Not Letting Him Hold Hands

"What do you mean by that?" Ma Mingfan stared, wide-eyed. "Are you looking down on your buddy?"

"Haha, no, no. Could you just not touch me? It's not that I'm disgusted by you, it's just that men shouldn't be too physically close. We're just classmates, let's keep a bit of distance."

"Damn, you jerk."

Xia Yanchun, eavesdropping nearby, covered her mouth to stifle a giggle.

She was starting to low-key ship them a little.

At 9:30, the English exam began as usual.

Shen Nian scribbled away, breezing through it. To be a bit cocky, he estimated his English score wouldn't be lower than 145.

He wrote so much his pen was almost out of ink; time for a new refill.

The old one?

Of course, toss it in the trash.

The afternoon science composite was even easier—a piece of cake.

The overall difficulty of this first mock exam was moderate. Moderate difficulty meant it was relatively easy for Shen Nian, but might be a bit challenging for those usually scoring around 550.

For other schools, it might even be considered on the high side. After all, there are gaps between schools.

After school ended in the afternoon, the tense and exciting two-day first mock exam period came to a close.

Who knows when the first mock results will come out. The main quest has to be put on hold for now. After the first mock, the next main quest might be the second mock, or the midterms. Or maybe the first, second, and third mocks are considered the same difficulty level, making the next main quest the actual college entrance exam.

The first mock is a "Demon General" level. According to the system's description, it should be a demon creature of the "Demon King's close aide" tier. In the system's script... this should belong to the late stage of the otherworld now.

Quests in the late stage should become fewer and fewer, and the rewards the system gives should be sufficient by now.

This system isn't some overpowered protagonist system. It just serves an auxiliary and guiding role, helping a person get somewhat ahead of others in the otherworld.

But without putting in the corresponding effort, the system's assistance becomes pretty useless.

Far worse than an overpowered protagonist system.

Good thing I didn't travel through time, otherwise I'd have been chopped into mincemeat by demons in the otherworld.

Shen Nian smiled a relieved smile. System, can you team up with me for life? Onegai!

Xia Yanchun had just come back from the bathroom and saw Shen Nian acting like a lunatic at his seat.

"What are you grinning about?"

"Thought of something happy." Shen Nian bared his teeth in a grin.

"Lame 'mermaid' meme."

"I didn't even say anything yet, wasn't planning to meme and you already called it out."

"Don't I know you?" Xia Yanchun said while pulling out the hot water bottle she had secretly been charging by hogging the socket behind the water dispenser.

Shen Nian gave a strained smile, feeling like silly little Chun thought she had him all figured out.

Whatever, as long as Chunbao is happy every day.

It was after school, and the classroom wasn't crowded. Most students hurriedly moved their desks back and went to the dorms to shower. Only the two day students, Shen Nian and Xia Yanchun, were particularly leisurely.

No need to compare answers, no need to rush for a shower—an hour and a half was definitely enough for dinner.

Bored, Shen Nian went to the podium to play with the multimedia system. "Want me to play a song for you?"

"I don't listen to 'Hachimi' music."

"Not even divine tunes?"

"I knew it. Move aside, move aside, I'll do it." Xia Yanchun trotted up to the podium, nudging Shen Nian aside, her slightly reddened fingers tapping on the multimedia screen.

She played a very quiet, soothing English song.

The school had a broadcast system where students could pay to request songs. The most common were Jay Chou's "Rice Fragrance," "Blue and White Porcelain," a few by JJ Lin, or songs like "Sea Bottom," "The Wind Rises." Occasionally, someone would request Japanese or Korean songs. English songs were actually in the minority.

But Xia Yanchun loved listening to English songs.

They were pleasant to listen to and helped practice English. She often translated the lyrics herself or read them aloud to practice her spoken English.

"Nice, right? My divine playlist. Even a mere mortal would evolve into a celestial being upon hearing it."

"Just so-so." Shen Nian stroked his chin.

"If you say it's just so-so, that means it's really good."

Shen Nian broke into a sweat. "And if I said it was really good?"

"Then that means it's super good."

"What if it's terrible?"

"The more you think it's terrible, the more it proves the song I picked is good."

"Alright, alright, it's good, it's good, okay?" Shen Nian spread his hands. Since she was like this, why not just go along with her?

As soon as the words left his mouth, Shen Nian noticed Su Kexi passing by and quickly coughed twice.

Xia Yanchun didn't pay any attention, her little hand tapping away, opening the web version of TikTok. With so few people around, it was fine to scroll through some videos.

"Ahem! Ahem!"

"Do you have a cold?" Xia Yanchun tilted her head, immediately seizing the chance to kick him while he was down. "Haha, serves you right for not wearing more. Know you were wrong now, huh? Go buy your own cold medicine."

Su Kexi stopped at the front door, arms crossed as she scanned the classroom, her gaze settling on Shen Nian and Xia Yanchun.

"Hello, teacher!" Shen Nian stood at attention.

Xia Yanchun got a fright, turned around, and also greeted her awkwardly.

She was always telling everyone not to mess with the multimedia, and now she, the class monitor, was caught playing with it...

She was prepared to be scolded, but being caught red-handed meant she couldn't pin it on Shen Nian.

Su Kexi watched for a moment, didn't say anything, then turned and walked away with a click-clack of her shoes.

"What did the teacher mean by that?"

"Seeing it was us playing, probably didn't know where to start." Shen Nian nudged Xia Yanchun with his elbow. "You're just too well-behaved. If I were number one in the school, I'd go drink tea in the office every day—and I wouldn't drink it unless the grade head made it. If it had been me playing just now, I wouldn't have even acknowledged the homeroom teacher."

"What kind of logic is that? Is that how a number one student acts? More like a school bully."

"Tell you what, why don't you intentionally score lower on the next exam? You've held the top spot for so long, it's time to let me have a turn." Shen Nian rubbed his hands together like a fly.

"If you want to be number one in the school, defeat me fair and square through studying, not with these tricks." Xia Yanchun paused, then covered her mouth and whispered, "Unless you call me 'big sister' every day from now on. Then I could intentionally score a bit lower, but only for the final exam this time."

"You can dream on."

"Then there's nothing to discuss. We'll each rely on our own abilities."

"We're just killing time anyway. Want to go for a walk downstairs?" Shen Nian asked with a light laugh.

"It's cold outside."

"Bring your hot water bottle then."

Shen Nian stepped down from the podium, walked straight to Xia Yanchun's seat, and pulled the fluffy earmuffs from her little backpack.

Seeing Shen Nian like this, Xia Yanchun was momentarily at a loss for words. She simply followed him out and went downstairs with him.

The first floor was empty, just a few load-bearing pillars. Standing there, the wind was even stronger, instantly messing up Xia Yanchun's bangs.

This was quite the ordeal—having her period and still having to endure the cold wind with Shen Nian. Oh well, who asked her to be the big sister? She'd indulge him just this once.

"Put these on."

Shen Nian used one hand to smooth her hair, then helped her put on the earmuffs, her delicate ears now well-protected.

Him doing this in public startled Xia Yanchun. She quickly scanned up, down, left, and right. Not seeing any familiar faces, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Let's go, take a lap around the track."

"You, you... if you're so bored with nothing to do, you might as well go find an extracurricular book to read."

"What's the matter? We just finished exams, classes won't start for a while, and I can't even take a walk around the school?"

"Then why drag me down with you? Ugh."

Shen Nian glanced at her sideways. "I wouldn't feel like walking around without you."

"..."

Xia Yanchun gave a soft hum and nudged him lightly, their clothes rustling faintly against each other.

The campus path was perfect for a slow walk after finishing exams. If you settled your mind and really looked, you were sure to discover something different.

Xia Yanchun often walked this path in the evening, but seldom in the afternoon. Yesterday, she had hurried through without noticing. Today, walking with Shen Nian, she realized there were so many young couples having private rendezvous here.

Some were even bold enough to hold hands. How daring.

Shen Nian's hands weren't in his pockets; they swung loosely at his sides. Xia Yanchun stole a glance. Right, she absolutely must not take her hands out of the hand warmer, or he would definitely try to hold one!

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