the principal's office.

The principal was a scary woman to say the least. She reminded Chen An of a lioness, with feline eyes and sharp nails like claws. On the days she would patrol the hallways, students would take the long way to class, weaving through the winding corridors just to avoid her wrath. Though she was the head of the school, the principal was like an enigma, known more by the mysterious portrait that adorned the school lobby rather than the person it depicted.

The thought of meeting her face-to-face sent a cold chill down Chen An's spine.

But, the first person Chen An saw in the principal's office was not the scary woman but Mrs. Li. The sight of her made Chen An's unease dissolve, and she took the seat beside her on the opposite side of the principal's desk.

"Hi, Mrs. Li," Chen An greeted her. "What are you doing here? I think Li Jun Jie went to the art classroom if you wanted to meet him."

"It's not that." Mrs. Li placed a warm hand on top of Chen An's.

Before she could explain, the principal walked into the room, her heels clacking cruelly against the tile. "Mrs. Li, Chen An, I'm glad both of you could make it."

The principal slid a manila folder across her desk. Chen An was afraid to open it, imagining some convicting evidence of rules she had never once broken. But, inside was a single sheet of paper, the word "contract" printed in bold at the top. She looked up at the principal, startled.

"Student Li Jun Jie has fallen ill and will require assistance in his academic and daily matters at school," the principal explained, leaning on a manicured claw to stare down Chen An from across the table. "Your teachers claim you are a remarkable student, and given that your classes align with Li Jun Jie's, we are asking you to help him."

Chen An shifted back in her seat instinctively, hoping that avoiding her gaze would remove the principal's piercing stare. This was almost worse than any punishment she had expected to receive. "I'm not close with Li Jun Jie," she attempted to come up with a half-convincing excuse. "I don't think I am capable of this job."

The principal leaned back, as if suddenly disinterested in tormenting the student. "If it's compensation you want, that will not be a problem. It will be no issue to get you into any university you desire."

This was what Chen An had worked for her whole life. Every exam she studied for, every paper she wrote, even every minute she practiced violin was all to be admitted to Zhejiang University. But, receiving a free ticket into the one thing she had wanted, had slaved for, her whole life left a foul taste in her mouth.

Before she could regret the consequences, she said decidedly, "I don't want any compensation. This is still something I don't think I can do."

Chen An felt like she swallowed a stone, and she stood quickly to leave the principal's office before it could weigh her down.

But, Mrs. Li's hand clung onto her arm in desperation. "Please, An An." Chen An could hear the tears welling up in her throat. "Jun Jie is very sick. If I could, I would be with him all the time to take care of him, but he insists on coming to school. Please help my boy. If it means anything, I will be indebted to you for the rest of my life."

Chen An froze mid-step. Mrs. Li had always been kind to her, filling in the places her mother had carelessly left behind. But, she was also very much like her son, a domineering and powerful businesswoman who commanded every room she entered. This was the first time she showed any weakness in front of Chen An.

Hearing her pleading cries, the stone in Chen An's stomach seemed to encase her heart, squeezing it tighter and tighter until she felt the need to gasp for air.

When she finally spoke, her voice came out weakly, as if she was out of breath. "Okay, I'll help Li Jun Jie."