Chapter 22: Lu Liu Nodded, With a Meaningful Look…

Lin Zhi really “loved” Lu Liu’s attentiveness.

After formal classes began, the first round of revisions for all subjects started. Lin Zhi didn’t dare slack off, making sure to stay alert and pay attention in every class. But old habits die hard, and after just a few days, once the novelty wore off, Lin Zhi reverted to his old high school senior-year state.

It was as if he had contracted a disease called “falling asleep in class,” where the ringing of the bell acted like a lullaby, the teachers like sleeping pills, and the hard desks and uncomfortable postures couldn’t stop him from pursuing his beautiful dreams.

As the darkness slowly crept over him again, Lin Zhi was nudged awake by the person sitting next to him. He immediately opened his eyes, instinctively tightening his grip on his pen and pretending to work on the scratch paper.

Chen Guyang, who had been his desk mate for two years, and Lin Zhi had developed an unspoken understanding. When Lin Zhi fell asleep in class, Chen Guyang would only subtly remind him when the teacher was either watching him from the podium or walking down the aisle towards him.

Lin Zhi had gained some experience in sneaking naps during class and, after a brief period of pretending to be focused, began to scan the room for the teacher’s whereabouts. There was no sign of the teacher in the aisle, so Lin Zhi looked up and acted as if he was casually glancing at the blackboard, only to realize that the teacher wasn’t watching him. In fact, the teacher wasn’t looking at any students but was standing with his back to them, writing a difficult problem’s solution on the board.

In his daze, Lin Zhi heard a very faint laugh near his ear. The sound was almost imperceptible, but because they were close enough, Lin Zhi could detect it through the hurried rush of air.

Lin Zhi: “…”

He was truly half-asleep, almost forgetting that his desk mate was no longer Chen Guyang.

Lu Liu lightly coughed, suppressing his laughter. He had observed Lin Zhi’s actions after waking up, and although they seemed “sneaky,” to Lu Liu, they were quite amusing.

Lu Liu became Lin Zhi’s desk mate after the class meeting, where Lu Liu had taken on the task of calculating the target universities for the class.

After classes began, Lu Liu did indeed ask Lin Zhi at the end of each evening study session whether there was anything he hadn’t understood. At first, Lin Zhi paid attention, and the material wasn’t too difficult, while Lu Liu, despite his abundance of talent, had nowhere to channel it.

However, after Lin Zhi missed some important knowledge points due to sleeping in class, Lu Liu finally got the chance to put his learning to good use.

Lu Liu enjoyed explaining problems to Lin Zhi. With less than three hundred days until the college entrance exam, Lu Liu didn’t mind doing it every day.

But after learning about Lin Zhi’s target university, Lu Liu checked the previous years’ provincial admission scores and realized that Lin Zhi still had quite a gap to bridge to get into that school.

In order to attend the same university as Lin Zhi in the future… no, in order for Lin Zhi to achieve his goal, Lu Liu was determined to help him improve his grades no matter what.

In addition to explaining the material Lin Zhi didn’t understand, Lu Liu subtly found out from Chen Guyang that Lin Zhi often missed important points because he frequently slept in class.

So, Lu Liu requested to be seated next to Lin Zhi for easier supervision. Wang Wu, who always liked the capable and high-performing Lu Liu, immediately granted this small request.

Lin Zhi didn’t know about the seating change request, nor did he know that, in his past life, Chen Guyang, who had been his “undercover” spy near Lu Liu, had become Lu Liu’s shortcut to gathering information about him in this life.

Now, Lu Liu had simply occupied that shortcut spot.

At first, Lin Zhi wasn’t used to having the “rule-abiding” Lu Liu as his desk mate, because Lu Liu wouldn’t whisper to him during class and wouldn’t keep an eye on the teacher when Lin Zhi drifted off to sleep.

Not only did Lu Liu not help him, but he would always bring his focus back immediately whenever Lin Zhi tried to slack off in any way. Lin Zhi grumbled inwardly, thinking, Why doesn’t everyone just concentrate for 45 minutes in class like Lu Liu?

“Did you not sleep well last night?” Lu Liu quietly asked after class.

“It’s fine.” Lin Zhi answered vaguely. For him, whether he felt sleepy in class had nothing to do with how well he slept the previous night, but rather with the hypnotic qualities of the teacher’s lessons and the level of difficulty in the day’s material.

Lu Liu nodded and said, “Then you should take a nap during break.”

“Hmm.” Lin Zhi crossed his arms and rested his head on the desk.

In their class, the seats were rearranged weekly in groups, ensuring everyone had a chance to sit in the front row. This week, Lin Zhi and Lu Liu’s seats were by the window near the hallway. During the break, students passed through the hallway, the sound of chatting and laughter never ceasing.

Half-asleep, Lin Zhi noticed that Lu Liu seemed to stand up from his seat. Then, he heard the sound of the window being moved, and the sounds from the hallway seemed to fade, as though the volume had been turned down.

The edge of Lu Liu’s school uniform, which had been hanging on Lin Zhi’s shoulder, lifted away, and a faint scent of lavender seemed to drift away with it. Lin Zhi’s sleepiness vanished without a trace.

After Lu Liu sat back down, the sounds of flipping through books and setting down pens were intentionally quieter, but Lin Zhi still couldn’t fall asleep.

Since the start of senior year, the weekend breaks were changed to once every two weeks instead of weekly. On the weekends without a break, the whole school held a small test, with two subjects being tested—one on Saturday afternoon and the other on Sunday morning. Sunday afternoon was reserved for students to organize their personal affairs.

At the back of the classroom, the countdown to the college entrance exam was steadily decreasing. Every morning, Lu Liu would erase the date from the previous day and rewrite the new number. Whenever he did, Lin Zhi couldn’t help but feel a sense of urgency.

It was strange. In his past life, he hadn’t felt much of anything. Was it because he wanted to go to B City to find “Zhi”? Or was it because Lu Liu, the one responsible for writing down the dates, was now his desk mate?

It was unclear exactly when it started, but it seemed that every time Lin Zhi thought of “Zhi,” he would compare him to Lu Liu, and it became essential for him to feel that “Zhi” was inferior to Lu Liu in order to feel at ease.

If the result wasn’t like that, Lin Zhi would feel guilty, as if he had subconsciously accepted that Lu Liu was better than “Zhi.”

Lin Zhi sometimes mockingly thought about how he had no right to rank two equally excellent people.

“Zhi” had been his boyfriend in his past life, but now, they had no connection at all. Lu Liu unconditionally helped him solve difficult problems, yet he was secretly racking his brain to find flaws in Lu Liu. It was truly repaying kindness with ingratitude.

“Ugh…” Lin Zhi sighed deeply. He was just a selfish, foolish little person.

“What’s wrong?” Lu Liu quickly asked. “Did you not get it again?”

Lin Zhi: “…”

That word “again” was just…

“No,” Lin Zhi, though self-deprecating, didn’t want others to think he was truly dumb, so he quickly clarified, “I’m just a bit tired.”

“Then take a rest before you write,” said Yao Wenjing from the other side. “When you’re not in the right state, your study efficiency isn’t high.”

It was Sunday afternoon, and the three of them were studying in an empty classroom.

They had been studying together every Sunday for several weeks, and Lin Zhi had no idea when Yao Wenjing and Lu Liu had started teaming up behind his back. They had somehow found an empty classroom to study in together. Maybe it all started when Yao Wenjing “entrusted” him to Lu Liu.

The arrangement was a bit strange, but the study atmosphere was good. Fortunately, both Lu Liu and Yao Wenjing could teach Lin Zhi, and Lu Liu alone could teach both Lin Zhi and Yao Wenjing.

“Mm,” Lin Zhi stretched lazily. “I’m going to the restroom.”

After Lin Zhi left, Yao Wenjing asked Lu Liu for help with a difficult problem. It was much easier for Lu Liu to explain problems to Yao Wenjing than to Lin Zhi. He just pointed out the key points, and Yao Wenjing immediately understood.

When Yao Wenjing went back, he passed by Lin Zhi’s seat and casually tidied up Lin Zhi’s messy desk.

Lu Liu saw this, and after a light chuckle, leaned back in his chair and said, “Let’s take a break too.”

“Okay,” Yao Wenjing responded, but his hands didn’t stop.

“You really…” Lu Liu thought for a moment, trying to find the right adjective. “You’re considerate.”

It wasn’t the first time Lu Liu had seen Yao Wenjing’s meticulous gestures toward Lin Zhi. Although Lin Zhi might not have noticed, Lu Liu, as an observer, saw it clearly.

Yao Wenjing smiled but didn’t speak, his face showing a hint of shyness.

Lu Liu then said, “You and Lin Zhi really have a good relationship.”

“Mm,” Yao Wenjing honestly admitted, “Xiao Zhi is my only friend.”

Lu Liu nodded and, with a meaningful tone, asked, “Is that all?”

Yao Wenjing paused, slightly surprised, and turned to look at Lu Liu. “What… do you mean?”