Chapter 055: Extra 01

Seeing Ji Wenchen return to school, the classmates were quite surprised.

After all, everyone had assumed that this rich heir had gone back to inherit the family business, yet here he was, back to attending classes on time every day.

The record posts about Ji Wenchen and Qin Xiaoxiao on the Second High School forum continued to update.

A series of anonymous replies from so-called “classmates” emerged under the post, officially confirming that the school bully and the school beauty were together.

The two individuals in question, busy with both their studies and their romance, were completely unaware of this.

The last time Qin Xiaoxiao, following Yang Min’s “recommendation,” checked the post, she stopped reading after reaching over 270 comments.

Ji Wenchen, on the other hand, was completely unaware of the post’s existence.

One day, under Jiang Zhousi’s teasing, he discovered this record post and, with remarkable initiative, printed out the entire main thread and bound it into a booklet—this happened after the National College Entrance Exam.

The first mock exam for Guangjian City’s final-year students arrived on an overcast day.

This time, Ji Wenchen’s exam room was next to Qin Xiaoxiao’s, so they walked together.

When the first Chinese exam ended, Qin Xiaoxiao walked out of the exam room and saw Ji Wenchen leaning casually against the corridor railing, waiting for her.

“Finished early?” Qin Xiaoxiao naturally walked toward Ji Wenchen.

She had now learned to block out the irrelevant gazes of those around her.

Ji Wenchen raised his long, clean hand and tucked the stray hair by her cheek behind her ear. “Mm. Hungry?”

“Not really,” Qin Xiaoxiao paused for a moment before continuing, “Next time, don’t rush to turn in your paper. Go over your answers two or three more times.”

In the previous monthly and weekly exams, he had lost points due to small, avoidable mistakes. From Qin Xiaoxiao’s perspective, if he seriously checked his answers, he could definitely avoid such errors.

“Mm, I’ll listen to you.”

Though he said that, Qin Xiaoxiao could see the faint trace of nonchalance on his face, as if saying, I can’t argue with you, and she knew he was probably just agreeing on the surface.

Qin Xiaoxiao raised her eyebrow slightly. “If I catch you leaving the classroom before the bell again, I’ll…”

“And you’ll what?” Ji Wenchen’s tone rose playfully at the end.

Qin Xiaoxiao quickly thought for a moment. “I won’t talk to you for a week,” she said, unable to come up with anything harsher.

“A week…” Ji Wenchen repeated halfway, turning his face slightly to the side as he let out a low chuckle. Then, with a mock serious expression, he nodded. “Mm, I absolutely wouldn’t dare submit my paper early again.”

A slightly embarrassed and annoyed Qin Xiaoxiao: “…” She left him behind and walked ahead.

Ji Wenchen, with hands in his pockets, tilted his head slightly as he followed behind her.

…

The results of the first mock exam were released, and five classmates ranked between Ji Wenchen and Qin Xiaoxiao.

This time, the exam not only ranked students by grade but also included rankings across the entire city.

Word spread that Ji Wenchen, the school bully of Second High, ranked among the top 300 in the city. Students from other schools were stunned—wasn’t this Brother Chen known for being unbeatable in fights? How could his academic performance be just as impressive?

In any case, Ji Wenchen’s results, whether intentionally or not, ended up inspiring a wave of underperforming students from other schools who saw him as either an idol or a rival to work harder on their studies.

However, Ji Wenchen, admired by so many, was not satisfied with his own performance.

This time, his class ranking dropped by one spot compared to the final exams, increasing the gap between him and Qin Xiaoxiao by another position.

Moreover, this exam even introduced thresholds like the 985-line, the first-tier university line, and the second-tier university line. Ji Wenchen felt slightly frustrated—Qin Xiaoxiao had surpassed the 985-line by eight points, while he was only at the first-tier line.

A difference of over twenty points felt like a vast chasm between them.

Ji Wenchen leaned sideways against his desk, twirling a pen in his hand for several minutes.

Qin Xiaoxiao couldn’t help but notice and glanced sideways at him. “Feeling down because you didn’t do as well?” She was merely teasing casually.

“Mm.” Ji Wenchen flipped his fingers, stopping the pen in his hand.

She hadn’t expected that to truly be the reason.

Qin Xiaoxiao rubbed the corner of her exam paper with her fingertip and said softly, “Most exams are like this. If your review isn’t thorough or you don’t perform well, you might hit a bit of a plateau.”

In truth, that bit of frustration in Ji Wenchen’s heart was smaller than a fingernail, but hearing her gentle words of comfort, he deliberately magnified it, wearing it on his face. He was trying to elicit more of her care and concern—ideally, some additional consoling to make up for it.

Ji Wenchen lowered his long lashes and, in the most dejected tone he could muster, said, “A plateau, huh…”

“This isn’t a big deal,” Qin Xiaoxiao, unable to stand seeing him like this, comforted him gently. “After all, you’ve only been back at school for less than half a month. Staying in the top ten of the class is already excellent. Maybe you’re experiencing a ‘plateau effect.’”^[1]The “plateau effect” refers to a stage in learning, training, or development where progress appears to slow down or stagnate after initial rapid improvement.

Ji Wenchen let out a long, wistful sigh.

Qin Xiaoxiao felt a soft spot in her heart. “How about I help you go through your exam mistakes? I can summarize where you went wrong.”

“That would take up too much of your time.”

“It’s not that bad.”

“There’s a way for me to overcome this ‘plateau effect,’” Ji Wenchen said.

“What way?”

“You kiss me, on the lips…”

“Focus on your studies!”

Qin Xiaoxiao turned her face away, trying to hide the flush rising to her cheeks, and lowered her head to look at her exam paper.

“Alright, studying it is,” Ji Wenchen said, leaning slightly toward her, his phoenix eyes sparkling. “But… after evening self-study, would that be okay?”

…

Coincidentally, after the evening self-study session that day, a few basketball team members came looking for Ji Wenchen.

Back in December, Ji Wenchen had already handed over the captain position to Feng Maoxing, and the vice-captain role had also been assigned to someone else.

The team members were there to discuss the upcoming weekend’s team dinner, asking him about his availability and his dietary preferences.

Ji Wenchen was impatient about wasting time on such matters, so he casually said a few words to dismiss them.

When he turned back to look at the classroom, as expected, Qin Xiaoxiao was nowhere to be seen.

***

Ji Wenchen finally got a proper, meaningful kiss from his girlfriend after the second mock exam, on a day in May.

That day was Qin Xiaoxiao’s eighteenth birthday, coinciding with a Saturday during their half-month break.

Qin Xiaoxiao, however, didn’t remember the significance of the day at all.

Early in the morning, Qin Xiaoxiao woke up to find over a dozen unread texts and WeChat messages filling her phone’s preview screen. Her new age was marked by blessings from classmates, friends, and family.

Not long after breakfast, Ji Wenchen’s call came. He asked if she could come out, saying he was already waiting at the north gate of her neighborhood.

Qin Xiaoxiao tied her hair, changed her clothes, and told her mother in the living room before heading downstairs to meet him.

It was the same white car they had taken on New Year’s Eve. At the time, she hadn’t paid attention to the license plate, but now she noticed it clearly: J2Q13.

The meaning of the plate instantly clicked in Qin Xiaoxiao’s mind: “…” No wonder his dad found out so quickly that he had a girlfriend.

Ji Wenchen leaned against the car, hands in his pockets, and looked up at her with a teasing gaze. “Happy birthday.”

He stepped aside and opened the car door for her.

“Thanks,” Qin Xiaoxiao said as she got into the passenger seat.

Ji Wenchen shrugged slightly, too lazy to correct his girlfriend’s perpetually polite responses.

They went to an amusement park, enjoyed afternoon desserts, and watched an evening movie—things Qin Xiaoxiao rarely did, and even more so, it was her first time experiencing them with a boy.

The better part of the day passed quickly.

Qin Xiaoxiao needed to go home to have dinner with her family.

Ji Wenchen dropped her off at the entrance of her neighborhood.

The car stopped, but the doors remained locked.

Outside the windows, the early summer’s orange-red sunset spread across the deep blue sky like a vast canvas.

Inside the car, the lights were off, leaving it somewhat dim.

“You…” Qin Xiaoxiao turned her head, about to ask Ji Wenchen to unlock the door, but her gaze met a pair of phoenix eyes reflecting the brilliant hues of the sunset. “You… unlock the door.”

Her body leaned back against the car window and seat.

“Wait a moment,” Ji Wenchen’s voice was low and slightly hoarse.

He pressed down on her hand resting against the door handle, his long fingers gently parting her soft, slender ones. Slowly yet deliberately, he intertwined his fingers with hers.

Qin Xiaoxiao’s heart began to race.

His gaze was warmer and deeper than ever before, so much so that she found it overwhelming and wanted to turn her face away.

He used his other hand to gently hold her face in place.

Qin Xiaoxiao had nowhere to escape.

Ji Wenchen stared intently at her for two seconds, then leaned in closer, tilting his face toward hers.

Their warm breaths intertwined in the dim space.

The tip of his nose brushed against hers, and as he lowered his head further, his light-colored lips decisively pressed against the cherry-red lips he had long yearned for.

After holding the kiss for over two seconds, he pulled back slightly.

Qin Xiaoxiao, whose heart was pounding like a drum, thought it was over.

But his lips returned, pressing against hers once more before parting slightly to fully capture them in a deeper kiss.

It was no longer a fleeting touch but a deep, entangled kiss…

Qin Xiaoxiao passively tilted her face slightly upward, allowing him to ravage her lips and tongue at will.

It felt like an eternity before he finally pulled away. Her ears and cheeks were flushed a deep red.

Qin Xiaoxiao heard his breathing was slightly heavier than usual and saw him leaning in again. Flustered and annoyed, she pressed her hands against his chest and pushed him back. “I… I need to go home now.”

Ji Wenchen gently squeezed her soft fingers but ultimately let her go.

There’s plenty of time ahead.

He thought.

…

Qin Xiaoxiao once felt that time had been fast-forwarded ever since the start of the second semester of her final year. Later, she thought that after the second mock exam, it was as if time had been put on hyper-speed.

The third mock exam came not long after the second, and the National College Entrance Exam followed closely behind.

The highly anticipated and much-discussed National College Entrance Exam, which many people around her were fixated on, felt almost inconsequential to Qin Xiaoxiao, like water sliding off a duck’s back.

Time passed so quickly that there wasn’t even a chance to archive these days in her mind, already crammed with knowledge from various subjects.

Later, Qin Xiaoxiao’s memories of the period around the National College Entrance Exam consisted only of the creaking old fan spinning on the classroom ceiling, the red T-shirts with “Victory” printed on them worn by the teachers across the entire grade, the exam questions that weren’t too difficult, and the orange juice handed to her by Ji Wenchen.

Thanks to the provincial rule prohibiting early submission of exam papers, Ji Wenchen’s results were better than the average of his three mock exams.

He ranked 49th in the school and 1,437th in the province.

The first thing he did was send a text message to Qin Xiaoxiao, proudly reporting that he had made it into the top 50 of the grade.

Qin Xiaoxiao performed steadily, with slightly better-than-expected results, ranking 9th in the school and 392nd in the province.

Second High School was one of the top schools in Guangjian City but was not particularly outstanding across the province.

This year, however, Guangjian City garnered attention from its peer schools. Although it didn’t produce the province’s top science or liberal arts scorers, its first-tier university acceptance rate ranked second in the province, and its average score was the third highest. Simply put, the school had an unusually large number of consistently excellent students.

In short, the principal of Second High was overjoyed after reviewing the students’ results, rankings, and various analyses. He personally drafted an electronic congratulatory announcement and posted it on Guangjian City’s official portal website.

He even called back the top 50 students from the school who were deemed presentable to take group photos.

Naturally, both Ji Wenchen and Qin Xiaoxiao were among them.

Whether it was because the principal, a long-time lurker on the Second High School forum, knew about their relationship, or simply a coincidence, their half-body photos were placed side by side in the center of a nine-square grid.

The electronic report, published on Guangjian City’s portal website, garnered over 2,000 comments, likes, and shares—an unprecedented record for a site that usually had little traffic.

Some netizens casually shared the report on Weibo and QQ Space.

Most of the audience was captivated by the striking looks of Ji Wenchen, who had a handsome and slightly rebellious charm, and Qin Xiaoxiao, who was both beautiful and graceful. One popular comment noted that their outfits were in matching color tones, resembling couple outfits, and remarked that they looked very compatible together.

Before long, curious netizens with a knack for digging up gossip found their way to the Second High School forum, where they discovered that these two high-achieving, good-looking students were indeed a couple!

Moreover, the boy’s backstory appeared to be quite inspiring and legendary.

Countless onlookers were envious of the pure and beautiful romance between these two high-achieving individuals. The buzz even pushed the hashtag #SecondHighGoodLookingTopStudents to briefly trend on Weibo and Baidu’s hot search rankings.

At this time, the good-looking top student Ji Wenchen was on a short trip in H Province with Qin Xiaoxiao.

Fortunately, the online buzz didn’t spill over into their real lives and didn’t cause them any trouble.