Fortunately, Jing Tian performed quite well once the exam officially began.

The efforts he put in during this period paid off, as the majority of the questions on the exam were within his grasp of knowledge.

As he wrote, he couldn’t help but think of Zheng Xunqian.

Zheng Xunqian had taught him all of this. He had explained, analyzed, and patiently dissected every possible topic that could appear on the exam with a calm tone.

Jing Tian could even recall his tone of voice and expressions at that time, as well as the content he had explained.

During the exam breaks, he discreetly glanced in Zheng Xunqian’s direction.

The exam seats were arranged randomly, and Zheng Xunqian was far away from him, so he could only see his back from his angle.

Zheng Xunqian was leaning on one hand, tilting his head, writing at a relaxed pace, his attitude appearing quite casual, as if he was handling it with ease.

Jing Tian didn’t know why, but he felt like laughing. He silently watched for two seconds, then lowered his head again, focusing earnestly on answering the questions.

After the exam ended, he immediately went to compare answers with Zheng Xunqian.

The results left him very pleased.

There were a few minor mistakes, but overall, his accuracy was quite good. Passing was definitely not a problem, and while it might not reach excellence, it was at least satisfactory.

“Who deserves the most credit?” Zheng Xunqian asked him.

Jing Tian said excitedly, “I’ll treat you to a meal!”

Zheng Xunqian immediately smiled, “Thank you. Have you thought about where to go for fun this weekend?”

Jing Tian was at a loss and felt troubled.

As they chatted, they walked out of the classroom. When they looked up, they bumped into Zhao Qinqing again. She pursed her lips and looked at the two of them with wide eyes, appearing to want to say something but hesitating.

Jing Tian awkwardly flashed her a smile, and she smiled back, albeit somewhat foolishly.

The atmosphere was oddly tense.

However, Zheng Xunqian seemed completely oblivious to all of this and very casually held Jing Tian’s hand, saying, “If we can’t decide, write down all the places you can think of on a piece of paper, and we’ll draw lots.”

While speaking, he inserted his fingers into the gaps between Jing Tian’s fingers and held them tightly.

Jing Tian’s attention was still on Zhao Qinqing, and his face turned bright red.

Zhao Qinqing stared at their intertwined hands for a few seconds, sighed with emotion, then raised her hand and gave Jing Tian a very meaningless thumbs-up.

Jing Tian felt like he could understand what she was trying to express.

To handle such a man, impressive.

No, Jing Tian thought ashamedly, I don’t have that ability. If anything, I’m the one who’s been handled.

After returning to the dormitory, Jing Tian enthusiastically did something quite childish.

He found a piece of paper, cut it into a square, and folded it into a simple “North, South, East, West” game. He wrote various popular date ideas on the eight inner faces, then took a picture and sent it to Zheng Xunqian.

Zheng Xunqian quickly made a video call.

Jing Tian awkwardly propped his phone upright on a book, opened his hands to display the handicraft he had just finished.

“Quick,” he held up the side with “North, South, East, West” facing the camera, and rapidly moved his index finger and thumb a few times, smiling as he said, “Pick a direction and then give me a number!”

Zheng Xunqian didn’t seem unfamiliar with this thing. After thinking for a moment, he said, “I want South, two hundred.”

As he spoke, the corners of his lips noticeably lifted. While Jing Tian was speechless, he silently thought to himself that Zheng Xunqian seemed to have become someone who smiled a lot recently.

“Doing this two times or two hundred times gives the same result,” he said to Zheng Xunqian, “So let’s simplify it to two times.”

Zheng Xunqian nodded as if coaxing a child, “Very clever.”

Jing Tian quickly finished the two strokes, lowered his head to confirm what was written on that side, and said, “The aquarium! Shall we go to the aquarium?”

“Okay,” Zheng Xunqian had no objections, “To celebrate your progress during this period, I’ll treat you.”

That evening, Jing Tian diligently searched online for various information about the only aquarium in the city.

Not long ago, he thought dating wasn’t meaningful, but now that the location was set, he quickly became excited and filled with anticipation.

Just as he was getting into it, he received a call from home.

Jing Tian’s mother’s surname was Wei, and her full name was Wei Shengnan. She was indeed a spirited and quite assertive person. She would talk to Jing Tian on the phone at least twice a week. Jing Tian was afraid of her finding out about his amnesia and worrying, so he didn’t dare to communicate with her too much recently. He always found excuses to hang up quickly, send messages instead, and hadn’t exposed any flaws yet.

When the call connected, Wei Shengnan’s tone sounded cheerful, “Son, remember to free up your time this weekend, I’m coming to see you.”

Jing Tian was taken aback.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?” Wei Shengnan couldn’t hear a response and was quite puzzled, “Hello? Hello, can you hear me?”

“I can,” Jing Tian was at a loss for words, “but this weekend… um… how come you suddenly have time?”

Wei Shengnan was a workaholic, a busy person. She was immersed in her career all year round, spending more than half of the year abroad, flying around the world several times. Jing Tian had spent little time with her since childhood, with them being separated for most of the year. Jing Tian’s complete memory only went up to his senior year of high school, and at that time, he had been living at school for a long time, not seeing Wei Shengnan for several months. Considering that they hadn’t communicated much before, if they suddenly had the opportunity to meet, Jing Tian would be very excited.

For him, it had been three years, and he didn’t know if his beloved mother had changed.

“I’ve always had time,” Wei Shengnan said cheerfully, “What’s wrong? Are you blaming me for not coming to see you during this time? So I’m coming now.”

Jing Tian was puzzled. To cover up, he quickly coughed and lowered his head.

“What’s wrong? Do you have plans this weekend?” Wei Shengnan asked casually, “Are you meeting up with friends? Is it that Zheng Xunqian?”

Jing Tian was stunned.

“Huh? Is it really him?” Wei Shengnan was surprised, “Really? Then… then I’ll come over next week. Remember to keep next week free for me.”

After hanging up the phone, Jing Tian felt a bit dazed, unable to wrap his head around it.

It was strange. Why did his mother know about Zheng Xunqian? What kind of communication had he and his mother had in the past?

In the midst of confusion, Yang Yue opened the door to the dorm and approached. Seeing Jing Tian’s expression, he showed surprise again, “What’s wrong now? What’s with that expression?”

“My mom is coming…” Jing Tian murmured.

“Oh, your mom is coming?” Yang Yue smiled, “That’s great, I’ve been missing her a bit. Why are you so nervous?”

They’ve actually met before.

“I…” Jing Tian’s mind was a mess, “Should I dye my hair back first? I’m afraid she’ll worry if she sees me like this now. I used to be… very obedient.”

Yang Yue chuckled, “You’re still very obedient now. Don’t worry, she likes you just the way you are.”

Jing Tian blinked twice.

Since childhood, Jing Tian knew that his mother was a very energetic and decisive woman. She was used to taking care of everything for him and felt extremely pleased and satisfied with his obedient and sensible behavior, only occasionally complaining about his excessive introversion and lack of liveliness.

The past Jing Tian never had the opportunity to know that Wei Shengnan was actually a very open-minded person. Not only that, she also had a sensitive and delicate side, worrying that her son and herself weren’t intimate enough, secretly blaming herself for neglecting to care for the family, attributing Jing Tian’s personality to her own parenting style, and wanting to make up for it but not knowing how.

When the past Jing Tian gathered the courage to tell her that he had pierced his ears, she flew over from afar out of surprise and concern, and was startled by his ashy hair.

After that, the two of them talked for a long time, saying many things on their minds, and in the end, they both cried almost uncontrollably.

“When you came back that day, your eyes were red, saying you were so touched, and even said your mom is the best mom in the world,” Yang Yue said, laughing, “You two are so close now, you talk about everything.”

“…Does she know that I like guys?” Jing Tian asked, stiffening all over.

“It seems like she does,” Yang Yue said.

Jing Tian frowned, thinking that he couldn’t possibly tell her about his crush on Zheng Xunqian, that would be too much.

“What’s wrong?” Yang Yue asked, “Did she ask about something?”

Jing Tian hesitated for a moment, then shook his head. This matter was a bit complicated, and Yang Yue probably had no understanding of these details. It would be pointless to ask, so he decided not to mention it for now.

It would be great if he could remember everything sooner.

The day he had agreed to meet Zheng Xunqian arrived soon.

Jing Tian got up early specifically, carefully dressed before leaving, washing his hair first, then taking out his jewelry box from the drawer and carefully selecting from it. He had a total of five ear piercings, three on the left and two on the right. During this period, he had only worn earrings in the bottom piercing of his left ear, leaving the others empty.

He had heard that if you didn’t wear them for a long time after getting them pierced, they would close up easily and could easily get infected. Jing Tian mentally prepared himself, opened his friend circle, carefully compared with past photos, and meticulously selected earrings to fill all five ear piercings, feeling that he had done quite well.

After looking in the mirror for a while, he looked at himself with a strange sense of satisfaction, still appearing obedient but dressed up.

He also took out what looked like a matching set of bracelets and necklaces from the jewelry box and put them on.

“Wow, handsome guy, where are you going today, all dressed up like a playboy?” Yang Yue asked.

Jing Tian shyly smiled at him, “Hehe.”

He wanted to tell Yang Yue that he might not come back tonight, but when the words reached his mouth, he swallowed them back, deciding to send a message later when it was closer to evening.

It would be embarrassing if Yang Yue teased him about it face to face.

As he walked out of the dormitory building, he unexpectedly ran into Chu Chen Tao, whom he hadn’t contacted during this time.

Chu Chen Tao, seeing his appearance, widened his eyes in surprise. The two stared at each other for half a second, and Chu Chen Tao took a step forward and opened his mouth, seeming to want to greet him.

Jing Tian deliberately turned his head away.

Damn, he thought to himself sneakily, quickly walking past Chu Chen Tao.

He noticed that Chu Chen Tao had been looking at him all along. He instinctively raised his chin and hummed lightly.

He thought to himself, if Chu Chen Tao asks where he’s going, he’ll just tell him straightforwardly that he’s going on a date with Zheng Xunqian.

Thinking of Zheng Xunqian, his mood immediately improved slightly.

Would Zheng Xunqian notice that he had dressed up specially today?

It would be great if he liked it.

After hesitating for a while, Chu Chen Tao finally spoke up, “What a coincidence, you…”

Hearing the voice coming from behind from a distance, Jing Tian immediately quickened his pace and ran forward, thinking to himself, I’ll just ignore him.