Even though it was time for class dismissal, the first-class classroom fell into a dead silence due to Lu Xingyan’s outburst.
The two girls dared not speak out their anger, nor did they dare to cry.
“Lu Xingyan!”
It was Shen Xingruo who turned and shouted, breaking the eerie quietude.
She didn’t say much, but her intention to stop was clear.
Lu Xingyan stood there silently for a moment, then suddenly kicked aside the books and stationery at his feet and walked back to his seat.
As he sat down, the bell for the next class rang.
The geography teacher strolled into the classroom, noticing the unusually quiet atmosphere in the class. He jokingly remarked, “What’s this, you’re all so well-behaved today. Have you turned over a new leaf?”
The students remained silent.
Siyue was nowhere to be seen, and he didn’t show up for the first ten minutes of class.
It was only when the geography teacher was energetically discussing atmospheric pressure that he entered the classroom.
Shen Xingruo lifted her gaze.
As if there was some kind of connection, He Siyue’s eyes also met hers in mid-air.
His gaze was somewhat complex.
Many people in this geography class were absent-minded.
As the class was about to end, Wang Youfu stood by the classroom door.
When the bell rang for dismissal, he entered the classroom, exchanged a few words with the geography teacher, then walked up to the podium and said, “Stay for a few minutes, everyone. I’m going to rearrange the seating.”
Lu Xingyan seemed to realize something as he glanced at Wang Youfu, then turned to look at Shen Xingruo.
“Wang Youfu,” Lu Xingyan began, “You go sit in Yu Min’s seat. Ruan Wen, you take Lu Xingyan’s spot, and Yu Min sits in Ruan Wen’s seat. Also, Li Chengfan, switch with Zhai Jiajing…”
As Wang Youfu arranged and gestured, he didn’t wait for the evening self-study; he instructed them to switch immediately, and it was fine to tidy up their bags later.
The other tables had all been rearranged, but Lu Xingyan remained seated.
Ruan Wen stood by nervously.
In the end, it was Shen Xingruo who gave him a push. “Get up, it’s okay.”
Shen Xingruo didn’t know why she added the words “it’s okay”, nor did she know what she was reassuring Lu Xingyan about.
Lu Xingyan didn’t understand either, but inexplicably, he felt less annoyed.
He was moved to Yu Min’s seat.
Yu Min was He Siyue’s deskmate.
In other words, Lu Xingyan was now desk mates with He Siyue.
As Lu Xingyan lazily got up from his seat, he openly unwrapped a piece of gum in front of Wang Youfu, then glanced at the podium.
He thought to himself, what a waste of effort.
Wang Youfu didn’t bother with him.
He continued to direct other students to switch seats as if nothing had happened.
Ten minutes later, most of the class had rearranged their desk mates.
Looking around, they suddenly realized that Wang Youfu had separated all the male-female desk pairs and replaced them with same-gender pairs.
His intentions were crystal clear.
Some girls privately joked, “Doesn’t Teacher Wang know that having same-gender desk mates is even riskier now?”
Another girl chuckled and glanced at Lu Xingyan and Shen Xingruo, whispering, “I guess he was spurred on by what happened this time.”
After finishing the seat rearrangement, Wang Youfu summarized a few words at the podium.
“I want to remind you all, that the college entrance exam is just a few terms away. You should focus on your studies at this stage and not waste energy on other matters.”
“I know you don’t like to hear these things, and you might not take them seriously, but you need to weigh them in your hearts.”
“I also need to remind everyone,” Wang Youfu continued, “that ultimately, you have to rely on your abilities to pass the college entrance exam. Being young, don’t just think about taking shortcuts. Bringing others down doesn’t guarantee your success. I hope we don’t have students like that in our class. If you hinder others, you hinder yourself as well.”
“Don’t feel unfair because of the recent school… various recommendations and endorsements are being announced. Those competition-endorsed students, it’s not just because they’re smart, it’s also luck. While you guys were having an easy time in freshman and sophomore years, they barely had any days off during Chinese New Year, spending every day practicing problems. Isn’t that so?”
“As long as you focus on your affairs and devote yourself to studying, you’ll achieve good results in the college entrance exam.”
“On that note, I have to commend Li Ting. Since last semester, she’s been making progress consistently. In this month’s exam, she even ranked in the top two hundred in the grade. If she keeps it up, who says she can’t score well in the college entrance exam? Everyone should learn from her.”
Li Ting, unexpectedly mentioned, responded with a hesitant “…”
After Wang Youfu lectured for more than ten minutes, he finally released the students for dinner.
Lu Xingyan, visibly impatient, leaned back in his chair for over ten minutes. Although he sat with He Siyue, he didn’t give him a single glance throughout.
As Wang Youfu’s lecture finally ended, Lu Xingyan intended to return to his desk and talk to Ruan Wen.
However, He Siyue was quicker than him. By the time Lu Xingyan stood up, He Siyue had already approached Shen Xingruo’s desk and said, “Shen Xingruo, I’d like to talk to you.”
Shen Xingruo nodded. “Then I’ll treat you to dinner.”
He Siyue replied, “I’ll treat you.”
“As desk mates, I happen to be short on cash for dinner. Why don’t we have a joint treat?” Shen Xingruo suggested.
Lu Xingyan, who had walked over at some point, casually draped his hand over He Siyue’s shoulder and joked.
He Siyue hesitated slightly. “I can lend you money.”
Lu Xingyan remained silent.
He Siyue turned to Shen Xingruo again. “I’d like to talk to you alone.”
Shen Xingruo hesitated.
“How about we go out and talk first? After we’re done, I’ll treat you to dinner,” He Siyue suggested.
After a moment of hesitation, Shen Xingruo nodded.
Since they had agreed, Lu Xingyan naturally couldn’t interfere any further. He watched as He Siyue and Shen Xingruo walked out one after the other.
As he thought about following to see what top-secret information He Siyue wanted to discuss privately, he also felt like eavesdropping on others’ conversations was unmanly. Leaning against the desk, he wrestled with his thoughts for two or three minutes. At the moment when his righteousness was about to suppress his wicked thoughts, Lu Xingyan suddenly remembered something — he had even stolen a kiss before, so why not eavesdrop? There was nothing he couldn’t do now. After all, he had no dignity left. With a clear conscience, he walked out.
As it was time for dismissal, the corridors and stairwells were bustling with people and other classrooms were being cleaned. He Siyue and Shen Xingruo went up to the rooftop.
In October, dusk arrived much earlier than in midsummer.
The distant gray-blue and orange-yellow colors merged like an ambiguous oil painting.
Shen Xingruo had nothing to exchange pleasantries about. Leaning against the railing, she glanced at the distant scenery for a while before getting straight to the point. “Class monitor, just say what you need to say.”
He Siyue was still considering how to start the conversation, but Shen Xingruo went straight to the point, saving him a lot of words.
At the same time, his self-blame increased.
“Shen Xingruo, I’m sorry.”
Shen Xingruo brushed aside the stray strands of hair blown by the wind and turned to look at him, saying nothing.
“To be honest, I’ve been feeling conflicted lately because… I heard about you and Lu Xingyan being in a relationship and living together when the school year started. On one hand, I didn’t believe you could do such a thing, but on the other hand, I also felt that you and Lu Xingyan…”
“I’m sorry for thinking like that about you.”
He lowered his head.
Shen Xingruo didn’t have much of a reaction to He Siyue’s conflicted and guilty emotions. She seized on one key point and asked, “You heard about it when the school year started? Who did you hear it from?”
He Siyue remembered the main point. “I wanted to talk to you about this… about you and Lu Xingyan living together, or, I mean, staying together. Did you tell Zhai Jiajing about it?”
“Zhai Jiajing told you?” Siyue nodded, feeling a bit embarrassed. He continued, “I didn’t mean to speculate on her intentions, but I’ve been thinking about it all day today, and I feel like something is off.”
“Because when the school year started, she told me that you and Lu Xingyan were in a relationship and living together. She even told me a bunch of things related to the principal’s endorsement. At the time, I found it a bit strange, but I didn’t think much of it. But today, I just…”
“Shen Xingruo, I did have some malicious speculations about you because of Zhai Jiajing’s words. I even thought that if you couldn’t get the principal’s endorsement, my chances would be much better. But I didn’t report this. Please believe me.”
Shen Xingruo glanced at him and said, “I believe you.”
“Thank you.” Siyue smiled briefly, but that smile didn’t last long. He continued, “But now, almost the entire grade knows about you and Lu Xingyan, and your endorsement…”
“That wasn’t my endorsement,” Shen Xingruo said calmly. “Last semester, Teacher Wang mentioned it to me. First, because I transferred to this school, and second, because I don’t need an endorsement to get into a good university. An endorsement only deducts points and doesn’t add to my score. It’s useless for me. So at that time, Teacher Wang hoped I would join the martial arts club.”
She glanced at He Siyue again. “Class monitor, do you know why Teacher Wang didn’t offer you the martial arts spot back then?”
She answered her question. “Because Teacher Wang told me that the endorsement for this semester would most likely go to you. You have excellent grades, a strong sense of responsibility, excellent organizational skills, and you participate in many extracurricular activities. It was almost a given that you would get the endorsement for the humanities class.”
He Siyue was taken aback.
When Lu Xingyan arrived at the rooftop, he didn’t hear their previous conversation. He only heard Shen Xingruo praising He Siyue, which instantly made him feel unsettled.
But He Siyue wasn’t finished yet. “I didn’t expect…”
“I always thought that the endorsement would be yours. You’re always ranked first in the grade, you have a good image and temperament, you’d pass the interview, your English is good, and you can even play the piano…”
Lu Xingyan couldn’t bear to listen any longer. Lazily, he said from a distance, “Are you guys done flattering each other? Are we going to eat or not?”
He wore a calm and composed expression, but inside, he was as nervous as can be. He couldn’t shake the feeling that if he didn’t intervene soon, He Siyue would end up meeting his future girlfriend!
Just as they were deep in conversation, Lu Xingyan interrupted them, and the atmosphere no longer felt conducive to continuing.
“Let’s go,” Shen Xingruo said quietly.
He Siyue hesitated for a moment before softly asking, “What’s the deal with Zhai Jiajing?”
“It’s nothing, I’ll handle it,” Shen Xingruo replied, her face betraying little emotion and her voice remaining calm.
But He Siyue caught a hint of meaning in the word “handle.” Perhaps there was an issue with Zhai Jiajing.
As the awkward trio shared dinner, Wang Youfu found himself busier than ever in the office due to Shen Xingruo and Lu Xingyan’s situation. After briefing the principal and the head of the grade level, he started contacting their parents.
Shen Guangyao was at an art exhibition when he received the call, feeling somewhat surprised but not showing any urgency to immediately rush off to break up the lovebirds.
Intellectuals always beat around the bush in their speech, and after listening for a while, Wang Youfu managed to catch one useful sentence: “Mr. Wang, I’ll get in touch with Xingruo.”
Lu Shan’s call was answered by his assistant, who informed Wang Youfu that Lu Dong was still in a meeting but suggested contacting Mrs. Lu if it was school-related.
Wang Youfu poured himself another cup of chrysanthemum tea and then called Pei Yue.
For some reason, after three or four phone calls, he felt that Pei Yue was the only one he could communicate with normally. Of course, that changed once he started explaining the situation—
On the other end of the line, there was the sound of mahjong tiles clacking, followed by Pei Yue’s startled voice, “Mr. Wang, what did you just say? Lu Xingyan and Ruoruo showing signs of romantic interest?!”
“No, Mrs. Lu, it’s just… I mean, it’s not like they’re showing signs of romance, it’s just at their age, it’s normal to develop feelings for each other, but given the current circumstances…”
Pei Yue interrupted directly, “Really? Mr. Wang, tell me exactly what signs you’ve noticed!”
Wang Youfu hesitated.
Why did this sound so festive?