When Sheng Xia returned home, Wang Lianhua had fallen asleep on the sofa. She woke up at the sound of the door opening, “You’re back. I made you sea cucumber and millet porridge. Let me check if it’s cooled down…”

She brought it over, “It’s still warm. What did you have for dinner tonight?”

Avoiding the latter question, Sheng Xia said, “Mom, you should rest early. You don’t need to make me late-night snacks anymore.”

“I have nothing else to do at home.”

Sheng Xia put down her schoolbag, “You drove a long time today, you should sleep early.”

“Ah, if only Ah Xuan could think like this,” Wang Lianhua sighed, “Eat while it’s hot.”

While eating, Sheng Xia asked, “How’s Ah Xuan?”

“She had a dark expression the whole way, but it was fine otherwise. She didn’t throw any tantrums.”

Sheng Xia nodded, “That’s good then.”

Wang Lianhua sat on the other side of the dining table, “Did you come back with Lu today?”

“Mm.”

Wang Lianhua seemed hesitant to speak.

Sheng Xia looked up: “Mom, what’s wrong?”

“I know you’re well-behaved,” Wang Lianhua hesitated but continued, “but at this age – and I’ve been through it too – no matter what, studies must come first, understand?”

Sheng Xia knew her mother was worried about her getting into early relationships, paying extra attention to any signs. Similar things had happened at No. 2 Middle School before. Sheng Xia now even suspected this was one of the factors in her transfer.

“I understand, Mom.”

“Don’t think Mom’s nagging. Unlike men, women have no room for trial and error in life. One wrong step leads to many wrong steps. Everything must be done at the right time, there’s no room for carelessness, understand?”

Sheng Xia ate with her head down, nodding silently.

“I know, Mom. I’ll clean up the bowls. You should rest early.”

“Alright, getting older now, even such a short drive makes me tired.”

“Good night, Mom.”

“Sleep early too.”

“Okay.”

The dining room fell silent. After finishing, Sheng Xia washed the dishes and went to her room to shower.

She still hadn’t mentioned the sports meet and dress. Leaning against her headboard, Sheng Xia hesitated for a long while before leaving a message for Sheng Mingfeng.

She knew that if she asked Sheng Mingfeng about such things, Zou Weiping would likely handle it. If her mother found out, who knows what would happen? But with her mother, she didn’t even have a chance to bring it up.

Sheng Xia sighed unconsciously.

Never mind, don’t think about it now. The sports meet didn’t involve much participation from third-year students, her mother probably wouldn’t find out.

The next day, Sheng Xia deliberately brought her phone. Sure enough, during break time she received Sheng Mingfeng’s call. She ran to the stairwell outside the classroom corridor to answer.

Sheng Mingfeng asked carefully about her requirements for the dress.

“Just something simple and long would be fine,” Sheng Xia said, “Oh, and the budget should be under 500.”

“Don’t worry about that. Any other requirements? Color or style preferences?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Alright, great! It’s good to participate in activities, interact with teachers and classmates, and make friends!” Sheng Mingfeng sounded very happy, “Do you want to try it on yourself?”

“No need,” Sheng Xia thought choosing based on height and weight would be fine, “I don’t have time recently.”

“Alright then, I’ll have it ordered quickly and have Brother Li deliver it to you.”

When Sheng Xia returned to the classroom, she saw an uninvited guest sitting in her seat.

Zhang Shu was sitting in Sheng Xia’s chair, talking to Hou Junqi in front.

Sheng Xia walked to her seat, thinking he would naturally get up and return it to her. Unexpectedly, he lazily examined her desk and looked up to ask: “No more candy?”

Since they had cleared things up yesterday, Sheng Xia thought there was no need to bring any more, so she hadn’t today.

How could he come over to ask about this?

Sheng Xia answered: “No more.”

Zhang Shu smiled faintly, “But what if I’m addicted?”

Of course, you should buy your own! That was Sheng Xia’s first reaction. Of course, she didn’t say it out loud.

“Didn’t we say, about the meal, that…” Sheng Xia stopped mid-sentence. She wanted to say, didn’t we say it would be settled with the meal? But thinking about it, he had paid for that meal, so not only was nothing settled, it had become more complicated.

Zhang Shu asked: “That what?”

Sheng Xia remained silent.

Zhang Shu looked at her brows furrowed tightly in embarrassment and sighed almost inaudibly, “Never mind, let’s just call it even.”

If it’s even then it’s even, what does he mean by “just call it even”?

He stood up, making to return the seat to her.

Sheng Xia breathed a sigh of relief.

But just as they passed each other, she felt a warm sensation on her cheek, followed by a pinch of her flesh…

He, he had pinched her cheek!

Just once, so quick that Sheng Xia didn’t even see which hand he used, when he raised it, or when he withdrew it.

Then he curved his lips into a smile, gave a short laugh, and left from behind her.

What, exactly, had he done?! Is this, is this how you call things even?!

Sheng Xia incredulously cupped the cheek he had pinched, nervously looking around.

Perhaps their passing bodies had blocked the view, or perhaps his movement was too quick to catch, but no one seemed to notice.

Except for—

Hou Junqi, who was right there.

Hou Junqi stared dumbfounded, quickly switching to a mischievous grin, softly muttering “holy shit” before turning around, shaking his head, and mumbling something about “badass” “too smooth” and “who could handle that”…

Sheng Xia sat down, gulping water, not daring to lower the hand cupping her face, afraid her face had turned completely red for others to see.

Across the classroom, she glared at Zhang Shu—or rather, his back.

He had already walked to his seat, and when sitting down, deliberately or not, looked over in her direction. Sheng Xia quickly turned to look out the window before their eyes could meet.

She yanked open the window for air.

No breeze came through the stuffy corridor, and the young girl took futile deep breaths.

…

On Friday afternoon, Li Xu delivered the dress to Sheng Xia.

As soon as school ended, Sheng Xia headed to the north gate, seeing Brother Li parked under a tree, holding a huge box while standing by the car. Perhaps he had just attended some meeting – despite the heat, he wore a pinstriped shirt under a black vest with a small collar, looking every bit the government official in his early thirties.

Sheng Xia felt slightly embarrassed; in terms of service, Brother Li had probably never let Sheng Mingfeng down.

With his manner of receiving officials, Sheng Xia almost didn’t dare approach.

“Xia Xia!”

Li Xu called out to her first.

“Brother Li, have you been waiting long?”

“No, just arrived,” Li Xu saw the box was big, “Let me carry it to your classroom?”

Sheng Xia quickly shook her head, “I can hold it.”

Li Xu said: “There are some more things in the trunk.”

Sheng Xia thought it was just some fruits and snacks Sheng Mingfeng had prepared for her, “No need, I still have an evening study session.”

“They’re all accessories for the dress, packed in separate boxes.”

Li Xu had Sheng Xia hold the big box first, then opened the trunk and took out a shoe box and two exquisite velvet boxes, each about the size of a file box.

This…

“There’s no need to be so formal.”

Li Xu was just doing his job, so he couldn’t respond to Sheng Xia’s comment, only saying: “Shall I help you carry them in?”

The boxes weren’t heavy, but given their size, Sheng Xia indeed couldn’t carry them all alone.

She checked the time – everyone should be at dinner now, so the classroom would be mostly empty. She nodded.

Brother Li carried the big box while Sheng Xia followed with the smaller boxes. They hadn’t walked far when they ran into Zhang Shu and Hou Junqi.

They were just heading to dinner.

“Little Sheng Xia?” Hou Junqi greeted first.

Sheng Xia froze – ah, Schrödinger’s encounter…

Zhang Shu glanced at the person standing behind her, then at the big and small boxes, asking: “Need help?”

Brother Li looked at her, seeking her opinion.

Sheng Xia hesitated briefly, but still felt Brother Li’s attire wasn’t quite appropriate for school – he looked like an education bureau official coming for inspection.

Sheng Xia said to Brother Li, “Let my classmates help me carry it in.”

Brother Li understood, nodding and looking between Zhang Shu and Hou Junqi before finally handing the box to Hou Junqi.

Zhang Shu naturally took the three small boxes from Sheng Xia’s arms.

Sheng Xia waved goodbye to Brother Li, and the three of them entered through the north gate.

Hou Junqi looked back at the car disappearing around the corner, thinking to himself: An A6 with a Red Flag emblem – a simple car, but not a simple person.

Being straightforward, he naturally voiced his curiosity: “Little Sheng Xia, who was that just now?”

Sheng Xia had experience answering such questions and replied without much thought: “My father’s colleague.”

Hou Junqi hadn’t expected this answer, paused then smiled: “Ah haha, I see.”

Then he said no more.

Sheng Xia hadn’t expected the items to take up so much space. She’d thought it would just be a paper bag that could be placed beside her desk, but now with these big and small boxes, they couldn’t be kept in the classroom.

Hou Junqi suggested: “How about keeping them at Ah Shu’s?”

Zhang Shu raised his eyebrows, nodding to indicate it was fine.

His house was indeed close, but going back and forth to his place wouldn’t be good.

Sheng Xia thought for a moment, “Let’s just put them somewhere for now. I’ll ask Teacher Fu this afternoon if they can be kept in her office.”

Zhang Shu saw her eager-to-avoid expression and frowned.

Hou Junqi asked: “The sports meet is still quite far away, why did you bring the dress now instead of keeping it at home?”

Of course, because it couldn’t be kept at home.

Sheng Xia sighed internally – when would Hou Junqi’s curiosity diminish a bit?

As she was considering how to answer, a cool voice came from behind: “Don’t pry into a fairy’s business.”

Um…

Sheng Xia glimpsed from the corner of her eye, only seeing Zhang Shu’s indifferent profile.

She often heard Xin Xiaohe say this and found it cute, but coming from Zhang Shu’s mouth, why did it feel so awkward? His tone suggested he was unhappy.

There weren’t many people in the classroom. After putting away the things, Sheng Xia naturally went to eat with the two of them. Throughout the meal, Zhang Shu kept his eyes straight ahead, focusing on eating. Although he usually didn’t talk much while eating, Sheng Xia was certain Zhang Shu was indeed unhappy.

But why had he suddenly become unhappy?

He had been fine at the school gate earlier, and he had even volunteered to help.

How strange.

When Sheng Xia arrived at the classroom in the afternoon, she saw several girls gathered around her desk. Seeing her, one of them called out, “Wow Sheng Xia, is this the dress you’ll wear for the placard ceremony? Can we take a look?”

Sheng Xia hadn’t looked at it herself yet, but she glanced at the clock and said: “Class is about to start.”

“Then we’ll look during break time.”

“Okay,” Sheng Xia said.

“Xia Xia, looking at the logo on the box, it’s an emerging designer brand. My idol wore this brand for an endorsement event before, it went viral. I remember seeing it all over the fan club and information station Weibo accounts, it left a deep impression!”

Sheng Xia understood each word this classmate said individually, but put together, she didn’t quite comprehend. However, she gathered that this brand must be quite good.

The girl continued: “It’s so beautiful! How much did it cost? Did you buy or rent it?”

Sheng Xia thought for a moment and answered: “A bit over six hundred.”

An exact five hundred would have seemed too deliberate, and since she had contributed one hundred herself – not too much, but enough to show effort – it shouldn’t invite criticism.

The girl’s expression became somewhat subtle, her voice lowering: “Huh? Then it’s probably not authentic. Even renting an authentic one costs thousands.”

Sheng Xia was shocked by this price. Sheng Mingfeng would never rent counterfeit goods, and Zou Weiping even less so.

Another girl comforted her: “It’s fine, it’s just a small event. The style is what matters.”

“Yeah, yeah,” the other girls echoed.

Sheng Xia could sense that some girls were both disappointed and relieved.

She felt relieved too.

Hou Junqi, sitting in front, listened silently and shook his head with a sigh: some people try their hardest to stand out, while others work hard to bury themselves – what a show, what a show.

The first-afternoon class was Teacher Fu’s. Friday’s Chinese class had a somewhat soporific effect.

After class, everyone was drowsy. Perhaps uninterested in the knockoff, no one mentioned looking at the dress again. Sheng Xia waited until Fu Jie left the classroom before catching up with her to ask about safekeeping the dress. Fu Jie gladly agreed, so Sheng Xia called Xin Xiaohe, and the two of them carried the dress boxes, following Fu Jie upstairs.

The female Chinese teachers were all remarkably young. Sheng Xia discovered that the affiliated school was quite bold in employing young teachers. Teachers like Fu Jie and Lai Yilin were all master’s graduates who had started teaching in their first year and had been teaching for just two years. Such new teachers wouldn’t be allowed to teach third year at No. 2 Middle School.

Young teachers not only had new teaching methods with significant results but could also connect well with students.

“Sheng Xia, you don’t know how to do makeup, right?” Fu Jie asked suddenly after sitting down at her desk.

Sheng Xia put down the dress box and shook her head.

Fu Jie smiled brightly: “Then shall the teacher do your makeup on opening ceremony day?”

Sheng Xia was confused: “We need makeup?”

Xin Xiaohe said: “Of course!”

Fu Jie said: “You’re representing Class 6’s image!”

Xin Xiaohe nodded vigorously: “Yes, the placard goddess must wear makeup!”

Sheng Xia pursed her lips and nodded.

Fu Jie said: “What style is your dress? Let me see, so I can prepare the makeup style.”

Sheng Xia didn’t know herself, so she opened the box.

The dress was layered inside, and only when lifted could its full appearance be seen.

The bodice was black velvet strapless, with brass pieces adorning the lace corset, while the skirt was grey-blue with layers upon layers, decorated with gold dimensional embroidery. The subtle grey-blue complemented the rich, luxurious gold perfectly, removing any gaudiness from the gold, while the black velvet added an elegant, dignified touch.

In the shoe box lay a pair of black vintage high heels. In the velvet boxes, there was a black crown, a black velvet choker, and a pair of velvet gloves reaching to the elbows.

“This is… Hepburn style?” Fu Jie’s eyes lit up as she held the dress against Sheng Xia. “Mm, the contrast is stunning.”

Sheng Xia looked at the strapless top – was it appropriate to wear this at school?

She had only specified the skirt length at the time, not thinking about the top. But had Sheng Mingfeng seen the dress? Did he and Zou Weiping both think it was acceptable?

Other teachers in the office craned their necks to look.

“Teacher Fu, your student is quite beautiful, isn’t she?”

“Of course! Look whose student she is.”

“Look how pleased you are, don’t play favorites now, you have two other classes.”

“Always the chatterbox.”

Sheng Xia and Xin Xiaohe exchanged glances – so this was how teachers were in private.

Lost in thought, they heard Fu Jie tease in a low voice: “Sheng Xia, you must have contributed quite a bit yourself this time?”

Xin Xiaohe jumped in: “She added one hundred. I think this dress looks so high-end, it’s not inferior to those thousand-yuan ones.”

Fu Jie carefully folded the dress back and exclaimed: “One hundred?”

Then seeing Sheng Xia’s gradually lowering head, she smiled knowingly, “Mm, that’s quite a bargain.”

The break wasn’t long, so Sheng Xia and Xin Xiaohe returned to class first.

In the office, the teachers who had been standing in their cubicles gathered around.

“Quietly ask your student another day where they rented it from. My sister-in-law is preparing for her wedding, six hundred is such a good deal, it could be used as a toast dress!”

Fu Jie raised her eyebrows: “This is genuine ‘Hepburn,’ six hundred is impossible.”

“Authentic?”

“Yes, and the shoes are DIOR, also authentic.”

Coming from a wealthy family, Fu Jie dressed simply for work but was undoubtedly fashionable off-duty. If she said it was authentic, it couldn’t be fake.

“Are students these days trying so hard for just one event?”

Fu Jie shook her head: “My silly student doesn’t know anything about it.”

“She is very pretty!”

“And has such a good personality too!”

As Sheng Xia and Xin Xiaohe went downstairs, their ears were filled with Xin Xiaohe’s praises: “So beautiful,” “understated yet precious,” “elegant black swan,” “will blind certain class’s dog eyes”…

Sheng Xia had already started worrying if it was too much. She had never worn strapless before.

“Xiaohe, has anyone worn strapless for placard holding before?”

“Almost everyone wears strapless or spaghetti straps,” Xin Xiaohe said. “Some even wore wedding dresses in previous years. Isn’t this day all about showing your unique charm?”

Only then did Sheng Xia feel slightly reassured.

…

Monday was seat seat-changing day. Sheng Xia had to move across a classroom to the first group again. This time it wasn’t Xin Xiaohe’s special day, but she volunteered to help Sheng Xia move. The two of them lifted the desk and moved it with difficulty, resting every few steps.

“Wow, Xia Xia, why is your desk so heavy?” Xin Xiaohe spoke between heavy breaths.

During a rest break, Sheng Xia said: “Maybe I have too many things.”

The drawer was packed full, organized but crowded.

Xin Xiaohe sighed: “How did Zhang Shu carry it by himself last time? Compared to him, we’re such noobs.”

Sheng Xia remembered last time when he moved her desk, his arm muscles were tensed tight – it must not have been easy for him either.

“There weren’t as many things at the start of school,” Sheng Xia encouraged, “We’re doing great too.”

Just as she finished speaking, a cool voice came from behind: “Really? Crawling like turtles – your perseverance is indeed admirable.”

Sheng Xia turned around to see the late-arriving young man standing at the classroom door, his expression not particularly friendly.

“Put it down, you’re blocking the way,” Zhang Shu spoke impatiently, walking up to Sheng Xia and taking off his backpack to hand to her. “Hold this.”

Sheng Xia looked at him, somewhat dazed. What for?

Zhang Shu stuffed his backpack into her arms, then lifted the desk with both hands. The things in the drawer rattled, and Xin Xiaohe came to her senses, moving aside to make way as the young man effortlessly carried the desk to its designated spot.

Xin Xiaohe looked at Sheng Xia and smiled awkwardly: “There is a physical strength gap, huh.”

Sheng Xia, holding Zhang Shu’s backpack, followed him to her seat and mumbled: “I… my book box is still over there.”

Since there was such a disparity in strength, he should be willing to help her a bit more, right? Might as well complete the good deed?

Zhang Shu looked up and gave a light laugh, “You’re quite comfortable ordering me around today.”

“Ordering around” wasn’t a pleasant phrase, and his tone suggested he wasn’t too willing. Sheng Xia frowned and explained: “That’s not what I meant, I’m sorry.”

She put down his backpack and turned to get it herself.

The young woman left him with her back view.

Zhang Shu was dumbfounded, unable to speak. How could she not even handle this level of teasing? Was she going to cry if he said something slightly harsher?

She was the one being defensive with him before, and now she’s asking for his help, but he can’t say anything.

She really couldn’t take any criticism.

Zhang Shu silently sighed and followed her. After a few steps, he saw Lu Youze carrying the book box, followed by the young woman walking step by step behind him with grateful eyes.

“Thank you,” Sheng Xia said.

“No need to be so polite, just call me if you need help, I’m right nearby,” Lu Youze replied, turning his head slightly.

The two walked to the seat, and Lu Youze, as if not seeing Zhang Shu, asked: “Xia Xia, where should I put it?”

Xia Xia?

Zhang Shu stood with his hands on his hips, still catching his breath, only able to give a cold laugh. He moves such a big, heavy desk and she gives him the cold shoulder, but when someone carries a small book box she’s so eager to please. How could she be so biased?

Sheng Xia was in a dilemma. When she sat here before, Zhang Shu had put the book box in the middle, but now…

His expression looked exactly like a mother hen protecting her chicks – even an eagle couldn’t invade his territory.

“Put it under my desk,” Sheng Xia said.

Zhang Shu’s “put it in the middle” was swallowed back before he could say it.

He made way for Lu Youze and called Hou Junqi to leave the classroom.

The space under the desk was already cramped, and with the book box there, Sheng Xia’s legs were confined in the narrow space, unable to stretch. After a day, her legs felt stiff.

She didn’t speak up, and he didn’t say anything either, remaining in this standoff for an entire day.

The most uncomfortable was Hou Junqi. Ah Shu’s words were especially sharp today, and even his toes could guess that the two behind him were in a cold war.

However, it was quite fresh.

At 11 PM, Lu Youze came to call Sheng Xia to go home.

Sheng Xia snapped out of her exercises – it was so late again. Her efficiency had been too low today, so she packed up her exercises planning to make up for it at home.

Zhang Shu hadn’t left yet, and sitting far back, he completely blocked her way.

She made such a big noise packing up, obviously intending to leave, yet he showed no sign of moving.

Sheng Xia sighed slightly in her heart and reluctantly called out: “Zhang Shu…”

Hearing her tone different from usual, with a slight hint of impatience, Zhang Shu raised an eyebrow, leaned back in his chair, and looked straight at her.

He had no purpose; he just hadn’t spoken all day and wanted to hear if she would squeeze out another word or two. Even if just like before, saying “I need to get out,” perhaps he would yield halfway and break this deadlock.

But what he didn’t know was that in Sheng Xia’s eyes, his behavior looked like – are you asking me to beg?

She was somewhat troubled; Lu Youze was waiting for her.

Seeing this, Lu Youze couldn’t help but speak up: “Zhang Shu, how childish can you be?”

At these words, everyone around had different expressions. Hou Junqi had already stood up but sat back down sheepishly after Zhang Shu shot him a glance.

Sheng Xia was also stunned.

Zhang Shu turned his head, “What’s it to you?”

Although Lu Youze was standing and Zhang Shu sitting, Zhang Shu’s presence wasn’t diminished at all. His casual tone left Lu Youze momentarily speechless.

“Why don’t you go make a little report? Don’t just stick to Old Wang or the grade director, go straight to the principal – that would better suit your status as Young Master Lu,” Hou Junqi coldly mocked from the side.

The atmosphere was tense.

Sheng Xia hadn’t expected the conversation to develop this way and didn’t know where to look.

She didn’t know whether to side with Lu Youze who was standing up for her, or to stay uninvolved in matters that didn’t concern her.

Zhang Shu caught her nervousness from the corner of his eye, unconsciously sighed softly, and pulled his chair back to make space for her to pass.

Sheng Xia felt relieved and had just stepped into the aisle when she heard Zhang Shu’s still cool voice from behind: “Be careful on your way back.”

Sheng Xia’s steps faltered as she turned back stiffly – was he, talking to her?

It must be, because, there was no one else.

“Ah? Oh, okay,” Sheng Xia responded awkwardly.

Sheng Xia and Lu Youze left the classroom.

This brief but intense triangle drama came to an end.

The spectators couldn’t tell which of the two male leads had won.

If you said Zhang Shu won, well, the female lead left with Lu Youze, didn’t she?

If you said Lu Youze won, well, the female lead’s final confused and dazed response was like a little girlfriend whose attempt at infidelity had failed, wasn’t it?

Hou Junqi cursed: “This bastard, acting like a gentleman in front of girls, it’s disgusting to watch.”

Zhang Shu did not comment and continued working on his exercises.

“Ah Shu, did you know Lu Youze also bought a small electric scooter?” Hou Junqi’s tone couldn’t be more disdainful, “The same as Sheng Xia’s, just black, tiny thing, looks so effeminate when riding it.”

Zhang Shu looked up and gave a cold snort – what’s this, matching a couple of bikes?

Childish.