Chapter 9

Fang Zhuo didn’t pay attention to Yan Lie’s odd behavior. He always had strange points of humor, and she opened the lunchbox to see what was inside.

She had already eaten lunch and drank a big glass of water, so she wasn’t hungry. Fortunately, Ye Yuncheng hadn’t prepared rice for her.

The first layer of the lunchbox contained a few small crispy fish, some braised pork ribs, a serving of shredded potatoes, and two small spring rolls. She should be able to finish it.

Zhao Jiayou walked over holding a list, slapped it on Yan Lie’s desk, and asked, “The relay race hasn’t been arranged yet. Yan Lie, what leg are you running?”

Yan Lie took his eyes off the lunchbox and replied, “Whatever.”

Zhao Jiayou lowered his head to write, “Then I’ll run the first leg, you take the fourth leg.”

Fang Zhuo picked up her chopsticks and, hearing this, added, “Should I sign up too?”

“Oh?” Zhao Jiayou seemed quite surprised, feeling that this was the first time Fang Zhuo had actively participated in a group activity, which deserved encouragement. “Sure! What do you want to sign up for? Our fun race still has spots left.”

Fang Zhuo said something shocking: “Sign me up for the 3-kilometer race.”

The entire classroom went silent. Shen Musi turned around with a look of disbelief, worried that she might have been triggered by something.

Zhao Jiayou paused, holding the pen, and said in a daze, “…We don’t have a 3-kilometer race for girls, only a 1.5-kilometer race.”

Fang Zhuo regretfully said, “Then sign me up for the 1.5-kilometer.”

Zhao Jiayou didn’t say anything, but her gaze shifted to Yan Lie’s face, silently asking him for confirmation.

Fang Zhuo said inexplicably, “Why are you looking at him? I’m the one signing up.”

Even Yan Lie, who was normally composed, asked in shock, “Are you… sure? The 1.5-kilometer race is almost four laps around our track.”

With your small frame, are you sure you won’t collapse halfway?

Fang Zhuo thought their doubts were unreasonable and repeated, “I’m fine, just sign me up.”

Since no girls were willing to sign up for the 1.5-kilometer race, Zhao Jiayou saw her insistence and added her name. Anyway, their class never aimed for any top positions in the sports competition, so if she didn’t participate later, it wouldn’t matter.

After Zhao Jiayou finished tallying the names, he happily ran off to give the form to the class teacher. Fang Zhuo opened the second lunchbox and found a cake inside.

The top was covered with a thick layer of cream. From the heavy feel, there should be a lot of fruit in the middle, and it was made quite firmly.

In this weather, if the cake were left until evening, it might spoil. Fang Zhuo was just starting to feel a headache when her desk mate nudged her elbow.

When did he start speaking so politely?

Fang Zhuo looked at him in surprise.

Yan Lie propped his cheek with one hand and asked politely, “Are you in a good mood today?”

Fang Zhuo replied, “Didn’t you just say I was blooming?”

Yan Lie chuckled, “Then can I ask you a question?”

Fang Zhuo felt a little uneasy and said, “…Go ahead.”

“Do you like cake?”

Fang Zhuo actually wasn’t particularly fond of sweets, so she shook her head.

Yan Lie asked innocently, “Then how do you think the God of Wealth knew I liked cake?”

Fang Zhuo: “……”

Alright. 

Got it. 

Understood.

She dutifully placed the cake in front of Yan Lie and gestured for him to enjoy it. Yan Lie, who had suddenly perked up, smiled brightly and said, “Thank you, God of Wealth!”

Shen Musi swiftly turned around and, before he could speak, Yan Lie pushed him back with a big hand, saying, “It’s not your business. Go do your homework!”

Shen Musi sighed helplessly.

There was a number written on the cream, along with some crooked candles drawn beside it, making it easy to tell it was a birthday cake.

Yan Lie took a spoonful from the edge and, pulling Fang Zhuo’s sleeve, shared it with her. “It’s really good.”

Fang Zhuo replied, “Okay.”

“Then should I cut the number?”

“You eat it.”

“…”

No matter what decision Yan Lie made, it seemed like he always wanted Fang Zhuo to be involved. She was left with a head full of question marks, but couldn’t say anything, so she just responded with some perfunctory words on the side.

But Yan Lie kept on chatting. By the time he finished eating, even Fang Zhuo knew what the cake tasted like.

Yan Lie closed the lunchbox lid, and when Fang Zhuo reached out to take it, he somehow pulled out a lighter and held it up in the air. Through the flickering flame, he smiled and said, “Happy birthday.”

Fang Zhuo blew out the flame in one go, and was about to explain when she heard the class teacher’s low, thunderous voice from behind: “Yan Lie!”

Yan Lie quickly tucked the lighter away, but it was too late. The teacher grabbed him by the collar, pulled him up, and questioned, “Do you smoke?”

Yan Lie sincerely said, “I don’t!”

“Then why do you have a lighter on you?”

The class teacher dragged him to the back of the classroom and pointed to Shen Musi, signaling him to search Yan Lie’s body.

Shen Musi rummaged through his pockets and only found a few bills and some loose change.

“This guy doesn’t have anything but money!” Shen Musi said with regret. “He hides it too well!”

Yan Lie chuckled and cursed, “Go to hell!”

Since the teacher had no evidence, she had no choice but to let him go, but took his lighter away. She walked around the classroom, maintaining a tense atmosphere, before turning and heading to the office.

Not long later, she returned, placed a book on Fang Zhuo’s desk, and quickly left again.

It was clearly a used study guide.

Fang Zhuo was puzzled. She opened it and found it contained important class notes, along with various classic problems and detailed solutions.

Fang Zhuo had transferred to this school in her second year of high school. Her previous school’s teaching staff was nothing compared to A High’s, and there was a large gap in the basics and problem-solving techniques.

A High’s classes moved quickly, and the workload was heavy. The teachers couldn’t slow down just to accommodate Fang Zhuo, and she didn’t have the time to go back and make up for the basics. 

When it came to science, she generally relied on a large amount of calculation to make up for her lack of technique. Fortunately, her mind worked quickly, and even if she didn’t use the most optimal methods, her problem-solving speed was still faster than most students.

The notes in this study guide, however, covered various key points in detail and even listed some middle school-level concepts.

Yan Lie saw the name on the cover and explained, “This is from one of our senior students, a very famous dark horse. In just one year, he went from being ranked over 400 to the top 50. What was his name? ‘Prodigal Son Returns?'”

After a pause, he added, “But his grades might not be better than mine. If you don’t understand anything, feel free to ask me.”

Fang Zhuo was quite grateful. Although her science grades were decent, she had always found it difficult to take that next step. 

She didn’t know how the teacher had come by the item, but for the other students, it might not be very useful. For her, it was like finding light in a dark room.

“I’ll ask you if I don’t understand something,” Fang Zhuo said. “Thank you.”

·

Fang Zhuo washed the lunchbox clean and placed it in a well-ventilated area to dry. 

Though the pale pink and white colors didn’t quite match her usual aesthetic, she still really liked these two lunchboxes and even brought them the next day when she went to get her meal.

She usually went to the cafeteria a bit later and only ordered one dish. By then, the cafeteria staff had already recognized her. When they saw her, the aunt at the window habitually took the tray and scooped a large spoonful of rice into it.

“Use this one,” Fang Zhuo said as she handed over the lunchbox. “I’ll pack it today.”

The aunt joked, “Bought a new lunchbox, huh?”

Fang Zhuo smiled lightly. “Yeah.”

Such small things seemed to bring a little happiness.

The aunt intentionally added a little extra dish to her lunchbox and asked, “We’ve got chicken soup today, want some?”

Fang Zhuo nodded. “Thank you.”

Most of the seats in the cafeteria were already empty, and the staff was cleaning the tables. Fang Zhuo found a clean spot, sat down, and just as she settled in, a shadow followed and sat down across from her.

Fang Zhuo initially thought it was Bai Lu Fei’s persistent ghost, but when she looked closer, she realized it was Yan Lie. Her brows, which had been furrowed, relaxed slightly, and she suspiciously asked, “What are you doing?”

Yan Lie glanced at Fang Zhuo’s lunchbox. The rice was topped with only a small amount of stir-fried cabbage in a bland broth. He placed his large bowl down and said, with a serious tone, “Eyeing what’s in the pot as one eats from one’s bowl. Yesterday, you shared a cake with me, today I’ll share lunch with you.”

Fang Zhuo wanted to say no, but Yan Lie moved quickly, scooping a large portion of her rice into his own bowl and sharing half of his stir-fried noodles with her.

Since they both came a bit late, the food was already somewhat cold. But his noodles were freshly fried and steaming hot, with added meat and eggs, looking very tempting.

Fang Zhuo opened her mouth to say something, but Yan Lie cut her off first. “Eat meat if you want to grow fast. You’re so thin that even a gust of wind could blow you away. You still want to run 1500 meters? Are you trying to become a kite?”

He used his chopsticks to move the noodles around before lowering his head to eat a couple of bites of rice. Because the rice was cold, he didn’t taste much at first, but when he hit the flavorful part, he paused in surprise and said, “Your rice is pretty good!”

Fang Zhuo: “……”

It was just her chicken soup rice.

·

After finishing their meal, they packed up the trays and headed back to class together.

Yan Lie walked lightly beside Fang Zhuo and finally found the opportunity to ask, “Why didn’t you stay at your uncle’s house last week?”

Fang Zhuo didn’t know how to answer in a way that wouldn’t sound stupid, so she pretended she hadn’t heard and quietly turned her head away.

Yan Lie placed a hand lightly on her shoulder and chuckled. “You’re not very good at pretending, are you?”

They entered the classroom one after the other. 

As Yan Lie pulled out a chair to sit down, he saw a delicately packaged cake box sitting in the corner of the desk, with a piece of note paper under a book, the corner of it slightly visible.

Fang Zhuo glanced at it, not clearly seeing what was written, but the paper was already ripped off by Yan Lie. She casually averted her gaze and took out some cleaning solution to wash her lunchbox at the sink.

By the time she returned, Yan Lie’s desk was already clear. He was standing by the window, chatting with someone, his expression casual as if nothing had happened.

The first class in the afternoon was math, taught by a middle-aged man whose hair was rapidly thinning and nearing a Mediterranean style. 

Right after the lunch break, he hurried into the classroom with a set of test papers, handing them to the students in the front row to distribute before pulling up the course materials on his computer.

A few minutes later, he noticed the small gift by the podium and immediately laughed. He picked up the cake box and asked, “Who gave me this? Why send me a cake out of the blue? Did I do something wrong? Come on, raise your hand if you’re guilty! Don’t do this, it’s making me nervous!”

Students lifted their heads, not yet fully awake from their drowsiness, all with languid expressions.

The math teacher held up the box and spun around once, then tore off a heart-shaped piece of paper from the back. While smiling, he read aloud, “Class 3-1, all the students, to our most respected teacher… This handwriting—Lie Lie, right? You didn’t even write who it’s for. Is this for me?”

Yan Lie clapped and said, “Thank you for your hard work, Teacher!”  

A bunch of boys followed suit, clapping and causing a commotion.

“It’s really for me?” The math teacher felt something was off and asked suspiciously, “You’re showing affection for no reason, what’s going on?”

Yan Lie said, “Because you’re sweet!”

Everyone burst into laughter. The math teacher couldn’t help but laugh too.

After thinking it over for a while, he asked with some concern, “Is it just for me, or did the other teachers get one too?”

Yan Lie replied, “Just you. I only had one box.”

“All right then.” The teacher carefully set the cake aside and rubbed his hands together. “Since you’re being so good to me, I have to return the favor, don’t I? I’ll give you a bit less homework over the Mid-Autumn break.”

“Yes——!”  

Everyone suddenly perked up, eyes wide with surprise and joy.

“Take out the test paper you just received,” the math teacher said. “You don’t have to do the last fill-in-the-blank question, and you can skip the third sub-question of the last big problem.”

Everyone looked closely and realized that the test paper was from a different province’s college entrance exam and didn’t match their review topics at all. The two questions he circled weren’t even in their syllabus.

Realizing they’d been tricked, a wave of boos rippled through the classroom.

“Class is starting, class is starting!” The person on the podium straightened his face and snorted disdainfully, “You’re already in senior year and still thinking about slacking off? Trying to bribe me? If you were good-looking, maybe—but you’re just dreaming!”

“Ugh——”  

The whole class groaned, some covering their heads, sighing in a mix of embarrassment and amusement. The irritation from earlier was completely smoothed over.

Wei Xi raised their hand and said, “Teacher, stop talking. We’ll write! Just promise us you’ll use fewer internet memes next time, okay?”

Fang Zhuo folded the test paper and wrote her name on the front. She noticed a gaze lingering faintly on her from beside her. After writing the final stroke, she couldn’t help turning to face him, raising an eyebrow and asking, “Why are you sneaking peeks at me?”

She thought he’d at least be a little embarrassed, but Yan Lie simply lowered his crossed arms, smiling with a kind of frankness that made it hard to be annoyed. He said straightforwardly and sincerely, “You look really good when you smile.”

Fang Zhuo thought for two seconds and still couldn’t figure out how to respond. The person across from her always seemed to scramble her language system. Unable to sort her thoughts, she merely shot him a sidelong glance and pulled her focus back to her workbook.

That glance, however, caused Yan Lie to restrain his usual boldness a little. His heart felt like it had just been washed by a gentle rain. He straightened his posture, picked up his book, and listened to the lecture seriously.