Chapter 10: Monthly Exam Results

After the banquet ended, everyone parted ways contentedly.

On their way back, they no longer shared the same car, but rode in their respective family vehicles. The two cars drove toward the residential area, one following the other.

After getting out of their cars, the adults chatted for a while longer, with Jiang Chiyu and Su Tian standing beside them as companions, only returning to their respective homes after the adults finished talking.

Su Tian returned to her room, washed up, took a bath, and then flopped onto her soft bed, hugging her oversized Rabbit plushie while lost in thought.

Despite everything that had happened today, it all still felt surreal.

Her nightmare childhood friend had moved back.

And transferred to their class.

And even became her deskmate.

Though now he didn’t seem quite as nightmarish as before.

But his personality was still terrible!

Su Tian got angry just thinking about it, swinging her little pink fists to pummel the Rabbit pushie, clearly imagining it was Jiang Chiyu.

The poor rabbit plushie, still hugging its carrot, continued to smile happily at the ceiling.

Su Tian calmed down and gently rubbed the spots where she had hit the plushie before lying down properly and closing her eyes. She quickly drifted off to sleep.

What Su Tian didn’t know was that at that very moment, she was at the center of a heated online discussion.

That evening, on Yangming No. 1 High School’s student forum, a user named “Xu Xu Xu” posted three photos with only three words: “No caption needed.”

The first photo showed a boy and a girl walking side by side on the cherry blossom boulevard in front of the school gates, with only their backs visible. The girl wore a school uniform, while the boy was in casual wear. Cherry blossoms scattered everywhere, creating a beautiful composition.

The second photo showed the same uniformed girl standing by a car, slightly bending forward to talk to someone in the passenger seat. Due to the distance, only a blurry profile was visible.

The third photo showed the same car and uniformed girl, but this time the boy in black from the first photo was also in frame. He was leaning against the car, holding open the back door as the uniformed girl was getting in. This photo was also blurry, as if taken with a basic camera.

The original poster grabbed the first reply, saying only: The boy is the new transfer student who just came to our school today, instantly becoming the school heartthrob.

The thread quickly gained traction due to its connection to the school heartthrob.

Third reply: “Although… OP, are you a caveman? How are we supposed to see he’s a heartthrob with this image quality?”

Fourth reply: “The girl looks somewhat familiar.”

Fifth reply: “Crap, it really is him! Don’t you know about the super handsome guy who just transferred to our first year, third reply?”

Several responses followed the fifth reply:

—I went to check during break. Damn, he’s really handsome – good-looking face, great physique, and most fatally, amazing fashion sense!

—Ah, who is it? I really don’t know, can someone fill me in?

—I agree about the fashion sense, just look at that outfit. But how did you recognize him just from these clothes?

The original commenter replied: Just from his aura.

Eighteenth reply: “So you’ve all been praising the transfer student, but has no one noticed who the girl is?”

Nineteenth reply: “Probably his girlfriend? They got into the same car after all.”

…

Fifty-seventh reply: “Those two braids… the profile looks like the Chinese Language class rep from Class 3… the photos are too blurry! OP, how did you even take these? The ones from outside school are clearer than the ones inside.”

Hundred and twelfth reply: “Looks a bit like Su to me too. But did they know each other before? If not, this relationship is moving way too fast… I can’t like a player no matter how handsome he is.”

The original poster “Xu Xu Xu” never responded.

The post existed for an hour, quickly accumulating over three hundred replies. Just as more people were being drawn to it, the OP deleted the thread.

The deletion only intensified people’s curiosity, leading to various speculations, including whether the OP had been threatened by the new school heartthrob.

Several discussion threads sprouted up on the forum like bamboo shoots after rain.

However, no one expected Xu Xu Xu to delete the main thread, and the many new threads were mostly meaningless posts from people who hadn’t seen the original asking questions. The real details disappeared along with the original post’s deletion, and the administrators soon removed most of the related threads.

The next day, Su Tian unusually woke up early, though her mind was still asleep even if her body was awake. She went downstairs for breakfast in a daze after washing up.

Mrs. Su was an early riser as usual, already seated at the dining table, holding her delicate cutlery while taking small bites of breakfast.

Su Tian yawned, “Good morning, Mom.”

Mrs. Su gave a faint “mm” in response.

Just as Su Tian was about to sit down, she looked up to see her father in the semi-open kitchen making exaggerated facial expressions at her. She froze for a moment, her mind instantly clearing.

Whenever her father gave her that look, it meant her mother had caught her doing something wrong.

Su Tian’s mind raced, trying to recall what she might have done wrong. Everything had been fine when she got home last night, and she’d gone straight to her room to sleep, and until now, she hadn’t had time to do anything.

She replayed every moment from last night until now in her mind, but Su Tian couldn’t figure out what the problem might be.

Her father kept mouthing words at her, but Su Tian couldn’t make them out after studying his lips for a while, and she pouted dejectedly.

Suddenly, her father’s expression changed, and he lowered his head to fiddle with the plate in his hands.

Sure enough, turning around, Mrs. Su was looking their way. Her expression… was very cold!

Despite this, Mrs. Su didn’t say anything. Their family believed in not speaking during meals, so Su Tian didn’t dare ask now. She reluctantly sat down and ate breakfast with a heavy heart.

Her father sat down too, placing a glass of milk on the table in front of Su Tian.

Finally, the torturous breakfast period ended. Despite it being time to rush to the office, Mr. Su picked up a newspaper and sat on the sofa to read.

Su Tian, who had unusually woken up early today, put her plate in the dishwasher and, after glancing at her mother sitting on the sofa with her back turned, slowly tried to go upstairs to her room.

“Stop right there.” Mrs. Su seemed to have eyes in the back of her head.

Su Tian froze in place, not daring to move.

“Yunhong, you’ll be late if you don’t leave now.” Mrs. Su said expressionlessly to Mr. Su.

Mr. Su gave a dry laugh, “It’s fine to be a bit late, things aren’t busy lately.”

Mrs. Su fell silent.

A suffocating silence.

Su Tian felt her legs going numb from standing when she finally heard the verdict. “Su Tian, are your monthly exam results out?”

Su Tian’s face went pale.

So that was it.

Mrs. Su stood up and turned to face her, “I only saw the results table posted in the class group chat last night. Your teacher handed out all the test papers yesterday afternoon. You knew your results right after school yesterday, didn’t you?”

Su Tian nodded slightly.

“Then why didn’t you come tell me your results last night? I sat in the living room waiting for you from the moment I saw the message, waiting until your room light went out, but I never saw your test papers.”

Su Tian was startled and quickly explained, “That’s because I forgot…”