When the two arrived home, Pei Yue had also just returned. Seeing that there was no sound or light on the third floor, Pei Yue thought they had already gone to bed. She was adjusting the brightness of the lights at the French windows on the first floor and holding a selfie stick, taking pictures of her new hairstyle she had done all day.

Lu Xingyan and Shen Xingruo entered, and there was a “click” sound from the direction of the light source. Shen Xingruo paused, then greeted her. Lu Xingyan was speechless to the point of rolling his eyes, standing at the entrance to change his shoes without even glancing in Pei Yue’s direction.

Pei Yue had excellent psychological resilience and didn’t feel embarrassed at all. She put away her selfie stick and naturally made a surprised expression, “You two are just back. I thought you were already asleep.”

“Went out to eat,” Lu Xingyan replied lazily.

“What did you eat?”

“…”

“…”

Both Lu Xingyan and Shen Xingruo remained silent.

Two underage teenagers sat at the outdoor wooden table and had a hotpot worth 903 yuan as if it wasn’t a glorious achievement worth mentioning repeatedly.

Fortunately, Pei Yue didn’t care much about what they had eaten. Since she was going to Huize tomorrow, she changed the topic, said a few more words, and then told them to go upstairs and sleep quickly.

As they climbed the stairs, Lu Xingyan intentionally lagged behind a few steps. When Shen Xingruo walked past the corner, he glanced back.

Pei Yue was gesturing to him with her eyebrows.

He raised a finger and gestured back.

Pei Yue sighed.

Every family has its difficulties. There was nothing she could do. She had tried her best.

The next morning, after Lu Xingyan finished washing up, with his messy bed hair, he went downstairs to have breakfast. Just as he pushed open the door, he saw Shen Xingruo carrying her backpack toward the stairs.

Not sure if it was because his imagined background story of the wicked stepmother and her daughter was too realistic, when Lu Xingyan saw Shen Xingruo’s slender back, he couldn’t help but feel that she was the real Cinderella.

He couldn’t hold back, so he called out, “Hey.”

Shen Xingruo turned around.

He paid some attention to his appearance, adjusted his hair, then leaned against the door lazily and asked, “Where are you going with your backpack?”

“The library,” Shen Xingruo paused, then added, “And then back to school.”

Perhaps because his mind wasn’t quite clear in the morning, and his already poor ability to organize his thoughts was at its lowest, he wanted to say something, but all he could do was put on a cold face that said, “Oh, I was just asking casually, no need to answer in so much detail,” as he watched Miss Cinderella walk downstairs.

In the afternoon, Lu Xingyan and Pei Yue boarded the high-speed train to Huize. Compared to the two-hour wait at the airport, then another hour in transit to the city center, plus the high risk of flight delays, the high-speed train journey of only one hour to and from Huize was much more convenient.

Lu Shan was busy with work. Originally, he planned to return to Xingcheng and attend the wedding with his wife and son, but he couldn’t get away at the last minute, so he had to fly directly from Yun City to Huize on the day of the wedding.

This was Shen Guangyao’s second marriage, and as an artist himself, he didn’t want the wedding to be too grand and extravagant, as it would contradict his elegant persona that disregarded wealth and fame. Apart from one absent daughter from the groom’s side, there were hardly any distant relatives present, and the bride’s family had few guests as well. All in all, there were fewer than fifty guests.

Though the wedding ceremony was small in scale, every detail was meticulously arranged. A month prior, Lu Shan’s family received the wedding invitation hand-painted by Shen Guangyao himself. Upon arrival in Huize, a dedicated car was waiting at the station to escort them to the hotel.

Huize was a wonderful place, with beautiful scenery and a comfortable lifestyle. Despite developers turning every city into a collection of similar rectangular buildings, stepping into Huize, one could still feel the slower pace of life compared to Xingcheng.

The wedding was scheduled for the next morning at a hotel under the Junyi Group’s umbrella. Shen Guangyao, being a genuine artist in his forties, was quite romantic. He had reserved half of the hotel floor for the ceremony, which was held on a lawn.

Lu Xingyan didn’t like attending such occasions with his parents. It always felt like children were being used as assets for showing off or as excuses for socializing. Lu Xingyan wasn’t good at studying, and Pei Yue and Lu Shan never mentioned his academic performance. The conversations at such events were usually with discerning individuals, and if you didn’t actively bring up a topic, it wasn’t worth mentioning.

Moreover, he didn’t seem to have a very good temperament, so the uncles and aunts could only praise him repeatedly for “how tall and handsome your son Lu Xingyan has grown!”

After hearing it too many times, Lu Xingyan’s soul had one more question deep down — besides being tall and handsome, do I have no other qualities?

During the wait for the bride and groom’s entrance, Lu Xingyan casually asked Pei Yue.

Pei Yue sighed with relief and exclaimed, “Son, although you don’t have many qualities, at least you have self-awareness.”

Was she his biological mother?

Soon, the newlyweds made their entrance. Dressed in black suits with white wedding gowns, they were accompanied by two flower girls and flanked by etiquette ladies throwing flowers on both sides — after all, the groom was in his forties and the bride in her thirties. At this age, it was difficult to find unmarried friends to be bridesmaids and groomsmen.

The last time Lu Xingyan saw Shen Guangyao was three years ago when he came to Xingcheng for an art exhibition and visited Lu’s home. Back then, Shen Guangyao was as elegant and cultured as he appears today, but besides his elegance, he also had the melancholic demeanor unique to artists. Now, that melancholy was completely gone.

The bride looked gentle and beautiful, with a graceful appearance. Her beauty was remarkable for someone in her thirties or forties, though compared to Shen Xingruo’s mother, Song Qingzhao, it was incomparable.

— But this didn’t hinder the couple from walking hand in hand, smiling sweetly and warmly.

The wedding music was a niche piano piece. As they walked forward, roses bloomed brightly, lilies exuded purity, and the petals of both colors mixed, creating a scene that looked both happy and romantic.

Sitting at the wedding, Lu Xingyan’s mind was filled with the indifferent expression Shen Xingruo had when she said, “I’m not going.” Perhaps because Shen Xingruo’s resistance was too obvious, he found it difficult to empathize with this romance.

The wedding quickly progressed to the part where the newlyweds exchanged rings, made vows, and kissed.

Lu Xingyan wasn’t interested in watching two people nearing eighty years of age being overly affectionate. He glanced outside the venue.

Suddenly, his yawning was interrupted.

“Hey, what are you doing, Lu Xingyan? Sit down!” Pei Yue pulled Lu Xingyan’s sleeve, lowering her voice to scold him.

Lu Xingyan pretended not to hear, “I’m going to the restroom.”

“Can’t you hold it in for a while?!”

“No.”

He got up.

Lu Xingyan’s abrupt departure attracted the attention of many people. He didn’t care about the gazes of others and simply grabbed Shen Xingruo’s wrist, dragging her to a corner.

Shen Xingruo remained expressionless throughout. She stumbled backward as Lu Xingyan dragged her, not attempting to steady herself. It was only when Lu Xingyan supported her against the wall that she stood upright.

But her gaze was still fixed on the end of the flower path.

With one hand against the wall, Lu Xingyan licked his molars and asked, “What do you want to do?”

Shen Xingruo remained silent.

“Be sensible. If you cause a scene now, where will your dad’s face be? If he gets angry and leaves everything to your stepmom and her son, without even leaving you a painting, what will you do?”

Shen Xingruo withdrew her gaze. “I didn’t intend to cause a scene.”

Lu Xingyan was taken aback.

Shen Xingruo continued, “My mom’s assets are all mine. Besides, before the marriage, he transferred four out of his six properties to my name. I’m also the beneficiary of his insurance and trust funds. If he wants to leave anything to that mother-son duo, he’ll have to paint more, find more people to praise him, and maybe die in a more mysterious way for them to appreciate the value.”

Lu Xingyan paused. Cursing his dad with a mysterious death after getting married wasn’t a small grudge.

After calming himself, Lu Xingyan asked, “But you said you weren’t coming. Dad was quite disappointed when he heard that you weren’t coming last night.”

Shen Xingruo replied indifferently, “Disappointed? Now he’s happily getting married, looking like he’s returned to his youth.”

“You’re sharp-tongued.”

The emcee announced the formal union of the couple, followed by applause and cheers nearby. Shen Xingruo’s expression became even colder.

Just as Lu Xingyan was about to say something comforting, Shen Xingruo suddenly locked eyes with him, her gaze intense.

At that moment, she seemed to be calm before the storm, and Lu Xingyan involuntarily imagined a scene where she would forcefully kiss him and anger her father on the spot. He unconsciously licked his lips.

Shen Xingruo lowered her eyelashes, looking at the hand pressed against her side, and said, “Don’t take advantage of me, and stay away from me.”

It took Lu Xingyan three seconds to react. He quickly stood upright, adopting an expression of disdain as if to say, “Who the hell wants to take advantage of you? I feel like I’m at a loss.”

It seemed that Shen Xingruo had indeed just come to take a look. Without causing a scene or crying as if her life depended on it, once the wedding proceedings were over, she turned around and left.

Liu Xingyan followed suit.

With long legs and large strides, he caught up with Shen Xingruo leisurely, hands in his pockets. They stepped out of the hotel into the bustling streets of Huize City.

The midday sun shone brightly, casting a hazy beauty on the dust particles in the air, creating a sense of tranquility.

Before coming, Liu Xingyan had glanced at the weather forecast on his phone. Huize had been experiencing continuous rainy days, but today, the sun was shining brightly.

Suddenly, he asked, “Are you here hoping for a sudden downpour when they exchange rings?”

“Childish,” Shen Xingruo glanced at him, feeling utterly speechless about his thought process.

Liu Xingyan was just teasing her, not taking it too seriously.

As lunchtime approached, they walked around the streets for a while and both started feeling hungry.

Liu Xingyan suggested finding a restaurant, and conveniently, there was one nearby that Shen Xingruo had recommended to him, known for its delicious spicy fish slices. They followed the map and headed there.

After finishing their meal, Liu Xingyan paid the bill and casually teased her, “Hey, did you forget to split the bill again when you went to the restroom?”

Shen Xingruo looked at him with an “I don’t have money to pay” expression.

The restaurant served a plate of honeydew melon and another of sliced watermelon. They didn’t leave immediately but sat down to eat and chat.

Liu Xingyan remembered something and asked, “By the way, I didn’t see your stepmother’s kid today.”

“She’s probably at extra classes, preparing for competitions,” Shen Xingruo replied.

Liu Xingyan raised an eyebrow slightly, “Still in junior high?”

“Middle school,” she confirmed.

Seeing her unusually forthcoming, Liu Xingyan seized the opportunity to ask a question that had been on his mind for a while, “Your dad has been single for quite some time, and he seems to treat you well. Why can’t you accept him remarrying?”

Shen Xingruo remained calm.

She looked up and said, “That woman was my homeroom teacher in my first year of high school. She was always there for me at school, comforting me and helping me overcome the loss of my mom. She knew everything about my family from me, and then she went behind my back and started dating my dad, intending to become my stepmother. Would you accept that if you were in my shoes?”

Homeroom teacher. No wonder she transferred schools. Liu Xingyan was momentarily at a loss for words.

Shen Xingruo wiped her hands with a tissue. “Liu Xingyan, can you lend me three hundred bucks? I need to buy a ticket back.”

Since arriving in Xingcheng, she hadn’t touched the living expenses given by Shen Guangyao. However, she was generous with money and not accustomed to being thrifty. She had already spent all her saved scholarship money.

Liu Xingyan, still a bit dazed, immediately transferred five hundred to her.

As they got up to leave, Liu Xingyan suddenly thought of something and asked, “Did you take the high-speed rail to get here?”

“Yeah,” she replied.

Liu Xingyan asked, “Then where did you get the money to buy the high-speed rail ticket to Huize?”

Shen Xingruo hesitated for a moment. “I went to that restaurant last night and got back the extra money I paid.”

“No, why is she touching her head?”

“Why is she touching her head?”

“She touched her head?!”

Lu Xingyan stared at Shen Xingruo for a few seconds, amazed, and instinctively retorted, “I didn’t…”

Wang Youfu and the other classmates’ gazes all swiveled towards him: No, you did.

Lu Xingyan had been late for fights and skipped classes countless times, dissed by teachers for countless reasons, but he had never felt so unjustly accused before.

He wanted to say something but felt utterly speechless. Subconsciously, he turned his head and glanced at Shen Xingruo, only to realize that the white peacock was gracefully swimming in a pond of lotus flowers, blending perfectly with the blooming white lotuses.

—A startling transformation indeed.

Thanks to the blessing of the Go chess duo, Wang Youfu, who was about to conclude his speech, suddenly found a new topic. It was unclear why his expressive desire was so strong. After taking a sip of tea, he began fervently criticizing the group of unruly students led by Lu Xingyan once again.

Sometimes he spoke vehemently, his tone full of heartfelt frustration; other times, he rambled on with gentle words, attempting to educate these ignorant young gentlemen and lead them onto the path of learning.

The audience below merely sported over fifty indifferent faces.

After all, the punishments the school had imposed on this group of unruly students were severe enough that their ancestors up to three generations back could have been expelled directly. These inconsequential criticisms and educations were even more frequent than menstrual periods.

Yet everyone knew that as long as they didn’t commit murder or arson, the school wouldn’t expel them. All the criticisms and punishments amounted to nothing more than entries in the “So What” deluxe package.

So why couldn’t this caring homeroom teacher let these weak, innocent, and kind-hearted boys go home for dinner???

At six o’clock sharp, students from other classes had already dispersed, and the first-year chicks finally experienced liberation.

Perhaps because this liberation was hard-won, the chicks slipped away at lightning speed, as if they were afraid that Wang Youfu might suddenly remember something and utter another nightmare-inducing “Wait, I’ll just take two more minutes.”

When Shen Xingruo finished packing her bag, the classroom was already half-empty.

She glanced back at the sanitation corner.

There was no hope left for Lu Xingyan’s intelligence, but fortunately, having been disciplined twice, his memory had improved slightly.

Wang Youfu announced the end of the school day, and he conscientiously went to the back of the classroom to get a broom, and incidentally, also fetched one for Shen Xingruo.

It’s unclear whether it was Wang Youfu’s reprimand that made him deeply reflect and want to reform himself, or if he wanted to prove that he hadn’t bullied the delicate Shen Daiyu.

After they finished cleaning, it was already half past six.

The sunset glowed warmly on the horizon, with a few birds occasionally flying by, decorating the twilight scene like an oil painting.

The teaching building for sophomores was deserted, and there was no sign of anyone playing basketball or soccer on the usual playground.

Once they left the school gate and didn’t encounter any familiar classmates, the two of them naturally parted ways.

As they walked and talked, Lu Xingyan said, “My mom called me at noon, saying she’s going to get her hair done today and also do some beauty treatments. She won’t be back until late.”

Shen Xingruo: “I know, Aunt Pei called me too.”

Pei Yue was fussing over her appearance just to attend Shen Guangyao’s wedding. Lu Xingyan and Shen Xingruo both understood this tacitly, so they didn’t dwell much on this gloomy topic.

As usual, Uncle Liu parked the car at the corner of Shuxiang Road. Due to Wang Youfu’s unexpected nagging, he innocently waited for nearly two hours. Lu Xingyan opened the rear door and casually leaned his arm on the door frame, gesturing for Shen Xingruo to go in first. Shen Xingruo glanced at him. Lu Xingyan lounged beside her, giving her a sidelong glance. “What are you looking at?” Shen Xingruo calmly praised, “Not bad, showing a bit of gentlemanly demeanor.” Lu Xingyan chuckled lightly, his lips involuntarily curling upwards.

Zhai Jiajing didn’t go home this weekend. She had already made plans with a classmate from the freshman year who also wasn’t going home, to have dinner together downtown. The two changed into their clothes and left the dormitory to catch a bus on the main road.

They were originally chatting and laughing about the restaurant they planned to eat at that evening when Zhai Jiajing’s gaze inadvertently fell on the nearby Bentley. “Jingjing, Jingjing? What are you looking at?” She was absent-minded. “Oh, nothing, just seemed to have spotted a classmate from my class.” “Where?” The curious girl looked around. Zhai Jiajing didn’t respond, just watched as the two of them got into the car one after the other, observed Lu Xingyan’s smile, then watched him casually close the car door, and finally watched the Bentley speed away and disappear at the end of the road. She didn’t know what she was thinking, just pursed her lips, remaining silent.

It was already an hour later when they returned to Luoxing Lake. Friday evening rush hour traffic to the outskirts was particularly heavy. Uncle Liu kept checking his watch in the car, and both Shen Xingruo and Lu Xingyan noticed. They asked if he was in a hurry. He waved it off, saying it was nothing. It wasn’t until they were about to enter the villa area that he inadvertently let slip—today was his youngest daughter’s fifth birthday, and he had promised this cute little cotton-padded jacket to buy a cake and celebrate her birthday together. Lu Xingyan suggested, “Uncle Liu, let’s park here. It’s easier to turn around, and we can just walk in.” “This…”

Shen Xingruo also spoke up, “It’s okay, Uncle Liu. It’s pretty congested now, so drive safely.” Since he was indeed in a hurry to get home, he didn’t insist further. He dropped the two of them off at the entrance of the villa area and turned the car around, driving away.

After the long winter days, daylight began to stretch out. At half past seven, it wasn’t completely dark yet. However, the lake lights of Luoxing Lake and the surrounding streetlights all lit up precisely at seven o’clock, casting a warm orange glow against the sky, creating a peculiar yet cozy atmosphere.

Lu Xingyan and Shen Xingruo walked in through the intricately carved iron gate, one after the other. Suddenly, Shen Xingruo remarked, “Uncle Liu is good to his daughter.” Lu Xingyan instinctively replied, “With just one precious daughter, of course, he would be.” He didn’t notice the subtle change in Shen Xingruo’s mood and continued, “When Uncle Liu was in his thirties, his eldest daughter passed away in a car accident. At that time, half of his hair turned white in distress. It wasn’t until he was forty that he had another daughter, who he treasures like the apple of his eye.” Shen Xingruo responded, “Oh, I see.”

Lu Xingyan glanced at her, belatedly realizing that he might have said something he shouldn’t have. He felt uneasy, “Hey, I didn’t mean it like that.” Shen Xingruo turned her head, “Mean what?” Lu Xingyan hesitated, “…”

The two of them remained silent for the rest of the way. Upon entering the house, it was eerily quiet. Lu Xingyan was starving, and he pretended to be calm as he called out, “Zhou Yi, Zhou Yi?” Shen Xingruo put down her backpack, went into the kitchen for a quick look around, and came out saying, “Zhou Yi isn’t here, and there’s no dinner prepared.” Lu Xingyan asked, “What’s going on?”

Lu Xingyan unlocked his phone and saw a voice message from Pei Yue half an hour ago, saying that Zhou Yi’s daughter-in-law was pregnant, so Zhou Yi took a day off this week and asked them to have dinner before going home. Lu Xingyan was speechless. He shook his phone and said, “Ah Miss, Zhou Yi took the day off. Let’s order takeout. What do you feel like eating?”

Shen Xingruo, who had been somewhat hungry before, now didn’t feel hungry at all, whether it was because she had lost her appetite after Lu Xingyan’s words or because she had been too hungry earlier.

“It’s up to you. I’m fine with anything,” she replied.

Lu Xingyan casually chose a popular restaurant, “Stir-fried mixed vegetables, braised eggplant, corn spare rib soup, steamed bass?”

Shen Xingruo nodded.

After Lu Xingyan finished ordering, he slouched onto the sofa, playing with his phone. Without much thought, he asked, “I didn’t realize you ate so lightly.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, his fingers on the screen froze abruptly.

Shen Xingruo didn’t find anything wrong and said as she poured water, “Actually, I can eat spicy food too.”

This was their first time alone at home. They both went back to their rooms to change out of their school uniforms and returned to the living room, each occupying a sofa. While talking was okay, the silence seemed unusually heavy.

Shen Xingruo peeled an orange and ate it while watching something on her tablet. Halfway through, she seemed to remember something and turned to ask, “Do you want some?”

Lu Xingyan lifted his eyelids and made a noncommittal sound of agreement, accepting.

Shen Xingruo warned, “It’s a bit sour.”

Lu Xingyan didn’t take it seriously and stuffed half of it into his mouth anyway— “…” Damn, that’s sour.

How did she manage to eat it without even changing her expression?

A hundred thousand questions about life flashed through Lu Xingyan’s mind for a moment. But Shen Xingruo just stared straight at him, leaving him unsure of what expression to make. Anyway, his intuition told him that even if it was a piece of orange-flavored shit, he should swallow it without changing his expression.

A minute later, he did.

Shen Xingruo calmly remarked, “You can handle sour pretty well.”

Lu Xingyan couldn’t discern whether she was being sarcastic, praising him, or just casually commenting. Anyway, his facial muscles seemed to have lost their ability to move, feeling like tomorrow’s headline in the Star City Evening News would read “Mingli High School Second-Year Student Dies from Sour Oranges by Luoxing Lake Villa.”

Elite school, luxury mansion, bizarre cause of death. Perfect, front-page material.

He couldn’t speak, and could only slump back onto the sofa with a blank expression.

After waiting for ten minutes, he finally managed to regain some composure. During these ten minutes, Shen Xingruo finished eating the other half of the orange. Maybe the orange stimulated her appetite because she started feeling a bit hungry. She raised her head and asked, “How much longer until the takeout arrives?”

Lu Xingyan picked up his phone again, his voice flat, “It’s rush hour now, and there are many people ordering takeout, so it might be a bit late.” This excuse sounded reasonable.

Shen Xingruo didn’t say anything, seemingly accepting it.

Half an hour later, she asked again, “Hasn’t it arrived yet?”

Lu Xingyan was already starving, but he couldn’t afford to disgrace himself in front of the white peacock. He glanced over and replied indifferently, “What’s the rush? Let me check where the delivery guy is.”

Suddenly, a long and profound silence filled the air. Lu Xingyan stared fixedly at the screen of his phone, sitting up a bit straighter. This was just absurd. The takeaway order was still stuck on the payment screen, showing as overdue and automatically canceled?! Shen Xingruo looked at him for a while, her eyes filled with questions.

Lu Xingyan put down his phone, finished digesting the situation, and then prepared his excuse, “You might not believe this, but I forgot to make the payment.”

“…,” Shen Xingruo was silent for three seconds. “No, I believe in your intelligence.”

Lu Xingyan had no argument. After a moment of silence, he said, “Alright, my bad. Let’s go out for dinner.”

Zhao Langming was completely bewildered by Lu Xingyan’s sudden outburst. He Siyue and Shen Xingruo also looked at Lu Xingyan in confusion, not understanding why this young master suddenly lost his temper.

Whether Lu Xingyan felt he was in the wrong or wanted to show his magnanimous side, after a quiet three seconds, he suddenly calmed down and said to Zhao Langming, “This is the last time.”

Zhao Langming was inexplicably scolded and took a while to come to his senses. He stood there, waiting anxiously for Lu Xingyan to search through his backpack. As time passed, and his legs started to numb from waiting, he mustered up the courage to ask, “Brother Yan, you didn’t bring it either?”

The air fell into silence.

—Key your mom! Can’t you bring it yourself? Even a pig knows to go back to its pen. What are you, a goldfish brain?

These cutting words lingered in Zhao Langming’s mind. Unable to hold back, he burst into laughter.

Lu Xingyan glanced at him.

That look was colder than the Antarctic ice that never melts.

“…Hahaha…”

Zhao Langming shut up.

Fortunately, the bell for class rang in time, saving him. He returned to his seat with a flushed face, feeling embarrassed.

Lu Xingyan had a sour expression on his face as if someone owed him a million or two.

When his gaze swept past Shen Xingruo, they locked eyes for a second.

From Shen Xingruo’s seemingly emotionless face, he somehow sensed a hint of indescribable emotion.

This class was Wang Youfu’s politics class, and everyone had prepared their politics exam papers conscientiously.

After Wang Youfu called for attention and analyzed the political scores, he proceeded to analyze scores in other subjects and the overall class performance.

“…This exam, overall, was a bit challenging. Our class’s average score is 538.6, ranking second in the grade. Originally, we were third, trailing behind the experimental class. But thanks to Shen Xingruo, as soon as her score was corrected, our class’s average score increased by almost 3 points, surpassing Class 3.”

“Take a look at the average scores and evaluate yourselves. I won’t say more about the extra points…”

“Oh, and regarding filling out the answer sheets, everyone needs to be careful. Shen Xingruo had a problem with her 2B pencil this time, and the teacher of Class 2 didn’t agree to manually grade her paper. If her score changed to first in the grade, it wouldn’t be fair to their class. Of course, she didn’t agree to it! In our school, we’re mainly focused on ourselves, and not so strict. The head of the grade eventually nodded in agreement.”

“But if it’s a major exam, like the city-wide joint exam or something, they definitely won’t find your paper and change it.”

“As for the college entrance exam, everyone doesn’t need to worry. They will distribute the exam materials uniformly. Just be careful not to fill in the wrong student ID and not to mistake the A and B test papers.”

Wang Youfu was indeed a political teacher; his ability to nag surpassed that of the math teacher, Liang Dong, by at least eighteen levels. After praising everyone for their progress this time, he singled out Shen Xingruo as a model student, praising her extensively. Then, he dissed the head teacher of the neighboring Class 2 once again, followed by a recount of his achievements and contributions as a class teacher over the years.

Liang Dong finished explaining all the exam papers in one class, and it wasn’t until five minutes before the end of the class that Wang Youfu finally returned to the main topic. “Alright, let’s take a look at the first multiple-choice question…”

Lu Xingyan slept through most of the class, but he finally woke up at this point. He yawned lazily, casually flipping through the exam paper, his arm resting on the back of the chair. “Where are we? Is the class over?”

Shen Xingruo was also feeling a bit tired. She propped her eyelids open and glanced at him, saying, “The first question.”

This week’s slow-paced exam analysis with Wang Youfu felt particularly lengthy. Shen Xingruo had reached a point of exhaustion where she was fed up with both politics and exam papers.

She couldn’t understand how Wang Youfu managed to cover all the new political lessons in the first semester of the sophomore year with his teaching speed. But when he took up a PE class and a music class to teach the political exam papers, she almost understood.

Even the last class meeting on Friday was occupied by Wang Youfu.

After enduring forty-five minutes, when the bell rang for the end of class, the students who wanted to go home immediately snapped out of their drowsiness and began packing up their bags eagerly.

Seeing this, Wang Youfu tapped the podium. “Did I say it’s time to dismiss? You all look like wilted vegetables in class, but as soon as the bell rings, you’re as lively as if you’ve been sprayed with pesticide!”

The students below stopped their movements unconsciously.

Seeing that they were obedient, Wang Youfu wasn’t angry. “Alright, we’ll stop here for the exam papers. If you have any questions, come and find me after class.”

Rest assured, no one would want to look at another political exam paper again.

The students below were silently complaining, and they couldn’t contain their fidgeting while packing their bags.

Wang Youfu leisurely took a sip of tea and continued, “Here we go again. Am I preventing you from going home for dinner or something? Don’t be so restless! Give me another two minutes to talk about next week’s schedule.”

From the moment Wang Youfu uttered the words “two minutes,” Shen Xingruo had a vague sense of foreboding.

Sure enough, Wang Youfu was an outstanding class teacher who spoke in a clear and organized manner but never kept his word. He went on to discuss three main points, each subdivided into three smaller points, some of which were further divided into two aspects.

These two minutes were forcibly expanded into half an hour in the end.

From the moment Wang Youfu said two minutes, Lu Xingyan started yawning and slouched in his seat for a few seconds. Then, he dragged out his sketchbook and started drawing grids.

Shen Xingruo’s head was throbbing. Seeing Lu Xingyan drawing on his notebook, she asked, “What are you drawing?”

Lu Xingyan simply pushed the notebook over to her. “Wanna play?”

Shen Xingruo: “…”

It was Connect Five.

He had gotten so bored that he was playing Connect Five against himself.

She thought he had some hidden talent for drawing.

“I won.”

“I won.”

“You lost.”

“And you lost again.”

Five minutes later, Shen Xingruo, lacking enthusiasm, put down her pencil.

She had won four games in five minutes, and she couldn’t help but wonder what kind of goldfish brain could lose a game at an average rate of one point fifteen seconds per move, with twenty-five seconds of it spent drawing grids.

Lu Xingyan seemed to be deeply embarrassed. He stared at the sketchbook for a long while, then pressured Shen Xingruo to continue playing.

Ignoring him, Shen Xingruo gave him a light kick.

“You…”

“Lu Xingyan, why are you tapping Shen Xingruo’s head?!” Suddenly, Wang Youfu’s voice came from the front of the class. “I’ve been watching you for a while. As a big boy, don’t bully your female classmates!”

Shen Xingruo reacted quickly. She sat up straight, staring ahead calmly, and casually touched her head without changing her expression.

Shen Xingruo returned to the dormitory slightly late because Shi Qin said she had ranked first in the year and wanted to treat her to a late-night snack.

Shen Xingruo hadn’t eaten dinner, and her milk had been taken, so she was a little hungry.

After finishing the late-night snack with Shi Qin, the two of them wandered around the stationery store near the school for a while. When they returned to the dormitory, there was only half an hour left until the lights out.

Li Ting was applying a face mask.

Seeing them enter, Li Ting glanced over but didn’t greet them. She continued to play with her phone, unable to see clearly under the mask what expression she had.

Zhai Jiajing didn’t walk with them today; she said she had a headache and went back to the dormitory early.

By now, she had already put on an eye mask and was lying in bed. It seemed she had already fallen asleep.

The dormitory was quiet for a moment, somewhat eerie.

Originally, Shi Qin had been sitting next to Li Ting, and their relationship had improved quite a bit recently. But today, Shi Qin overheard what Li Ting said to a few girls in class, which she found excessive. So, she couldn’t muster a friendly face and simply ignored her.

Shi Qin and Shen Xingruo took turns to shower.

When Shi Qin finished showering, Li Ting had just taken off her face mask and was washing her face at the sink.

Shi Qin waited for a moment and couldn’t help but ask, “Are you done yet?”

Li Ting replied, “Why are you in such a hurry?”

Shi Qin said, “You’ve been washing for seven or eight minutes already, I’m going to use the towel.”

Li Ting didn’t say anything and continued to splash water on her face slowly.

Shen Xingruo entered the bathroom after Shi Qin finished. At first, she could only hear the two of them whispering, probably because they were afraid of waking Zhai Jiajing.

But halfway through her shower, an argument suddenly erupted outside, and the voices grew louder.

She paused for a moment, then quickly picked up the pace of her shower.

When Shen Xingruo came out of the bathroom, the argument between the two had already escalated into a quarrel —

“You dare to say that about Xingruo in class today, how shameless can you be? What’s wrong with you?!”

“What’s wrong with me? I was just discussing grades with someone. Everyone thought she was doing exceptionally well, but when the grades came out, she didn’t perform as expected. Isn’t it natural for people to talk about it? And isn’t it because she knew her grades were a problem early on but kept quiet and pretended to be good, just to make herself look good and embarrass us for discussing grades? How ridiculous is that?”

“Shi Qin, spare me. You’re quick to curry favor with others, aren’t you? Have you ever taken a good look at yourself? Whose legs have you been clinging to? Do they even give you the time of day?”

“Me, currying favor? Me, ugly?! Li Ting, listen to yourself! Who’s the one always cozying up to those rich girls from Class Three? Who knows better who’s sucking up to whom? Have they ever given you a second glance?”

Shi Qin’s words hit Li Ting right where it hurt.

Li Ting exploded in anger and immediately reached out to grab Shi Qin’s hair, “What nonsense are you spouting?!”

Shi Qin, equally unwilling to back down, blindly clawed forward with both hands.

Shen Xingruo never imagined the two would come to blows. After a moment of shock, she shouted, “Stop fighting!”

No one paid her any attention.

Zhai Jiajing, who was usually good at mediating, lay motionless on her bed, seemingly deep in sleep, completely unaware of the commotion in the dormitory.

Shi Qin and Li Ting had no idea how long they had held onto their grievances against each other. Now, they were fighting fiercely while dredging up past conflicts, and the battleground was expanding.

Shen Xingruo, wearing only a nightgown with her hair still dripping, stood at the bathroom door. She couldn’t move forward and was forced to retreat by the two.

“I told you both to stop fighting—”

Before Shen Xingruo could finish her sentence, Li Ting suddenly got agitated, grabbed a ceramic cup from the sink, and smashed it against the mirror on the washbasin.

With a loud “bang”!

The square mirror, bought with dormitory funds at the beginning of the semester for eighteen yuan, cracked open with several fractures, and the shards flew in all directions.

“Ahh—!”

“Ahh—!”

Shi Qin and Li Ting screamed simultaneously, the sound piercing as any scream from the boutique store near the school entrance.

When they came to their senses, they saw Shen Xingruo standing expressionless at the bathroom door, a small cut on her neck either from the ceramic or the mirror, with tiny drops of blood oozing out.

Both of them turned pale.

At that moment, the dormitory supervisor heard the noise and came over, knocking on the door impatiently. “It’s almost lights out, what’s all this noise about?!”

Li Ting and Shi Qin’s faces turned even paler.

Shen Xingruo felt she had never been so wrong in her life.

Her vision blurred, but she still expressionlessly tore two pieces of paper and temporarily wiped away the bloodstains.

Then, she walked to the dormitory door and opened it.

Shen Xingruo: “Teacher, there’s a mouse in our dormitory.”

The dormitory supervisor frowned subconsciously and leaned back a bit. “Why are you afraid? It’s just a mouse… Alright, don’t be afraid. I’ll inform the head of dormitory management during tomorrow’s meeting, and we’ll arrange for pest control to come.”

Blood began to seep out again. Shen Xingruo calmly adjusted the strap of her nightgown to cover the wound.

“Okay, thank you, teacher.”

After seeing off the dormitory supervisor, Shen Xingruo closed the door behind her.

Shi Qin and Li Ting both sighed with relief, but they seemed still immersed in the shock, unable to snap out of it, standing motionless by the washbasin.

As Shen Xingruo walked back, passing by Zhai Jiajing’s bed, she noticed Zhai Jiajing’s fingers twitching slightly.

Without stopping, she walked straight to Shi Qin and Li Ting, her lips pressed downward, her expression cold.

Shi Qin and Li Ting exchanged glances.

Shi Qin cautiously said, “Xingruo, I’m sorry. Are you hurt? Do you need a band-aid?”

Shen Xingruo’s gaze swept over her, and she immediately fell silent.

Li Ting, standing beside her, looked uneasy, avoiding eye contact with Shen Xingruo.

But Shen Xingruo stared straight at her. “I didn’t try to make myself look superior because I already am superior to you both.”

“I didn’t intend to embarrass anyone or make your discussions seem ridiculous. If you had just kept quiet, none of this would have happened.”

“Having a vivid imagination can be a good thing, but please use it for geometric and spatial thinking in mathematics, not for making assumptions about your roommates.”

She knew there was an issue with her score the moment she saw her exam paper, but she hadn’t been thinking about grades today at all. If it weren’t for the gossiping in the school, she wouldn’t have even thought about going to Mr. Wang’s office.

Li Ting’s expression turned sour.

Though she knew she was in the wrong, she still stubbornly refused to meet Shen Xingruo’s gaze, and said stiffly, “That mouthwash cup seems to be yours too. I… I’ll compensate you.”

Shen Xingruo said, “Then you’ll pay 1800.”

?

Li Ting looked like she thought Shen Xingruo was seizing an opportunity to extort her.

Shen Xingruo couldn’t be bothered to argue with her any further. She didn’t even want Li Ting to compensate her. She just looked at the broken mirror and scattered shards on the ground and said, “Clean this up, use a broom, don’t use your hands. Buy a new mirror to replace it tomorrow.”

Li Ting opened her mouth, wanting to say something.

Shen Xingruo glanced at her again—

Li Ting instinctively shut her mouth and quietly grabbed a broom with Shi Qin, bowing her head to sweep the floor, not daring to speak. The dormitory, once filled with screams, finally quieted down.

Shen Xingruo found a band-aid and placed it over the small wound on her neck.

The wound wasn’t too serious, just a small cut that stung a bit. But the base of the ceramic cup had also hit her forehead with a “bang.” At first, there hadn’t been any visible marks, besides feeling dizzy, but now a small bump was starting to form, likely to bruise later.

She applied some medicine and then cut a square piece of gauze, sticking it to her forehead.

After Li Ting finished cleaning, she noticed that Shen Xingruo’s forehead was injured too. She struggled with herself for a long time, wanting to apologize to her, but suddenly the lights went out.

Lying in bed at night, Li Ting couldn’t fall asleep no matter what. She kept thinking that if she didn’t apologize, she had to compensate for the mouthwash cup. Shen Xingruo’s mouthwash cup was very beautiful and unique, with many star patterns on it, matching a teacup as a set.

She opened the shopping app, searched for it, and found the same model. The cup was named “Starry Brilliance,” described as a limited edition collaboration between the contemporary renowned painter Shen Guangyao and the Cold Fragrance Studio. It was priced at 2200 yuan, even for a second-hand one.

Mouthwash cup, 2200.

Li Ting stared at the screen for a long time but didn’t say a word. Forget it. What’s dignity compared to an apology?

That night, Shen Xingruo received Li Ting’s apology note. She was about to fall asleep but was awakened by her phone. Seeing Li Ting’s apology note, which seemed to be getting longer and longer, she replied, “If you don’t stop talking, you’ll be compensating me with the cup tomorrow.”

Finally, the world was quiet.

The next day, Shen Xingruo went to school with a small piece of gauze on her forehead, attracting attention. Many people came to ask her, and she gave the same explanation to everyone, saying she had hit the bathroom door.

During the morning self-study, Lu Xingyan appeared at the classroom door. He put down his backpack and sat down on the chair, leaning back.

Seeing the gauze on Shen Xingruo’s forehead, he jokingly said, “Miss, did you get beaten up for scoring too well?”

Shen Xingruo flipped through her book casually and said, “Yes, I told them I was Lu Xingyan’s desk mate, and he still hit me, saying Lu Xingyan was nothing.”

Lu Xingyan: “…”

During the break between the second class, it was time for calisthenics. After finishing the exercises and returning to the classroom, Lu Xingyan remembered something and asked Shen Xingruo if she wasn’t going back home this weekend, mentioning that he would be going to Huize with Pei Yuelu and Pei Yuexin.

Before Shen Xingruo could respond, He Siyue returned to the classroom and handed her a tube of ointment. “I just happened to get this from the clinic for you. I heard it works quickly.”

“Thank you,” Shen Xingruo said, taking the ointment and looking at it.

Seeing her slight smile, He Siyue smiled too. “It’s nothing. Just be more careful when walking in the future. Try not to bump into doors again.”

“Got it.”

Lu Xingyan, pretending to play with his phone nearby, glanced up at the interaction.

Huh. They had been desk mates for so long, but he had never seen that peacock give him a friendly look. She smiled like she was turning on a screen just to receive a tube of ointment.

Just then, Lu Xingyan’s roommate, Zhao Langming, came to ask him for the dormitory key. Seeing He Siyue giving ointment to Shen Xingruo, Zhao Langming teasingly said, “Class monitor, a few days ago when we were playing soccer, I scraped my knee too. Why didn’t I receive your caring attention? You haven’t balanced the scales.”

Siyue laughed and told him not to speak nonsense.

Then Zhao Langming put his arm around Lu Xingyan’s neck. “Brother Yan, give me the key. I and Wang Youfu took some time off to go back and get some stuff.”

Lu Xingyan pushed his arm away. “Key your mom! Can’t you bring it yourself? Even a pig knows to go back to its pen. What are you, a goldfish brain?”

Shen Xīngruò’s face showed no sign of guilt, speaking candidly as if it were true. Lǜ Xīngyán hesitated for two minutes, feeling something was off but couldn’t find the right words. Confronted with Shen Xīngruò’s nonchalant expression, he found himself speechless.

At home, Péi Yuè had already prepared a sumptuous dinner with Zhoū Yí. Even before they could put down their school bags, Péi Yuè urged them to wash up and sit at the table.

As they sat down to eat, Péi Yuè first exchanged pleasantries and then asked about the midterms. “Ruò Ruò, two days of exams must have been exhausting, right?”

Shen Xīngruò replied, “Not really, the exam schedule was quite relaxed.”

Péi Yuè nodded, “Oh… How difficult were the questions?”

Shen Xīngruò answered, “They were okay, not too hard.”

Péi Yuè nodded again. “Hmm… How do you think you did?”

Shen Xīngruò responded, “I think I did alright.”

Shen Xīngruò was patient, answering whatever Péi Yuè asked.

Péi Yuè was about to ask more questions when Lǜ Xīngyán became impatient, “Stop chatting, can we eat first?”

Péi Yuè retorted, “I wasn’t asking you.”

Lǜ Xīngyán was silenced by Péi Yuè’s “I know you couldn’t score more than a few points without being asked” gaze.

Péi Yuè continued to speak softly to Shen Xīngruò, “Ruò Ruò, don’t put too much pressure on yourself with your studies. Just do your best in exams and everything will be fine.”

Shen Xīngruò nodded, “Okay.” Seeing Péi Yuè hadn’t started eating yet, she said, “Aunt Péi, let me serve you some soup.”

Péi Yuè, distractedly trying to steer the conversation, smiled absentmindedly and nodded.

After Shen Xīngruò served the soup, Péi Yuè took the bowl with a smile on her face and casually mentioned, “Uncle Lù arrived at Huìzé today. He met your dad and heard that everything is going well for you here, which eased your dad’s worries.”

Shen Xīngruò paused slightly in her actions. Lǜ Xīngyán also felt something was off and instinctively looked up. But after a moment, Shen Xīngruò resumed serving dishes. “Oh, is the wedding all set up, Dad? There’s a lot of schoolwork lately, so it might be difficult to take time off. I won’t go back.”

Péi Yuè, taken aback by this, swallowed the prepared words and kept quiet.

Lǜ Xīngyán, who had been drinking soup peacefully, suddenly felt something was wrong. He accidentally choked on his soup, coughing violently with his elbow on the table.

Shen Xīngruò didn’t even glance at him, continuing to eat calmly, but it was just… too damn calm.

After dinner, Shen Xīngruò went back to her room to put down her school bag.

As her figure disappeared around the corner of the staircase, Lǜ Xīngyán, who had been lounging on the sofa, suddenly sat up. “Mom, what wedding? Is Uncle Shěn getting married?”

Péi Yuè, already worried about the matter, shot Lǜ Xīngyán a look and scolded, “You’re a guy, don’t be so nosy!”

Before he could respond, Péi Yuè approached him and muttered to him for a while in a low voice.

After listening, Lǜ Xīngyán remained silent for a while, just gazing upstairs.

This weekend passed quite calmly. Shen Xīngruò only left her room for meals; the rest of the time, she stayed inside. Péi Yuè found excuses to bring milk to her room twice, but Shen Xīngruò didn’t do anything else, just calmly working on her papers. Péi Yuè couldn’t shake off the feeling of unease.

When Lǜ Xīngyán mentioned it, she suddenly realized—that nobody would go crazy studying right after exams. Soon, it was Sunday evening, time to return to school. Because there were no evening classes on Sundays, the dormitory building at Mínglǐ was particularly lively.

Shen Xīngruò brought fried chicken wings prepared by Péi Yuè. Originally, she and Lǜ Xīngyán had one box each, but Lǜ Xīngyán didn’t feel like doing dishes. When they got off at the intersection, he tossed his box to her.

Shen Xīngruò didn’t hesitate to take both boxes to the girls’ dormitory. Shí Qìn enjoyed them the most, expressing how delicious they were while simultaneously fretting over tomorrow’s exam results.

Not only Shí Qìn but as Shen Xīngruò walked through the girls’ dormitory corridor, she could hear girls discussing answers and others lamenting about being nervous because “the results will be out tomorrow.”

It was strange. Maybe it was because she had something else on her mind that made her unable to summon any feelings of nervousness.

Monday was sunny. After half an hour of morning assembly on the playground, everyone returned to their classrooms, mostly discussing last week’s midterms.

The efficiency at Mínglǐ was remarkable. This morning, when the vice monitor went to the office to find Wáng Yǒufú, the results were already out. The graded papers were stacked on the desk, and the result sheets were being printed. However, Wáng Yǒufú hadn’t allowed anyone to see the scores yet.

Throughout the morning, everyone seemed somewhat distracted. Before afternoon classes, the geography teacher passed by Class One with a bundle of papers. He peeked inside and then suddenly called the class monitor, saying the papers were the midterm exams, already graded, and asked her to distribute them.

The class erupted in excitement! Following suit, the Chinese and English teachers also called for class monitors to collect the graded papers from the office.

With the three subjects’ papers distributed, the classroom became lively with chatter and excitement.

“How much did you score?”

…

“127? Not bad at all! It’s already impressive to score this high in Chinese!”

…

“Why did I only get 78 in geography?!”

Shen Xīngruò also received her exam paper. She glanced at it without much emotional fluctuation, then quickly stuffed it into her desk hole. Her desk mate synchronized with her—expressionless, they looked at the marked deductions on their papers before stuffing them into the desk hole.

Next to her, Lǐ Chéngfān surprisingly passed the Chinese exam and shouted excitedly, “I got 90! It’s a miracle! Lánge, how did you do?!”

Lǜ Xīngyán gave him a dumbfounded look.

Lǐ Chéngfān’s smile froze momentarily, then he awkwardly laughed a couple of times. Not giving up, he pointed to Shen Xīngruò beside Lǜ Xīngyán and asked in a hushed tone, “And my goddess?”

This time, Lǜ Xīngyán’s look shifted from dumbfounded to downright deadly.

Lǜ Xīngyán hadn’t spoken to Shen Xīngruò at all. It was such a sensitive moment with the grades coming out. If he said something wrong, he might end up being mocked by this white peacock with her grades.

Shen Xīngruò hadn’t spoken to Lǜ Xīngyán either. To be precise, she hadn’t spoken much to anyone today. Seeing her quietly sitting at her desk, emitting an aura of “I don’t want to talk,” no one dared to approach her, even those who wanted to ask about her scores.

The first class in the afternoon was math. When the math teacher, Liáng Dòng, entered the classroom, he also carried a stack of exam papers. Everyone was eagerly anticipating him to call the class monitor to distribute the papers, but unexpectedly, when the bell rang for class to start, he simply announced, “Let’s begin class!”

The familiar scene…

The classmates tensed up in unison.

Shen Xingruo didn’t notice the change in everyone’s expressions. As she sat down, she overheard a classmate from the back saying, “Uh-oh, Mr. Liang is probably going to hand out the test papers himself.”

So what if he did?

Liang Dong: “The monthly test scores are out. I’ll hand out the papers now. When I call your name, come up and collect yours.”

“He Siyue, 142, not bad.”

“Zhai Jiajing, 140.”

“Xu Wei, 135.”

…

Shen Xingruo seemed to understand something.

Liang Dong distributed the papers according to the grades.

For those who didn’t perform well, it felt like a proper execution.

“Li Jiaqi, 127.”

“Zhou Yucheng, 120.”

…

Lu Xingyan yawned, casually glancing at Shen Xingruo. As each name was called out, “Shi Qin, 108,” there was no mention of Shen Xingruo’s score. Not only Lu Xingyan, but many who had already received their scores began whispering.

“Shen Xingruo, 90.”

Shen Xingruo remained expressionless as she stood up to retrieve her paper.

But the entire class was stunned!

With a perfect score of 150 in mathematics, on a percentage scale, 90 was barely a pass. Did Shen Xingruo only manage to pass?!

Lu Xingyan even woke up from his doze.

Glancing at the paper Shen Xingruo brought back, it indeed showed a glaring 90 in red.

“Duan Jianghe, 74.”

“Lu Xingyan, 68.”

In unison, everyone’s minds echoed with the same thought: Even Lu Xingyan only scored 68…

During this math class, many students were absent-minded. As soon as the class ended, Wang Youfu personally brought over the grade sheets, standing at the door and instructing He Siyue to post them at the back of the classroom.

This meant there was no need for score calculation. All the scores were out. The class erupted once again!

He Siyue had intended to ask Shen Xingruo about her score because he couldn’t believe she had only scored this much. But with Wang Youfu approaching him, he didn’t have time to inquire further.

As he walked to the back with the sheets, He Siyue quickly scanned through them. As he expected, his score was on the first line of the first page, ranking first in the class and second in the grade.

Although it wasn’t the first time he had topped the class, for some reason, He Siyue felt relieved. But as he looked further, he couldn’t find Shen Xingruo’s name.

It wasn’t until he flipped to the second page that he found Shen Xingruo’s name in the middle. Her scores were quite ordinary, even slightly below average.

He Siyue glanced at her rank—33rd.

In their class, this could be considered average at best. Over the past month, with the lavish praise from the teachers and the constant compliments from classmates, everyone had automatically elevated her to a high position.

Not only in their class but also in the other two experimental classes, the top students were curious about what remarkable results this legendary model student could achieve.

As soon as the grade sheets were posted, almost everyone, after checking their scores, would automatically look for Shen Xingruo’s.

Hmm… Her scores were indeed quite remarkable, even astonishing.

“What’s going on? How did she only score this much? Could there be an issue with the grading?”

“That can’t be possible for every subject to have grading issues, and this isn’t just a matter of a point or two…”

“But wasn’t she a top student at Huize No. 1 High School?”

“How can we compare Huize with our Mingli? Probably the overall level of their school is just lower…”

“But Huize is also very good, isn’t it?”

After checking their grades, the classmates couldn’t help but whisper.

Shen Xingruo had been the center of attention at Mingli for a month. Coupled with her naturally aloof demeanor, some girls had already developed a dislike for her. Take her roommate, Li Ting, for example. Sitting not far from Shen Xingruo, Li Ting openly chatted with others, “I also thought she would score in the top three of the grade. She never revises before exams and looks so confident. Maybe she thinks the difficulty level here at Mingli is similar to that of their little school.”

“It’s unbelievable…”

One girl disdainfully glanced at Shen Xingruo and said, “She always acts like she’s above everyone else. I thought she was a real top student, but these grades are so disappointing… Is Huize really that different? In a regular class, she would probably rank no higher than fifteenth. It’s just too exaggerated.”

“YeAh it’s so awkward now…”

Shen Xingruo didn’t get up after class, just stayed seated, reading. The discussions nearby naturally drifted into her ears. Most people hadn’t left the classroom and were secretly observing her.

But she remained completely still as if she hadn’t heard anything.

Apart from those who were mocking her, many wanted to come forward and comfort her. But they felt that Shen Xingruo wouldn’t want consolation at this moment, so they just watched from afar, not approaching.

Even He Siyue, who glanced back from the front row, hesitated.

Lu Xingyan went to the bathroom and returned to find a crowd still gathered around the grade sheets. He didn’t join them, but from the discussion around him, he knew what kind of score Shen Xingruo had achieved.

He barely chewed his gum and went back to his seat to play with his phone.

Shen Xingruo ignored him, and he ignored her too.

But those annoying girls in front were just too much. They kept blabbering on as if humiliating Shen Xingruo would make them the shiniest stars in the whole school.

After listening for two or three minutes, Lu Xingyan suddenly lost interest in his phone. He crumpled his paper and threw it to the front lazily, saying, “Hey, you guys, are you ever going to shut up about this extraordinary level? Have you had enough?”

His voice wasn’t loud, but as soon as he spoke, all his classmates turned to look at him.

The girls’ faces didn’t look good. They muttered a few words under their breath, not daring to confront Lu Xingyan. They returned to their seats, silenced.

The other discussions also abruptly stopped, and the classroom during the break fell into an unnaturally quiet state.

On the day of the exam, Shen Xingru, as usual, slept until the last moment before leaving the house. She drank milk while listening to English listening exercises. At the school gate, she encountered the boys from Lu Xingyan’s dormitory.

Lu Xingyan and his roommates were four in total, and except for Bian He, the other three were all taking exams at “Bright Return.”

Someone spotted her and hurriedly greeted them, “Hey, Ruoruo, let’s go together.”

Shen Xingruo glanced at Lu Xingyan, who seemed half-asleep, nodded, and joined them.

Another boy said, “Ruoruo, these exams in the past two days, we’re all counting on you!”

Shen Xingruo remained silent.

Another boy chimed in, “YeAh yeAh it doesn’t matter how we do individually. What’s important is that we have a sense of collective honor, right? It’s okay if we embarrass ourselves; we’ve done it many times before. But we can’t embarrass Teacher Wang, can we, Ruoruo?!”

“Embarrassing Teacher Wang, isn’t that something you guys have done before?” Shen Xingruo glanced at the two of them.

Then, she seemed to hear Lu Xingyan chuckle lightly. Whether she misheard or not, the next moment she saw Lu Xingyan shave the heads of the two boys and lazily say, “Stop talking nonsense, do it yourself.”

…Lu Xingyan’s unexpected righteousness was quite something. Righteousness was a good thing, but looking at his face that seemed to say “I can score 750”, Shen Xingruo couldn’t help but feel a bit perplexed.

As they spoke, the group entered the teaching building.

Behind them was the azure sky of early spring, with fluffy white clouds drifting by. There was an elliptical cloud resembling a turtle and another one next to it resembling a rabbit. Under this clear sky today, the perennial race between the turtle and the hare seemed to proceed at the same pace.

This time, the six subjects were divided into two days, with ample time allocated. However, by the time they reached the last subject, English, everyone was feeling a bit tired.

Five minutes before the start of the exam, Shen Xingruo was still playing with a Rubik’s Cube, flexing her fingers. Lu Xingyan and the boy next to him were chatting. When Lu Xingyan casually glanced in her direction, he saw the boy in front of her turning his body backward, talking to her unilaterally. Shen Xingruo didn’t even spare him a glance.

“…Hey, Yan Ge, what are you looking at?”

Lu Xingyan’s gaze didn’t shift as he casually asked, “Which class is that guy from?”

The boy looked back, “Oh, that guy, Chen Tao from Class Six. He repeated a year in the last grade, and he even took half a year off this semester before returning.”

The boy lowered his voice, gossiping, “It seems like he got a girl from their class pregnant. The girl’s family is quite powerful too, they hired someone to beat him up. He ended up with multiple fractures and had to rest, so he took a leave from school…”

Before the gossip could finish, something unexpected happened. Shen Xingruo suddenly threw the Rubik’s Cube at the boy named Chen Tao’s face and stood up.

She stood tall and straight, her gaze icy cold.

Chen Tao was the type who easily forgot past grievances. Over the past few days of exams, seeing a pretty girl sitting behind him, his courage, previously shattered by a beating, had somewhat recovered. He would occasionally glance back at her.

However, Shen Xingruo didn’t even spare him a glance.

Seeing her aloof demeanor and realizing it was the last exam, Chen Tao couldn’t hold back. He made two inappropriate jokes.

He thought she might angrily retort or just endure it with a cold expression for the last exam.

Never did he imagine that this pretty girl would suddenly throw a Rubik’s Cube at him with a “whoosh”!

Shen Xingruo didn’t control the force properly, and the Rubik’s Cube hit Chen Tao’s face, rendering half of it numb.

Chen Tao was first bewildered, then shocked. When he recovered and instinctively cursed, “F*ck your mother!”

Tall and intimidating, with a somewhat edgy appearance, he stood up, appearing ready to confront the girl.

Lu Xingyan, sitting in the first group quite far from them, tilted his head slightly, suddenly intrigued.

Actually, given Shen Xingru’s arrogance, if it were a guy, he would have already punched back.

He had manners and wouldn’t fight with a girl.

But this Chen Tao didn’t seem to have much manners.

To be honest, he was quite curious about how Shen Xingruo would handle this.

He raised an eyebrow, expecting to witness a good show.

Suddenly, from nearby came an unexpected shout—

“Lu Xingyan, he’s going to hit my desk partner. Aren’t you going to stop him?”

The boy next to him reacted even faster, “Damn, Yan Ge, he’s going to hit your desk partner, aren’t you going to stop him?”

Even as he stood in front of Shen Xingru, holding back Chen Tao’s hand from striking, Lu Xingyan still seemed a bit out of it.

—This was too unreal.

However, Chen Tao didn’t notice his lack of focus. To Chen Tao, Lǜ Xīngyán’s expressionless demeanor signaled an impending outburst.

Although he had repeated a year, he had still heard of Lǜ Xīngyán’s reputation. Rumor had it that Lǜ Xīngyán was fierce in fights, but he didn’t seem particularly fond of brawling or hanging out with troublemakers. His circle consisted of spoilt young masters from well-off families. Chen Tao had heard during his sophomore year that Lǜ Xīngyán had been in a fight. The instigator was one of the school’s troublemakers, assuming the newcomer was just a wealthy but cowardly kid, trying to provoke him, only to end up looking foolish. Moreover, with Lǜ Xīngyán’s family background and influence, getting injured in a fight would be the least of one’s worries, as it could lead to expulsion. What was the point?

With this in mind, Chen Tao asked, “Lǜ Xīngyán, is this your girlfriend?” Lǜ Xīngyán remained silent. Chen Tao took his silence as consent and nodded, “Okay, I got it. I just returned to school and don’t want to clash with you. You should have said she was your girlfriend earlier, then there wouldn’t have been an issue.” With that said, he even nodded toward Shen Xīngruò, “Sorry, beauty, my bad.”

As Chen Tao finished speaking, the exam preparation bell rang. The invigilator, holding the exam papers, walked in, adjusted their glasses, and cleared their throat, “The exam is about to start. Please put away anything unrelated to the exam on the podium and return to your seats.”

Lǜ Xīngyán didn’t know what to say. He simply shrugged off Chen Tao’s hand and glanced back at Shen Xīngruò—this time, he truly gave her a look that said, “Wait for me.” Shen Xīngruò, as always, remained remarkably calm.

Two hours later, the English exam ended. In the last exam room, there was no discussion about answers after the exam. The room was filled with liberated cheers. Shen Xīngruò was still packing her things when she heard some boys discussing which internet café to go to for gaming.

After packing up, she grabbed her backpack and prepared to leave the exam room. Passing by the front door, Lǜ Xīngyán was still slouched in his seat, not moving, twirling a pen in his hand, tilting his head slightly to look at her.

“Hey, Shen Xīngruò.”

She looked at him. “What’s up?”

A pause. “Aren’t you going to say something?”

“Say what?”

“You’re still pretending.” Shen Xīngruò paused for a moment. “Oh, thank you.” Then she left.

Lǜ Xīngyán was still twirling the pen. His fingers paused for a moment, and the pen slipped out of his hand, rolling onto the floor. He watched Shen Xīngruò’s retreating figure, that surreal feeling resurfacing once again.

But he wasn’t in a rush. They would have to go home together after finishing the exams today, and he would surely get an explanation.

On the third-floor staircase, Shen Xīngruò ran into Shí Qìn and Lǐ Tīng. The two girls, who had previously ignored each other, were now discussing answers.

Both were sixteen or seventeen years old, lived in the same dormitory, and had no deep-seated grudges. They could be at odds one day and playing together the next, as normal as can be.

Seeing Shen Xīngruò, Shí Qìn quickly pulled her into the discussion. “Hey, Xīngruò, what exactly are we supposed to write in the English essay? I didn’t understand the question at all.”

“It’s about writing a letter of application for Peter to study in China based on the contents of the pictures.”

Shí Qìn exclaimed, “Ah? I thought it was about summarizing Peter’s achievements during his study in China! Oh no, I’m doomed!”

Lǐ Tīng reassured her, “It’s okay. Even if you fill the paper, you’ll still get marks. Last semester, I didn’t understand the essay question either, but I still got a seven.”

Then she turned to Shen Xīngruò. “Hey, Shen Xīngruò, do you think this exam was difficult?”

“It was okay.”

“And how do you think you did?”

Shen Xīngruò pondered for a moment. “It was all right.”

Lǐ Tīng didn’t say anything further, just pursed her lips.

As the three of them reached the ground floor, laughter came from behind them. Turning around, Lǐ Tīng’s eyes lit up, and she enthusiastically greeted someone, “Chén Zhú! Yú Méngmeng! Qián Jiāyuè!”

Seeing it was Lǐ Tīng, the three girls also greeted her, but not overly warmly. They didn’t engage in much conversation and quickly continued on their way. Shen Xīngruò felt the girl with the bun on her head looked familiar, but her memory was average at best. After staring for a while, she still couldn’t recall where she had seen her before.

Seeing her staring at Chén Zhú’s back, Lǐ Tīng spoke up, “That’s Chén Zhú from Class Three. She was quite famous back in Mínglǐ Junior High. She’s good friends with Lǜ Xīngyán and his group.”

Lǜ Xīngyán.

Shí Qìn naturally knew about Chén Zhú too and couldn’t resist gossiping, “I heard their group went to the seaside during winter break. Hey, did she date Lǜ Xīngyán? I also heard that Lǜ Xīngyán went to her birthday party recently.”

At the mention of Chén Zhú’s birthday, Lǐ Tīng became somewhat uncomfortable. She had even prepared a gift, assuming Chén Zhú would invite her. But she didn’t.

Lǐ Tīng steered the conversation away from Chén Zhú’s birthday, but Shen Xīngruò had already remembered—this was the girl who had been dumped by Lǜ Xīngyán last time, then cried her heart out by the Star Lake begging for reconciliation. Judging by her radiant appearance, it seemed she either got back together lightning-fast or swiftly moved on from the emotional wreckage Lǜ Xīngyán left behind. Shen Xīngruò leaned towards the latter.

Sitting next to Lǜ Xīngyán recently, with his perpetual “I could sleep for another forty-eight hours” expression, he didn’t seem like a lovestruck young man.

Uncle Liú had parked the car early at the corner of Shūxiāng Road, waiting for them. Shen Xīngruò returned to her dorm briefly. When she got into the car, Lǜ Xīngyán was already sprawled in the backseat playing a game. Faintly, she heard a “Victory” before Lǜ Xīngyán tossed his phone aside and glanced at her.

After exchanging a brief gaze with him, Shen Xīngruò messaged her roommates for a while. When she noticed Lǜ Xīngyán still staring at her, she asked, “Is something wrong?”

Lǜ Xīngyán cut straight to the point, “That guy was going to hit you. Why didn’t you call me?”

Shen Xīngruò didn’t even blink. “We’re in the same class, I sit next to you, and live in your house. If I get hit, won’t it be embarrassing for you?”

Lǜ Xīngyán:?

The basketball court fell into a brief silence.

“What the hell is this girl doing?”

“Isn’t this the same girl who asked Lu Xingyan to clean up last time?”

“YeAh it seems like her name is Shen Xingru, the transfer student everyone was talking about recently.”

“That’s her! Damn, do you think she’s hooking up with Lu Xingyan?”

“Pfft! No way! Dude, your words are ambiguous…”

Other boys nearby regained their senses, lowering their voices as they discussed, looking quite excited. Meanwhile, Xu Chengzhou, standing beside Lu Xingyan, went through a series of emotional rollercoasters from “Wow, this girl is so beautiful” to “Wow, this girl’s crazy about basketball” to “Wow, where did this girl come from,” before his brain went momentarily blank.

Then suddenly, he felt a sense of familiarity with this beauty.

Maybe good-looking people are all the same, Xu Chengzhou initially didn’t think much about it, but after looking for a while, he couldn’t help but discreetly take out his phone and open his photo album.

Lu Xingyan remained silent throughout.

The setting sun’s rays were a bit harsh, so he squinted as he examined Shen Xingru. After a while, he approached her.

Shen Xingruo was 165cm tall, which was normal for a girl, but Lu Xingyan was nearly 20cm taller than her. As he stood closer, he had to slightly tilt his head to meet her gaze.

It was the first time Lu Xingyan had examined Shen Xingruo at such close range.

Her fair skin was flawless, with soft and gentle contours that didn’t give off a sharp, glamorous visual effect. However, she rarely smiled, which, coupled with her cold temperament, easily created a sense of distance.

Seeing Lu Xingyan’s lack of expression, Shen Xingruo had already prepared herself to be grabbed by the collar and threatened with harsh words—”You’d better sweep this damn place.”

But then, Lu Xingyan nodded slightly. “Okay.”

Shen Xingruo waited for a moment, but when she didn’t hear the usual “You wait for me,” she realized that this “okay” seemed to be literal.

“Damn…”

Xu Chengzhou stood aside, his gaze shifting between the photos in his album and Shen Xingruo herself, unable to help but let out a sigh.

“Hey, beauty, you…”

Shen Xingruo didn’t even spare him a glance, didn’t say a word, and just walked away.

Xu Chengzhou was still immersed in excitement. Shen Xingruo had left, and he was still holding onto his phone, grabbing Lu Xingyan’s arm, eager to share his newfound discovery.

“Hey hey hey, isn’t this the girl who splashed water on you in the high-speed rail? Do you remember, she used your water and even gave you five bucks back? Look at this photo, it’s her! So, this is Shen Xingru! What a coincidence!”

Lu Xingyan remained expressionless. “Get me a broom.”

“Excuse me???”

“A broom.”

So, that evening, as students passed by the basketball court, they witnessed an eerie scene: Lu Xingyan, the well-known young master of the prestigious Mingli School, was sweeping the basketball court.

He was tall and slim, his sweeping posture somewhat careless. With the setting sun behind him, only his slender silhouette remained on the basketball court.

Shen Xingruo finished her dinner and went back to the evening self-study. By the side of the playground, she overheard passing girls discussing:

“Isn’t that Lu Xingyan from the sophomore class?”

“Yes, it’s him… Is he sweeping the floor? Oh my goodness.”

Some girls who didn’t know who Lu Xingyan was asked curiously, “Is he famous?”

“You don’t know? His dad is the chairman of Jinsheng.”

“Ohhh… him, I’ve heard about him.”

Jinsheng was the leading real estate company in Xingcheng and a prominent real estate developer nationwide. Even if one didn’t know the specifics, the name alone carried weight.

In Mingli School, coming from a good family background was a standard feature. University professors and corporate executives were common, and only those with special or exceptionally wealthy backgrounds attracted attention in terms of family background.

The girls slowed their pace, continuing their discussion:

“It’s so strange. Why do I see the words ‘repentance’ on him?”

“Where did he go astray? Hey, don’t you think he looks handsome sweeping the floor? Good-looking people are just different, even when sweeping.”

Shen Xingruo glanced towards the playground.

Indeed, he was different. A spot that a normal person could sweep in ten minutes, he had been sweeping for half an hour and still hadn’t finished.

During evening self-study, as darkness descended and the moon cast its faint light through the thin clouds, occasionally glimmering stars, Shen Xingruo and Lu Xingyan had switched seats to the last row of the fourth group, the most secluded corner.

Shen Xingruo opened the window.

The gentle breeze of early spring brushed through the night, causing pages of books to flutter with a faint rustle. Outside the window, the leaves rustled softly, and the branches swayed, while the bright lights from the buildings across the courtyard flickered intermittently.

During the first session of evening self-study, Shen Xingruo finished her homework and planned to spend the second session practicing math problems. However, as soon as the bell rang for the second session to start, Lu Xingyan casually slung his backpack over his shoulder and strolled in.

Until Lu Xingyan took a seat to her right, Shen Xingruo hadn’t written a single word.

—This young master had way too much presence.

Shen Xingruo glanced at him and noticed that he seemed to have showered, his hair was soft, not completely dry yet, and there was a clean scent of grassy shower gel lingering on him.

Lu Xingyan dropped his backpack and said, “I forgot.”

?

Seeing her lack of response, Lu Xingyan impatiently repeated, “I forgot, it wasn’t intentional.”

Oh.

He was talking about sweeping the floor.

Shen Xingruo thought for a moment and asked, “Have you eaten?”

Lu Xingyan glanced at her, seeming to find the topic a bit off, but he instinctively replied, “No.”

Shen Xingruo put down her pen and took out a sandwich from her backpack, placing it on his desk.

“When did you buy this?”

Lu Xingyan glanced at it.

“Last night, it has a three-day shelf life.”

It was a sandwich Shen Xingruo had prepared for herself for breakfast, but she had woken up early today and went to have noodle soup with Zhai Jiajing and Shi Qin instead, so she didn’t eat it.

Lu Xingyan didn’t show much disdain. He picked up the sandwich, inspected it for a moment, then tore open the packaging.

“Remember not to eat during class,” Shen Xingruo reminded me.

Lu Xingyan raised an eyebrow. “Then why did you give it to me?”

“You can eat it after class.”

Lu Xingyan smirked lightly, remained silent for three seconds, then actually put the sandwich down.

During the forty-five minutes of evening self-study, Shen Xingruo finished a set of practice papers, while Lu Xingyan slept for a full forty minutes.

When the bell rang to signal the end of class, he still wasn’t fully awake, leaning against the back of his chair, absentmindedly running his fingers through his hair and yawning.

When he finally came to, he slung his backpack over his shoulder, picked up the sandwich, and casually left.

Was this young master attending evening self-study just to say “I forgot”?

Shen Xingruo was tidying up her pencil case, and seeing him like this, her movements paused momentarily.

A few days ago, Wang Youfu had a burst of anger in class, and ever since then, he hadn’t been particularly friendly towards them, especially during Political Science class.

After about a week, Wang Youfu’s anger finally subsided. Upon reflection, he probably realized that punishing Shen Xingruo didn’t make much sense. So, during class, he went on to praise Shen Xingruo extensively.

Perhaps in a state of confusion, Shen Xingruo hadn’t even achieved a single grade yet, but he started talking as if Shen Xingruo had already mastered everything, even comparing her to someone who could easily find treasures in a bag.

With Wang Youfu leading the way and a bunch of other teachers praising her, Shen Xingru, who had transferred not long ago, had already established herself as a top student in everyone’s minds.

In late March, the second year of Mingli High School welcomed the first monthly exam of the semester.

Starting this semester, exams of all sizes no longer strictly adhered to the syllabus. At most, they included a bit more from the current review material and a bit less from material that hadn’t been reviewed yet.

Before the exam, Shi Qin was extremely nervous. “I heard that this time the math test was set by Baldy, and Baldy’s tests can be crazy! I still remember the test paper from the third monthly exam of the first year, and it was set by him. The pass rate for the whole grade was less than 30%!”

“It’s okay. If you don’t know it, most people won’t know it either. Just relax,” Zhai Jiajing was as comforting as ever.

“That’s easy to say, but my mom said if I fail math again, she’ll deduct half of my living expenses!” Shi Qin said as she tried to solve math problems, but the more she calculated, the more she couldn’t understand, and she was instantly anxious to the point of baldness.

Seeing that Shen Xingruo was already doing sit-ups on her bed, she looked up and asked, “Xingru, does doing sit-ups make you less nervous?”

?

Shen Xingruo paused, pondering for a moment. “In theory, it’s possible. When your body is tired, you don’t have time to be nervous.”

After saying that, she added, “But I just plan on sleeping.”

Now even Zhai Jiajing and Li Ting couldn’t help but turn to look at her.

“Xingru, don’t you plan to review your books again? This time, the Chinese exam was set by the head of the Chinese department, and the classical Chinese analysis part she set is quite difficult,” Zhai Jiajing said.

Shen Xingruo finished a set of sit-ups and spread out her blanket. “I’d rather not. I’m already sleepy.”

Li Ting was curious. “Shen Xingru, I heard you used to often rank first in exams at Huize No. 1 Middle School?”

“Not often.”

She wasn’t outstanding in subjects like physics, chemistry, and biology. In a school like Huize No. 1 Middle School, where even science competition participants scored over 100 if these three subjects were made a bit more difficult, it would put her at a disadvantage.

In the first year, she only ranked first in the final exams for two terms. After she switched to liberal arts in the second year, she was consistently ranked first.

Seeing that Shen Xingruo had calmly laid down, Li Ting wanted to ask more questions, but for a moment, she forgot what she wanted to ask.

When it came to exams, the efficiency of the grade group was always high, and the exam schedule was released two days in advance.

Shen Xingru, as a transfer student, was lucky enough to be assigned to the “Bright Return” hall, sitting in the last seat of the last row of the last exam session.

Lu Xingyan was also in the last exam session, but he managed to sit in the first seat of the first group based on his abilities.

Looking at the seating arrangements, he glanced at Shen Xingru’s seat and said, “We’re in the same exam session.”

Shen Xingruo responded with a simple “Hmm.”

Lu Xingyan added, “But I’m sitting in the first seat of the first group, and you’re sitting in the last seat of the last group.”

“…,” Shen Xingruo glanced at him, unsure if it was just her imagination, but she somehow sensed a strange sense of superiority emanating from Lu Xingyan.