Chapter 6

For most high school seniors, nothing is more important than the college entrance exam coming up next year. But studying every waking hour, apart from sleeping, would be too exhausting. So, whether boys or girls, they would find ways to entertain themselves in their spare moments.

After lights out, the boys’ dormitory often became a place for discussions—especially about girls.

Zhang Yunyi was the most frequently mentioned name. Perhaps to uphold the dignity of Class Three, the boys unanimously agreed that, at least among the science track classes, she was the most beautiful girl in their grade. Of course, there were dissenting voices—after all, beauty is subjective. Even the most stunning celebrities in the entertainment industry have people who think they’re unattractive.

Fei Shijie grinned, feeling flattered. With that mood, he couldn’t even be bothered to argue about the kick Chen Kuo had given him earlier.

The two of them left the classroom and headed toward another staircase.

“Why do you think she asked me to bring her coffee?” Fei Shijie asked with a silly smile.

Chen Kuo: “…”

Still not over it? “Are you okay?”

“Get lost!”

Despite the banter, Fei Shijie quickly regained his senses as they descended the stairs. It was normal to daydream about things that made you happy, but there was a limit. Being humble and self-aware was a virtue—there was no need to get carried away just because a pretty girl had spoken to him.

“But she’s really working hard. I had a snow-capped coffee during summer break and couldn’t sleep until 3 AM.” Fei Shijie still shuddered at the memory. Luckily, it had been during the holidays. “High school seniors are built differently.”

Zhang Yunyi was definitely not at the bottom of the class, but she hadn’t been one of the most hardworking students either.

She used to be a bit of a slacker—always dashing out of the classroom during breaks, going wherever the fun was.

But now, even she was drinking coffee to stay awake. Fei Shijie, who had always been laid-back, suddenly felt a sense of urgency. “No way, I’m getting a study guide too!”

Chen Kuo gave him a sidelong glance. “You’d be better off improving your English.”

Fei Shijie groaned in despair. “I seriously hate these foreign devils.”

Chen Kuo ignored him. The two of them exited the staircase, walked out of the teaching building, and blended into the bustling crowd.

The school cafeteria had plenty of food options, but it was like eating at home—no matter how good it was, you’d eventually get tired of it. Xu Shishi and her roommates went to buy instant noodles, while Zhang Yunyi stuck with Dai Jia. Everything felt fresh to her now—back in high school, she had looked down on cafeteria food, but after working for years, she had come to appreciate how convenient and delicious it actually was.

“What are you getting?” Dai Jia asked, holding her wallet.

Zhang Yunyi was starving—everything looked tempting.

She ended up getting a soy-braised chicken drumstick, almost as big as her hand, along with a bowl of cold noodles. Dai Jia chose rice.

Zhang Yunyi eyed the stir-fried bean sprouts and scrambled eggs on Dai Jia’s plate, puzzled. “Why didn’t you get any meat?”

Dai Jia picked up a piece of egg coated in tomato sauce with her chopsticks. “This is meat.”

In Zhang Yunyi’s eyes, eggs had no business being classified as meat. “I mean real meat—”

“I had it every day at home during summer break. Got sick of it.”

It was a solid excuse, but Zhang Yunyi was still skeptical. If it were any other classmate, she might have suspected they were low on money. But with Dai Jia, that guess was unnecessary.

Dai Jia’s father and Zhang Yunyi’s father both worked in the public security system, and her mother had a stable job at a state-owned enterprise. Her family was well-off by local standards.

Zhang Yunyi wanted to ask more but, seeing how content Dai Jia looked eating her bean sprouts, she dropped the subject. Instead, she used her chopsticks to tear off a piece of her flavorful, tender chicken and placed it on Dai Jia’s rice.

“It’s really good. Try it, Jia-jie~”

Dai Jia was taken aback for a moment before smiling. “Okay!”

The two of them shared their lunch, then walked back to the dorm arm in arm.

With a two-hour lunch break, they had to nap to recharge. Otherwise, they’d be too drowsy to stay focused through four afternoon classes.

The campus quickly fell into a peaceful silence.

Zhang Yunyi rinsed her mouth, climbed onto her bunk, and planned to review a few vocabulary words. But within minutes of closing her eyes, she drifted off to sleep. Before losing consciousness, she prayed once more—please, let me wake up at twenty-seven.

…

At seventeen or eighteen, hunger could make you feel like you could eat an entire cow.

The back street was a haven for students craving better food. The competition among snack shops was fierce—those with bad flavors or high prices wouldn’t last long. Fei Shijie dragged Chen Kuo into a small Korean restaurant. The menu was overly elaborate, and Chen Kuo, not one to waste time on such decisions, simply pointed at the top-selling dish—stone pot bibimbap.

“Dai Jia said this place is good.”

Fei Shijie added, “You’re just getting bibimbap? How about some Korean fried chicken too?”

Chen Kuo shook his head. “Don’t worry about me. I’m not eating that.”

Fei Shijie flipped through the menu, his eyes drawn to the bright red stir-fried rice cakes and spicy beef soup. After hesitating for a while, he finally ordered the beef soup and fried chicken. The restaurant was busy, and the waitstaff struggled to keep up. Chen Kuo already regretted coming here—he was getting impatient, resting his head on his hand while glancing down at his watch.

Great.

It had already been half an hour since they placed their order.

Fei Shijie was starving too, but since he was the one who chose the place, he had to stand by his decision. Trying to act tough, he said, “The girls in our class love this place. It must be good. Maybe after eating here once, we’ll want to come again.”

Chen Kuo replied flatly, “I won’t come a second time.”

That was way too blunt. Fei Shijie snapped, “Don’t be so sure about that.”

Maybe it was because they had waited too long and were too hungry, but when the food finally arrived, their expectations skyrocketed. Fei Shijie took a sip of the beef soup, and his taste buds instantly came alive. He mumbled through a mouthful, “How is it?”

Chen Kuo mixed his rice, took a bite, and showed no change in expression. “It’s just average.”

They spent so much time eating that they could only make a quick stop at the bookstore to buy reference books before heading to their final destination—a café. The café offered all kinds of drinks, and their seasonal snow-top coffee was still available. Fei Shijie had used up all his small change and only had a few hundred-yuan bills left in his wallet.

The cashier, a young girl, looked troubled.

The coffee only cost six yuan, and just five minutes ago, she had already accepted a hundred-yuan bill. If she took another one now, she worried she wouldn’t have enough change for other customers.

“I got it.”

Chen Kuo handed over the exact change. The cashier quickly took it and handed him the packed coffee.

As they crossed the street and walked back to school, Fei Shijie had finished his spicy beef soup. It was salty and spicy, making him unbearably thirsty. Before they even reached the teaching building, he changed his mind and patted Chen Kuo on the shoulder. “This is killing me. I’m going to get a bottle of water. You go ahead.”

With that, he jogged toward a small convenience store, a surprisingly agile and nimble chubby guy.

Chen Kuo, of course, wasn’t going to wait around. Carrying the coffee, he entered the stairwell. The surroundings were so quiet he could hear his own footsteps. If they hadn’t wasted so much time at that restaurant, he’d probably be napping in the dorm right now.

It was already 1:30 PM—too late to go back to the dorm.

As he passed by a few classrooms, he noticed that Class 3 was nearly empty. Through the open back door, he saw only two or three students, all napping on their desks. He moved quietly, trying not to disturb anyone. Just as he was about to reach Zhang Yunyi’s desk, a boy he didn’t recognize suddenly appeared, stretching out his hand to place a jelly snack on her desk.

Their eyes met.

Chen Kuo had already set the snow-top coffee down on her desk, which was piled with colorful notebooks.

The boy froze.

He knew this was Zhang Yunyi’s desk. He had come early on purpose to leave her a small treat.

Jelly wasn’t expensive, so there was no need to leave a name.

But what was happening right now?? Forget about whether the Class 3 class rep had any special connection with Zhang Yunyi—just in terms of price alone, he had already lost.

Though the moment lasted only a few seconds, his brain was working at lightning speed. In a split second, he pulled back his hand. People could be incredibly quick-witted when necessary. Instead of placing the jelly on Zhang Yunyi’s desk, he left it on the desk behind hers, then turned and ran out of the classroom.

Chen Kuo stood in the aisle, his gaze landing on the heart-shaped jelly. He could roughly guess what had just happened. Finding it amusing, he chuckled before heading back to his seat.

Meanwhile—

Zhang Yunyi groggily smacked her alarm clock off and cursed under her breath as she climbed down from the top bunk. The dorm windows were open, and the wind flipped through the pages of her textbooks. A few girls were crowded around the sink, washing their faces. They hadn’t gotten enough sleep but were rushing through their morning routine at top speed, not wasting a single second.

Even with all the rushing, Zhang Yunyi was still fuming when she finally made it back to the classroom—until she saw the snow-top coffee on her desk, nearly melted.

Her expression changed in an instant. A smile crept onto her lips as she quickly found a straw in the bag, poked it in, and took a careful sip.

It was very, very sweet. She had to focus intently on her tongue just to taste the faintest hint of coffee.

But hey, better than nothing.

She glanced around. Fei Shijie wasn’t here. She’d ask him how much it cost after class.

Xu Shishi, sitting beside her, was also looking drowsy, resting her chin in her hand as she dozed off.

Then—

“AAHHH! AHHHH—!”

A shrill shriek from behind made them both jump. Turning around, they saw Shen Mingrui’s face contorted with excitement.

Xu Shishi snapped, “Are you insane?!”

Zhang Yunyi shot him a glare too.

Shen Mingrui clutched the heart-shaped jelly with trembling hands, his voice quivering. “Who gave this?!”

He looked eagerly at Zhang Yunyi and Xu Shishi.

Of course, he wasn’t hoping that one of them had given it to him—he just wanted them to say no. After all, these two had the kind of attitude that screamed, Even if all the men on earth disappeared, we’d never pick you.

Zhang Yunyi shifted her gaze away. Xu Shishi met her eyes.

A second later, Xu Shishi nearly strangled her. She screamed in frustration, “Zhang Yunyi, why are you looking at me?!”

Zhang Yunyi immediately retracted her gaze and sincerely apologized, “Sis, I’m sorry. Forgive me, I wasn’t fully awake…”

Hearing this cold-as-a-fish conversation that could kill any romance, Shen Mingrui didn’t care in the slightest. His heart was pounding, and his voice was filled with conviction.

“Someone has a crush on me.”