Jiang Yan wasn't the type to gossip behind people's backs. To be precise, his circle of friends wasn't large, and he spent every day buried in textbooks and exam papers.

This was the first time Zhou Wan had ever seen him take the initiative to comment on someone.

"You don't like him?" Zhou Wan asked.

Jiang Yan shook his head. "Zhou Wan, he's not our kind of person at all. He relies on his family's money to squander his days away, but if he left his family? He'd be nothing."

Zhou Wan didn't speak.

He continued, "Believe it or not, Zhou Wan, in another twenty years, we will become a thousand times more capable than him. He will be trampled under our feet."

Jiang Yan didn't hide the harshness in his words.

Zhou Wan paused.

She didn't actually agree with what Jiang Yan said.

In today's world, grades didn't mean everything.

For a person to succeed, academic performance was actually just a small part. Vision, opportunity, personality, friends, courage—none of these could be lacking.

And he had just said—

Lu Xixiao would be trampled underfoot.

Zhou Wan thought, even if one day in the future, he truly fell from grace, it would be impossible for him to be trampled underfoot.

He was arrogant to the point of being conceited, full of pride and sharp edges, sharp and unrestrained.

A person like that, even if his life was completely reset to zero, even in death, could not be humiliated.

In the end, Zhou Wan just smiled and asked, "Jiang Yan, what kind of person do you want to become?"

"Successful and famous," Jiang Yan answered. "What about you?"

"I haven't thought about it carefully." Zhou Wan looked at the blue sky and white clouds outside the window and said softly, "But I hope that in the future, I can at least become a kind person."

Jiang Yan laughed. "For you, that can be considered a dream?"

Zhou Wan smiled, noncommittal.

At five in the afternoon, the dismissal bell rang throughout the campus.

What followed was a seven-day long National Day holiday, and, piles of homework.

Zhou Wan was called over by the physics teacher.

"Zhou Wan, I'm aware of your family situation, so the fact that you've achieved your current results has always been something I'm very gratified and proud of."

The physics teacher said, "However, this competition might just be the key that changes your destiny. You must put your heart into it."

Zhou Wan nodded. "Yes, I know, teacher."

"Don't just say you'll do it and then not follow through. Knowing isn't enough, don't forget to actually do it." The physics teacher took out a stack of papers from his drawer. "These are some predictive questions I've compiled after reviewing the competition papers from the past few years. Take them back and study them well. There isn't much time left, so use the National Day holiday to master them. You can give the other copy to Jiang Yan in a bit."

"Okay, thank you, teacher."

Leaving the office, the way back to Class 1's classroom was down a long corridor.

As she passed the entrance to Class 7's classroom, Zhou Wan's steps faltered.

The girl she had seen on the basketball court at noon was now leaning against the windowsill, propped up on her elbows.

And the person sitting in the window seat was none other than Lu Xixiao.

"Ah Xiao, do you have any plans for National Day?" the girl asked.

He didn't look at her, leaning back lazily in his chair, openly playing on his phone. "What's up?"

"What else? I want to ask you out, of course," the girl said bluntly. "What are you doing for National Day?"

"Sleeping."

As he said this, he looked up and his eyes met Zhou Wan's. He saw her quickly avert her gaze and walk past without a sideways glance, as if she didn't know him at all.

He tugged at the corner of his mouth in a half-smile.

Zhou Wan walked quickly past the entrance of Class 7, recalling the girl's words.

She was probably Lu Xixiao's new girlfriend, or at the very least, they were in that ambiguous stage right before getting together.

In that case, she might as well give up.

Those dark thoughts from before were finally shot down in this moment.

It was true that she wanted revenge on Guo Xiangling, but the sense of relief at this moment was also real.

...

Every year, autumn arrived as scheduled with the National Day holiday.

With each autumn rain came a wave of cold.

Zhou Wan put on a jacket and went to the arcade with her schoolbag.

After deciding not to provoke Lu Xixiao anymore, she returned to being the old Zhou Wan who studied hard and aimed high, her life a straight line between the arcade, the library, and home.

Lu Xixiao hadn't looked for her again either.

But that was only normal. A favored son of heaven like him, with countless friends, how could he possibly remember her.

Zhou Wan had once overheard one of his ex-girlfriends complaining to a friend that Lu Xixiao was too casual and free, coming and going as he pleased. If you didn't initiate contact, it seemed he would never even remember you. A relationship couldn't tie him down.

The happiness was real, but so were the constant anxiety and insecurity.

If even his girlfriends were treated like this, a girl like Zhou Wan, who had only met him a few times, was even more insignificant.

Zhou Wan pushed open the arcade's main door, and after taking over the shift from someone, she sat down and started working on her physics papers.

After finishing one side, someone next to her called out:

"Hey beautiful, this machine is out of prize tickets!"

Zhou Wan answered, took the key and a roll of prize tickets, and went over to load them into the machine.

When she returned to her seat, her phone screen was lit up, displaying "6" has sent you a message.

Zhou Wan froze for a moment.

Realizing who "6" was, her heart fluttered wildly for an instant.

She held her breath and opened it.

[6: At the arcade?]