We Don't Argue, We Are the Best of Friends

Shen Nian sat alone in the shade on the steps behind the stage, fingers interlaced and resting against his knees and chin.

He looked like one of those thinkers perched on a toilet, his expression flickering between light and shadow.

A classmate he didn’t know suddenly bumped into him, then quickly apologized. Shen Nian snapped out of his thoughts, stood up, and dusted off his pants.

His ambiguous relationship with Xia Yanchun—he realized he was kind of enjoying it.

Hard to say if that was a good thing...

Even harder to say if it was a bad one...

Well, what’s done is done. Might as well enjoy his youth while it lasts.

Shen Nian wandered around the sports field for a bit. Now that he had some free time, he suddenly found the sports festival quite interesting.

He even ventured over to other class campsites. Some teachers looked familiar, but the moment he spotted a certain history teacher from the "Genius Nursing Home," he made a wide detour and headed straight for the school store.

The canned O-Pop at the store cost eight yuan. If not for the system, he’d never splurge on something like this at school. Tasty? Sure. But way too expensive.

By the time he returned to his own class’s campsite, it was already packed.

The girls in pretty outfits were there too, some even in little dresses. From afar, they looked sophisticated, but up close, there was still a hint of youthful immaturity.

Senior year of high school was a strange age—one year less naive, one year closer to adulthood. Some college freshmen would even laugh at their high school selves, despite the gap being less than a year.

This was the time when you were the most imaginative, the most driven, the most impulsive, the most shrewd—when you desperately craved a sweet romance but chose to bury yourself in books, and when you should’ve been studying like mad, you secretly longed for a little love affair.

Well, thank goodness Shen Nian was both a diligent student and someone who didn’t pursue relationships. A little ambiguity? Just normal classmate dynamics. Best of both worlds.

Nobody seemed particularly energetic anymore. The pressure had been vented in the morning, and now everyone just wanted to relax before the National Day holiday.

Half the class squeezed into the tiny campsite. The boys gave up their spots to the girls and sat on the grass with others. Someone had brought a deck of cards, and a noisy group had formed around it.

The clever boys had already pretended to gather around the card game just to get closer to their crushes.

Shen Nian’s attention drifted to the black-haired girl in the corner, wearing sunglasses and sipping on Wangzai milk. That gentle, refined aura—he only knew one person who fit that description, though she usually didn’t drink Wangzai.

"Hello, teacher," Shen Nian said with a grin, plopping down next to Yan Yuzhu.

"Shen Nian, you rascal," Yan Yuzhu chuckled. She’d been sitting there for half an hour, and Shen Nian was the only boy who’d come over to greet her. The others just sneaked glances from a distance.

No wonder people said Shen Nian wasn’t like the others.

"Teacher, have the midterm scores come out yet?"

"They just finished grading today. The scores will be posted tomorrow," Yan Yuzhu added, "And Shen Nian, you’ve made huge progress this time."

"How much?"

"Three digits." Yan Yuzhu held up three fingers, teasing him with the mystery.

"No way?!"

Expected, but still shocking.

Shen Nian had estimated his score to be in the triple digits, but this was his first time scoring that high in English. Even though he’d guessed it, the confirmation still caught him off guard.

All that time "NTR-ing" Su Kexi had paid off. Loyalty!

Yan Yuzhu covered her mouth, giggling, which made Shen Nian a little embarrassed. "Ahem, all thanks to you, teacher."

"Don’t say that. If you hadn’t put in the effort, my study plan wouldn’t have meant a thing. Scoring so high is all your own doing. I just provided a tiny bit of help—barely worth mentioning."

"Teacher, you really know how to sweet-talk."

Love it.

Now all he had to do was wait for the official results, claim his system rewards, and unlock the next main storyline. Life was looking brighter by the day.

Evening self-study. Shen Nian was tasked with carrying Xia Yanchun’s chair back to the classroom.

As everyone knew, study sessions on event days were never about studying. Why bother when you could play Connect Five?

The crafty ones had already started hand-making chess and animal-themed board games.

Shen Nian was still debating whether to join the grind when he noticed Xia Yanchun trimming her nails. He whistled—half-hearted, like some wannabe delinquent trying to flirt.

Xia Yanchun shot him a sidelong glance. When he didn’t say anything, she went back to clipping her nails. The crisp snip-snip was barely audible in the classroom.

A few days ago, he’d seen her hands while she was napping. Her nails weren’t even long. Girls were so extreme—either rocking elaborate manicures or cutting them down to the quick.

"Come here, let’s play Connect Five," Shen Nian beckoned.

Ma Mingfan turned around. "Me?"

"Don’t flatter yourself. Get lost."

"Still mad? I only ruffled your hair for half an hour. What’s the big deal?"

"Just not in the mood. Keep it up and I’ll punch you."

"Wow, sore loser!" Ma Mingfan turned back around, grinning. The more annoyed Shen Nian got, the more he enjoyed it.

He covered his face, peeking through his fingers. "Amaterasu."

Shen Nian: "..."

Couldn’t even be bothered to roast him. Too much Naruto.

Soon, the class quieted down. The grade-level director stood by the window for a good ten seconds, nodding in approval at the silence before continuing his patrol down the hallway.

The moment he left, the noise started up again.

Then—bam—the director reappeared at the window.

Even school administrators were learning new tricks these days. That "returning spear" move shut everyone up real quick.

The class stayed quiet for a few minutes. Someone by the window leaned out to scout, confirming the coast was clear before the chatter slowly resumed.

Hearing other classes just as noisy put everyone at ease.

After school, Shen Nian walked with Xia Yanchun, stopping to buy two skewers of grilled meat. This time, he generously shared one with her.

"Why’d you ignore me earlier? I was bored to death," Shen Nian complained. A holiday-eve study session without Connect Five on notebook paper was a wasted evening.

Xia Yanchun munched away. "You whistled like some random delinquent on the street. How was I supposed to know what you wanted?"

"I said let’s play Connect Five."

"Didn’t hear you. Didn’t want to anyway. I was reading. Studying comes first."

"What were you reading?"

"Youth Digest."

"That’s still extracurricular. What kind of studying is that?"

"Says who? Youth Digest is school-recommended. Good for essay material."

Shen Nian thought about it. True—in a school where How the Steel Was Tempered could be confiscated as "outside reading," Youth Digest was somehow available for direct subscription.

Out of comebacks, Shen Nian reached over, brushing aside the hair near Xia Yanchun’s ear to reveal her fair, delicate face. He stared for a moment before his hand slid down to her arm, giving her a light squeeze.

Xia Yanchun was like a soft, sweet cotton candy—even fluffier than a cloud.

The sudden touch made her flinch.

If they’d been sharing an umbrella, she’d have understood—neither wanted to get wet. But tonight, there wasn’t a drop of rain. No reason for Shen Nian to pull her close like that. The motive was way too obvious!

She wanted to scold him, but Shen Nian cut her off before she could start.

"Y’know, what I said back then was true. I really did want to mooch off your AC. And I really didn’t want to keep fighting with you."

"...And?"

Xia Yanchun froze for a moment. If Shen Nian didn’t say something sweet, she was definitely going to punch him.

"We don’t fight—we’re the best duo in the world."

"You can’t just say you don’t want to argue with me while you’re touching me, can you?"

"Shh, since we’re the best, let’s not sweat the small stuff, okay? It’s just normal physical interaction."

Shen Nian’s expression was serious—it didn’t seem like a lie.

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