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Fang Zhixiao truly had no shame left whatsoever. Li Kuiyi was done with her, and responded with a “speechless” reaction image. After putting her phone down, she felt an inexplicable pang of guilt, and couldn’t help glancing back — He Youyuan was still sound asleep, and only then did she quietly set her mind at ease.

She finished the takeaway, brushed her teeth again, and checked the time: it was already nearly one in the morning. She was somewhat at a loss for what to do. Should she wake He Youyuan and send him back to his own room on the eleventh floor? Or just let him sleep where he was? And if she let him stay, what would happen if he woke up in the middle of the night? That would be unbearably awkward.

Li Kuiyi sank into the soft mattress and thought it over for a long time. In the end, she decided to go up to the eleventh floor herself, on the grounds that since the room had been paid for, it would be a waste not to use it.

She went to the bay window, patted He Youyuan’s shoulder, trying to rouse him to move to the bed instead — but whether he was simply too exhausted or something else entirely, he was sleeping so deeply that he barely registered her at all. She put a little force into shaking him and called his name: “He Youyuan.”

He let out a short, muffled sound and rolled his body to the side. His eyes still seemed unable to open; he raised one hand and rubbed it hard across his face, and finally managed to pry them half open, his gaze finding her with an expression that was hazy and liquid with sleep.

After staring at her for a moment, he suddenly spoke — his voice low and muffled, carrying a note of innocent indignation: “Were you just touching me?”

Li Kuiyi: “……”

He Youyuan, your character is truly beyond saving.

“Who was touching you? I was patting you — trying to wake you up,” she said, irritation plain in her voice.

“Oh.”

He Youyuan sat up, scratching at his head, which instantly reduced his hair to complete chaos. Without that face of his holding everything together, he would probably have looked like a vagrant. His expression was blank — he probably hadn’t fully come back to himself yet.

Li Kuiyi held out her hand: “Give me the room key for the eleventh floor.”

He fished the key card out obediently, and was just about to hand it over when he suddenly drew it back: “You want to go stay in the room on the eleventh floor?”

“Yeah.”

“You stay here — I’ll go up.” He stood — and swayed slightly, as if he hadn’t found his balance. Li Kuiyi looked at the flush of color still on his face, and a thought crossed her mind. She rose onto her toes, reached out, and pressed the back of her hand against his forehead.

Temperature normal, thankfully.

He Youyuan took her hand down from his forehead and held it, his thumb moving slowly back and forth across her knuckles in an absent rhythm. Nothing else between them was touching — only this small patch of skin pressed against skin — yet somehow it sent a warm current coursing through their entire bodies, and the air between them seemed to be warming too.

“Li Kuiyi — after the college entrance exams, will you be with me?”

Li Kuiyi had no reason to refuse. She lowered her gaze and gave a small, flushed nod: “Okay.”

He Youyuan looked at her, and the heat in his eyes deepened gradually. The longing inside him ran very deep — he wanted to hold her, to kiss her, to bury his face in the curve of her neck and nuzzle against her. But — wait a little longer. Today was already the twentieth of February. There were only one hundred and eight days left until the college entrance examinations. He could wait.

He pushed down the restless turmoil roaring inside him, and traced slow circles in her palm with his finger: “I’m sorry — I have class tomorrow.”

Li Kuiyi understood what he was saying: he had class tomorrow, so he couldn’t see her off to the train station. And by the time she woke up early next morning, he would already be gone. She shook her head. “You don’t need to apologize. It’s the same as — if I had class, I wouldn’t have come all the way to Beijing to celebrate your birthday either.”

But He Youyuan seemed to feel genuinely indebted to her. He made a promise: “Once the exams are over, I’ll be by your side every single day.”

Li Kuiyi cleared her throat slightly: “…That’s not really necessary.”

“What do you mean, not necessary?” His stubborn streak flared up immediately, and he huffed with indignance: “Does that mean you don’t want to be with me every day? But you just said, only a moment ago, that you’d be with me after the exams.”

Li Kuiyi felt this person could be genuinely unreasonable at times, and couldn’t be bothered to argue the fine points. She simply gave in broadly: “Fine, fine, whatever you say.”

He Youyuan was happy again, and gazed at her with tender-eyed warmth. Li Kuiyi couldn’t bear being stared at like that, and began pushing him toward the door: “Go to sleep already — if you sleep for another four hours you’ll have to get up for class.”

He Youyuan was pushed out the door, and spoke through the gap: “When you lock the door, remember to put the chain on. Don’t open it if someone knocks, unless it’s me. Call me if anything happens. Mind yourself getting to the station tomorrow. Tell me once you’re on the train. Tell me when you get home. Also — the bag on the bay window ledge is a gift for you. Don’t forget to take it.”

Li Kuiyi glanced back at the bay window, and sure enough, a large paper bag was sitting there. A gift for her? She had assumed it was a birthday present from He Youyuan’s roommates.

“Why are you giving me a gift?” Li Kuiyi leaned against the gap in the door to look at him.

“Just saw it and wanted to buy it for you.” He Youyuan’s hand reached through the gap and ruffled her hair. “Good night.”

“……Good night.”

After seeing He Youyuan off, Li Kuiyi fastened the door chain, then walked briskly to the bay window and picked up the gift bag. Inside was a large pink box — something like clothing, by the feel of it. She opened it to find a pure white dress.

The dress was very beautiful. She held it up to herself, but couldn’t help wondering: surely He Youyuan wasn’t still nursing a jealousy over Qi Yu?

The nerve of this person — nursing a grudge like this. Absolutely inhuman!

Li Kuiyi’s return home turned out to be perfectly timed: she had just stepped off the high-speed rail when a notice came through on the class group chat, announcing that classes would resume the following day. After a few days back in school, the college entrance exam countdown on the blackboard ticked down to the final hundred days. The school organized a “Hundred-Day Oath-Taking Assembly,” and Li Kuiyi, as the student representative for the humanities classes, went on stage to give a speech and lead her classmates in taking the pledge. At the end, everyone released balloons into the sky from the sports field, each one carrying a dream. While no one was looking, Li Kuiyi wrote “Peking University & Central Academy of Fine Arts” on her balloon, let go of the string, and watched it sail up into the sky, dissolving into the colorful sea of dreams above.

She raised her small camera and captured the moment, then sent it to He Youyuan.

He Youyuan received not only Li Kuiyi’s photo, but also a short video sent by Zhang Chuang — footage of Li Kuiyi standing at the podium speaking. She looked no different than she had three years before: her tone of voice still carried little inflection. And yet He Youyuan could feel it — she was more settled now, more grounded. This person who was always cool and understated somehow gave people a sense of security.

Very soon, he too faced his own art school exams, and once again shouldered his portfolio bag and shuttled back and forth between several cities. The preliminary rounds and the second rounds kept him busy, but went smoothly enough in the end.

In mid-March, He Youyuan finally completed all his art-related examinations. Rather than stay in Beijing to continue with academic coursework, he chose to return to Yizhong. He had barely arrived when he was faced with a major mock examination participated in by over two hundred schools — one that was known in the province as the “mini college entrance exam.”

Having not taken a proper exam in a long time, he found himself stumbling through the test papers; it didn’t feel right. When the results came out, his score was 532. For someone who had not gone through any systematic review, this was already quite respectable — but he felt he had done terribly, because in this same major mock exam, Li Kuiyi had taken first place in the province.

Li Kuiyi’s results were both expected and unexpected by the school. Chen Guoming and Jiang Jianbin were stunned and delighted in equal measure, because as long as Li Kuiyi maintained this level of performance, a provincial top score on the actual college entrance exams might not be out of reach — and their hopes for her had previously been set only at steadily securing the top score in the city.

The two teachers arranged another conversation with Li Kuiyi — but not wanting to affect her mindset, they didn’t dare set any explicit expectations. Instead, they repeated again and again: relax, take it one step at a time, be steady and sure.

Stay steady. Li Kuiyi once again told herself the same.

Though He Youyuan had returned, she had essentially cut off all close contact with him — only continuing to help him with his coursework each day, and in the evenings on the walk home, randomly posing questions to check how well he had memorized material. He Youyuan worried that this was eating into her own study time, but she told him that walking through the material with him was essentially reviewing it herself, and she actually understood it more thoroughly as a result.

She could see that in these final weeks, He Youyuan was also giving everything he had. He worked his way through a full set of past-year provincial math exam papers in only a few days — at that rate, he was certainly burning the midnight oil each night. His recitation was also becoming more and more fluent; she couldn’t imagine how many hours of sleep he was actually getting.

Right up to the college entrance exams, He Youyuan never managed to gain back the weight he had lost.

In early June, two bouts of heavy rain fell on Liuyuan City, and then the sky cleared. On the two days of the college entrance examinations, the sun shone brilliantly and hot. The exam halls were stuffy, the ceiling fans offering only a token gesture of relief. As Li Kuiyi worked through her papers, she was as still as a pool of water undisturbed — not as nervous as she had imagined, not as moved as she had imagined.

When it was over, she didn’t feel as happy as she had imagined either.

Walking out of the exam hall, she turned to look at the setting sun at the edge of the sky, and simply understood: a magnificent college entrance exam that had belonged entirely to her had, at this moment, come to its end.

She and He Youyuan were not taking the exam at their own school; they had both been assigned to Number Eight Middle School. When she came out of the unfamiliar classroom building, she saw He Youyuan standing under a tree waiting for her, his expression carrying an ease that was rare to see on him.

She walked over; he naturally reached out and took her hand.

Many of their classmates were also sitting their exams in this location. Li Kuiyi was afraid someone would see, and even though the exams were over, she still hadn’t quite gotten used to it — so she slipped her hand free and said, “Wait until we’re outside.”

He Youyuan smiled, and agreed — but the moment they stepped through the school gate, he reached for her hand again, immediately and without hesitation. Li Kuiyi shook her head with resignation, and was just about to ask him what the difference was, when she caught in her peripheral vision Chen Guoming and Jiang Jianbin walking hurriedly toward her. Her heart gave a small lurch, and she quickly let go of He Youyuan’s hand.

“Over here, over here!” Chen Guoming called to Jiang Jianbin.

He walked up, and noticed He Youyuan and Li Kuiyi standing together — a flicker of surprise crossed the old fox’s face — but he had no time to dwell on it. He grabbed Li Kuiyi by the arm: “Come on, come on — while your memory is still fresh, let’s get back to school and estimate your scores.”

Li Kuiyi: “……”

Jiang Jianbin also came over to “express concern” — asking how she thought she’d done, whether the papers had been difficult, what range she was estimating for the humanities composite. Just like that, Li Kuiyi was swept away by two teachers. He Youyuan was left standing alone in their wake, completely at a loss, as both teachers orbited entirely around Li Kuiyi and barely acknowledged him.

Utterly hopeless.

He Youyuan walked off muttering to himself.

The official answer keys weren’t out yet, so the answers Li Kuiyi was going over at school were ones the teachers had just worked through themselves. She was surrounded by a ring of teachers, subject to their eager, expectant little gazes from all sides — rather like a national treasure on display.

By the time they had finished going through everything, it was very late, and the sky outside the windows had gone dark. Li Kuiyi and the surrounding teachers all let out a collective breath. Based on the current picture, her score would not be low — but exactly where she would place in the provincial rankings, no one could say for certain.

One teacher had already started making jokes about Jiang Jianbin’s year-end bonus being as good as secured. Jiang Jianbin, in rare and genuine sincerity, smiled and said, “Oh, not at all.”

Li Kuiyi said goodbye to the teachers and walked quickly toward the school gates. She had a feeling He Youyuan would be waiting outside — now that the exams were over, in the good days stretching ahead, he wouldn’t let this one slip by so easily.

She guessed he would at least confirm their relationship, or maybe he wanted to hear her say she liked him out loud.

And indeed — the moment she came through the school gates, she spotted He Youyuan standing not far away under a streetlamp, lounging with easy nonchalance against the post. One hand hung loose at his side, holding a bouquet of flowers; the other hand was swiping through his phone. He had evidently gone home to shower since — one could tell. His hair was still a little damp and not quite styled, but it gave him a carelessly attractive quality.

Li Kuiyi walked over: “How long have you been waiting?”

He pocketed his phone and came forward, holding the flowers out to her, then taking her hand: “Not very long.”

Neither of them had any particular plans to head home. Without any destination in mind, they walked hand in hand through the streets.

A light breeze drifted past; the weight of the exams had been lifted from their shoulders. Just walking was pleasant. He Youyuan asked: “How did the estimated scores go?”

“Quite well — even a conservative estimate puts me at around six hundred and seventy.”

He tapped her on the forehead: “Someone’s going to top the province.”

“That’s fine — I’ll take it,” she said, looking at him with a smile. “What about you? How do you think you did?”

“Not bad, I think — except math felt a bit hard, and the humanities composite felt a bit hard too.”

“That’s all right. This year’s math and composite were genuinely difficult. The provincial average probably won’t be high, and the cutoff for first-tier universities won’t be high either.”

“You’d better not be just comforting me.”

Li Kuiyi was about to tell him it wasn’t comfort — this year’s papers really were harder — when she noticed He Youyuan’s gaze had shifted to something in the distance. She followed it, and found that on the stone bridge across the road, a young couple was kissing.

Seeing this sort of scene usually only happened on television. Running into it in real life was rather mortifying — especially since they had both stumbled upon it together.

They quickly both looked away, faces burning. The hand He Youyuan had been holding her with unconsciously tightened.

After they had passed by with eyes firmly forward, the couple on the bridge still hadn’t finished. They walked on a few more steps, and then He Youyuan suddenly made a thoroughly disgruntled observation: “In broad daylight. An eyesore for the whole city.”

Li Kuiyi: “……”

She didn’t know quite what to say to that, and chose to say nothing at all — as if she hadn’t heard. But after walking on a few more steps, he suddenly stopped dead on the pavement, wearing an expression that could only be described as restless and conflicted.

“What’s wrong?” She turned to look at him.

He said nothing. In the dark of the night, his eyes were bright and clear as water — just looking at her, as if he wanted something.

Li Kuiyi attempted to interpret what he meant, and found his logic rather beyond her: “The couple on the bridge — even if they are an eyesore, it’s not against the law. What am I supposed to do, go chase them away?”

He Youyuan still didn’t speak — but his expression shifted, and he suddenly pulled her off the pavement, turning into the narrow, quiet alley beside them. At the mouth of the alley there was a wall-mounted lamp, glowing faintly and softly, its light just enough to envelop them both in something gentle.

He stood very close to her. Li Kuiyi’s every breath was full of the fresh scent left by his recent shower; the air around them was damp and close. She instinctively tried to take a step back — but the wall was right behind her, and there was nowhere to go.

He Youyuan caught her fingertips and turned them over in his hands, toying with them absently. His voice came low: “We’re together now — aren’t we?”

“Yes,” she said, very quietly too.

His breath was quick and warm, curling around her ear and neck, making her feel a faint tickling sensation. His voice had grown a little rougher than a moment before: “But you’ve never said you like me.”

She had guessed right after all.

Li Kuiyi couldn’t quite suppress a small smile, and quickly schooled her expression. She tried being shameless: “I did say so.”

“That doesn’t count — you have to say it to my face.”

She decided to tease him, and lifted her chin with a touch of defiance: “And if I don’t?”

He Youyuan looked into her eyes, unmoving — and then something shifted in his gaze, his eyes drifting down slowly to settle on her lips, just for a moment, before he pulled them away. His throat moved. And then, with a complete lack of reasonableness, he said: “Then I’ll kiss you.”

Li Kuiyi’s defiance evaporated. She stared at him, not knowing whether he was joking or serious, and as she stood there in silence, he actually seemed to really be leaning in a little.

Slowly, unhurriedly, closer and closer. He glanced again at her lips, then locked his eyes back onto hers — as if testing, and as if waiting to see if she would call it off at any moment.

Li Kuiyi’s heart was hammering. Her fingers tightened around the bouquet in her hand. Her mind went blank for an instant, and in a muddle of confused instinct, she came to a realization: if she didn’t say anything, would he think she wanted him to kiss her?

“I like you.” Her voice was barely more than the hum of a gnat.

He heard her. The movement of leaning in stopped.

Though he had heard the words he wanted to hear, there was still a thread of disappointment. The young man seemed almost ashamed of having let himself be so carried away a moment earlier, and he turned his face away. His breathing fell apart, and after a long pause, a sound rose from his throat — a small, quiet swallow.

Was he upset? Li Kuiyi wondered.

Truth be told, she couldn’t quite say whether she had wanted him to kiss her or not. It seemed like it would have been fine. And then again, maybe not.

She took hold of one of his fingers and squeezed it, wanting to offer him some small comfort: “He…”

She had only just formed the first syllable when a hand rose to cup her chin, tilting her face up ever so slightly. He Youyuan bent down and pressed his lips to hers, and the sound that slipped out between them was full of grievance — and utterly unreasonable.

“Still going to kiss you.”