Zhang Shu was talking to Han Xiao outside the window.
Han Xiao had been Zhang Shu's classmate in junior high. Out of the entire No. 35 Middle School, only three students got into the affiliated high school: Zhang Shu, Han Xiao, and Chen Mengyao. Yet that was already the best year for No. 35—in previous years, even getting one student admitted would have been considered a miracle.
Chen Mengyao was an arts student, while Zhang Shu was the dark horse. Both of their admissions came as surprises.
Only Han Xiao had been the top student since seventh grade. His acceptance into the affiliated high school was expected, but in the end, he was surpassed by Zhang Shu, the dark horse. This left him resentful, but his once-stellar grades became mediocre in the affiliated high school. The huge disparity left him completely demoralized.
No one knew what he was thinking when he went to chat with his old classmate Zhang Shu, but somehow, he ended up becoming Zhang Shu's devoted fan, sticking to him all day long. During breaks and evening self-study sessions, he would often come to Zhang Shu's class and stay for half a period. Almost every teacher in Class 6 had shooed him away, and everyone in the class knew him. Later, when the school moved the humanities classes to a different floor, the distance made his visits less frequent.
Now he was back, and the Class 6 students were already used to it.
The affiliated high school's classrooms had corridors on both the north and south sides. The northern one was only a meter wide and usually unused, serving only as a cleaning supplies corner. Han Xiao was now crouched by the window, using a mop as cover.
"Shu-ge, what are your birthday plans?" Han Xiao asked.
Zhang Shu replied, "No plans."
Han Xiao insisted, "That won’t do! This is your big milestone—entering adulthood!"
Zhang Shu had never liked celebrating his birthday. Everyone knew his mother had died giving birth to him.
"No money, no mood," Zhang Shu brushed him off.
"Brother Hou already told us you're tight on cash. How could we let you pay?" Han Xiao pleaded. "Zhou Yingxiang said they’d treat you at Milk."
Zhou Yingxiang, a super-rich second-generation demolition beneficiary, had always been eager to cozy up to Zhang Shu back at No. 35 Middle School—no one knew why. Rumor had it he paid his way into the affiliated high school’s Elite Division this semester. Who knew he’d already connected with Han Xiao so quickly? And treating at Milk? A night there could easily cost several thousand, and with more people, drinks alone could burn through tens of thousands. Few students could afford it—most just mooched off someone else’s table.
It wasn’t that Zhang Shu was narcissistic, but he was starting to wonder if he had some kind of universal appeal.
Zhang Shu swallowed back a sarcastic remark and politely replied, "Treat what? Are we holding a banquet for the young and restless?"
Han Xiao: "...If only Shu-ge didn’t have that mouth of his."
"Just a fun gathering," Han Xiao played his trump card. "Zhou Yingxiang promised he’d definitely get Chen Mengyao to come celebrate your birthday."
...
Sheng Xia, having agreed to Wang Wei’s request, had just entered the classroom when she saw Zhang Shu muttering to a mop head outside the window. She couldn’t make out what he was saying...
As she got closer, she only heard him say to the mop, "Get lost."
Then the mop wobbled and fell over.
Outside the window, the night breeze rustled—there was nothing there.
Sheng Xia: ...
Zhang Shu slammed the window shut with a bang. As he turned around, he saw a girl standing a meter away, staring at him with a horrified expression.
Zhang Shu tilted his head and looked back at her: ...?
Can I help you?
"Zhang Shu... the teacher wants you." Sheng Xia read his expression, tossed out the message, and turned to leave without waiting for a response.
Zhang. Shu.
Both characters had rather sharp pronunciations, yet somehow, someone had managed to say them so softly.
A male classmate at the back rubbed his arms and mimicked in a high-pitched voice, "Zhaaang... Shuuu... Ew~ The new classmate is too..."
Gentle.
That was the word that popped into Zhang Shu’s mind.As he walked out, he inadvertently glanced at the seat by the door. The girl was bent over as if working on a problem, but her scratch paper was covered in scribbles, clearly showing her distracted state.
What on earth was going on in her head? What was she always so nervous about?
Wang Wei had come to talk to him, and it was the same old spiel—he knew it all by heart.
Phrases like "aim for the top scorer," "keep your cool," "focus up," and "don't get complacent" were repeated ad nauseam. Zhang Shu could recite them backward.
"What’s with that look? Don’t you dare think I’m nagging. Principles are principles—they need to be repeated to sink in. At a critical time like this, you can’t afford to slack off even for a second. Do you think I’d waste my breath nagging just anyone? Some random person on the street—"
"Would I grab some random person on the street and nag them? Don’t take your blessings for granted!" Zhang Shu cut Wang Wei off, finishing his sentence perfectly.
Wang Wei: "..."
A loud smack echoed through the classroom as Wang Wei slapped a chemistry workbook against Zhang Shu’s back. "You little—!"
Class Six was used to this. They barely glanced over before going back to their own business, too lazy to spectate.
"If there’s nothing else, I’m going back to study," Zhang Shu said, already turning away.
"Hold it!"
Zhang Shu looked back. "Got a lot of homework, Lao Wang."
Wang Wei didn’t mind the nickname and beckoned him. "Get back here!"
Zhang Shu shot him an impatient look. Wang Wei stepped forward, slinging an arm over his shoulder. They turned their backs to the classroom, and Wang Wei leaned in, his few remaining hairs trembling with fervor as he spoke with the utmost earnestness.
"I’m not worried about your other subjects, but your Chinese scores are never high enough. If it weren’t for the gap your other subjects create, your Chinese would definitely drag you down. You need to stabilize at least above 125. If you could push it to 130, or even 135, the top scorer spot would be yours for sure. Understand?"
Zhang Shu: "What’s the big deal about being top scorer? It’s just a number. Isn’t it enough if it’s sufficient?"
Wang Wei looked at him like he’d lost his mind. " Just a number? Do you have any idea how many people are counting on you? This isn’t just about you!"
"Isn’t it?"
Wang Wei was practically fuming, taking deep breaths to calm down. "Can you guarantee you won’t make a single mistake in the other subjects during the exam? There’s not much room left for you to improve in math and sciences—how much higher can you go, 151? Chinese is about accumulation, sure, and it’s hard to improve quickly, but Teacher Fu says your essays have potential. You just don’t take it seriously enough."
Zhang Shu: "Isn’t that just a matter of talent?"
"Of course not! Every subject is a science—there are ways to improve. With your learning ability, it’s no problem!" Finally getting a response, Wang Wei grew even more animated. "Our new classmate, Sheng Xia—her essays are excellent. Teacher Fu said she won first prize in the Wutong Tree Essay Competition back in her first year. In the past, that could’ve gotten her directly admitted to Heyan University. The policy’s changed now, but her skill is undeniable. You should make good use of such a close advantage, got it?"
Zhang Shu scoffed. "Lao Wang, you should open a matchmaking service instead."
What kind of close advantage was this?
Once again, the class watched as Zhang Shu was "chased" back into the classroom by Wang Wei, leaving the latter fuming alone in the hallway, hands on his hips.
...
Over the weekend, Sheng Xia finally had time to meet up with her best friend, Tao Zhizhi, at Yifang Bookstore.Before their senior year of high school, Sheng Xia and Tao Zhizhi would visit the bookstore almost every week. Sheng Xia read books while Tao Zhizhi browsed comics. The two had annual memberships, eating simple lunches at the store with a cup of coffee, spending entire days there.
"Peach, we might not have such comfortable days anymore," Sheng Xia took a sip of coffee. "The workload at Affiliated High is despairingly heavy, wuwu."
Tao Zhizhi pouted. "Wuwu, same here. How can high school seniors be such miserable creatures?"
Sheng Xia nodded in agreement, the two sisters wearing identical expressions of gloom.
Naturally, Tao Zhizhi had to ask about Sheng Xia’s life after transferring schools. "So, how’s Affiliated High?"
Sheng Xia described the strange classroom layout and the peculiar seating arrangements in detail.
"What? First place? You’re sitting next to the top student, that Zhang Shu? He’s in your class? Damn, your class is stacked!" Tao Zhizhi’s eyes widened in shock upon hearing Sheng Xia would be changing seats next week.
Sheng Xia was puzzled. "You know him?" Tao Zhizhi had been in the same class as her from elementary to middle school but went to a different high school. How would she know Zhang Shu?
Tao Zhizhi shook her head, then nodded. "One-sided recognition. Who doesn’t know him? His exam scores are terrifying."
Sheng Xia didn’t. To her, the top student was just "the top student." She never bothered remembering details about people unrelated to her.
"Is he hot?" Tao Zhizhi leaned in, lowering her voice with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "I heard he looks like a slacker—cool and arrogant, but super handsome?"
"Huh?" Sheng Xia was caught off guard by the sudden shift in topic. "Is he?"
"He’s not?" Tao Zhizhi looked disappointed. "Maybe it’s just the stereotype that top students are supposed to be ugly, so anyone decent-looking gets called handsome. Ugh, I’ve been wanting to visit Affiliated High just to see him, hahaha..."
Was Zhang Shu handsome?
Sheng Xia lowered her head.
No one could honestly deny it.
But it wasn’t a topic worth lingering on, so she let it drop without further explanation.
Monday morning’s reading session followed the usual seat rotation. Sheng Xia’s row was the most troublesome—they had to move their desks into the hallway first to make space for the inner rows to shift right, leaving the far-left side empty before finally moving back to the innermost position.
The process required passing the podium, which had a single step. The boys just lifted their desks and carried them over, while the girls had to help each other.
Sheng Xia hesitated. She was only close with Xin Xiaohe, so she could only ask her for help. But Xiaohe seemed particularly sluggish today, clutching a hot water bottle against her stomach. As a fellow girl, Sheng Xia knew exactly what that meant.
Yang Linyu had even moved Xiaohe’s desk for her.
Sheng Xia pursed her lips, thinking.
If she emptied her desk, it would be much lighter. She could probably lift it herself and move slowly—it should be fine.
She got to work. Her desk was packed—notebook after notebook, along with a water bottle, tape, and other small items.
As she crouched on the floor, rummaging through her things, she heard two sharp knocks on the desktop. She looked up.
A tall boy stood in front of her desk, backlit as he looked down at her with a mix of impatience and exasperation.
It was an upgraded version of the "looking at an idiot" expression from last time.
"Stop emptying it. Put everything back—I’ll move it for you," he said flatly.
"What…?" Sheng Xia was stunned. They weren’t close.
Zhang Shu urged, "Hurry up.""Oh..." Sheng Xia instinctively obeyed, stuffing the notebook back into her desk compartment.
Before she could even stand up, he had already lifted her desk with one hand, carrying it up to the podium in a few quick strides. The effort made the muscles in his forearm tense, the lines strong and defined, his slender, beautiful fingers gripping the edge of the desk so tightly that his fingertips turned white, his knuckles standing out sharply...
Sheng Xia hurriedly averted her gaze, bending down to push her book box. The box had wheels, so rolling it to the steps was effortless. Just as she was about to lift it onto the platform, another shadow fell over her. The scent of sun-scorched grass invaded her senses, and in the blink of an eye, those same distinct knuckled hands had effortlessly lifted the book box...
Zhang Shu carried her book box to their seats, only to realize there was no place to put it.
Her previous seat had aisles on either side, but now she was next to the window on the left, with him on the right.
"Where do you want it?" Zhang Shu turned to ask.
Sheng Xia stood by the podium, looking around. She hadn’t considered this problem either.
Where to put it?
Zhang Shu took one look at the girl’s bewildered expression and felt a headache coming on. He decided for her, "In the middle."
He placed the book box between their chairs.
Sheng Xia felt a little embarrassed. "I’m taking up your space..."
Zhang Shu chuckled. "What else can we do?"
Sheng Xia: "Sor—"
"Disney princesses are allowed to have a lot of stuff," Zhang Shu cut her off.
Sheng Xia: "..."
Faint snickers came from beside her. Only then did Sheng Xia notice that the once-chaotic classroom had somehow settled into order. Except for her row, almost everyone else had already finished rearranging their seats. Some had even taken out their English books, ready for listening practice. So practically the entire class was watching them by the podium with amused interest.
She couldn’t help but flush at the attention.
Xin Xiaohe had already adjusted her seat and was about to call Yang Linyu to help Sheng Xia when she noticed Sheng Xia was no longer in the aisle. Turning around, she saw this scene: the girl standing gracefully by the podium, her face tinged with shyness and apology, while the boy stood casually by his seat, one hand loosely on his hip. Because of the single-step height difference, they were nearly the same height, eye to eye, his expression resigned. Both of their profiles were flawless.
Behind them, the windows were bright and clean, the camphor trees lush, the morning sun dazzling.
It looked like a promotional poster for a summer youth film.
Yang Linyu, grinning, asked from in front of her, "Hey, don’t you think they look good together?"
Xin Xiaohe shot him a glare, then, deciding that wasn’t enough, stood up and smacked him on the head. "Zhang Shu? Him? As if! The fairy stands alone."
Yang Linyu yelped in pain. "Stop hitting my head! If I fail my exams, it’ll be your fault!"
"Should I hit your face instead?"
"..."
Hou Junqi, dawdling and fashionably late, had moved from the last seat by the back door to the spot in front of Sheng Xia. Watching his buddy A-Shu’s live broadcast of chivalry from behind, he grinned with undisguised amusement. "A-Shu, being a gentleman now?"
Sheng Xia, wanting to escape the stares, returned to her seat and busied herself with organizing her things.
The chair beside her was pulled back as the boy leisurely sat down, replying, "Such a precious pavilion—gotta treat it with care."
Hou Junqi blinked. "Huh?"
Zhang Shu ignored him.
Sheng Xia didn’t understand either, and she wasn’t particularly keen on figuring it out.
The two of them had always been a little... odd.
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