University life continued the way it always did.
Classes.
Assignments.
Group projects.
Late-night studying.
Eating together.
Walking back to dorms together.
Everything felt stable.
Too stable.
And sometimes, when things were too calm for too long, something small would happen.
Something very small.
But small things sometimes turned into big feelings.
It Started With a Message
One afternoon, Su Ran was waiting in the cafeteria.
She had already bought her drink and was sitting at their usual table.
She checked her phone.
Zhao Ming: Group project meeting, I'll be late.
Lin Yue: I'll come after class.
Jiang Chen: Busy today. You guys eat first.
She stared at his message for a few seconds.
Busy today.
That was all.
She typed:
Su Ran: Busy with what?
He replied a few minutes later:
Jiang Chen: Assignment with classmates.
She looked at the message again.
Then she typed:
Su Ran: Oh okay.
But for some reason, she felt a little annoyed.
She didn't even know why.
The Next Few Days
For the next few days, Jiang Chen was actually busy.
Group assignments.
Meetings.
Library work.
Presentations.
He still messaged her.
Still said good morning.
Still said good night.
But they didn't walk together as much that week.
Didn't eat together as much.
And Su Ran didn't like it.
She didn't say anything.
But she became quieter.
Zhao Ming Notices First
They were sitting in the cafeteria again, but Jiang Chen wasn't there yet.
Zhao Ming looked at Su Ran and said,
"You're quiet."
"I'm eating," she said.
"You are angry," he said.
"I'm not," she replied immediately.
Lin Yue looked at her carefully.
"You are," Lin Yue said calmly.
Su Ran sighed.
"I'm not angry," she said.
"I'm just… annoyed."
"Same thing," Zhao Ming said.
"It's not the same thing," she replied.
Lin Yue asked,
"Because of Jiang Chen?"
Su Ran didn't answer immediately.
Then she said quietly,
"He's been busy all week."
Zhao Ming blinked.
"That's why you're annoyed?"
"It's not just that," she said.
"It's just… we used to spend so much time together, and now suddenly he's always busy."
Lin Yue nodded slowly.
"That happens in university," she said.
"People get busy."
"I know," Su Ran said.
"I just don't like it."
Zhao Ming leaned back and said,
"You should just tell him."
"No," Su Ran said immediately.
"Why?" he asked.
"Because it sounds childish," she said.
Lin Yue said quietly,
"Sometimes childish things are actually important."
Su Ran didn't reply.
The Awkward Evening
That evening, Su Ran and Jiang Chen finally walked home together again.
But something felt slightly awkward.
Not big awkward.
Just quiet awkward.
He noticed it immediately.
"You're quiet," he said.
"You said that already," she replied.
"I say that every time you're quiet," he said.
She didn't reply.
They walked for a few more steps.
Then he stopped walking.
"Are you mad at me?" he asked directly.
She stopped too.
"I'm not mad," she said.
"You are," he said.
"I'm not mad," she repeated.
"I'm just annoyed."
He looked at her.
"Why?" he asked.
She hesitated.
Then she said,
"You've been busy all week."
He blinked.
"That's why?"
"Yes," she said.
"We barely talked. We barely walked together. We barely ate together."
He looked a little surprised.
"I told you I was busy," he said.
"I know," she said.
"But I still didn't like it."
He didn't know what to say for a few seconds.
Then he said quietly,
"I didn't know it bothered you that much."
She looked down slightly.
"I didn't want to say anything," she said.
"It sounded childish."
He sighed a little.
"It is a little childish," he said.
She looked up immediately.
"Wow."
"But," he continued,
"I'm also a little happy."
She looked confused.
"Why?"
"Because it means you actually notice when I'm not around," he said.
She didn't know what to say after that.
The Honest Conversation
They started walking again slowly.
"I'm not busy on purpose," he said.
"I just actually had a lot of work."
"I know," she said quietly.
"I'm not trying to avoid you," he added.
"I know that too," she said.
"Then why are you still annoyed?" he asked.
She thought for a moment, then said honestly,
"Because I like spending time with you. And when we suddenly don't spend time together, it feels strange."
He looked at her for a long moment.
Then he said quietly,
"Next time, I'll tell you earlier when I'm going to be very busy."
She nodded.
"And next time, I'll just tell you directly that I'm annoyed," she said.
"That would be helpful," he replied.
She smiled a little.
Back to Normal
When they reached her dorm building, she turned to him and said,
"So we're not fighting anymore?"
"We weren't really fighting," he said.
"We were having a small fight," she said.
"Very small," he agreed.
She smiled.
Then she stepped closer and hugged him.
"Okay," she said.
"I'm not annoyed anymore."
He smiled slightly and hugged her back.
"Good," he said.
Meanwhile…
At the same time, Zhao Ming and Lin Yue were walking back too.
"Do you think they solved it?" Zhao Ming asked.
"Yes," Lin Yue said.
"How do you know?" he asked.
"Because they are Jiang Chen and Su Ran," she replied.
Zhao Ming nodded.
"That's true," he said.
"They never fight for long."
Lin Yue looked at him and said,
"And what about us?"
Zhao Ming looked confused.
"What about us?"
She didn't answer.
She just walked ahead.
And Zhao Ming stood there for two seconds again, confused again,
before running after her again.
That night, Su Ran looked at the photo strip from the trip again before sleeping.
The last photo.
The one where she and Jiang Chen were looking at each other.
She smiled and thought,
Even if they had small fights,
Even if they got busy,
Even if things changed,
Some things probably wouldn't change.
Like the last row.
Like their group.
Like the way he looked at her when he thought she wasn't noticing.
She turned off the light and lay down.
And before falling asleep, she thought one last thing:
Growing up didn't mean people stopped having small fights.
It just meant they learned how to come back to each other after.