When Shen Xingruo uttered the words “哥哥 (Gege),” Lu Xingyan felt as if an electric current surged through his entire body, causing him to freeze momentarily. Her voice was clear and cold, yet the two words “哥哥 (Gege)” carried a hint of sweetness to his ears. It was downright eerie. Suddenly, he had the inexplicable desire to be humiliated by her again. But it seemed like no one else noticed any other meaning behind Shen Xingruo’s repetition of his words, as she simply echoed what he had said earlier.

Xu Chengzhou slapped the table, laughing hysterically. “茶毒 (cha du) hahaha! This is so hilarious!”

“No, Brother Yan, you’re teaching me with such conviction! I can’t handle it anymore, hahaha! It hurts my stomach from laughing…” Li Chengyue was laughing so hard he was almost in tears, clutching his stomach.

Chen Zhu glanced at them disdainfully, his face full of disgust. “You guys are embarrassing. Shut up, all of you.”

Compared to Lu Xingyan, who was more familiar with mocking banter, the three girls from Room 403 and Ruan Wen were struggling not to burst into laughter. They had to cover their mouths, their cheeks flushing red.

As Lu Xingyan regained his composure, he glanced at them and casually picked up his chopsticks, tapping them against the bowl.

“What’s so funny? Acting like idiots. Do you want me to get each of you a bowl to beg for food on the roadside? That’ll give you something to laugh about.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Chengzhou let out a loud “pfft” and led another round of laughter, showing no mercy.

Whether it was because of Shen Xingruo’s last “哥哥 (gege)” or not, Lu Xingyan couldn’t muster any anger at the moment. He even treated these floating disciples of the Bright Summit, who had been so arrogant, with unusual kindness, simply watching them with cold eyes, without any action.

Before long, He Siyue came in with a bag of drinks.

Seeing them laughing, he chuckled and casually asked, “Everyone’s here. What are you chatting about? You seem so happy.”

“Class Monitor, let me tell you, just now Lu Xingyan…” Li Chengyue was about to speak, but Lu Xingyan, who had shown him kindness for five minutes, suddenly kicked his chair leg, his attitude doing a 180-degree turn.

“Why don’t you go perform comedy with all that talk? With grades like yours, you’d starve if you didn’t learn a trade.”

Li Chengyue was knocked sideways onto Zhao Langming’s chair. He sat up, laughing, “No, I’ll go learn a trade now. Then I won’t have a chance to ‘茶毒 (cha du)’ you, the upright and promising youth.”

After speaking, he secretly praised himself for being quite clever, with his brain working so quickly. Then he couldn’t help bursting into laughter again.

“Li Chengyue, you’re such a jokester…”

Zhao Langming had just taken a sip of water, but he couldn’t hold back and burst into laughter again.

He Siyue didn’t quite understand what was going on. He placed the plastic bag on the table and took out the drinks he had bought.

Among the drinks he bought were lemon tea, black tea, and jasmine tea.

Xu Chengzhou was sitting next to He Siyue. When he saw the drinks, he shook his head and pushed the tea away a bit, saying seriously, “No, I won’t drink this. It’s poisoned. ‘茶毒 (cha du)’, tea is poisonous.”

“Pfft…”

“Hahaha…”

“I can’t, I’m going to die laughing!”

Lu Xingyan had never experienced such humiliation in his life. Despite being ridiculed for so long, he strangely wasn’t very angry.

Before long, the dishes arrived, and Lu Xingyan took off his coat. Only Li Chengyue commented, “Hey Yan Ge, you’re quite stylish in pink,” but nobody else paid attention, let alone connected his attire with Shen Xingruo’s.

But that wasn’t surprising considering how many people were color-clashing today. Even if someone wore lotus pink, it would be assumed to be a couple’s outfit. Chen Zhu and Xu Chengzhou even clashed with fluorescent green, making them look like firefly partners.

The restaurant served Sichuan-style cuisine. Their main dish was a double-layered basil frog and crab hot pot, along with side dishes to add after finishing the frog and crab, as well as some stir-fries and barbecue.

Shen Xingruo tried a dish of peppered fish slices, finding it delicious. But every time the lazy Susan turned, the dish passed her before she could grab more.

She wasn’t a reserved person, but having often dined out with her parents before, she had developed a habit of never rotating dishes on a round table.

Sitting opposite her, Lu Xingyan casually glanced at her several times and noticed her quietly staring at the peppered fish slices.

Lu Xingyan took a sip of water and suddenly shouted, “Xu Chengzhou, stop spinning the lazy Susan like a top, pass the Kung Pao chicken to me.”

The Kung Pao chicken was directly across from the peppered fish slices. As the chicken reached Lu Xingyan, the peppered fish slices coincidentally landed in front of Shen Xingruo.

As if realizing something, Shen Xingruo was about to look up across the table. But suddenly, He Siyue, sitting beside her, picked up a piece of fish and put it in her bowl. “You seem to like this dish. Have some more.”

“Oh, thank you.”

He Siyue smiled. “Did you like eating fish since you were little? I’ve always heard that people who like fish are smart.”

Shen Xingruo replied, “I didn’t particularly like it when I was young. It’s just that back in Huize, the fishing industry was quite developed. We could always get fish no matter where we went.”

“Now that you mention it, I’ve been to Huize once, Huize…”

Lu Xingyan never expected that before he could even pick up a piece of chicken, the two opposite him would start chatting.

He Siyue and Shen Xingruo seemed to get along well, at least they weren’t bringing up strange words like “golden stomach” or “茶毒 (cha du)” while chatting.

Seeing Shen Xingruo slowly finishing a piece, He Siyue prepared to pick up another piece for her.

Shen Xingruo declined, saying she could do it herself. As they continued talking, Lu Xingyan suddenly turned the lazy Susan expressionlessly, bringing the fish back to himself.

He Siyue: “…”

Shen Xingruo: “…”

Lu Xingyan didn’t look up, just stared at the fish in front of him.

He had no real interest in the fish at the moment, so he simply rotated it to Chen Zhu’s side and said, “You like fish, right? Have some.”

Chen Zhu was happily eating crab, but as she watched Lu Xingyan move her crab aside and replace it with a plate of fish, she was puzzled.

Since when did I like fish?

“You’re out of your mind. I like salmon sushi,” she retorted.

Lu Xingyan didn’t even look at her. “It’s all fish, isn’t it? You wrap some rice in seaweed from seaweed soup, and that’s sushi, right? You’re so Westernized.”

Chen Zhu?

Shen Xingruo paused briefly, then continued talking to He Siyue.

The meal ended around 9 p.m. The atmosphere was alright, but not particularly lively, considering some people didn’t know each other well and only sat together because of Shen Xingruo or Lu Xingyan.

People like Ruan Wen, who was usually timid, never dared to talk to Lu Xingyan or Li Chengyue from their class, let alone Xu Chengzhou’s group from Class Three.

After finishing, Shen Xingruo went to pay. She had already prepared to use her living expenses if necessary, but when she reported their table number, the waiter suddenly said, “Someone at your table has already paid.”

Shen Xingruo glanced back, slightly surprised.

The waiter continued, “It’s the one in the pink hoodie, quite handsome. Is he your boyfriend? Your clothes are the same color.”

Shen Xingruo: “…”

As if sensing something, Lu Xingyan glanced up towards the cashier, and their eyes met briefly in the air. Shen Xingruo turned back and asked the waiter, “When did he pay?”

From start to finish, Lu Xingyan never got up from his seat.

“It was when he just came in, he bought a prepaid card and said when your table finishes ordering, you could directly deduct the bill from his card. Is there a problem?” the waiter replied.

Shen Xingruo just said thank you and didn’t say anything further.

After the meal, Xu Chengzhou and the others suggested going to KTV, but Ruan Wen and her friends seemed uncomfortable. They hurriedly said they had curfew restrictions and needed to go home early.

Shen Xingruo also claimed to be tired and wanted to go home.

Li Ting wasn’t in a hurry, but since her three roommates were leaving, she didn’t have much reason to stay.

Although she usually hung out with Chen Zhu, it was always within a group of Class Three girls. Chen Zhu never paid her much attention individually, and they weren’t close.

With so many people leaving, it was clear this group wouldn’t stick together.

Dai Jiajing, Li Ting, and Ruan Wen were heading in the same direction, so they could take the same subway back.

He Siyue asked Shi Qin but found out it wasn’t on his way, then turned to Shen Xingruo. “Shen Xingruo, which direction is your home?”

“Falling Star Lake.”

Before He Siyue could say anything, Xu Chengzhou spoke up, “Mr. Lu and Mr. Lu Xingyan live close by, huh, you two are quite close.”

Li Chengyue added, “Then Yan Ge, you can conveniently drop Ruojie on your way since it’s so close.”

These two, who hadn’t said anything sensible all night, finally uttered something human.

Lu Xingyan glanced at them casually and nodded absentmindedly.

Sitting on the subway heading home, Ruan Wen breathed a sigh of relief.

Dai Jiajing sat beside her, handing her a bottle of water, and asked, “Ruan Wen, are you okay?”

Ruan Wen hurriedly waved her hand, feeling a bit awkward. “Thank you, I’m fine. It’s just that I felt nervous eating with them today.”

Li Ting glanced at her, then continued playing on her phone, apparently a little disdainful.

Dai Jiajing comforted her again, “I’m not familiar with them either. Eating together can be uncomfortable. At first, I thought Shen Xingruo mentioned eating only with a few classmates from our class.”

Ruan Wen explained, “I knew there were also people from Class Three. They’re actually all very nice. It’s just me being timid. I couldn’t even join the game at the table.”

Thinking of Shen Xingruo, Li Ting recalled Chen Zhu’s solicitous behavior at the table. Contrasting it with Chen Zhu’s usual indifference when she hung out with the Class Three girls, Li Ting felt annoyed. Plus, she had some feelings for Xu Chengzhou, but he hadn’t said a word to her today, making her even more uncomfortable.

At this moment, she put down her phone and responded to Dai Jiajing’s words with a complaint, “I mean, Shen Xingruo could have just invited us for a meal without making it a big group gathering. We’re not all that familiar with each other. It’s awkward.”

“Don’t say that. What does this have to do with Xingruo? If you felt awkward, you could have just declined from the start. Plus, the atmosphere was quite nice. Where’s the awkwardness?” Ruan Wen earnestly refuted.

Li Ting was momentarily speechless.

Dai Jiajing quickly tried to smooth things over.

On the other side, Lu Xingyan and Shen Xingruo were waiting for a taxi by the roadside. After waiting for a while without any luck, Lu Xingyan used a ride-hailing app to get in line.

As summer approached, the evening breeze wasn’t as chilly as before. Lu Xingyan didn’t put his coat back on, appearing unaffected by the slight warmth.

Perhaps out of boredom from standing around, Shen Xingruo suddenly asked, “Why didn’t you see Chen Zhu off just now?”

“Why should I? We’re not going the same way,” Lu Xingyan replied without hesitation.

“Do you like her?” Shen Xingruo asked, her tone neutral.

“…?”

“Who told you that? I don’t,” Lu Xingyan retorted, turning to glance at her, his expression unreadable.

Yet, Lu Xingyan’s mind started to wander, conjuring up various possibilities.

He knew gossip spread like wildfire among their group. While he used to pay little attention to it, he couldn’t help but be intrigued now.

After enduring the loud boasting and exaggerated tales from Xu Chengzhou and his crew, Lu Xingyan wondered what kind of reputation he had garnered outside.

Lost in his thoughts, he tried to patch things up. “Did someone tell you something? It’s all speculation. Chen Zhu and I were classmates since middle school, and we used to hang out together often. I used to think of her as… well, not exactly like that. I just thought she was a nice person. It’s not like I like her or anything, you know? It’s all because of Xu Chengzhou and the others, I…”

“…I was just asking casually, you don’t have to explain so much,” Shen Xingruo interrupted.

Lu Xingyan cleared his throat twice before seemingly asking offhand, “Don’t take offense, but do you like He Siyue? Every time I see you two, it seems like you have endless conversations. Why don’t you apply to sit next to him instead of me?”

“He Siyue?”

“He’s a pretty nice guy,” Lu Xingyan said with a pause.

“He’s very intelligent, considerate, responsible, and polite.”

Lu Xingyan remained silent.

“But he’s not as handsome as you.”

“I see. Later, transfer the money for this meal to my WeChat,” Lu Xingyan said abruptly.

For a few seconds, Lu Xingyan was at a loss for words. Shen Xingruo’s breath had been warm and moist near his ear, and even after she moved away, the tickling sensation lingered.

Slowly, Lu Xingyan straightened up and met Shen Xingruo’s gaze, incredulous. “How did you know I was there?”

Shen Xingruo looked at him for a moment, then lifted her phone and waved it. She stepped forward and swapped it with the phone in his hand. They had the same phone model without protective cases, and they must have swapped them while cleaning.

“When I left the school gate, I looked back and thought I saw you. I thought I was seeing things.”

“Later, when I realized I had the wrong phone, I figured I wasn’t mistaken. Considering how often you use your phone, you would have noticed the swap right after I left.”

When she first noticed the phone was different, she immediately thought that Lu Xingyan must not be far behind her. She even considered hiding by the wall to scare him when he arrived, but the group of delinquents got to her first.

Lu Xingyan fell silent for a moment. “Why don’t you change your name to Sherlock Xingruo?”

The words slipped out before he could think them through. It wasn’t until he said them that he realized how familiar “Xingruo” sounded without her surname. The next moment, he awkwardly averted his gaze.

Shen Xingruo didn’t seem to mind since she wasn’t looking at him. Her attention was already on her phone. Remembering how Lu Xingyan had pretended to call for backup, she couldn’t help but smile slightly.

When she turned to speak to Lu Xingyan again, her expression was neutral. “Your acting skills aren’t bad.”

Lu Xingyan paused, realizing what she meant. He explained, “Actually, I could’ve handled them easily on my own. But with you there, girls just complicate things. When things get physical, you end up with wobbly legs and start crying.”

Shen Xingruo looked up at him, unusually refraining from retorting. After a moment, she suddenly said, “Thank you.”

“…” Lu Xingyan couldn’t help but look her over several times. Shen Xingruo rarely showed him a friendly face, so her sudden politeness was disconcerting. Scratching the back of his neck, he tried to play it off. “It’s nothing. Besides, if you got hurt, where would my reputation go?”

Shen Xingruo was a bit surprised. “You haven’t paid much attention in other classes, but you seem to have aced ‘The Art of Being a Deskmate’.”

“…”

“Must be thanks to your excellent guidance, Teacher Shen.”

Feeling whimsical, he ruffled Shen Xingruo’s hair.

She dodged to the side. “Did you just put dirt on my head again? Don’t you know to respect your teacher?”

“I haven’t complained about your oily hair, and you’re calling my hands dirty?”

“I wash my hair every day. Don’t spread rumors.”

“I’ll write an article for the school paper tomorrow: ‘Violin Goddess Shen Xingruo from Class 2-1 Doesn’t Wash Her Hair for Three Days or Take a Bath for Five’.”

“Class 2-1 Bully Lu Xingyan Covets Shen Xingruo’s Unparalleled Beauty, Stalks Her After School on Fridays.”

“Who’s stalking?”

“Who’s stalking who knows very well.”

“Hey, I was just keeping my distance, stop spreading rumors.”

…

They chatted as they walked towards the end of the alley, their shadows stretched long by the setting sun, sometimes diverging, overlapping.

When Lu Xingyan and Shen Xingruo got into the car and left, many students were still at the school. Since they didn’t go home the previous weekend due to extra classes, everyone had more luggage to pack this week.

Zhai Jiajing and Shi Qin decided to have dinner before heading back to the dorm to pack their things. Once they finished, they headed downstairs to catch the subway.

Zhai Jiajing suddenly remembered something. “Oh, Qin, I need to go to the antique street to buy a calligraphy brush. My brother’s elementary school started a second class for calligraphy, and I promised to bring him a new brush this weekend.”

She paused slightly and added, “If you’re in a hurry to go home, you can go ahead. I can manage by myself.”

Shi Qin quickly shook her head. “I’m not in a hurry. Let’s go to the antique street together.”

As soon as they entered the antique street, they saw Yang Fang walking out of an alley, looking distraught.

Shi Qin tugged on Zhai Jiajing’s sleeve. “Isn’t that Yang Fang from Class 2? She spread rumors about you before. Last time she was gossiping about Xingruo in the restroom too. She’s such a busybody.”

“But what happened to her? She looks like she’s been crying…”

Zhai Jiajing glanced at Yang Fang, then firmly took Shi Qin’s hand and led her forward. “Forget it, it’s none of our business. Let’s go.”

Shi Qin agreed but couldn’t help glancing back as they walked away.

Soon it was Saturday evening.

Lu Xingyan spent the afternoon playing video games in his room. He only got up to shower when Shen Xingruo knocked on his door to urge him. After blowing his hair semi-dry, he opened his wardrobe to pick out clothes.

Initially, he reached for a baseball jacket but then remembered Shen Xingruo had been wearing an off-shoulder sweatshirt in a soft pink shade, looking all set to go out. He hesitated, then chose a black jacket and a thin, light pink sweatshirt.

The restaurant was a bit far from Luoxing Lake, and the “fairy of the slums” opted to take the subway. With traffic outside being terrible, taking the subway seemed like a good choice, and Lu Xingyan agreed.

They rarely took the subway more than once or twice a year, so they didn’t consider that it might be crowded during rush hour.

From the moment they boarded, Lu Xingyan was visibly uncomfortable. Shen Xingruo, who seemed even less accustomed to such conditions, was quickly squished, looking resigned and numb. Lu Xingyan, though irritated, positioned himself protectively to shield her from the crowd.

This sense of achievement lasted less than two minutes before a boy stood up and tapped Shen Xingruo on the shoulder. “Um… hey, you can sit here.”

The boy’s ears were red, and he stammered, not daring to meet Shen Xingruo’s eyes.

Shen Xingruo declined politely, “Thank you, but it’s okay.”

” I’m getting off soon… You should sit, you’re a girl…”

The nearby girls who had been playing on their phones couldn’t help but look up when they heard that.

Lu Xingyan was thinking, “You’re so afraid to even look at people’s eyes, yet you’re still trying to act so generously?”

The girls were also thinking, “Her boyfriend is right there, and you’re still trying to act all generous? If you think someone looks good, just say it straight out. There’s no need to use us girls as an excuse. What did we do wrong? This is just outrageous.”

The boy realized his words were a bit inappropriate, and then noticed Lu Xingyan giving him an unfriendly glance.

Seeing that he and Shen Xingruo were wearing the same color of clothes, the boy suddenly understood something, feeling even more embarrassed. He decided to give up his seat and just blend into the crowd.

Shen Xingruo said, “…”

There weren’t any special groups around needing a seat, so she sat down.

Lu Xingyan also stood in front of her without hesitation.

With one hand in his pocket and the other holding onto the handrail, Lu Xingyan teased Shen Xingruo while looking down, “Are you elderly, weak, sick, disabled, or pregnant? Which one are you? Do you need someone to give up their seat for you?”

As soon as he finished speaking, the train suddenly stopped, but Lu Xingyan didn’t notice and stumbled forward a half step.

Shen Xingruo reached out to steady him, her expression calm. “You don’t need to worry about which one I am. I can see that you’re not standing steadily.”

“…”

“You’re spreading rumors again.”

“You were spreading rumors about my back last time. Don’t keep spreading rumors about my health problems. You don’t even know if my back is okay.”

Lu Xingyan was also quite concerned about his reputation, especially when it came to his health.

Shen Xingruo didn’t respond, pondering for a while without figuring out why she should know.

And she didn’t know.

As she was silently contemplating, several middle-aged women nearby began to look at the two of them with strange eyes.

Their gaze was too naked, as if saying, “These young people nowadays, talking about such topics on the subway. It’s a sign of the times, shameless and disgraceful.”

Lu Xingyan paused for half a second before saying to Shen Xingruo, “I didn’t mean it that way. I meant to say my back is fine, you know… No, forget it. You’ll find out later anyway.”

Shen Xingruo raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“What did I do wrong again?” she thought.

“I don’t want to know,” she said aloud.

The two of them sat in silence for the rest of the subway ride.

When they reached the restaurant, Shen Xingruo entered first while Lu Xingyan lingered outside for a smoke before joining her.

This restaurant was chosen by Xu Chengzhou and his friends.

These guys usually had high standards, but eating was one thing that could occasionally make them lower their guard.

Shen Xingruo noticed upon entering that the restaurant looked plain from the outside, but it was packed inside, with a small area outside holding plastic stools where many people were waiting for a table.

As for the environment, it was slightly better than the last place they went, which turned out to be a fly-infested dive where they spent four hundred and fifty.

Luckily, Xu Chengzhou and the others arrived early. Zhai Jiajing, Shi Qin, Li Ting, and Li Chengyue had also arrived. Shen Xingruo asked about He Siyue, and Shi Qin said the class monitor went to buy drinks.

Shen Xingruo nodded and took a seat.

Just then, Lu Xingyan finished his cigarette and came in.

The group of boys greeted him.

Li Chengyue teased, “Ruojie, you only care about whether the class monitor is here or not, but you don’t care about your tablemate.”

Shen Xingruo and Lu Xingyan exchanged glances and casually changed the subject as if nothing had happened. “Since everyone’s here, let’s order. Have any of you tried the dishes here before?”

Chen Zhuyang raised the menu with a look of seeking praise. “I have! I’ve been here before. Let me order a few signature dishes for you all. These are all must-try dishes, you won’t go wrong with them!”

No one objected.

After Chen Zhuyang ordered, the menu was passed around. The girls were relatively reserved, but the boys were quite particular.

Li Chengyue and Zhao Langming looked at the menu together, and Zhao Langming pointed at a few items. “This one and this one are good too. I like crab sticks, so let’s get those too.”

Li Chengyue said, “You seem to like everything. Do you have a bottomless pit in your stomach? Why order so much?”

Everyone was chatting, but when they heard this, they fell silent for a moment, and then Shi Qin couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

Lu Xingyan was playing with his phone, smiling slightly. He kicked Li Chengyue’s chair lightly. “Don’t ever claim to know me again. You’re too uncultured. ‘Bottomless pit’? It’s a ‘golden stomach’. Say it with me, zhouzhou, fourth tone, bro.”

“What ‘golden stomach’? Isn’t it a ‘bottomless pit’? Describing a stomach as precious?” Li Chengyue was puzzled.

Everyone couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

Lu Xingyan felt a sense of superiority and continued to educate him. “Shut up. If you don’t know how to use idioms, don’t bother. Don’t poison us good young men with your ignorance.”

The air was quiet for a moment before laughter erupted even more wildly this time.

Shen Xingruo had a strong ability to accept things. Whatever these people said, she wasn’t surprised.

As she heated the utensils with hot water, she corrected him, “It’s ‘poison’, pronounced as ‘tutu’, second tone, bro.”

Lu Xingyan walked to the front holding a bouquet.

There was a certain height difference between the stage and the audience seats, and no steps. A school staff member came over to maintain order and asked him if he wanted to go backstage.

“No need.”

Lu Xingyan didn’t even give a glance, just stared straight at Shen Xingruo on stage.

The deep brown body of the violin was slanted on her shoulder. Her eyes were slightly lowered, her expression serious.

The violin bow moved with the rhythm, dancing on the strings, and her fingers, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, danced on the strings.

Her fingers were slender and graceful, the joints shiny and white, each movement was like a frame of dual enjoyment of auditory and visual.

Lu Xingyan leaned against the wall, engrossed, not blinking for quite a while.

It was hard to see clearly from a distance, but as he approached, he discovered that she was truly perfect.

If everyone’s life has some highlights, then Shen Xingruo was probably born with a spotlight, always shining wherever she went.

Especially when she stood on the stage, even her strands of hair exuded elegance.

Lu Xingyan had seen many “other people’s children,” but he had to admit that most of them were not as flawless in every aspect as Shen Xingruo.

And she was so beautiful.

Yes, mainly beautiful.

Sitting in the front row were some leaders and important figures. A prominent figure in the field of music education and the school party secretary praised, “Secretary Liu, your school has very high-quality students. The one on stage is an art student, playing the violin excellently, and her image and temperament are impeccable.”

Secretary Liu modestly responded, “Mainly, it’s the student’s diligence and eagerness to learn. All we can do at our school is to educate and guide.”

He paused, then added, “But this girl isn’t an art student. Her grades are quite good. She was even first in the sophomore humanities class in the last monthly exam.”

“That’s excellent.”

Secretary Liu smiled, “As you know, our school has always been relatively open and free, and we encourage students like her to cultivate their interests and hobbies while studying.”

Actually, as a secretary, he couldn’t recognize many students. He just happened to echo what the grade-level leader from the other side had said, conveniently ignoring the part about her being new to the school.

Lu Xingyan didn’t know what they were talking about, but as he glanced around the stage, he saw the leaders in the front row occasionally whispering to each other, all looking satisfied and nodding frequently.

The music stopped, and the performance ended.

Shen Xingruo moved the violin from her shoulder and bowed deeply.

Soon, thunderous applause erupted from the audience. The boys from the sophomore year enthusiastically cheered, shouting, “Goddess! Goddess!”

Xu Chengzhou and his group had initially thought it was a class performance, so they didn’t want to get too excited, just clapping politely.

But Chen Zhu, who had sneaked from backstage to watch Shen Xingruo’s performance, kept his eyes on the stage, but wasn’t shy about pinching Xu Chengzhou’s arm, “What are you staring at? Join in! You haven’t eaten yet!”

Xu Chengzhou stood there, arms crossed, for a few seconds, before finally leading the boys from his class in shouting together.

The noise below the stage became deafening.

As Shen Xingruo finished bowing, she happened to see Lu Xingyan jumping onto the stage effortlessly, one hand supporting himself on the stage floor, the other still holding the flowers.

In the brief moment of surprise on Shen Xingruo’s face, Lu Xingyan suddenly removed the hint of amusement from his eyes, stepped forward quickly, grabbed her wrist, stepped in front of her, and the hand holding the flowers wrapped around her slender waist.

—Bang!

In just a second or two, Lu Xingyan felt a dull pain at the back of his head.

The mineral water bottle was still half full, and it took some effort to throw it onto the stage, but he managed to throw it accurately.

The pain wasn’t particularly intense, but the sound was quite loud.

The audience below erupted into commotion, looking around to find the person who threw the mineral water bottle.

But that area was already dark, and the person who threw it had already run away. By the time they looked along the trajectory of the bottle, there was no one there.

Shen Xingruo hadn’t expected such an incident. If Lu Xingyan hadn’t stood in front of her just now, the mineral water bottle would have hit her face.

The injury wasn’t severe, but the person who threw it intended to embarrass her.

In just a few seconds, many thoughts flashed through her mind until she heard a faint “hiss—” and snapped out of it.

She tilted her head slightly and locked eyes with Lu Xingyan. “Are you okay?”

“…”

“I’m fine.”

He remarked casually, “This isn’t my first time playing basketball.”

This was just a quick reaction.

After catching his breath, he took the opportunity to tease Shen Xingruo, “You usually have quick reflexes, but you froze when someone threw a bottle at you. Are you malfunctioning?”

“…”

“A peacock doesn’t display its feathers.”

Lu Xingyan “…”

There was a faint scent of grass and a hint of smoke on him. It wasn’t too strong, and she could tolerate it.

After three seconds of silence, Shen Xingruo said again, “When do you plan to let go? You’re hugging me like this, taking advantage of me.”

Lu Xingyan suddenly realized that his hand was indeed on her waist.

Her waist was slender.

Had she studied dance or something?

As the thought flashed through his mind, he felt his hand warm. He was about to withdraw it when he suddenly thought of something and didn’t pull away. Instead, he tightened his grip slightly, raised an eyebrow, and jokingly said, “Since no one can see us from below, what does it matter if I take advantage of you? If you have the guts, why don’t you bite me?”

“…”

“Do you have any shame?”

“What shame does a flower pig have?”

He had improved.

Fortunately, Lu Xingyan knew when to stop. After taking advantage for a while, he let go, stuffed the flowers into Shen Xingruo’s arms, and walked back down to the stage.

Shen Xingruo acted as if nothing had happened, bowed with the flowers again, and calmly retreated backstage.

In such a situation, they couldn’t afford to cause a scene because of a water bottle. The host quickly came to the front of the stage to smooth things over.

But Wang Youfu in the audience was furious!!!

“Who threw that?!”

“They did it on purpose to make me feel uncomfortable! Naked jealousy of the excellence of our class performance!”

“Wait till I find that person, I won’t let them off even if they copy the political outline eight hundred times!”

Li Chengfan was also angry, but seeing Wang Youfu on the verge of exploding on the spot, he hurriedly tried to calm him down. “Teacher Wang, don’t be angry. You’re not surnamed Fu…”

Wang Youfu glared at him, and Li Chengfan was so scared that he immediately shut up.

When Lu Xingyan returned, he was holding a mineral water bottle.

Wang Youfu was sitting in his seat, muttering to himself. His speech was faster than usual, about seven or eight times faster, looking like he was about to start a riot at any moment. He didn’t look anything like a political teacher.

Seeing Lu Xingyan return, Wang Youfu calmed down slightly and grabbed him, asking, “Is Shen Xingruo okay?”

Lu Xingyan “…”

The mineral water bottle had hit him squarely on the back of his head. How could Shen Xingruo be in any trouble???

He hesitated for a few seconds before answering.

Wang Youfu breathed a sigh of relief, repeatedly saying, “That’s good, that’s good.” Afterward, he remembered Lu Xingyan and asked symbolically, “Are you okay too?”

Lu Xingyan replied, “Teacher Wang, I feel a bit dizzy in my head. I might have a concussion. I need to go to the hospital for a check-up. Can you give me a sick leave for tomorrow’s class?”

Wang Youfu scrutinized him up and down, then said, “It’s okay. Whether you have a concussion or not, your brain doesn’t work too well anyway. Don’t waste your money.”

Lu Xingyan “…”

The unexpected incident at the end of Shen Xingruo’s performance made the security in the auditorium stricter. At half past five, the school ceremony ended without any further mishaps.

Before the end, several leaders from the audience served as judges and gave out awards. It wasn’t a formal competition, so there weren’t any first, second, or third prizes. Instead, there were awards for the best performance, outstanding performances, and the most unique, akin to consolation prizes.

After her performance, Shen Xingruo played on her phone backstage. She had only eaten a little at noon, and just as she was feeling hungry, He Siyue came backstage to find her. He first comforted her, then brought her a bread roll and a box of milk.

Coincidentally, Wang Youfu was thoughtful and worried that Shen Xingruo might still be shaken up. He asked Lu Xingyan, Li Chengfan, and others to go backstage and comfort her.

As they lifted the backstage curtain, they saw Shen Xingruo receiving the bread roll and milk from He Siyue. She said, “Thank you. I heard there will be awards after the performance. Last year, they gave out prize money. If I win an award, I’ll treat you to dinner.”

“Sure, then I’ll wait for you to win the best performance award.”

He Siyue smiled and readily agreed.

When Li Chengfan and Zhao Langming heard this, they hurriedly chimed in, “Oh, that won’t do! We should also get a share since we’re present!”

While eating her bread roll, Shen Xingruo looked at them and said, “The class monitor has brought me lunch twice already. What about you guys? Why should I treat you to dinner?”

Lu Xingyan came in last, expressionless. Without waiting for Li Chengfan and Zhao Langming to speak, he stood aside and poured cold water on the situation, “Who knows if they’ll give out prize money this year.”

Originally, he wanted to say, “You’re quite confident, but there’s only one best performance award. Who knows if you’ll get it or not.” But if he said that, he felt Shen Xingruo would probably respond with, “So what if I don’t get it? Do I still lack money for a meal?” Then she would give him one of her patented condescending looks from head to toe. Maybe she would even add a bit of venom and say, “Besides, I won’t invite you anyway.”

But his goldfish brain only went halfway, not considering that as long as he spoke, Shen Xingruo could seamlessly counterattack him with, “So what if there’s no prize money? Do I still lack money for a meal?”

Shen Xingruo finished her statement and, with her signature condescending gaze, scrutinized Lu Xingyan from head to toe. Then, she added, “Besides, I won’t invite you anyway.”

Lu Xingyan “…”

Fortunately, at that moment, his gang of friends, also disciples of the Bright Summit, finally came in handy.

Li Chengfan said, “We should still go eat, Brother Yan. Shenjie, he gave you flowers, you know.”

“And he blocked that mineral water bottle for you,” Zhao Langming chimed in.

Li Chengfan continued, “We were also cheering for you from the audience. We should all go.”

“YeAh we should all share in the joy.”

With the two of them echoing each other, Shen Xingruo hadn’t even finished her bread roll before they had all been arranged.

Before long, the ceremony moved on to the award presentation.

As they chatted, someone suddenly approached Shen Xingruo backstage. “Shen Xingruo, get ready. You’ve won the best performance award.”

A burst of astonishment erupted backstage, followed by a series of exaggerated compliments.

“Sister Ruo, you’re amazing!”

“Sister Ruo, you’re truly the shining star of our class!”

“How do you know everything? Were you raised on clouds? Otherwise, how could you be so ethereal, like a fairy?”

“Stop bullshitting! Sister Ruo was already a fairy to begin with!”

Shen Xingruo “…”

Li Chengfan and Zhao Langming continued to praise her, thinking that just praising her was enough. After all, they couldn’t praise her too much, or else they wouldn’t get invited to dinner!

Lu Xingyan was starting to feel nauseous from listening to all the flattery. He kicked them both and gave them a little ideological education, “Shut up, both of you. Sacrificing your dignity just for a meal.”

Shen Xingruo stood up, and glanced at him, her eyes seeming to say, “What dignity does a flower pig need?”

Thinking of this phrase, Lu Xingyan couldn’t help but recall the slender waist he had held on stage, and then, quite inappropriately, combined it with some details from a dream to create a mental image.

Fortunately, Shen Xingruo didn’t notice him, focusing solely on her means of livelihood assistance.

She had heard that last year’s Best Performance award came with a thousand yuan prize. Even after treating herself to a meal, she could still pocket at least five hundred yuan, which wasn’t bad at all.

When they announced her as the winner of the Best Performance award on stage, she walked up to receive the honor certificate and a rectangular gift box from the leader’s hands.

Upon seeing the gift box, Shen Xingruo’s heart sank halfway. She didn’t show any outward signs of distress, only briefly expressing her gratitude for the award and extending congratulations on the school anniversary before stepping down from the stage.

After stepping down, she opened the gift box.

Inside lay a branded pen.

The remaining half of her heart chilled instantly.

Just then, Lu Xingyan came over to take a look. Shen Xingruo didn’t wait for him to speak before coldly remarking, “A pig’s brain with a crow’s mouth.”

Lu Xingyan was blank for a few seconds, glancing at the tickets on the desk, and then at Shen Xingruo.

“I have to say, as a girl, I admire you. You always have self-praise ready on your lips…”

Lu Xingyan was stunned by Shen Xingruo’s words. He stumbled for a moment, paused for a few seconds, then asked, “Do you know how to write the word ‘shame’?”

“With your Chinese scores not even reaching a hundred, and you, the one who rummages through other people’s bags when they’re not around, do you qualify to lecture someone on writing ‘shame’?” Shen Xingruo retorted, raising her eyes to him for a moment, enjoying the process of seeing his expression change from pure innocence to embarrassment.

This process lasted for about thirty seconds, and Lu Xingyan finally reacted, “Who told you I rummaged through your bag?”

After a pause, he admitted, “Well, I did, but I was just looking for some study materials that I couldn’t find. I wanted to see if they were in your bag.”

Shen Xingruo gave him a look that seemed to say, “What study materials could you possibly have?” before quickly averting her gaze and returning to her exercises. She couldn’t be bothered to listen to his flawed explanations anymore.

Shen Xingruo certainly hadn’t become so conceited as to believe that Lu Xingyan had gone through all this trouble just for her.

– Backstage at the auditorium rehearsal, she ran into Chen Zhu.

At first, she didn’t recognize her, she just thought the girl was pretty, dazzling even, and vaguely familiar.

It wasn’t until she got closer that she remembered.

“Hey, you’re Shen Xingruo, right? I’m Chen Zhu from Class Three. I heard you play the piano during the talent show, you’re talented!”

Shen Xingruo didn’t react, so Chen Zhu added, “I know Lu Xingyan, your desk mate, and Li Chengfan and Zhao Langming from your class, we often hang out together.”

“Oh, hi,” Shen Xingruo replied.

When she heard Lu Xingyan’s name, she finally connected the girl in front of her with the one she had seen crying by the Falling Star Lake as if her world was about to end.

Shen Xingruo had seen her many times at school, after all, they were on the same floor, and they could bump into each other on the way to the restroom between classes.

Plus, Chen Zhu was somewhat of a celebrity in their grade, with Li Ting often mentioning her in the dormitory. Even if Shen Xingruo had a bad memory, she should have some impression of her.

But these impressions from school were far less memorable than the one from that time by the Falling Star Lake.

Before the two of them went on stage, Chen Zhu particularly came over and struck up a conversation with Shen Xingruo.

Shen Xingruo didn’t respond much, just listened to her while resigning her bow.

When girls chat, they always find something they have in common to break the ice. Chen Zhu couldn’t help mentioning Lu Xingyan several times.

Listening to her tone and attitude when talking about Lu Xingyan, Shen Xingruo felt that she might have had some misconceptions about their relationship before.

It seemed like they weren’t just former boyfriend and girlfriend.

After the rehearsal, Shen Xingruo went to the restroom.

When she came out, she heard Xu Chengzhou and another boy talking in the hallway, supporting Chen Zhu.

Xu Chengzhou was teasing, “Looks like someone’s moved on. Lu Xingyan was the one who said he liked Chen Zhu before, remember during Truth or Dare, you were there too…”

Unfortunately, Shen Xingruo only heard the latter half of the sentence. After that, she didn’t hear anything else as Xu Chengzhou and his friends, being tall and having long strides, quickly turned the corner and left. That was all she heard.

Back in the classroom, when Ruan Wen mentioned Lu Xingyan rummaging through her bag, and then the incident in Wang Youfu’s office… piecing everything together, Shen Xingruo suddenly had a different view of Lu Xingyan.

Wasn’t he just chasing after girls?

He seemed quite innocent, taking such a roundabout approach.

Perhaps it was because the rehearsal during the day was too exhausting, but during the self-study session in the evening, Shen Xingruo seemed a bit absent-minded.

Lu Xingyan took three tickets, the ones given by Wang Youfu on behalf of the school. There were still seven or eight left. Shi Qin and the others had already found their tickets, so the remaining ones were of no use to Shen Xingruo. She kept one for Ruan Wen and returned the rest to He Siyue, asking him to help distribute them.

On the way back to the dormitory at night, as usual, Shen Xingruo walked with Zhai Jiajing and Shi Qin.

Shi Qin asked about her rehearsal, genuinely concerned. However, Zhai Jiajing, sensitive as she was, sensed something amiss in Shen Xingruo’s response and suddenly asked, “Xingruo, don’t you play the piano?”

“I can’t use the piano for this performance,” Shen Xingruo replied.

Shi Qin also noticed something strange in her words and followed up, “So you switched to playing the violin?”

She looked surprised, her tone incredulous.

Shen Xingruo simply replied with an “Mm.”

Everyone assumed that since she had participated in the talent show, she would also perform on the piano at the school anniversary. These days, when she went to the piano room to practice, everyone assumed she was practicing the piano. No one asked, and Shen Xingruo naturally didn’t mention it, so apart from He Siyue, no one in the class knew that she had changed her performance.

“Oh my god, you can also play the violin! Can you tell me if there’s anything you can’t do?”

“I can’t believe I’m just finding out now, Xingruo, you’re amazing!”

Shi Qin, being a dedicated fan, showered her with rainbow-colored compliments, each more extravagant than the last.

Zhai Jiajing, on the other hand, remained silent, but something seemed to have occurred to her.

The next day was Thursday, and the weather was perfect, with the sun shining brightly. Decorative banners celebrating the school anniversary were hung at the Mingli Gate, and the entrance was adorned with celebration flower baskets sent by alumni. On the right side of the entrance, the electronic screen usually used for announcements was displaying welcoming messages. It seemed that some important figures were visiting, as the names of distinguished alumni were specially mentioned.

The morning classes proceeded as usual, but everyone’s attention was elsewhere. School leaders occasionally led groups of people through the corridors, and both students inside classrooms and passersby outside couldn’t resist peeking at each other.

Shen Xingruo felt it was like tourists observing monkeys in a zoo, with everyone looking at each other, creating a lively atmosphere.

As another wave of visitors passed by, Shen Xingruo was lost in her thoughts when Lu Xingyan remarked beside her, “What are they looking at? What’s so interesting? I feel so uncomfortable. It’s like that show ‘Road to Wealth’ on CCTV7, where a bunch of people pass by a pigsty and start judging and commenting, ‘Hey, these pigs are raised pretty well. Authentic pork from purebred pigs.'”

Shen Xingruo: “…”

Was this guy a fool?

Someone likened himself to a pig in a pigsty.

She paused for a moment before saying, “I didn’t expect you to be so ambitious, watching ‘Road to Wealth.'”

Lu Xingyan instinctively explained, “No, it’s my dad who sometimes watches it. It’s not me… What’s with that look?”

Shen Xingruo: “The look you give to pigs.”

Lu Xingyan: “…”

Finally, they endured the morning classes and everyone was particularly excited. In the afternoon, they had half a day off. Those with tickets could go watch the school anniversary, while those who didn’t want to attend could arrange their time freely.

In the three scarce years of high school where time was rarely at their disposal, every break seemed especially precious.

Shen Xingruo, pressed for time, had to change into her performance costume and do her makeup quickly before heading to the auditorium.

Lu Xingyan, with a forced smile, took three tickets from Shen Xingruo. It felt odd to go alone, so he dragged Li Chengfan and Zhao Langming along, saying that as a thank-you for buying him memorabilia, Wang Youfu insisted they must attend.

Li Chengfan couldn’t understand, “Is Wang Youfu crazy? Why force us to attend the school anniversary?”

Lu Xingyan glanced at him sideways, “If you don’t attend, who knows what trouble you’ll cause outside during this half-day? You’re not exactly a model citizen yourself.”

Li Chengfan: “…”

This approach of offering rewards while secretly exerting control was quite in line with Wang Youfu’s personality. Li Chengfan grumbled for a bit but didn’t question further.

At two o’clock in the afternoon, the school ceremony began on time. The tickets Lu Xingyan had secured were quite close to the front, but a bit too close… They were sitting right next to Wang Youfu.

Lu Xingyan discreetly performed a swift maneuver, positioning himself in the middle to separate Wang Youfu from Li Chengfan and Zhao Langming.

Li Chengfan and Zhao Langming didn’t want to sit next to Wang Youfu either; they felt uncomfortable even playing with their phones.

For the first half hour, it was mostly the emcees’ introductions and speeches from prominent alumni and school leaders. Lu Xingyan was absent-minded, constantly on guard against Li Chengfan and Zhao Langming’s potentially outrageous comments, fearing they might cross the line and ask Wang Youfu why he forced them to attend the school anniversary.

Luckily, Li Chengfan and Zhao Langming had a strong survival instinct. They didn’t dare to be too outspoken in front of Wang Youfu, afraid that once they started talking, they wouldn’t be able to stop, and they’d end up getting roasted from head to toe, questioning their existence.

After the lengthy speeches, the formal performances finally began. Shen Xingruo’s performance was scheduled sixth, following choir, recitation, dance, solo singing, and comedy sketches.

The freshmen’s comedy sketch was well-received, igniting the atmosphere in the auditorium. When the performance ended, applause thundered like waves.

The emcees delivered a few more lines, then announced, “Next, let’s welcome Shen Xingruo, a student from Class 1 of the sophomore year, with her violin solo of ‘Canon.'”

Upon hearing Shen Xingruo’s name, the sophomores were filled with anticipation. Lu Xingyan, who had been expressionless throughout a comedy sketch, finally raised his eyelids, sensing something was amiss.

Before he could voice his concern, Li Chengfan asked, “Hey, isn’t Shen Xingruo supposed to play the piano? Why is it a violin solo?”

Before anyone could respond, Shen Xingruo, dressed in a knee-length white formal dress with her long hair cascading down her shoulders, walked gracefully from backstage to the front of the stage, holding her violin and bow in hand.

The stage was dim until the emcees announced her performance. Spotlight followed her as she made her way to the center of the stage.

Despite the thousands of people sitting in the audience, the auditorium was quiet. Shen Xingruo bowed gracefully, then positioned the violin under her chin, her head slightly tilted, resting her jaw on the chin rest, as the bow elegantly glided across the strings.

The students from Class 1 were stunned by the performance. Lu Xingyan leaned back in his seat, eyes fixed without blinking. Today, she had put on a bit of makeup, her lips slightly redder than usual, but the rest was hard to discern. He simply felt her standing there, straight and aloof.

When the spotlight shifted, her dress shimmered with silver fringe, and as she moved slightly, it sparkled even more brilliantly.

“Canon” was suggested by Teacher Liu Fang for Shen Xingruo. In a public performance setting, overly complex pieces would alienate the audience. Considering this, she originally wanted to play the G Major Violin Concerto or a Hungarian Dance, both suitable for performance. However, Liu Fang insisted on something more mainstream, something everyone had heard before.

Sure enough, as the performance reached its climax, many in the audience began swaying to the music.

Li Chengfan was still in shock, whispering, “Damn, what can’t Shen Xingruo do? Is she some kind of fairy?”

Lu Xingyan ignored him. He wasn’t particularly surprised that she could play the violin, given that her mother was a renowned violinist. It was to be expected, but he couldn’t tell Li Chengfan that.

Midway through the performance, He Siyue came over with a bouquet, saying to Wang Youfu, “Mr. Wang, the flowers are ready. Shall I go and deliver them upfront?”

Wang Youfu, still caught up in the music, was about to nod when he remembered something. “No, go find Teacher Deng for me.”

Then he turned to Lu Xingyan. “You, Lu Xingyan, get up and go to the front to wait. You’ll be giving the flowers to Shen Xingruo.”

Cued unexpectedly, Lu Xingyan remained slouched in his chair, arms crossed like an old man.

Beside him, Li Chengfan and Zhao Langming were more proactive, clamoring, “I’ll do it, Mr. Wang, let me go!”

“I’ll go, I’ll go!”

Wang Youfu glanced at the two of them, with a hint of disdain in his eyes, before finally dragging Lu Xingyan to his feet. “I specifically had He Siyue use the class fund to buy such a big bouquet. It’s about saving face for our class. Look at Shen Xingruo, so beautifully dressed. The one delivering the flowers needs to have a good image too. Look at the two of you, not even wearing your uniforms properly…”

Lu Xingyan chuckled nonchalantly, getting up and casually pulling up half of his uniform zipper, looking quite carefree.

Li Chengfan and Zhao Langming were utterly baffled.

???

Did Lu Xingyan dress properly?! Apart from having a handsome face, he had no sense of style at all. How could his image be considered good?

What kind of appearance-obsessed homeroom teacher was Wang Youfu?

Even Wang Youfu felt like his excuse was a bit weak and had embarrassed the students. He cleared his throat and changed the subject, saying, “Isn’t Lu Xingyan Shen Xingruo’s deskmate? What’s going on between you two?”

“Off you go, Lu Xingyan, hurry up,” he added.

Seeing Lu Xingyan take the flowers from He Siyue and start walking forward, Wang Youfu pulled him back again. “This way! How can you be so clueless with such a handsome face!”

Lu Xingyan: “…”

After Lu Xingyan had walked a bit farther, Wang Youfu, looking quite pleased with himself, muttered to himself, “Shen Xingruo and Lu Xingyan, your names even sound good together, so neat and tidy.”

Li Chengfan: “…”

Zhao Langming: “…”

Neat and tidy, my ass.

Just after finishing their exams, the students felt relatively relaxed. Those confident in themselves had already checked their answers and estimated their scores, while those lacking confidence couldn’t be bothered to look at the answers, taking the day easy.

Due to the upcoming school anniversary, the school seemed particularly lively these days. Off-campus stationery stores were selling Mingli High School’s emblematic postcards and mugs. This year, there was a collaboration between the art students and the school. They drew caricatures of some popular teachers, which were then turned into various souvenirs. A tent was set up at the school gate for exclusive sales.

After class, Lu Xingyan and Li Chengfan went to the restroom to smoke. Li Chengfan and Zhao Langming chatted about games while smoking, but Lu Xingyan seemed absent-minded. He smoked half a cigarette, then suddenly extinguished it and walked out.

Li Chengfan said, “Hey, Yan-ge, you’re leaving?”

Lu Xingyan didn’t even turn his head. “Hurry up, I’ll wait for you outside.”

Outside the restroom, he leaned against the railing, chewing on a piece of gum. Coincidentally, girls were discussing in the adjacent girls’ restroom while washing their hands:

“That caricature of Li Deming is really cute! He’s much cuter than he is in real life. I bought a whole set.”

“Liang Dong’s is also good. You know, Liang Dong is usually so stiff… But Wang Youfu’s doesn’t feel special at all. I didn’t buy his.”

“YeAh the one he drew isn’t as interesting as he is. Oh, now that you mention it, I was going to tell you earlier, but then class started, and I forgot.”

“What is it?”

“When I went to the political office this morning, Wang Youfu and Li Deming were arguing. Well, not arguing, but they were disputing. Li Deming even taunted Wang Youfu, implying that he’s unpopular and that his merchandise sales rank last among the teachers. That’s about it. But the look on Wang Youfu’s face was almost like he was dying of anger.”

“Hahaha, are they really that childish?”

“A lot of teachers in our grade are quite childish. I almost died laughing when I heard.”

Indeed, it was quite childish. Lu Xingyan listened in briefly before scoffing lightly. Soon, Li Chengfan and Zhao Langming came out, and the three of them walked back to the classroom, discussing other topics. The petty gossip about the teachers’ childish behavior faded quickly from Lu Xingyan’s mind.

Just after the mid-term exams, it was time for the school anniversary. The teachers knew the students wouldn’t be able to concentrate, so most of Wednesday’s classes were left for self-study.

Shen Xingruo had taken the whole afternoon off, saying she had to rehearse in the auditorium and might not be back until evening self-study. Before leaving, He Siyue remembered something and turned back to her. “Oh, Shen Xingruo, you’re part of the anniversary performance. The school issued tickets separately. I almost forgot.”

With that, he found the tickets and handed them to Shen Xingruo. “You can give them to your roommates.”

“Oh, thank you,” Shen Xingruo said as she took them, counting to find there were five. She casually slipped them into the outer pocket of her backpack.

As it was time for dismissal, Zhao Langming leaned against Li Chengfan’s desk, playing a game together. When Shen Xingruo got up, the two of them teased her.

“Ruojie, are you going for rehearsal? Don’t be nervous, really, just play casually, and you’ll wow everyone.”

“Zhao Langming, it’s rare for you to speak like a human. Oh, Ruojie, we’re not going to the anniversary this time, but our hearts will always be with you!” Li Chengfan’s eyes darted between his phone screen and Shen Xingruo, even managing to free a hand to shape half a heart on his head.

Zhao Langming caught on and formed the other half of the heart. They leaned their heads together and made a heart gesture to her.

Shen Xingruo nodded slightly in response and left the room.

Seeing their oily display, Lu Xingyan felt extremely uncomfortable. Before Shen Xingruo left the classroom, he kicked the leg of Li Chengfan’s chair. “Stop disgusting me, both of you.”

“Damn it! Yan-ge, what’s wrong with you? You ruined my skill… Damn it! There’s just a sliver of health left!”

Zhao Langming widened his eyes. “You’re quite good at shifting blame, you noob.”

Lu Xingyan snatched his phone and continued the game himself.

As the summer approached, the sun hung brightly in the sky, casting warm rays into the classroom through the window grids, making the whole afternoon feel cozy. Normally, this would be the perfect time for a nap, and indeed, a large portion of the class was fast asleep. However, Lu Xingyan, for some reason, felt completely awake. He occasionally glanced at Shen Xingruo’s backpack.

The last geography class was also a self-study session. The teacher sat at the lectern grading assignments after assigning two pages of workbook exercises. Lu Xingyan played with his phone for a while, then lifted his head to find everyone around him either sleeping or quietly working on their exercises. Suddenly, a bold idea struck him.

He stuffed his phone into the desk hole, yawned lazily, casually picked up a pen, and then opened the workbook to doodle and scribble. As he doodled, he seemed to have lost something. He searched around and then casually picked up Shen Xingruo’s backpack, flipping through it.

Seeing Li Chengfan asleep on the desk next to him, snoring peacefully, Lu Xingyan quietly pulled out a ticket for the school anniversary from the outer pocket of Shen Xingruo’s backpack. Then, acting as if nothing had happened, he put Shen Xingruo’s backpack back and continued doodling in the workbook. Not far away, Ruan Wen, tired from solving questions, was startled by his series of actions, her eyes wide open.

When the geography class finally ended, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Some had just woken up, yawning and stretching lazily in their seats. Soon, the sound of desks and chairs being pushed and pulled echoed in the classroom as the students got up in groups of two or three and headed outside the school for snacks.

Lu Xingyan didn’t know when he fell asleep, but the bell didn’t wake him up, nor did the noise in the classroom. Zhao Langming had initially wanted to pat his shoulder and call him to join them for food, but Li Chengfan stopped him in time. “Are you looking to die? Don’t call him. He’s in a bad mood today, haven’t you noticed?”

“Is he?” Zhao Langming looked skeptical, but his body displayed his fear of death quite honestly. He didn’t reach out again and even lowered his voice by eight degrees.

Since neither Li Chengfan nor Zhao Langming called him, no one else dared to disturb him. Gradually, people left, and the classroom became quieter. When the classroom was almost silent, Lu Xingyan, still rubbing his eyes sleepily, lifted his head. Seeing only two girls sitting together eating fruit, he suddenly lost interest in pretending and got up decisively, swiftly leaving the classroom.

The two girls had just been discussing Lu Xingyan with enthusiasm, but now, they looked at each other in confusion.

In any school, there would always be breakfast shops, stationery stores, snack stalls, and of course, printing shops. Due to the dominance of the breakfast shops and stationery stores, the printing shops near Mingli were squeezed to the end of Book Street. Four or five shops lined up neatly, looking harmonious and friendly.

Lu Xingyan chose the most upscale one. The sign listed more than twenty types of services. The shop was empty at the moment, so he pushed the door open and directly took out the ticket, waving it at the boss who was editing on the computer. “Boss, can you print me one exactly like this?”

The boss stood up, took the ticket from him, and examined it carefully for a moment. Then, his expression suddenly turned strange. “Do you want it just color printed or do you want to use special paper like copperplate paper?”

Lu Xingyan didn’t understand the various options. He got straight to the point. “Just make it the same, something I can use.”

The boss scrutinized him from head to toe, his expression becoming increasingly strange. Lu Xingyan felt inexplicable and added, “Money is not a problem.”

Money might not be a problem, but you’re a problem. What’s with making fake tickets out of nowhere?

The boss muttered to himself, then handed the ticket back to Lu Xingyan. “Sorry, this won’t work. The tickets from your school are pretty advanced; they have scanning features. Just printing them won’t do any good.”

He couldn’t help but ask, “But why do you want to print this? Although it’s just a ticket for the school anniversary, forging tickets is illegal, you know.”

“…Well,” Lu Xingyan said sarcastically, “You seem to be a model citizen.”

“Why not just run for office instead of owning a printing shop?” The boss felt oddly proud after hearing this. “Believe it or not, I used to be the head of the school’s disciplinary team when I was a student, specifically in charge of keeping each class in line.”

Lu Xingyan was speechless and didn’t bother with him anymore. He took two steps back, pushed the door, and walked out.

Since the high-end shop couldn’t do it, he went to the other shops one by one, but none of them could help either.

Carrying the ticket, Lu Xingyan walked back, suddenly feeling like he was going crazy, acting like a fool for a school anniversary celebration. Was it worth all this trouble? He made up his mind not to go to the stupid event. But as soon as he entered the school gate, he saw a crowd around the booth selling Q-version merchandise of the teachers.

At that moment, he remembered the conversation he overheard while smoking.

Thoughts exploded in his mind, setting off fireworks. He walked over, looking lazy and indifferent. Some people recognized him and whispered, making room for him automatically. Even the girl running the stall recognized him, stealing glances at him shyly.

Without looking up, he casually picked up a refrigerator magnet and asked, “Do you have any of Wang Youfu’s?”

“All of the teachers are here,” the girl replied.

Silently in her heart, she added: But hardly any of Wang’s sold.

So Lu Xingyan casually said, “His, I’ll take them all.”

The onlookers naturally went through the trilogy of surprise, confusion, and chill, while Lu Xingyan remained nonchalant as if he had just bought some cabbage.

With so many items, Lu Xingyan couldn’t be bothered to carry them. He paid and had them delivered directly to Class One, one for each person, and any extras were sent to Class Four – because Wang Youfu also taught political science there.

Of course, more importantly, the homeroom teacher of Class Four was Li Deming.

Upon returning to the classroom, Lu Xingyan put the ticket back where it belonged. As expected, not long after evening self-study started, Wang Youfu sent someone to call him to the office.

Lu Xingyan reached the door just as Shen Xingruo was returning to the classroom, her hair disheveled as she tied it up, possibly due to rehearsal requirements.

As they passed each other, Lu Xingyan caught a whiff of the grassy scent on her neck, similar to his own, but with a hint of delicate floral fragrance.

For some reason, he couldn’t help but smirk.

Shen Xingruo was busy with rehearsals, and she hadn’t even eaten dinner, feeling drained of energy. She only brought a carton of milk, but halfway through it, He Siyue turned to her and asked in a hushed tone, “Have you had dinner?”

Shen Xingruo shook her head.

Siyue chuckled, “I have a friend also in rehearsals. They still message me during rehearsals, asking me to bring them food. I figured you probably hadn’t eaten either.”

Their rotating seats for the week happened to be under the surveillance camera, in a blind spot. He Siyue glanced up, then discreetly passed her a sandwich from under the desk.

Shen Xingruo paused, then set down her milk and thanked him.

“No problem,” He Siyue replied with a smile, tilting his head towards the desk, indicating he would continue with his work.

Shen Xingruo nodded, and she smiled back warmly. She thought He Siyue was a nice guy – gentle, considerate, and always willing to help. Although he didn’t have Lu Xingyan’s flashy looks, his smile was also attractive, with clean and neat teeth, giving people a warm and approachable feeling.

After the first evening study session, Shen Xingruo finally opened the sandwich. Ruan Wen ran over from the back and, seeing that Lu Xingyan hadn’t returned yet, sat in his seat and leaned in to talk to Shen Xingruo. “Xingruo, let me tell you something.”

Shen Xingruo nodded in response.

After hesitating for almost the whole afternoon, Ruan Wen found it difficult to speak up. She hesitated and kept an eye on whether Lu Xingyan would suddenly appear at the front or back door. After a long while, she said softly, “During geography class today, I saw Lu Xingyan rummaging through your bag…”

Shen Xingruo’s chewing slowed down.

Ruan Wen continued hesitantly, “It seemed like he took something, from the outer pocket. Do you want to check?”

She added, “Maybe I was mistaken, or maybe he accidentally left something in your bag…”

Shen Xingruo set down her sandwich and opened the outer pocket.

Ruan Wen asked, “Is anything missing?”

Shen Xingruo unfolded and counted the items one by one. “Nothing’s missing.”

Meanwhile, in the office, Wang Youfu lectured Lu Xingyan earnestly with a smile on his lips. “…We shouldn’t pay attention to these formalities. They have no practical use for teachers’ teaching or your learning.”

“Lu Xingyan, I know your family is well-off, but you shouldn’t waste money like this. Over a hundred items, and you bought them all at once. Our classmates can’t even divide them up, so they have to be distributed to Class Four as well.”

Beside him, Li Deming adjusted his glasses, watching Wang Youfu’s overly enthusiastic demeanor, and couldn’t help but sip his tea in silence.

Lu Xingyan nodded several times, then continued, “It’s mainly because you, Teacher Wang, are so popular. The school anniversary only happens once a year, so it’s only right to splurge a bit. Plus, your memorabilia will have great value in the future.”

Wang Youfu’s mouth curled up crazily, his eyes narrowed into slits from laughing.

Li Deming couldn’t bear it anymore, he slammed down his teacup and stood up, storming out angrily. As he reached the door, he turned back and pointed at Wang Youfu, admonishing, “Corruption!”

Wang Youfu shook his head with a smile.

He watched Li Deming storm away in frustration.

Finally regaining some popularity among the crowd, Wang Youfu felt utterly relaxed.

After going through all the motions of the performance, Lu Xingyan finally broached the topic of the performance fee.

He cleared his throat a couple of times and casually asked, “By the way, Teacher Wang, do you still have tickets for the school anniversary? Li Chengfan and Zhao Langming want to go.”

“Yes, yes, you guys should go and enjoy the school anniversary. It’s a good thing,” Wang Youfu said with a bright smile.

Just then, someone knocked on the door.

Before Wang Youfu could finish his sentence to Lu Xingyan, he called out, “Come in.”

Lu Xingyan also turned to look.

It was Ruan Wen and Shen Xingruo.

Judging by their appearance, they had just arrived, so they probably hadn’t heard the previous conversation.

But as soon as he saw Shen Xingruo, Lu Xingyan had a bad feeling. He thought to himself, “Wang Youfu, please don’t blurt out anything about Li Chengfan and Zhao Langming wanting to attend the school anniversary, you might give yourself away.”

Before he could finish that thought, the next moment, his dread multiplied tenfold, as Wang Youfu inadvertently confirmed it:

“Oh, Shen Xingruo, you’ve arrived just in time. I gave you the remaining tickets for the school anniversary earlier, right? Give a few to Lu Xingyan. He, Li Chengfan, and oh, what’s his name, Zhao Langming, they all want to go.”

Lu Xingyan: “…”

Shen Xingruo: “…”

Their eyes met in midair.

Both were filled with complex emotions.

Lu Xingyan found it difficult to describe the emotions he felt at that moment.

Why add insult to injury by mentioning that he also wanted to go watch the event? His heart suddenly churned with tumultuous waves, like a tsunami crashing down, causing landslides and mudflows… He wanted to return all of Wang Youfu’s tacky memorabilia in the next second.

Five minutes later.

Ruan Wen stayed behind in the office to tally assignment scores.

Lu Xingyan and Shen Xingruo left Wang Youfu’s office together.

Lu Xingyan was still trying to justify himself. “It’s a few friends from Class Three who want to go, but if I had told Wang Youfu that it’s for Class Three, he definitely wouldn’t have given them. He holds a grudge against the Class Three homeroom teacher, you wouldn’t know since you’re new.”

Trying to change the subject, he added, “Speaking of which, Wang Youfu seems to have a grudge against the homeroom teachers of several classes on the first floor.”

Seeing Shen Xingruo indifferent as she entered the classroom, he redirected the conversation, adopting a semi-exasperated expression to emphasize his innocence. “I didn’t want to go. You heard before the rehearsal, both Li Chengfan and Zhao Langming said they weren’t going. We had plans to play pool instead. If you don’t want the tickets, it’s fine. I’ll have the Class Three folks figure it out themselves when the time comes.”

Shen Xingruo remained silent as she took her seat.

As Lu Xingyan settled into his seat as well, she suddenly placed the extra tickets on his desk.

“No need to explain. I understand,” she said lightly.

Lu Xingyan was puzzled. “Understand what?”

Shen Xingruo casually opened her workbook and replied, “You were just stunned by my unparalleled beauty and wanted to see me perform, so you don’t need to explain.”

This meal, Liu Xingyan ate unusually quietly. Throughout the entire meal, he only heard Pei Yue and Aunt Zhou chatting, while Shen Xingruo spoke little, occasionally chiming in.

As they were about to finish eating, Pei Yue glanced at Liu Xingyan, a bit puzzled. “What’s wrong, did someone give you a mute potion?”

Liu Xingyan: …

Maybe he had been given a love potion.

Seeing him silent, Pei Yue became even more curious. She asked while picking up food, “Did you get into trouble? You’re unusually quiet today. This isn’t like you. Why am I feeling so uneasy?”

What a freaking mother.

Liu Xingyan was speechless. He quickly finished a few bites, put down his chopsticks, and stood up, saying hastily, “I haven’t fully woken up yet. Alright, I’ll go back to my room first.”

Pei Yue watched his lazy figure with a pensive expression, her chewing slowed down considerably.

Once he disappeared around the corner of the stairs, Pei Yue suddenly put down her chopsticks, leaned forward, and lowered her voice to instruct Shen Xingruo, “Ruo Ruo, Aunt Pei will be out in the afternoon. Stay at home and keep an eye on him for me. If anything happens, call Aunt Pei.”

Shen Xingruo paused for a moment, then nodded.

Pei Yue had already made plans to go shopping and play cards with her friends after lunch. After finishing her meal and a brief makeover, she grabbed her bag and left.

Aunt Zhou cleaned up the dining table and made a shopping list. After Uncle Liu returned Pei Yue home, they went to the supermarket together.

Shen Xingruo originally wanted to go to the supermarket with them, but after receiving Aunt Pei’s “task,” she stayed behind.

The afternoon sun was warm and gentle, not scorching at all. Shen Xingruo, with some leisure time after lunch, watered the flowers in the small garden, as a way to digest her meal.

After watering a patch of unknown white flowers in front, she turned around and happened to glance at the window on the third floor. There was a head peeking out sneakily.

She squinted, sizing up—

It seemed like the head was checking if Uncle Liu’s car had gone far, and once confirmed, it quickly withdrew.

Setting down the watering can, she went back inside.

As Shen Xingruo went upstairs, Liu Xingyan happened to come down from upstairs. One was acting guilty and distracted, while the other was stealthy and silent.

The two collided at the corner of the stairs on the second floor, startling each other.

Shen Xingruo scrutinized Liu Xingyan up and down, seeing him carrying a bamboo basket. She directly asked, “Liu Xingyan, what sneaky business are you up to?”

Liu Xingyan was first taken aback, then awkwardly averted his gaze, subconsciously touched his neck, and his eyes wandered around.

“What sneaky business… Watch your words. I, I came down to wash some clothes.”

He was so nervous he couldn’t even speak properly.

Shen Xingruo’s attention was once again drawn to the bamboo basket. On top was a school uniform jacket, and there seemed to be something else underneath.

Without saying a word, she paused for a moment, then stepped aside to let Liu Xingyan pass.

Liu Xingyan didn’t expect her to be so easygoing. He hesitated for a few seconds before continuing down the stairs.

After a few steps, he turned back. “Why are you following me?”

Shen Xingruo replied calmly, “Who’s following you? Can’t I go downstairs?”

Liu Xingyan: …

Yes, she could.

Ruo-jie can do anything.

As Liu Xingyan descended to the first floor, he kept glancing back while heading towards the washing machine. Shen Xingruo didn’t follow him all the way; instead, she went to the refrigerator to get some milk.

He breathed a sigh of relief and opened the washing machine, throwing in some dirty clothes as a cover-up. Just as he picked up the bedsheets, he had a bad feeling and turned his head—

There was Shen Xingruo, casually drinking milk, standing leisurely less than two meters behind him. There was a bit of milk on her lips.

Thinking of last night’s dream, Liu Xingyan felt completely trapped, and his movements became stiff.

Shen Xingruo glanced at the things under his basket and immediately recognized the bedsheets. They had the same pattern as the ones in her room, just a different color. What was he hiding under bedsheets?

Under Shen Xingruo’s scrutinizing gaze, Liu Xingyan felt like he was under a spotlight.

In reality, only a small area was dirty, and it wouldn’t be noticeable if he just took it out and threw it in the washing machine. He kept trying to convince himself to act casual—

“I… I mean,” Liu Xingyan closed his eyes, feeling defeated, and resigned, “Miss, I beg you, could you stop staring at me?”

Shen Xingruo didn’t say anything and stood there for a while. Suddenly, unexpectedly, she turned and left.

Liu Xingyan was still waiting to be humiliated by her, but she just left like that. He hadn’t recovered from the shock yet.

Through the French window, he saw Shen Xingruo watering the plants. It was then that he hastily stuffed the bedsheets into the washing machine.

But the next moment, he fell silent.

How the hell did he use this thing?

This washing machine was too advanced now. The buttons were more complicated than solving a math equation. He studied it for a while but didn’t know where to start.

Five minutes later, he knocked on the French window.

Shen Xingruo looked up.

Liu Xingyan gestured for her to come in.

She thought for a moment and then entered.

“What’s up?”

Liu Xingyan cleared his throat awkwardly. “Um, can you use the washing machine?”

“…”

Shen Xingruo didn’t say anything. She passed by him and went straight to the washing machine.

Liu Xingyan hadn’t even considered the possibility that she wouldn’t know how to use it; after all, she seemed like she knew everything.

Shen Xingruo stood quietly in front of the washing machine for a moment, then pressed the start button on the touch panel.

Huh?

No response.

Shen Xingruo pondered for a moment, staring at a series of function keys such as soaking, rinsing, washing, strong wash for fabrics, and cotton linen fibers for a long time. Then, unusually, she entered a state of decision paralysis.

Liu Xingyan was somewhat suspicious. “You don’t know either?”

Shen Xingruo glanced at him, her eyes full of a condescending “What nonsense are you talking about?”

She directly pressed the washing button, and the washing machine unceremoniously beeped three times.

Both of them fell silent.

Liu Xingyan remembered something and asked, “Did you forget to add water?”

It seemed so.

Shen Xingruo found the water level button.

Finally, the washing machine started running after adding water!

Both of them breathed a sigh of relief.

Just as Shen Xingruo was about to leave after her mission was accomplished, Liu Xingyan remembered another issue. “Did you forget to add laundry detergent?”

“…”

He knew quite a lot indeed.

Shen Xingruo searched nearby but didn’t find any laundry powder or detergent. Generally, the things needed for washing clothes should be around.

Liu Xingyan also helped search for a while but didn’t find anything.

Shen Xingruo had to study the control panel again. In this process, she discovered that the laundry detergent was built into the detergent compartment, and all she needed to do was select the amount.

…

After sorting out everything, Shen Xingruo felt a sense of achievement akin to solving a complex math problem. But as soon as Liu Xingyan’s incriminating evidence entered the washing machine and started churning, he felt adrift.

Leaning to the side, he teased, “I thought with your high-and-mighty demeanor just now, you must have been quite skilled at washing clothes too.”

“Aren’t they being washed now?” Shen Xingruo replied with a blank expression.

“If I hadn’t reminded you to add water and detergent, it seems like you were planning to dry clean them,” Liu Xingyan joked.

“…,” Shen Xingruo remained expressionless.

“You mock me even when I’m helping you with laundry. What’s the point of competing with each other in these meaningless trivial matters every day? What’s there to be proud of?” he continued.

“Does proving that I can’t do laundry mean you’ll beat me in exams? Or does proving that I can’t do laundry mean you’ll score 400 points?”

“Spending time idly like this, you might as well tackle a couple more proof problems on similar triangles. Childish,” came the retort.

…

For what felt like an eternity, Lu Xingyan couldn’t shake off the comment. How did a harmless jab escalate to wasting life and squandering time? He didn’t feel proud at all. No, no, no! Who the hell wet the bed???

Lu Xingyan snapped back to reality and continued walking, instinctively explaining, “Hey, it’s not— Shen Xingruo!”

Shen Xingruo ignored him and headed straight upstairs.

“Damn it, I didn’t wet the bed!”

Lu Xingyan was still reeling from the shock, utterly baffled at how Shen Xingruo managed to jump to bed-wetting out of nowhere.

But how the hell was he supposed to explain this?!

Caught between the dilemma of being misunderstood as a bed-wetter and revealing the truth, only to be metaphorically put in the washing machine and spun to death by Shen Xingruo, Lu Xingyan ultimately chose to stay silent.

The awkward weekend finally drew to a close amidst mutual silence. On Sunday, the two returned to school.

These past few days, Lu Xingyan hadn’t slept well at all. Every time his head hit the pillow, he couldn’t help but replay that dream from that night. In the dream, Shen Xingruo was entangled with him, letting him have his way, crying softly, tender and delicate. It was so much more adorable than her usual fierce demeanor.

Unable to sleep well at home, Lu Xingyan wondered if he could get better rest at school. But the dormitory was filled with night owls, especially after returning from the weekend, everyone was lively.

Zhao Langming and Li Chengfan shamelessly hid under the covers after lights out to watch “Scientific Development Theory.” Even the most honest one in the dorm, Bian He, who claimed he wouldn’t watch, ended up cozily leaning against Zhao Langming’s bed while watching.

As the three of them watched and shared their viewing experiences, Lu Xingyan couldn’t take it anymore. “Damn it, you guys, are you ever going to sleep?”

“Xingyan, come over here! It’s 1080p HD, cost me sixty bucks for this source!”

Ignoring them, Lu Xingyan pulled the covers over his head and forced himself to sleep.

While he could choose to ignore the lewd discussions, Li Chengfan and the others’ conversation kept streaming into his ears:

“Her chest shape is just perfect!”

“YeAh but her moans sound a bit fake…”

“No way! It’s so exhilarating!”

Damn it.

Every keyword they uttered seamlessly connected Lu Xingyan back to that dream from that night. Before falling asleep, he even had a bold idea that if this dream could continue into tonight, that would be excellent. Then, his rationality kicked back in, and he scorned himself for daring to fantasize about that white peacock. Shameful. No, it was downright blind.

Shen Xingruo had no idea what was going on in the mind of this sensitive virgin. In the new week, she had a lot on her plate. She had to make time every day to practice the violin for an hour in the music room, on top of preparing for next week’s midterms. It was a common courtesy at Mingli for minor exams to be tough and major ones to be easy. After the midterms, there would usually be a parent-teacher conference. Parents would eagerly come, so giving them a score sheet full of failing grades would be disheartening and embarrassing. For most people, having an easy exam was a good thing. But for top students, it wasn’t, because when it’s too easy, it’s hard to stand out. Lately, when Shen Xingruo was practicing problems, she paid more attention to the detailed steps of the solutions. Despite being busy and a bit tired, she found fulfillment in her tasks. Before she knew it, another week had passed, and it was time for the Friday class meeting.

This week’s meeting was about sharing study experiences, starting from the 10th rank and moving forward. They had held several such sharing sessions since the first year, but they usually felt like a formality, with people finding them insipid and forgettable.

It wasn’t until Zhai Jiajing took the stage that the lazy, indifferent atmosphere changed. Because what she said was fresh and somewhat intriguing. Ten minutes later, Zhai Jiajing finished her presentation.

“…That’s all I wanted to share with everyone today. I hope it’s helpful. Thank you.”

Zhai Jiajing’s voice was gentle and warm, and after she finished speaking, she bowed. The audience below gave her a warm round of applause. Shen Xingruo also applauded.

But when He Siyue took the stage, she glanced at her notebook. Unfortunately, a third of what Zhai Jiajing had said about study experiences overlapped with what she had planned to say.

Soon it was Shen Xingruo’s turn to take the stage. She stood up, not bringing any notes with her. Shen Xingruo was quite popular in the class. She was beautiful, had good grades, was friendly, and brought honor to the class. As soon as she stepped onto the stage, there was already enthusiastic applause from the audience below. She adjusted the microphone, pondered for a moment, and said, “Actually, I had prepared to share some study experiences, but a classmate has already covered them, in more detail than I had planned. So I won’t go over them again.” There was a moment of confusion among the audience. Shen Xingruo continued, “I believe that sensitivity to learning is gradually cultivated through immersive learning, requiring accumulation and exploration. It’s not something that happens overnight. It’s like playing a game: you might have the best equipment and the most extensive strategy knowledge, but that doesn’t make you a master.”

“So I think we can try a different approach. You can ask questions, and I’ll do my best to answer them. If my answers don’t suit you, you can point out what’s wrong or unreasonable, and together we can adjust it to a method that suits you better.”

The audience below exchanged puzzled glances. After a moment, someone raised their hand. It was Ruan Wen, who was usually quiet and reserved.

Ruan Wen asked, “Shen Xingruo, I’d like to know how you approach writing English essays. Whenever I see the essay prompts, I always feel confused and don’t know where to start.”

Shen Xingruo pondered for a moment before responding, “When I write English essays, I first identify the keywords in the prompt. For example, in the last monthly exam essay…”

Shen Xingruo’s answer to Ruan Wen’s question was detailed, indeed living up to her promise of answering thoroughly.

After Ruan Wen’s question, several other students raised their hands.

Lu Xingyan noticed Shen Xingruo’s unusually friendly attitude and felt uncomfortable. After she finished discussing with the other students, Lu Xingyan lazily raised his hand and asked directly, “Shen Xingruo, how should we review history? I’ve never passed a history exam.”

Sensing Lu Xingyan’s attempt to liven up the atmosphere with a joke, the audience below chuckled.

Shen Xingruo glanced at him and calmly responded, “Lu Xingyan, I think you don’t need to rush to review. You can start by previewing the material instead.”

As Shen Xingruo approached, Lu Xingyan felt half of his body go numb. His hand holding the towel remained motionless on his head, with water still dripping from the ends of his hair.

Unfortunately, Shen Xingruo was so natural about it. After sniffing, she stepped back and said, “What brand of shower gel do you use? I like this scent.”

Lu Xingyan didn’t know why, but he hesitated for a moment before answering along with her words.

Shen Xingruo responded, “Seems like it’s a French brand. Forget it, it’s a bit expensive.”

A girl from a poor neighborhood shouldn’t be picky about shower gel.

“…”

“Hurry up, the food is on the table.”

She glanced at Lu Xingyan, completing her task-like assessment, then urged him once more before turning and heading downstairs.

Leaning against the door, Lu Xingyan stared at Shen Xingruo’s retreating figure for a long time without snapping out of it.

His heart rate was still as fast as it was after playing basketball, or even faster. Damn it, could the bathroom be leaking gas? It felt like carbon dioxide poisoning.

He dried his hair. No, it’s carbon monoxide.

After a while, he remembered that the water heater at home wasn’t gas-powered.

In the evening, Lu Xingyan was unusually quiet at home. After playing video games for a while, he emerged from his room and went downstairs to find something to eat.

Zhou Yi happened to be at the fridge, replacing the not-so-fresh fruits. Lu Xingyan greeted her and found a bag of bread in the fridge, along with a carton of milk.

Seeing him grab a slice of toast and pour some cold milk, Zhou Yi started nagging, “How many times do I have to tell you? Don’t eat cold food at night. Toast it in the toaster before eating it, and the milk too, bring it here, and I’ll heat it for you!”

“I’ve told you, you kids these days, don’t eat properly during dinner, and when it gets late, you start rummaging around for things…”

“No need to bother, Zhou Yi, I’ll just eat something quickly.”

He spoke with a mouthful of toast, his words somewhat muffled.

But as soon as he filled a cup, Zhou Yi grabbed it and rushed to the kitchen, swiftly grabbing a small saucepan and frying pan to make him some eggs.

Lu Xingyan: “…”

He was resigned to it. She filled the cup to the brim, and took it straight to the kitchen without spilling a drop, as if she were a master of martial arts who could walk on water just like the characters in martial arts novels.

He walked to the kitchen door.

As if she had eyes on the back of her head, Zhou Yi didn’t even turn around as she said to him, “I’ll fry two eggs, you take one up to Xiao Ruo.”

Liu Xingyan made a noncommittal grunt before remembering something. He casually asked, “Hey Zhou Yi, do we still have that shower gel in my room?”

“I just replaced it for you last month. Did you already use it up?” Without waiting for Liu Xingyan’s response, she continued, “We have some left at home. I’ll get it for you tomorrow.”

“No need, I’ll take it up myself.”

Ten minutes later, Liu Xingyan stood outside Shen Xingruo’s door, holding a plate of fried eggs and the shower gel. With no extra hands to knock, he called out, “Hey, Shen Xingruo, open up.”

“Just a moment, coming,” her voice sounded muffled through the door.

Shen Xingruo must have just taken a shower; her hair was partially dried, still slightly damp at the ends. He extended the plate of fried eggs. “Zhou Yi asked me to give this to you.”

Shen Xingruo had already rinsed her mouth, but she accepted it nonetheless, appreciating Zhou Yi’s kindness.

Liu Xingyan then gestured with the shower gel. “And this.”

Shen Xingruo glanced at it. “This isn’t the one from your room, is it?”

Though her face remained expressionless, Liu Xingyan somehow sensed a hint of disdain.

—Turns out, despite her fall into poverty, she still retained the stubbornness of a young lady.

“What are you thinking? It’s a new one,” Liu Xingyan chuckled lightly.

Shen Xingruo took it, giving him a sidelong glance in the process.

Both were skilled at reading between the lines, and from his emotionless gaze, Shen Xingruo detected a hint of disdain, as if he thought, “Do you even deserve to use my shower gel?”

After a brief silence, with Shen Xingruo about to bid him farewell and close the door, Liu Xingyan glanced at the desk behind her. “Working on homework?”

“I finished my homework long ago. I’m summarizing my study experiences.”

Unbeknownst to them, the midterm exams were fast approaching. Wang Youfu had instructed the top ten students from the previous monthly exams to write a summary of their study experiences to be shared during next week’s class meeting.

Traditionally, it was the top three students along with the top scorers in each subject who shared their experiences. However, this time, it was a bit awkward because Shen Xingruo had nearly monopolized the top spots in every subject.

Liu Xingyan remained silent. Shen Xingruo thought he might be asking for her homework to copy, but he was too proud to ask.

Remembering his generous offer to lend her half of his living expenses, Shen Xingruo, with a kind heart, asked, “Are you here to borrow homework? Then come in and get it yourself.”

Liu Xingyan hadn’t even thought about doing his homework himself. He paused for a moment, then, as if on a whim, followed Shen Xingruo into the room.

Standing in front of the desk, Shen Xingruo gestured towards the stack of exercise books and notebooks. “Take these, and also look through my backpack for the history test paper.”

She set down the fried eggs and went to the bathroom to place the shower gel.

Liu Xingyan glanced around the room, and his gaze inadvertently fell upon a half-hidden white strap in the corner of her bedsheet. The strap was thin, resembling a phone data cable at first glance.

He happened to have forgotten his charger at home. Walking towards the bed, he called out in the direction of the bathroom, “Shen Xingruo, I’m borrowing your charger.”

“Sure,” Shen Xingruo replied casually, grabbing a hair tie from the bathroom countertop.

Liu Xingyan stood at the foot of the bed, pulling out the “data cable.” At first, he thought the texture didn’t feel right, then he was stunned.

Damn it.

Was that… underwear?

Just a plain white piece, with no patterns or lace, a simple design typical of young girls, with only a small bow design at the back clasp.

Hearing Shen Xingruo’s footsteps, Liu Xingyan, feeling electrified for some reason, swiftly stuffed it back under the sheet, covering his mouth with his hand, coughing twice, and then walked back to the desk.

His hand felt as if he had just grabbed a handful of chili, a fiery sensation spreading. As Shen Xingruo tied up her hair and walked out, he suddenly felt choked, coughing uncontrollably—

Earlier, when Shen Xingruo’s hair was loose, he hadn’t seen it, but now that it was tied up, he noticed that she was wearing a spaghetti-strap nightgown, the neckline not too revealing, covering down to her collarbone.

But thinking about that thin-strapped bra, he felt incredibly awkward.

It took a while for Liu Xingyan to stop coughing. Shen Xingruo glanced at him, then asked, “Why do you look so guilty, like you’ve stolen something from me? Did you steal something?”

Liu Xingyan felt like coughing again.

He forcibly suppressed it, waited a few seconds, then said, “What nonsense are you talking about? Take a look at yourself, is there anything worth stealing?”

“…”

Seemed like there wasn’t.

Shen Xingruo didn’t dwell on it, just gave him a look that said, “Finish borrowing the homework and get out.”

Already feeling guilty, Liu Xingyan became even more uneasy under Shen Xingruo’s continued scrutiny.

He grabbed a few random assignments from the desk, muttered a farewell, and quickly left.

Shen Xingruo found his behavior odd and couldn’t quite understand it. After finishing her study experience summary, she packed her backpack and suddenly realized her history test paper and charger were quietly lying inside.

She sat there, contemplating. Her intuition told her that Liu Xingyan must have done something unspeakable in her room. But after a thorough inspection, there didn’t seem to be anything amiss. Oh well, it’s probably best not to let him know. Otherwise, he’s dead.

“No, not like that… Hmm… Too fast… Be gentler… Boom boom boom!”

Shen Xingruo patiently emptied her patience, her knocking becoming heavier. “Liu Xingyan, it’s lunchtime!”

In the final moment of sprinting towards the person in his arms, Liu Xingyan suddenly woke up. Just, in the very last moment. He stared at the ceiling blankly for a while, his consciousness not fully returning. The phone on the bedside table kept ringing, and Liu Xingyan, still half-drowsy and half-awake, finally picked it up and looked at it, suddenly feeling much more awake.

“Liu Xingyan, did you sleep until the cows came home?” Shen Xingruo’s voice was calm, echoing both from the phone and outside the door. Just by listening, one could tell that this was the prelude to a lesson on being a decent human being.

Liu Xingyan gave a perfunctory response. “Okay, I’ll be right there.”

Shen Xingruo couldn’t be bothered to deal with him further and hung up, heading downstairs.

She had never seen someone so useless in studying yet capable of sleeping more than her. Every time he only scored a few points, how could he sleep soundly for twelve hours without a care in the world? If it were her, she wouldn’t dare to close her eyes.

As the call ended, Liu Xingyan remained in the position of answering the phone, unmoving, sitting at the head of the bed.

This was Freaking unreal.

All because of a piece of underwear.

He had just dreamed an indescribable and very specific dream about Shen Xingruo because of a piece of underwear.

F*ck.

He wiped his face and checked the time on his phone. It was already noon. How long had he been dreaming? He remembered the dream being quite long and having a sustainable development, from the bed to the bathroom, and waking up near the window.

He was carefully recalling when suddenly his WeChat vibrated.

In a WeChat group named “Unity, Mutual Assistance, Building a Better Society,” Li Chengfan shared a video titled “Scientific Development Concept.mp4.”

The group quickly became lively.

Xu Chengzhou: Brother, impressive!

Zhao Langming: Not afraid of getting your driver’s license revoked even in broad daylight? Brother Fan is bold!

Li Chengfan: [The red scarf in front is even brighter.jpg]

Damn it, these social cancerous guys always send these things from time to time, poisoning him, a well-bred and upright young man!

The group chat was heating up. Liu Xingyan looked expressionless for a while, ready to close it, when suddenly he was mentioned.

Xu Chengzhou: Young Master Liu, still not up yet??? Were you having wet dreams last night?

How come he didn’t seem this accurate on multiple-choice exams?

Liu Xingyan: …

Liu Xingyan: You jerk, you’ll get caught by the anti-pornography task force sooner or later.

After sending the message, his mind involuntarily recalled that dream again.

Xu Chengzhou: Holy crap, what’s with this annoyed tone? Hahaha!

Liu Xingyan started typing but stopped halfway.

No, he couldn’t.

He immediately threw his phone aside, got out of bed, and headed to the bathroom to take a shower.

After showering, he took off the dirty bedsheets and threw them into the bamboo basket. To prevent Aunt Zhou from coming in and collecting them, he hid the basket in the wardrobe.

After doing all this, he went downstairs. They were already having lunch.

He intentionally avoided looking at Shen Xingruo.

Sitting across from Shen Xingruo, he just stared at the table and ate his meal silently.

Shen Xingruo glanced at him, her chopsticks paused for a moment.

Liu Xingyan was a strange person. He had claimed not to have OCD when they went to the fly restaurant, but now it seemed like he was a severe sufferer of it.

What’s the big deal about taking out the trash? He had spent such a long time showering last night and now he was washing up again. If he put the same dedication and persistence into studying, why couldn’t he score 400 points?