“Mom, the doctor already said I’m fine. You can relax now, right?” Xia Ruan said as she held Zhou Jingyi’s arm. 

Zhou Jingyi reached out and patted her head. “Ruan Ruan, don’t get so close to the basketball court next time. It’s dangerous.” 

Xia Ruan quickly nodded in agreement. “Got it, Mom.” 

Seeing that Xia Ruan still had to go to school that afternoon, Zhou Jingyi felt relieved but couldn’t help worrying. “Ruan Ruan, if you’re not feeling well, we can just go home and rest.” 

Xia Ruan appreciated their concern but didn’t want to be treated like a child. She leaned her head on Zhou Jingyi’s shoulder, rubbing it gently. “Mom, I know my limits.” 

Seeing her insist, Zhou Jingyi didn’t press the issue anymore. She just gently stroked her head and reminded her, “If you feel uncomfortable at all, go find your brother right away.” 

It wasn’t until she was on her way to school that Xia Ruan realized her phone was out of battery. But she didn’t think much of it. After all, she didn’t have many friends at school, so it’s unlikely anyone would contact her. 

Lu Yan’s expression grew colder as time passed. By the time the lunch break arrived, his phone had remained completely silent. He looked like someone who had just been dragged out of an ice cellar. 

Lu Yanzhi had no idea what was going on. He approached with a friendly smile. “Lu Yan, want to have lunch together?” 

Lu Yan didn’t respond. He just shot him a cold glance. 

Lu Yanzhi wasn’t discouraged by his coldness and slung an arm over his shoulder, pretending to be close. “Hey, we’re both Lus. A hundred years ago, we were probably part of the same family. So from now on, we’re brothers.” 

Lu Yan stared at the hand on his shoulder for a few seconds. Only when Lu Yanzhi awkwardly withdrew it did he slowly speak. “If you have something to say, just say it.” 

Lu Yanzhi put on a hurt expression. “Do I look like the type who only shows up when I need something?” 

“You do,” Xia Fei, who was about to go to the school gate to meet Xia Ruan, interrupted without thinking. 

Lu Yanzhi was about to continue when he was cut off. He looked annoyed and pointed at Xia Fei. “Xia Fei, what nonsense are you talking about?” 

“I’m just telling the truth. What’s your problem?” Xia Fei snorted. 

As the two of them started bickering, Lu Yan walked away. By the time Lu Yanzhi noticed, he was already gone. He glanced at Xia Fei, who was walking toward the gate, and snorted. No wonder Fang Yinan wasn’t interested in him. 

Xia Ruan was a bit surprised to see Xia Fei at the school gate. “Brother, you came all the way here to wait for me?” 

Xia Fei raised the phone in his hand. “Why is your phone off?” 

“No battery,” Xia Ruan explained. Then she asked, “Have you been waiting long?” 

“No. Mom texted me when you left, so I timed it and came after class,” Xia Fei replied. 

When Xia Ruan and Xia Fei returned to the classroom after lunch, Lu Yan was already at his desk, writing something seriously. Hearing footsteps, he looked up briefly. Xia Ruan wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination, but that glance seemed a little cold. 

As soon as Xia Ruan sat down, Lu Yanzhi came over. “Ruan Ruan, are you okay?” 

Xia Ruan looked up at him and corrected him. “Call me Xia.” 

Lu Yanzhi looked aggrieved. “We’re so close already. Calling you Xia feels too distant.” 

Up front, someone working on a problem suddenly remembered Lu Jizhou’s words, and the pen scratched heavily across the workbook. 

“Lu Yanzhi, who the hell is close to you?” Before Xia Ruan could speak, Xia Fei slammed his desk and stood up. 

“We’ve known each other since we were little. Isn’t that close?” Lu Yanzhi replied with a big grin. 

Xia Fei gritted his teeth, left his seat, and dragged Lu Yanzhi out of the classroom. “Since you put it that way, let’s catch up properly.” 

Seeing Xia Fei with his fists clenched, Fan Shujuan looked worriedly at Xia Ruan, who was calmly solving problems. “They’re not really going to fight, are they?” 

As long as her brother didn’t provoke the male protagonist, Xia Ruan figured everything would be fine. She casually waved her hand at Fan Shujuan. “Nah.” Even if they did fight, it didn’t matter. 

Fan Shujuan wasn’t as calm as Xia Ruan. She got up and headed toward the door. 

Xia Ruan looked at her in confusion. “Class monitor, where are you going?” 

“I’m going to see if they’ve started fighting.” Fan Shujuan’s tone was a bit anxious. 

Xia Ruan was a little surprised. Could the class monitor actually have feelings for her brother? Although she had told Xia Fei that top students would never like slackers, in reality, it’s often the obedient ones who fall for the bad boys like Xia Fei. 

“If they really want to fight, they should at least find a secluded place. If a duty teacher catches them, we’ll lose points again,” Fan Shujuan said before leaving. 

Xia Ruan patted her chest in relief. Luckily, she had overthought it. 

Lu Yan, who had been struggling with his train of thought, suddenly found a breakthrough in solving the problem after hearing Xia Ruan’s words. Even the corners of his mouth lifted into an unconscious smile. 

Fan Shujuan quickly returned to the classroom. Xia Ruan, noticing her usual expression, asked, “They didn’t end up fighting, right?” 

“No, they didn’t,” Fan Shujuan replied, recalling what she had heard just after stepping out—Xia Fei had said to Lu Yanzhi, “If it weren’t for Ruan Ruan telling me not to fight, I would have beaten you so badly your parents wouldn’t recognize you.” Thinking of this, she looked at Xia Ruan with a slightly complicated expression. 

Xia Ruan noticed her gaze and touched her cheek. “Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something wrong?” 

“You and Xia Fei are really close. I just heard him say that if it weren’t for you stopping him, he would’ve already fought.” 

Fan Shujuan’s words made the person in front frown again. So the reason Xia Fei hadn’t warned him like before these past few days was because of her? Thinking about her increasingly distant gaze and how she still hadn’t replied to his messages, Lu Yan felt even more irritated. 

Xia Fei and Lu Yanzhi walked into the classroom just as the bell rang. Everyone had heard their earlier argument, and now seeing them walk in like nothing happened, they were disappointed. 

Fang Yinan glanced at her deskmate and then reminded him, “Xia Ruan and Xia Fei are very close.” 

Lu Yanzhi hadn’t expected the seemingly aloof Fang Yinan to say this to him. He raised an eyebrow and smiled at her. “So?” 

“So, if you want to pursue Xia Ruan, you’d better get along with Xia Fei first,” Fang Yinan said calmly. 

Thinking about his plans, Lu Yan Zhi grinned. “Top student Fang, you’re now my love advisor.” 

Fang Yinan instantly regretted saying anything. She had only meant to thank him for the CD he gave her that morning. 

This class was math. During her year off, Fang Yinan had already self-studied most of the high school curriculum. When the teacher asked for someone to solve a problem on the board, she raised her hand. 

The question was a bit advanced. The math teacher had just called Lu Yan from the front row when he saw Fang Yinan raising her hand from the back. Smiling, he said, “The girl in the back, come up too. There’s more than one way to solve this.” 

The scene of the two of them solving problems on the board looked like something out of a drama. Xia Ruan propped her chin up, thinking about it. 

Fan Shujuan saw her dazed expression and assumed she was envious that Fang Yinan got to stand next to Lu Yan. She gently comforted her, “If you work hard, your day will come too.” 

“I don’t want that day to come,” Xia Ruan replied quickly. She had no desire to appear in the same frame as the male protagonist. 

Fan Shujuan’s gaze became even softer. She really wanted to tell her, We’re friends now. You don’t have to pretend to be strong in front of me. She had almost believed her earlier. Seeing Xia Ruan’s calm and indifferent face, Fan Shujuan felt a pang of sympathy. Pretending not to care must hurt more. 

Completely unaware of all the assumptions going on in Fan Shujuan’s mind, Xia Ruan continued to watch the two at the board and noticed they were using different methods. Or rather, after seeing Lu Yan’s solution, Fang Yinan deliberately chose a different method. 

The classmates below were starting to get excited. They had thought Fang Yinan’s grades would be average after taking a year off, but her performance was anything but average. 

The two finished at about the same time. The math teacher’s eyes sparkled as he looked at Fang Yinan. He hadn’t known he had such a student in class. 

Fang Yinan glanced at Lu Yan beside her—he was the target she intended to surpass. After scanning his solution, she thought he might be even better than she had expected. But so what? The more challenging something was, the more she liked it. Her lips curved into a faint smile. 

Lu Yan also glanced her way when she looked at his solution. Seeing that her steps were even more concise than his, he looked at her with a bit more admiration. 

Their eye contact on the podium made Xia Ruan so excited she nearly screamed. It’s happening! It’s happening! The look of love! Oh heavens, let them fall in love already! 

The math teacher asked Lu Yan and Fang Yinan to explain their methods to the class. Lu Yan’s explanation was brief and cool as always, while Fang Yinan was more detailed. Instantly, her popularity among classmates soared. 

Xia Fei, watching the smile on Fang Yinan’s lips, remembered Xia Ruan saying that top students only liked other top students. He sighed. If liking Fang Yinan meant dealing with math problems every day, he’d rather find someone else to like. 

Thinking of this, he glared at Lu Yan unhappily. Was this the reason why she didn’t like Ruan Ruan? Though he didn’t want Xia Ruan to keep liking Lu Yan, in Xia Fei’s mind, only Ruan Ruan had the right to reject people—nobody had the right to not like her. He clenched his fists. It looked like he needed to spend even more time practicing martial arts every day. 

Before school let out, the homeroom teacher gave them both good and bad news. The good news was that next Thursday and Friday would be the autumn sports festival. The bad news was that right after the festival would be the monthly exams. 

The upcoming sports festival and monthly exams caused mixed emotions. Fang Yinan was happy about the exams, while Yang Xiaomi beside her was moaning that she couldn’t enjoy the sports festival because of them. Fang Yinan patted her on the shoulder and said, “Just have fun at the sports festival, and study over the weekend.” 

Not paying attention to the person behind her, Fang Yinan bumped into Xia Ruan, who nearly stumbled, but luckily someone nearby caught her.