On Monday, Sheng Xia appeared in the classroom. At first, no one noticed anything unusual, but during the break when she went to fetch water herself, everyone realized she had fully recovered.
Many rushed over to congratulate her, clamoring to see the removed cast and urging her to keep it safe.
"Definitely!" Sheng Xia promised.
She returned to her seat in the northernmost group, sharing a desk with Zhang Shu.
With final exams approaching, she had already completed his assigned task of working through the attached high school's practice papers and had even compiled her mistakes.
So there wasn’t much else for them to discuss.
Everyone was busy studying on their own.
Zhang Shu occasionally reminded her to review her mistakes repeatedly.
She noticed that Zhang Shu also focused on redoing his wrong answers during revision, prioritizing them over new problems.
Taking his lead, she followed suit.
As finals loomed, Sheng Xia threw herself entirely into studying. Evenings were spent writing articles, and when teachers from the institution Sheng Mingfeng had arranged contacted her, she handled them perfunctorily, constantly rescheduling and postponing.
Time flew by in a blur of endless days and nights.
She even forgot her birthday had arrived.
Sheng Xia celebrated her birthday by the lunar calendar, so the solar date changed every year, often coinciding with exams.
This year, it happened to fall the day before the test.
Naturally, she wasn’t in the mood to celebrate, but Zou Weiping bought her a cake. Unable to take it home, she brought it to the classroom for her classmates to share as a late-night snack.
Before evening self-study began, Sheng Xia handed the cake to Xin Xiaohe. "Take it back to the dorm to share?"
Xin Xiaohe exclaimed, "Wow, is it your birthday?"
"Yeah."
"You were born in the dead of winter? Why’d you get a summer name?"
"Yeah." Exactly—such a twist of fate.
"Happy birthday!"
"Thanks~"
"Whoa, Black Swan!" Xin Xiaohe peeked inside the cake box, her eyes widening.
Soon, her roommates and nearby girls crowded around, and even the boys grew curious about what had drawn such attention.
There was no taking it back now—everyone wanted a piece.
...
In the bike shed, Hou Junqi stared at the cake in Zhang Shu’s hands, roughly the size of a palm, and gasped, "This tiny thing costs 299? Highway robbery!"
Zhang Shu shrugged, equally baffled. "Who knows."
Hou Junqi kept griping, "Doesn’t even look that special. Just a big red heart with two white swans on top—looks like a cheap trinket from a dollar store."
Zhang Shu said, "Maybe there’s gold leaf inside the cake."
The two continued mocking it as they walked back to class.
"Shu," Hou Junqi teased, "Get me one for my birthday too?"
Zhang Shu: "Nah, not worth it. You wouldn’t appreciate it anyway—pearls before swine."
Hou Junqi: ... Envious of Sister Sujin and little Sheng Xia—one got an expensive necklace, the other a luxury cake. Meanwhile, he, Hou Junqi, was just a cheap, picked-up brother.
But then it hit him—who said Shu was stingy?
For his sister’s birthday, he’d gifted a 6,000-yuan necklace. For his girlfriend—er, close female classmate—he’d bought the Hermès of cakes. Sure, it was small... but if he hadn’t just splurged on the necklace, Shu might’ve gone for the bigger one.
Damn, his bro was seriously impressive. How many guys could pull that off? And the kicker—he’d earned the money himself.Zhang Shu didn't notice the rosy little thoughts running through the towering Hou Junqi's mind. He picked up the cake box and glanced at it, the corners of his lips curling slightly.
Someone was truly a Disney princess—she'd probably turn her nose up at anything less. The tiramisu he'd bought from the school supermarket earlier? She'd barely taken a few bites.
For the first time, Zhang Shu didn't find this pickiness pretentious. It was fitting. This was exactly how she should be.
As they approached Class Five, the sound of "Happy Birthday" singing erupted from Class Six, followed by cheers. Xin Xiaohe's voice rang out: "I can't bear to cut it! Am I slicing a cake? No, I'm cutting up cold hard cash!"
When Zhang Shu and Hou Junqi entered, their steps faltered at the sight of a familiar cake on Sheng Xia's desk.
The jumbo version of the "Two-Yuan Store Model."
Hou Junqi muttered, "Whoa? Isn't this the same 1999-yuan one..."
Zhang Shu's expression mirrored the day's weather forecast—sunny turning overcast.
The cake on Sheng Xia's desk was the same design as the one Zhang Shu carried. But the large swan was black, handcrafted with exquisite detail. The curve of its neck was artistic perfection.
Unlike the mini version with its white chocolate mold that truly looked like a cheap figurine.
Spotting their arrival, Xin Xiaohe sighed. "You two have perfect timing. Now it'll be even harder to divide."
Hou Junqi glanced at Zhang Shu, whose face remained impassive.
The evening self-study bell rang abruptly.
"Quick, let's cut it already!"
"If Lao Wang comes, we'll have to give him a slice too. Hurry up!"
The cake wasn't large but was densely packed. With so many people, there weren't enough utensils to go around. Nobody minded—sharing in pairs, each taking a few symbolic bites to partake in the festive atmosphere.
"Is it just me, or does money literally taste better?"
"Not just you—it's an absolute truth."
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
...
After the laughter and commotion, everyone remembered tomorrow's exam. The moment Lao Wang appeared, the class quieted down swiftly.
Just as Sheng Xia was about to review her notes, a paper ball landed on her desk. Instinctively, she turned to look at Zhang Shu.
He was spinning his pen, absorbed in revision.
Not him?
Lifting her gaze, she saw Hou Junqi twisting around from the front row, winking exaggeratedly at her.
Slightly surprised, Sheng Xia peeked toward the doorway. In that brief moment, Wang Wei had disappeared from the corridor. Only then did she dare unfold the note.
Hou Junqi's scrawled handwriting was so messy that Sheng Xia realized she'd been reading it upside down.
Sigh. If his penmanship were better, maybe his essays wouldn't cap at 35 points.
The note read: Little Sheng Xia, A-Shu bought you a cake!
She froze momentarily, then turned to look at Zhang Shu again.
This time, as if sensing her gaze, he also turned. His expression still carried that "looking at an idiot" vibe, but when Sheng Xia didn't avert her eyes, he tilted his head slightly, eyes questioning: You need something?
Sheng Xia looked away, only now noticing the plain white paper bag at his feet—no patterns, no handles, but she recognized it instantly. From Black Swan.
He... really bought her a cake?
Seeing her clutching the tiny note with that expression, Zhang Shu immediately understood.
He shot Hou Junqi a glare, then suddenly pulled out his notebook from the bookstand and stood up.
Everyone around, including Sheng Xia, stared at him in confusion.
Zhang Shu stood frozen for nearly half a minute, seemingly wrestling with some thought, before finally exhaling through his nose as if reaching a decision.
"Bring your mistake notebook," he said. "Come with me."Everyone: ...
Sheng Xia: ...
His tone carried more authority than a teacher's.
Sheng Xia gave him a look: Is this really okay?
Zhang Shu accurately pulled out her notebook from her book box and said, "Let's go."
Then the class watched as Zhang Shu led Sheng Xia out, carrying not just the notebook but also a paper bag.
But they didn't go to study at the tables outside—they headed toward the corridor.
"Is that a gift?"
"Probably. Today is Sheng Xia's birthday."
"How long have they been together? Why bother hiding it like we're idiots?"
"Zhang Shu probably didn't even notice—he didn’t even bring a pen. What kind of studying is that?"
Sheng Xia followed him, only now starting to feel nervous. She stopped and asked, "Where are we going?"
Zhang Shu: "Shut up. Let me think."
Sheng Xia: ...
At that moment, Wang Wei walked toward them from the other end of the corridor—apparently, he’d just come back from the restroom.
They met face to face.
Sheng Xia lowered her eyes, unsure whether to turn back or keep going.
Then Zhang Shu said, "Keep up with me, will you?"
Sheng Xia: ...?
And just like that, they walked right past Wang Wei.
Wang Wei’s gaze followed them like a spotlight, stunned: Were they really ignoring him so blatantly?
"Zhang Shu! Where are you going?"
Zhang Shu sounded irritated: "Stop nagging!"
Wang Wei was speechless: ...
These two—one was his prized student, the other a princess he couldn’t afford to upset. He wasn’t blind to the little things between young boys and girls. Today was Sheng Xia’s birthday, after all—he could understand. Zhang Shu had good judgment, and Sheng Xia was sensible and well-behaved, so he wasn’t too worried. But as a homeroom teacher, he still had to maintain some authority. "You’ve got five minutes!"
Zhang Shu didn’t even turn around, just raised his free hand in an "OK" gesture.
Unable to guess what was happening, Sheng Xia was so nervous she nearly stumbled.
They walked all the way to the library lobby, where Zhang Shu placed the notebook and paper bag on a table. "Sit."
Sheng Xia had only been here during the day, marveling at the school’s facilities—a high school with an entire library building, complete with a lobby downstairs featuring glass tables, leather sofas, a reception desk, and even study carrels upstairs.
Extravagant beyond reason.
Now, the library was closed, and the lobby was dimly lit.
Sheng Xia sat down uneasily.
She knew he probably had something to say to her.
And coincidentally, so did she.
That’s why she had obediently followed him here.
"Sheng Xia..."
"Zhang Shu..."
They spoke almost simultaneously, then both froze.
Zhang Shu sat across from her and gestured for her to go first. "You first."
But Sheng Xia hesitated, her hands gripping the fabric of her pants over her knees.
Zhang Shu noticed her nervous fidgeting but didn’t rush her. Instead, he leaned forward and opened the paper bag, revealing a small gift box inside. The elaborate packaging was undone, exposing a plush red velvet heart with two white swans intertwined at the neck.
Sheng Xia was surprised—it was a mini version of the same design.
Zhang Shu looked slightly awkward. "Didn’t expect you’d already had one—and a better one at that. But since I already bought this, no point wasting it. So... do whatever you want with it."
His tone was indifferent, his usual careless demeanor, but Sheng Xia detected a hint of melancholy.
But what she had to say didn’t fit the mood at all. She had to suppress that strange sense of empathy.
Yet what came out was: "How... did you know today was my birthday?"Because she followed the lunar calendar, even knowing her ID number wouldn’t necessarily reveal her birthday.
Zhang Shu leaned back in his chair. “On your message board, someone leaves you birthday wishes every year, but the dates are different. So I checked—it’s the same day in the lunar calendar.”
Sheng Xia was stunned for a moment. He must have been referring to Tao Zhizhi. She nodded lightly, unsure how else to respond.
Had he gone to all this trouble?
Did he realize that this would make her read too much into things—completely and utterly?
She stayed silent, and to her surprise, Zhang Shu, who was usually more talkative than her, also remained quiet.
His hand rested on the armrest of the sofa, but his gaze wasn’t on her, his focus lost somewhere else.
Sheng Xia swallowed and spoke softly, “Zhang Shu.”
He looked at her.
In that instant, her heart skipped a beat.
She averted her eyes before continuing, “My leg… it’s healed.”
Zhang Shu: “Mm.”
She was taken aback by his indifferent response, which sent her carefully steadied pulse into disarray again. “The doctor said it was well taken care of, and there shouldn’t be any lasting effects.”
Zhang Shu: “Mm.”
Sheng Xia: “...”
“So… you don’t need to look after me anymore. It wasn’t your fault to begin with. I never blamed you, really.” Her tone was sincere.
Zhang Shu didn’t reply with another “Mm” this time. Instead, his eyes locked onto hers, unwavering.
Sheng Xia lowered her gaze slightly and pressed on, “So, from now on, please… don’t do things that could be misunderstood. The rumors lately have been bothering me.”
Finally. She had finally said it.
It wasn’t as hard as she’d imagined—except for the sudden surge of bitterness that flooded her chest, impossible to suppress no matter how hard she tried.
She wasn’t blameless in how things had turned out.
Hadn’t she, too, been playing along with his teasing—intentional or not? Even indulging in it.
She kept telling herself not to overthink things, yet she couldn’t help it.
Her nerves were taut when, suddenly, the person across from her let out a short, quiet laugh.
Then he sat up straight, elbows on his knees as he leaned forward, his gaze burning into her.
From her angle, he looked like a hawk.
“What misunderstandings?” His lips—so annoyingly perfect—moved.
Sheng Xia clenched her knees again.
Ambiguity. The word resurfaced in her mind.
There was a song that went: Ambiguity makes one suffer endless grievances.
In just one semester, she felt like she had come to understand it.
Ambiguity was like half a glass of water left on an empty table—was it poured for you, or was it just leftovers?
Drinking it would choke you, but discarding it felt disrespectful.
Doubt, hesitation, lingering unease.
“Misunderstandings,” she murmured, voice heavy. “Misunderstandings…”
In the end, she couldn’t finish.
“Misunderstandings… that I like you?” Zhang Shu finished for her.
Sheng Xia’s heart thumped—thud, thud, thud—
“What kind of misunderstanding is that? It’s the truth, Sheng Xia. Are you really this slow? You couldn’t tell?”
Thud, thud, thud—boom, boom, boom—
A riot.
Something in her chest was leaping wildly, bursting uncontrollably!
She lifted her head in a daze, meeting a pair of eyes brimming with amusement.
Zhang Shu said, “Sheng Xia, listen carefully. I, Zhang Shu, like you. Only you. That’s not a misunderstanding.”
His voice wasn’t loud, but every word seemed to ricochet through the air, echoing in Sheng Xia’s ears like a relentless reverberation."The rumor says we're together? For now, it's just a rumor, but it's also my—wish."
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