Chapter 37

As Lin Sheng spoke, his eyes were fixed on the phone in her hand.

Xu Xieyi felt a cold shiver run down her scalp, and she swallowed hard.

"N-no, thank you, Brother Lin."

She then pretended to be casual and tucked the phone into her schoolbag. "It was just a classmate asking me about a problem. She’s so diligent—even after self-study, she’s still reading..."

After destroying the evidence, she looked up and gave Lin Sheng a smile, sitting upright and proper.

Lin Sheng tilted his head to study her, thinking that her little expression looked just like the white curly-haired puppy Dujuan used to keep—the one caught red-handed while raiding the trash can.

The black Porsche sped off again, its headlights piercing through the mist, illuminating the reflective markers along the road.

Xu Xieyi looked out the window and let out a slow, quiet sigh of relief.

Yet, she felt a heaviness in her heart; she didn't know why she had felt so guilty about lying to Lin Sheng.

Inside the car, the air conditioning blew a quiet, warm breeze, keeping the cabin cozy.

Once her tension eased, Xu Xieyi began to feel a bit warm. She used her fingers to tug at the zipper, opening the collar of her school uniform slightly. She caught a glimpse of the seat beside her.

Lin Sheng had long since taken off his coat and hung it on the back of the seat, wearing only a white shirt. In the dim light, there was a flash of dark gold at the edge of his eyes—a pair of gold-rimmed glasses?

"Brother Lin, are you nearsighted?"

"A little."

Afraid of fog patches in the mountains, Lin Sheng kept his eyes on the area illuminated by the fog lights, not looking back. "About two hundred degrees."

"But, I never see you wearing glasses."

"I wear contacts most of the time."

"Oh, I see."

Xu Xieyi nodded, then thought for a moment and said earnestly, "I’ve heard that wearing contact lenses often is bad for your eyes."

"Hmm."

Lin Sheng turned his head then, smiling slightly. "But it looks handsome!"

Xu Xieyi didn't say anything more. She glanced at his index finger, which was adorned with a ring, as it rested on the steering wheel.

She turned her face away silently. "..."

Brother Lin really does love vanity.

--

The moment the switch was pressed, the desk lamp lit up instantly.

Xu Xieyi had just sat down to take out the worksheets from the day to correct her mistakes when Lin Sheng knocked gently on the door.

He had finished washing up and come to tutor her.

"Please, come in."

She said this while turning around, greeting him politely once she saw him.

Lin Sheng curled his lips and walked in.

He had changed out of the dress pants and shirt he wore during the day, opting for a casual cotton cardigan and trousers.

Except for formal occasions, he always dressed quite casually.

They sat at the desk together as they usually did.

Lin Sheng sat sideways, his right hand resting on the table, his left hand hanging loosely over his knee. His fingertips were pale and slender.

Xu Xieyi huddled to the side, resting her chin on her hand, looking like a tiny ball in comparison.

"Very good, you solved the second-to-last major problem." Lin Sheng put down the worksheet and looked at Xu Xieyi. "To have this much progress during the first round of review is great. The second and third rounds will be easier. But you must keep it up; half the semester is already over, so don't get proud or lazy."

Facing his earnest advice, Xu Xieyi nodded quickly, showing her diligent attitude and promising not to let him down.

Lin Sheng watched her, suppressing a smile, and lowered his eyes to write a formula on the paper with his pen. "Though you got the answer right, the method is time-consuming and inefficient. I’ll write a new one in the margin. Think and understand it as you watch; don't just wait for me to explain the whole thing to you."

"Okay!"

Xu Xieyi frowned, chin propped on her hand, watching the numbers emerge from the tip of Lin Sheng's pen.

It was a bit difficult, and she couldn't help but lose focus, stealing a glance at Lin Sheng’s eyes.

I really couldn't tell; so Brother Lin is slightly nearsighted. He definitely wouldn't be wearing contacts after washing up, so... is his vision actually blurry when he looks at things far away right now?

And he’s not wearing glasses even now?

Does he have to care so much about his appearance?

Since I was little, the teachers always said that the most important thing about a person is their inner beauty.

So, is Brother Lin a bit superficial?

Ah, whether he’s superficial or not, never mind, anyway... this kind of guy really isn't reliable, is he? I wonder if he’s still in touch with that woman who asked for his WeChat at the basketball court...

As Xu Xieyi thought this, her gaze drifted involuntarily to Lin Sheng. The dark blue collar made the skin on his neck look very fair. His Adam's apple was sharp and prominent...

"Where are you looking?"

Lin Sheng suddenly raised his eyes, which were holding back a laugh, and tapped the worksheet with his pen. "Pay attention!"

"Oh, oh, oh, oh!"

Xu Xieyi broke into a cold sweat, hurriedly abandoning her lazy posture and straightening her back, nodding like a chick pecking at rice.

Focus, focus, focus...

Just as Lin Sheng finished explaining the mistakes on the worksheet, the phone charging on the nightstand suddenly emitted the busy sound of QQ messages.

Xu Xieyi was startled by the instinctual guesses popping into her head.

Lin Sheng followed her gaze to the phone, which was lighting up.

"You haven't finished explaining that problem to your classmate?" he asked, turning back.

"...!"

Xu Xieyi paused for a second. "She... she’s a bit slow to understand."

"Then hurry up and explain it to her, and get some rest early." Lin Sheng stood up, hands in his pockets, looking down at her with a smile. "Goodnight."

*My dear.*

-

Lights out, time for bed.

Xu Xieyi lay on her side, holding her phone up before her eyes.

The contact at the very top was Tan Xiaotong, who had just sent the message, not the person she had expected. She couldn't help but feel a flicker of disappointment.

She had asked if Xu Muzhou had arrived at the Second High School and if she had run into him.

Xu Xieyi sent a brief reply. Tan Xiaotong didn't respond, likely having fallen asleep already.

The next message down was from the class group, "Attack of Class 5." She rarely spoke in it and usually had it muted; only a small red dot indicated new messages.

Xu Xieyi tapped into it. A dozen or so messages scrolled by, all welcoming the new student. It was mostly the rowdy group of boys in the back and the more active girls in the class, filled with flower-tossing and welcome GIFs.

Among them were two messages from Xu Muzhou.

[Xu Muzhou: Thank you, everyone.]

[Xu Muzhou: I hope that in the days to come, I can study and progress with you all, and spend the final high school days together.]

Proper, and a bit official.

Xu Xieyi shifted her position, propping her chin on her elbow against the bed, and stared at those two messages for a long time. She tried to gauge the person behind the sparse text.

According to Tan Xiaotong, Xu Muzhou was an honor student and class monitor at Zegan No. 1 High School and was quite well-known in their grade. Just like in middle school, he was good at both sports and academics.

After watching for a while, Xu Xieyi opened Xu Muzhou's QQ profile.

The last message was still from the car, where he asked if she was in Class 5. The timestamp for his message in the class group was later than that, meaning he hadn't sent her any more messages.

Well, that made sense, she hadn't replied to him either...

Xu Xieyi propped her chin in her hand, thinking about Xu Muzhou's message for a while, but she didn't know how to reply. She decided to just go to sleep.

--

In the early morning at the Second High School, students were constantly streaming through the school gate like bees returning to the hive.

The teacher checking student IDs stood at the gate with a registration book, face stern.

From time to time, a student would get caught.

Across the street, a hundred meters away, sat a row of temporary stalls selling breakfast.

Xu Xieyi got out of the car here, waved goodbye to Lin Sheng, checked the time, and hurried to buy breakfast for the classmates who had asked her to pick some up.

Steamed buns, mantou, fried dough sticks, and soy milk—she remembered the variety and quantity perfectly.

She had always been quite good at taking care of others.

When she arrived at the classroom, it was still early, and only a small portion of the boarding students had arrived. The classroom was quiet, with some previewing lessons and others catching up on sleep.

As per her routine, Xu Xieyi entered from the front door and placed the breakfasts on the desks of those classmates. Then, she immediately spotted the boy in the second-to-last row who wasn't wearing a school uniform.

He sat very straight, his head buried in his work, studying earnestly.

Xu Xieyi’s breathing slowed down.

—So, Tan Xiaotong wasn't making it up. Xu Muzhou really is a good student.

She sat down at her desk and quietly took out her books. Students arrived one after another; the boys in the back row arrived just as the bell rang, greeting Xu Muzhou in loud voices.

She didn't look back, but somehow, every bit of the commotion drilled into her ears, clear as day.

-

The morning went by as usual, peaceful and uneventful.

A small episode occurred in the afternoon.

New students always receive special attention for a while. The physics teacher, perhaps wanting to test the foundation of the new student, called on Xu Muzhou when he asked several students to solve problems on the blackboard.

The problem was very difficult, and no one else had solved it.

However, the physics teacher noted that Xu Muzhou's approach was excellent and more than half the answer was correct. Had he been given more time, he might have solved it completely.

Everyone was amazed, as none of the boys in the class who liked playing basketball or soccer were good at their studies.

The boys in the back row were loud, chattering away, asking if they were about to produce a "representative" from the last two rows.

After physics class came P.E.

Just as the bell rang, the group of boys started acting up in the back, excited as could be, shouting and cheering as they walked out of the classroom.

Xu Xieyi linked arms with her friends Yang Bingbing and Zhang Xiaoli, walking behind them and listening to their banter.

"Muzhou, I couldn't tell, you're actually pretty good at studying!"

"For real."

"How did you come up with that solution? Old Niu said many students in the elite class couldn't solve it."

Xu Muzhou was quite tall among them, and the boys had their arms around his shoulders. His voice was clear: "I happened to run into a similar problem this morning."

"The one in that new 'Difficult Problems' manual you bought?"

"Yeah."

"Help me buy one tomorrow morning..."

Tang Zhou slapped Li Xiaochuan. "With your level, you're buying a workbook? Don't waste your allowance, bro. Buy a pack of cigarettes!"

"Why can't I study? Buying a book at least makes me feel better about myself."

"Holy crap, you don't even read it anyway. Feel better about what, my ass."

Xu Muzhou good-naturedly let them mess around, agreeing one by one to help them buy books or other things.

Yang Bingbing, holding Xu Xieyi's arm, watched for a while and said, "Xu Muzhou really has a good personality. Those boys are so noisy, and he doesn't seem to mind..."

Usually, the students with better grades in class didn't have much interaction with this group of boys. It was a case of "those with different paths don't make plans together."

Xu Xieyi glanced at the back of the teenager's head, his hair cut short. She silently nodded.

-

During P.E., they ran 800 meters, with boys and girls separated.

The girls ran first, while the boys rested on the sidelines.

As soon as she stood at the starting line, the pressure hit Xu Xieyi.

Even though that older sister named Fu Xiaoyin had told her that buying professional sports bras could solve her worries, the trauma had lasted too long; in this kind of situation, she still couldn't help but feel her palms sweating with cold sweat.

Actually, she still didn't understand. She wasn't even close to that older sister, Fu Xiaoyin, so why would she suddenly talk to her about such a private issue as her chest...