Liu Sizhen spotted the male lead at a glance from the second floor, sitting upright with a straight back. The young man’s posture was impeccable, not a hint of slouching or hunching, and at least visually, it was quite pleasing.

Beside Lin Bosheng was a box of pastries, some freshly washed fruits, and a steaming hot beverage. Yet, he hadn’t touched a single one.

Since arriving at his house, Lin Bosheng had become especially silent. Other than chatting a bit more with Aunt Wang when the conversation touched on Liu Sizhen, he remained quiet afterward, never once leaving the living room area.

Liu Sizhen had never been to Shuichang Lane before and only knew of it through Lin Bosheng’s script perspective. From what he gathered, it seemed like a place of poverty, disorder, and decay. Being suddenly brought to a villa district in the city center, would Lin Bosheng feel uneasy?

Naturally considerate of others, Liu Sizhen was also good at putting himself in someone else’s shoes. He tried to imagine things from the male lead’s perspective and thought he must be feeling a sense of disparity.

——It seemed like he had indeed been a bit inconsiderate.

To avoid disturbing him, Liu Sizhen even slowed his steps while coming downstairs, treading lightly as he quietly moved behind Lin Bosheng. The male lead didn’t seem to react, likely unaware of his presence.

Compared to the unfamiliar games upstairs, the test paper that Lin Bosheng was working on felt much more familiar to Liu Sizhen. After all, it was material he had already learned before.

He casually stood behind Lin Bosheng, pretending to be indifferent while watching him do his homework. In truth, Liu Sizhen had paid attention earlier when the teacher assigned it, marveling at how much homework there was in high school.

The elective subject homework had been assigned earlier, and Liu Sizhen had watched the male lead complete it at school. The remaining tasks were the core subject assignments given after school. From his speed, it was clear that Lin Bosheng wasn’t slow, as there was only a bit left to finish.

Liu Sizhen watched silently, simultaneously working through the solutions in his mind. Having graduated from high school without “returning the knowledge to the teachers,” he still remembered how to solve these problems.

He was completely focused when suddenly, the male lead spoke.

“Is the answer A?”

Liu Sizhen’s mouth reacted faster than his brain. Without thinking, he replied, “It should be C. I think A is the trick option…”

“…”

A self-proclaimed academic slacker who had just failed the last monthly exam was actually offering advice to one of the top students in the class? The whole thing sounded ridiculous. Liu Sizhen’s mind raced, trying to figure out how to salvage the situation.

He forced a laugh. “Haha, I was just guessing… Maybe I got it right by accident.”

Lin Bosheng glanced at the few unruly strands of hair sticking up on Liu Sizhen’s head, once again suppressing the urge to reach out and touch them.

“…Yeah, I think it’s C too.”

At that moment, Liu Sizhen felt particularly awkward, but Lin Bosheng didn’t think so. After all, he had already noticed when Liu Sizhen was standing behind him.

This was Lin Bosheng’s first time visiting a classmate’s house. At one point, Liu Sizhen tossed him a can of soda from afar. Lin Bosheng caught it effortlessly but didn’t open it. Instead, he tucked it into his pocket, feeling its weight.

When Lin Bosheng was about to leave, Liu Sizhen wanted Uncle Zheng to give him a ride.

“Hey, I’ll have Uncle Zheng take you back.”

“No need.”

Considering how narrow the alleys of Shuichang Lane were, Liu Sizhen’s family car wouldn’t even fit.

Once the first visit happened, the second and third became natural. On one occasion, to get him to stay for dinner, Liu Sizhen saw the male lead about to get up and, with a cold expression, said two words.

“Sit down.”

And just like he had received a command, Lin Bosheng obediently sat back down.

At the long dining table with so many empty seats, the male lead still chose to sit right next to Liu Sizhen.

After sitting down, he skillfully served him soup. If there was fish on the table, he would carefully pick out the small bones for Liu Sizhen. His movements were so smooth and natural that, at first, Liu Sizhen didn’t think much of it.

It wasn’t until he overheard some of the housemaids chatting among themselves that he began to notice.

They were locals and spoke in the regional dialect. While some words were too fast for Liu Sizhen to catch clearly, he could still grasp the general meaning after being exposed to it often.

With admiration, they talked about how thoughtful that classmate was, saying how rare it was to find such a meticulous young man and how his future wife would be lucky.

It was only then that Liu Sizhen began to realize faintly:

Wasn’t Lin Bosheng being a little too good to him?

But that was a matter for later. As the system had mentioned, drowsiness was just an early adaptation for him to adjust. After a few days, he returned to normal. Besides, summer was already a season prone to sleepiness, so it didn’t feel too out of place.

In Liu Sizhen’s eyes, everything seemed the same as before. The male lead was just a bit more silent, but since he didn’t talk much to begin with, it wasn’t too noticeable.

Just as Liu Sizhen thought he understood the male lead well after spending so much time together, he discovered something unexpected…

It was on a Thursday afternoon when Lu Xu, as usual, came over to find him.

From his pocket, Lu Xu pulled out a pastel blue envelope, winking and grinning as he said, “Brother Liu… hehe… Guess what this is! A little girl asked me to deliver it to you.”

This wasn’t the first time.

Even before seeing it, Liu Sizhen could already guess what it was just from Lu Xu’s expression. He frowned, not because he disliked it, but because he didn’t know how to respond.

He had heard about how popular it was in the early 2000s for people to “adopt” brothers and sisters, but experiencing it firsthand left him at a loss.

He didn’t want to be too harsh with the girl, but agreeing wasn’t an option either.

Even though the internet wasn’t widespread at the time, how students managed to spread information so quickly was beyond him. It was as if they had their own exclusive communication platform.

“Aren’t you curious who it’s from?”

“Not at all.”

At that moment, Liu Sizhen didn’t notice that since Lu Xu’s arrival, Lin Bosheng’s pen had noticeably slowed. It was clear he had been paying attention to their conversation the entire time. His grip was so tight that his fingertips had lost all color.

Even though he rejected it outright, Lu Xu still went on and on about the details.

Liu Sizhen had never understood why so many junior schoolboys seemed to dislike him for no apparent reason, especially when he wasn’t even the one who had arguments or conflicts with them.

Who would’ve guessed the real reason was that one of their girlfriends wanted to break up, saying she had fallen for Liu Sizhen instead?

Hearing this, Liu Sizhen was completely silent. If he remembered correctly, the junior in question was only in the ninth grade, and his little girlfriend was likely in eighth grade…

[These young girls should focus on studying instead of messing around with things like this.]

Liu Sizhen didn’t even notice how his words sounded like those of an old man.

[As if you’re so much older yourself…]

The character “Liu Sizhen” was only seventeen years old.

However, Liu Sizhen himself wasn’t much older than the character. Having skipped two grades in the past, even though Liu Sizhen was already in his second year of university, strictly speaking…

He was less than a year older than the “Liu Sizhen” character—only eighteen.

“So how should I respond to her?” Lu Xu, who had accepted a small favor from the girl, felt obligated to at least make an effort to persuade him. “Just accept it! Returning it would embarrass the girl, wouldn’t it?”

As Lu Xu observed Liu Sizhen, he couldn’t help but think how unfair comparisons could be. Forget about the girl caring only about appearances; even as a guy, he had to admit Liu Sizhen’s features were exceptionally good-looking. His skin was flawless, almost reflective under the sunlight.

Even when he came to class, he was always impeccably dressed, his polished appearance complemented by a face as exquisite as a manga protagonist’s. Unless someone had a prejudice against him, it was hard to imagine anyone disliking him.

“Well, what do you think?”

Liu Sizhen still didn’t relent. Accepting the letter would carry an entirely different implication—it would be giving the girl hope. A firm rejection was a much cleaner solution.

Seeing his reaction, Lu Xu realized it was hopeless and didn’t push further. Instead, he shifted to another topic. However, he barely started before stopping abruptly for reasons unknown, and shortly after, the warning bell rang.

Liu Sizhen didn’t bother wondering what Lu Xu had been about to say. That day, during the first class after the morning break, he heard Lin Bosheng’s name announced over the classroom’s broadcast system, asking him to go to the administration office.

…Was this a mistake?

That was Liu Sizhen’s first thought.