The Answer

"Really?"

"Do I not seem like it?" Ye Shuang chuckled.

Tang Keke and Bai Yuyou exchanged a glance. It wasn’t that they didn’t believe him… it just felt somewhat unreal.

"So, big brother, did Tsinghua or Peking University reach out to you as soon as your results came out?"

"They did, actually. But at the time, my scores and ranking were still hidden. They started contacting me before I even knew my results."

Tang Keke immediately looked like an eager child. "Which one did you choose?"

"Neither."

"Why?!"

Ye Shuang smiled faintly, as if reluctant to revisit the past. "Alright, enough gossip. Do you have any recent exam papers?"

"Yeah."

Though still burning with curiosity, Tang Keke and Bai Yuyou dropped the subject when they saw Ye Shuang didn’t want to talk about it.

The core subjects at Yinshan Academy were Chinese, Math, Physics, Chemistry, and History. Ye Shuang took their math papers and immediately grasped the situation after just a glance.

"Your foundations are pretty weak, aren’t they? You must be struggling to follow the lessons now."

"Pretty much…"

He then checked their other subjects. Bai Yuyou’s scores were better than he expected—she was nearly perfect in Physics and Chemistry, but her Chinese was disastrous, with essays that didn’t even fill the allotted space.

Tang Keke, on the other hand, was consistently average.

Average in the worst way—failing every subject except Chinese.

"What a pair of prodigies," he muttered.

After dinner, Ye Shuang started tutoring them. Since their basics were shaky, he broke down the problems into fundamental concepts, teaching from the ground up.

"Wow, big brother, I actually understand what you’re saying!"

"Pay attention."

"Okay."

At that moment, Bai Yuyou slowly lifted her head and noticed how close Tang Keke was sitting to Ye Shuang. For some reason, her chest tightened—as if something precious was slipping away.

She pressed a hand to her chest, unsure of what this feeling was.

"What’s wrong, Yuyou?" Ye Shuang’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts. He patted the spot beside him. "Come closer. No daydreaming."

Bai Yuyou immediately scooted over, resting half her face against his arm while her gem-like eyes fixed on him.

"Isn’t this too close?" Ye Shuang poked her soft cheek lightly as she clung to his arm.

"No."

"Alright, then stop staring at me and look at the paper." Used to their zero-distance interactions, he resumed teaching without another thought.

Tang Keke, however, gave them a strange look but held back her thoughts and focused on Ye Shuang’s explanations.

"Ah! It’s nine o’clock!"

Time flew by unnoticed until Tang Keke gasped at her phone screen. "I—I have to go home!"

"That was fast." Ye Shuang stretched, his joints cracking. "Getting old. Can’t even sit for long."

He stood up and called out to Tang Keke, who was hastily packing her books. "I’ll walk you."

"No need, big brother! I don’t want to trouble you all the time. I’ll be fine!"

She slipped on her shoes, flashed a bright "See you tomorrow!" and dashed downstairs.

"She’s really that timid?" Ye Shuang watched her whirlwind exit, half-wondering if the system’s assessment had been wrong.

But seconds later, footsteps echoed back up the stairs. A hesitant face peeked around the doorframe. "Big brother… the hallway’s really dark… could you walk me to the first floor?"

Ye Shuang: "…"

Alright. Definitely timid.

In the end, he escorted her home.

Night deepened. After showers, Ye Shuang and Bai Yuyou went to bed early—though, concerned about her midterm grades, he pulled her into a study session.

Or rather, a TV session. Watching historical dramas was surprisingly helpful for improving Chinese, especially for someone like Bai Yuyou, whose basics were a mess.

Ye Shuang held his phone while Bai Yuyou sat shoulder-to-shoulder with him, their eyes glued to a Three Kingdoms drama.

Eventually, Bai Yuyou leaned against him, the scent of her shampoo drifting over.

"Tired?"

After finishing an episode, Ye Shuang turned to ask—only to hear steady breathing.

She had fallen asleep.

"Out cold."

Shaking his head fondly, he gently laid her down, switched off the light, and settled beside her.

Warmth radiated between them as Bai Yuyou shifted closer in her sleep, their lips now just centimeters apart.

Even in the faint moonlight, Ye Shuang could see the jelly-like translucence of her lips.

"Goodnight," he whispered.

But then—a fleeting touch.

His lips met hers for the briefest moment, leaving him stunned.

In the dim room, Bai Yuyou slowly opened her eyes, moonlight pooling in them like liquid silver.

Ye Shuang stared, speechless for a few seconds before asking, "Who taught you that?"

"I don’t know," she murmured. "They… looked happy."

They?

He suddenly remembered the couple they’d seen while out shopping. Had she been remembering that?

"So you wanted to try it?" he asked.

"…" Bai Yuyou didn’t answer. Instead, she buried her face against his chest and went perfectly still—like an ostrich hiding its head.

Ye Shuang patted her hair lightly and closed his eyes without another word.

Morning came quietly.

When Ye Shuang woke, Bai Yuyou was already gone.

"Huh?"

Her pajamas were neatly folded on the bedside—she’d even put on her uniform. It was the first time he’d seen her up before him.

He found her in the kitchen, wearing an apron (backward) and wielding a spatula. A slightly charged fried egg sat on a plate.

"Up so early? And making breakfast?" He reached to fix her apron.

But Bai Yuyou took a step back, silently removing it instead.

Almost like… she was avoiding him.