Not long after the photo was sent to the family group, Xia Fu received a message from her brother, Changqing, reminding her to come home early after the holiday.

“Now you understand the importance of dressing up, right? You’re so vain that you even sent a photo to the family group.”

“If you want to get even prettier, remember to come home quickly during the summer break. I’ll take you around my workplace, and I’ll have Lili from the front desk help you pick out some nice clothes. That girl knows how to dress herself; every guy washing cars can’t help but stare at her! But Lili has high standards; among the crowd, she only pays attention to me, who Chen Ge values. That lipstick color was her suggestion.”

From his proud tone, it was clear that his life at the 4S shop was pretty glamorous, and he had long forgotten about the female customers at their family’s snack shop.

But her debt was already heavy enough—why should she give him a dating assistant during the holidays?

Xia Fu suppressed her urge to complain, casually tossing her phone aside, and as she thought about “summer vacation,” her mood gradually sank.

The math modeling competition was the last extracurricular activity of the semester. In the following two weeks, regular classes would wrap up, and after the final exams, there would be nearly two months of break. Months of effort hinged on this one moment, and the self-study room at F University was bright with lights, like a battlefield without gunpowder.

By nearly midnight, a group of students still surrounded the large round table in the discussion area, busy with online classes, reading textbooks, or discussing problems, creating a lively atmosphere that made a nearby youth rubbing his eyes and yawning feel like an outsider.

Fang Jingcheng wasn’t worried about his final exam grades. The scores from the math modeling competition had already boosted his regular scores significantly, and with Xia Fu’s usual tutoring, a score in the seventies or eighties was practically in the bag. Rather than push himself to the limit, he preferred to leave some room for improvement, letting everyone have something to look forward to in the long run.

The only reason he stayed in the classroom at this hour was for “Xia Fu.”

The champion team of this semester’s school-enterprise joint math modeling competition consisted of a freshman couple, and when the results were announced, it stirred quite a commotion in the department. Fang Jingcheng’s handsome looks naturally drew attention, and some nosy people saved a photo from the promotional materials, speculating about his family background based on his suit and ring. 

Unfortunately, the post was taken down by the administrators within an hour, but Xia Fu also received a bit of attention.

With his previous high GPA as a foundation, this low-profile academic star became a shining figure during exam week. Just that afternoon, he had gone over last year’s exam questions with his major classmates, and that night he was dragged into a study session with his dorm sisters, navigating through the near-full highlights in their advanced math textbook.

As soon as their brains began to swell from soaking in knowledge and the urge to cry surfaced after solving a few problems, the girls would motivate each other with visions of their happy lives after the break, saying, “Let’s push a little harder! Once this week is over, we can go home! Look at the picture my mom sent me yesterday; the yard is filled with giant shrimp! I can’t wait to go home and eat shrimp chips to replenish my brain.”

“That sounds great! I want to go home too. My childhood friend’s school has an earlier break than ours; we’ve already planned to go to the community for hot pot and then sing at night!”

At first, Xia Fu could laugh along, but as the chatter continued, her thoughts drifted away. Since their relationship was made public, she had become the lucky Cinderella; her past struggles were now framed as hard work and resilience, her once clumsy looks now transformed into a graceful figure, like a piece displayed in an art exhibit. Everyone seemed to find ways to dig up the “secret” behind her newfound popularity.

With high-end restaurants, jewelry, and Fang Jingcheng’s careful packaging, she finally broke into the circle of fashion discussions among the girls. Yet, once she left F University, she felt like she was nothing at all…

Xia Fu slowly dragged her finger across the conversational materials on the table, turning her face away to avoid looking at the family group’s chat history.

This moment of distraction finally made her notice the lonely Fang Jingcheng. To make space for the girl with the question, he had been pushed to the edge of the table. The formal exercises on his practice book still lingered from their last tutoring session, while the rest of the corners were filled with doodles of “waves,” “snowflakes,” and “tall towers,” clearly indicating that his thoughts had drifted far from the textbook.

The youth had tucked part of his face into the crook of his arm, his transparent eyes shut listlessly, and his quiet, dazed posture at the table was reminiscent of a small dog tied up outside a supermarket, eliciting an urge to tease him, like pinching his cheeks and gently pulling them outward or simply giving him a poke.

Everyone was busy looking at hot pot pictures on the review website, so no one paid them any mind.

Xia Fu’s thoughts flickered, and she quietly reached toward his beautiful face.

“Are you about to sleep? Why do you always get sleepy when studying?”

“I’m not asleep yet!”

Like a little snake resting under frost flowers, the youth only seemed docile; he silently allowed his girlfriend to come closer, and once her hand brushed against his skin, he finally turned his face and nibbled at her fingertip, attempting to drag this prey into his lair.

The moist and soft touch was exceptionally vivid; Xia Fu even felt his tongue graze her briefly, causing her to gasp in surprise.

“Eek!”

Seeing her roommate about to turn around, Xia Fu quickly shoved her whole hand into Fang Jingcheng’s arm, pretending to want to wake him, her face reddening as she twisted her arm back and forth, secretly applying a bit of force.

“Let’s go! Fang Jingcheng!”

“It’s already late. I plan to go back to the dorm and rest first.”

“Sounds good.”

The youth simply held the girl’s hand, and his radiant smile made Ji Xiaowei, who turned back, raise an eyebrow and click her tongue in disdain, adding, “I’m tired too. Let’s go back together.”

Unfortunately, the girl sitting next to them reached out and placed her hand on Ji Xiaowei’s shoulder, pushing her back into her seat.

“What are you getting involved in? They’ve got each other now.”

Walking down the quiet path, Xia Fu immediately began to play the role of the wronged party, gripping the back of the youth’s hand to complain, “What’s the deal? I just poked you a little; you don’t have to bite me, right?”

“Didn’t use any force! It’s just that after studying for so long, I wanted to distract you with something else.”

Fang Jingcheng tilted his head, his expression innocent, but his words hit right at the heart of Xia Fu’s concerns.

“So, how do you feel? You look a lot more energetic now. Just now, you kept staring at the textbook without saying a word—were you worried about the elite class interview?”

Even though both Fang Jingcheng and Zhou Hongxia appeared confident after the competition, the dust had yet to settle, and Xia Fu didn’t dare to speak too freely, honestly replying,

“Yeah, everyone’s talking about going out to play during the summer vacation, but I can’t join the conversation. After the exams, I might not be able to go home immediately; I have to stay at school to prepare for the interview and work on Teacher Zhou’s project.”

The elite class’s supplementary admission would start within a month of the second-year semester, with not only a written test but also an English interview, similar to independent enrollment.

Although she specifically trained with Fang Jingcheng for the math modeling competition, it was just a crash course, and Xia Fu felt a significant psychological burden regarding her speaking skills. Fortunately, during the preparation for the math modeling competition, she met several students from the elite class. 

Teacher Zhou’s detailed preparation brought extra points, gradually overshadowing the bad first impression of being the “rich second-generation girlfriend taking shortcuts.” She learned how to live boldly and confidently as an outstanding student in the future, thus gaining a lot of valuable study materials. 

Moreover, with her advisor’s special approval, she could stay in the dorm during the summer break, freely use the library and study rooms, so she wouldn’t be entirely unprepared.

But for others, this evaluation was merely a formality.

Sure enough, as soon as she expressed her concerns, Fang Jingcheng reassured her once more.

“No problem! During the group meeting, Teacher Zhou praised your rapid progress, right? You’ve worked hard during this period; relax a bit and don’t push yourself too hard.”

Faced with her understanding boyfriend, Xia Fu couldn’t help but feel a wave of bitterness. Besides the interview, there was a deeper reason she stayed at school—

She didn’t want to go home.

During the long summer vacation, her place to stay was a small back kitchen, with flour sprinkled across the cutting board, boiling water rising in white steam, and old towels turning sticky and yellow after multiple cleanings. 

Lifting the curtain revealed her father’s rough, calloused hands, with nails cut short yet still dirty, pointing at her as he urged,

“The customers are waiting; how much longer?”

“No wonder the newspapers say high scores and low abilities; after going to school, I can’t even do the chores at home.”

In a fit of nervousness, she poked a hole in the dough with her chopsticks, the dark hole covered in vegetable leaves, resembling her bruised self-esteem.

The spotlight of her blossoming greatly weakened her endurance for the drab life; just imagining the treatment she might receive sent chills through her body in the scorching summer heat.

“What if the praise I enjoy now is just polite talk from teachers and classmates during social interactions?”

“Am I still that worthless small-town girl?”

“Thinking about it carefully, Fang Jingcheng’s tenderness might just be a fleeting game for him.”

If he could deceive himself, why couldn’t she lie to herself?

Being observed and cared for might not be a good thing; she could avoid discussing her home situation with her roommates, feigning disappointment, but Fang Jingcheng could see through it all.

Even if she worried about her studies, it seemed strange to only go home for a few days.

So, gazing at the youth’s beautiful face, Xia Fu instinctively chose the most cunning response.

“But I don’t want to go back yet.”

“Your home is in S City, right? If it’s convenient, would you like to stay a bit longer to keep me company? I want to be with you…”

The overwhelming joy made Fang Jingcheng’s eyes squint with delight, and he immediately agreed, “Sure! I don’t mind not going home; let’s go out and have fun together!”

“I’ve actually been considering it for a long time; I was just afraid that the exam week would distract people.”

“How about the seaside? If you want to practice speaking, there’s no quicker way than going abroad, right? Just think, if the locals can accept your pronunciation, how hard can daily classes be?”

No wonder there were patterns of “waves” in his notebook.

As expected from a wealthy kid, his spontaneous leisure activities exceeded Xia Fu’s imagination. She had never seen the ocean in her life.

S City was by the sea, though it was just a small inland sea, it still had scenic views praised by countless tourists. Under the night sky, the dark blue water shimmered with colorful boats, resembling the shiny glass beads in a sand toy, the rippling scene carrying the beautiful dreams of children.

What would the real ocean look like?

During the peak travel season, several global cruise ships set sail from the port. Her roommates said that once they graduated and saved enough money, they could book a room with big windows and go together to a nearby island nation.

As for her graduation goal of G City, it was even more convenient; with just a small permit, she could dip her feet into the white froth of the waves, and the exchange school Ji Hongxia mentioned was also there.

If she wanted to leave her parents, the most decisive way was to go abroad.

Even if this was just a rich playboy’s little trick, Fang Jingcheng’s straightforward promise made her curious about how far he, as her “boyfriend,” could go and when he would grow tired of her inadequacies.

“But I can’t swim, and I’ve never been abroad.”

Excluded from the advanced math discussion, Fang Jingcheng picked up his teacher title again, planning enthusiastically: “Leave the visa to me. As for swimming, I can teach you—trust your little Fang teacher.”

Xia Fu stared at him for a while, then stretched out her hands, burying her face in his chest, sighing gloomily, “You’re really great.”

And he, being quite willful, would demand more love when feeling pleased. She heard his sweet voice wafting in her ears, asking,

“Wow, how did you get so good at being cute?”

“I’m not being cute; I just like your hugs. It feels like jumping into a freshly dried quilt on cleaning day, and everything feels so light.”

“You’re warm and cozy; I really like you…”

Escaping from home to school, from friends to her lover’s embrace—this seemed to be the endpoint. Xia Fu didn’t know where else she could go; perhaps true freedom meant walking to a place where no one knew her. Before that, there was no place more dreamlike than in this youth’s arms.

As she confessed her feelings, he felt the sunshine she described was gathering between his arms, like being submerged in syrup, his heart fluttering with small bubbles rising slowly.

Fang Jingcheng couldn’t find the words; he slipped his arm around her waist, embracing his girlfriend tightly.