The midterm exams lasted three days. Since it was a joint examination among nine schools, the papers were submitted for review and graded uniformly, making the results much slower than usual. Even after all the subject teachers had gone through the test papers, the scores still hadn’t been released.

The Chinese language composition topic for this exam was about maternal love.

A very common yet difficult topic to write brilliantly about.

The Chinese teacher had also participated in the grading process, with anonymous computer-based marking. Although she couldn’t see the names, at least for a subject like Chinese, she could recognize handwriting.

As soon as she returned, she praised Shi Niannian’s composition, saying it was exceptionally well-written.

Shi Niannian was already this teacher’s favorite student—good grades, good personality, homework always done meticulously, and beautiful looks. Every time the Chinese department held meetings to discuss exam results from each class, she would specifically mention Shi Niannian for praise.

However, this composition had taken her quite a while to write.

Regarding maternal love, she hadn’t experienced it herself. Her memories of her mother were vague. When she was younger, because of her stutter, she didn’t have many friends. Only Xu Ningqing would take her along when going out to play, like a little tag-along.

Her composition described a very small incident with some added details she made up herself. She hadn’t expected her composition would receive such a high score this time.

“But Jiang Wang, that composition of yours, I happened to grade it too,” the Chinese teacher frowned, asking with genuine feeling, “What on earth did you write?”

This question was asked so sincerely that someone in the classroom quickly failed to hold back their laughter, letting out a snort.

The laughter spread to others, and soon the entire classroom was roaring with laughter.

News about Jiang Wang’s off-topic composition quickly spread throughout the entire grade.

When the homeroom teacher of the Rocket Class heard about it, he was actually quite pleased. Not because he hoped students from other classes would do poorly, but because their prestigious Rocket Class was being outperformed by two students from regular classes, which was embarrassing.

Then, on Thursday, when the rankings were posted, someone excitedly rushed into the classroom, knocking on the door with excitement: “Everyone, quick, come see the honor board!!”

Jiang Ling immediately stood up, pulling Shi Niannian up as well: “Quick, quick, let’s go look!”

A circle of people had already gathered in front of the grade’s honor board, buzzing with discussion as they looked up at it.

Shi Niannian stood at the outer edge of the crowd, raising her head to see the honor board.

First place: Shi Niannian, 698 points.

Second place: Jiang Wang, 687 points.

…

“Wow, Jiang Wang is still second place!” Jiang Ling raised her hand and said, “Didn’t he write completely off-topic for his composition? How can he still score so high?”

A girl in front of them replied without turning her head: “I heard he got full marks in both comprehensive science and math! How could he not be second? Though his Chinese score was genuinely poor, below the average.”

This time, the comprehensive science exam was extremely difficult and was the subject where scores varied the most.

Jiang Ling clicked her tongue: “Is he even human? Getting full marks on such a difficult test. Hey, Niannian, did you get full marks in comprehensive science?”

The teachers had already gone through the papers, so Shi Niannian roughly knew her score. She shook her head: “I missed… a few questions.”

The girl who had answered earlier heard Shi Niannian’s voice and turned around. Her gaze fell behind Shi Niannian, slowly moving upward, and she let out an “Ah.”

Shi Niannian turned around with her, the tip of her nose brushing past the collar of the person behind her, catching a familiar scent of soap.

Jiang Wang looked at her: “Pretty impressive, first place again.”

Shi Niannian pressed her lips together and could only reciprocate: “You’re… pretty impressive too.”

Everyone around them: “…”

Love between top students.

After the midterm exams, more time was spent on the physics competition, with daily competition papers that couldn’t be finished. Cai Yucai specially allowed the three students in the class participating in the physics competition to work on competition papers during his physics class; it didn’t matter if they didn’t listen to the lecture.

Shi Niannian discovered that Jiang Wang was truly good at physics.

Sometimes she would stare at a problem for half a day without finding any approach, and Jiang Wang would also take a look, then take out paper and pen to write down the general steps for her to see.

He didn’t come to class every day; sometimes he only came for half a day, all spent in training.

By December, the physics competition training finally ended. Early Saturday morning, the 20-plus students in the competition class would take a bus together to the competition site. They would stay there overnight and return together by bus on Sunday.

Friday evening.

“Niannian, wear these,” her aunt said as they packed together, taking out a pair of thick white gloves from the cabinet. “The weather forecast says it will snow tomorrow night. Be careful, your hands don’t get cold during the exam.”

“Okay.” Shi Niannian stuffed the gloves into her bag.

“Have your brother take you to the supermarket tonight to buy some food. The meals at those competition sites are terrible,” her aunt said.

Shi Niannian smiled: “No need, it’s just… just one day anyway.”

“You still can’t go hungry for a day. Besides, you’re engaging in mental activities, which consume a lot of energy.”

Shi Niannian didn’t want to trouble her brother, as he seemed quite busy since starting college. However, after dinner, Xu Ningqing leisurely drove home.

He was wearing a proper suit and thin gold-rimmed glasses, looking every bit like a cultured rogue.

As soon as her aunt saw him, she frowned: “Dressed like that, did you go on a blind date today?”

Xu Ningqing clicked his tongue: “School presentation.”

“Oh.” Her aunt’s previous disdain changed immediately. “Then you look quite handsome.”

“…”

Xu Ningqing: “Where’s the kid?”

“Bedroom.”

He knocked on the door, waited three seconds, then pushed it open, leaning against the doorframe: “Shi Niannian, come with me to buy things.”

Xu Ningqing was a person who was inherently very delicate and gentle.

Although he had done plenty of mischievous things growing up, and when he was little, he would take advantage of Shi Niannian’s speech impediment to shift blame onto her, getting her in trouble until his mother discovered his lies and gave him quite a beating.

But he could very sensitively detect Shi Niannian’s subtle emotions.

Noticing she didn’t want to trouble others, he said “come with me to buy things,” even using an impolite imperative sentence.

Friday evening, the supermarket was full of people.

Xu Ningqing pulled out a shopping cart: “What time do you need to go to school tomorrow to catch the bus?”

“Seven o’clock.” She grabbed the shopping cart handle, pulling it toward herself. “I’ll… push it.”

It wasn’t anything heavy, and Xu Ningqing didn’t mind either, so he let go of the handle for Shi Niannian to push herself, casually asking: “That’s so early, will you be able to wake up?”

“It’s about the… same time as class.”

Xu Ningqing let out an “Oh,” having nothing more to say, following behind Shi Niannian. Wherever she pushed the cart, he would follow.

Just after turning a corner, he spotted a familiar figure in the household section.

“Hey.” Xu Ningqing tapped Shi Niannian’s back, pointing over there, with a mischievous tone: “Isn’t that your deskmate?”

Shi Niannian had been looking down checking the expiration date on yogurt. Hearing this, she looked in the direction he was pointing.

Jiang Wang was wearing simple, clean white clothes and black pants, standing in front of a shelf of desk lamps. After making his selection, he took a box from below, turned around, and saw Xu Ningqing and Shi Niannian.

Xu Ningqing raised his hand at him, smiling: “What a coincidence.”

Jiang Wang walked over, glanced at Shi Niannian’s shopping cart with a few bottles of yogurt: “Shopping for food?”

“Mmm.” She responded.

Jiang Wang put his desk lamp box into her cart, then took over pushing it from her hands. Shi Niannian let go, but felt too awkward to walk alongside him in the supermarket, so she retreated to Xu Ningqing’s side.

Xu Ningqing bent down, whispering teasingly: “You wouldn’t let me push it, but when he offers to push for you, you agree?”

“Ah…”

Shi Niannian didn’t know how to answer this question and panicked a little, but fortunately, Xu Ningqing didn’t intend to give her a hard time. He just laughed and went up to talk with Jiang Wang.

She followed a few steps behind the two of them. Then Xu Ningqing called her again, pointing to the snack section nearby: “Let’s go there.”

So she ended up walking in front, picking snacks, and putting them back into the shopping cart.

Xu Ningqing also tossed a bag of chips in and chatted casually with Jiang Wang: “You just came to buy a desk lamp?”

“Yes, my old one broke.”

“Aren’t you going with her tomorrow to some physics competition? Not buying any snacks?”

“It’s just one day.”

Jiang Wang’s calm gaze fell on the girl bent over in front of a shelf, intently examining something, and his lips curved slightly.

Shi Niannian was hesitating over which flavor to buy when she heard a low chuckle beside her.

Jiang Wang said: “Is she a primary school student going on a spring outing?”

“…”

She certainly was not.

Shi Niannian grumbled inwardly.

Xu Ningqing also started laughing: “I think she does look like one, with a little backpack full of snacks.”

“…”

Shi Niannian put a package of coconut egg rolls into the cart and looked up at the two of them.

Xu Ningqing raised an eyebrow: “All done?”

“Mmm.”

“Just this little bit?”

She nodded again: “I’m not… going on a spring outing.”

Xu Ningqing couldn’t stop laughing, casually tossing another bag of snacks into the cart, continuing to tease her: “You do look like it, though. Aren’t you going to put all these snacks in your little backpack?”

“It was you.” Shi Niannian looked at him, carefully accusing: “You asked me to… come with you to buy things.”

Xu Ningqing had always been quite good to Shi Niannian, so she liked him, and knowing sometimes he spoke harshly, Shi Niannian didn’t argue with him, just stood by and listened mildly.

Today was the first time she had reacted this way.

She couldn’t exactly explain why.

She just felt that with Jiang Wang also there, and her brother talking like that, it made her feel embarrassed.

Xu Ningqing raised his eyebrows with interest, not at all afraid of completely breaking their sibling relationship. He gestured toward his chest: “Look, you only come up to here on me. If you’re not a primary school student, what are you?”

Shi Niannian didn’t want to talk to him anymore.

Looking at Jiang Wang beside her, leaning against the shelf with a curved smile.

Neither of them was a good person.

She walked over, pried Jiang Wang’s hand off the cart and pushed it aside, pushing the cart toward the checkout counter herself.

“The little girl has quite a temper.” Xu Ningqing snorted with laughter.

Jiang Wang moved the fingers she had just touched, rubbing his fingertips together, tilting his head to casually ask: “Does she get angry with you often?”

“No way, she rarely gets angry with me.”

Jiang Wang let out an “Oh,” pressing his finger to his lips: “But she gets angry with me quite often.”

Xu Ningqing was stunned, then laughed: “Jiang Wang, are you now boasting to me that my sister gets angry with you?”

Because of yesterday’s supermarket incident, Shi Niannian didn’t bring all the snacks she bought. She only put two small packs in her backpack’s compartment. Since they were only staying for one night, she just brought some changes of clothes, along with paper, pens, and error correction books.

The weather forecast said the first snow of this winter would fall tonight.

The weather had suddenly gotten much colder.

The bus stopped at the school gate. Everyone wasn’t wearing their school uniforms, but their own clothes.

After such a long time of competition training, they were finally about to be liberated. Most people didn’t look nervous; instead, they all seemed quite relaxed.

“Is everyone here?” The competition coach asked, standing in front of the bus.

Someone answered: “Jiang Wang hasn’t arrived yet.”

“Does anyone know his phone number? Call him and ask where he is.”

No one answered immediately.

“No one?” the teacher asked again.

Shi Niannian finally raised her hand.

The teacher glanced at her: “Alright, give him a call.”

Just as Shi Niannian took out her phone from her backpack, she heard the teacher call out at the bus door: “Hurry up, Jiang Wang, we’re just waiting for you.”

He was wearing a white hoodie today with jeans underneath, very eye-catching standing among the crowd. He carried his backpack onto the bus, scanned below, and after finding Shi Niannian, walked down.

Shi Niannian had good grades and was patient when explaining problems, so she had quite good relationships in the competition class. However, no one dared to sit beside her.

That seat next to her seemed as if it had Jiang Wang’s name carved on it; no one dared to take it.

He tossed his backpack into Shi Niannian’s lap and looked her up and down.

The young girl was dressed very warmly in a canary yellow down jacket with sleeves a bit too long, enveloping her hands. Inside was a white round-neck sweater, accentuating her protruding collarbones.

Today, she hadn’t tied her hair up but let it fall smoothly, the ends curling slightly inward in a small arc, caressing her fair neck.

Damn, she’s cute.

Jiang Wang recalled her behavior last night, and the corners of his mouth turned up in a good mood.

Even his usual morning grumpiness was gone.

Jiang Wang glanced at her backpack: “So flat? Where are your snacks?”

“Just brought two, two packs.”

“Going on a spring outing with just this little bit?”

“…” Shi Niannian ignored him, turning her head to look out the window.

He picked up his backpack, unzipped it, and put it back on Shi Niannian’s lap: “Look how much I brought for my spring outing.”

His bag was stuffed full of snacks.

He had bought them at the convenience store downstairs from his apartment that morning.

“…”

Shi Niannian didn’t know how to respond.

Not long after the bus started moving, everyone began chatting animatedly. It turned out they had all brought lots of snacks, and soon they were sharing them around.

“Niannian, want some strawberries!” Huang Yao from the seat behind held out a small basket.

She took two and said thanks.

She tore off the leaves, put one in her mouth, and had one left. She hesitated, then handed it to Jiang Wang: “Want one?”

“Mmm.”

He lifted Shi Niannian’s wrist and bit into the strawberry directly from her hand.

The juice seeped out, flowing onto Shi Niannian’s fingers, moistening her fingertips with a hint of pink.

She froze there.

Jiang Wang ate the remaining half too, his warm, moist tongue brushing across her fingertips.

As if electrified, Shi Niannian felt her index finger begin to tingle.

Jiang Wang licked his lips, seemingly savoring something.

“So sweet.”