After the party, Cheng Zhou began to inquire about the boy from all sides.

The expressionless boy was named Nie Shanglin.

He also attended high school and was one year older, but they didn’t go to the same school.

Nie Shanglin was the only son of the Nie family. The Nie family and the Cheng family were of similar status in City A, with the Nie family involved in both politics and business, while the Cheng family primarily focused on business.

The expressionless boy enjoyed peace and quiet. He was popular but had few close friends. People like him often had many acquaintances but very few true friends.

He hated eating carrots.

His favorite time was during the evening dinner, when he would walk alone in the small garden behind the classroom building.

——–

There were numerous pieces of information gathered, with many being uncertain in authenticity. The reports were lengthy and filled with phrases like ‘excellent character and outstanding talents.’ Cheng Zhou curled his lip and decided to research Nie Shanglin’s life, from his birth date to his zodiac sign. If it needed, he thought he could even dig into his ancestral lineage.

A few hours later, Cheng Zhou lifted his head from a pile of information, a mysterious smile playing at the corners of his mouth as he stroked his chin, looking quite pleased with himself.

“Just you wait.”

Nie Shanglin shivered at home.

Three days later, Cheng Zhou successfully navigated his connections and transferred to Nie Shanglin’s school, but he was still a year younger. As for skipping a grade, Cheng Zhou would never admit that he couldn’t do it; he simply believed in the old saying: ‘Distance creates beauty.’

That’s right, he needed to create a sense of distance, didn’t he? Otherwise, it would seem too aggressive when he pursued him.

Without hesitation, Cheng Zhou began his proud and fervent pursuit.

During the three days of his transfer, he hadn’t been idle. He read a lot of books, which finally came in handy at this moment, including titles like The Complete Guide to Love Techniques, One Hundred Ways to Win Over the Cold and Distant, Three Essentials to Capturing Your Male God, and Psychology of Graceful Surrender…

A jumble of various topics.

After reading so much, Cheng Zhou felt he had learned a lot and was ready to put it into practice.

The next day, a large bouquet of bright red, tender roses appeared on Nie Shanglin’s desk, stunning everyone in the class. After returning from physical education class in the fourth period, a big thermos was placed on his desk. His childhood friend eagerly opened the lid and took out sweet and sour shredded pork, Kung Pao chicken, spicy and sour potato strips, a large portion of rice, and a seafood soup. As the fragrant aroma wafted through the classroom, the students were once again shocked, and whispers began to spread as they discussed what was happening…

In that era, when young hearts began to flutter, just locking eyes would make the kids blush. Any boy singing a song to a girl could spark a school-wide discussion, and the shy, innocent boys and girls of puberty regarded such displays of affection as major events.

“When did you meet this girl? She seems really enthusiastic!” Yuan Yue, his childhood friend, asked Nie Shanglin with a playful wink as he opened the lid of the thermos. His face was full of a lewd expression that conveyed, “You’ve had a romantic encounter and didn’t even tell your bro? That’s not cool at all.”

Nie Shanglin shot him a sidelong glance, barely looking at the food. He put everything away and turned to throw the thermos, along with the red roses from the morning, into the trash can outside.

Their classroom was on the first floor, with trees and a gravel path outside the window. Not far from the window stood a large open green trash bin.

A beautiful three-point shot.

Upon hearing the news, Cheng Zhou didn’t care at all that the roses he had carefully picked one by one and the dishes he had spent half a day cooking were thrown into the trash can. He could only sigh and think:

So cool, a perfect parabola.