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“...”
Shen Xi turned his head, but she had already made her escape, darting into the examination hall.
His steps faltered for two beats.
The final bell rang.
The invigilator stood up: “Everyone stand up!”
After the papers were collected, Lin Zhan exited.
Shen Xi also exited almost at the same time.
Before she even had a chance to discuss the exam questions with Shen Xi, he asked her first, “What did you just say to me?”
He had been distracted three times during the exam because of that sentence.
Lin Zhan played dumb: “Huh? I didn’t say anything to you just now?”
Shen Xi: “Before you went into the examination hall.”
Lin Zhan scratched the corner of her mouth and said, “Uh... I meant, do you want to eat dumplings together sometime? What, you don’t like dumplings?”
Shen Xi: “...”
Lin Zhan: “There’s a saying, nothing tastes better than dumplings... nothing’s more fun than a sister-in-law...”
Shen Xi’s brow furrowed, and Lin Zhan quickly added, “I heard Sun Hong say that.”
The place was buzzing with noise as everyone began to celebrate. In the noisy environment, Lin Zhan was also influenced by the festive atmosphere.
She slowly leaned close to Shen Xi’s ear, exhaling:
“How much for a night of dumplings?”
At first, Shen Xi didn’t understand what she was saying.
—A minute passed.
He realized the homophone.
His earlobe suddenly heated up, and he chastised softly, “Lin Zhan, who taught you that!”
Lin Zhan looked aggrieved.
“Aren’t dumplings five yuan a bowl? Why are you so fierce...”
“You twisted it, so it’s my fault?”
Shen Xi looked at her: “You’re best at biting back every time.”
“Nonsense, what I’m best at is loving you,” Lin Zhan grinned at him, saying with a laugh, “Love you~”
Shen Xi looked at her, sighing helplessly.
Lin Zhan: “Why don’t you say it to me?”
Shen Xi: “Say what?”
Lin Zhan: “...Love you~”
Shen Xi glanced at her, paused, then, with rising and falling intonation, his voice deep, he seemed to struggle for a moment.
Lin Zhan was overjoyed.
Shen Xi parted his lips.
“...Love you~”
Lin Zhan: ???
“Shen Xi, I think you want to lose this cute, elegant, beautiful, and serene me.”
________________________________________
At the end of the month, the college entrance exam results were announced.
Everything went as expected; Lin Zhan performed well and could attend Weida University.
Shen Xi maintained his high standard of performance, though he scored three points lower than his own estimate.
Lin Zhan asked, “Why three points lower? Which subjects were they deducted from?”
Shen Xi paused for a moment: “All from English.”
“Ah? Was this English exam not to your liking?”
“No,” Shen Xi gave her a profound look, “Did you forget what you said to me before entering the exam hall?”
—Let’s sleep together sometime.
Lin Zhan pouted, “Just that one sentence shook your morale? What about being calm and composed as promised?”
Shen Xi remained silent.
If it concerned her, and he could still remain calm and composed, then he truly must be a deity.
While they were discussing, the group chat had already exploded.
Those who scored well all started showing off in the group. Sun Hong probably did well too, as he was spamming emoji packs in the chat.
After a while, he private messaged Lin Zhan.
[Sister Zhan, how was your exam?]
Lin Zhan: [Normal performance. You did well, right?]
Sun Hong: [Two points higher than my estimate! Surprise!]
Lin Zhan sent an emoji: [Congratulations, congratulations.]
Sun Hong: [Feels like everyone around me did well. Qi Lijie also did alright. Oh, right, gossip time, did Shen Xi perform normally?]
Lin Zhan asked Shen Xi: “Have you seen the scores of others in your class? What’s your rank? Will being three points lower affect you?”
“Overthinking,” Shen Xi said calmly, “It’s still the same rank as it should be.”
Lin Zhan replied to Sun Hong: [Mm, still first.]
Sun Hong: [Smiling with fatigue.Jpg]
Sun Hong: [Let’s hang out when you’re free. We’re going back to school next week to get report cards.]
Lin Zhan: [Can we leave after getting the report card?]
Sun Hong: [Probably not. There’s also a school-wide commendation ceremony or something, to give awards and bonuses to those who did well. And to motivate the rising senior students.]
Sure enough, the next day, Huang Chen found Lin Zhan and Zheng Yimian and asked which of them wanted to give a speech.
Besides commending the high-achieving students, the commendation ceremony also required three student representatives from the liberal arts class, science class, and art class, respectively, to deliver speeches on behalf of the school.
The content of the speeches was nothing more than summarizing their study techniques and emphasizing the importance of effort and diligence.
Zheng Yimian privately discussed with Lin Zhan: [Why don’t you go? I guess Class One will send Shen Xi, and you two can go together. You can experience being a couple on stage.]
Finally, Lin Zhan was chosen.
________________________________________
On the day they returned to school to pick up their report cards, everyone was quite excited.
Lin Zhan and Zheng Yimian were almost becoming legends in people’s conversations. As they walked, people kept turning their heads to look at them.
They arrived early and stood leaning against the railing outside the door, discussing their dream travel destinations.
After a while, Shen Xi also walked up from the right-hand staircase.
Zhang Ze, standing nearby, seemed to suddenly understand something.
“I knew it. We’re closer going up the left staircase, so why do you always go up the right one? So it was to see someone!”
As Zhang Ze blurted it out, Lin Zhan also turned her head and smiled as she greeted them.
Zhang Ze rambled on: “If you calculate it that way... mm... you started preferring this side a long time ago...”
Shen Xi: “...”
Zhang Ze: “You started liking Lin Zhan that early!”
Shen Xi: “...”
Lin Zhan watched them approach and asked, “What are you talking about?”
Shen Xi quickly interjected, “We’re talking about the speeches later.”
Zhang Ze mercilessly exposed him: “Bullshit, we’re talking about when he fell for you.”
Lin Zhan was startled and became interested: “When?”
“Quite early,” Zhang Ze recalled, “Probably not long after he made a flag...”
Shen Xi grabbed Zhang Ze and walked forward: “Zhang Ze, let’s go back to class first.”
Lin Zhan pulled him back, intrigued: “What flag? How come I don’t know?”
Zhang Ze chuckled with malicious glee: “Oh, he didn’t tell you about it?”
Shen Xi glared at him with the corner of his eye.
Zhang Ze shivered: “Lin Zhan, I’m scared.”
Lin Zhan beckoned: “It’s okay, come to my side. He wouldn’t dare do anything to you.”
“What flag, tell me.”
Zhang Ze coughed twice, building suspense: “Well, one time, you smashed his bicycle, remember?”
Lin Zhan: “...I remember.”
Zhang Ze: “I saw he wasn’t going to pursue it, so I asked him if he had fallen for you—”
Lin Zhan and Zheng Yimian both waited for the rest of the story.
Zhang Ze smiled, then suddenly straightened up, composed his expression, and put on an unreadable face.
“He told me—”
Zhang Ze mimicked Shen Xi, speaking deliberately.
“‘If I like her, I’ll write my name backward.’“
Lin Zhan: ????
“That’s pretty much it,” Zhang Ze said cheekily, “That came back to bite you quickly, President, didn’t it?”
Lin Zhan lowered her head, silent.
Shen Xi glared at Zhang Ze, who immediately fell silent.
He walked in front of Lin Zhan, probing, “Are you angry?”
Lin Zhan sniffled.
Shen Xi: “I’m not...”
She suddenly lifted her face, her eyes and brows clearly alight with lively joy.
“So... did you write your name backward later?”
Shen Xi: “...”
Zhang Ze said, “No!”
Lin Zhan scratched her head, feigning a troubled look: “Hiss... so when are you planning to write it backward?”
Zhang Ze, looking like he was enjoying a show, asked, “So when are you planning to write it backward?”
Lin Zhan said, “Shen Xi, a word once spoken, a team of four horses cannot overtake it. If you don’t like me now, you don’t have to...”
Shen Xi: “Wait a moment.”
Lin Zhan suppressed a laugh: “Wait for what?”
He took a deep breath and said, “Wait a moment, I’ll write my name backward.”
Zhang Ze, rarely seeing Shen Xi discomfited, slapped the railing and burst into laughter.
After laughing, he glanced at Shen Xi, and wanted to cry.
“I have a feeling I won’t live past tonight...”
“You have many illusions,” Shen Xi smiled, “This one’s the most accurate.”
________________________________________
At the commendation ceremony, the principal spoke passionately on stage.
“This time, our first-tier university admission rate is the highest in the province, students, this is all thanks to...”
Lin Zhan mentally rehearsed the lines she was about to deliver.
This commendation ceremony was held indoors. The lecture hall was packed with people, all sitting and listening to the principal ramble. Most people weren’t really listening; they were playing on their phones.
Finally, the principal finished all the trivial matters.
“Alright, next, we invite three outstanding graduates from the college entrance exam to share their experiences with everyone.”
“The first one is Shen Xi, from Class Three-One. He has maintained a high standard as the top student in his grade since entering school. Alright, let’s hear his study secrets.”
A stir ran through the audience as everyone began to discuss Shen Xi.
Some girls asked their companions for glasses, just to get a glimpse of the person walking onto the stage.
Zheng Yimian: “Why isn’t Shen Xi carrying anything? Is he giving an extemporaneous speech?”
Lin Zhan: “I don’t know, I haven’t asked him.”
Shen Xi walked through the aisle, and the commotion slowly subsided. The audience became quiet, waiting for him to speak.
He walked to the podium.
The microphone was in front of him.
But he said nothing, simply picked up a piece of chalk and turned to the blackboard behind him.
Everyone discussed, “What’s he going to do...?”
He raised his hand, and in front of all the teachers and students, he wrote stroke by stroke: 息火冘三 (xi huo yin san).
???
Zheng Yimian furiously poked Lin Zhan: “Oh my god, what is Shen Xi doing...?”
Lin Zhan almost choked on her own breath.
She thought he might write it, but she never imagined he’d write it in such a dead-serious setting!
Sure enough, after he wrote these four characters, everyone except those in the know was completely confused.
“What the hell? I don’t understand...”
“Is it that top students’ brains are different from ours?”
“This is the first day I knew the surname Shen could be dismantled like this...”
“What does the second to last character read??”
...
After a brief discussion, everyone collectively quieted down.
They eagerly awaited Shen Xi’s upcoming speech.
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