Chapter 20

Xu Zhilu was stunned, staring at his still dripping wet hair, lost in thought.

Noticing her gaze, Shen Siyan raised his hand to touch his head and asked in a low voice, “Do you have a tissue?”

Xu Zhilu stared at him for a moment, then took a pack of tissues from the drawer and handed it to him.

“Thanks.”

Shen Siyan took it and wiped the water dripping from his hair.

“Did you go home to shower?”

“Yes.”

Xu Zhilu replied with an “Oh,” and didn’t ask further.

Shen Siyan wiped his still-dripping hair dry and returned the remaining tissues to her.

“What are we studying today?”

“The test papers, I guess.”

Xu Zhilu looked at him, “Did you take notes this morning?”

Shen Siyan nodded.

He pulled out the papers from his seat, “Math?”

“Okay.”

They sat side by side and started working on the problems.

Neither mentioned what had happened at noon, as if it had passed by unnoticed between them.

Although Xu Zhilu’s scores were average, she had a deep understanding of the test questions because she attended the classes. So, explaining the problems to Shen Siyan was no issue for her.

One talked, the other listened, occasionally taking notes. They looked particularly harmonious.

In the blink of an eye, a class period had passed. Xu Zhilu glanced at the person next to her and said in a low voice, “I’m going to the restroom. You keep reviewing.”

“Okay.”

There were only two classes during the evening self-study, and teachers occasionally checked in. But since there weren’t many students, their visits were infrequent.

Xu Zhilu went to the restroom, and as soon as she entered, she heard conversations outside.

“Did you see the video on the forum?”

“What video?”

“Shen Siyan playing basketball. He looked so cool! He went to the basketball court this afternoon and played a one-on-one game with a university team player. Someone recorded it and posted it online. He was amazing.”

“Where, where? Let me see.”

…

Xu Zhilu was stunned and suddenly thought of his earlier appearance.

From her memory, Shen Siyan wasn’t the type to shower before coming to class. At first, she found it strange, but now, hearing her classmates’ conversation, she suddenly had the answer.

He had gone to play basketball.

“Look at this three-pointer, it’s awesome.”

“I have to say, Shen Siyan looks really cool playing basketball.”

“Right? I think I’m falling for him.”

“He won’t fall for you, give it up.”

…

The voices outside gradually faded. Xu Zhilu waited until it was completely quiet before slowly coming out.

Back in the classroom, she glanced at the person still working on problems, pressed her lips together, and walked over.

Hearing her approach, Shen Siyan stood up.

“Why aren’t you coming in?”

He looked at the motionless Xu Zhilu.

Xu Zhilu snapped out of it, “Oh.”

She walked in, sat down, and took a tissue from the drawer. After wiping her hands, she called out, “Shen Siyan.”

Shen Siyan looked at the paper in front of him and responded indifferently, “What’s up?”

Xu Zhilu lowered her head and mumbled, “I’m sorry.”

Shen Siyan paused and turned his head in surprise.

“What did you say?”

Xu Zhilu looked at him, her clear, bright eyes shining, “If you didn’t hear it, forget it.”

Shen Siyan: “…”

He chuckled in exasperation.

“No, if I didn’t hear it, can’t you say it again?” He tapped Xu Zhilu’s head with a pen, puzzled, “Why are you so stubborn?”

Xu Zhilu glared at him.

Shen Siyan shrugged, “Fine, I’m not mad.”

He said, “It’s my fault.”

Xu Zhilu remained silent and whispered, “It’s mine.”

Shen Siyan stared at her for a while, amused, “You did nothing wrong.”

Xu Zhilu choked, unwilling to argue about who was wrong or right.

She lowered her head to read, casually asking, “What did you do this afternoon?”

“Played basketball.”

Shen Siyan said, “I won’t skip class next time.”

“…Oh.”

Xu Zhilu paused, muttering, “I didn’t say anything about you skipping class.”

Shen Siyan lazily said, “You didn’t, but I want to study hard.”

Xu Zhilu: “…”

Coming from Shen Siyan, it felt strange.

“What?”

Seeing her skeptical expression, Shen Siyan asked, “Don’t believe me?”

Xu Zhilu shook her head, “Feels surreal.”

“…”

After a while, Xu Zhilu couldn’t help but ask, “Did you go home after playing basketball?”

“Yes.”

Shen Siyan said, “I didn’t expect a traffic jam.”

After playing basketball, the timing was just right. But because it was rush hour, the driver got stuck in traffic, so he returned late.

Xu Zhilu responded with an “Oh,” writing as she spoke, “Then why did you go home to shower?”

Without thinking, Shen Siyan blurted out, “If I didn’t shower, you’d complain about me smelling like sweat.”

As soon as he said this, everything went silent.

Xu Zhilu blinks and slowly turns to look at him.