“You Should Be on Your Knees with Gratitude”
It all started when girls from other classes would come to their classroom looking for Chen Luobai. Zhu Ran would watch from the back, laughing and teasing loudly.
“Chen Luobai, another girl’s here to ask you about math problems.”
The teasing was good-natured, and it even provided the girls with an excuse for their visits.
The girls from other classes didn’t get angry; they just blushed deeply.
Although those girls ultimately left empty-handed, the “asking about math problems” joke somehow spread like wildfire.
It started in their class, then spread to other classes, and eventually throughout the whole school. By then, whether due to embellishments or not, the phrase had taken on a different meaning.
“Can I ask you a math question?” suddenly replaced “I like you,” “Can we be together?” “Want to try dating?” and “The moonlight is beautiful tonight.” It became the new, unspoken way of confessing one’s feelings among No. 2 High School students.
A simple, ordinary sentence transformed into a secret, ambiguous expression of youthful emotions.
The key was that it was safe.
It was a question that left room for interpretation.
It was even “above board” enough to use if caught by a teacher.
The only ones who suffered were the students who genuinely needed help with math. They no longer dared to ask classmates of the opposite sex for help.
Even asking someone of the same sex wasn’t entirely “safe” anymore.
The “boys’ love” culture was already prevalent.
Girls being affectionate with each other was still fine, but when male seatmates occasionally forgot the new connotation and casually asked the question, they’d quickly realize their mistake. Before the girls, always eager for entertainment amidst the daily grind of studying, could turn to tease them, the boys would pull their desks apart, immediately establishing a “we’re just friends” distance.
As a result, the number of students directly asking math teachers for help reached unprecedented levels during this period.
This was especially noticeable in Class 2, where the joke originated.
The math teacher was utterly confused and finally couldn’t help but ask during a night study session: “What’s going on with you all lately?”
It was mid-November, with midterm exams starting the next day.
As autumn neared its end, temperatures in Nancheng had risen again. Daytime highs reached over 20°C, with nighttime temperatures in the teens. A cool autumn breeze drifted pleasantly through the windows.
Class 2’s math teacher was also their homeroom teacher, Gao Guohua, a middle-aged man who could seamlessly switch between being gentle and irascible.
After asking the question, he rubbed his receding hairline and eyed the little rascals suspiciously: “Your enthusiasm for math has been quite high lately. Why are so many of you coming to me with math questions?”
As soon as he finished speaking, the class erupted in laughter.
Some tried to hold it in, others chuckled, and a few burst out laughing.
Gao Guohua pointed at one of the loudest: “Zhu Ran, stand up. What’s so funny?”
Zhu Ran stood up, still clutching his stomach. He glanced at the young master next to him, tears of laughter in his eyes. After a few seconds, he said righteously, “Teacher, I’m just happy about our class’s unprecedented enthusiasm for learning. I think our class will not only maintain its position as first in the grade but also leave Class 1 several points behind in average scores.”
Gao Guohua felt something was off.
But after thinking it over, he couldn’t pinpoint what exactly was wrong.
He didn’t understand why they were laughing so hard.
Maybe there was a generation gap.
But Zhu Ran’s words pleased him, so he nodded: “Sit down.”
Just as Zhu Ran was about to sit, Gao Guohua saw someone effortlessly lift Zhu Ran’s chair and move it aside right in front of him.
Before Gao Guohua could warn him, Zhu Ran had already sat down on the floor.
“Chen Luobai, stand up.”
As soon as Gao Guohua spoke, most of the clueless students in the class immediately turned to look. Zhou Anran, pretending to follow the crowd, also turned to watch him.
“Why did you pull Zhu Ran’s chair away?”
From a moderate distance, Zhou Anran saw the boy still casually holding the “evidence” of his crime. The small mole on his wrist was blurred by the distance. He stood with a lazy, relaxed posture, the corner of his mouth slightly curved upward, as he casually glanced at Zhu Ran on the floor.
“Teacher, he was disturbing my math studies.”
Whether it was her imagination or not, Zhou Anran felt he emphasized the word “math” slightly.
Maybe it wasn’t just her, because the class suddenly burst into laughter again.
Gao Guohua, unaware that Zhu Ran was the instigator of everyone’s recent enthusiasm for math, was left even more confused by their laughter.
However, as a teacher, he naturally favored students with excellent grades. Moreover, Chen Luobai’s reason sounded quite legitimate, and he knew that Chen Luobai and Zhu Ran were good friends, so it was probably just playful banter.
In the end, he just pointed at Chen Luobai and said resignedly, “Sit down, and no more fooling around during self-study time.”
Zhu Ran stood up, rubbing his backside. He wasn’t really upset but pretended to look aggrieved as he said, “Teacher, you’re playing favorites. You should at least make him stand at the back for half a class period.”
Gao Guohua glanced at him, immediately seeing through his act: “You were laughing so loud the next class could probably hear you. Should I make you stand at the back for half a class period too?”
Zhu Ran made a zipping motion across his mouth, indicating he’d be quiet.
“Alright, alright, everyone focuses,” Gao Guohua said. “The midterms start tomorrow. If you don’t beat Class 1, I’ll settle accounts with all of you later.”
Zhou Anran turned back with everyone else.
But the boy’s smile from earlier seemed imprinted in her mind.
Her heart couldn’t calm down for a long time.
The weather remained nice during the two days of midterm exams.
The teachers at No. 2 High School graded quickly. As soon as the midterms ended, some subject scores would be available the next evening.
That afternoon, Zhou Anran and Yan Xingqian went off campus for dinner and then bought bubble tea together.
After returning to the classroom, Zhou Anran had just sat down for a few minutes when Sheng Xiaowen, the English class representative who sat in front of her, also returned to her seat.
Instead of sitting properly, Sheng Xiaowen turned around, resting her chin on Zhou Anran’s textbook, looking at her with a resentful expression.
Zhou Anran, holding her bubble tea, asked, “What’s wrong? Didn’t do well on the exam?”
Sheng Xiaowen replied, “I got 146.”
Zhou Anran blinked: “That’s great! You only lost 4 points. Why do you look so unhappy?”
Sheng Xiaowen’s gaze became even more resentful: “You got 147.”
Eh?
Zhou Anran was surprised.
Her English scores had always been in the top five of the class, and she knew she’d done well this time, but she hadn’t expected to score one point higher than Sheng Xiaowen.
Sheng Xiaowen continued, pretending to complain: “And then there’s that inhuman Chen Luobai, who got 149. You two are making me, the English class representative, lose face.”
Zhou Anran hadn’t expected to be mentioned together with Chen Luobai like this.
To be referred to as “you two” in the same sentence.
Even though there wasn’t a hint of romance in it, she felt happy.
Zhou Anran’s lips unconsciously curled into a smile, but seeing Sheng Xiaowen still looking dejected, she quickly suppressed it.
Sheng Xiaowen said, “If you did well, you should be happy. Don’t hold back on my account.”
Zhou Anran put down her bubble tea and comforted her: “You won first place in the city-wide speaking competition. That’s more impressive than any of us.”
Sheng Xiaowen cheered up easily: “That’s my only strong point. But Chen Luobai didn’t participate last time. I wanted to beat him… Oh well, I need to go check with the teacher to see if there are any other dark horses in our class who surpassed me.”
With that, she immediately stood up and rushed off.
Zhou Anran took another sip of her bubble tea.
It seemed especially sweet today.
Yan Xingqian leaned over from the side: “I overheard. You got second in the class for English, right? You can’t get away without treating us.”
“I’ll treat you to dinner tomorrow,” Zhou Anran replied, while involuntarily recalling Sheng Xiaowen’s earlier “you two” comment. She absently pulled out her English textbook.
Yan Xingqian looked puzzled: “Why are you still studying English? You’re already second in the class. Are you planning to surpass Chen Luobai too?”
Zhou Anran’s book-flipping motion paused briefly.
Surpass him?
It didn’t seem impossible.
If she surpassed him, would he at least notice her a little?
Lost in these thoughts, she didn’t immediately respond. Yan Xingqian seemed to have just been making conversation and changed the subject: “But Sheng Xiaowen is still a bit thin-skinned. What’s there to be embarrassed about being the class representative when you’re so good at English? Some people can’t beat Chen Luobai but are still happily serving as the math class representative.”
The “some people” referred to Dong Chen, who sat behind her.
Zhou Anran caught a glimpse of Dong Chen returning to his seat and quickly tugged at Yan Xingqian’s sleeve.
Yan Xingqian didn’t understand: “What’s wrong?”
Just then, a cold laugh came from behind: “At least I’m consistently second in the class for math. Some people only scored in the 120s for math this time but are still happily drinking bubble tea.”
Yan Xingqian whirled around to look at him, not even caring that she’d been caught talking behind someone’s back, and asked urgently, “Dong Chen, who are you saying only scored in the 120s?”
Dong Chen replied coldly, “Who else could it be? It’s certainly not Zhou Anran.”
Yan Xingqian turned back to Zhou Anran with a look of impending doom: “It’s over. My mom is going to lock away all my idol’s stuff in my room.”
Zhou Anran asked, “Why is Auntie suddenly locking away your idol’s things?”
“She said if I keep being obsessed with my idol, my math scores will keep dropping. She thinks my math scores might end up like my idol’s,” Yan Xingqian said. Once she started talking about her idol, there was no stopping her, and the topic quickly derailed. “I suspect she might like my idol too. How else would she know his math scores are average? My idol is already so amazing – he can sing, write lyrics, and compose music, he’s gentle, and he’s so handsome. His good points are countless.”
Perhaps because of Sheng Xiaowen’s earlier words, Zhou Anran was still thinking about a certain someone. She jokingly blurted out, “What, did God open a highway to heaven for your idol too?”
Yan Xingqian shook her head, cupping her face: “No, he is my heaven! My god! My everything!”
“My heaven, my god, my everything,” Dong Chen suddenly repeated her words in a mocking tone from behind. “Aren’t you embarrassed?”
“You want to die?” Yan Xingqian immediately grabbed her draft book from the desk and turned to hit him. “How dare you say my idol is embarrassing.”
Dong Chen quickly raised his hands to block: “You can say I’m thick-skinned, but I can’t say anything about you? Yan Xingqian, don’t think I won’t hit back just because you’re a girl.”
“Go ahead and try,” Yan Xingqian challenged.
These two sat in front and back of each other and argued every other day.
Zhou Anran was used to it. She casually picked up her bubble tea, but her gaze lingered deliberately on Chen Luobai’s empty seat.
Dong Chen had threatened to hit back but didn’t do it: “Zhou Anran, control your Yan Xingqian.”
Zhou Anran slowly took a sip of her bubble tea and shook her head with a smile: “I can’t. I don’t even dare say anything bad about her idol.”
Dong Chen looked at Yan Xingqian, his eyes seeming to hold a resigned smile: “Alright, alright, I was wrong. Your idol is my heaven, my god, my everything too. Happy now?”
Yan Xingqian finally stopped: “Hmph, good that you know better.”
The commotion finally subsided.
Zhou Anran took the opportunity to glance back again.
That seat was still empty.
She turned back to see Yan Xingqian rummaging in her desk drawer, eventually pulling out a pair of earphones.
“You’re going to listen to music?” Zhou Anran asked her. “Shouldn’t you do a few more math problems?”
Yan Xingqian replied: “No way, I need to listen to some music first to gather energy before facing the coming storm.”
Zhou Anran: “…”
“Want to listen?” Yan Xingqian offered her an earphone. “My mom might take away my earphones too.”
Zhou Anran laughed: “It won’t be that bad. I’ll help you plead with Auntie when we get home.”
She took the earphones anyway.
Just then, voices came from the front door of the classroom.
“I just laughed a little that day, and he deliberately pulled my chair away, making me fall,” It was Zhu Ran’s voice.
The response came from Zong Kai, a boy from Class 4 who was friends with them: “You caused such a fuss. It’s already good that he didn’t pin you down and beat you up.”
Then came the most familiar voice.
A voice tinged with laughter.
“Yeah, you should be on your knees with gratitude.”
Zhou Anran looked up to see Chen Luobai walking in through the front door, smiling.
The weather was too hot, so the boys had switched back to their summer uniforms. He had an orange-red basketball tucked under his arm, his black hair slightly damp against his forehead, his eyes deep and bright, wearing a clean, cheerful, youthful smile.
As if sensing her gaze, he suddenly looked up in her direction.
Zhou Anran quickly lowered her head, feeling guilty. She hastily stuffed the earphone into her ear, and music immediately filled her ears—
“How do you possess a rainbow? How do you embrace a summer breeze?”
The late autumn wind was as restless as if summer hadn’t passed.
And he seemed to be that summer breeze that had blown past her.
She could only feel it from near or far, unable to catch or embrace it.