Shen Xingruo was typically straightforward, but being kissed twice in a row left her unsure of how to respond.

She remained still, keeping her eyes closed. The fireworks outside the Ferris wheel seemed to explode in her mind, one cluster after another, momentarily depriving her of her ability to think.

—Should she just keep pretending to sleep and act like nothing happened?

That didn’t seem like a bad idea.

So, amidst the chaos, Shen Xingruo settled on pretending to sleep.

After kissing Shen Xingruo twice, Lü Xingyan felt like he was in a dream, unreal.

Once he regained his senses, he glanced down at Shen Xingruo.

Still, sound asleep.

His gaze slowly moved downward, from her hair, skimming over her eyebrows, nose, and porcelain-like cheeks, and finally resting on her lips.

It was like going on a trip; since he had already come this far, he might as well get a souvenir.

Since he had already kissed her once, Lü Xingyan felt that he should kiss her on the lips to make it count.

Familiarity breeds confidence, but even though this would be the third time, Lü Xingyan still felt a bit nervous. But recalling how in TV shows and books, most attempts to do something naughty failed due to overthinking, Lü Xingyan decided not to think about it and just go for it.

So, without hesitating, he leaned down and kissed Shen Xingruo on the lips.

Shen Xingruo originally thought that pretending to sleep was the best way to handle the situation, but she didn’t expect Lü Xingyan to take advantage of the opportunity and go further—he stole her first kiss.

After all, Shen Xingruo was just seventeen, a girl who hadn’t even read two romance novels yet, so she still cared about her first kiss.

Her ears grew warm, and her eyelashes began to flutter irregularly.

—If only he paid a little attention, he would know she was awake.

But Lü Xingyan was now ten thousand times more nervous and agitated than she was. Even if she opened her eyes, he would probably stare at her for several minutes before coming to his senses.

No, this was too much.

His heartbeat was too fast, like a sports car with failing brakes, crashing forward uncontrollably.

Lü Xingyan thought he might die of a heart attack on the Ferris wheel before Shen Xingruo could nail him in a coffin.

No, get a grip.

It’s just a kiss, what’s there to be nervous about? Would it be any different in bed later?

Lü Xingyan kept reassuring himself mentally while also holding Shen Xingruo a bit tighter.

As seconds ticked by, his restless thoughts gradually calmed down.

After experiencing a tumultuous moment, Shen Xingruo finally began to realize the reality of losing her first kiss.

She could hear that the fireworks outside had stopped.

The Ferris wheel wouldn’t be long before reaching its lowest point.

Shen Xingruo’s mind was still in turmoil, but she had a feeling that as long as there was one minute left, Lü Xingyan wouldn’t miss the chance to kiss her again. So, she furrowed her brows, pretending to be on the verge of waking up, and tilted her head slightly.

This trick worked quite well.

Initially, Lü Xingyan planned to kiss Shen Xingruo a couple more times, anticipating this rare opportunity that might not happen again for a while. But when Shen Xingruo showed signs of waking up, he didn’t dare to make any more moves.

When they got off the Ferris wheel, Lü Xingyan woke Shen Xingruo up.

Shen Xingruo couldn’t muster up a sleepy look just waking up, so she simply opened her eyes with a wooden expression and got off the Ferris wheel.

Fortunately, Lü Xingyan was too preoccupied with his guilt to notice anything wrong.

After the fireworks ended, “Fairy Tale Land” was about to close.

Following the crowd, they walked towards the exit along the path illuminated by pumpkin lanterns.

Both of them were lost in their thoughts and remained silent throughout the journey.

As night fell, the temperature dropped sharply. The subway station still had powerful air conditioning. Shen Xingruo stood near the ventilation duct, subconsciously hugging her arms and rubbing them.

Lü Xingyan snapped out of it and offered his shirt to her.

But Shen Xingruo didn’t take it.

So, Lü Xingyan simply helped her put it on.

Shen Xingruo shrank a little, her lips pressed tightly together, but she didn’t refuse.

On the way home, Shen Xingruo wore headphones and listened to music, resting her head against the handrail beside her, lost in thought.

Lü Xingyan wanted to say something to her several times, but every time he glanced at her lips, he felt particularly awkward.

Back at Falling Star Lake.

Pei Yue wasn’t home; she had gone out to play cards with her girlfriends and probably wouldn’t be back until late.

Lü Xingyan found bread and milk in the refrigerator and asked Shen Xingruo if she wanted any.

Shen Xingruo stared at him for a few seconds and then shook her head, heading straight upstairs.

Lü Xingyan didn’t feel like eating either. He casually put the food back in the refrigerator and followed Shen Xingruo upstairs.

Before Shen Xingruo closed the door, Lü Xingyan called out to her.

She turned around.

Lü Xingyan leaned against the staircase railing, scratching his nose, and mumbled, “It’s nothing, I noticed you seemed tired today. Get some rest.”

The only response was the sound of the door closing firmly.

Lü Xingyan stared at the door for a moment, unconsciously brushing his lips with his fingertips, then smiled wryly.

Shen Xingruo spent an hour in the bathroom until she was almost suffocating from the stuffiness before coming out.

She couldn’t sleep, so she dried her hair and sat on the balcony, lost in thought.

Meanwhile, Lü Xingyan in the other room was quite busy.

After taking a shower, he put all the candid photos he had taken of Shen Xingruo into frames and hung them on the wall.

Although he couldn’t keep them up forever, tonight he felt like admiring the photo wall of Shen Xingruo.

After hanging them up, he took a photo with his phone. As he flipped through the album, he accidentally stumbled upon the candid photos that Xu Chengzhou had sent him before.

An idea struck him, and he rummaged through his belongings to find the photo printer he hadn’t used in ages. He pointed out the photo of Shen Xingruo on the high-speed train and hung it on the wall as well.

After doing all this, he leaned back in his chair, resting his head on his hands, and admired his work with satisfaction.

Unexpectedly, he heard the sound of the door lock turning at the entrance.

Oh crap, he realized he hadn’t locked the door!

But he couldn’t stop Shen Xingruo from barging in even if he tried.

By the time he put on his slippers and stood up, Shen Xingruo had already walked unhindered to his desk.

Shen Xingruo’s gaze swept over him and then landed on the photo wall.

The set of Little Red Riding Hood-themed frames happened to form a heart-shaped photo wall, just as Lu Xingyan had hung them according to the instructions provided with the frames.

The air was silent.

Shen Xingruo walked slowly to the photo wall, examining each photo one by one.

Lu Xingyan’s brain seemed to reboot, waiting until Shen Xingruo had finished inspecting all of them before restarting.

He attempted to explain, “No, you mustn’t misunderstand, I’m not some weirdo. This well, today at the amusement park, they have this, you know, candid photography thing.”

“And then the staff insisted I buy it. I thought it was quite nicely taken, you see, isn’t this one quite handsome? So, I bought a few… Plus, those were complimentary, and this frame was also a gift.”

Even as he said it, he couldn’t believe it.

That amusement park was a supreme rip-off.

A gift? What a joke.

Lu Xingyan continued to make amends, “Their photos are particularly expensive, so they give away frames. Besides, this one, it’s naturally in this shape, the blueprint is still on the table, don’t believe me? Take a look yourself.”

Shen Xingruo remained silent.

After a while, she suddenly pointed to the bottom-most photo on the wall. “What about this one?”

—The one she pointed at was the sneaky photo of Xu Chengzhou.

Lu Xingyan’s brain stalled once again.

He stared at Shen Xingruo for a good while before explaining, “This one was taken by Xu Chengzhou it’s his. I just bought too many frames, I thought it would look nice if they were all filled up neatly.”

He opened his mouth as if to say something more.

But really…

Even he didn’t believe it, so he decided to keep quiet.

Shen Xingruo didn’t make any sarcastic expressions, just quietly watched him.

Lu Xingyan met her gaze, feeling extremely guilty inside, his eyes involuntarily wanting to avoid hers.

Suddenly he remembered something, coughed, and asked, “By the way, why did you come into my room? Anything you need?”

Shen Xingruo didn’t answer, just slowly approached.

After showering, she was wearing a thin sleeveless nightgown, a shade of grass green, barely reaching her knees, accentuating her skin’s tender whiteness.

As she drew closer, the refreshing scent of her shower gel mingled with the fragrance of a young girl, stimulating Lu Xingyan’s brain nerves…

And as she got nearer, approaching him closely, she even took off her shoes, stepping barefoot on his instep.

Then her hand slowly climbed up his neck, encircling it.

Tiptoeing slightly.

Their lips were infinitely close.

Lu Xingyan couldn’t even begin to fathom what Shen Xingruo’s sudden gesture meant.

His Adam’s apple bobbed, eyelids drooping.

Below, his body swiftly reacted, perhaps stirred by Shen Xingruo’s unintentional teasing.

“What are you doing?” His voice sounded hoarse.

Shen Xingruo’s expression and actions were completely at odds; she seemed distant, even serious.

Then Lu Xingyan heard her ask, “What have you done?”

“Lu Xingyan, do you dare to own up? Why not admit it?”

Lu Xingyan’s mind was a mess of confusion, thinking she was referring to the photo wall. He didn’t know how to respond or what Shen Xingruo wanted to hear.

Shen Xingruo waited for a moment but didn’t get an answer.

Suddenly, she let go of his hand, withdrew from his instep, and took a step back.

She lowered her head to put on her shoes, her expression unreadable.

Sensing that she might leave in the next second, Lu Xingyan instinctively grabbed her wrist without thinking, then slowly slid his hand down, holding hers.

Shen Xingruo looked at their intertwined hands, her gaze pausing momentarily, then lifted her eyes calmly and asked, “What do you mean?”

“…I like you.”

“I like you.”

Lu Xingyan didn’t know where the courage came from, but suddenly, it slipped out of his mouth.

He gazed into Shen Xingruo’s eyes, refusing to let go of her hand. “The photos were intentionally bought by me, and the photo wall was intentionally hung by me. I admit it.”

“…Oh.”

It was strange. Hearing his response, she… felt strange.

A little happy, yet also somewhat indescribable, and temporarily wanting to escape… Although she found his avoidance irritating, she also wanted to escape for a moment.

Seeing no change in her expression and her response so indifferent, Lu Xingyan’s heart suddenly cooled down considerably.

So, before Shen Xingruo could refuse, he spoke first—

“I know you might not have feelings for me, but I hope you can give me a chance to pursue you.”

Feeling like his words lacked strength, he impulsively added more fuel to his thoughts—

“I might not be outstanding right now, but I’m not stupid. Maybe if I work hard, I can strive for a score of five or six hundred in the college entrance examination.”

“If you don’t dislike me, don’t rush to reject me. After all, it’s still a year away from the college entrance exam, and you, being such a good student, surely haven’t thought about early relationships. Just consider this year as an observation period. You’ll just have one more admirer, without any loss.”

Once inside the amusement park, the stubborn girl and her loyal followers quickly realized the harsh reality of not upgrading.

Their first stop was the Nightingale Roller Coaster, with the display showing a wait time of ninety minutes.

Shen Xingruo was skeptical. She walked and talked with Lu Xingyan, presenting a logical analysis, and concluded that “ninety minutes is a conservative estimate by the park” and speculated that the actual wait time should be halved.

Lu Xingyan, having no say in the matter, simply nodded along.

Approaching the queue entrance for the Nightingale Roller Coaster, the displayed wait time had already been updated to a hundred minutes.

Lu Xingyan glanced at Shen Xingruo and couldn’t help but ask, “Are you sure?”

Shen Xingruo gave him a quick once-over.

Before she could respond, Lu Xingyan quickly relented, making an OK gesture.

He understood. Someone who couldn’t even score 400 in exams had no right to question the top student.

Ironically, Lu Xingyan had never been so eager for school to start. It was only by returning to school that he could receive his final exam results and wash away the humiliation of scoring below 400.

Passing through alleyways and courtyards, they finally reached the queue point for the roller coaster. Still divided by zigzag barriers, but this time, there were only three short lines, and the crowd wasn’t as dense.

In less than twenty minutes, Lu Xingyan and Shen Xingruo made it to the first line.

Ahead was a dim door with a Gothic wooden sign hanging above it, bearing six words—”The King’s Little Garden.”

Lu Xingyan casually remarked, “Why so fast? Aren’t we going to continue queuing after entering here?”

Shen Xingruo remained silent.

Five minutes later, Lu Xingyan’s prophecy came true.

They stepped through the door and entered the King’s Little Garden.

The garden was beautifully decorated, with fake flowers and grass around, walls projecting floral scenes, and a starry sky projected overhead.

It was a beautiful sight, but what good was it if they still had to wait in line?

The so-called King’s Little Garden was just a beautiful, air-conditioned waiting area. It was much cooler inside than outside, but also much more crowded.

Forty minutes later, with only two lines left in front of them, Lu Xingyan spoke up again:

“Shen Xingruo, do you think there will be a King’s Big Garden ahead?”

Before Shen Xingruo could glare at him, the people queuing with them all turned their gazes towards him, particularly a man who had just appeased his girlfriend, his eyes the sharpest.

In the instant Lu Xingyan met his gaze, he decoded the deeper meaning behind his eyes: “Bro shut up already.”

Fifteen minutes later, Lu Xingyan’s ominous prediction came true once again.

At the end of the line was another dim door, with a wooden sign above the entrance—The King’s Grand Garden.

The Grand Garden was even more beautiful than the Little Garden, resembling daytime garden scenery. It was also larger, with approximately double the number of people queuing compared to the Little Garden and the area outside.

They were stuck in a very awkward position.

Ahead, there was a sea of people, and behind, there was another. It would be quite a feat to leave, requiring them to navigate through numerous obstacles. Moreover, Lu Xingyan dared not suggest anything like “let’s not queue anymore” or “let’s leave” to avoid another lecture about how giving up halfway would never lead to success.

But at this moment, Shen Xingruo truly didn’t want to queue anymore.

However, since the decision had been hers, and she had never done anything that would embarrass herself, she waited silently for Lu Xingyan to speak, allowing him to give her a way out.

For this opportunity, she occasionally hinted, “Lu Xingyan, I’m feeling a bit tired.”

“Lu Xingyan, the air doesn’t seem to be circulating well.”

Lu Xingyan: “I feel the same.”

Shen Xingruo: “…”

She gave up and refused to engage in any further communication with Lu Xingyan.

Lu Xingyan didn’t mind. He leaned against the wall and played with his phone casually.

When he glanced up again, he happened to see Shen Xingruo biting her lip, her head drooping, occasionally lifting her leg to stretch.

Her fluffy ponytail, tied up earlier, had already come undone quite a bit in the endless queue. A strand of hair fell onto her slender cheek, making her look somewhat aggrieved.

Lu Xingyan felt a bit stunned. Suddenly, he put away his phone, stood up straight, and gently pulled Shen Xingruo’s arm.

Shen Xingruo’s feet were sore, from toe to heel, stiff and painful. Suddenly being pulled back, she stumbled backward.

After regaining her balance, she turned and asked, “What are you doing?”

Lu Xingyan lowered his gaze and gestured, “Step on my shoes.”

Shen Xingruo didn’t understand.

Lu Xingyan explained, “Your feet hurt, right? Step on my shoes and take it easy.”

Would that work?

Shen Xingruo hesitantly lifted one foot and placed the tip on his shoe, then did the same with the other.

It seemed to ease the discomfort a bit.

Seeing Shen Xingruo struggling to maintain her balance, Lu Xingyan reached out and gently pressed her head against his chest. “Lean on me,” he said softly.

Shen Xingruo: “…”

It felt strange.

Through the thin layer of the T-shirt, she could feel Lu Xingyan’s warmth and catch a faint scent that belonged to him.

The faint scent of shower gel, mixed with a hint of tobacco, lingered in the air. She wondered when he started sneaking cigarettes again.

Slowly, Shen Xingruo tried to relax a bit, leaning her body weight onto Lu Xingyan’s chest. She couldn’t help but feel a sense of protection. It was reminiscent of the feeling she used to have when Shen Guangyao was still around.

Lu Xingyan had lost feeling in his legs a while ago, but the moment Shen Xingruo leaned on him, he suddenly felt all fatigue dissipate. Standing for another eight hours wouldn’t be a problem!

Finally, they reached the Nightingale Roller Coaster after a solid hundred minutes.

They sat in the same row, with the cable car above their heads and nothing but emptiness below, as the safety lock clicked into place, restricting their movements. Looking down, it was somewhat terrifying.

Lu Xingyan ruffled Shen Xingruo’s hair. “Hey, Shen Xingruo, don’t be afraid. If you are, just grab onto my arm, squeeze as hard as you want.”

Shen Xingruo: “…”

She wasn’t scared. Right now, she just wanted to finish and find a place to rest. But Lu Xingyan thought she was so scared that she lost all facial expression, so he continued to reassure her. “Relax a bit. It’s not that scary. Just scream if you need to. I won’t laugh at you.”

Shen Xingruo gave him a cold look. “Scream? How childish.”

She didn’t scream. She maintained a poker face.

Unbeknownst to others, they might have mistaken her for a professional tester who had ridden the coaster a hundred times and felt nothing anymore.

Shen Xingruo wasn’t afraid, but she wasn’t completely unaffected either. When the roller coaster reached the highest point of its vertical descent, she closed her eyes.

Amidst the scorching sun and the roaring wind, at the moment of acceleration, the intense feeling of weightlessness made her heart skip a beat.

At the same time, her left hand was suddenly held, and warmth flowed into her body through the palm.

Amidst the deafening high-pitched screams coming from all directions, she heard a voice saying, “Shen Xingruo, don’t be afraid. I’m here.”

His voice was as lazy and carefree as ever, yet it carried a soothing tone.

Shen Xingruo suddenly opened her eyes.

As the entire world presented itself vertically before her, she turned her head slightly and saw Lu Xingyan squinting, his lips curling upwards, embracing the wind and the sunlight with abandon.

For many years to come, when she would fall asleep in Lu Xingyan’s arms every night, she would still recall that moment.

On a sunny summer day, the wind caressed his profile.

At that moment, Shen Xingruo’s heart raced, partly due to the exhilarating experience of the vertical drop, and partly due to the boy beside her, who was doing his best to make her feel safe.

Shen Xingruo felt as if the whole world should love him just as she did when she was seventeen.

When they came down from the Nightingale Roller Coaster, it was already half past one in the afternoon, and the sunlight was intense. They had left home at around eight in the morning, and surprisingly, it took them until half past one in the afternoon to finish the first ride.

Shen Xingruo was so tired that she couldn’t speak. She sat on a bench outside the roller coaster exit, trying to catch her breath.

Lu Xingyan, on the other hand, had plenty of energy left and was leisurely browsing in the souvenir shop.

After resting for five minutes, Shen Xingruo was about to get up and find Lu Xingyan when he happened to come out of the shop with a cup of ice-cold cola in his hand. He handed the cola to Shen Xingruo.

Shen Xingruo asked, “Did you only buy one cup?”

Lu Xingyan absentmindedly nodded and admitted, “I ran out of money.”

Shen Xingruo: “?”

Had he reached this level of poverty?

Lu Xingyan: “This amusement park is outrageous. Everything is so expensive. This cup of cola with ice cubes from KFC only costs eight yuan there, but here it’s sold for twenty-five.”

Shen Xingruo: “…”

The young master had encountered the concept of “expensive” in his life.

She put down the cola and took out her wallet, handing it to Lu Xingyan. “I still have money. You go buy it.”

Lu Xingyan glanced at her but didn’t take it. Absentmindedly, he said, “It’s okay, you drink. Xu Chengzhou will transfer money over later.”

Then he sat down beside her, his arm resting on the back of her seat.

Shen Xingruo looked at the cola that had cost Lu Xingyan all his money and found it hard to swallow. After a moment’s hesitation, she opened the lid, drank it all herself, then changed sides and handed it to Lu Xingyan. “Here, I haven’t drunk from this side. You have it.”

Lu Xingyan lowered his eyelids and suddenly took the cola from her hand.

Seeing that he had taken it, Shen Xingruo didn’t stare at him anymore. Instead, she looked at the map of the park.

Just as she looked away, Lu Xingyan quietly turned the cola around and took two sips along the side Shen Xingruo had drunk from.

Then he concluded: Twenty-five yuan cola is indeed different! Refreshing and delicious, it can relieve fatigue! A must-have for traveling!

However, Lu Xingyan hadn’t reached the point where he had only twenty-five yuan left in his entire bank account. He still had around three hundred yuan in his phone. However, he had just bought a stack of candid photos at the store for thirty-five yuan each, which was an exorbitant price.

Originally, he only wanted to buy one as a keepsake, but every single candid photo of him and Shen Xingruo turned out exceptionally good!

There was one capturing their intertwined hands, one with Shen Xingruo looking at him, one with Shen Xingruo smiling…

He had to buy them all! Otherwise, he wouldn’t be a true Chinese person!

Shen Xingruo looked so good in those photos, and he had to own them all!!!

After buying a stack of photos, he messaged Xu Chengzhou to hurry up and transfer money over. Today, he was determined to buy all of Shen Xingruo’s merchandise!

As Lu Xingyan leaned in, Shen Xing felt a shadow cast over her, followed by the familiar scent of grass. His voice seemed to resonate from his chest, with a husky undertone.

Shen Xing’s mind went blank for a few seconds.

“—Bleeding like a river, and you don’t feel anything?”

After her mind cleared, she checked. Indeed, she felt nothing. She raised her head, meeting Lu Xingyan’s gaze. It was difficult to discern whether Lu Xingyan was pretending to be calm because he was angry about the mountain of books and exercises or if… he was genuinely… calm.

Shen Xing calmly pushed away his hands. “Are you lying to me?”

Lu Xingyan, still standing close to her, tilted his head slightly, looking at her feigned composure, and chuckled lightly. “If I were lying to you, I’d be on my period, okay? You’ve got bloodstains all over the chair; I just wiped them off with tissue.”

Shen Xing stood still for a few seconds, then suddenly tensed up, pressing her hands against the edge of the comforter wrapped around her waist, and turned to go back to her room.

“Hey, you—”

Before Lu Xingyan could finish, Shen Xing, in a swift motion, turned around, intending to walk back, but her movement was impeded by the comforter, which had already trailed behind her. Luckily, Lu Xingyan, quick on his feet, grabbed her just in time. However, as he pulled her, both of them lost their balance, stumbled backward a few steps, and with a “bang,” fell to the ground.

With Lu Xingyan acting as a makeshift cushion, Shen Xing only felt a bit of pain when his knee bumped against her. Everything else seemed fine.

Stunned for a few seconds, Shen Xing blinked calmly, only to realize her face was buried in Lu Xingyan’s stomach. His T-shirt was lifted, revealing his stomach—well, his stomach should be called abs. They were quite firm. It seemed his basketball wasn’t just for show.

Compared to Shen Xing, Lu Xingyan’s reaction seemed slower, perhaps because he was acting as a cushion and had to absorb the impact from multiple directions, causing a slight delay in his response. The back of his head was a bit sore, and his lower body felt a bit uncomfortable from the pressure. His left leg tingled with a slight cramp.

Of course! None of these were important!

What was important was that he could feel Shen Xing’s entire face buried in his stomach!

Her blinking eyelashes brushed against him lightly, and her warm, humid breath tickled his skin.

It felt surreal.

For the first time, Lu Xingyan wished his stomach was a soft bun, so when Shen Xing buried her face in it, it would mold around her, fitting snugly and comfortably, just like sinking into clay to make a mold.

Before Lu Xingyan could fully savor the intertwining of pain and sweetness, Shen Xing pulled herself out of her appreciation of his abs. She pressed down on Lu Xingyan’s leg, using it for leverage to sit up.

Lu Xingyan, caught off guard by the sudden pressure, almost ascended to Nirvana and returned to the world in one fell swoop. With eyes closed, he nearly met an untimely end.

Struggling to stand, Shen Xing took a moment to tidy up the comforter around her lower body, mindful of her appearance. Seeing Lu Xingyan lying on the ground with a pained expression, she nudged him with her slipper. “Lu Xingyan.”

Lu Xingyan remained silent.

“Lu Xingyan, get up. Do you think you’re the Princess and the Pea or Snow White? Do you need a kiss from the prince to feel better?”

“…,” Lu Xingyan didn’t respond.

“We’ll skip the prince, but a kiss from you wouldn’t be bad.”

Enduring the tingling cramp, Lu Xingyan muttered this remark. He even imagined a kiss, a hug, and being lifted high—a complete set would be even better. If she couldn’t lift him, he’d do it himself!

Seeing Lu Xingyan still joking, Shen Xing figured he must be fine. She grabbed some political materials from the table and, being considerate, placed them on his face. Task assigned, she said, “No matter what position you’re in, just go through the notes I circled for you earlier. Also, make sure you memorize those key philosophical principles and methodologies tonight. I’m going to take a shower. Come over for a spot check later.”

With that, she lifted the comforter slightly and stepped over Lu Xingyan’s thighs.

That night, Shen Xing and Lu Xingyan studied together until 2 a.m. They spent their seventeenth birthday amid the bloody and violent atmosphere of studying, meeting Dad, and reviewing.

The next day was the final exam. Shen Xing sat in the first seat of the first examination room. Five minutes before the exam started, her stomach suddenly cramped.

Only then did she remember the ginger tea with brown sugar that Aunt Zhou had packed for her in Lu Xingyan’s bag when she left home?

The pain came on swiftly and fiercely, with no indication of when it would stop or if it would return.

Soon, she was drenched in cold sweat, her lips turning pale.

Sitting in the top seat of the grade, with her good looks and demeanor, the invigilator naturally paid her extra attention.

Seeing her pale complexion, the invigilator hurried over, “Shen Xing, are you okay? Are you feeling unwell?”

Shen Xing nodded slightly.

“Can you still hold on?”

Shen Xing nodded again, but the pain grew stronger.

She hadn’t eaten anything cold recently, so she didn’t know why it hurt so much this time.

She remained silent, biting her lip and enduring.

The exam was about to start, and she said she could endure it, so the invigilator couldn’t say much more. They returned to the podium to prepare to open the exam packets.

As the invigilator lifted the exam packets to show the students, suddenly, someone burst into the classroom.

The person stopped at the door, slightly out of breath.

“Classmate? Just arriving? Hurry back to your seat.”

The entire exam room fell silent.

The invigilator didn’t recognize him, but they all did.

Lu Xingyan… If he came in now, he might not even be able to pass the first exam room.

Lu Xingyan paused for a moment, showing no shame as a disciple of Bright Peak. He explained, “My exam room is on the sixth floor. I came to deliver something.”

The invigilator hesitated for a moment.

Lu Xingyan placed the bottle of ginger tea with brown sugar on Shen Xing’s desk, then tossed a pack of hand warmers onto her desk and bid her farewell. “I’m off. Good luck with the exam.”

Nearby classmates muttered to themselves.

“Does Shen Xing still need your concern??? You should worry about yourself…”

Though the invigilator thought that someone taking an exam on the sixth floor probably wouldn’t be able to smuggle any jaw-dropping cheat sheets to help the top student, it was routine to check. “What’s this?”

“A hand warmer.”

With that, Shen Xing tore one open.

It was only when the invigilator instructed everyone to place their bags at the front of the room that Lu Xingyan remembered Shen Xing’s ginger tea in his bag.

Coincidentally, Chen Zhu was in the same exam room and also experienced menstrual cramps. Lu Xingyan asked Chen Zhu for a hand warmer and, ignoring the invigilator’s dissuasion, delivered it to him.

Perhaps because of this act of kindness, Lu Xingyan felt that the exam paper wasn’t as cryptic as before.

In the first Chinese exam, he managed to recall all the parts of the ancient poetry that he had memorized.

The political exam in the afternoon was even more remarkable. Seeing the essay questions, he recalled Shen Xing’s mocking remarks:

“Is it that hard to memorize? Pigs in a pigsty listen to the radio every day, and they’ve learned it all. These connections are all linked, and once they’re connected, they mutually depend and influence each other.”

“Lu Xingyan, are you a pig? If you don’t know, just write ‘adhere to down-to-earth and seek truth from facts.’ Is that okay?”

“Do you think you’re a best-selling author, and every word you write is precious? Are you writing these six words because you think you’re a wordsmith or leaving clues for hidden treasures? You need to answer three points to get six points, even if you have to make them up.”

While writing the exam, Shen Xing’s words echoed in his mind, compelling him to write continuously.

He didn’t just answer three points; he answered six and given more time, he could’ve concocted twelve.

Once the exam bell rang, the last student handed in their paper according to their seat number.

Coincidentally, Li Chengfan, the last in Lu Xingyan’s group, received Lu Xingyan’s paper and was puzzled.

It was filled from top to bottom…

Outside the exam room, Li Chengfan grabbed Lu Xingyan by the neck. “Yan Ge, you’re not being fair! Where did you get the condensed cheat sheet? You filled every space!”

“Get off me. Who’s cheating?” Lu Xingyan pushed away his hand and pointed at himself. “Use your pea brain and think, when have I ever cheated?”

Li Chengfan thought about it.

No, he hadn’t.

Lu Xingyan had said before, something about, receiving a reprimand wasn’t a big deal, but being caught cheating was embarrassing.

He seemed to be quite honorable, portraying himself as a decent and honest boy despite his poor grades.

Of course, Li Chengfan didn’t believe in his honor. He thought Lu Xingyan was just lazy, too lazy to cheat.

So this just got even more thrilling.

What exactly caused a clean-cut good boy like him, who usually can’t be bothered to cheat, to fill up the political exam paper just with the brainpower that developed 001…? What kind of spell was cast?

Lu Xingyan, rarely taking exams seriously, managed to get through the first two exam sessions with the help of some brown sugar water and a warm pad.

Though she still didn’t feel quite well on the second and third days, her stomach pain didn’t return.

As the bell rang signaling the end of the English exam, the final exams officially came to a close. The moment she stepped out of the exam room, she felt the entire teaching building lighten up.

Students from other exam rooms gradually returned to their classes, putting the desks and chairs back in place. Wang Youfu quickly entered the classroom, mainly to give everyone a pep talk, emphasizing that from the moment school started, they were in their final year and they shouldn’t slack off, racing against time…

Then he handed out the letters to parents regarding summer social practice and reminders.

The gist of the letter to parents was to urge them to supervise their children to study hard at home, to pay attention to balancing work and rest, and not to play in the water during the summer.

Shen Xingruo belatedly realized that apart from the slightly earlier start of school, Mingli hadn’t organized any summer remedial classes. This surprised her a bit.

Wang Youfu’s speech was, as usual, slow and deliberate, which made the chicks below who were eager to welcome the holiday even more restless.

Lu Xingyan wasn’t particularly restless. He was mainly focused on this round of exams.

The last exam was English. When Wang Youfu was speaking on stage, he was flipping through the English questionnaire he brought out.

When he got to the reading comprehension section, he didn’t quite understand, so he asked Shen Xingruo, “I found the answers to the first two questions in the text. I shouldn’t have chosen them wrong. But what’s this reading comprehension about? All I see is something about smoke, coffee, and food.”

Shen Xingruo understood what he was talking about without looking at the paper, and she glanced at the platform, softly replying, “This reading comprehension discusses how studies have shown that people can become addicted to mildly uncomfortable things, such as smoking, drinking coffee, and then the second paragraph starts with examples and elaborates on the specific content of the research.”

“Like this.” Lu Xingyan listened to Shen Xingruo’s explanation, feeling somewhat interested. “Is this research real or made up?”

Shen Xingruo replied, “It should be real.”

Lu Xingyan thought about it carefully and found it somewhat reasonable. After all, wasn’t he initially uncomfortable around Shen Xingruo? But now—(This is great!)

Though he agreed inwardly, he couldn’t resist a teasing remark, saying offhandedly, “Then why haven’t we seen anyone addicted to feces?”

Shen Xingruo paused, turned to look at him, and gave him a thorough once-over, her expression quite incredulous. After sizing him up, she asked, “Were you mildly uncomfortable when you ate feces?”

She emphasized the words “mildly uncomfortable” as she spoke.

“…No, it’s more than just mild discomfort.”

Lu Xingyan corrected himself, “Wait, no, I’ve never eaten feces.”

His voice sounded during a quiet moment, not loud enough for the whole class to hear, but his classmates around him heard it loud and clear.

Li Chengfan wore an expression that seemed to say, “Have you lost your mind?”

The internal mini-dramas of the other students were also playing out with rapid-fire comments.

After a few quiet seconds, Shen Xingruo voiced what everyone was thinking, “You seem quite regretful like you want to try it?”