Jiang Yan wanted a drink of water, Ji Chu went to fetch it for her. When Ji Chu came back from his exercise, he kept her company. Even when Jiang Yan went to the restroom, Ji Chu stood seriously waiting for her outside the men's restroom.
This made some girls feel embarrassed to go to the restroom in front of Bai Yuelight.
Not only did their classmates tease them relentlessly, but even their homeroom teacher called Ji Chu to the office for two pots of tea.
This time, it was Ji Chu's turn to wait.
Before long, Ji Chu came out of the office, looking miserable and dejected.
Jiang Yan was eating a grilled sausage bought from the small supermarket, smiling at him carelessly.
Ji Chu was in a bad mood and looked pitifully angry: "You're still eating, you're still smiling! Who am I doing this for?!"
"I didn't ask you to follow me."
"I was just afraid someone would bully you again!" Ji Chu didn't complain to Jiang Yan, but muttered to himself, truly like a discouraged person.
"Here." Jiang Yan amusedly took out another grilled sausage that she had hidden behind her back.
Ji Chu looked at it for two seconds, reluctantly took it, and mumbled: "I knew you would think of me."
"Then why don't you eat it?" Jiang Yan asked curiously.
"The homeroom teacher kept pouring me two pots of Longjing tea," Ji Chu said slowly and emotionlessly. He was so full he was about to die. What kind of homeroom teacher would keep refilling a student's tea and water!
"...Hahahahaha..." Jiang Yan laughed until her eyes were like crescents.
Then a male student's voice came, exasperated: "I'll never drink tea again!"
The girls' laughter spilled out again.
...
But soon, Jiang Yan couldn't laugh anymore.
Ji Chu tidied up her desk himself, arranged her stationery, and brought fruit and drinks. After closing the study room door, he sat across from her and stared at her while she studied math.
This time, it was because the college entrance exam was approaching, and Ji Chu wanted to attend the same university as Jiang Yan.
Jiang Yan couldn't bear this torturous situation, and she weakly tried to negotiate with Ji Chu: "It's okay if we don't go to the same university, right?"
Jiang Yan knew how to show weakness, but Ji Chu was even better at it.
The young man lowered his eyes, and his fluffy short hair looked gloomy. "Sis, you just don't want me anymore, do you..."
"How could that be..." Jiang Yan's excuses disappeared under Ji Chu's gaze, so she could only pick up her pen with great resentment.
Even during the noon break at school, Ji Chu had to switch seats with someone else so he could sit next to Jiang Yan and tutor her one-on-one.
Jiang Yan didn't want to study, but math wasn't something she could learn just by wanting to. Otherwise, she wouldn't have only scored in the thirties.
The summer sun was dazzlingly bright, blocked out by the gray curtains. The classroom was dimly lit, and to avoid disturbing others' rest, Ji Chu lectured in an extremely soft voice.
After one round, there was a point Jiang Yan didn't understand, and Ji Chu helped her solve it; when he lectured the second round, she couldn't keep up again, so Ji Chu wrote down every step and formula...
The top student in their class, sitting in front of Jiang Yan, found Ji Chu's actions perplexing. Did he really not get bored of explaining it so many times?
Before he could ask, Jiang Yan, who had listened to the third round, swiftly wrote out the process and said she understood.
Ji Chu immediately snapped his fingers, happily praising her: "Little genius."
The top student couldn't help but laugh. There was no need to ask anymore; they were clearly enjoying it.
...
As the college entrance exam drew nearer, Gu Yuming's rate of growth was inversely proportional to the rapidly shrinking time.
There was no sudden remorse or dramatic change of heart. What happened was that he passed by their class and saw the sticky note Jiang Yan had written on one wall—Chuancheng University.
Suddenly, Gu Yuming felt that if he continued down this path, the distance between him and Jiang Yan would become truly insurmountable.
Gu Yuming's experience of hitting rock bottom and then finding his way back became a legend at school, but in reality, this was his last gamble.
And he eventually got his wish, but failed to repay it.
On the day of the college entrance exam, Ji Chu was the first to walk out of the exam hall. At the school gate, he bought a beautiful bouquet of fresh flowers and smiled as he waited for Jiang Yan to come out.
The young man was tall and lean with a clean figure. Although slender, the protruding veins on his wrists showed his strength. His romantic gesture of buying flowers and waiting attracted many eyes.
An auntie asked curiously, "Handsome boy, who are you buying flowers for? Your girlfriend?"
Ji Chu smiled, "Not yet."
"Ah!" The auntie sighed, silently wondering what kind of girl could not be won over by such a good young man. She stood there, wanting to see what the girl looked like when she came out.
Gu Yuming also came out, muttering that he would never be able to do those crazy English questions in this lifetime. But he had written the other subjects quite well, so whether he could go to the same school as Jiang Yan was up to fate now.
He stood silently behind a tree, wanting to catch a glimpse of Jiang Yan when she came out.
But the flowers, the gazes, the anticipation—none of it could summon the girl.
