The cold wind whistled across the Gobi Desert at night. Xing Wu, worried about her getting cold, held her hand and said, “Let’s go back.”

When they reached the motorcycle, he still didn’t want to let go of her hand. As Qing Ye turned to look at him, his kiss descended. Unlike their first passionate kiss in the alley, this time Xing Wu merely lowered his head and kissed her softly, yet it still left Qing Ye feeling somewhat flustered. Xing Wu picked up the small white helmet hanging nearby and put it on her. Qing Ye obediently lifted her head to look at him, her bright eyes sparkling as she suddenly asked, “Why did you run away that night after kissing me? I couldn’t sleep all night, thinking you might have gone crazy.”

A mischievous smile played on Xing Wu’s lips. It was the first time Qing Ye had seen such a roguishly handsome smile from him. She was momentarily stunned as she heard him say, “More or less, I did lose my mind for a moment.”

Qing Ye blinked and glared at him. “So you regretted it? That’s why you rushed off pretending nothing happened?”

Xing Wu fastened her helmet and patted her head. “I just wasn’t sure if getting involved with you would end up hurting you.”

Qing Ye tilted her head and smiled. “And now?”

Xing Wu mounted the motorcycle. “Now I know you have your immunity. Unless you want to hurt yourself, no one else can touch you.”

Qing Ye’s eyes curved into a smile as she sat behind him, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist and leaning against his sturdy back. Xing Wu glanced down at the delicate white hands at his waist, his lips curling upward as he turned the bike around.

On the way back, Qing Ye asked in high spirits, “Hey, didn’t you say you wouldn’t date someone from your backyard? Is your face hurting now, Young Master Wu?”

“You’re not from my backyard. You’re a peony from Beijing.”

“…Why a peony?”

“The most brilliant among all flowers.”

“…”

Qing Ye reached to pinch his abdomen but found she couldn’t. Xing Wu held the handlebar with one hand and grabbed hers with the other. “Can’t you keep your hands still? You’ll distract me and we’ll end up in a ditch.”

“Would you dare?”

Xing Wu answered honestly, “No, I wouldn’t. You’re our county’s hope, and I’m counting on this safety star student to help clear my disciplinary record from last semester.”

After a while, Xing Wu told her, “The Zhazha Pavilion is just ahead.”

Qing Ye sat up straight and released her hold.

As soon as the motorcycle stopped, Li Lanfang heard the sound and rushed out, shouting, “It’s almost dinner time, where did you two run off to?”

Qing Ye suddenly felt inexplicably guilty and looked at Xing Wu. He simply pushed her toward the house and told Li Lanfang, “Watching the sunset.”

“Watching your head! Didn’t I tell you to chop the ribs? By the time we get to drink the rib soup, it’ll all be cold…”

Hearing Li Lanfang’s grumbling, Qing Ye turned back and made a face at Xing Wu behind Li Lanfang’s back. Xing Wu lowered his head and smiled, unusually not talking back. When Li Lanfang saw Xing Wu smiling despite her scolding, she suddenly paused and stopped complaining, thinking any more would be foolish.

After dinner, Qing Ye went upstairs. The rib soup indeed wasn’t ready until evening. Xing Wu sat alone in the kitchen, playing games while watching the fire. When it was done, he brought a bowl upstairs to Qing Ye, saying, “Take a break and have some soup.”

Qing Ye pulled off her headphones and turned around to take them, but withdrew her hand. “It’s hot.”

Xing Wu held the bowl and blew on it for her. Qing Ye squinted at him. “Didn’t your mom’s money get… taken by your dad? How can she afford ribs?”

Xing Wu looked at her, and she said softly, “Did you give her money?”

He handed her the bowl again. “I don’t want you getting skinny.”

Qing Ye smiled as she took the bowl. “Oh? So you plan to keep me plump and fair?”

Xing Wu leaned against the bed, picking up his phone with a slight smile. “A bit plumper… tastes better.”

His eyes gleamed, and Qing Ye’s face turned strangely red.

At night, they each lay in their beds. Qing Ye pulled back a corner of the curtain to look at Xing Wu. The room was dark, and though his eyes were closed as he lay facing up, he seemed to sense her gaze. His voice came softly, “Why are you peeping at me?”

Qing Ye reached out her hand. “My hands are cold.”

Xing Wu opened his eyes and extended his large hand from under his blanket to hold hers. His hand was warm like a heating pad. They fell asleep holding hands across the walkway between their beds.

Qing Ye didn’t know when she fell asleep, but she suddenly understood – so this was what love’s sweet stink smelled like!

The next morning, before dawn, Xing Wu saw Qing Ye sitting on her bed lost in thought. He was startled, propped himself up, and asked, “Are you sleepwalking?”

Qing Ye said to him very seriously, “Everyone at school thinks we’re relatives, the kind with blood ties.”

Xing Wu had just woken up and his mind wasn’t entirely clear. He asked her, “And?”

“If people find out we’re together, won’t they think we’re being incestuous and immoral?”

“…”

So Qing Ye’s conclusion was to be careful. Today they couldn’t go to school together; she would go first. Xing Wu watched her retreating figure, suddenly finding her unexpected train of thought incredibly adorable. Well, of course, she had to be adorable – if his girlfriend wasn’t adorable, who would be?

When Qing Ye arrived at school, Shi Min was already there, having waited for her for quite a while. She nervously handed Qing Ye the problems she had worked on yesterday, saying, “Can you check if they’re correct?”

Qing Ye twirled a pen in one hand while holding the paper in the other, alternating between looking at the problems and Shi Min. Shi Min felt unnerved by her gaze. Qing Ye hadn’t expected Shi Min to solve these problems correctly; she just wanted to specifically gauge her level. What she discovered shocked her – this girl’s fundamental problem was her weak foundation. Many basic concepts hadn’t been properly understood from the start, and as time went on, learning became increasingly difficult, leaving her mind in a muddle.

Take English for example – she could even make mistakes with the most basic grammar. How could anyone reason with that?

Qing Ye wanted to tell her to give up, to stop studying, that maybe academics just weren’t meant for her, and she should consider doing something else.

But before she could say anything, Shi Min anxiously said, “Are there a lot of mistakes? Starting today there’s no evening study session either. I’m worried I won’t get into any school at this rate.”

Qing Ye, who never attended evening study sessions, asked in confusion, “Why no evening sessions?”

Shi Min told her that last week, a girl from Class 6 had fainted right after getting home from evening study. At the hospital, they said it was from exhaustion. Last night, her parents came to make trouble at school, saying they needed to reduce the students’ workload, and that keeping students so late every day was no different from physical punishment. They threatened to report it to the Education Bureau. Several parents went to the principal’s office last night, and the principal had to rush back to handle it. The parents said if there were evening sessions today, they would report the teachers directly, so starting today, evening study sessions were suspended.

After hearing this, Qing Ye found it very strange. At this point, with An Zhong’s already relaxed management system, it was remarkable they hadn’t increased the workload, yet surprisingly, a group of parents were calling for reducing it. Even more surprisingly, other parents had no objections. If this were any other school, parents who cared about their children’s education would surely stand up and protest collectively.

But at An Zhong, everything was harmonious. The school leadership and parents quickly reached an agreement to suspend evening study sessions.

Shi Min anxiously drew circles in her notebook, muttering, “I’m finished now. What will I do if I can’t get into college…”

Qing Ye looked sideways at her notebook. She had noticed many times that whenever Shi Min spaced out, she would draw circles in her notebook, one after another, making Qing Ye’s scalp tingle.

She couldn’t help but ask, “What happens if you don’t get into college?”

Shi Min stopped writing and looked up at her, hesitating for a moment before leaning close and lowering her voice, “Don’t tell anyone else.”

Qing Ye nodded and heard Shi Min whisper, “My family says if I don’t get into college, they’ll either send me to work at the factory in the east of the county or marry me off.”

“Marriage? How old are you?” Qing Ye was somewhat shocked.

Shi Min said worriedly, “My father’s leg isn’t good so he can’t do hard work for money, and I have a younger brother who’s only in primary school. If I don’t get into college, I’ll have to go out and earn money. If I don’t want to work, I’ll have to marry someone with decent conditions.”

As she spoke, she started drawing circles again. When Qing Ye’s gaze fell on her notebook once more, she suddenly felt those circles looked like inescapable cages, giving her an eerie feeling.

She never imagined that this ordinary deskmate was in a situation similar to her own, both pinning their hopes on this college entrance exam to escape their current fate. It seemed like this was their chance to turn their lives around – success meant taking control of their destiny, and failure meant passively accepting whatever came their way.

Qing Ye stared at Shi Min for a while, then suddenly said, “Starting today, you might as well not listen in class.”

Shi Min immediately looked distressed. “Is there no hope for me?”

Qing Ye patted her. “Call me Sister and I’ll help you.”

“Sister.”

Qing Ye was startled – she had just been joking, but this girl called her so earnestly that she felt somewhat embarrassed. She cleared her throat and said, “When I tell you not to listen, I mean don’t waste time on things you don’t understand. It’s like building a house – how can you build a hundred stories if the foundation isn’t solid? Let’s work on the foundation first. Since we don’t have evening study sessions anymore, hang out with me after school today.”

Shi Min’s eyes suddenly lit up behind her glasses, as if seeing a lifeline, but then she worriedly said, “But won’t that waste your time?”

Qing Ye said casually, “It won’t waste anything. I have to study anyway.”

Shi Min suddenly became so moved she almost cried, clutching Qing Ye’s arm excitedly, “Qing Ye, you’re so kind.”

Heh, Qing Ye awkwardly pulled her arm away, feeling somewhat uncomfortable with this sudden enthusiasm.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Xing Wu coming up. Someone from Class 3 called out to him, and he stopped in the corridor to talk with two boys. As if sensing Qing Ye’s gaze, he casually glanced her way, his lips curving in a subtle smile. Although others couldn’t notice anything unusual, this kind of look that only they understood made Qing Ye’s heart suddenly start beating faster.

The class bell rang, and Xing Wu finally walked in through the back door. Just as he sat down, Qing Ye felt her hair being tugged. She leaned back in her chair, and Xing Wu placed something on her shoulder. Qing Ye felt warmth on her shoulder and turned her head to find a cup of hot milk tea. She took it naturally, and her gaze met Shi Min’s shocked expression. For a moment… she didn’t know what to say, so she simply said nothing.

After class, Qing Ye turned back. Xing Wu had been watching videos but looked up when he sensed her movement. Qing Ye used her eyes to gesture outside, indicating for him to go out. Then, like a secret agents meeting, she left the classroom first and walked around to wait for him behind the music teacher’s office.