"Guozhong Diba High School has basically scooped up almost all the good seedlings from our Zixu City. For our provincial key school, Tianxiang High School, to have a liberal arts student scoring 599—that's already rare enough."
Hua Keduo gazed up at the "Hero List," staring at the god-tier student Xia Pengfei's score with deep emotion.
Leng Siyu said nothing. She turned around and saw Ye Zhiqiu and Xia Pengfei chatting and laughing as they walked gracefully across the square toward the main teaching building. Even their loose school sports uniforms couldn't hide their extraordinary elegance.
"Siyu, why isn't your name on the list?" Hua Keduo asked.
"I got 515 points. Ranked 136 in the grade. How could I possibly get on the list?"
Leng Siyu caught a fallen leaf drifting down from a wutong tree as she spoke.
"That's still better than me. At least you can make it into a second-tier university. I'm ranked 489th—can't even get into Tier 2."
Ye Zhiqiu, still talking with Xia Pengfei, looked up and noticed Leng Siyu and Hua Keduo checking the grade rankings. She said to Xia Pengfei, "Pengfei, let's go take a look at the rankings, okay?"
"What's there to see? If you want to go, go. Class is about to start. I'm not going."
Ye Zhiqiu tried again, "Leng Siyu is over there."
"What does her being there have to do with me? Get to class," Xia Pengfei replied coldly.
A trace of joy flickered in Ye Zhiqiu's eyes. She never knew cold words could make a person feel so relieved. She became even more certain that Xia Pengfei approached Leng Siyu purely—and only—for academic reasons.
Ever since a certain nation's genius scientist completed humanity's first grand theoretical synthesis of natural sciences, the field had advanced faster and faster. Mathematics was no exception.
After multiple leaps—from variable mathematics to modern mathematics to contemporary mathematics—high school students felt the most direct impact: math problems were growing harder and harder. For some girls with weaker abstract thinking, math had become an insurmountable peak.
Among all the liberal-arts subjects tested in the college entrance exam, math was the one Leng Siyu feared most. Not because she lacked intelligence—it was mainly disinterest, plus a lack of consistent, high-intensity practice.
The math teacher for Class 1, Grade 2—Zhou Xiaotong—was also a graduate of a prestigious university's mathematics program. His foundation was solid; no matter how difficult the problem, he could solve it within a minute.
But sadly, his teaching ability lagged far behind his theoretical skill. He simply couldn't "pour out" what he knew, and his classroom management was often crude and simplistic.
"This time, the following students had sloppy handwriting and high error rates: Song Xinkuan, Zeng Zhiwei, Hua Keduo, Ye Zhiqiu, Leng Siyu—and Wang Xiaobao, who went even further and didn't turn in homework at all. Do I need to speak with your father? Those I just called, stay after school and come to my office!"
The moment class began, Zhou Xiaotong announced a blacklist.
Leng Siyu had initially been lowering her head to finish her Chinese homework, but upon hearing she'd be kept after class, she immediately raised her hand high.
"Report, teacher—I have something to say!"
"What can't be said after class? You think you can ignore your elders just because you've got some brute strength?" Zhou Xiaotong scolded. "Believe it or not, I'll call your parents and tell them how you behave at school."
Leng Siyu stood up straight. "Teacher, my parents are rarely home. I need to pick up my sister from kindergarten after school. If you want to talk to me, please find another time."
"Excuses! Those are absolutely excuses!"
Zhou Xiaotong's face darkened.
"If you don't believe me, you can ask Teacher Nian. Or ask him."
Leng Siyu pointed to Xia Pengfei on her left.
"Student Xia—is that true?" Zhou Xiaotong's tone softened noticeably when he addressed the top student.
Xia Pengfei stood up and said, "What Leng said is correct. Her sister and my little brother both attend our school's affiliated kindergarten, in Teacher Zhao Hongxia's class. I have Miss Zhao's phone number right here—×××××××××××. You can verify it yourself.
Leng has long been taking care of her sister alone. She even brings her to her part-time jobs. I, Liu Xudong, Ye Zhiqiu, Zhou Yang, Wang Xiaobao, and Jiang Meidan have all run into the two of them while she was working."
Zhou Xiaotong's expression softened greatly. His tone too.
"All right then, Leng, I'll discuss this with you at another time."
…
After school, with her bag already in hand, Leng Siyu was about to bolt out of the classroom like lightning when Xia Pengfei grabbed her.
She spun back to face his devastatingly handsome face and shook off his hand.
"Xia Pengfei, just because you're good-looking doesn't mean you can harass girls whenever you want!"
"If I don't hold you, you'll be gone before I finish speaking."
Xia Pengfei replied.
"If you've got something to say, say it!"
Leng Siyu's eyes were dark pools radiating coldness.
"If you're going to work, you can leave Yuanyuan at my house. She can keep Chongchong company."
Leng Siyu turned and walked away. "No need for you to worry about that!"
She was already out the door before she finished speaking.
"What a stubborn person…"
Xia Pengfei shook his head helplessly, packed up slowly, slung on his bag, and walked out.
"Pengfei—"
"Pengfei—"
Both Liu Xudong and Ye Zhiqiu rushed up behind him and called out at the same time.
"You go first—ladies first."
Liu Xudong gestured courteously.
"Pengfei, there's a new café downstairs from my building. Great atmosphere. Let me treat you tonight."
Ye Zhiqiu said.
"There's coffee at my place. Lan-jie makes excellent coffee. Why would I pay to let some café owner make money off us?"
Xia Pengfei rejected her romantic invitation without hesitation.
"You wouldn't be paying…"
The usually proud Ye Zhiqiu was reduced to dust in front of him.
"It's not about the money."
Not about the money…
Then it must be about the person?
Ye Zhiqiu's eyes dimmed. She hadn't expected her carefully curated, artsy suggestion to be rejected so bluntly.
"Zhiqiu, Pengfei doesn't appreciate romance—but I do. You can invite me instead." Liu Xudong seized the opportunity.
"…Fine. I'll call you later."
When she looked up again, Xia Pengfei was already far away.
Liu Xudong had originally wanted to ask Xia Pengfei to play basketball. But since a beauty had invited him out, he worried about what excuse he'd need. Seeing Xia Pengfei didn't care at all, he was relieved.
…
In Room 0101, little Cold Yuanyuan came home and immediately grabbed a comb and hair tie. Standing before the mirror, she practiced tying her hair—tying, then undoing, then tying again. No matter how many times she tried, she remained dissatisfied.
"Jiejie, come help me, okay?" she called to Leng Siyu, who was mopping the floor.
"Go to my room, turn on the computer, and search for tutorials yourself."
Leng Siyu replied.
Yuanyuan happily skipped to her sister's room. Instead of turning on the computer first, she picked up the family photo from the bedside table and stared for a long time at Lin Wanru and Leng Xiang in the picture.
Only after that did she turn on the computer…
"Siyu, I'm going to take a shower. If there's a call, handle it for me…"
She tossed her phone onto the bed and went into the bathroom.
Yuanyuan had barely opened the browser when the phone rang. Seeing it was Star Supermarket calling, she didn't ask anything—just said, "My sister's busy today," and hung up.