He laughed, a little helpless. “I read part of it and studied it seriously.”

Xu Zhilu raised her eyebrows and said meaningfully, “That’s good.”

Shen Siyan said, “Hmm,” and added, “If you don’t believe me, you can give me a test.”

“I believe.”

Xu Zhilu muttered, “There’s nothing to disbelieve.”

Shen Siyan stared at her for a few seconds and asked calmly, “Why didn’t you notice it before?”

“What?”

Xu Zhilu’s attention was still on his materials, so she didn’t clearly hear what he said.

Shen Siyan paused and said nothing more.

“Nothing.”

“How far have you learned?”

The two of them got into the topic and began to study seriously.

Xu Zhilu found that, after not seeing him for a while, Shen Siyan seemed to have become calmer. Before, when he was studying, he would always slack off and play with his phone from time to time, and he was absent-minded. But that night, he was very serious.

It was so serious that she began to suspect that Shen Siyan had become a different person.

_

Summer vacation always goes by quickly. In the blink of an eye, even the last few days of carnival were over.

After school starts, it’s the third year of high school.

Compared to the second year, the study is more intense.

Xu Zhilu felt this on the first day of school.

Xin An’an, who used to be absent-minded and secretly read novels in class, had also become serious. The other students were the same. They all “turned over a new leaf” and started to study diligently, becoming top students.

The same went for Xu Zhilu.

After setting her goal, she became more motivated.

She no longer participated in other distracting activities and had little free time.

Besides attending classes, she read and did exercises every day, and she exercised for half an hour.

She didn’t know if it was due to the trauma from the fall in her previous life or something else, but she was always worried about having an accident. Since she didn’t know when it might happen, she felt the need to exercise more to prevent it.

Shen Siyan rarely played basketball anymore, and the two of them would meet on the playground after dinner every afternoon.

After the third year of high school began, more and more students started living on campus.

Xu Zhilu’s dormitory remained the same. She had an average relationship with her other two roommates but was close with Jian Anran.

The two of them would go running together from time to time.

_

Spring slipped away, and autumn arrived.

In the blink of an eye, winter came.

Xu Zhilu was afraid of the cold, and winter was especially hard for her. She struggled to wake up every morning, and even when she did, she didn’t want to get out of bed.

Jian Anran called her several times, but Xu Zhilu burrowed deeper into the quilt.

She laughed. “Zhilu, it’s time to go to class.”

Xu Zhilu responded, “I know.”

She closed her eyes, feeling a little tired. “You go first; I’ll sleep for a while.”

Jian Anran replied, “…Okay, don’t be late. Do you want me to bring you some breakfast?”

“Not necessary.”

Xu Zhilu was sulking under the quilt. “I don’t even know what I want to eat.”

“Alright, I’ll head out then.”

After Jian Anran and the other two roommates left, the dormitory returned to peace.

Xu Zhilu turned over and fell asleep again.

When she woke up, the class bell had already rung.

Xu Zhilu’s eyes widened as she hurriedly washed, changed her clothes, and went out. When she ran to the bottom of the teaching building, she happened to run into her class teacher.

“Xu Zhilu!”

The head teacher looked a little disappointed. “Why are you late again?”

Xu Zhilu hesitated. “I overslept.”

The head teacher was helpless. “Go to class quickly.”

He muttered as she walked away, “Tell me how many times you’ve been late this month.”

Xu Zhilu didn’t dare to say a word.

She didn’t want to be late, but she just couldn’t get up. Winter was really, really hard to endure.

Xu Zhilu hurried into the classroom. The teacher was not surprised by her lateness and didn’t say much.

Perhaps it was because she had regained first place in the midterm exams not long ago. Although the teachers were not thrilled about her lateness, they didn’t say much.

More importantly, even if Xu Zhilu were scolded, she would still be late.

She simply couldn’t get up; there was no other reason.

The teachers were frustrated but powerless.

Xu Zhilu knew it was wrong, but she really was afraid of the cold and couldn’t get up. She could only try her best not to disturb others’ classes and not delay her own studies.

After making this promise, the teacher turned a blind eye.

As soon as she sat down, Shen Siyan reached out and tugged at her clothes.

“Are you hungry?”

Xu Zhilu nodded.

Suddenly, a bottle of warm milk appeared from behind.

Xu Zhilu was stunned and turned around in surprise. “Why is it warm?”

Shen Siyan raised his eyebrows. “My temperature is high.”

Xu Zhilu: “…You kept it under your clothes?”

Shen Siyan looked at her. “Why, are you disgusted?”

Xu Zhilu: “…”

She couldn’t say she disliked it, but it was a bit strange.

She moved her lips, but took back what she was about to say.

“Thanks.”

Shen Siyan hummed and whispered, “Let’s go to class first.”

Xu Zhilu nodded.

After class, Shen Siyan gave her an insulated box.

Xu Zhilu looked at it. “What is this?”

“My mom made breakfast.”

Hearing this, Xu Zhilu was very surprised. “Auntie can actually get up to make breakfast?”

Shen Siyan: “…”

He laughed. “Not everyone has a hard time getting out of bed in the winter.”

Xu Zhilu curled her lips. “Oh.”

She snorted. “Then there’s nothing I can do.”

Shen Siyan pointed and said, “Eat quickly; there’s only so much time.”

Perhaps fearing that Xu Zhilu would refuse, Shen Siyan added, “My mother made this especially for you.”

Xu Zhilu’s eyes lit up, and she was instantly delighted. “Really?”

“Yes.”

Shen Siyan looked at her and said, “When have I ever lied to you?”

“That’s a lot of deception.”

Xu Zhilu held the lunch box in her hand and said, “When I get home on the weekend, I’ll go shopping with Auntie.”

Shen Siyan smiled and tilted his head to look out the window. “Xu Zhilu.”

“Ah?”

Xu Zhilu had just opened the insulated box, which contained still-hot steamed dumplings. She stuffed one into her mouth and mumbled, “What’s wrong?”

Shen Siyan looked at the lush branches and leaves outside and said softly, “New Year’s Day is coming soon.”

Xu Zhilu was startled and lowered her eyes. “I know.”

“Do you want to go out on New Year’s Day?”

Xu Zhilu pondered for a few seconds. “Where to go?”

Shen Siyan thought for a moment and said, “How about going to watch the New Year’s Eve celebrations?”

Xu Zhilu was stunned. “You want to go?”

Shen Siyan was silent for a while, then nodded. “It’s okay.”

Xu Zhilu said, “Oh,” and asked silently, “How much are the tickets?”

She was currently poor and had to be frugal.

Shen Siyan was speechless. “I’ll invite you.”

“That won’t work.”

Xu Zhilu had some principles: “I can enjoy free food and drink, but the tickets are too expensive; I should buy them myself.”

Shen Siyan stared at her. “My mom’s friend gave me the ticket.”

Xu Zhilu: “Huh?”

She was a little surprised. “Auntie’s friend?”

“Yes, her friend’s son is attending the New Year’s Eve party.”

Xu Zhilu was curious. “Who is it, a boy or a girl?”

“Boy.”

“Is he handsome?” Xu Zhilu suddenly became interested. “What’s his name?”

She continued to stuff dumplings into her mouth while taking her phone out of the drawer. “Let me search to see if I recognize him.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Xin An’an also came over. “Shen Siyan, Cheng Song, and I want to go too!”

Shen Siyan: “…”

He suddenly regretted the suggestion.

“Without…”

“Without what?” Xu Zhilu looked at him with burning eyes. “You haven’t told me who your mother’s friend’s son is. Is he a new handsome guy? I want to take a look.”

Shen Siyan: “…I don’t know.”

“?”

Xu Zhilu looked at him in confusion: “If you don’t know, then why did you tell me?”

Shen Siyan choked and said, speechless: “I just said it casually.”

Hearing this, Xu Zhilu was very annoyed: “Oh.”

She and Xin An’an exchanged looks and started their conversation.

“An An, has the guest list for this New Year’s Eve party been released online?”

“Yes, I have it.”

Xin An’an said, “I’ll find it for you.”

“Good.”

The two of them huddled together and whispered, sometimes excitedly, sometimes in a low voice.

Shen Siyan listened, and he felt a splitting headache. He shouldn’t have mentioned this.

“This one, this one is so handsome!”

“Yeah, right! I think this one is super cool too!”

“Ahhhh, it would be better if the ticket was for the front row. I want to be up close and personal with him.”

Xu Zhilu smiled: “I also want to shake hands with him. I have always been very optimistic about him.”

Xin An’an was surprised: “How can you say that? Didn’t he just debut?”

Xu Zhilu was stunned and said, “Ah, I can read faces.”

Xin An’an blinked.

Xu Zhilu said: “He will definitely shine in the future.”

Xin An’an: “Really?”

Xu Zhilu nodded: “An An, you won’t go wrong if you become his fan.”

Shen Siyan listened to their discussion and glanced over there inadvertently.

He looked at the person on Xin An’an’s phone screen and felt vaguely familiar.

The two did not notice his gaze and continued their discussion.

“Really? I didn’t know you could read faces.”

Xu Zhilu smiled: “Really, sometimes it’s accurate and sometimes it’s not.”

“Oh.”

“What about this one?”

Xin An’an took out another photo.

Xu Zhilu took one look and shook her head: “No, don’t be a fan of him. His fans are crazy, and judging from his appearance, he won’t be a big hit.”

Xin An’an: “…”

For some reason, she felt that what Xu Zhilu said seemed to make some sense.

The two of them chattered until the bell rang.

Shen Siyan turned the pen in his hand, feeling that the person he just saw looked very familiar.

Suddenly, he couldn’t help but reach out and pull Xu Zhilu’s clothes.

Xu Zhilu turned around.

Shen Siyan looked at her: “How did you know that male celebrity you just mentioned would become very popular?”

Xu Zhilu: “…”

“Physiognomy^[1]is the practice of assessing a person’s character or personality traits based on their outward appearance, particularly their facial features..”

Shen Siyan looked at her: “Really?”

He said, “How come I didn’t know you had this skill?”