Zhuang Fanxin's heart sank. Just two words came to mind: I'm done for.

This test paper was very difficult, and the whole class's scores were lower than usual. This particular question was exceptionally difficult; many people had even left it blank. Under these circumstances, he was the only one in the class with a perfect score, like a dark horse that had broken free of its reins.

However, the truth was, at this moment, he couldn't even understand the problem statement.

"Teacher, you should explain it," Zhuang Fanxin struggled to say. "I can't explain it well..."

The teacher said, "Don't be shy. Come up and explain your thought process to everyone." Saying this, he looked at the other students. "This problem has two solution methods. Zhuang Fanxin's is different from the one I was originally going to explain. Everyone, listen carefully."

With no way out, Zhuang Fanxin could only dawdle his way from his seat to the teacher's desk. He clutched the test paper, his palms slightly sweaty. When he was standing under everyone's watchful eyes, all he felt was nervousness.

The teacher smiled. "Why the look like you're bravely marching to your doom? Not feeling well?"

Zhuang Fanxin explained, "I have a bit of a fever." After explaining, he held up the paper, moved his lips, and read the problem statement once. After finishing, he took a breath and started reading it a second time.

Some students started murmuring, probably thinking Zhuang Fanxin was stalling. The teacher also urged him on. Zhuang Fanxin had no choice but to brace himself and say, "I'll explain how to solve it." After saying that, he began to read out the solution steps. Thank heavens Gu Zhuoyan had written them very clearly.

"Wait," the teacher interrupted him. "Don't just read the steps. Explain your thought process."

What he feared most had come to pass. Zhuang Fanxin stood there awkwardly, pouting, on the verge of tears. "Teacher, I can't remember right now..."

Some Good Samaritan said, "The fever must have muddled his brain."

The teacher patted Zhuang Fanxin's back and said with understanding, "If you're not feeling well, then forget it. Go back to your seat and have some water. You can explain it to everyone next class."

Zhuang Fanxin felt as if he'd been granted amnesty and hurried off the platform. He'd made himself physically weak in the knees and mentally on the verge of collapse; he didn't even know how he'd managed to awkwardly make his way back to his desk. For the rest of the class, he kept his head hung low, his face burning hot, green with regret.

The heavens could bear witness, this was the first time he'd had someone do his homework for him, and it was an idea he'd come up with only because he was afraid Gu Zhuoyan wouldn't accept his help. If he had known it would come to this, he wouldn't have done it in the first place.

He endured until the bell rang for the end of class. Zhuang Fanxin waited for the other students to leave before moving. He still had two bags of IV fluid to get today, so he went straight to the clinic. At noon, he was the only patient. Hooked up to the IV, he once again sat in yesterday's spot.

The doctor on duty glanced at him. "Your face is so red. Is your fever back?"

Zhuang Fanxin said, "It's just hot." Actually, it was from embarrassment. He stared at the dripping IV tube, the scene from class replaying relentlessly in his mind, frame by frame, making him shiver with embarrassment.

Why did they call on him to explain? How could he be the only one in class who got it right?

Of course, he wasn't the one who got it right. Zhuang Fanxin thought of Gu Zhuoyan, feeling that person was surreal. How on earth did he get a perfect score just like that? He took out his phone and typed: "That math paper you did for me got a perfect score."

A few minutes later, Gu Zhuoyan replied: "Oh."

Oh? That single "Oh" revealed a nonchalant attitude, as if getting a perfect score was a completely ordinary thing. Zhuang Fanxin felt unbalanced and replied sourly, "Why did you have to get such a high score?"

Gu Zhuoyan: "Weren't you the one who asked for it?"

Zhuang Fanxin recalled their conversation, and it seemed he really had asked for it. How could he have known back then that this guy was so capable? He both regretted his initial actions and didn't have the face to question the other person, so he just started complaining, "The teacher made me go up and explain the problem, and I couldn't."

Gu Zhuoyan caught the underlying meaning. So he was blaming him. He looked at his watch; class should be over by now. So he asked Zhuang Fanxin where he was.

"Getting an IV drip," Zhuang Fanxin replied. "What are you up to?"

Gu Zhuoyan got up and walked out, typing as he went: "Nothing."

The doctors in the clinic left for lunch one after another, leaving only a nurse on duty. Zhuang Fanxin took a call from Zhao Jianqiu. After hanging up, he didn't bother Gu Zhuoyan again. But who would have thought that a few minutes later, Gu Zhuoyan would actually appear at the door of the consultation room.

Zhuang Fanxin said in surprise, "You came to find me?"

Gu Zhuoyan came in. "Just walking around to digest after eating." He sat down beside him, not as close as yesterday, leaving a fist's distance between them. After a moment of silence, he tried to make small talk. "You haven't eaten yet?"

"Not yet," Zhuang Fanxin answered. He was actually very hungry, but the first bag wasn't finished yet, and there was still a while to wait. On second thought, why stay here? It would be the same to finish the drip at home.

After getting the nurse's approval, Zhuang Fanxin went home while still on the IV. Gu Zhuoyan held the IV bag for him and also carried his schoolbag. Back home, the IV bag was hung on a coat rack, and Zhuang Fanxin lay in bed, eating congee.

It was Gu Zhuoyan's first time here. He walked to the wall to look at the objects in the display cabinet. Besides a few crafts, there were trophies of all sizes. Some were in Chinese, some in English; it seemed he had competed both domestically and abroad. Besides awards related to drawing, there were also design-related ones. He guessed Zhuang Fanxin's dream was to be a designer.

Gu Zhuoyan asked, "Are all these yours?"

"Mhm," Zhuang Fanxin joked. "They're just out for show."

Although Gu Zhuoyan couldn't draw, he understood how much effort was needed to win a trophy. After admiring them, he paced back to the bedside and adjusted the drip rate. After everything was set, he said, "You should rest. I'm heading back."

Zhuang Fanxin said, "You have to help me take out the needle."

Gu Zhuoyan had forgotten about that. He couldn't help but rub the pad of his thumb against the pad of his index finger, trying to get a feel for it. He sat on the edge of the bed. There was nothing to say and nothing he wanted to do. The atmosphere was incredibly awkward.

Zhuang Fanxin shoved a bag of chips at him and asked, "Want to watch a movie?"

Gu Zhuoyan felt sleepy just thinking about it. "No, thanks."

Zhuang Fanxin thought of something else. He picked up the book by his pillow that he read before bed and handed it over. "Read detective novels?"

Gu Zhuoyan opened it and saw it was actually the original Japanese version. 'Stupid.'

The atmosphere was even worse than before. Zhuang Fanxin was a bit at a loss. He was like a child who takes out all his toys to share, but his playmate just isn't interested. A silence fell between them. He said politely and apologetically, "Sorry to have troubled you."

Gu Zhuoyan hated this kind of thing the most. To prevent Zhuang Fanxin from being needlessly melodramatic, he tore open the bag of chips and started eating them with a crunch. Then he took out his phone and started playing a game.

Once the awkward atmosphere had dissipated a little, Zhuang Fanxin craned his slender neck to look, moving closer to watch. He was like an old man in the park watching a chess game, more into it than the player himself. When Gu Zhuoyan won, he cheered. When Gu Zhuoyan's character was injured, he sighed. When Gu Zhuoyan finished a bag of original flavor chips, he quickly shoved a bag of tomato flavor at him.

"You don't have to mind me," Gu Zhuoyan finally spoke up.

Zhuang Fanxin smiled. "You don't have to mind me either. Keep going, keep going."

Gu Zhuoyan continued playing. After a while, he said as if to himself, "I need a teammate."

Zhuang Fanxin said, "Wait, I'll register right now." He fumbled for his phone and started fiddling with it. Perhaps his enthusiasm was too obvious, making it impossible for Gu Zhuoyan to refuse.

"What should my name be?" Zhuang Fanxin glanced at Gu Zhuoyan's account, which was just "GZY," very simple. Recalling the suffering he'd endured that day, he named himself "Annoyed Again Today."

A few seconds later, "GZY" received a friend request from "Annoyed Again Today." And so, among a crowd of high-level friends, the only level-one account appeared. Looking weak and pitiful, he first tossed him a few pieces of equipment.

Zhuang Fanxin put it all on and formed a team with Gu Zhuoyan. They weren't very familiar in real life, and in the game, they had absolutely no chemistry. In the first round, they nearly died on the same day of the same month of the same year.

Zhuang Fanxin said sheepishly, "This is actually pretty hard."

Gu Zhuoyan was very blunt: "You should work on improving yourself first."

What noob doesn't admire a master? Zhuang Fanxin said, "But I want to play with you."

Gu Zhuoyan wasn't very merciful. "As of now, you're reaching above your station."

Ignored and told he was out of his league, Zhuang Fanxin didn't make a peep. He silently went to the shop for a look, bought useless bouquets and hearts, and sent them all to "GZY" in one go.

Watching the screen fill with flying hearts and flower petals, Gu Zhuoyan was speechless. "With that money, you'd be better off buying an energy pack."

Zhuang Fanxin asked, "If I have energy, will you play with me?" He clicked and bought it, appearing before the other, full of energy, and sending a team-up request.

Unsure of the outcome, he feigned carelessness and nudged the other's arm.

Gu Zhuoyan pressed "Accept" and pretended, "My hand slipped."

A new round began. Zhuang Fanxin's habit of dragging the team down got even worse, but with Gu Zhuoyan significantly raising their overall level, they achieved victory.

Gradually, only the game's background music was left in the room. Gu Zhuoyan and Zhuang Fanxin played seriously, passing two whole hours in silence. Suddenly, Gu Zhuoyan's phone ran out of battery and automatically shut down.

Although Zhuang Fanxin hadn't had his fill yet, he quit along with him. He hadn't had much contact with online games since he was a child; his limited free time was almost entirely devoted to drawing. Playing once in a while felt pretty fun.

Gu Zhuoyan looked up at the IV tube; it was finally almost finished. Just enough time to rest a bit before pulling out the needle. Who would've thought that Zhuang Fanxin would pull his test paper out of his schoolbag and say, "Can you explain that problem to me? I can't make a fool of myself again next class."

This bedside companion role was really tiring. Gu Zhuoyan thought if he had known, he'd rather have watched the movie. He rested the paper on his lap and went straight to question twenty. "Do you understand the problem statement?"

"I understand." Zhuang Fanxin was suddenly curious. "How did you learn math so well?"

Gu Zhuoyan pointed to the display cabinet in the corner. He had some trophies too, mostly from competitions. It was cultivated from a young age; he had to do practice problems almost every day, even on the plane to Rong City, he had worked through a set of problems. So although everyone has their own specialization, the effort put in behind the scenes was the same.

The first part of the question. Gu Zhuoyan began to explain, his impatience hiding a meticulousness.

Before he finished explaining, he suddenly felt a tickle on his shoulder. Gu Zhuoyan glanced over from the corner of his eye and saw Zhuang Fanxin resting his chin on his shoulder. He spun his pen. "Can you sit up straight?"

"This way is less effort," Zhuang Fanxin said. "You rested your head on me yesterday too."

Gu Zhuoyan found it hard to argue. He continued explaining. After finishing the first part, he slowed down for the second. It was his first time explaining a problem to someone else. When he finished, he asked if he understood. When Zhuang Fanxin answered, his chin moved slightly against him, making it even more ticklish. His breath brushed against his cheek, warm.

The third part was the hardest. Gu Zhuoyan explained it even more carefully. Afterwards, he asked, "Any questions?"

Silence from the shoulder. Zhuang Fanxin neither nodded nor made a sound. Gu Zhuoyan cursed in his head, 'He's not smart enough,' but his words were patient. "Then I'll explain it again."

After he finished, not much patience remained in his voice. "Do you get it this time?"

Seconds passed. Silence from his shoulder. The breath brushing his cheek seemed to deepen slightly. Gu Zhuoyan carefully turned his head to check. Curly bangs, eyelids showing faint capillaries, eyelashes, the tip of his nose, dry lips—everything was magnified close before his eyes.

What was the point of explaining? Zhuang Fanxin had already fallen peacefully asleep.

Gu Zhuoyan was extremely displeased. He had spent his time and energy being a free tutor, and this student was just too impolite. Thinking this, he could only gently pull the test paper away and lay Zhuang Fanxin's arm flat.

He lowered his gaze to the back of Zhuang Fanxin's hand. It was very delicate, the lines of the skin less distinct than the faint blue veins. A few strips of white medical tape were stuck to it, lending it an air of fragility.

When the last of the IV fluid had dripped through, Gu Zhuoyan supported Zhuang Fanxin's hand with one hand and tore off the strips of tape with the other. This was also his first time pulling a needle out for someone. He was afraid he wouldn't control the force properly and was a bit nervous. He placed his thumb lightly over the needle-prick. After swiftly pulling out the IV needle, he immediately pressed down on the spot to prevent bleeding.

Perhaps he pressed a little too hard. In that instant, Zhuang Fanxin reacted, curling his fingers.

Gu Zhuoyan turned his face to look and saw Zhuang Fanxin's eyes flutter open. He took the opportunity to lay the person flat on the pillow and gently tucked the blanket in. "Are you still annoyed today?" he said softly. "Get some sleep."

Leaving Zhuang Fanxin's house, Gu Zhuoyan walked back slowly.

The sky was still as clear, but his expression had changed.