Proficient

Monday.

"Yu You, it's midterm exams today. Did you study properly yesterday?"

On the way to school, Tang Keke couldn't help but ask Bai Yuyou beside her—she had spent most of yesterday reviewing, just to score well on this midterm. Though Tang Keke's foundation was weak, thanks to Ye Shuang's tutoring, her confidence had soared.

At this, Bai Yuyou slowly snapped out of her daze and handed over her notebook.

【(。-ω-) There’s an exam today?】

Tang Keke: "..."

She gave Bai Yuyou a strange look. Did this girl not review at all yesterday?

"What were you doing yesterday?" Tang Keke asked curiously.

Bai Yuyou rummaged through her crossbody bag for a moment before pulling out a photo album of sticker pictures.

"Wow, did you go to the aquarium with Brother yesterday?" Tang Keke flipped through the album, marveling as she turned the pages. But after seven or eight pages, she suddenly realized something was off.

Huh?

Why are there so many?

Just how many did you take? Tang Keke remembered that sticker photos at the aquarium cost 30 yuan for five shots, and this album had at least fifty.

"Yu You, even though you took a lot, sticker photos aren’t supposed to be like this," Tang Keke said.

Bai Yuyou tilted her head.

"See, you don’t get it." Tang Keke adopted a know-it-all tone. "Sticker photos are supposed to be intimate! You have to sneak a kiss on Brother at the perfect moment—that’s how you get the sweetest shots!"

Waving her hand dramatically like a self-proclaimed love strategist, Tang Keke declared,

"Just follow my lead, and that measly Brother of yours will be conquered in no time!"

"Applaud if you understand!"

Expressionless, Bai Yuyou clapped her hands lightly.

……

"Achoo!"

Meanwhile, Ye Shuang, who was cleaning the house, sneezed. He rubbed his nose, then sneezed again.

"Who’s talking about me behind my back?" After finishing mopping the floor, Ye Shuang nodded in satisfaction at the spotless room.

He walked to the kitchen and rinsed the rag in the sink.

On the fridge beside him, several photo magnets were stuck—three or four of them, all featuring him and Bai Yuyou. The poses were few, and their expressions barely changed.

But last night, Bai Yuyou had fiddled with them endlessly, even making frequent trips to the kitchen just to look at the magnets.

After finishing his chores, Ye Shuang grabbed a soda from the fridge. Taking a sip, his gaze lingered on the magnets.

A faint smile crossed his lips as he shook his head and left the kitchen.

The moment he sat on the sofa, Yi Wan—the cat—scurried over, climbing onto the couch and stretching its limbs to peer at Ye Shuang. "Meow!"

"You want some too?" Ye Shuang placed the cold soda can on Yi Wan’s head, prompting the cat to yowl and clutch its head before flopping over.

Too… too cold!

"Pfft—hahaha!" Ye Shuang burst out laughing.

After a few more sips, he settled in to update his novel—though to him, it felt more like writing a diary, filled with snippets of his daily life with Bai Yuyou.

"Fewer reader comments today." Ye Shuang skimmed through them, sighing. It’d be nice if some kind readers could recommend his book in their reading lists.

After finishing two chapters, he set aside the keyboard and decided to visit Bai Yuyou’s school.

"They’re taking exams today. I wonder if they absorbed what I taught them." Changing his outfit, he headed downstairs to his car.

Driving smoothly to the school, parking effortlessly in the underground garage, Ye Shuang strolled through the halls of Yinshan Academy with practiced ease.

Perhaps because of the midterms, the campus was unusually quiet—exams had clearly already begun.

Hands behind his back, he walked casually, even nodding at a patrolling teacher without a hint of unease.

The teacher, recognizing his vaguely familiar face, smiled and nodded back.

Ye Shuang soon arrived outside Class 3-A, spotting Bai Yuyou and Tang Keke bent over their papers, focused. Their serious expressions pleased him.

At least they looked like they were taking it seriously.

Just then, the proctor for Class A noticed Ye Shuang outside and stood up, stepping out to whisper, "Mr. Bai."

It was a male teacher—Ye Shuang had chatted with him online before but didn’t expect him to approach now.

"What’s up?"

"My stomach’s acting up. Could you watch the class for a bit while I run to the infirmary?" the teacher asked quietly.

"Uh…" Ye Shuang’s expression said, "Here we go again."

But he agreed anyway.

Grateful, the teacher hurried off, leaving Ye Shuang to take his seat at the front.

Somehow, this fake teacher was more convincing than the real ones.

At that moment, Bai Yuyou—as if sensing something—slowly raised her head, her antenna-like ahoge perking up like a radar locking onto a target.

She blinked, staring blankly for a few seconds at the familiar face on the podium.

This girl… focus on your exam!

Noticing her gaze, Ye Shuang cleared his throat and said sternly,

"No looking around during exams!"

Hearing his voice, Bai Yuyou finally confirmed—it really was Ye Shuang!

Tang Keke, too, froze. The proctor’s voice had changed. When she looked up, her eyes nearly popped out—

Why is Brother here?!

Wait, are you actually a teacher at Yinshan Academy?!

Neither of them knew that Ye Shuang had played the teacher role so often, he might as well be one.

Under Ye Shuang’s pointed look, both quickly lowered their heads and resumed their exams.

Picking up a spare exam paper, Ye Shuang skimmed the questions—it was math, with straightforward problems: functions, multiple-choice. Many were topics he’d covered, and the formats were familiar.

Thinking, "They should be able to handle this, right?" he stood and paced the aisles, hands behind his back, eventually stopping beside Bai Yuyou and Tang Keke.

A glance at Tang Keke’s paper showed she’d used the right formula… but gotten the answer wrong.

Tang Keke looked up, eyes pleading: "Did I do it right?"

Ye Shuang stayed silent, shifting his gaze to Bai Yuyou’s paper—

In the answer section was a carefully drawn dolphin.

Ye Shuang: "..."

…What?