Chapter 116

The next day was bright and sunny, the sky a pure blue without a hint of impurity after the rain.

At the bus stop, a crowd had formed, stretching out in a line as each person tried to secure a spot they believed would give them an advantage in getting a seat. With his backpack slung over his chest and a vocabulary book in hand, Mo Yin stood behind a burly office worker, his head lowered.

As the crowd began to stir, Mo Yin lifted his head and saw the bus slowly approaching.

When the bus stopped, people surged forward, the sound of card swipes and occasional coins clinking filling the air.

With his head still lowered, Mo Yin pushed forward, clutching his vocabulary book in one hand and protecting his backpack with the other as he moved into the bus. Once the doors closed, he found an empty spot to stand, ignoring the curious glances from those around him by focusing intently on his vocabulary book.

“The University Affiliated High School stop. Please exit in an orderly fashion. The bus is pausing. Please hold on to the handrails.”

Clutching his backpack tightly, he squeezed toward the door, ignoring the muttered comment from someone nearby about “kids from the affiliated school always dodging fares.” He got off the bus and headed straight for the school gate, neither blushing nor looking back.

The University Affiliated High School was the city’s top public high school, accepting only the best students. If you scored below 710 on the entrance exam, you couldn’t even dream of getting in.

The school in the morning was full of sunshine and energy. Boys and girls, in groups of twos and threes, laughed and chatted as they walked in, some showing off by skidding to a stop on their mountain bikes, causing laughter and mock curses.

Mo Yin shifted his backpack to his back, still looking down at his vocabulary book.

His stomach twisted with pain; he had eaten some leftover rice soaked in soup for breakfast. The pot of rice had been in the fridge for days, likely spoiled by now.

Enduring the stomachache, he entered the classroom, put down his backpack, and walked out.

“Really? Can’t be true…”

“Why would I lie? Mo Yufan said he saw it with his own eyes.”

“No way, he doesn’t seem like that kind of person. And for just two yuan? Is it necessary?”

People entered the restroom, interrupting the conversation. The two who had been talking glanced at the newcomer and, with a tacit understanding, stopped talking and exchanged looks before elbowing each other and running out.

“Damn, you really can’t talk behind people’s backs,” Liang Jianhao wiped his wet hands on Zhong Jiaming’s uniform, earning a kick. While dodging, he whispered, “Speak of the devil.”

“You shouldn’t talk about people behind their backs.”

Zhong Jiaming frowned, “Could Mo Yufan have been mistaken?”

“He said he wasn’t. Absolutely sure. Hey, why don’t we take the bus tonight and see for ourselves?”

Liang Jianhao draped an arm over Zhong Jiaming’s shoulder, winking.

“Are you okay? Got nothing better to do?” Zhong Jiaming’s frown deepened. “We’re in our final year, and you’re being childish?”

“Just curious.”

“Curious about what? How is someone else’s business any of ours?”

Liang Jianhao clicked his tongue, “I care about our classmates, alright?”

“Is that caring or just finding trouble? His family’s already struggling. Is mocking him fun for you?”

“Okay, fine. Forget it. I won’t share any gossip with you anymore.”

“Thanks, I really don’t need to hear it.”

They walked back to the classroom, still chatting. At the front of the room, Wu Yuke was posting the midterm exam results, and a group of students crowded around to see.

Liang Jianhao groaned, “Man, we just took that test yesterday, and the results are out already?”

“Of course,” Wu Yuke rolled her eyes, “Congratulations, you’re out of the top ten.”

“…Damn.”

Liang Jianhao rushed over and quickly scanned the list, his face falling. “Thirteenth place. This is brutal! I’ve dropped out of the top hundred in the school ranking too.”

“Someone’s paying the price for their summer travels.”

Wu Yuke pointed to the top of the list, “Look at the first place. In the first year, they were ranked over 500th in the school, but they climbed their way to the top. Sometimes, the gap between people is bigger than the gap between humans and dogs.”

Liang Jianhao gritted his teeth, “That’s harsh. I’m planning to study abroad, anyway.”

“Switching tracks doesn’t mean much if you don’t have the skills.”

Wu Yuke shrugged and slipped out of the crowd.

Liang Jianhao muttered, “Vicious woman,” and glanced at the list again.

Mo Yin, whom he had been discussing with Zhong Jiaming, was ranked first. Further down the list, Zhong Jiaming was sixth. After studying the rankings, Zhong Jiaming walked to his seat, followed closely by Liang Jianhao.

Liang Jianhao sighed deeply, “I played too hard during the summer vacation, and did so badly on the exams, my mom is definitely going to scold me when I get back.”

Zhong Jiaming said, “Aren’t you not planning to apply to schools abroad anyway?”

“Stop mocking me, I was just being stubborn earlier. Don’t schools abroad look at grades too?”

Zhong Jiaming looked thoughtful, “His English was much worse than ours at first, now he can almost get a perfect score.”

“Impressive,” Liang Jianhao said, “Regardless of his character, I really admire his studying.”

Zhong Jiaming glanced up at him, “What’s wrong with his character? I remember he never offended you.”

“I know, I just feel… this guy, he spends all day studying, doesn’t talk to people, doesn’t participate in any class activities, doesn’t say a word to anyone, very gloomy, you know? When others ask him questions, he never answers, keeps everything to himself, like he’s afraid someone will take his top spot.”

“The college entrance exam is a competition, don’t you want to be first?”

“Alright, alright, I won’t argue with you,” Liang Jianhao tapped the table with his finger, puffing out his chest, “Since he works so hard, then why isn’t he the top student in the whole school?”

“You aren’t the top student either, what are you so proud of? The 123rd in the whole school?”

Zhong Jiaming’s brutal remark left Liang Jianhao speechless. He looked sullenly towards the classroom door, just in time to see Mo Yin walk in. The school uniform looked oversized on him, his face was pale and small, head down, lips pressed together, not glancing at the crowd blocking the way, heading straight to his seat.

“Damn, when can I have that kind of confidence without caring about rankings…”

Liang Jianhao muttered, still envious.

Zhong Jiaming watched from behind, each desk piled with a thick stack of books, like barriers blocking the view. Black hair peeked out from behind the books, and Zhong Jiaming lowered his head.

Mo Yin had been praised by the homeroom teacher for a long time for his top score in the monthly exam.

The homeroom teacher knew the students very well. Mo Yin was a unique student at this prestigious school, unlike most students. He came from a very ordinary town middle school, which hadn’t produced such an outstanding student in years, and his achievement was celebrated at the school gate for months.

However, once this top student from middle school entered the prestigious high school full of top talents, he became average.

The prestigious high school gathered the best students from the entire city. Before the start of the first year, these excellent students had already studied hard, with some even finishing the entire first-year curriculum during the summer. The difficulty of the entrance exam was astonishing, and Mo Yin’s entrance exam scores were not ideal, placing him in a very ordinary class.

It wasn’t until the second-year re-examination that Mo Yin entered the advanced class. Throughout the second year, his ranking kept rising, and by the time he entered the third year, he was in one of the two best experimental classes in the school.

“You have great potential,” the homeroom teacher said gently, “Getting this score is not easy. Keep it up, the teacher has high hopes for you.”

Mo Yin nodded, “Thank you, teacher.”

“If you have any difficulties in life or studies, make sure to tell the teacher, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Good, you can go back now.”

After the student left, the homeroom teacher at the adjacent desk leaned over and said, “Your precious student got second place this time?”

“Yes, it’s a pity, he lost seven points in Chinese, three in math, and five in physics.”

“That’s already impressive. He doesn’t take extra classes, right?”

“Of course not,” the homeroom teacher took out a test paper, “His family can’t afford extra classes. If he had taken extra classes since he was young, he would definitely be the top student in the whole school.”

“You can’t say that for sure. The top student in Lao Zhang’s class reportedly doesn’t take extra classes either.”

“Really?”

“Really, it shows that studying really depends on talent. Two students who don’t take extra classes took the first and second places in the whole school.”

“Talent is important, but hard work is also crucial. Last year’s top scorer took a lot of extra classes.”

“True, it’s all fate.”

The discussion in the office was already left behind. Mo Yin didn’t hear the teachers’ discussion about him and another student. As he passed by another experimental class, he glanced inside.

In the last row by the window, a tall boy was sitting in his seat, his long arms and legs looking cramped. He leaned against the wall with his arms folded, talking to the people gathered around his desk, a warm smile on his face, seemingly discussing something interesting.

“The person who made the questions must be an idiot. Even if it’s a math problem, it should make more sense. We’re in the third year of high school, and they’re still using Tang Monk from ‘Journey to the West’? I couldn’t help but laugh.”

The crowd burst into laughter, and the person being admired suddenly turned his head to glance out the window.

Someone was walking by outside, a glimpse of black hair.

“What are you looking at?”

“Nothing.”

He turned back and continued his conversation with his classmates.

The evening self-study sessions at the prestigious school were “voluntary,” not mandatory. A good school needed to maintain a good academic atmosphere and did not advocate rote learning, emphasizing well-rounded development. All the rules and regulations were relatively relaxed.

At 6 PM, it was still bright in summer. Students were returning from the cafeteria, heading to the evening self-study sessions.

No one really skipped them; in this prestigious school, there were no students who didn’t want to study. Anyone who pretended not to care about studying was just putting on an act.

The experimental class’s classroom soon filled up. Test papers, workbooks, and newspapers were spread out on the desks. Even though the teacher for the evening self-study session hadn’t arrived yet, the classroom was already quiet.

Zhong Jiaming felt a poke on his back with a pen. He turned around and glared.

Liang Jianhao covered his mouth with his hand and whispered, “Hey, why didn’t you know who come to the evening self-study?”

Zhong Jiaming criticized his friend, “What do you mean by ‘you-know-who’? Who is ‘you-know-who’?” He glanced forward, noticing an empty seat in the second row.

Liang Jianhao smirked, “You don’t know who ‘you-know-who’ is?”

Zhong Jiaming turned back and scolded him again, “Mind your own business.”

Liang Jianhao pursed his lips, “I’m just curious.”

How could people not be curious when the best student in the class, who always studied hard and read while walking, suddenly didn’t come to the evening self-study session tonight?

Near the bus stop by the school gate, there weren’t many people. Mo Yin was sitting, waiting for the bus, with a reading comprehension exercise book on his lap. The prestigious school was in the suburbs, and there was very little traffic near the school gate. It was so quiet that the entire area felt like an ivory tower.

“Li Xiu.”

Li Xiu turned his face; his mother was smiling at him. “What are you looking at?” It was the second time today he heard a similar question. His mother leaned out a bit to look out the car window. “Did you see a classmate?”

“Seems like it.”

“Saw a classmate?” Li’s father said. “Someone else skipping evening self-study like you?”

Li Xiu smiled. “Didn’t you force me to skip it? How can you call it skipping? Stop the car, I’m not going.”

His father laughed heartily, and his mother also laughed, giving her husband a reproachful look. She then turned back to her son and said, “Your dad is teasing you.”

Today was Li Xiu’s cousin’s wedding, a special day chosen after half a year of careful selection. Once the date was set, they immediately booked the hotel. Everything went smoothly, and the two families had always been close. Both were only children, and the parents said that cousins nowadays were like siblings in the past. They told Li Xiu not to attend the evening self-study session today and to make sure to attend the wedding.

“You attend evening self-study every day, but your cousin only gets married once. Don’t go tonight,” his mother added proudly, “You’ll be the top student whether you go or not.”

The hotel was luxurious. The family of three got out of the car, and the doorman came to help park it.

Li Xiu was still wearing his school uniform. He was supposed to go home and change, but his father said there was no shame in the prestigious school’s uniform, so there was no need to change.

“This hotel is pretty good.”

His mother linked her arm with his father’s. “When Li Xiu gets into college, we could have his celebration banquet here too.”

“Let’s not be too flashy,” his father dismissed the idea. “Let’s just have it at home, in the yard. Eat, chat, isn’t that good enough?”

The wedding was held in the Bright Moon Hall. Many guests had already arrived. Li Xiu’s cousin’s family personally came to greet them. The adults greeted each other with smiles, and Li Xiu received special attention and greetings.

“Ah, our little top student is here—”

“Don’t say that, the exams haven’t been taken yet, how can you call him a top student…”

Amidst the lively and cheerful chatter, Li Xiu nodded to his cousin, who was the groom. His cousin nodded back and patted his shoulder. “Kid, you’re getting taller and taller.”

Their seats were arranged at the main table in the front. After sitting for a while, Li Xiu said to his parents, “I’m going to the restroom.”

“Alright, do you know the way?” his mother asked.

His father said, “He’s old enough to know the way. Go on, but be quick. The wedding is about to start, don’t be running in and out.”

The hotel’s lobby restroom was some distance from the banquet hall. Li Xiu walked unhurriedly, and people passing by occasionally glanced at him.

Firstly, because he was tall and strikingly handsome, a good-looking young man would naturally draw attention. Secondly, because he was wearing a school uniform, which made him seem out of place in the luxurious hotel setting.

Li Xiu tugged at the blue-striped polo-style school uniform he was wearing, letting the collar snap back. It felt a bit stuffy.

The restroom was tucked away in a corner, adorned with lavish decor. Li Xiu stood at a sink to wash his hands. The cool water running through his fingers felt refreshing. After washing, he grabbed a paper towel to dry his hands and started to walk out while drying his fingers. He heard the creak of a door from one of the stalls behind him and instinctively turned his head slightly. His gaze immediately froze.

Mo Yin was standing at another sink, washing his hands. His fingers felt sticky, so he squeezed out some hand soap. At that moment, he sensed someone looking at him. He looked up.

Their eyes met in the mirror.

Same uniform, and the same age.

There was a hint of surprise in both their eyes, but neither of them was unfamiliar to the other.

They knew each other.

How could they not, being frequently compared at school?

Li Xiu didn’t greet him, shifting his gaze away, tossing the paper towel into the trash, and walking out with his hands in his pockets.

Mo Yin also lowered his head, continuing to wash his hands.

Li Xiu.

Drops of water fell from his fingertips as his expression gradually turned cold.

That person, if only he could just disappear.