This shy, disgusted-looking guy is genuinely into it.

Xia Yanchun looked up.

She knew Shen Nian's hand all too well.

It was the same hand that had once picked a little flower for her, yet its temperature now was abruptly different. An unfamiliar, searing heat seeped from between his fingers, scorching her to the tips of her ears and making the very air feel several degrees warmer.

Shen Nian was still grinning his usual grin. Xia Yanchun opened her mouth, but found herself at a loss for words.

Those ambiguous little gestures of Shen Nian's—she didn't know when she had grown completely accustomed to them. He always kept the flirtation perfectly measured, just right. She didn't want to resist, didn't want to correct him. Even though she knew full well that continuing down this path would only end with her being utterly devoured by him, she still deceived herself over and over in her heart: just indulge him one more time, indulge herself one more time, one last time and then she'd pull away...

That Shen Nian could boldly clasp her hand like this—Xia Yanchun felt she was the chief culprit. If she truly didn't want it, Shen Nian wouldn't have even gotten a chance to touch her.

Classmate Shen Nian, you'll just have to shoulder the blame for this one too!

"Stop messing around, let go..."

Xia Yanchun murmured softly, trying to pull her hand back. But Shen Nian's grip was firm. She had no choice but to bring her other hand over and pry his fingers open one by one.

Shen Nian stared at Xia Yanchun, whose face showed a hint of disdain yet whose ears were tinged pink. His breathing, usually steady even after a ten-kilometer run, actually grew slightly rapid.

Damn, bro, this shy, disgusted look... dude's really into it.

Chun'er is just too cute.

"Just go to sleep properly. Keep messing around and I'll ring the bell." Xia Yanchun finally managed to pry his fingers loose and immediately retracted her hand into her sleeve, instantly switching to a battle-ready expression as she poked his face hard. "Acting like this at school! If the cameras see, we're dead!"

Shen Nian covered his face, saying sheepishly, "The cameras are basically never on, except during exams..."

Before he could finish, his expression froze.

Crap. Damn it, it's midterm exams these two days. How bold of this school, daring to get in the way of a bro's flirting.

Maybe I'll just transfer to No.1 High School later and kick No.2 High's so-called geniuses around like dogs, see if you cry then.

His words made Xia Yanchun realize something too, and she felt a flicker of panic. She could already imagine the despair of being caught holding hands with a boy in the classroom by school authorities, then being dragged onto the stage for a whole-school criticism.

But then her clever mind thought again, and that bit of panic immediately dissipated. During exams, unless there's a cheating scandal or some major incident, who would randomly check the cameras? Even if there's a duty teacher, they'd have gone to rest long ago at this hour. No one would just sit in the monitoring room watching all the time.

If they really did get caught, she'd just say Shen Nian forcibly grabbed her hand to take advantage. After all, she had no motive to hold hands with Shen Nian. Clearly, it was Shen Nian who, with sweet talk and sly tricks, hooked and clasped her hand.

And that was the truth. Shen Nian was the active one, while she had reacted swiftly and started resisting within seconds of being held.

Sorry, teacher, my reflex arc is a bit long. You can bust Shen Nian for puppy love.

Frenemies aren't birds of a feather; when disaster strikes, just give them a kick.

"If we get caught on camera, just own up to it. There are plenty of examples of perverts taking advantage of girls when they're not paying attention. You won't be the first."

"?"

Six-six-six, you really going to play it like that?

"Can't be bothered to argue. Let's just pretend I was holding hands with a dog earlier."

"Same here, got held by a dog."

"So you admit this is your hand?"

"..."

Xia Yanchun tucked her hands into her sleeves like a kitten and looked out the window without a word.

The cool-toned world outside dyed the few stray strands of hair escaping her ponytail a silvery color. She gazed at the distant, grayish sky, her eyelashes casting faint shadows beneath her eyes. Only her earlobes, still radiating warmth, held a touch of heat in the cool-colored world.

Shen Nian didn't continue teasing her either. Matters of ambiguity are most comfortable when mutually understood.

With Xia Yanchun's little pillow, he soon fell asleep. In what felt like a blink, the afternoon wake-up bell rang right on time.

The seat beside him was cold. Xia Yanchun had already slipped back to her own desk at some point, unbeknownst to him. She hadn't slept at all during the break, yet Shen Nian thought she still looked a bit drowsy. Leaning over to look, he realized she was studying chemistry materials for the college entrance exam.

"Since you're up, give me back my pillow." Xia Yanchun couldn't even be bothered to look at him, her tone flat.

"Mmm... here."

"Ew, it's definitely dirty now after a boy used it."

"Not at all, I didn't drool on it. Smell it again."

"Anyway, it's not clean anymore. I'll take it apart to wash this weekend."

Shen Nian pouted. So you just wanted to insult me, huh.

Asking Xia Yanchun for a couple of wet wipes, Shen Nian went to the bathroom alone. He washed his face, feeling much more refreshed, and headed straight for the exam when it was time.

On his way to the exam classroom, he even bumped into Chen Qiuyu on the stairs.

"Shen Nian, which classroom are you in?" Chen Qiuyu asked curiously.

"Classroom Nineteen."

"Xiyuan and I are both in Eighteen. Pretty close."

Shen Nian smiled: "That's good."

"Hehe, let me treat you to a meal after the exam."

"Well, well, what a pleasant surprise."

A free meal wasn't a bad thing. Chen Qiuyu was quite grateful to Shen Nian.

Shen Nian had truly done her a great favor. From sophomore to senior year, he had saved her three times, pulling her back from the hell of failing grades three times.

Saving someone's math grade is worth building a seven-story pagoda. This is Classmate Jazz Hao (Shen Nian), deserving a place in the ancestral temple.

"Do your best. Score triple digits, and then you can treat me again." Shen Nian directly flashed a toothy grin and a thumbs-up. So youthful, truly full of youth and spring.

"If I really hit triple digits, I'll give you two big fish, okay!"

"Uh, that's really not necessary... just treat me to a meal is fine..."

"A guy who directly asks a girl to treat him is really rare..."

"Well, you've seen one today. Hurry up and score higher."

Chen Qiuyu gave a firm "Oh!" and trotted off to her exam classroom.

She thought Shen Nian was already unbeatable—great looks, high stats. Even if he didn't work hard in the future, he could probably find some little rich lady. The internet was always full of gossip about young guys and wealthy older women.

Besides, in Shen Nian's case... maybe it wouldn't be the rich lady choosing him, but him choosing the rich lady.

Thinking about how close Shen Nian had been with the class monitor lately, Chen Qiuyu wondered if she should keep a bit more distance from him. But there was nothing inappropriate between her and Shen Nian, right? They just talked sometimes, and she asked him for help with math... at most, they'd run into each other while fishing and chat a bit. That was all. Perfectly normal.

It's easy to let your thoughts run wild before an exam, uncontrollably so. It wasn't until the test papers were handed out that Chen Qiuyu cut off those wildly off-track thoughts and threw herself into the exam.

The two-and-a-half-hour math exam was, for Shen Nian, light and easy. Only the final challenge problem had some difficulty, and he wasn't a hundred percent sure he could get all the points for it.

But scoring above 135 total was no problem.

After school, Shen Nian waited for Chen Qiuyu at the stairwell, thinking about that free meal. Maybe he could get his Chun Bao and the loli girl to join the table.

Chen Qiuyu came out soon after, her eyes smiling, looking in a very good mood.

"Confident about hitting triple digits this time?" Shen Nian asked, kindly concerned, considering she was the fishing uncle's precious daughter.

"There should be. I even had time to work on the advanced problems after finishing the basics. I even wrote a bit for that conic section major question." Chen Qiuyu puffed out his chest, already getting carried away.

"Not bad at all. Did you manage to score any points on it?"

"Nope. I spent twenty minutes just proving the given conditions..."

?

The most terrifying episode.

"Damn, you're even more impressive than me. How did you manage that?"

"Mocking me again..." Chen Qiuyu felt a bit like throwing a fit.

"I'm really not mocking you. How did you do it?"

Shen Nian genuinely thought Chen Qiuyu had something special. Proving the given conditions in twenty minutes—he wasn't sure he could pull that off himself if he tried.

In a certain sense, Chen Qiuyu had already surpassed his master. He was ready to graduate.

If Shen Nian had tried writing that, his brain cells would have fled through his bloodstream and committed suicide in his stomach acid before he even finished.

.

Had some things to do today, single update orz, double updates resume as usual tomorrow.

Yanxi reminds you: Due to Tomato's request for over 3 million daily updates causing excessive server load, it is now recommended you use sources from other big shots: