Zhou Wan unlocked the door and entered the house, instinctively reaching for the light switch. The moment she pressed it, she remembered the bulb had broken last week and she hadn’t had time to replace it.
But the next second, the light turned on.
Unlike the harsh, glaring white from before, it was a soft, warm yellow glow.
Zhou Wan paused—Grandma must have changed it.
She looked up at the light. The gentle yellow radiance spread out, illuminating the dark room and making her feel warm inside. She pursed her lips and smiled unconsciously.
Grandma was already asleep, so Zhou Wan went straight to her bedroom.
She had been out all day and hadn’t had time to do her homework yet.
Zhou Wan took out her test papers from her backpack and sat at her desk to start reviewing the questions. After solving a few problems, Lu Xixiao’s image from earlier resurfaced in her mind.
After she nodded and said “okay,” Lu Xixiao had lowered his head and laughed.
Then he stepped forward, standing right in front of her. His dark eyes looked down as he raised an eyebrow and asked, “Girlfriend?”
Zhou Wan froze, her face flushing involuntarily.
She had never been in a relationship before.
She hadn’t even observed how others dated, though she had seen Lu Xixiao with his previous girlfriends a few times.
Those girls often acted coquettishly with him. Sometimes Lu Xixiao would laugh; other times, he’d seem impatient.
He probably didn’t like overly clingy girls, but since they were his girlfriends, he couldn’t be too cold either.
After a brief pause, Zhou Wan followed his lead, lowering her gaze and responding softly, “Boyfriend.”
Lu Xixiao chuckled again and patted her head. “Go on inside.”
His laughter carried a teasing tone, but Zhou Wan still felt a sense of relief, as if she had passed some kind of interview.
…
Just as she was lost in thought, her phone vibrated.
[6: I’m home.]
Before, Lu Xixiao never told her whether he had made it home or not.
But how should she chat with her boyfriend?
After a moment’s hesitation, Zhou Wan replied: [Are you going to sleep?]
[6: It’s still early.]
[6: What are you doing?]
[Zhou Wan: Doing homework.]
[6: Go ahead.]
Was that… the end of the conversation?
Zhou Wan held her phone and stared at it for a long time, but Lu Xixiao didn’t reply again. She lowered her eyelids, thought for a while, and finally sent: [Are you angry?]
Ten minutes later, Lu Xixiao replied with a voice message.
The young man’s voice was clear and cool, tinged with a muffled laugh: “I just took a shower. I was just telling you to do your homework. Did you really think I get angry over nothing all the time?”
Zhou Wan couldn’t help but think to herself—you really do get angry easily.
But of course, she didn’t dare to send her true thoughts.
Just as she was pondering how to respond, Lu Xixiao sent another voice message.
“It’s pretty late. You should focus on your homework first, or you’ll end up staying up all night.”
Zhou Wan looked at the pile of test papers in front of her. Finishing all of them would likely take her past midnight, so she decided to send Lu Xixiao a “good night” message in advance.
[6: Good night.]
He replied quickly.
Zhou Wan put down her phone. When she looked up, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror.
Her soft black hair was loosely draped, her cheeks tinged with a faint blush. The tip of her nose was red from the cold wind outside, and the corners of her mouth were upturned, her eyes sparkling with laughter.
She froze for a moment, vaguely realizing that this version of herself was rare—the kind of smile that reached her eyes.
She shook her head, forcing herself not to overthink, and buried herself in her homework.
Zhou Wan worked quickly, but it still took her two hours to finish. After packing her backpack and taking a shower, she noticed an unread text message on her phone.
—Guo Xiangling.
The moment she saw that name, Zhou Wan’s entire body turned cold, and her heart skipped a beat.Since Guo Xiangling had asked her for 150,000 yuan last time, she hadn't contacted Zhou Wan again. Zhou Wan had thought she would never have anything to do with Guo Xiangling from then on.
[Guo Xiangling: Is it convenient to call?]
Zhou Wan lowered her eyes, her gaze dark and deep, quietly staring at this text message.
If it had been yesterday, or even tomorrow, Zhou Wan wouldn't have felt so upset upon seeing this message.
But today, she had just gotten together with Lu Xixiao.
Her fingers slowly tapped on the keys, replying: [Yes.]
Soon, Guo Xiangling called.
This time, there was none of the previous insincere politeness. She no longer addressed Guo Xiangling as "Mom," and Guo Xiangling no longer hypocritically called her "Wanwan."
Guo Xiangling got straight to the point: "Can your grandmother have the surgery?"
Zhou Wan remained silent, saying nothing.
Guo Xiangling understood the unspoken answer: "Since she can't have the surgery, do you still need the money you threatened me for last time?"
Zhou Wan knew that Guo Xiangling was certain she wouldn't ask for it again.
She wasn't a greedy person; she had only done it for her grandmother's medical treatment.
Zhou Wan took a deep breath and said slowly, "No, I won't ask you for the remaining 150,000 yuan. So from now on, don't contact me anymore."
"What about you and Lu Xixiao?"
Zhou Wan paused, her gaze shifting to the Butt-peach doll on the bedside table: "I haven't broken up with him."
"You're still together?!" Guo Xiangling couldn't believe it, her voice suddenly sharpening. "Zhou Wan, you promised me you wouldn't let his father find out about this."
"I only promised you that I wouldn't go looking for Lu Zhongyue. I never promised to break up with Lu Xixiao. Besides, you didn't give me the 300,000 yuan we initially agreed on either."
"You bitch!" Guo Xiangling was furious, her words reckless as she gritted her teeth. "Bitch, ungrateful wretch!"
Hearing those words, Zhou Wan's expression remained unchanged; she didn't even blink.
Guo Xiangling ground her teeth and lowered her voice: "Don't tell me you've actually fallen for Lu Xixiao? Hah, do you really think you two will have any future? If we're being technical, you should call him 'brother.' Zhou Wan, you were born from me—you're his stepsister! His sister!"
Zhou Wan felt a chill run through her body, her knuckles turning white from gripping the phone too tightly.
Guo Xiangling sneered: "You probably don't know this, but Lu Xixiao once had a real sister. Unfortunately, she died. I heard he was quite devastated back then. How angry do you think he'd be if he found out you're also his sister? He's Old Mr. Lu's most favored grandson. If you offend him, think about what future you could possibly have."
Zhou Wan couldn't listen anymore and hung up directly.
Her hands trembled uncontrollably, and she couldn't hold the phone steady. It fell to the floor with a heavy thud.
She sat on the bed, curling up into a ball, hugging her legs and burying her face in them. Her heart raced erratically.
It took a long time for Zhou Wan to slowly calm down.
She kept reminding herself.
Lu Xixiao would never find out about any of it.
He wouldn't be hurt by this matter in any way.
She had already decided not to use Lu Xixiao to get back at Guo Xiangling. Given Lu Xixiao's relationship with Lu Zhongyue, Lu Zhongyue would never know about their connection or her existence.
In a month or two, Lu Xixiao would grow tired of her.
When that time came, she would leave, and everything would return to normal.
This matter would sink to the bottom of the ocean, becoming a secret known only to her and Guo Xiangling, with no chance of ever seeing the light of day again.All of this started because of her, so it naturally had to end with her, giving a fairly decent conclusion.
All she wanted was for Lu Xixiao to be a little happier during this time—it would be her way of making it up to him.
Yes, that's right.
Exactly.
Nothing will go wrong.
Nothing will go wrong.
"Alright, everyone, return to your seats. I'll start class three minutes early to discuss the monthly exam," the homeroom teacher said, knocking on the doorframe before stepping onto the podium.
At the mention of the monthly exam, the classroom erupted in groans.
Last week's exam had been particularly difficult. Most students hadn't even had time to finish the science and math sections, leaving several questions completely blank.
"The highest score in the grade is still in our class—706 points!"
Everyone's eyes turned to Jiang Yan, marveling at how inhuman he was to break the 700-point barrier on such a difficult exam.
The homeroom teacher continued with a smile, "The second highest score is also in our class—701 points!"
This time, all eyes shifted to Zhou Wan.
It was always like this for every exam: Jiang Yan and Zhou Wan, forever first and second in the grade.
The homeroom teacher scanned the room and added, "I notice Zhou Wan and Jiang Yan both look quite calm. Why are the rest of you so excited? Do you think their scores will magically transfer to you during the college entrance exams? Instead of studying, you're all quite happy about others' achievements."
Everyone: "..."
The teacher waved two score slips in hand. "Zhou Wan and Jiang Yan, come up and get yours."
Zhou Wan stood and walked forward to take hers. The teacher remarked, "Not easy, Zhou Wan. The eternal second place has finally taken the top spot this time."
Zhou Wan paused, her eyes dropping to the final column on the score slip—706.
She had scored 706 points. This time, she was first.
The faint smile on Jiang Yan's face stiffened as he stared disbelievingly at his own score slip.
The classroom erupted once more.
"Wait, does that mean Zhou Wan is first this time?"
"It's a battle of the gods!"
"Damn, we're witnessing history!"
...
The homeroom teacher laughed. "This exam was indeed difficult. Breaking 700 points is an achievement in itself. Both of you, keep working hard. Since you're seated together, you can motivate and push each other."
Returning to her seat, Zhou Wan glanced sideways at Jiang Yan.
He had already pulled out his exam papers and was carefully comparing them with his score slip.
By evening, the grade ranking list was posted.
Everyone noticed that the first and second places had swapped positions.
This wouldn't normally be such a hot topic, but Zhou Wan was Lu Xixiao's rumored girlfriend.
Soon, discussions about it popped up on the school forum.
[The Academic God is still the Academic God—dating doesn't affect her grades.]
[This isn't just dating not affecting grades—this is her grades improving after a breakup!]
[Is Zhou Wan's brain even human? All of Lu Xixiao's ex-girlfriends cried and made scenes after being dumped, losing half their weight.]
[Now that you mention it, Zhou Wan really hasn't shown any reaction since the breakup.]
[Don't just assume they broke up. I saw them eating together at a barbecue place yesterday—they're still together.]
[Seriously? That's even more shocking. It's been over a month since the first time I saw Lu Xixiao waiting for Zhou Wan at the school gate. Has Lu Xixiao ever had a girlfriend for more than a month?!]
...
Zhou Wan scrolled through the posts.No one knew that she and Lu Xixiao had only officially gotten together yesterday.
Today was just the second day.
However, on this second day of their relationship, with school almost over, the two still hadn’t spoken.
Lu Xixiao hadn’t come to school at all today.
Zhou Wan didn’t know what frequency of communication was normal after starting to date, so she thought she’d just contact him after school ended.
The dismissal bell rang.
Zhou Wan packed her things and went with Jiang Yan to attend Physics Competition class.
All the subject teachers had finished reviewing the monthly exam papers today. Previously, Jiang Yan could almost score full marks in science subjects and math, but this time he didn’t do well in math, which was why he ended up in second place.
Zhou Wan had looked at the questions he got wrong on his paper—it was strange. The mistakes weren’t on the hardest problems but rather careless errors. Jiang Yan wasn’t usually someone so inattentive.
"Jiang Yan," Zhou Wan asked, "Haven’t you been resting well lately?"
Jiang Yan rubbed his temples: "Yeah, I’ve been staying up very late recently."
"If you had performed normally in math, you would still be in first place this time," Zhou Wan said. "We’re only in our second year of high school; there’s still over a year until the college entrance exam. Don’t stress yourself out too much."
Jiang Yan glanced at her and nodded: "Mm."
After a moment, he added: "Zhou Wan, I’m actually not jealous that you got first place."
Zhou Wan turned her head to look at him.
"I told you a long time ago—you’re very smart. If you gave it your all, I wouldn’t be a match for you. So, in my eyes, you’re like a banner, urging and motivating me to study hard and not fall behind."
Jiang Yan said, "Staying firmly in first place isn’t easy, of course, so I have to work extremely hard to maintain it."
"With your current grades, you can definitely get into the top programs at prestigious universities. Whether you’re first or second place isn’t really that important."
In Zhou Wan’s view, rankings weren’t what mattered most. What was more important was competing with oneself—as long as you didn’t regress compared to your past self, that was enough.
"You don’t understand," Jiang Yan smiled faintly. "First place is first place. Second place is nothing. It’ll be even more like that when we enter society in the future."
Zhou Wan thought it over. She didn’t need others to remember her, so it didn’t matter to her whether she was first or not.
Perhaps it was because Jiang Yan had grown up in that kind of family.
In his perception, Shen Lan was the one seen by everyone, enjoying wealth and luxury, while his mother, Jiang Wensheng, could never step into the light.
That was why he cared so much about fame and status, why he was so eager to stand out—so that one day he could let Jiang Wensheng live a prosperous life, and so that one day he could return to the Lu family with dignity and earn Lu Zhongyue’s recognition.
But in this situation, the one truly at fault was Lu Zhongyue.
Jiang Yan didn’t resent Lu Zhongyue; instead, he directed his hatred toward Lu Xixiao and Shen Lan, who were also victims.
Although Zhou Wan and Jiang Yan had been friends for many years, at this moment, she couldn’t help but feel wronged and resentful on Lu Xixiao’s behalf.
Clearly, he was the one who had suffered the most injustice.
He hadn’t done anything wrong—he hadn’t even been given a chance to make a choice. Powerlessly, he had ended up in his current situation. Yet, who was there to feel sorry for him or stand up for him?
Zhou Wan felt that she might finally understand Lu Xixiao’s personality now.
He lacked love, feared loneliness, disliked being alone, yet also disliked noise and crowds.
He had tightly bound himself, never truly allowing anyone to enter his heart.
That was why, even though he had so many superficial friends and had dated many girlfriends, very few people truly understood him.Whenever someone became overly proactive or aggressive, he would feel his territory was being encroached upon, growing irritable, disgusted, and wanting to shake them off.
……
After Competition Class ended, Zhou Wan walked out of school with Jiang Yan.
Suddenly, her gaze paused as she spotted Lu Xixiao standing not far away.
She gave a faint smile and quickly walked toward him, but Jiang Yan suddenly called out to stop her.
Zhou Wan knew what he wanted to say, but this time she didn’t give him the chance. She turned back and waved at Jiang Yan, saying simply, “See you on Monday.”
Lu Xixiao watched as the girl in her school uniform ran up to him, her face and clothes clean and innocent. He glanced casually at Jiang Yan before looking away, raising his hand to rest on Zhou Wan’s shoulder.
“What do you want to eat?” he asked.
“Anything is fine.”
Lu Xixiao was picky about food, and the places he took her were always delicious.
This time, it was a Japanese restaurant.
Such Japanese restaurants were very expensive. Zhou Wan had only ever eaten the kind of sushi that could be delivered, so she followed Lu Xixiao’s lead.
The fish was tender, melting in her mouth.
The foie gras was also tender.
She just wasn’t quite used to the wasabi.
Midway through the meal, Jiang Fan called. The noise of loud music came through the phone, urging him to come quickly.
Lu Xixiao lowered his eyes. “Not going.”
“Xiao Ye, it’s been so long since you’ve shown up. We’ve been waiting for you night after night, all lonely and bored,” Jiang Fan said in an exaggerated tone.
Lu Xixiao curled his lips in disgust. “Get lost.”
With that, he hung up.
Zhou Wan asked, “Aren’t you going?”
“We’ll see.” Lu Xixiao took a few sips of his iced drink. “What are you doing later?”
Dating, after all, required spending time and effort together, Zhou Wan thought.
It just meant she’d have to stay up late again to finish her homework.
“I don’t have anything to do. If you want to go, I can go with you.”
Lu Xixiao looked up, raising an eyebrow. “They’re at a KTV. You want to go?”
Zhou Wan pursed her lips and nodded.
He chuckled. “Then let’s go.”
Zhou Wan watched the way he smiled.
Lu Xixiao was actually very handsome when he smiled. His brows and eyes relaxed, and the usual emptiness and indifference in his gaze were replaced by a rare ripple of emotion. He looked lazy, carefree, and nonchalant, exuding an explosive charm.
Zhou Wan couldn’t help but curl her lips into a faint smile.
Right now, Lu Xixiao must be happy.
After dinner, the two went downstairs. Lu Xixiao stood at the counter to pay the bill, and Zhou Wan glanced at the receipt, startled to see that their meal had cost over a thousand.
Zhou Wan had never eaten such expensive food before.
While Lu Xixiao was hailing a cab, she couldn’t help but say, “Lu Xixiao, can we not come to this restaurant again in the future?”
He turned his head. “Was it not good?”
“It was delicious,” Zhou Wan said softly. “But it’s too expensive.”
His expression remained unchanged. “Then we’ll go somewhere else next time.”
Zhou Wan nodded. “I’ll transfer my share to you later.”
“What money?”
“For the meal. It’s too expensive. Let’s split it half and half.”
Lu Xixiao chuckled. “Zhou Wan, that’s not something you need to worry about.”
She didn’t understand, tilting her head to look at him in confusion.
After hailing a cab, he tucked his phone back into his pocket and leaned in close.
Zhou Wan instinctively leaned back, her eyes widening as she watched Lu Xixiao’s face draw near, her senses filled with his scent.
His voice was deep, laced with teasing laughter. “What you should worry about is keeping a close eye on my money and making sure I don’t spend it on other girls.”
Zhou Wan froze for a moment. Three seconds later, a blush crept across her cheeks.
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