Chapter 9: “Copying Homework”

[“I’m working on something big. I’ll tell you when it’s done.”]

Zhou Leqi had never copied homework before.

Not once, from first grade all the way to now.

One reason was that her grades were excellent, so others always copied from her. Another reason was that she disliked owing people favors, which is why she had never asked for such a thing.

Today, however, was an exception...

Hou Zihao hadn’t expected Zhou Leqi to ask him this, and he froze for a moment.

This was the first time she had ever asked him for help, and he really wanted to make a good impression. However, Hou Zihao had only returned home late last night after rushing back from the development zone. By the time he finished dinner and started his homework, it was already 9:30 p.m. So…

“I only did the English homework,” he said, rubbing his nose awkwardly. “...I haven’t touched the math.”

He had actually planned to copy hers.

And so, the two top students stared at each other in silence.

Seeing Zhou Leqi’s speechless expression, Hou Zihao felt a bit embarrassed. After thinking for a moment, he quickly pulled out his English homework from his desk drawer and handed it to her. Lowering his voice, he said, “You can start with the English. I’ll borrow someone else’s math homework.”

With that, he turned around to find someone.

Zhou Leqi watched him borrowing homework from others, but she didn’t get a chance to say “thank you.” She pursed her lips, opened his English homework, and finally got a proper look at his handwriting.

It was large, neat, and elegant—his English handwriting was beautiful, slightly cursive yet flowing gracefully.

She immediately began copying.

As for the math homework, Hou Zihao naturally thought of borrowing Yan Lin’s first—he had good grades and high accuracy. But Yan Lin was still holding a grudge over Hou Zihao abandoning their gaming session a few days ago, so he refused to lend it. With no other choice, Hou Zihao turned to Ge Ao.

Ge Ao’s seat was far away, and the math workbook had to be passed along one seat at a time. As a result, the entire class soon knew that Hou Zihao was borrowing homework. But Hou Zihao didn’t care much. He calmly accepted the workbook as it was handed to him. When he opened it, he found a note tucked inside: “Are you copying my math too? Are you that desperate?”

Hou Zihao ignored it, crumpled the note into a ball, and tossed it aside.

He glanced at Zhou Leqi and noticed she was almost done copying the English homework. He then handed her the math workbook, saying simply, “Math.”

Zhou Leqi looked up at him and…

…blushed.

Of course, she was blushing out of embarrassment for having to copy homework, not for any improper reasons. But her skin was so fair that even the slightest blush was striking, spreading all the way to her ears, making her look somewhat... improper.

Hou Zihao nearly lost his composure.

Damn, does she have to be this pretty?

He could feel his heart racing. Then he heard Zhou Leqi mutter a soft “thank you.” She returned his English homework and placed the math workbook between them. Looking at him, she said, “Why don’t we… copy together?”

“Together.”

Hou Zihao smiled.

How could he possibly say no?

You could ask me to do anything with you, and I’d say yes.

Though the two of them enjoyed copying the math homework together, they were later caught by their math teacher, Xue Jun.

That day, Xue Jun walked into the classroom carrying both the weekly test papers and the homework. He first announced the scores.

Zhou Leqi ranked first, scoring 146.

Hou Zihao came in second, with 139.

Yan Lin was third, scoring 137.

...

Ge Ao ranked twenty-seventh, with 106.

Yuan Jiahui was twenty-eighth, with 105.

...

Gao Qianqian ranked thirty-fourth, scoring 97.

...

Xu Xin ranked fortieth, with 73.

...

The passing score was 90, and five students in the class failed. The average score barely reached 110.

...And Zhou Leqi only lost four points.

This was quite the spectacle. Just the other day during PE class, everyone had heard Xu Xin and the others loudly proclaiming that Zhou Leqi’s grades were all due to cheating. Now, just days later, she scored a 146, while Xu Xin herself ended up dead last.

Oh boy.

The gossip-loving crowd quietly observed, their minds swirling with thoughts. But no one’s reaction compared to the turmoil in Hou Zihao’s heart.

...He was seven points behind her?

Hou Zihao wasn’t the type to have a fragile ego or obsess over being number one, but a seven-point gap seemed too wide. He worried that Zhou Leqi might think he was inferior and develop a poor impression of him.

That was a serious issue.

Reflecting on this, Hou Zihao—usually indifferent to scores—felt a rare pang of insecurity about his performance. When the test papers were handed out, he even subtly angled his paper away, hoping Zhou Leqi wouldn’t see it. In his heart, he silently vowed: Next time, next time he absolutely had to surpass her.

Of course, Zhou Leqi was completely unaware of Hou Zihao’s internal monologue. Her attention was fully captured by what Xue Jun said next.

Standing at the podium with a large stack of homework in front of him, Xue Jun flipped through each book one by one. After finishing, he raised his head to address the class, his expression stern. The atmosphere grew tense as he furrowed his brows deeply and said, “Now that we’ve talked about the exam results, let’s discuss this issue with the homework.”

“You’re Class 1, the pride of the school. During the college entrance exams, your performance will be under intense scrutiny from schools across the province,” Xue Jun lectured earnestly. “And what do you do? Not only do you perform poorly on exams, but now there’s even talk of copying homework!”

“Do you realize how absurd this is?!”

Xue Jun was furious, but the class remained calm.

Sigh. Teachers often mistakenly assumed top students wouldn’t copy homework, but that wasn’t necessarily true. Take Hou Zihao, for example—the leader in copying homework. That very morning, he had borrowed homework from another class. And Yan Lin, who was considered a model student? He also frequently copied, sometimes even trading homework with Hou Zihao.

So everyone stayed relaxed, thinking this wasn’t a big deal.

But Zhou Leqi, who was copying homework for the first time ever, took it to heart. She believed Xue Jun was talking about her.

She was nervous and ashamed, keeping her head down, her face flushed so red it seemed like blood might drip from it. When Hou Zihao glanced over and saw her, he was startled, wondering what was wrong. It took him a while to realize why she was reacting this way, and he couldn’t help but find it a little amusing.

Sigh.

Xue Jun continued his lecture, emphasizing the importance of their final year. He urged everyone not to slack off, to strive for the beauty of youth, and not to do anything they’d regret. Finally, he made his key announcement:

“Starting today, everyone must write out their calculations next to the problems in their homework! All multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank questions require full solutions! If anyone submits answers without showing their work, it will be considered plagiarism!”

The shadow cast by Xue Jun’s lecture lingered over Zhou Leqi throughout the day.

Hou Zihao felt partially responsible for this. Ge Ao’s homework had been absurdly inaccurate, with less than 70% correctness. When the graded homework was returned, both his and Zhou Leqi’s books were covered in red crosses, causing Zhou Leqi’s complexion to visibly change.

Sigh...

She was unusually quiet all day, and Hou Zihao wondered if she was angry with him. He spent the day reflecting, awkwardly telling her during a break, “Sorry about earlier... Next time, I’ll let you copy mine, okay?”

His homework quality was indeed high; his English assignment had been perfect.

But this consolation missed the mark. Although Zhou Leqi thanked him softly, she remained subdued and unhappy.

Because of this incident, Hou Zihao developed some resentment toward Ge Ao for dragging him down. To make matters worse, Ge Ao proved to lack tact as well. On Thursday, when it was Zhou Leqi’s turn to clean up, Hou Zihao had planned to stay behind and help her. But Ge Ao suddenly appeared, interrupting everything.

Ge Ao asked Hou Zihao, “What have you been up to lately? You disappear as soon as school ends. Where are you sneaking off to?”

Afraid that Zhou Leqi might overhear, Hou Zihao quickly clamped his hand over Ge Ao’s mouth and dragged him outside. Ge Ao struggled, looking Hou Zihao up and down. “What’s gotten into you, bro? Did you actually do something shady?”

“Shut up,” Hou Zihao frowned. “I’m working on something big. I’ll tell you when it’s done.”

Ge Ao let out an impressed “Whoa,” growing curious. He immediately pressed Hou Zihao for details, but Hou Zihao refused to elaborate. At that moment, through the classroom window, he saw Zhou Leqi put down her broom and start packing her bag. Without further ado, he left Ge Ao behind, claiming, “We’ll talk tomorrow,” and rushed downstairs before Zhou Leqi exited the classroom.

When Zhou Leqi walked out of the school gates, she happened to see Hou Zihao buying fruit shaved ice from a roadside stall.

She hesitated for a moment, deciding against greeting him and planning to quietly slip away. However, he turned around just then and spotted her, asking, “Are you done with your cleanup duties?”

Zhou Leqi was momentarily stunned but nodded.

“Oh,” he said. “Then wait for me a moment? I’m almost done here.”

Since he had already spoken, what could she say? She had no choice but to wait where she was.

By this time, there weren’t many people left at the school gate, but students still passed by. Hou Zihao was already a popular figure in school, so everyone glanced at him discreetly as they walked by. Naturally, their eyes also fell on Zhou Leqi, who was waiting nearby.

At first, people weren’t sure if Hou Zihao and Zhou Leqi were together. But when Hou Zihao picked up his shaved ice and walked beside her as they left together, the confirmation sent waves of excitement through the crowd—

Holy crap, what’s going on between Hou Zihao and Zhou Leqi, the girl who repeated two years?!

I need their detailed profiles within a minute!!!

Neither of the two news figures realized that juicy gossip about them was already spreading wildly on social media, group chats, forums, and campus discussion boards. They leisurely waited for the bus at the Cultural Palace stop, boarded slowly when it arrived, and settled into their seats.

Hou Zihao’s sharp eyes immediately spotted the middle-aged man from yesterday still sitting on the bus. He frowned, sensing something was amiss.