On the first night back at school, the boys in the dormitory engaged in late-night chatter, with Shen Xingruo emerging as the undisputed leading lady.
“…She’s damn gorgeous! Today morning, Wang Youfu kept blabbering away during politics class. Normally, I’d be in bed early, you know, but I couldn’t sleep the whole darn period! Shen Xingruo was sitting diagonally in front of me, damn it! She’s truly intoxicating! Every time I glanced up, there she was, with that profile, unbelievable!”
“She might be a goddess, but don’t you guys think she’s a bit aloof? Seems like she’s not easy to approach and gives off a cold vibe.”
Bian He pushed his glasses and earnestly agreed, “Shen Xingruo might seem a bit distant. I feel like Zhai Jiajing is more approachable. With someone like Shen Xingruo, most guys just can’t keep up…”
Before Bian He finished speaking, Lu Xingyan emerged from the bathroom.
He was wearing a black T-shirt and sports shorts, just finished showering, his hair still wet, droplets trickling down his forehead.
His roommate, who had previously praised Shen Xingruo as a goddess, casually asked, “Hey, Yan Ge, what do you think of that transfer student today?”
“Not much,” Lu Xingyan replied without lifting an eyelid, toweling his hair as he walked out.
The door to the adjacent dormitory was closed, but the soundproofing wasn’t great, and voices could be heard clearly from inside. “…As you all know, Model UN speeches are all in English. Her spoken English is excellent, and her logic is clear, so I’m quite impressed.”
“He Siyue cut the act. It’s just because she’s good-looking that you’re impressed.”
He Siyue chuckled, then added, “Well, it’s not wrong. Shen Xingruo is quite eye-catching, but she did perform exceptionally well at that Model UN conference.”
The occupants of this dorm were all academic achievers, and the discussion quickly turned to where Shen Xingruo stood academically in the grade. They also incidentally agreed that Shen Xingruo’s looks were top-notch, ranking her among the top three in the entire school.
Lu Xingyan couldn’t understand why everyone was so fixated on Shen Xingruo. What’s so special about a peacock anyway? They couldn’t stop talking about it, always circling back to the Model UN conference.
At the mention of the “Model UN conference,” Lu Xingyan recalled Shen Xingruo’s expression from earlier in the day…
Though she showed no expression, it was as if her calm face was saying, “Oh, I knew it. You’re just an uncultured brat.”
Recalling this, Lu Xingyan’s mood soured.
As he approached Li Chengfan’s dorm, the door was slightly ajar, and he heard bursts of laughter from inside:
“Hahaha! Damn, you’ve got quite the imagination!”
“No, seriously, if her chest were two cup sizes bigger, the visual impact, the feel… But well, with Shen Xingruo’s looks, bros can handle it.”
“And you’re quite the saint for enduring it all,” Lu Xingyan suddenly pushed the door open.
“Hey, Young Master Lu,” the guy didn’t catch the undertone of his words, just raised his chin in greeting.
Lu Xingyan glanced at him, silent, and headed straight for Li Chengfan’s bed, emanating an aura of “I don’t know you.”
Li Chengfan wasn’t in the dorm, so Lu Xingyan found the charger he needed, took it, and left without saying a word. He felt Shen Xingruo was quite good at putting on airs, but he wasn’t particularly interested in hearing people discuss girls in a vulgar direction.
In the dorm, several guys exchanged confused looks, unsure where they had offended this young master, their minds filled with question marks.
The pace of Mingli’s teaching progressed quickly; all the new lessons for the first semester of the sophomore year were already covered. This semester started directly with the first round of reviews. Fortunately, the progress before in Huize No. 1 High School wasn’t slow either, with only two units left in history to be taught. Shen Xingruo was adapting to the new environment relatively well, considering that most classmates were friendly and kind, and the teachers were amiable.
However, there was one thing that bothered her a bit—what Shi Qin had mentioned about people coming to the class to watch Lu Xingyan seemed to be happening to her as well. She didn’t know what kind of rumors were spreading about her in the school, but in the first few days of school, there were always students from other classes peeking into the classroom through the front and back doors and windows.
Once, when she returned from the restroom, she overheard two boys discussing by the back door:
“Which one is Shen Xingruo?”
“I didn’t see anyone particularly pretty.”
She didn’t say anything, went to the office to ask about two questions, and returned to the classroom only when the class bell rang. Other than that, the first week of school passed relatively calmly.
On Friday at noon, Pei Yue called, saying that Lu Shan was free today and would pick her and Lu Xingyan up after school.
Before afternoon class, when she saw Lu Xingyan, Shen Xingruo intended to say something to him. However, his indifferent expression, one that seemed to say, “Though I see you, you’re no different from a trash can,” made Shen Xingruo decide against it.
The last class, which was supposed to be a class meeting, was changed to self-study. Shen Xingruo didn’t want to take her books home, so, during self-study, she finished her Chinese and history homework. Three minutes before the end of class, she started packing her bag.
But the class monitor in front suddenly turned around and said, “Shen Xingruo, after you finish cleaning today, could you please stay a bit longer? Because someone will come to inspect today.”
Wait a minute.
Cleaning duty.
Seeing Shen Xingruo’s expression, the class monitor thought she might not want to stay. Carefully, she asked, “Are you unable to stay?”
Shen Xingruo: “No, I can stay.”
Soon, the dismissal bell rang, and the students in the class naturally relaxed. Some stretched, some chatted, and others hurriedly packed their bags and dashed out of the classroom at the speed of a 50-meter sprint.
Outside the window, the honey-colored sunset cast a golden glow on the classroom desks. The sound of organizing textbooks and conversations mingled with the sound of chairs scraping against the floor, weaving together into the most unique concerto of the end of the school day.
Shen Xingruo walked to the back of the classroom and carefully reviewed the cleaning schedule that she had ignored countless times before:
Friday Cleaning:
Shen Xingruo – Groups 1 and 2 and the corridor;
Lu Xingyan – Groups 3 and 4 and the podium.
Whoever arranged the cleaning duties was undoubtedly a genius.
Shen Xingruo stood there for a few seconds, digesting the information, then messaged Pei Yue to inform her that they might be late by half an hour.
Pei Yue quickly responded with an “OK” gesture.
As Mingli required compulsory boarding, most students chose to go home for the weekend, so after school on Fridays, everyone left pretty quickly.
Shen Xingruo waited until almost everyone had left before grabbing a broom to start sweeping. But as she turned around, she saw Lu Xingyan with a basketball tucked under his arm, casually walking out with a few other guys, arm in arm. There were also a few boys from other classes outside, seemingly waiting for them.
“Lu Xingyan.”
Her voice sounded somewhat out of place in the now-empty classroom.
Lu Xingyan turned around, his gaze lazy. “What’s up?”
“We need to clean. You’re assigned to sweep Groups 3 and 4 and the podium. Someone is coming to inspect today.”
Before Lu Xingyan could respond, there was suddenly laughter outside the classroom:
“Haha! Lu Xingyan doing cleaning duty! Hahaha!”
“Are you kidding me?”
“Damn, hahaha!”
The phrase “doing cleaning duty” seemed unfamiliar to Lu Xingyan. He hesitated for a moment before walking over to look at the cleaning schedule.
Seeing Shen Xingruo still staring at him, he glanced at her dismissively. “We’re in the same group, so while you’re at it, just clean my area too. Thanks.”
Without giving Shen Xingruo a chance to refuse, he walked out with the group of guys in tow.
Before they disappeared from view, Shen Xingruo could still hear the boys teasing Lu Xingyan about the task.
He Siyue had gone to the teacher’s office and returned just in time to witness the scene.
“They’re like that. Don’t let it get to you,” he said gently, walking over to Shen Xingruo.
Shen Xingruo shook her head. “It’s fine.”
Every school had a group of people who excelled at nothing but squandering their time and money. She was no stranger to them.
“I’ll help you.”
He Siyue also grabbed a broom and helped her sweep the floor. Shen Xingruo thanked him without refusing. After all, with someone coming to inspect today, she couldn’t finish cleaning alone.
He Siyue worked efficiently. By the time Shen Xingruo finished sweeping the first group, he had already swept the front and back of the classroom, the corridor, and the other two groups.
He Siyue: “I’ll take care of the second group.”
Shen Xingruo: “It’s okay, I can handle it myself.”
After some thought, He Siyue nodded. “Alright, then I’ll change the trash bags.”
As Shen Xingruo swept intermittently, she glanced up and couldn’t help but wonder why all these sixteen or seventeen-year-old boys ended up so differently—some like He Siyue, while others like Lu Xingyan.
After finishing cleaning, they went to wash their hands in the restroom. On their way back to the classroom, He Siyue asked, “Are you going home today, since it’s Friday?”
Lu’s house could temporarily be considered her home, too.
Shen Xingruo replied with a simple “Hmm” and reciprocated, “How about you?”
“I’m going home too. We can leave together later.”
Shen Xingruo: “I need to stay a bit longer; someone is inspecting the cleanliness today.”
He Siyue: “No problem, I’ll wait for you.”
Shen Xingruo was about to say something else when Wang Youfu saw them and waved. “Hey, He Siyue, come to my office for a moment.”
Well, she didn’t have to refuse now.
Lu Xingyan had a knack for picking the right moment. As soon as the cleaning was done, he returned to the classroom. Seeing Shen Xingruo walking in while drying her hands, he took off the sweat-drenched headband and remarked, “Miss Shen, you’ve got quite the cleaning skills. Very neat.”
Shen Xingruo remained indifferent, giving him a sidelong glance without a word.
Lu Xingyan chuckled softly, leaned back in his chair, and leisurely unscrewed a bottle of mineral water.
Their classroom was the first one on the ground floor, so the cleanliness inspection was scheduled first.
After the routine inspection by the school cadres, Shen Xingruo slung her bag over her shoulder and stood up. As she passed by Lu Xingyan’s seat, she paused.
Lu Xingyan was taking a sip of water, leaning back in his chair with one hand on the backrest and the other holding the water bottle. His head tilted upward, fully exposing his neck, where the Adam’s apple moved distinctly up and down.
Suddenly, Shen Xingruo spoke up, “Out of respect for Aunt Pei and Uncle Lu, I won’t dwell on today’s matter with you. But please, have the self-awareness not to cause trouble for others in the future.”
Lu Xingyan found it somewhat amusing. He set down the water bottle, leaned against the backrest, and tilted his head slightly. “I haven’t even mentioned the basketball incident to you, yet you’re quite bold.”
“When the basketball nearly hit me, it was less than three centimeters away. You can’t even say sorry, yet you expect me to throw it back for you?” Shen Xingruo’s gaze was cold.
They locked eyes for three seconds before Lu Xingyan suddenly stood up. He was tall, and even in a slightly slouched posture, Shen Xingruo’s head couldn’t reach his nose tip. She could sense a faint smell of tobacco from him, likely from smoking.
Feeling uncomfortable, Shen Xingruo instinctively covered her nose and moved back a step.
Lu Xingyan stared at her, then leaned forward slightly. “What are you pretending for?”
Shen Xingruo remained silent.
“I’m tired just by looking at you.” Lu Xingyan lazily fished out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and slid out one, offering it to Shen Xingruo. “I won’t bother with the lighter.”
Confusion lingered in Shen Xingruo’s mind for three seconds before she recalled their first encounter and finally understood.
She looked at Lu Xingyan and suddenly asked, “Do you think lighters are only for lighting cigarettes?”
Lu Xingyan raised an eyebrow, neither confirming nor denying.
She lowered her eyelashes and pushed the cigarette back into the pack, her voice barely audible. “With a lighter, I could also light incense for your grave.”