On Monday, the results of the first mock exam for the third-year high school students were released.
Lu Xingmian breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his scores. Thankfully, they were about what he expected, even five points higher. His grades hadn’t been affected, meaning he could adapt to the new school and environment.
When he was doing the practice papers before, Lu Xingmian felt some difficulty. He was worried that the effects of his insomnia would cause his grades to decline.
Thankfully, Lu Xingmian’s worries were unnecessary; his grades had maintained their previous level.
Li Mei looked at the report card with some relief. Lu Xingmian scored “double-firsts”—first in his class and first in his grade.
It’s worth noting that to motivate students and give them a sense of urgency, the difficulty of this exam was significantly increased. Yet, Lu Xingmian’s results were outstanding.
When Li Mei had seen Lu Xingmian’s previous report cards, she knew he had good grades, but she was concerned that his frequent school changes might affect his performance.
On top of that, the math teacher had previously spoken to her about Lu Xingmian actually falling asleep in class.
The math teacher wasn’t the only one who came to complain to Li Mei; other teachers also mentioned Lu Xingmian’s problem of sleeping during class.
However, whenever he was called upon, he could clearly answer the questions. If you said he was sleeping, Lu Xingmian hadn’t missed any part of the lessons. If you said he wasn’t sleeping, his eyes were closed.
Li Mei was naturally worried, thinking, Is it because he’s in a new environment and hasn’t adapted yet? That’s why she asked the class monitor to look after Lu Xingmian and pay more attention to him.
Li Mei thought that if Lu Xingmian’s grades dropped after the exam, she would talk to him. If he had any difficulties or problems, they could be resolved promptly.
Even though Lu Xingmian was a new transfer student, as long as he was in her class for one day, he was her student.
However, unexpectedly, Lu Xingmian’s grades weren’t affected by the transfer, and they were even better than she had imagined too.
Chen Mei deliberately lingered at the back door of the classroom for a while. It was already two minutes into class, and the classroom was a bit noisy. After all, it was just the beginning of senior year, and the students hadn’t fully settled in yet.
Amidst the noise, Chen Mei saw Lu Xingmian. He sat quietly in his seat, his back in the school uniform appearing somewhat slender.
Chen Mei coughed from the back, and the classroom instantly fell silent. Chen Mei then walked into the classroom.
Chen Che was both happy and shocked when he saw Lu Xingmian’s scores. He couldn’t believe his deskmate got first in their grade; a living, breathing academic ace was right beside him. He had been worried about Lu Xingmian not adapting to the new class, but now he didn’t have to worry anymore.
Now, everyone knew about Lu Xingmian, the new transfer student who was not only good-looking but also exceptionally good at studying, directly soaring to first in the grade. Even students from other classes came over to get a look at Lu Xingmian.
Then, that day, Lu Xingmian noticed many people peeking into the classroom from the front and back doors during breaks. He initially didn’t know what was happening until Chen Che told him that those students were mostly there to see him.
Lu Xingmian asked, “Why? What’s so interesting about me?”
Chen Che replied, “Don’t you know you’re famous in school now?”
Lu Xingmian shook his head.
Chen Che continued, “Seriously? You don’t know you became famous the day you transferred, and now you’ve scored first in the grade, so everyone’s really curious.”
Lu Xingmian simply said, “Oh.”
Worried that Lu Xingmian might be upset, Chen Che explained, “But it’s just curiosity for a few days; it won’t be like this afterward.”
Lu Xingmian felt it didn’t matter.
On the same day the results were released, Lu Sihang looked at his declining grades with some anxiety.
How could he have dropped over ten points from last time?
If this continued, getting into the school his parents hoped for would become increasingly risky.
In the past, Lu Sihang wouldn’t have cared. But after learning about his background and after Lu Xingmian returned, he felt a sense of crisis and behaved even more obediently in front of his parents.
He absolutely couldn’t disappoint his parents; he had to make them understand that he was worthy of their affection and love.
However, he thought to himself, even if his grades had dropped, they were still better than Lu Xingmian’s. He was in a prestigious school with famous teachers, so Lu Xingmian definitely couldn’t compare to him.
He was much more outstanding than Lu Xingmian; Lu Xingmian couldn’t even play the piano.
–
Lu Shiran flipped through Xiao Youzi’s storybooks. Xiao Youzi had indeed brought him several more, a small bag filled with them.
Xiao Youzi asked him, “Uncle, are you going to tell stories with these books too?”
Lu Shiran replied, “Yes, Uncle is going to tell stories to someone.”
Xiao Youzi looked at her uncle curiously. “Who is it? Uncle, didn’t you say you’d only tell stories to me?”
Lu Shiran thought for a moment, “Uncle’s client.”
The four-year-old Xiao Youzi didn’t quite understand what “client” meant: “Uncle, what’s a client?”
Lu Shiran pondered, “It’s probably like Uncle’s creditor. He bought a thousand hours of Uncle’s time, so Uncle has to tell him a thousand hours of stories.”
Xiao Youzi asked, “Is a thousand hours a very, very long time?”
Lu Shiran said, “It could be very fast, or it could be very slow.”
Xiao Youzi still didn’t understand, but her uncle promised her that he would tell her stories in the future too.
When Xiao Youzi went home, she told her dad a big piece of news: her uncle had a creditor, and the creditor bought a thousand hours of his time, so her uncle had to tell the creditor a thousand hours of stories.
Xiao Youzi’s father, Lu Yu, smiled. Lu Shiran must have been teasing Xiao Youzi. Who could be his younger brother’s creditor? Who could buy his younger brother’s time?
Xiao Youzi said very seriously, “Dad, Uncle said he wasn’t lying to me.”
Lu Yu coaxed his daughter, “Alright, alright, Uncle didn’t lie to Xiao Youzi. What did you do at Uncle’s house today?”
Xiao Youzi said proudly, “I gave my storybooks to Uncle.”
That evening, when Lu Xingmian was on a call with Lu Shiran, his voice was filled with joy.
Lu Shiran noticed, “You’re very happy today?”
Lu Xingmian replied, “En, I got first in my grade today, so I’m a little happy.”
Lu Shiran said, “Congratulations.”
“Thanks, Lu Ge.” Lu Xingmian felt no psychological burden talking to this stranger; he had found someone he wanted to confide in. “I’ve always been worried my grades would drop after transferring schools. You know, I’ve already transferred twice, and with insomnia for so long, I was a bit worried before the results came out.”
Lu Ge was indeed an excellent listener; he asked, “And now?”
Lu Xingmian sounded a little proud: “I’m not nervous anymore. I adapt quickly.”
He could quickly accept such big changes in his life.
But somehow, his words carried an inexplicable hint of sadness.
Lu Shiran said, “Today’s time doesn’t count.”
Lu Xingmian asked, “Why not?”
Lu Shiran replied, “To celebrate you getting first place.”
On the other end of the phone, Lu Xingmian burst out laughing. “Lu Ge, I’m not a kid. I’ll be an adult in a few months.”
Lu Shiran chuckled, “It’s decided then.”
Alright, Lu Xingmian was naturally willing; after all, he enjoyed listening to Brother Lu’s voice.
As Lu Shiran flipped through the storybooks, he exhaled a puff of smoke. “What kind of story do you want to hear tonight?”
Lu Xingmian thought for a moment, “Lu Ge, it’s so late, are you still smoking?”
Lu Shiran paused, “Hm? What’s wrong?”
“No, no, nothing.” Lu Xingmian quickly explained, “I’m not trying to interfere with your smoking; it’s just, isn’t smoking this late bad for your health?”
“You’re right,” Lu Shiran said, extinguishing his cigarette. “Do you smoke too?”
Lu Xingmian shook his head. “Even though some of my classmates smoke, I don’t, and I also don’t know how to.”
Lu Shiran agreed. “That’s good. Never pick up smoking; it’s not a good habit.”
Lu Xingmian replied, “I understood.”
–
Soon, the National Day holiday arrived, giving even the third-year high school students a few days off.
Earlier, in Sucheng, Lu Xingmian’s two good friends, Song Yihan and Liu Yichen, came to visit him. They also planned to explore Yancheng and see the university they hoped to attend a year later. Of course, their main goal was to see if Lu Xingmian was doing well, but boys tend to be a bit shy. They couldn’t just say they came specifically to see Lu Xingmian, so they claimed they were there to have fun and just happened to see him.
They used to hang out often, but since Lu Xingmian left Sucheng, they hadn’t seen each other for over half a year already. Despite the long separation, their bond hadn’t weakened. When they met, they still joked and bickered just like before.
Upon seeing Lu Xingmian, Song Yihan exclaimed, “Lu Xingmian, why are you so thin?” He remembered Lu Xingmian wasn’t this thin when he left.
The two friends knew a little about Lu Xingmian’s situation. When he transferred and left Sucheng, Lu Xingmian vaguely mentioned his reasons for leaving, but he didn’t say too much, so they didn’t press further. They just hadn’t expected him to be so much thinner after such a long time apart.
Lu Xingmian said it might be because he had grown taller, which made him appear thinner. Seeing that Lu Xingmian didn’t want to talk about it, Song Yihan and Liu Yichen didn’t ask anymore.
On the first day of the National Day holiday, Lu Xingmian took Song Yihan and Liu Yichen to visit famous attractions in Yancheng. Of course, a holiday like National Day meant every scenic spot was inevitably packed with people.
When Lu Xingmian, Song Yihan, and Liu Yichen returned to their hotel, they were so exhausted they collapsed directly onto the sofa and beds. They were simply too tired; no one wanted to move anymore.
After a tiring day, the trio decided to just eat casually in the hotel room that night. They bought peanuts, pickled chicken feet, spicy crayfish, and a few cans of beer. Just like when they used to share a dorm, seeing that Lu Xingmian was doing quite well now put their minds at ease.
Having played too hard that day, Song Yihan and Liu Yichen quickly fell asleep. Lu Xingmian, however, didn’t. Worried about disturbing Song Yihan and Liu Yichen, Lu Xingmian took his phone to the balcony and dialed Lu Ge’s WeChat.
