Arts and Sciences
The final exams were still three days long, and Yun Mi was burning the midnight oil memorizing composition materials.
Ding Yuan said, "Yun Mi, you know what? You've gotten weird."
Yun Mi asked, "Where am I weird?"
Ding Yuan couldn't quite put her finger on it, but Yun Mi was putting more effort into her appearance—she wore lip balm, secretly matched her hair clips with butterflies or bunnies, still worked like crazy on problems, and occasionally spaced out with a silly smile, then, as if she'd figured something out, she'd grit her teeth and memorize texts.
Ding Yuan hid behind the compulsory third textbook and muttered softly, "I keep feeling like you've fallen for someone."
The morning self-study classroom was buzzing, and students were about to head to their exam halls. Hearing this, Yun Mi turned sharply and stammered, "No, I haven't."
She hesitated, withdrew her gaze, and began packing her transparent pencil case.
Old Qi was at the podium reminding everyone to take all their belongings.
Ding Yuan just complained, then predicted the exam scores for herself and Yun Mi, and encouraged, "Do well in math. Score above 128, and our Mi can get into Class One."
Yun Mi's highest score on quizzes was only 124. Ding Yuan thought it was a big challenge and asked the people behind, "What do you guys think?"
Zhou Shihui smoothly replied, "Of course she will."
Xie Yue groaned, "Yun Mi, you can do well, but don't bump me out of my spot."
"..."
Ding Yuan glared at him and scolded, "A dog's mouth can't spit out ivory."
Xie Yue had bought three bottles of juice, and Ding Yuan snatched one.
Left with a very sweet cherry berry flavor, Chen Yiyang was picked over.
It was pink and a bit cold.
Yun Mi watched as Chen Yiyang got up nonchalantly.
He'd been busy going to the hospital these days, too tired to chew mint candies, his face cold. He carried his pencil case, blocking the view. His pale, bony hand placed a bottle of Meco on top of her stack of more than ten textbooks and asked, "Finished reviewing?"
"Mm."
"This tastes bad, so it's yours."
"???"
Yun Mi looked up in surprise and saw the slight curl of Chen Yiyang's lips. He looked down at her teasingly and said, "Good luck, little sister."
The girl with pigtails bristled at the words "tastes bad" and glared at him.
Xie Yue ran over, put his arm around Chen Yiyang's shoulders, and dragged him away. As they left the corridor, the campus of Shanfu was enveloped in greenery. Xie Yue lowered his voice and asked, "Can you be any more obvious?"
Chen Yiyang looked up, tilted his head, and sneered at Xie Yue with disdain. "What makes you think you're any better?"
What kind of talk was that? Xie Yue cursed, "Fuck," leaned in resentfully, and said, "I bought them for myself, Ding Yuan, and Ding Yuan's bestie. You stole my drink, gave it away as a gift, and you're still in the right?"
...
Yun Mi's exam room was in Class 23. As she entered, she unexpectedly ran into Jiang Miyan.
Jiang Miyan clearly remembered the last time Yun Mi was falsely accused. She offered a few words of comfort. "That idiot who spread the rumors apologized, right?"
Xu Mingyi was already completely unreachable. Yun Mi responded, "Sort of..."
Jiang Miyan squinted, puzzled. "What do you mean, 'sort of'?" She hesitated. "I'm talking about that male classmate of ours. The way he apologized—Chen Yiyang came to our class and made him straighten up. Wasn't he sincere with you?"
Yun Mi was stunned.
Indeed, that boy had apologized. At the time, he still had a bruise on his nose, and he didn't dare say a harsh word. He lowered his head and said, "I'll never mess up again. Classmate Yun Mi, I hope you won't be upset."
The boy stammered reluctantly. At first, Yun Mi thought it was the school teachers who had instructed him.
Unconsciously, she looked down at the half-finished Meco in her hand.
A look of disdain crossed her face.
So it was you, Chen Yiyang.
Jiang Miyan said, "In my second year, I want to be in the same class as Chen Yiyang."
Yun Mi didn't know what Jiang Miyan's grades were like, but she herself also wanted to get into Class One. She knew too well how difficult it was. Yun Mi smiled and said, "Good luck."
The whole day's exams went smoothly. When school let out, a male classmate came to ask Yun Mi for the multiple-choice answers. Someone said, "Hey, ask anyone but Yun Mi. Her answers aren't very accurate."
"Who says my accuracy isn't high?" Yun Mi couldn't take it. She turned to Chen Yiyang. "How many did I get wrong?"
Chen Yiyang leaned back in his chair, his long legs constrained under the desk. He slowly lifted his eyelids, his tone flat. "One. You got the last one wrong. It should be A."
"..."
The boy who had mocked her immediately looked displeased.
As they went down the stairs after school, Ding Yuan leaned in and said, "Yun Mi, don't you think Chen Yiyang is concerned about you?"
"Concerned?" Yun Mi was suspicious.
Ding Yuan reasoned, "Think about it. You were comparing answers with Lu Yubin—sixty English multiple-choice questions. Chen Yiyang didn't even hesitate and said you only got one wrong... Of course, you're awesome for only getting one wrong. But—but! If he hadn't listened carefully, how would he know how many you got wrong, and even which question?" Ding Yuan made an exaggerated expression, tugging at Yun Mi's arm. "He must have listened carefully from the first question. Do you get the logic?"
The stairwell was dim as school ended, with a banner reading "Act with Prudence and Thoughtful Reflection" hanging on the wall. Students in school uniforms crowded around.