Xu Huaishi arrived home in a luxury car feeling as if her feet were stepping on cotton, her whole body weak and floaty. Yet she didn’t dare share this with her mother or grandmother. After dinner, she retreated to her study and recounted the events to Ruan Yu over WeChat:
[His mom even invited me to their house during the Lunar New Year to help tutor him. Am I about to step into a wealthy family?]
Ruan Yu replied immediately:
[Truly, fiction stems from life. Next time I write a domineering CEO novel, I’ll come to you for material.]
Xu Huaishi:
[But mine probably isn’t a domineering CEO story—more like a domineering mother-in-law story…]
She typed the line without thinking, sent it, then quickly withdrew it.
Ugh, what mother-in-law?!
But it seemed she was too late. Xu Huaisong soon called in a fury.
Startled, she answered and heard his voice:
"Xu Huaishi, you’ve got some nerve—already picking out a mother-in-law?"
"Wow," she complained, "Brother, how can you just snoop on my chats with Sister-in-law?"
"I looked openly. Don’t change the subject."
"It was just a slip of the finger…"
Before Xu Huaisong could say more, Ruan Yu snatched the phone:
"It’s fine, go do your homework. Ignore your brother."
She muttered an "Okay," then asked, "He’s not mad, is he?"
"No," Ruan Yu joked, "He just heard about the Reventón and got worried he won’t earn enough to cover your dowry in the future."
Xu Huaishi choked. From the other end came muffled "Mmph!" sounds, as if someone had clamped a hand over Ruan Yu’s mouth.
Clapping her hands over her ears, she yelled, "Brother, don’t you dare let me hear anything R-rated! I’m still a child!"
Xu Huaisong took back the phone:
"You’re dismissed. Finals are coming—go study."
Thus "dismissed," Xu Huaishi turned to her exam prep, grinding through practice papers until 10:30 p.m., when Zhao Yi’s WeChat message popped up:
[Still awake?]
[Asleep.]
[……]
[What’s with the dots? Spit it out.]
[Ancient History is making me dizzy.]
[Then take medicine. Why message me?]
[If you’re free, read pages three to five of the Ancient History outline, record it, and send it to me. I’ll listen in bed.]
[Do I look like I have nothing better to do? Insane.]
[It won’t take twenty minutes.]
[Still not doing it. It’s late—my family’s asleep!]
[Oh.]
Oh?
Xu Huaishi snorted, flipped her phone over to charge, and headed to the bathroom. After washing up, she was about to climb into bed when she paused, then went back for her phone and opened the recording app.
Sighing, she grabbed the history outline, hid in the bathroom, and perched on the toilet lid. Clearing her throat softly, she began reading in a hushed voice:
"Policy measures: Strengthening centralization through the Three Departments and Six Ministries system, reforming the civil service examination to select officials…"
After finishing a page in one go, she paused for a glass of water, then continued until drowsiness overtook her. Groggily, she growled into the phone, "Exhausted! Not reading the last half-page."
As she stood to end the recording, she hesitated, then added softly after a pause, "Goodnight."
She sent the file to Zhao Yi’s email.
A week later, during finals, half of Zhao Yi’s history score came from those three pages.
After the winter break began at No. 1 High School, the Lunar New Year soon approached.Xu Huaisong and Ruan Yu went to Su City for the New Year celebrations, and Ruan's Father and Ruan's Mother were also brought back to their hometown. On New Year's Eve, both families gathered together for a lively reunion dinner and watched the Spring Festival Gala in the living room. When the older generation grew tired and dispersed, Xu Huaishi returned to her own room.
Her brother and sister-in-law definitely wouldn't sleep so early, but she didn't want to be a third wheel either. So she curled up in bed, playing online games with a few classmates while waiting for midnight.
Her deskmate's voice came through the voice chat: "We're missing one player. Isn't Zhao Yi joining?"
Xu Huaishi yawned and said, "I asked him. He said he's busy."
Originally, she didn't think a little kid like him would have much to do on New Year's Eve. But ever since she saw that Reventon last time, she started imagining how his family celebrated the holiday.
Wealthy families probably had their own high-society ways—four generations under one roof, dressed impeccably, hosting banquets or balls, everyone popping champagne and awkwardly dancing.
She clicked her tongue and focused on the game, playing round after round with such enthusiasm that she even forgot about waiting for midnight. That is, until a video call suddenly popped up, interrupting her game screen.
Zhao Yi.
She smacked the bedsheet in frustration and answered the call with an exasperated "Zhao—" only to see the face of a beautiful woman.
Her expression instantly shifted from ferocious to radiant, and the word "Yi" at the tip of her tongue twisted awkwardly into: "...Yi's Mom."
Zhao's Mother on the other end seemed to be outdoors, with a white villa in the background. She smiled and said, "Hello, Huaishi. Auntie sent you a red envelope via Alipay. Don’t forget to check it."
Xu Huaishi froze, still processing the words, when Zhao Yi's voice cut in: "Mom, it's almost midnight. Give me the phone!"
The screen wobbled as the camera switched to his face.
Unsure if Zhao's Mother had walked away, she didn’t dare yell at him and swallowed her frustration over the interrupted game. Instead, she asked quietly, "What red envelope...?"
Zhao Yi replied, "New Year's money, I guess." Just then, the sound of fireworks launching whooshed in the background.
He turned the camera toward the sky and asked, "Can you see it?"
Xu Huaishi gasped in awe as dazzling silver-gold streaks poured down from the dark sky, filling the screen.
Knowing she could see it, Zhao Yi kept the phone raised and said, "Your neighborhood bans fireworks. I'm in the suburbs."
Xu Huaishi sighed sincerely at the screen, "Being rich is really nice..."
Unexpectedly, Zhao's Mother was still nearby and immediately chimed in, "Invite Huaishi over during the New Year holidays."
Xu Huaishi choked, and Zhao Yi echoed, "My mom says you should come visit during the New Year."
She laughed it off vaguely. After the fireworks ended and the call disconnected, she opened Alipay—only to jump in shock, dropping her phone with a thud.
She quickly bent to pick it up and stared at the screen again.
No mistake—she had received a transfer of 8,888 yuan.
Of course, Xu Huaishi didn’t dare accept the money. She rushed to knock on her brother and sister-in-law’s door, asking what she should do.
Xu Huaisong and Ruan Yu exchanged a glance.
Ruan Yu said, "Returning it directly might not be appropriate."
Xu Huaisong nodded. "What’s your classmate’s Alipay account?"
"What for?"Ruan Yu explained, "At a time like this, if your brother sends him a red packet too, it won’t make our family seem petty. It fulfills etiquette and also puts your mind at ease."
She gave an "Oh," then forwarded Zhao Yi’s Alipay account to Xu Huaisong, saying, "Then, Brother, you can’t give less than his mom did."
Xu Huaisong glanced at her and said, "I know," before immediately sending a 9999-yuan transfer.
Of course, Xu Huaishi didn’t actually visit Zhao Yi’s home during the New Year festivities, but on the fifth day of the lunar month, she went with him to study at the city library, explaining several math test papers to him.
After the Lantern Festival, she returned to school. Two weeks of classes later, it was time for the "Hundred Days Pledge" ceremony.
Following the pledge, a countdown board was hung on the classroom blackboard, and the wall beside it was covered with cards—one for each classmate. The front of each card bore a personal motto, while the back listed their dream university.
Xu Huaishi wrote, "I want to get into Hangzhou University." After sticking it up, she asked Zhao Yi what his said.
With little amusement, he replied, "Curious? Then peel it off and see for yourself."
Xu Huaishi scoffed. "Not curious, not interested." But after evening self-study ended and the classroom had emptied, she crept over to the wall like a thief and found Zhao Yi’s card.
His motto read: "Work hard, because if you don’t study well, you’ll have to go back and inherit the family business."
"…" She choked on her anger, nearly turning to leave, but after pivoting on her heel, she stopped. Carefully, she peeled back the card.
The handwriting on the back was noticeably neater and more deliberate than the front—clearly, he had written it with care.
It said: "I want to get into the same university as Xu Huaishi."
Clutching the card, she stood there silently for a long moment before sticking it back. Rubbing her slightly sore nose, she muttered, "Idiot."
The next second, a male voice suddenly came from the window: "Who are you calling an idiot?"
She let out a startled "Ah!" and turned to see Zhao Yi leaning there, looking displeased.
Her heart still racing, Xu Huaishi patted her chest. "You scared the soul out of me!"
"A clear conscience fears no accusation. You’re the one sneaking around—blame yourself."
After turning off the lights and closing the windows, she snorted coldly outside the door. "Yeah, sneaking around to peek at someone’s card." With that, she turned and headed down the stairs.
Zhao Yi’s lips twitched as he chased after her. "Where are you going?"
The stairwell was pitch black. Xu Huaishi, who had night blindness, could barely see as she walked. "Back to the dorm, of course—" Mid-sentence, her foot missed a step.
Zhao Yi grabbed her hand. "Be careful!"
"Aren’t you holding me?" She glanced at him, seemingly unfazed by the near-miss, and continued down calmly.
Zhao Yi fell silent behind her before catching up and saying, "What if I don’t get into the same university as you? Who’s going to hold you like this then?"
Xu Huaishi smirked at him. "Oh, don’t flatter yourself. Even if you don’t get in, someone else will hold me. I’m this pretty—once I’m in college, there’ll be plenty of guys chasing after me."
Zhao Yi choked, looking like he wanted to retort, but the words died on his tongue. Instead, he lowered his eyes and said, "Yeah, I guess so."
Xu Huaishi paused slightly.
What had been an offhand joke suddenly cast a strange atmosphere between them.She opened her mouth to explain something but couldn’t find the right words. After descending the stairs in silence, she saw a fork in the path appear before them.
To the left was the boys' dormitory, to the right, the girls'.
This simple fork, one they had walked past countless times over their three years of high school, seemed to take on a different meaning in this moment. Both paused at the same time, stopping in their tracks.
They stood there in a stalemate, neither willing to take the first step toward this parting of ways.
A minute later, Zhao Yi said, "Hurry back, the dormitory’s about to close."
But Xu Huaishi suddenly spoke up, "I want to take a walk around the field."
He turned his head to look at her but neither agreed nor refused. Seeing her turn and start walking first, he followed.
Xu Huaishi walked ahead, gazing up at the stars in the sky. "I always thought that once we got through the hardship of senior year, we’d be free. But now that graduation is almost here, I feel like senior year wasn’t so bad after all."
Zhao Yi caught up to walk beside her. "No matter how good it was, it has to end. What’s coming will come."
"And when that day arrives, what do you want to do?"
"Go home after the exams and get a spa treatment."
"..."
Zhao Yi laughed. "Just kidding."
"Stop messing around." She shot him a glance before falling silent again. After completing a full loop around the field, they reached a side gate, where she said, "Let’s go back this way."
"Why take the long way?"
She kicked a small pebble playfully. "If we pass the girls' dorm first, then the boys', we won’t have to part ways."
Zhao Yi chuckled. "Oh, so it counts as me walking you back then."
A hundred days later, time seemed to fly by faster than ever.
In the blink of an eye, it was the eve of the college entrance exams.
Since their high school was one of the exam venues, the first and second-year students had already gone on break, while the third-years had temporarily relocated to the junior high section to borrow classrooms.
When the final evening self-study session before the exams ended, the entire grade seemed to have made an unspoken agreement—even after the bell rang three times, no one left the classroom.
The dean walked down the eerily quiet hallway and knocked on Class Seven’s door. "Students, class is over. You can go back to the dorms now. What’s this? Trying to make up for all the self-study sessions you skipped before?"
The liberal arts class had more girls, and at his words, some began tearing up. One person’s red eyes spread like a contagious case of "athlete’s foot," affecting more and more.
Xu Huaishi had been fine at first, but when she saw her deskmate wiping her tears, her nose tingled too, and she pulled out a tissue.
The dean walked in with a smile. "Well, since that’s the case, let’s all sing a song together."
Zhao Yi, ever the troublemaker, asked, "What should we sing, sir? Aren’t you tone-deaf?"
The whole class burst into laughter. Xu Huaishi’s tears were instantly stifled as she turned to glance at Zhao Yi in the back row. He was grinning at her, though his eyes seemed to glisten with something too.
The dean adjusted his glasses and looked at Zhao Yi. "You. Come up here and lead the class in singing 'The Young Battlefield.'"
Zhao Yi choked. "Sir, I’m tone-deaf too."
"Then find someone who isn’t to help you."
He stood up, scanned the room, and said with a smile, "Sir, Xu Huaishi can sing."
Xu Huaishi turned and shot him a glare, but other classmates joined in, cheering that she was the one.She had no choice but to step onto the podium, cleared her throat, and began singing a cappella: "Today, I finally stand on this youthful battlefield, please give me a ray of love's light. Today, I will march toward that victorious distance, I want to light up this world for you..."
As the word "light" trailed off, the classmates below joined in unison. The singing of over fifty students startled the neighboring classrooms. Classes Six and Eight heard it and began singing along, then it spread from one classroom to another.
The resounding chorus shook the entire building like an earthquake.
Xu Huaishi stood on the podium, unable to hold back her scalding hot tears. By the end, all the girls in the class were both crying and laughing.
Even the dean took off his glasses and wiped his tears. When the song ended and the students finally dispersed, he walked out of the classroom and sighed into the night: "Another graduating class..."
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