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On Wednesday, the results of the monthly exam were printed and distributed.
For the first time ever, Zhuang Zi’ang had lost his top position.
Not only that, but all his subjects were marked as 0 points, placing him last in the grade.
Zhang Zhiyuan had to plead with the head of the teaching department to spare him from writing a self-reflection essay as punishment.
Upon seeing this result, the entire class was in disbelief.
“What happened? Did Zhuang Zi’ang not take the exam?”
“He’s the backbone of our class; this will really drag down the average score!”
“Something unusual must have happened; Zhuang Zi’ang must be in trouble.”
…
Various rumors spread throughout the class.
The most indignant was, of course, his good friend Li Huang Xuan.
“Impossible! Absolutely impossible! They must not have recorded your score. I’ll go get an explanation from Old Zhang!” he declared.
Zhuang Zi’ang quickly held him back. “No, it’s my own fault.”
“What do you mean? Did you turn in a blank paper?” Li Huangxuan asked, confused.
Zhuang Zi’ang smiled but didn’t answer.
The next class was Chinese, and the class representative, along with a few classmates, began distributing the exam papers.
Li Huang Xuan’s paper was the first to arrive, and he scored 111 points.
He frowned, “Am I destined to be a lifelong bachelor?”
Zhuang Zi’ang glanced at his mistakes, feeling despair. “You can’t even memorize ‘Jinse’?”
Li Huang Xuan’s face flushed, and he retorted, “What qualifications do you have to criticize me when you turned in a blank paper?”
As soon as he finished speaking, a paper floated over.
The class representative said to Zhuang Zi’ang, “Teacher Zhang specifically instructed that this paper belongs to you. I must say, your pen name is quite flamboyant.”
Li Huang Xuan, Lin Mu Shi, and the others all looked puzzled.
What pen name?
Who writes a pen name on an exam?
They leaned over to see Zhuang Zi’ang’s paper, which had an astonishing score of 137 points.
Achieving such a score in Chinese was quite remarkable.
“Then why do you have 0 points?” Lin Mu Shi asked, astonished.
As she looked closer at the name within the sealed section, it was written as Su Yudie, causing a surge of jealousy to rise in her heart.
How deeply infatuated must he be to write a girl’s name during an exam?
“Wow!” Li Huang Xuan slapped Zhuang Zi’ang on the back.
Knowing that he had been getting close to Xiao Butterfly lately, there was no need to show off like this!
What about me, the old bachelor who scored 111 points? How can I compete with that?
The case was solved; no wonder Zhuang Zi’ang had scored 0 points.
In the classroom, the chatter was overwhelming.
“Who is that Su Yudie?”
“She’s the pretty girl who was looking for Zhuang Zi’ang outside the classroom last time.”
“Dating has a huge impact on studies; he dropped straight from first to last.”
“If I had such a beautiful girlfriend, I wouldn’t just take one exam—I’d gather the stars from the sky for her.”
…
In the following classes, the exam papers were gradually handed out.
Zhuang Zi’ang’s scores were all extraordinarily high, leaving everyone dumbfounded.
But the name Su Yudie at the top of the papers was particularly glaring and made people grit their teeth in frustration.
What a way to flaunt his affection!
For someone like him, the punishment of invalidating his scores was far too lenient.
He should be made to write a thirty-thousand-word self-reflection.
During the break, a classmate called out, “Zhuang Zi’ang, someone’s looking for you outside.”
Zhuang Zi’ang jumped up and rushed out of the classroom, spotting the meticulous Deng Haijun.
The disappointment in his eyes was all too evident.
Deng Haijun handed Zhuang Zi’ang the report card for Class 15, showing him his ranking.
His class rank and overall grade rank were both clearly marked as 1.
“Haijun, congratulations! You finally got what you wished for,” Zhuang Zi’ang said with a smile.
“I checked the overall grade rankings on the teacher’s computer. If you were second or third, I might have been a little happy, but you’re ranked one thousand seventy-five!” Deng Haijun exclaimed angrily.
“I told you on the first day after the exam that I forgot to write my name,” Zhuang Zi’ang teased lightly.
“You’re just escaping at the last minute; that’s not manly.”
Winning first place in such a way left Deng Haijun without any joy.
He insisted on seeing Zhuang Zi’ang’s exam papers, or he wouldn’t be able to sleep.
Zhuang Zi’ang, feeling exasperated by his persistence, had no choice but to return to the classroom and retrieve the exam papers.
Deng Haijun added up the total score, letting out a wail of despair: “Ah—”
“What are you screaming about?” Zhuang Zi’ang complained.
“I’m just two points short! I was so close to winning you fairly,” Deng Haijun lamented.
Zhuang Zi’ang laughed heartily, thinking that this guy was quite endearing.
While others focused on the name Su Yudie, he was seriously calculating the total scores.
The mindset of a top student was indeed different from that of ordinary people.
“By the way, are you participating in the physics competition next month?” Deng Haijun asked.
“I’m not participating; I probably won’t have time,” Zhuang Zi’ang replied decisively without a second thought.
When he said he didn’t have time, it was purely a literal statement.
Deng Haijun showed an expression of exasperation and secretly vowed to keep his distance from girls.
Such creatures were far too demotivating.
Zhuang Zi’ang was a living example.
How could girls possibly be more interesting than physics problems?
After taking a picture of Class 15’s report card as evidence, Zhuang Zi’ang sent Deng Haijun away and returned to his seat to take a nap.
“Zhuang Zi’ang, someone’s looking for you outside,” another voice called.
“This guy just doesn’t know when to quit,” Zhuang Zi’ang muttered as he got up and walked out of the classroom.
In the hallway, many classmates were chasing and playing around.
Amid the quick-moving figures stood a quiet silhouette.
It was a beautiful girl with an oval face and almond-shaped eyes, a lopsided braid resting on her left shoulder.
She wore a pure white shirt paired with a deep blue pleated skirt that reached her calves, and her spotless white canvas shoes completed the look.
Sunlight bathed her in a golden glow, making her appear almost radiant.
Just like their first meeting under the ginkgo tree, it felt like an eternity in a single glance.
However, unlike before, the peach blossom that used to adorn her hair was gone.
Her figure was even more slender, and her face looked somewhat pale.
“Xiao Butterfly…” Zhuang Zi’ang called out, lost in a moment of blankness.
“Big dummy!” Su Yudie smiled, but her voice carried a slight tremor, as if she were on the verge of tears.
Zhuang Zi’ang held his breath; his heart raced as he cautiously stepped closer.
He reached out a hand, afraid that the girl before him was a fleeting dream, shattering at the slightest touch.
Until his fingertips finally brushed against her soft cheek.
The warm sensation clearly registered in his mind.
Tears streamed down his face, blurring his vision.
“Xiao Butterfly, where have you been? I really missed you.”
“Big dummy, I’m back! Why are you crying? We promised to be happy every day,” she replied.
Zhuang Zi’ang’s emotions affected Su Yudie as well, and her eyes filled with tears, resembling two clear springs.
Her delicate expression was heart-wrenching.
If it weren’t for being outside the classroom with many classmates around, Zhuang Zi’ang would have embraced her without hesitation.
But in this moment, they could only gaze at each other deeply, words failing them.
Xiao Butterfly had been gone for a whole week.
During this time, Zhuang Zi’ang deeply understood the saying, “A day apart feels like three autumns.”
Now that she had returned, her gaunt figure and pale complexion filled him with immense sorrow.
What had she been through this past week?