Chapter 28 Part 1

The day before the midterm exam, during the break, Liu Jiang came in to distribute the exam room distribution map.

"Write down your exam room numbers, don't go to the wrong one, and don't forget anything you need to bring for the exam. The midterm is a test to check your progress for half a semester; it's the fastest way to identify and solve problems, so please take this exam seriously."

Ding Xian looked at the map and quickly found her name, and right next to it was Zhou Siyue's name. Excitedly, she looked at the person next to her: "Hey, hey, hey, we're together!"

Zhou Siyue leaned back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest, listening to Liu Jiang speak with unusual seriousness. Hearing her voice, he glanced at the girl beside him, and seeing her happy expression, he poured cold water on her enthusiasm: "What are you so happy about? I won't let you copy this time."

"..."

Ding Xian huffed indignantly: "If you don't pass me, what will you do?"

Zhou Siyue smirked: "It'll be easy for me. The key is you, if you score worse than me, what will you do?"

Ding Xian was successfully led into the trap, "I'll... treat you to a week's worth of cafeteria food."

"It's settled then."

Eh?!!!

Towards the end of lunch break, Deng Wanwan and He Xingwen suddenly started arguing, both of them red-faced, exchanging heated words.

It even woke up the drowsy Ding Xian. She lifted her eyes from between her arms, looking at the blurry world. A soft chuckle sounded in her ear. He hadn't spoken all lunch, and his voice was hoarse and low when he finally did: "Awake?"

Ding Xian rubbed her eyes and sat up straight, "You didn't sleep again?"

Zhou Siyue curved his lips in a self-deprecating smile: "Aren't men just destined for a life of toil?"

Ding Xian chuckled at his half-sentence, rubbing her eyes to wake up, looking out the window: "Yes, yes, yes, you're the hardest working." After saying that, she turned back and looked at the two still arguing: "What's wrong with them?"

Zhou Siyue shook his head, unsure, they just suddenly started arguing.

Ding Xian pricked up her ears, listened for a bit, and understood everything.

The reason was that Deng Wanwan was assigned to do this week's cleaning duty in the designated area with He Xingwen.

When they first enrolled, the principal said under the national flag that, to accommodate the Elite Class students, a specially large designated cleaning area was reserved on the football field for Class Three students, hoping they would focus on "physical exercise" alongside their studies, combining work with rest.

But He Xingwen, apart from studying, didn't care about anything else. It was already Thursday, and he hadn't appeared in the designated area. Deng Wanwan had swept the floor alone during lunch. Deng Wanwan had complained many times in private, but He Xingwen showed no improvement. So, as soon as she came back from sweeping, she threw the broom at He Xingwen and furiously scolded him.

He Xingwen was in the middle of solving a problem, and being hit by the broom made him furious. "Deng Wanwan, what's wrong with you?"

"He Xingwen, do you need to study but I don't? How can you be so shameless? A grown man leaving a girl to sweep the designated area by herself?"

He Xingwen was irritated because he couldn't solve the problem. "If you want to sweep the designated area, then sweep it. Whether I sweep or not is my business. I'm participating in a competition recently, so I don't have time."

More than half the class had been woken up by their argument and began to express dissatisfaction. The female class monitor, who was Deng Wanwan's good friend, finally couldn't help but go over to mediate, "He Xingwen, you're a boy, can't you just let Wanwan off?"

He Xingwen 'tsk'ed, said nothing more, picked up the workbook that had fallen to the floor, put it back on his desk, and continued to write.

The air froze to a peak. Deng Wanwan stood rooted to the spot, glaring at He Xingwen with resentment. The female class monitor tried to pull her, whispering, "Wanwan, just forget it... don't be angry for now..."

Deng Wanwan remained firmly rooted, refusing to move no matter how much she was pulled. Everyone in the class thought the tense atmosphere would last until class started, but then Deng Wanwan spoke again.

"Zhou Siyue is also participating in a competition, why doesn't he have as many issues as you? You don't see him acting like you. No wonder Teacher Yang likes him and not you."

As soon as these words were uttered, half the people shifted their gaze to Zhou Siyue in the back row. Ding Xian followed suit, looking over. He was like an outsider, buried in his problem-solving, not even lifting an eyelid.

Everyone knew that He Xingwen regarded Zhou Siyue as his imaginary rival. Although he usually showed great disdain for Zhou Siyue, these perceptive top students understood who was in competition with whom.

He Xingwen 'tsk'ed, "Who doesn't know you like him?"

A girl's secret crush was suddenly and openly pointed out so casually in front of the entire class. If it were Ding Xian, she might truly go crazy.

The class atmosphere became extremely tense. This time, even the other half of the gazes turned towards Zhou Siyue. Zhou Siyue subconsciously looked up and glanced at Ding Xian. Their eyes met, and both simultaneously sensed something amiss, turning their faces away.

Deng Wanwan was stunned, not expecting He Xingwen to bring such a thing up publicly. They had been deskmates for a few days, and indeed, she often mentioned to He Xingwen how clear Zhou Siyue's problem-solving methods were, and how simple they were, much simpler than his. But she hadn't expected He Xingwen to point this out in front of so many people.

Before she could retort, He Xingwen spoke again. This time, his target of attack shifted directly from Deng Wanwan to Zhou Siyue, his tone mocking: "Teacher Yang treats him like his own son, even preparing a recommendation spot for him. A talent for Tsinghua and Peking Universities, I can't afford to provoke him."

With one sentence, he negated all of Zhou Siyue's effort and ability.

Perhaps others saw Zhou Siyue as more naturally gifted, but Ding Xian, as his deskmate, knew that the time he spent on mathematics was no less than anyone else. On the contrary, recently because of her, he had even reduced his basketball time, dedicating almost all his time to mathematics.

Perhaps it was because he naturally appeared uninhibited and unserious, and disliked defending himself. He made friends freely, chatting with those he clicked with and maintaining due respect even with differing views. Probably some people harbored the same thoughts as He Xingwen.

"He Xingwen, I used to think you could also get into Tsinghua and Peking Universities, but now, I think you can probably only get into Peking Roast Duck." The classroom fell silent. Ding Xian's voice sounded exceptionally clear, and she said in a very innocent and relaxed tone: "Anyway, if a friend of mine could get into Tsinghua and Peking Universities, I would definitely be happy for them."

A few rustles of laughter broke out in the class.

As Ding Xian spoke, Kong Shadi couldn't sit still either, and even Song Ziqi coldly sneered a few words at He Xingwen: "Sour grapes, He Xingwen, that kind of petty mentality is unacceptable."

Seeing that he couldn't gain the upper hand, He Xingwen, seething with anger, slammed his notebook down and went back to solving problems.

The class returned to peace. One by one, people got up to go to the restroom, pour water, and prepare for the afternoon classes.

Zhou Siyue leaned back in his chair, glancing sidelong at Ding Xian, his tone habitually teasing: "Not bad, the little white rabbit has learned to talk back?"

"Isn't it all thanks to your good teaching?" Ding Xian smiled at him.

Zhou Siyue looked directly at her, seeing her laughing like an idiot, and couldn't help but lower his head, chuckling as he cursed softly, "Idiot."

The warm sunlight lazily streamed in from outside the window. Beams of pale golden light scattered through the air, not dazzling, illuminating the dust motes, more like a gentle hand softly caressing the faces of these young people.

At that time, she often wondered, what would Zhou Siyue truly be like when he grew up and became a man?

"Zhou Siyue, I'm actually not stupid," Ding Xian suddenly said.

The young man beside her also stopped smiling, turned his head back, his gaze once again falling on the exam paper, his tone cool: "I know."

The last class in the afternoon was physical education. Because of the midterm exam tomorrow, the PE teacher didn't assign any other tasks, letting them free to move around and relax.

The boys played basketball vigorously on the field, while the girls gathered in small groups under the shade of trees, chatting.

Kong Shadi pulled Ding Xian to the edge of the basketball court to watch Zhou Siyue and Song Ziqi play. She was still talking about what happened at noon, "You really scared me at noon, how could you be so brave?"

Ding Xian's gaze followed a nimble figure on the court.

Zhou Siyue was tightly defended beyond the three-point line. His teammate clapped for him. Zhou Siyue dropped back, dribbled past his defender, passed the ball to his teammate. The two worked in perfect sync, their movements fluid and seamless. The basketball precisely arced into the hoop.

"Nice one."

Song Ziqi clapped and cheered.

"Siyue, rebound."

The young men sweated profusely on the court, with the glorious sunset behind them, revealing their youthful vitality.

She smiled lightly, her eyes full of light, answering with a question: "Shadi, after the exam, will you come with me to get a haircut?"

Kong Shadi suddenly turned her head, wide-eyed, and gasped as she looked at her: "What did you say?!"

Ding Xian said firmly: "Get bangs, I want to get bangs."

'I want to become beautiful, I want to become pretty, I want him to see me.'