The spotlight in the entryway cast its glow over Zhang Shu's head, his lips glistening and his eyes deep.
He cupped her face, tilting it upward, then slightly angled his own to let the light fall on her features.
Sheng Xia didn’t dare breathe, unconsciously holding her breath, her eyes moist as she gazed at him pleadingly.
She looked utterly ravaged.
The corner of Zhang Shu’s lips curled as his thumb brushed over her lips. "Breathe."
Sheng Xia exhaled deeply, finally relaxing, her body going limp as she slumped against him, her arms instinctively wrapping around his waist.
As if throwing herself into his embrace.
Zhang Shu turned his head with a chuckle, burying his face in the crook of her neck, his hand kneading the back of her head.
He was too tall—this position forced him to hunch, and as if still unsatisfied with their closeness, he tightened his grip even more. She arched her back, molding herself into him.
Sheng Xia’s body, still feverish, burned unbearably.
Her breath was scorching.
He was just as hot.
They stood in silence for a while, neither speaking, until the motion-sensor light in the entryway turned off, plunging the corner into dimness.
"It’s... it’s really late," Sheng Xia murmured.
"Yeah."
"..."
"Won’t be able to sleep even if I go back. Let’s stay like this a little longer."
"But Xiao He will be back soon?" She pushed weakly against him, though without any real strength.
If he didn’t leave, Xiao He wouldn’t dare return.
The neighboring rooms were all occupied by guys—it wouldn’t be right for her to stay there alone.
Zhang Shu caught her hand against his chest, straightening up to put some distance between them. "Then kiss me."
Sheng Xia lowered her gaze, avoiding his eyes, leaving Zhang Shu with only the sight of her glossy dark hair.
"Just once," he conceded.
After a few seconds of hesitation, Sheng Xia suddenly rose onto her tiptoes and pressed a fleeting kiss to the corner of his lips—barely a touch—before ducking her head again to evade his stare.
Zhang Shu bent down, chasing her gaze, clearly displeased.
Sheng Xia twisted her head left and right, unable to escape, until she finally shot him a glare and shoved him with all her might.
Zhang Shu laughed helplessly, pressing a kiss to the top of her head before finally releasing her. "Get some rest."
He pulled the door open, stepped out, then turned back, bracing a hand against the frame. "I’ve never been this happy in my life—might’ve gotten a little carried away. If you feel uncomfortable at all, tell me."
He turned to leave, took two steps, then glanced back again, waving at her with a grin.
Sheng Xia hurriedly shut the door.
When Zhang Shu returned next door, it was Xin Xiaohe who answered. She looked stunned. "Done already?"
The phrasing nearly left Zhang Shu speechless. Would Yang Linyu end up completely whipped in the future?
He cleared his throat and called to Yang Linyu, "Take your girlfriend back."
Yang Linyu sprang up from the couch. "Right, right."
Xin Xiaohe’s eyes brimmed with mischief, but she was ultimately dragged away by Yang Linyu.
Just as she was about to leave, Zhang Shu stopped her, adding, "It’s late. Everyone should get some sleep—no more talking."
Xin Xiaohe: "Got it."
So he was telling her to keep her mouth shut, huh?
Tsk tsk.
Afraid Sheng Xia would die of embarrassment, was he?
And so, after fifteen minutes of nervous anticipation, preparing countless explanations, Sheng Xia ended up not needing a single one. The moment Xin Xiaohe returned, she dashed off to shower, then collapsed into bed.
Sheng Xia clutched a corner of the blanket, her mind replaying the kiss over and over until she felt unbearably hot. She stuck a leg out from under the covers, left it exposed until it grew cold, then pulled it back in—only to feel too warm again and repeat the cycle.
She had no idea how much time passed before a stifled voice came from beside her: "Sheng. Xia!"
A chill ran down her spine.
Xin Xiaohe: "If you don’t go to sleep right now, I’m interviewing you!"
Sheng Xia squeezed her eyes shut, hastily retracting her limbs and curling into a fetal position, not daring to move a muscle.
But the smile on her lips simply wouldn’t fade.
Next door, Zhang Shu was far less restrained.After Lu Youze left, the room was empty except for himself. He lay on this **bed, spacing out, then switched to another bed to space out some more, projecting kissing scenes onto the ceiling with his imagination...
Even while showering, the steam was filled with images of her shy expression.
How could anything in the world be as wonderful as kissing?
He hummed cheerfully in the bathroom, his voice uncontrollably loud, echoing through the entire building. Hou Junqi covered his ears with both hands, lying on his **bed rolling his eyes.
Qi Xiulei was in a similar state. Yang Linyu already regretted showing Zhang Shu the video—he should have let him go home to go crazy without dragging others into it.
The three brothers shared the same pained expression.
—
The next day, a plane carried a group of drowsy young people on a journey lasting over ten hours.
In late June, Nanli was just as scorching as a tropical island.
The summer heat was stifling, with not a hint of breeze.
At the airport, they bid reluctant farewells.
"Let’s meet up again when we fill out our college applications!"
"Sure!"
"And we still have to visit Lianli together!"
"Yeah!"
"Summer is still long!"
Summer was indeed still long.
They would meet again.
Wang Lianhua was busy, so it was Sheng Mingfeng’s new assistant who came to pick up Sheng Xia. Rumor had it that Li Xu was being transferred—which meant a promotion.
Sheng Xia had a strange thought: this was a magical summer. It seemed like everyone was undergoing some kind of transformation.
No sooner had Sheng Xia arrived home than Wang Lianhua had already packed her things, ready to leave for Dongzhou—Qiu Xuan was about to take her high school entrance exams.
Naturally, Sheng Xia had to go along.
So without a moment’s rest, she didn’t even need to pack her suitcase.
Wang Lianhua had long booked a hotel near Wu Qiuxuan’s exam site. Wu Qiuxuan didn’t seem nervous at all—she was even more relaxed than Sheng Xia had been during her college entrance exams—and secretly probed Sheng Xia about her graduation trip.
"Big sis, is your first kiss still intact?"
Sheng Xia was so startled she nearly dropped her phone.
How did A-Xuan know?
Was it that obvious?
Seeing her sister’s reaction, Wu Qiuxuan giggled. "You went on a trip and came back with nothing? Maybe you should question your charm."
"What does kissing feel like? Is it like biting into cotton candy?"
Cotton candy? His lips were softer than cotton candy.
Sheng Xia’s face flushed.
"Wu Qiuxuan, you have exams! The high school entrance exams! They’re important!"
"Giggle, giggle, I know, I know—don’t be shy!"
...
Amid the rush, Sheng Xia didn’t get a chance to tell Zhang Shu. She assumed he’d go home and sleep for ages.
Who would’ve guessed that after dinner, she’d receive a Q.Q message from him: "Do you have any trash to take out downstairs?"
The message seemed random, but Sheng Xia understood immediately.
Sheng Xia: "Are you outside my house?"
Zhang Shu: "Clever girl."
Sheng Xia: "I’m in Dongzhou. My sister’s taking her exams."
Zhang Shu: "...When are you coming back?"
Sheng Xia: "The day after tomorrow. You should go home early."
Sheng Xia: "Patting head.jpg"
A long silence followed. He didn’t reply. Sheng Xia was busy helping Wu Qiuxuan check her stationery and listening to Wang Lianhua’s pre-exam pep talk, so she set her phone aside. By the time she was free, half an hour had passed.
Still no reply.
Was he upset about coming all this way for nothing?
Should she try to cheer him up?
Just as she was picking out a cute sticker, a new message arrived.
"Sheng Xia, there’s a banana tree in your neighborhood. The moon tonight is really curved."
He was still at her place? He hadn’t left yet?
Sheng Xia was about to ask, but then it occurred to her—there were no banana trees in her neighborhood.
In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to find banana trees anywhere in Nanli.
And the moon?Nanli and Dongzhou are so close, if Dongzhou can't see the moon, how could there be a crescent over Nanli?
Suddenly, she remembered last semester when he walked her home during the holidays, desperately trying to prolong their time together by asking about various poetic symbols, to which she answered one by one.
A full moon represents homesickness; a crescent moon symbolizes missing someone.
Banana leaves signify loneliness.
Why was he bringing this up now? So typical of summer.
Sheng Xia suppressed a smile and replied: "No moon or banana leaves in sight, Nanli's filled with camphor trees."
— Ah Shu being shameless everywhere.
He responded instantly: "Alright, yes, I miss you."
Sheng Xia grinned, rolling around on her bed while clutching her phone.
When she sat up again, she saw Wang Lianhua standing by the door, staring straight at her.
The smile on her face hadn't faded yet.
...
Every year at 3 PM on the last day of the middle school entrance exams is also when college entrance exam results are released.
2:45 PM.
Whether on WeChat or QQ, class groups or smaller chats, Weibo or Xinfeng, everyone was sharing lucky carp images.
Major self-media platforms had amplified the tension of score-checking to its peak.
Wang Wei sent a large red envelope in the class group, instantly sparking excitement.
Some classmates shared calligraphy of "Top of the Golden List," while others showed off homemade zongzi they'd wrapped, symbolizing academic success.
Compared to everyone's ceremonial preparations, Sheng Xia, being away from home, felt equally nervous but lacked any ritualistic gestures.
After seeing Wu Qiuxuan off to her exam that afternoon, Sheng Xia and Wang Lianhua waited anxiously before a computer in the hotel's business center.
In their graduation trip group chat, Hou Junqi was distributing red envelopes.
"I don't need high scores, you can have them all! Just make all your wishes come true!!"
"More from Hou please."
"Claim this red envelope and you must get 650!"
"So nervous so nervous so nervous."
"Ten minutes left everyone!"
"Is this really life's turning point? It feels surreal."
"Where's Shu-ge? Shu-ge Shu-ge Shu-ge! Calling Shu-ge!"
Zhang Shu: "111111."
Indicating he'd seen the messages and was online.
Xiaomai: "Shu-ge quick take it back! Should be sending big numbers now, not small ones!"
Zhang Shu: "11111111."
Xiaomai: "Shu-ge V587 (awesome). Your fate is in your hands, not heaven's!"
Xin Xiaohe: "Will all that bootlicking make him share his scores with you? Hahahaha!"
Wang Lianhua frowned at the chat, half-understanding, and asked: "Is Zhang Shu quite popular among your classmates?"
Sheng Xia nodded: "Yes. Everyone likes him a lot."
The group chat kept flooding.
"Three minutes everyone!"
"Open your fastest internet, splendid futures await!"
"Two minutes everyone!"
"God of Literature, see my offerings? Light up this group now!"
"Scores, three years together, you're mature enough to charge forward on your own now!"
"Where's Xia Xia? Calling Xia Xia!"
Sheng Xia: "11111111."
Xiaomai: "Ho! May your scores be as perfectly matched as you two!"
Sheng Xia's heart skipped—she swiftly exited the chat interface to focus on refreshing the exam board's website, unsure if her mother had seen.
The screen's reflection showed Wang Lianhua's darkened expression.
Whether from tension or something else.
The computer's clock hit 15:00.
Sheng Xia clicked refresh.
Frozen.
Blank page.
The loading icon spun endlessly as the progress bar remained motionless.Sheng Xia's palms were sweating, and she felt she should do something to fill this brief yet seemingly endless time.
This time, she didn’t dare look at the chat box on the big screen, lowering her head to check her phone instead.
Both the class group chat and smaller group chats had gone silent.
Everyone was frantically refreshing now.
Two minutes passed.
The group chat became lively again.
The screen was filled with messages like "It's stuck," "Can't get in," "Good things take time"...
Sheng Xia noticed a red "1" appear on Song Jiang’s chat box.
The message preview showed: Image.
He had sent her a picture.
Sheng Xia’s palms were damp, and her whole body felt feverish.
Even though she was sitting, her legs felt weak.
She was really nervous.
What had he sent her?
Too scared to look.
In front of her, the webpage was still loading in circles. Wang Lianhua was also getting a bit anxious, reaching for the mouse to refresh again.
At the same time, Sheng Xia tapped open the chat box.
Suddenly, she let out a loud cry and jumped up, throwing her arms around Wang Lianhua’s neck as she leaned over the computer! The impact made Wang Lianhua stagger slightly, and she quickly steadied herself by holding Sheng Xia’s arm.
"Mom! Mom! First! He’s first! Zhang Shu! He’s the top scorer! He’s first! Mom! He did it! Mom!"
"He’s the top scorer, Zhang Shu is the top scorer, Mom! First place... wuwu... he really did it..."
She repeated excitedly, shaking Wang Lianhua’s arm, her whole body bouncing with joy. As she shouted, her voice cracked with sobs.
The picture Zhang Shu had sent her wasn’t a screenshot of the webpage results—it was a text message screenshot that had arrived a step earlier.
15:02
[XX Provincial Education Examination Authority] Name: Zhang Shu, Examinee ID: xxxxxxxx, Total Score: 715, Rank: Undergraduate 1.
Wang Lianhua froze for a long moment before smiling faintly and patting Sheng Xia’s back. "Mom knows, Mom knows, alright, alright..."
"Wuwuwu..."
Sheng Xia didn’t hold back. She didn’t know why, but the tears just wouldn’t stop.
At this moment, she forgot that her own results hadn’t been checked yet.
She forgot that her mother didn’t approve of this relationship.
She forgot everything.
All she knew was that he was first.
She was ecstatic, she was out of control, she couldn’t suppress the urge to share this joy.
She wanted to tell everyone—Zhang Shu was first, and he would always be first.
He stood at the summit.
He deserved to stand at the summit.
All the doubts, all the mockery—they would be trampled under his feet as they looked up at his success.
She wanted to call him immediately.
Wiping her tears, she tapped the voice call button.
He answered almost instantly.
Before she could speak, the tears she had just suppressed surged again. Not a single coherent word came out—just muffled sobs that reached Zhang Shu’s ears.
On the other end, he was momentarily stunned before his urgent voice came through: "What’s wrong? Did you not do well? Don’t worry, take your time. Even if you didn’t do well, it’s okay. I told you, even going abroad is fine. Don’t cry, don’t cry..."
Sheng Xia was confused by his words. "No, I haven’t checked yet... I’m—I’m happy, congratulating you. You’re really amazing, A-Shu, wuwu..."
Wang Lianhua sighed softly, her expression complicated as she turned away and leaned over to refresh the page again.
Sheng Xia was still murmuring, "I knew you could do it, wuwu... but I was also really worried, wuwu... They always said such mean things. If it were me, I might not have been able to take it, wuwu... You’re really amazing, A-Shu. I’m so happy, so happy, A-Shu..."
Wang Lianhua had never seen Sheng Xia ramble like this before."It's loaded," she patted Sheng Xia, "Quick, enter your exam number."
Sheng Xia snapped back to attention slightly, took a deep breath, set her phone aside on speaker mode, and pulled out her exam admission ticket. She carefully typed in the numbers one by one, double-checking each digit.
On the other end, Zhang Shu was also checking his results.
His voice came through: "Mine hasn't refreshed yet..."
As she input her numbers, Sheng Xia responded, "How did your text message come so fast? I still don't have mine?"
"Probably because I was first."
"Oh right, of course. That's nice."
Sheng Xia's scores flashed onto the screen.
Total score: 589.
Chinese: 134.
Math: 129.
Foreign Language: 130.
Science Composite: 196.
Both Sheng Xia and Wang Lianhua froze.
During her second and third years of high school, Sheng Xia's highest score had been 568.
The simulated cutoff for top-tier universities at that time was 529.
"Mom..." Sheng Xia looked at Wang Lianhua, "Maybe you should double-check the exam number..."
Was this really her?
Wang Lianhua stared unblinking at the screen before suddenly wrapping her arms around Sheng Xia's neck from behind. "Good girl, so amazing! Don't doubt yourself—you're incredible too!"
This time, tears welled up in both their eyes.
Mother and daughter stood weeping in the business center, while nearby staff members smiled softly, quietly sharing in their joy.
The sound of keyboard clicks came from the phone set aside. Only now did Sheng Xia begin to steady her emotions, belatedly realizing this scene might be hard to wrap up gracefully.
Unexpectedly, Wang Lianhua took the initiative to speak: "Zhang Shu, have you gotten into the website yet?"
On the other end, Zhang Shu seemed surprised Wang Lianhua had addressed him. After a half-second pause, as if suddenly remembering he could speak, he replied hesitantly, "Not yet, Auntie."
Somehow, that "Auntie" made Sheng Xia's palms start sweating again.
"Shall we check for you then?" Wang Lianhua suggested. "Send your exam number to Sheng Xia."
"Okay, thank you," his voice regained its usual composure as he sent the number, adding, "First, congratulations to Sheng Xia—sounds like good news."
Though his words were clearly meant for Wang Lianhua, Sheng Xia cut in: "Yeah! Unless the cutoff goes crazy, this should count as overperforming."
Zhang Shu: "It's just normal performance. Xiaxia is truly amazing—no, I mean, amaaaaazing."
Their laughter bounced back and forth across the phone line.
Wang Lianhua: "..."
Sheng Xia successfully pulled up Zhang Shu's scores. Even knowing his total score in advance, Wang Lianhua was stunned.
Total score: 715.
Chinese: 128.
Math: 147.
Foreign Language: 145.
Science Composite: 295.
"Xiaxia, his science score is a full hundred points higher than yours?" Wang Lianhua marveled. "How can there be such a big difference?"
Uh...
How to explain this?
On Zhang Shu's best exam, he'd only lost three points on science.
"Mom, there really are differences between people."
How could she comfort her mother into accepting that her child remained within the realm of ordinary people, nothing particularly special?
Sheng Xia quickly screenshot the results and sent them to Zhang Shu.
His comforting voice came through: "Auntie, Xiaxia's Chinese score is excellent—much higher than mine."
Wang Lianhua noticed: "Oh! Higher than the top scorer's?"
The top scorer himself confirmed: "That's right."
Wang Lianhua: "Wonderful, both wonderful. You're both amazing."
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