The bookstore owner brought a chair and offered Zhang Shu the menu. Zhang Shu sat down, glanced at the menu without taking it, and said, “Plain water, thanks.”

Owner: “Anything else?”

Zhang Shu: “No, that’s all.”

The owner wanted to say something more, but after glancing at Sheng Xia, held back and just replied “Alright” before leaving with the menu.

These kinds of bookstores never made money from selling books – charging for seating was an unwritten rule. But since Sheng Xia and Tao Zhizhi were regulars and members, the owner didn’t insist.

Tao Zhizhi asked: “Classmate Zhang… Shu, have you had lunch? We still have pizza here, it’s really good.”

Sheng Xia held her head in her hands – how had her fiery best friend suddenly become so understanding?

“Already ate,” Zhang Shu said.

“Oh… okay.”

“Have you finished writing your speech?” Sheng Xia spoke up, saving Tao Zhizhi from the awkwardness.

Zhang Shu pulled a notebook from his bag, “Haven’t written the ending.”

Sheng Xia took it and quickly read through it. His writing was flat, lacking logic, full of slogans – like pieces cut from several different speeches and pasted together.

“Have you ever listened to other flag-raising ceremony speeches before?” Sheng Xia asked diplomatically.

Zhang Shu said: “Forced to endure several minutes of torture at fixed times every week – didn’t your Er Zhong have that?”

Um…

Tao Zhizhi’s gaze swept between the two. This academic god spoke without any hint of asking for favors, just as rumored – both arrogant and handsome.

His presence was quite strong; even Tao Zhizhi felt intimidated.

Unexpectedly, her friend Comrade Sheng Xia could now maintain her composure, even responding with some emotion, almost like a retort: “Then you should have a basic concept of flag-raising ceremony speeches.”

Meaning: you don’t, were you deaf?

Zhang Shu laughed, “Why don’t you explain?”

Sheng Xia put down her pen and picked up a pencil to mark Zhang Shu’s draft. Leaning slightly toward him, she explained slowly: “First, regarding the speech format, the address here…”

She spoke knowledgeably about the draft, offering suggestions that were both tactful and pertinent. Her voice was soft, sounding both earnest and hypnotic…

Tao Zhizhi was already drowsy, and listening made her even sleepier. She lay back down on the table to rest her eyes.

“That’s all for now,” Sheng Xia finished, returning the draft to Zhang Shu. “Why don’t you revise it now, and we can look at it again if needed?”

Zhang Shu moved his gaze from her warm-lit cheeks and took the draft, responding: “Alright.”

Sheng Xia nodded and returned to her practice papers.

Zhang Shu asked Sheng Xia: “Can I borrow your phone?”

Sheng Xia looked up questioningly.

“To check how others write, following your suggestion,” he waved his phone, “I’m out of data.”

Sheng Xia handed over her phone.

This brand of phone wasn’t common among high school students.

Zhang Shu raised his eyebrows – Liu Hui’an was right, her family was quite well-off.

It took him a while to find the browser. When he clicked the search bar, about to type, he saw the automatically displayed search history.

The top few entries were authors’ names and literary allusions. No wonder her Chinese was so good – she did plenty of extracurricular studying.

Looking further down, Zhang Shu’s eyes narrowed.

[What crime is copying/selling obscene books?]

…

…

…

Did such thorough research?

Zhang Shu couldn’t even smile anymore. He lifted his eyelids to look at the girl across from him.

She was working on a proof problem, moving her ruler back and forth on the paper, still unsure where to draw the auxiliary lines. So worried that she was biting her lower lip hard – her pink lips turning white, then quickly regaining color with a glossy sheen when released…

Zhang Shu quickly looked away, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he took a sip of water.

Before Sheng Xia had finished half her math paper, Zhang Shu had completed his speech. Sheng Xia found it much better than his first draft. He was truly intelligent – even though words couldn’t be solved like formulas, he understood everything immediately.

“I think it’s very good now, just lacking elevation at the end,” Sheng Xia offered another revision suggestion. “The ending is crucial in speeches – memorable speeches all inspire people at the conclusion.”

Sure enough, this was what Zhang Shu hated most. “Isn’t that just hyping people up? Still just shouting slogans.”

Sheng Xia: … She had just said slogans weren’t good.

“You could say that, but there are also very sincere endings that leave people wanting more,” Sheng Xia explained patiently.

Zhang Shu asked: “What makes it sincere?”

Sheng Xia thought briefly, biting her lip again. “Well…”

She had just started speaking when she saw Zhang Shu turn his head away. As she wondered why, he turned back.

She continued: “How about talking about ideals and goals? That would resonate more. What are your ideals?”

Zhang Shu pondered – what were his ideals?

He wanted to come of age. He wanted independence.

But those didn’t seem like ideals.

Sheng Xia looked at his confused expression with some surprise. “Isn’t there anything you want to do, or what kind of person you want to become?”

Looking at the girl’s serious expression, Zhang Shu found himself speechless.

“You’re so smart, you must be able to do many things others can’t. If I were as smart as you, I’d have lots of things I’d want to do,” Sheng Xia murmured, gently guiding.

Smart.

He hadn’t expected her evaluation of him to be so positive – he thought she saw him as just a criminal.

“What do you want to do?” Zhang Shu asked.

“Hmm…” Sheng Xia put down her pen, propping her chin with her hand, thinking as she spoke. “It’s not specific yet. My abilities are limited – I don’t know what university I can get into or what major I can study. But generally speaking, I want to leave something behind, leave traces of my existence. If ordinary, at least I am a good person, naturally better if I can be useful to those around me. If outstanding, then be useful to the country, useful to the world, the kind that people remember even after I’m gone.”

She seemed lost in her world as she spoke. Coming back to herself, she lowered her head somewhat embarrassedly. “The latter part is difficult, but I think if it’s you, it seems achievable.”

This was Sheng Xia’s honest opinion.

Even without giving his all, he had already achieved excellence that others couldn’t attain even through endless toil. He could make many choices – as long as he wanted, he could attend any university he desired, study any major he liked, could do many impressive things.

Zhang Shu looked at her without speaking, his gaze seeming to fall somewhere far, far away.

Like daydreaming.

Sheng Xia’s ears reddened slightly, belatedly realizing the topic was too deep for their shallow acquaintance. His silence was appropriate.

Zhang Shu took a sip of water, tapped his draft, and nodded saying: “Okay, I’ll revise it more when I get back.”

After a while, he asked: “Finished your practice papers?”

Sheng Xia shook her head: “Still have two final problems.”

Zhang Shu asked: “Can you usually reach the final problems during exams?”

Sheng Xia shook her head again: “Occasionally. Usually, I can just read the questions…”

Zhang Shu said: “I suggest you first improve your speed on the earlier parts before starting to practice the finale problems. Otherwise, what’s the use of practicing so many problems if you can’t reach them? For now, just read the questions and write down equations regardless, leave them if you can’t solve them – you might get a couple of points.”

“Isn’t it too risky to give up on final problems now?” Sheng Xia hesitated. Sometimes she could solve one, and though her accuracy wasn’t high, it was already the first semester of senior year – if she stopped practicing finale problems now, would there be time to pick them up later?

Zhang Shu disagreed: “Once your speed and accuracy improve on multiple choice questions, the rest won’t be far behind. Master one, master all.”

Sheng Xia pondered this thoughtfully.

“Just a suggestion, how you study is up to you,” Zhang Shu added.

Zhang Shu fulfilled his promise of reciprocity, waiting beside her until she finished the practice papers, checking answers, and then explaining the problems. Even Tao Zhizhi, who originally had no interest in studying, joined in for some lessons after she woke up.

After Zhang Shu left, Tao Zhizhi gave a thumbs up to her chest, expression both mighty and admiring. “Just two words: awesome.”

Sheng Xia nodded in agreement.

Although he occasionally let slip seemingly impatient words, overall he was meticulous and thorough, explaining things from simple to complex.

“I think he’s quite nice to you,” Tao Zhizhi said.

Sheng Xia glanced up, “Not really, he’s like that when explaining problems to everyone.”

Tao Zhizhi shook her head knowingly, “It’s not about explaining problems. I don’t know how to say it, but when he talks to you he seems less arrogant, his voice is even softer than when he talks to me…”

Sheng Xia: …

…

During evening study hall after returning to school, Sheng Xia hadn’t received Zhang Shu’s final draft. She didn’t ask much about it, seeing him take the draft to find Fu Jie. She felt relieved – her task was complete.

Before morning reading on Monday was the routine seat change, and she became Zhang Shu’s desk mate again.

After several seat changes though, Sheng Xia no longer considered seating a big deal. All changes were similar, just matters of being closer or further – the same people were still around.

Fu Zhong’s flag-raising ceremony was scheduled for the first long break on Monday. That day it was Sheng Xia’s turn for classroom duty, and duty students didn’t attend the flag-raising.

She and Xin Xiaohe swept the floor and cleaned the blackboard while Lu Youze and his desk mate took out the trash.

Though they didn’t attend the flag raising, the school broadcast would “live stream” the ceremony throughout campus.

“Next, please welcome Class 6 Senior Three student Zhang Shu to give the flag-raising speech…”

The host’s voice came clear and pleasant through the podium speakers.

Accompanied by scattered applause.

The young man’s voice came through the speakers, his magnetic lazy tone gaining some deep bass through the audio system, adding steadiness: “Good morning teachers and students, I am Zhang Shu…”

Sheng Xia sighed lightly. He had originally written, “Hello everyone, I am Zhang Shu.” After her revision, it was supposed to be “Respected teachers, dear students…”

Never mind, the arrogant king had his stubbornness.

Suddenly thunderous applause erupted, accompanied by buzzing discussion, the sound coming both through real space and the speakers, rising and falling…

“Damn, that voice – flag-raising speeches have never been like this,” Xin Xiaohe stopped cleaning. “Is Zhang Shu showing off?”

As the applause diminished, Zhang Shu began his speech.

The middle content was all that Sheng Xia had seen before, without much change. She discovered that even the orthodox revolutionary content sounded less rigid coming from his mouth – someone had found the precious balance between casual and formal.

He was quite suited for speeches – no high-pitched passionate arm-waving calls, just like having a conversation, very engaging.

The ending content was what Sheng Xia hadn’t seen before. She slowed her blackboard cleaning to listen carefully.

He seemed to pause slightly before continuing slowly: “Someone told me that coming to this world, we should leave our traces. If ordinary, at least be a good person; if outstanding, be useful to the country, useful to the world. I don’t know what I can leave behind, but I know what kind of person I want to become: someone of sound character, independent development, patriotic sentiment, and global vision. If I could become such a person, my youth wouldn’t have been wasted. That concludes my speech, thank you.”