On the day the monthly exam ended, Chu Tao and Chu Xingning finally had a rare moment of relaxation.

Chu Jiangmin was playing a movie for them on the TV, an old American film from many years ago called The White Head Detective.

Although the picture quality seemed poor now and the film was quite old, the plot was still captivating—tight and funny.

Chu Tao and Chu Xingning were watching with great attention, even forgetting to eat the egg yolk pastries on the table.

Chu Xingning, with his eyes squinted in amusement, leaned casually against the sofa, one arm draped over Chu Tao’s shoulder. “This is so funny, why is it so funny?”

Chu Tao hugged his right knee, resting his chin on it, and lightly tapped his shoe on the floor. “Yeah, it’s really good.”

He was almost talking to himself. After saying “really good,” he trailed off, not finishing his thought.

He was in a good mood today because he felt he had done well on the monthly exam.

Halfway through the movie, Chu Xingning took the opportunity to pull his arm away from Chu Tao’s shoulder, grabbed his phone, and started typing a message.

Chu Tao noticed, glanced at him casually, and then unconsciously grabbed his own phone.

Chu Xingning sent a message to his little boyfriend: “I watched a movie today called The White Head Detective. It was so interesting! Next time, we’ll watch it together.”

Chu Tao sent a message to Jiang She: “Where are you? I’m already at 47 minutes here.”

Soon, Jiang She replied: “46 minutes, pretty close.”

Chu Tao put his phone away, gently biting his cheek, the slight pain helping him suppress the expression that was about to show on his face.

Today, he had said he wanted to watch a movie, but Jiang She insisted on watching it with him.

Even though they weren’t together, Chu Tao couldn’t just video call him openly, so he tried to discourage Jiang She from acting recklessly.

But Jiang She wouldn’t listen and insisted they should watch the movie together.

Chu Tao didn’t understand the whole concept of watching movies together—everyone has their own tastes, it’s subjective—so why did it have to be together?

But Jiang She never listened to reason.

Chu Tao couldn’t argue with him, so he just told him the movie’s name, the time they were watching it, and then kept him updated on their progress from time to time.

Chu Jiangmin glanced at the two brothers with their heads down, and casually complained, “Watching a movie and still on your phones. Your generation just can’t live without them.”

Song Mian had finished boiling the green bean soup to clear the heat and placed the pot by the window to cool. Just as she stepped out of the kitchen, she received a call from Tang Lingmei.

“Hey, Xiao Tang, what’s up?”

Tang Lingmei always sounded energetic, and she laughed heartily before speaking, “Song, do you know the kids finished their monthly exam today?”

Song Mian grabbed a tissue to wipe her hands. “I know, they’re watching a movie with their dad. After the exam, it’s time to relax.”

Tang Lingmei was surprised. “Oh wow, they’re already relaxing? Does Xingning and Tao Tao do really well on the exam?”

Song Mian hesitated for a moment and, feeling a bit embarrassed, replied, “Nothing special, they just did as usual. You know how they are, I’ve been worried.”

Song Mian was a typical humble parent. To appear modest, she always downplayed her children’s achievements. Even if Chu Xingning and Chu Tao said they did well, she would always tell others that they weren’t a concern.

Tang Lingmei laughed. “You don’t need to worry about Xingning, he’s doing so well, he knows exactly what he’s doing. But Tao Tao, you should pay extra attention to him. Is he still at the broadcast station?”

Song Mian paused. “I’m not too sure. He likes it, so maybe he is?”

Tang Lingmei sounded like the world was ending. “Oh my god, Song, why are you letting him do that? The broadcast station can help with college entrance exam points, is he planning on going into the arts? He shouldn’t waste time there, what is he doing?”

Song Mian hesitated, instinctively defending him. “Maybe he’s quit already, he might not be there.”

Tang Lingmei replied, “I heard from Shen Hongfang that during the flag-raising ceremony, someone confessed their feelings on the broadcast, and it was accidentally aired. It caused quite a stir. The moral education teachers had to talk to them. I don’t know if it has anything to do with Tao Tao, but the broadcast station isn’t a good place for him. Kids who are focused on studying wouldn’t be wasting time there.”

Song Mian quickly retorted, “It definitely wasn’t Tao Tao. He’s shy, there’s no way he would do something like that.”

Tang Lingmei emphasized, “I’m talking about the environment. Do you understand that the environment has an influence? Tao Tao is already a bit rebellious. If he sees others confessing on the broadcast, he might think it’s okay to start a relationship too.”

Song Mian tugged at her hair, taking a deep breath. Tang Lingmei’s words had completely ruined her mood.

“Xiao Tang, how did Shen Hongfang do on the exam?”

Tang Lingmei chuckled. “Don’t even mention it. The chemistry teacher I found for him is really amazing. Shen Hongfang told me he would aced the chemistry test this time. He’s got no problem. You know, Song, you really missed a great opportunity.”

Song Mian felt even more frustrated.

She had a bit of a problem with indecision and was easily swayed by others. When she heard that Shen Hongfang had improved, she immediately regretted not forcing Chu Tao to take that class, even if it meant paying double the cost.

But now, the class already had 20 students and had completed two lessons, and she couldn’t add Chu Tao to the class anymore.

“Alright, Xiao Tang, I’m stewing something, I need to watch the fire. Let’s talk later.”

Tang Lingmei paused, surprised at how quickly the conversation ended. She still had more to say. “Okay, okay, I didn’t know you’re busy.”

Song Mian opened the kitchen door and saw her two sons smiling happily in the living room. She held herself back, not saying anything.

Anyway, it wouldn’t change anything. She was the only one who cared. The three of them were carefree.

On Tuesday, the monthly exam results were released. The temperature had risen a few more degrees, and peach blossoms covered the branches. On the moist soil, a few fallen petals could be seen.

Yang Liu entered the classroom with the grade rankings, grabbed the chalk, and slammed it against the blackboard a few times to stop the noisy chatter.

She gathered her energy, raised her voice, and said, “I knew it, you all just want to play! The monthly exam results are out!”

Everyone lazily took their seats, showing no reaction to the word “monthly exam.”

It was no joke, the college entrance exam wouldn’t even make them panic, let alone a trivial monthly exam.

In Class Three, who hadn’t seen the world?

Yang Liu cleared her throat and walked around the classroom twice, hands behind her back. “Our class, the gap between the top and bottom is huge. Those who did well really did well, and those who didn’t are really struggling!”

Fang Sheng slapped his thigh and pretended to be flustered. “Teacher, what should we do? Our class has never had such a big gap before!”

At his words, the class burst into laughter.

“Hahaha, that’s right, teacher, our class was always progressing together before!”

“Why is there such a gap as wide as north and south pole now?”

“So scary, our class has such a serious polarization now. It’s like the wealth gap in the country widening, which could increase class conflict!”

“How should we solve this? It’s driving me crazy.”

“How about this: we ask the class president to answer a few less questions to solve the wide gap!”

“Why don’t you just ask the whole class to score a few more points?”

“That’s impossible, I can’t do it!”

Yang Liu was furious and shouted, “Shut up! You still have the heart to joke around at a time like this?”

Chu Tao lowered his head, tapping his fingers absentmindedly on the back of his hand. No matter how noisy the class was, he remained silent.

He also knew that the “doing well” Yang Liu was referring to meant him.

Originally, Chu Tao wasn’t that outstanding. The class had Chu Xingning, along with other top students from different grades. He was just quietly good, never drawing attention from his classmates or teachers.

But in Class Three…

Suddenly, he felt someone lightly poke his waist.

Jiang She teased, “Class president, don’t forget your old friends when you become wealthy.”

He reached his hand under the table and secretly tapped Chu Tao.

For some reason, it felt uncomfortable for Jiang She if a day went by without hugging or being close to Chu Tao. Though Chu Tao was very tempting, he wasn’t that much of an animal.

Jiang She scolded himself for being an animal while still unable to resist teasing Chu Tao.

Chu Tao took a deep breath, pressed his lips together, and secretly pulled his hand down, placing it behind his back, trying to push away Jiang She’s fingers.

Jiang She, on the contrary, grabbed his fingertips, quickly wrapping them in his palm, not letting him pull away no matter what.

Chu Tao let out a breath, his face flushing slightly.

Jiang She squeezed his hand, gently massaging it, his fingers intertwining with Chu Tao’s, moving from the smooth, neat nails all the way to the soft gaps between his fingers and the raised knuckles.

Chu Tao couldn’t help but swallow, his eyelids trembling wildly.

His hand was a bit cold, while Jiang She’s palm was very warm. The contrast of cold and warmth exaggerated the sensation.

Yang Liu, with a look of approval in her eyes, turned her gentle gaze toward Chu Tao. “First of all, I want to commend our class president, Chu Tao,” she said, glancing at the grade ranking chart. “This time, Chu Tao ranked 20th in the grade, improving by a full 25 places! Do you all know what it means to improve by 25 places in the top 50?”

Chu Tao raised his damp eyes, also taken aback.

He knew he had done well this time, but he hadn’t expected it to be this good. This was his highest ranking ever.

Yang Liu continued to look at him kindly: “You just fell short in chemistry, but look, your chemistry score has gone up quite a bit. With everything else performing normally, you did this well. I think the key is your confidence, finding the right methods, and accumulating knowledge. Even without extra lessons, your grades improved.”

Yang Liu had no idea that Chu Tao had been attending Mr. Nian Li Hua’s classes.

She thought that after the recent incident, Chu Tao had become determined, found the right path, and suddenly saw his performance improve significantly.

Dai Wenjian turned around in surprise: “Wow, class president, you’re amazing! Hey, class president, why are you blushing?”

Qin Wei slapped him on the shoulder: “The class president is such a modest person, you think he’s like you with a shameless attitude?”

Hearing this, Chu Tao’s face turned even redder.

It wasn’t because of Yang Liu’s praise, but because of Jiang She’s touch.

He silently bit his lip and pressed his fingernail hard into Jiang She’s palm.

The pain made Jiang She loosen his grip, and Chu Tao immediately pulled his hand back.

He even pretended to act serious, clenched his fist, and coughed twice near his lips.

Jiang She snickered and murmured, “Little boy, still likes to scratch people.”

Yang Liu stopped smiling and turned toward Jiang She: “Now, I want to especially commend our class’s Jiang She.”

All of Jiang She’s attention was on Chu Tao’s back, so when Yang Liu mentioned his name, he was even more surprised than she was.

Yang Liu scanned the class, shaking the large ranking chart in her hand: “Our class’s second place, Jiang She, improved by 300 places in the grade. He’s the student with the greatest improvement in the whole school and has won the scholarship of 500 yuan for this achievement.”

Jiang She: “…”

The whole class: “???” The people in Class Three really hadn’t seen much of the world!

Yang Liu smiled contentedly: “Oh, and Fang Sheng also improved by several dozen places. Not bad. You see, sitting near good students and studying with them is really effective.”

Jiang She furrowed his brow and questioned: “Teacher, did you grade the papers wrong?” He still couldn’t understand many of the questions. For this exam, he had just written down what he knew and left quite a few blanks.

He felt that his exam paper was poorly written, but he never expected that the others at Huainan No.1 High School were even worse.

With such a sloppy paper, he advanced 300 places.

Chu Tao whispered, “It’s not surprising. You have many types of questions in your mistake notebook, and I made you practice them.”

Jiang She’s mouth twitched: “No way.”

Fang Sheng huddled up and sighed: “It’s over, it’s over, Jiang She can never be the school bully again. Winning the progress scholarship is practically a disgrace in the bully world!”

Yang Liu took Jiang She as a typical example and, frustrated, spoke to the others: “Look! Jiang She has started studying. You guys are still just playing around? As for family background, who can compare with his? Don’t naively think you can rely on your parents. Jiang She is your lesson—no, he’s your role model! If he can improve by 300 places, then you can improve by 200, or at least 100, right?”

Xu Bo Xue quietly asked Xu Yuan, “What’s going on? Didn’t Jiang She and the class president have a bad relationship?”

Xu Yuan frowned deeply, unable to figure it out: “Maybe… maybe Jiang She wants to suppress the class president both academically and physically.”

Xu Bo Xue inhaled sharply: “What? Competing with the class president in academics?”

“Wow, Jiang She’s ambitions are so grand, I truly admire him,” he said in awe.

Xu Yuan glared at him: “I was just guessing, don’t make things up.”

Xu Bo Xue said weakly: “I also think you were just guessing, but Jiang She seems to like the class president. Remember the basketball court incident? The class president told him not to go, and he didn’t go. My God, he probably wouldn’t even listen to his dad like that.”

Xu Yuan said firmly: “Nonsense, Jiang She was just being impulsive!”

Xu Yuan couldn’t figure it out either—his free-spirited, rebellious brother was suddenly so focused on studying.