After the study abroad agency suspended classes, Sheng Xia could fully focus on her revision, and her problem-solving skills improved significantly. Her math and chemistry error notebooks were already filled to the brim, requiring new ones.
Thinking back on how Zhang Shu had taught her to compile error notebooks, it felt like just yesterday.
Time had flown by too quickly.
Accustomed to weekly quizzes and biweekly major exams, by the time the second mock exam arrived, everyone had already shed most of their test anxiety. Joint exams were like that—though Affiliated High School still ranked internally, comparing themselves to other schools shifted their mindset. There was a hint of pride, even excitement, that came with being a top provincial school.
The night before the exam, after the second evening self-study session, Sheng Xia followed Xin Xiaohe and the others to experience the "North Gate culture" once more—this time, it was her turn to pay.
They even switched to a different bubble tea shop.
"Won’t Zhang Shu be taking the second mock exam?" Xiao He’s roommate asked.
Sheng Xia: "Probably not."
"Is he doing better?"
"Much better, but he can’t sit for long periods."
"Sigh... Does he still study in the hospital?"
"He does."
"That’s good."
Though she said so, the girl’s tone carried unmistakable regret.
Truthfully, everyone understood—even without injuries, given the post-hundred-day-oath momentum, it would be hard for Zhang Shu to maintain his lead even if he were healthy and studying diligently every day.
Learning is like rowing upstream—if you don’t advance, you fall behind.
Even children knew that.
Xin Xiaohe offered comfort: "No matter what, Shu-ge will definitely get into a university in Heyan!"
Heyan was home to numerous prestigious institutions. Heqing University and Haiyan University were among the very best, while other schools were no slouches either—like Heyan University of Science and Technology, where Yang Linyu had secured a spot through early admission, was also a key university under the Ministry of Education.
Hearing this, Xiao He’s roommate playfully smacked her lips: "What kind of talk is that? Shu-ge will definitely get into Heqing or Haiyan—no need to consider anything else, right, Sheng Xia?"
Sheng Xia sipped her sweet bubble tea, momentarily dazed, and replied, "He will."
Xiao He had spoken without thinking, but now she felt a little embarrassed and quickly changed the subject, hugging Sheng Xia. "You’ll definitely go to Heyan together. Damn, I’m so jealous of Zhang Shu."
Then she cupped Sheng Xia’s face and glanced down at her figure, not particularly noticeable under the school uniform.
"Tsk tsk, Shu-ge has no idea, does he? You’re packing quite the curves?"
Sheng Xia’s eyes widened as she yanked Xiao He’s hand away—what was she saying?!
Xiao He teased: "Look at her, all flustered!"
"What’s your size, Xia Xia?"
Xiao He: "At least a C?"
Under the curious gazes, Sheng Xia nodded.
"Ugh, how can someone so slim be a C? I’m jealous of Shu-ge too."
Once the topic started, it was like a floodgate had opened—unstoppable.
"Hey," another girl whispered, "have you guys heard of this theory?"
"What?"
"That a guy’s middle finger length is positively correlated with, you know… that length?"
"Seriously?"
"And the more prominent the Adam’s apple, the bigger the, uh… diameter…"
"Holy shit!"
"Shu-ge’s hands—even I’m jealous as a girl."
The girls exchanged knowing glances, their smirks impossible to hide as they looked at Sheng Xia with playful interest.
At first, Sheng Xia was confused, but given the hushed whispers and the suggestive looks, even she—slow as she was—began to piece things together. Her entire face burned, her eyes hot, her breath uneven.Xin Xiaohe glanced at Sheng Xia and continued pushing, "That pigeon egg in Shu-ge's throat..."
"Don't say it, don't say it."
"Eww!!!"
"Come on, wasn't it you who said in the dorm that Zhang Shu looks especially... you know what?"
The girl quickly waved her hands, "Don't talk nonsense in front of his girlfriend! Shut up, I never said that, no way!"
Xin Xiaohe was being particularly mischievous: "Especially what now?"
"You know, that... desire, that especially... you know!"
"What kind of desire?"
"Xin Xiaohe! Stop stirring trouble, your Yang Linyu has pretty long arms too, doesn't he?"
Xin Xiaohe: ...
Just as the girl was feeling smug, thinking she'd finally checkmated Xin Xiaohe, Xiao He raised an eyebrow and instantly switched tones, looking like a seasoned veteran who saw right through such petty tactics. "Since when is he mine? Besides, length isn't everything. I've heard longer can hurt—girth is better. Of course, having both would be top-tier."
Everyone: ...
Sheng Xia: ...
Xiao-jie was still Xiao-jie—not to be provoked, only to be knelt before.
This was far beyond Sheng Xia's realm of experience.
Tao Zhizhi had mentioned before that dorm room talks often veered into risqué topics, no matter how proper the dorm might appear on the surface.
To make a girl blush, you didn't need to do much—just let her live in a dorm.
Among any group, there would always be one who started the indecent talk, and it would gradually spread.
If they graduated without ever having such a conversation, it was either a statistical anomaly or their relationships weren't close enough.
Sheng Xia had never lived in a dorm, nor had she ever encountered a mildly suggestive topic to ease her in. Her entire worldview was shattering.
High school girls.
Hmph.
All she could say was that Xin Xiaohe's dorm had really good relationships.
As an outsider, she was completely stunned.
This numbness lasted through the entire evening self-study session.
When Wang Lianhua came to pick her up, seeing her dazed expression, she asked if she was feeling unwell.
She wasn't unwell—she was—
What was she?
She didn't know.
Back in middle school, there was a period when the girls in her class were obsessed with novels. A garishly decorated magazine made its rounds through the entire class.
Sheng Xia had skimmed a few pages but found the verbs repetitive and the adjectives exaggerated and redundant, with some words even made up.
She saw no point in continuing and stopped reading.
But everyone else loved them.
There was one particularly peculiar book that, after being passed around, was treated with hushed secrecy.
Her deskmate at the time was reading it during evening self-study, and as she read, her whole body tensed up. She sat stiffly with her legs crossed, unmoving.
Sheng Xia called her name several times with no response.
Curious, Sheng Xia leaned over to take a look.
Those descriptions—
Sheng Xia remembered them vividly to this day. The phrasing wasn't precise, but the imagery was striking.
Onomatopoeia took up half the page.
It was truly astonishing.
Sheng Xia's ears turned red instantly, and she quickly looked away.
That was her first—and last—direct exposure to such content.
Tonight was the second time.
Especially when the subject of discussion became her and Zhang Shu.
Don't say it, don't say it.
Don't think about it, don't think about it.
But that night, under the guise of "mindful meditation," Sheng Xia still found her thoughts straying step by step.
In the hazy dream, the boy's chest was broad, his strong arms wrapped tightly around her waist while his other hand cupped the back of her head as he leaned down—
The dream seemed to have a cinematic quality.The boy's slender fingers and strikingly prominent Adam's apple became slow-motion close-ups in her dream.
There was no sound, no plot, and she couldn't even see herself—just this image playing on repeat.
When she woke, a new morning greeted her.
Sheng Xia lay drenched in sweat, staring blankly at the ceiling.
What was she doing?
Was this... the legendary wet dream?
Damn it, Sheng Xia, are you some kind of pervert?
She shook her head, splashed cold water on her face, and finally snapped out of it. But as she changed clothes, she inexplicably found herself examining her own chest in the mirror.
Suddenly, the image of Xin Xiaohe burying her face in her chest and rubbing wildly flashed through her mind.
Aaaaah!
Stop it!
Wang Lianhua was already urging her to hurry, so Sheng Xia quickly threw on her oversized school uniform, grabbed her backpack, and rushed out.
Looks like she couldn’t go see him for a while.
She wasn’t herself right now.
Once she got to the classroom and immersed herself in studying, her mind finally felt a little clearer.
When it was time for exams, the class monitor urged everyone to rearrange their seats.
Hou Junqi came over to help Sheng Xia move her desk and suddenly asked, "Little Sheng Xia, do you miss my Shu?"
Sheng Xia’s head jerked up.
What the hell?
Was it that obvious?
Could people really tell when she was thinking about... that kind of stuff?
Hou Junqi noticed her ears turning red and found it odd—Sheng Xia hadn’t blushed so easily in a long time.
Amused, he lowered his voice and pressed, "Do you miss him?"
Sheng Xia: "No!"
"Really?"
"Yeah!"
Hou Junqi looked like he was bursting to spill a secret.
Then he glanced toward the corridor and tilted his chin. "Look, who’s that?"
Sheng Xia instinctively followed his gaze.
The person from her dream was coming down the corridor, slowly approaching.
Except, unlike in her dream, he was in a wheelchair.
Zhang Sujin was pushing him.
Many classmates noticed and quickly crowded around, bombarding him with questions.
Zhang Shu seemed in good spirits, his condition clearly improved.
"Yeah, I’m back for the exam."
"Almost fully recovered, don’t worry."
"What, can’t you guys score well without me?"
"Then just burn some incense money for me—why bother praying to the God of Literature?"
"Wait, you’re actually praying? Come on, we’re about to take the college entrance exams—cut the superstitious nonsense."
"Alright, enough already."
Despite his serious illness, he carried no air of a hero, nor did he seem frail. Aside from the wheelchair, he hadn’t changed at all.
He was still the same lazy, sharp-tongued but wildly popular boy.
Zhang Shu’s gaze cut through the crowd and landed on Sheng Xia.
The others tacitly dispersed, clearing a path for their locked eyes.
Sheng Xia averted her gaze slightly—only to land right on his Adam’s apple.
And because he was seated in the wheelchair, his line of sight was lower, forcing him to tilt his head up slightly.
That Adam’s apple was as sharp as a blade.
Piercing straight through Sheng Xia’s little secret.
Her ears burned even redder.
"Sheng Xia’s blushing."
"Haha, yeah, she is."
"Are they together now? Why else would she blush like that? No way..."
Amid the whispers, the exam bell rang, and everyone hurried to their assigned seats.
Zhang Shu couldn’t easily enter the classroom, so he swapped seats with a student in the hallway.
As luck would have it, he ended up right in front of Sheng Xia, slightly to her right.
The moment Sheng Xia sat down, Zhang Shu turned his head toward her. "What, not even gonna say hi when you see me?"
His abdomen was still healing, so he could only twist his neck. Seeing how uncomfortable it looked, Sheng Xia urged, "Stop moving around."
"Oh, fine. Then you come here." Zhang Shu turned back around.Classmates nearby: "...The domineering patient falls for me."
Considering his discomfort, Sheng Xia still walked up to him and asked, "Are you sure you can handle this? Won't sitting for so long be too much?"
As soon as the words left her mouth, she noticed Zhang Shu's brows furrow slightly, his gaze turning somewhat intense.
"I can handle it," he replied.
Sheng Xia: "Then don't push yourself. If it hurts, just stop. Don't force yourself to continue."
Zhang Shu looked at her for several seconds before smiling faintly. "It won't. I'll finish the whole set."
Somehow, she sensed a certain tension in his expression—thick and lingering.
Already distracted, Sheng Xia couldn't bear to keep looking at him and warned, "Don't overdo it."
Zhang Shu: "..."
Xin Xiaohe, seated by the window inside the classroom, pricked up her ears and listened in: Seriously, what kind of R-rated conversation is this?
The invigilator arrived, and Sheng Xia returned to her seat, though her gaze still involuntarily lingered on Zhang Shu.
He was wearing a black T-shirt, and as he bent his head to write, the vertebrae at the nape of his neck protruded, like a fierce beast poised for battle.
"Zhang Shu's... whatever that urge is—"
Stop!
After writing his name but still unable to start answering, Zhang Shu habitually began spinning his pen. By the time Sheng Xia finished filling in her exam details and looked up, she saw his pen twirling.
The gel pen spun nimbly between his slender fingers, shifting and rotating before returning to its starting point, over and over.
His knuckles rose and fell with the motion.
"Exam begins. Candidates may start answering."
The announcement was like a lifeline. Sheng Xia immediately lowered her head and focused on the test paper.
Her heartbeat raced uncontrollably.
Outside the corridor, cicadas buzzed louder and louder, their noise almost deafening.
The jubilant season of summer had truly arrived.
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