The bedroom was very quiet. The wind had picked up, and the branches of the old tree outside the bedroom rattled against the windowpane.

Zhou Wan sat up and rubbed her sleepy eyes, yawning silently. She obediently said, "Mm, what do you want to talk about?"

"Did you apply the medicine?"

"I did."

Lu Xixiao wasn't good at finding topics for conversation. He leaned lazily against the headboard, his legs bent, looking nonchalant and not speaking.

Zhou Wan hugged her legs and rested her chin on her knees. After waiting for a while, she said, "Lu Xixiao."

"Hm?"

"Aren't you going to sleep yet?"

"Yeah."

Through the pale moonlight, Zhou Wan glanced at the clock. "It's so late. Staying up is bad for you."

"Just say you're sleepy." Lu Xixiao laughed. "You're pretty good at coaxing people."

"..."

"Go to sleep," Lu Xixiao said after finishing a cigarette. "Good night."

*

The next day, when Zhou Wan woke up, she found her ankle wasn't as swollen as last night. However, the bruise had surfaced, looking quite frightening, and it throbbed with a burning pain when she stepped on the floor.

She took a taxi to school and limped into the classroom.

What happened at the basketball game yesterday had long been posted on the school's online forum. Although Gu Meng had already left at the time, she had seen it all online. The moment she saw Zhou Wan, she pulled her over and asked if she was okay.

"I'm fine." Zhou Wan smiled. "I just sprained my ankle."

"It looks so serious. Those guys from 18th High School are really shameless. It's one thing to play dirty, but how could they drag you into it?"

Zhou Wan shook her head. "I'm really fine."

Gu Meng was about to say more when the vice class president suddenly knocked on the doorframe and said, "Zhou Wan, the homeroom teacher is looking for you."

Gu Meng insisted on helping her to the office door.

Zhou Wan pushed the door open and went in. The homeroom teacher beckoned to her. "Zhou Wan, come here."

"The date for the National Physics Competition has been set for March next year. Excluding the winter vacation, there isn't much time left. The school values this competition highly and plans to hire a special tutor from another school for you and Jiang Yan. Starting tomorrow, you two will have tutoring sessions during every self-study period and for an hour after school."

Zhou Wan paused for a moment. Just as she was about to speak, the homeroom teacher cut her off, understanding what she was going to say.

"I know about your family situation, and I know it's been hard and not easy for you. But you must look at the bigger picture. Your future is far greater than your present. You must be clear about what is truly important to you."

The homeroom teacher continued, "So, I hope you'll consider it seriously. Try not to work part-time during this period. If you have any difficulties, you can come to me. Put all your focus on the competition. You're a smart girl. If you're willing to put in the time and effort, winning an award in the competition will definitely not be a problem."

Knowing the teacher's good intentions, Zhou Wan felt a bit overwhelmed by the significantly increased difficulty of the national competition papers. She had actually considered this problem before.

Besides, she now had the money from Guo Xiangling, so at least there was no urgent need.

Zhou Wan nodded and thanked her homeroom teacher.

As she was about to leave, the homeroom teacher called out to her again, "Zhou Wan."

His expression was a bit hesitant. He looked at Zhou Wan for a while and said, "There are some things you need to learn to weigh for yourself."

Zhou Wan was taken aback. "What?"

"I'm more or less aware of what many students have been discussing recently, about you and that Lu Xixiao from Class 7," the homeroom teacher said. "That kid never comes to school. He's absent again today. I trust that you're a smart girl and should know what to do."

The homeroom teacher had probably been deceived by Zhou Wan's appearance, assuming that Lu Xixiao was the one pestering her.

He had no idea that she was the one who had meticulously planned every step to get closer to him.

Zhou Wan lowered her eyes, her expression unreadable. "Mm, I know."

*

Leaving the office and heading back to the classroom, she passed by the entrance of Class 7.

As expected, Lu Xixiao hadn't come to school. His seat was empty.

By the time school ended, Lu Xixiao still hadn't shown up, nor had he sent her a WeChat message.

Zhou Wan called the owner of the arcade and explained her situation. The owner had been good friends with Zhou Jun, so he naturally agreed at once.

"It's alright. It's easy to hire someone else for that side anyway," the owner said.

"Then I'll take a few days off from school first and leave after you've hired someone."

"It's fine. It's just a small business anyway. These are weekdays, so it's okay to close for a few days. You should go home and rest today."

Zhou Wan paused slightly. "I can work today. We haven't started the tutoring sessions yet."

The owner laughed. "Really, no need. It's just one evening. You go home and get a good rest today. Uncle is waiting to see you get into Tsinghua University and become a living advertisement for the arcade."

Unable to refuse the owner's insistence, Zhou Wan thanked him, apologized again, and hung up the phone.

Walking out of the school gates, she suddenly heard a group of girls in front of her discussing something:

"My cousin goes to 18th High School. I heard Lu Xixiao went there today and beat up Luo He again. He beat him so badly he ended up in the hospital."

Zhou Wan's heart skipped a beat, then began to pound violently, bringing with it a sense of unease.

"Holy crap, for real? It couldn't be because of that thing with Zhou Wan on the forum, right?"

"It has to be. What else? Lu Xixiao never used to bother provoking Luo He. This time he went straight to 18th High School to corner him."

"Do you think he actually likes Zhou Wan?"

"No way. It's Lu Xixiao we're talking about. I can't imagine him genuinely liking any girl."

"Hahaha, true. I thought he really liked that ex-girlfriend of his too, but he dumped her in the blink of an eye."

Zhou Wan wasn't in the mood to listen to the rest of their conversation.

Her mind was filled with what they said: Lu Xixiao had gone to beat up Luo He, cornering him at the entrance of 18th High School.

Ignoring the pain in her foot, Zhou Wan ran a few steps forward and called out to one of the girls, "Excuse me, hi."

The girl turned around and saw the subject of her gossip suddenly appear before her. She was instantly embarrassed, but Zhou Wan didn't look angry, nor was she there to confront them.

The girl blushed and asked, "Is something wrong?"

"What you just said about Lu Xixiao..." Zhou Wan paused. "Do you know if he was hurt?"

"Huh?"

The girl blinked. "I'm not sure about that. Probably not. I haven't heard anyone mention it."

Zhou Wan secretly breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

She didn't want Lu Xixiao to get hurt again because of her.

She already owed him too much.

Zhou Wan called Lu Xixiao.

The music played for a long time, but no one answered.

Zhou Wan lowered her eyes. Just then, an empty taxi came by, and Zhou Wan raised her hand to hail it.

The driver asked, "Where to?"

After a long pause, Zhou Wan gave Lu Xixiao's home address.

A quarter of an hour later, the taxi stopped in front of the desolate little western-style house.

Zhou Wan thanked the driver and got out. In the courtyard, a few clusters of verbena were planted, one flower here, one there, in all sorts of colors. It was a bit messy, but one could still tell that the person who had planted these flowers in the past must have been a person of taste who loved life.

Zhou Wan pressed the doorbell, but there was no response.

She called Lu Xixiao again, but still, no one answered.

'Is he not home?'

But besides this, Zhou Wan had no other way to contact Lu Xixiao.

In her memory, Lu Xixiao mostly went out with his friends at night and probably wouldn't be back for a while. Zhou Wan sighed and walked down a step.

At the same time, with a "click," the door behind her opened.

Lu Xixiao looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing here?"

"I just heard that you got into a fight with Luo He." Zhou Wan looked at the skin exposed outside his clothes. "Are you hurt?"

"No."

He said it so naturally and calmly.

As if the fight with Luo He was completely unprovoked and not for her sake at all.

Zhou Wan paused, then carefully scanned his face again. There were indeed no wounds, and only then did she breathe a sigh of relief.

Lu Xixiao wore a black jacket, his figure sharp and clean. He turned to lock the door and walked down the steps. "Have you had dinner?"

"Not yet."

"Then let's go together," Lu Xixiao said faintly. "With my friends."

Zhou Wan was taken aback, but Lu Xixiao had already continued walking away. She responded softly and followed him, dragging her leg.

Standing at his doorstep, Lu Xixiao hailed another cab.

He didn't speak the entire way. He still seemed sleepy, his head tilted back, resting with his eyes closed. Zhou Wan turned her head to look at him. With this movement, the line of his jaw was smooth and sharp, his features distinct.

It was also with this movement that Zhou Wan saw a scratch on his neck, mostly hidden by his collar. It was hard to see clearly, yet it was definitely there.

It must have been an injury from just now.