Shen Siyan didn’t respond.

Cheng Song continued, “But I’m curious why Xu Zhilu’s scores dropped so much. It doesn’t make sense.”

Shen Siyan’s emotions were unclear.

After a moment of silence, he said indifferently, “Maybe she didn’t sleep well.”

Cheng Song: “…”

At the classroom door, Shen Siyan walked straight in.

As soon as he entered, he saw her back.

He paused and then walked over.

Xu Zhilu was redoing her wrong answers, feeling frustrated, when a paper bag appeared next to her.

She glanced at it absentmindedly. It was from her favorite milk tea shop.

Xu Zhilu was surprised and looked up at the person next to her.

Shen Siyan glanced at her. “Did I interrupt you?”

Xu Zhilu paused and nodded.

Shen Siyan turned his gaze away. “Drink something sweet when you’re in a bad mood.”

“No need.”

Xu Zhilu said lightly, “I’m fine.”

Shen Siyan: “…You put Xu Zhijia in her place.”

Hearing this, Xu Zhilu paused, her hand holding the pen. “What, did she complain to you?”

Shen Siyan frowned. “Complain to me about what?”

He continued, looking at Xu Zhilu. “Did you think I came to speak on her behalf?”

“Isn’t that the case?”

Shen Siyan was at a loss for words.

After a moment of silence, he said, “Why would I speak for her?”

Xu Zhilu couldn’t help but mock, “How should I know? It’s not like you haven’t spoken for her before.”

This left Shen Siyan genuinely confused.

He pointed at himself blankly. “When have I ever spoken for her?”

Xu Zhilu turned to look at him, her eyes clear and silent.

They stared at each other in silence for a moment before Shen Siyan pressed, “Tell me, when have I ever spoken for her?”

Xu Zhilu stared at him for a moment, memories of the last time Shen Siyan defended Xu Zhijia naturally coming to mind.

That was in her previous life, during high school, around January of this year.

It was the New Year, and Xu Zhilu and Xu Zhijia had argued over a trivial matter.

Xu Zhilu wasn’t strong; she had a tendency to cry alone when something upset her.

She didn’t like shedding tears in front of others, so she cried in private.

When Shen Siyan found out about their argument, he approached her and said, “Why are you arguing with her again?”

The tone made Xu Zhilu feel as if he was blaming her for the fight.

At that moment, she wanted to explain that it wasn’t her fault.

But Shen Siyan immediately said, “Stop arguing with her in the future. There’s nothing worth arguing about.”

Xu Zhilu didn’t know how to describe her feelings at that time.

She had initially thought that Shen Siyan came to comfort her, but instead, he came to reprimand her.

His attitude only made Xu Zhilu more upset.

Reflecting on this, Xu Zhilu looked away, gripping her pen. “You know it yourself.”

Shen Siyan was baffled. “How would I know?”

In his memory, he had never spoken up for Xu Zhijia.

Xu Zhilu remained silent.

Shen Siyan stared at her for a while. “Xu Zhilu, explain this properly.”

He persisted, “I don’t remember ever speaking for her.”

His constant chatter made Xu Zhilu’s mind spin with that memory.

After a while, she slammed her pen down and turned to him. “Shen Siyan, I’m trying to do my homework. Can you stop bothering me?”

“…”

Her words made the nearby students, who were chatting, glance over.

They were stunned, and seeing Shen Siyan’s expression, they quickly looked away.

Shen Siyan’s face darkened, his eyes deepening. “Fine.”

He said, “I won’t bother you.”

With that, he stood up and walked out, his demeanor clearly showing his anger.

Shen Siyan was furious.

Cheng Song, who had just returned to his class to get something, saw him coming out of the classroom.

He didn’t notice Shen Siyan’s expression and called out, “Brother Yan! Where are you going?”

Shen Siyan ignored him and walked straight out.

Cheng Song was confused. When he looked at Shen Siyan, his heart skipped a beat.

He was stunned for a moment, then quickly said, “Brother Yan, wait for me.”

…

Hearing the noise outside, Xu Zhilu closed her eyes to calm herself.

After a while, she tried to return to her homework, but the solution she had just thought of vanished, and the numbers on the test paper became blurry.

“Xu Zhilu.”

A small voice came from in front of her.

Xu Zhilu looked up at her deskmate. “What’s up?”

Chen Jinghan looked at her and whispered, “Don’t you think you were a bit harsh?”

She continued, “Shen Siyan probably meant well. Maybe there’s some misunderstanding between you two?”

Xu Zhilu pressed her lips together and said softly, “No.”

Chen Jinghan nodded, looking at her. “But you were really a bit overboard just now.”

Xu Zhilu was silent for a while, then responded, “Mm.”

Chen Jinghan saw this and didn’t say more.

She added, “I just think if there’s a misunderstanding, you should clear it up. Shen Siyan is good to you.”

Sitting in front of Xu Zhilu, she sometimes chatted with her and, compared to others, understood Xu Zhilu better and knew how Shen Siyan treated her.

Chen Jinghan had no other intentions, just genuine concern, not wanting to overstep.

Xu Zhilu listened, staying silent for a long time. “I know.”

She murmured to herself, “I know.”

Seeing her like this, Chen Jinghan didn’t say more.

The entire afternoon, Shen Siyan didn’t return to class.

Xu Zhilu was also somewhat distracted. Xin An’an had gone to the shop alone and only heard about the incident when she returned.

She glanced at Xu Zhilu, not daring to ask too much.

After school, she turned to Xu Zhilu. “Zhilu, I’m heading home.”

“Okay, be safe.”

“See you tomorrow.”

Xu Zhilu had dinner with Jian Anran at the cafeteria. After eating, she returned to the classroom to study.

Their evening study session started at seven. When the bell rang, the seat next to her, usually occupied in the evening, was empty.

Xu Zhilu glanced at it and forced herself to focus.

She lowered her head to recite, thinking about the English speech contest, starting with some short passages.

The night deepened, and the wind from outside, unblocked by the window, blew in, feeling refreshing.

Xu Zhilu’s hair fell on both sides, giving her an absent-minded look.

As she recited, she suddenly became distracted.

Xu Zhilu was conflicted, unsure what her feelings meant.

She didn’t think she was too harsh, but after Chen Jinghan’s comment and recalling Shen Siyan’s hurt expression when she said “stop bothering me,” she couldn’t help but reflect if she had been wrong.

She had noticed Shen Siyan’s expression at noon.

Thinking about it made her feel indescribable.

After contemplating, she felt her tone had been too severe. But apologizing was difficult for her.

Just as she reached into her drawer for her phone, a familiar scent wafted into her nose.

Instinctively, she turned to see Shen Siyan pull out the chair next to her and sit down.

Xu Zhilu looked up.

Their eyes met, and Shen Siyan said, “Sorry, I’m late.”