Xin An’an had a kind of blind confidence in Xu Zhilu. “How could you not get in? You’re Xu Zhilu, the student who got full marks on the exam! If you can’t get in, no one else can…” She lowered her voice and added carefully, “No one else can hear me cursing them.”

Xu Zhilu smiled. “I’ll be more high-profile after I make it to the finals.”

Xin An’an thought about it and agreed, “That’s fine.”

The two exchanged smiles.

“By the way,” Xin An’an pointed to the person sleeping at the back and asked quietly, “Will Shen Siyan be there?”

Xu Zhilu was momentarily stunned. “I don’t know.”

“You didn’t ask?”

Xu Zhilu looked at her with amusement. “Why should I ask?”

Xin An’an blinked her eyes and asked back, “Then why didn’t you ask?”

The two stared at each other in a stalemate. Xu Zhilu finally said, “Are we playing a game of tongue twisters?”

Xin An’an shook her head. “Does he know that you’re participating in the English speech contest?”

“Yep.”

Xu Zhilu had been writing her speech during the evening self-study session when Shen Siyan asked her about it. She hadn’t hidden anything.

Xin An’an said “Oh” twice. “Then I should go.”

“Not sure.”

Xu Zhilu pushed her gently. “Do your homework.”

Xin An’an curled her lips. “Okay.”

–

When school ended, Xu Zhilu didn’t leave immediately. She wanted to stay alone in the classroom to practice her speech. Xin An’an’s mother’s birthday was today, so she couldn’t be with her.

“Then Zhilu, I’m going home first. See you tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

After Xin An’an left, the remaining classmates also departed one by one.

Xu Zhilu didn’t mind much. She continued to practice her speech aloud, reading it several times.

As she read, a young man’s clear voice came from behind. “Aren’t you going home yet?”

Xu Zhilu turned around in surprise. “You haven’t left yet?”

Shen Siyan replied, “When did I leave?”

Xu Zhilu asked, “Didn’t you just go out?”

Hearing this, Shen Siyan looked at her teasingly. “So you noticed me?”

“…”

Xu Zhilu avoided his gaze and said calmly, “I just looked around and saw there was no one else in the classroom.”

Shen Siyan choked on his laughter.

He recovered and said, “I went to the bathroom.”

“Oh.”

He looked at her. “Are you still staying?”

Xu Zhilu nodded. “I need to read my speech again.”

Shen Siyan was silent for a moment. “For tomorrow’s speech?”

“Yeah.”

Hearing this, Shen Siyan said nothing more.

Xu Zhilu continued to mutter her speech, always feeling a pair of eyes on her.

She tried to ignore it at first, but it was impossible.

After a while, she raised her eyes and looked at Shen Siyan. “Could you please stop looking at me?”

Shen Siyan found it amusing and turned his phone around. “How can you know I’m looking at you if you’re not looking at me?”

Xu Zhilu rolled her eyes slightly.

Shen Siyan laughed and turned away. “Okay, I won’t look at you. Just continue reading.”

“Don’t listen, just go home first.”

Hearing this, Shen Siyan was quite helpless. “You’ll still hear it tomorrow, won’t you?”

“That’s different.”

Shen Siyan: “…”

He was quiet for a moment, then suddenly asked, “There will be many teachers and students listening tomorrow, right?”

Xu Zhilu nodded. “Yes, some classmates will be there to watch.”

Shen Siyan looked at her and asked, “Have you never given a speech in front of people before?”

Xu Zhilu looked at him in confusion. “What do you mean?”

Shen Siyan curled his lips and suggested, “Why don’t you try giving it a shot now?”

“What?”

“See what it feels like to speak in front of an audience,” he volunteered. “This way, you’ll know if you’ll be nervous tomorrow.”

Xu Zhilu understood what he meant.

She glanced towards the podium and said, “No.”

Shen Siyan asked, “Why not?”

Xu Zhilu looked at him. “Why should I give you a speech?”

Shen Siyan turned his phone around. “I’ll hear it tomorrow too.”

Xu Zhilu replied, “That’s tomorrow’s matter.”

She thought for a moment and said, “Don’t come tomorrow.”

Shen Siyan looked at her suspiciously. “Why?”

“No reason,” Xu Zhilu said. She just didn’t want to give a speech in front of him; it would feel a bit awkward.

Shen Siyan stared at her, was silent for a moment, and said, “You’re being a bit unreasonable.”

“…”

Xu Zhilu ignored him.

Shen Siyan continued, “Go ahead and try it. I’ll listen, and if there are any problems, I can point them out to you.”

“I don’t want to.”

Shen Siyan looked at her and suddenly asked, “Why can’t I be your audience alone?”

Xu Zhilu paused.

Shen Siyan realized his words were a bit off and explained, “What I mean is, I’m alone now, and I won’t laugh at you if you don’t speak well. It’s better to practice now rather than tomorrow when more people will be watching.”

Xu Zhilu was almost confused by him and retorted bluntly, “How do you know I won’t speak well tomorrow?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

Shen Siyan tried to explain for a long time, realizing she was just looking for flaws in his words.

He pondered for a moment and waved his hand. “Forget it. You continue reading.”

Xu Zhilu: “…”

She withdrew her gaze from Shen Siyan and continued to practice her speech.

As she read on, she thought that what Shen Siyan said made some sense. She hadn’t given a speech on stage for a long time and wasn’t sure how to manage her facial expressions or whether her body would be stiff.

After a while, Xu Zhilu called out, “Shen Siyan.”

“Um?”

Shen Siyan looked up at her.

Xu Zhilu pursed her lips and said, “Could you record a video of me reading? I’d like to see how my expression looks while I’m speaking.”

Hearing this, Shen Siyan smiled and said readily, “Okay.”