The word "deskmate" has always carried a hint of ambiguity since ancient times.

In every class, there was always that one pair of deskmates who developed feelings for each other over time, their youthful romance fleeting like passing clouds. Years later, Ding Xian still remembered the awkward scene when those class couples met again at class reunions, each with their own partners. However, she never expected that something even more awkward would happen between her and the Young Master Zhou beside her.

But that's a story for later.

After that night, the two officially became "temporary deskmates." Ding Xian secretly observed him and found it truly astonishing that this person could score 670 points. During class, he read extracurricular books; during breaks, he leaned back in his chair chatting with others; after school, he played basketball; and during evening self-study, after finishing the day's homework, he continued reading extracurricular books.

The books Zhou Siyue read were a chaotic mix of everything. The most peculiar one Ding Xian ever saw on his desk was an English book — Fancy Coffins to Make Yourself.

She secretly jotted down the title, and when she went home that night and looked it up in a dictionary, she realized the book's name was 'How to Build Your Dream Coffin'.

The next day, she saw 'Delicacies of the Human World' on his desk.

She hadn't expected him to be such a food lover.

As Young Master Zhou, a well-read individual, his thought process was naturally beyond the comprehension of an ordinary person like Ding Xian.

Delicacies of the Human World was already half-read, lying conspicuously open on his desk. Ding Xian quietly leaned over for a look and was disgusted by the first paragraph.

"In a small town in the United Kingdom, there was a period when a certain flavor of cheese was popular. Everyone who tasted it couldn't forget the flavor and frequently patronized that small shop. But soon after, the shop was shut down. A notice was posted outside, stating that the cheese had a unique flavor because it contained the urine of young girls.

Everyone immediately vomited.

However, a few days later, people found themselves unable to resist that pungent smell."

Ding Xian almost threw up. She gingerly pinched a corner of the book with two fingers and flipped backward, as if the entire book was tainted with girl's urine.

The pages quietly fluttered in the air, when a soft cough suddenly came from behind her.

The "thief" girl instantly let go, and the pages floated down to rest. She slowly turned around to see Young Master Zhou leaning against the doorframe, hands in his pockets, looking at her with a half-smile.

Smiling like that again.

'Didn't your mother teach you that handsome people should smile less? If I fall for you, will you take responsibility?'

"What, interested in my book?" He walked over, pulled out a chair, and sat down, asking casually.

Ding Xian grunted, "No."

After saying that, she turned back to her seat, then thought for a moment and looked up at him to add, "Pervert."

Zhou Siyue let out a light, mocking laugh. He probably understood that she was reacting to the first paragraph but couldn't be bothered to explain what the book was actually about. At that moment, he just found this girl quite interesting, especially when she was stubbornly opposing him—it was amusing, and he occasionally couldn't help but tease her.

Besides, having her as a deskmate was hassle-free. She didn't talk much, didn't create any pressure, and was optimistic. Solving a math problem could make her giggle in a silly manner for half a day on her own. He sometimes found it funny just watching her.

He could solve that simple problem in junior high. This airhead had filled a whole page with scratch work, yet still got the wrong answer. Truly stupid.

However, as her "temporary" deskmate, Young Master Zhou decided to give her some pointers. He crooked his index finger and lightly tapped her desk: "No, I mean, if you keep this habit of writing everything down in your notebook, you'll soon be eliminated from this Elite Class."

He was always direct in his speech and didn't understand subtlety.

He might be more subtle with others, but with this airhead, even if he were subtle, she wouldn't understand.

Yansan High School still had an elimination system that year: at the end of the first year of high school, the bottom ten students would be eliminated and moved to Ordinary Class. This wasn't a bluff; it was an established rule. Rather than an Elite Class, it was more like a preparatory Elite Class. Only when the number of students was finalized to within forty, and the arts and science streams were divided, would the remaining students be the true Elite Class prospects.

For Ding Xian, it was quite precarious, as her entrance score ranked only thirty-eighth. As for the Young Master beside her, his score had just barely passed the line, and his mere entry into the Elite Class had already astounded her.

At first, she thought Uncle Zhou had pulled some strings. Later, she heard that students directly promoted from the Affiliated High School, as long as they passed the baseline score, would directly enter the Elite Class and would never be eliminated.

What kind of crazy rule was that?

Later, she also heard that the Affiliated High School tuition was ten thousand yuan per semester, meaning only children from wealthy families could attend. It made sense; otherwise, where would this Young Master get so many extracurricular books? She actually loved reading too, but rarely bought books. Each time, she would squat in bookstores to read, and after finishing, carefully put them back, afraid that if they were worn out, she would have to pay.

She knew her place clearly, but being pointed out so bluntly, and as a sensitive girl, she flushed with embarrassment. Yet, unwilling to admit defeat, she stared directly at Zhou Siyue with both eyes and squeezed out a sentence through gritted teeth:

"I'm thirty-eight, you're forty-five, what right do you have to talk about me?"

When she was anxious, she tended to slur her words, so when she stiffened her neck and raised her voice, "I'm thirty-eight" came out a bit garbled.

Zhou Siyue stared at her for a moment, then lowered his head, trying to suppress a laugh for a few seconds. A small circle of students nearby heard him, and over ten pairs of eyes all looked at Ding Xian, then burst into laughter.

Zhou Siyue then broke into a hearty laugh, thoroughly amused, and even nodded in approval.

Ding Xian finally realized what had happened after a delay. Mortified, she buried her head in her arms on the desk, wishing she could disappear into a crack in the floor.

Someone said, "Siyue, your deskmate is quite amusing."

Ding Xian pretended not to hear anything, burying her face deeper, but then heard the person next to her say, in an insipid, rather helpless tone, "Sorry, you're making fun of her."

'Who allowed you to make fun of me?

Did I give you permission? You're making fun of me, do you even know what that means?'

The students laughed again.

Fortunately, the class bell rang, and it finally became completely quiet there.

In the corridor, the math teacher clicked her high heels, as she swayed into the doorway, tossed her textbook onto the podium, and said in a gentle voice, "Come on, students, open your textbooks to section three."

Zhou Siyue glanced at Ding Xian, who was still hunched over. Her face was red all the way to her neck. Why did she blush so easily?

"Alright, nobody's looking at you now, class is starting." As he spoke, he opened his Delicacies of the Human World.

Ding Xian quietly lifted her forehead, revealing a pair of clear, clean eyes. She looked around, then saw the Young Master looking at her with a half-smile.

She rolled her eyes at him, sat up, and pulled her math book from the desk compartment. It had only been a few days since school started, but her notebook was already full of notes and covered with colorful sticky notes.

On the podium, the female teacher wrote quickly and smoothly on the blackboard, her handwriting as beautiful as she was.

"Today we're talking about intersection and union."

Ding Xian picked up her pen and scribbled away, recording everything. Young Master Zhou shook his head, curled his lips, and didn't bother with her anymore, engrossed in his own book.

After one class, Ding Xian had filled another notebook, packed with dense notes.

The girl in front of her accidentally saw it and turned around in surprise to talk to her, "Ding Xian, you write so fast! How can you take so many notes in one class?"

'That's more like it!

Shouldn't good students be amazed by how completely she notes down the teacher's words?'

The girl in front was Kong Shadi. Her entrance score was 680, ranking fortieth. The two girls, both in the danger zone, instantly clicked and quickly decided that they were currently the best of friends at Yansan High School.

"Let's go to the bathroom together!" Kong Shadi extended a friendly invitation.

"Okay!" Ding Xian said sweetly.

So, the two intimately held hands and went to the bathroom.

Of course, Young Master Zhou, who witnessed the entire process, could not comprehend how girls could go from "You write notes so fast!" to "Let's go to the bathroom together" in just three minutes, or where such intimacy came from.

But he didn't want to understand either.

Kong Shadi's deskmate, Song Ziqi, also didn't understand. He turned around puzzled and asked, "Are women's brains really that simple?"

Zhou Siyue straightened his long legs, leaned back in his chair, rocking the front legs of his stool. He looked down at the book in his hands and said without looking up, "I can't speak for others." He looked up, pointing his chin towards Ding Xian's seat: "That airhead definitely has no brain circuits, just a single track all the way through."

Song Ziqi looked at him in surprise, "You know her so well, could it be you like her?"

Zhou Siyue casually picked up a book from his desk and tossed it over, his tone teasing and amused, "Like her? I'd rather like you."

Song Ziqi tilted his head to dodge, and the book clattered to the floor: "Alright, alright."

Zhou Siyue's long leg stretched under the table to kick his stool, "Get lost."

Song Ziqi conscientiously picked up the book and put it back for him: "Jiang Chen just said we're going to play basketball after school."

"Mm."

Song Ziqi leaned on his desk and asked again, "You two haven't broken off the engagement yet?"

"No," Zhou Siyue said indifferently.

"Then are you still going to break it off?"

"Yes," he said with extra firmness, flipping another page in his book, as if it were as simple a question as whether to eat or not.

"You're right, she clearly isn't your type. Honestly, I don't think that girl is as annoying as she seemed that day at home, mainly her mom. She's actually quite cute, look at her just now." Then he imitated Ding Xian's earlier demeanor, pinching his voice to say, "I'm thirty-eight, so cute, so simple-minded."

But this time, there was truly no malice.

However, as soon as the words left his mouth, he saw Ding Xian and Kong Shadi standing at the doorway, arm in arm. The girl had been smiling a second ago, but the next second, her face fell when she saw him.

Song Ziqi awkwardly turned away.

Ding Xian let go of Kong Shadi's hand and subtly pulled out her chair to sit back down.

Then she moved all the books and stationery that were on Zhou Siyue's side to the other, and also shifted her own desk panel further to the side, creating a gap in the middle, as if drawing a clear boundary with him.

She also moved her stool to the side, making sure not to touch any of Zhou Siyue's belongings, only then did she feel satisfied and happily continued discussing notes with Kong Shadi.

Zhou Siyue understood that she was taking her anger out on him. He raised an eyebrow and smiled, then suddenly:

"Song Ziqi."

The person in front dutifully turned his head, "Huh?"

Young Master Zhou retracted his foot, and the stool thudded flat on the floor. He closed the book in his hand, tossed it into the desk compartment, and said with a fake smile, "Come on, go coax my deskmate. If you make her happy, I'll let you have three goals tonight."

Ding Xian, who was discussing notes with Kong Shadi, froze.

She must have lost her mind, how for a moment, did she hear it as—

'Come on, go coax my girlfriend.'

'This guy is poisonous.'