The monthly exam was scheduled for Tuesday and lasted two days.
On the first day, they would take math and English; on the second day, Chinese and science.
Math and English had mostly standard answers. After the exam, a bit of discussion was enough to get a rough estimate of their scores.
But Chinese was different. No amount of discussion could determine the exact score, at most, they could analyze the essay topic and make a rough guess.
Most students in Class One seemed fairly satisfied with their performance—except for one person, who looked as if he had been hit by a frost.
“It’s just a minor mistake in writing the character lí (嫠) in lífù (嫠妇, widowed woman). Do you really have to be this devastated?”
During the morning Chinese exam, there was a fill-in-the-blank poetry question: Wǔ yōuhè zhī qiánjiāo (舞幽壑之潜蛟). The next line was supposed to be Qì gūzhōu zhī lífù (泣孤舟之嫠妇). However, Yu San forgot how to write the character lí (嫠), costing him two points. After the exam, he slumped over his desk in despair.
Zhang Yangfei, unsure whether to comfort him or tease him, casually said a few words. Seeing no reaction from Yu San, he turned to Yu Jiu.
Yu Jiu shook his head at him, then deliberately cleared his throat and raised his voice. “Class monitor, before the exam, didn’t Old Zhao say that if anyone in our class dropped out of the top 50 in the rankings, they’d have to leave the elite class?”
Zhang Yangfei had been deskmates with Yu Jiu for a year, and their tacit understanding was impeccable. He immediately caught on. “Yeah, I remember someone ranked… what was it, in the last exam?”
Yu Jiu pretended to think. “I can’t quite recall… maybe 43rd?”
Zhang Yangfei nodded. “Oh? 40-something, huh? And now he’s lost two points just from one word… Wow, that’s pretty dangerous!”
BANG!
A loud slap hit the desk, and the person slumped over instantly shot upright.
“Who said I’m in danger?” Yu San declared. “I still have the science exam left!”
Full recovery, instant resurrection.
Zhang Yangfei and Yu Jiu exchanged glances, and Zhang Yangfei gave Yu Jiu a thumbs-up.
Yu San was always gloomy about his exams, and the only way to get him back on track was to provoke him.
With Yu San taken care of, Zhang Yangfei continued, “I wonder if there will be any new students joining our class after this exam. Luo Heng from Class Two barely missed getting in last time—he was just one point below our class average. It was kind of a pity.”
Yu Jiu, however, was thinking about someone else. “Maybe someone will transfer in.”
Or maybe not.
Zhai Chi had never liked being restricted or controlled since he was a child. Class One had much stricter rules for everything—whether it was lectures, self-study, or even outdoor activities—compared to other classes.
He probably wouldn’t want to transfer into Class One.
Zhang Yangfei said, “I also wonder if Old Zhao was serious about kicking out the ones at the bottom. If we really get new students, someone might have to leave.”
Yu Jiu simply smiled and said nothing.
He looked out the window. The sky after the rain was a brilliant shade of blue, and the sunlight was dazzling, almost as bright as a midsummer noon. It seemed like perfect weather for outdoor sports.
Suddenly, something occurred to him. He uncharacteristically opened the school forum and scrolled for a while, but there wasn’t any fresh gossip related to the topic on his mind.
Instead, most of the posts were speculating about his bad relationship with Zhai Chi—complete with well-argued evidence.
Yu Jiu: …
Wouldn’t their time be better spent studying? Even during exam week, they couldn’t stop gossiping.
“Jiu-ge, where’s the pen you used for the last exam—huh? You’re browsing the forum?”
Scrolling the forum was completely normal, but having it said out loud so directly made Yu Jiu feel oddly guilty for a moment. He instinctively wanted to hide his phone but restrained himself and just locked the screen.
He turned to Yu San. “What is it?”
Yu San was momentarily stunned. “Oh, nothing. It’s good to browse the forum—do it more often… Anyway, where’s the pen you used for the last exam?”
“…”
Yu Jiu handed him the pen.
Yu San took it in his hands, clasped them together, and solemnly bowed to the pen before handing it back. “Thanks, Jiu-ge. I feel more secure now.”
Yu Jiu: “…”
The science exam in the afternoon went smoothly, and even Yu San felt he had performed well. He was in high spirits after finishing.
To help students replenish their energy after the monthly exams, the cafeteria offered a more generous dinner selection than usual.
Yu Jiu got himself a meal of sweet and sour ribs, braised potatoes, and a bowl of soup. He and Zhang Yangfei found a four-person table to sit at with Yu San.
First High’s cafeteria was large, and even with the crowd, it never felt overly packed.
Yu Jiu and the others had always prioritized efficiency when eating. However, just as they sat down and were about to start, someone appeared beside their table.
“Can I sit here?”
It was a four-person table. Yu San and Yu Jiu were on one side, Zhang Yangfei sat across from Yu San, leaving only the seat across from Yu Jiu empty.
As they looked up, all three of them froze for a moment.
The person who had spoken had sharp, well-defined features—his face strikingly handsome like it had been carved by a blade. He stood tall with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and long legs. His presence alone attracted more than half the nearby “diners,” who kept sneaking glances at him. Since he was standing, just looking up at him gave off an intense sense of pressure.
Upon seeing his face, Yu San’s first instinct was to check Yu Jiu’s reaction.
Yu Jiu didn’t show much emotion. He simply hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “Sure.”
Only when the person sat down across from him did he belatedly ask, “You… came alone?”
Zhai Chi placed his tray on the table and smiled. “Yeah, I’m alone.”
“…”
Yu Jiu didn’t know how to respond, so he lowered his gaze and glanced at Zhai Chi’s tray.
And suddenly felt a little choked up.
Cabbage and tofu, tomato and egg soup, plain white rice… That was all Zhai Chi had gotten.
“You’re just eating this?”
Yu Jiu couldn’t help but ask.
Zhai Chi answered calmly, “Yeah, the line for this was shorter.”
Yu Jiu: “…”
Vegetarian dishes did have shorter lines.
But if he didn’t want to wait, Zhai Chi could have just gone outside the school to eat… Oh, right. He had no sense of direction.
Yu Jiu suddenly felt a bit of heartache.
This guy, a pampered young master from a wealthy family, had transferred from a private school to a public one—one that wasn’t bad, but definitely couldn’t compare. And now he was lining up for cafeteria food like an ordinary student.
What was he doing this for?
Zhai Chi noticed his gaze and looked up, meeting his eyes.
Yu Jiu was startled and quickly looked away.
Zhai Chi’s lips curved slightly.
He was actually just running late. Seeing that Yu Jiu and the others were almost at the front of their line, he casually joined the nearest queue. He wasn’t very hungry and wasn’t picky about food.
He picked up a piece of tofu, put it in his mouth, and casually asked, “By the way, how long does it usually take for our school to go from exams to releasing the scores?”
Yu Jiu ate a piece of potato and replied, “If things move quickly, all the scores will be out in two days.”
Zhai Chi let out a noncommittal “Oh.”
Yu Jiu looked up at him. “How do you think you did this time?”
Zhai Chi said, “Not bad. I filled in all the answers. No idea how many points I’ll get, though. What about you?”
Yu Jiu responded, “About the same.”
He performed as expected. If nothing went wrong, he should maintain his first-place ranking.
But the chances of something going wrong this time seemed quite high.
He glanced at Zhai Chi, debating whether to ask if he had considered transferring classes if he did well on the test. But after hesitating for a long time, he couldn’t find the right words, so he simply took a bite of his rib instead.
The two of them ate quietly, while the two sitting next to them absentmindedly poked at their plates.
Yu San exchanged a look with the class monitor: What’s going on?
Zhang Yangfei responded telepathically: No idea.
Weren’t these two just basketball teammates?
Why did they seem so familiar with each other, talking as if no one else was around?
Did they even remember there were two other people sitting right next to them?
Once the other two stopped talking, Yu San and Zhang Yangfei finally lowered their heads and focused on their own meals.
Yu Jiu had trained himself to eat quickly in the cafeteria, so he finished before Zhai Chi. After putting down his chopsticks, he didn’t rush Zhai Chi but instead picked up his phone to play around.
As soon as he unlocked his screen, he noticed the unread messages icon on WeChat. His brows furrowed slightly.
He didn’t have many WeChat contacts—just some teammates from the basketball team, a few close classmates, and some of his teachers. The only person likely to message him at this time was one specific person.
Yu Jiu took a quiet breath and opened WeChat.
It was a message from his mother.
— Did your monthly exams finish? How did it go?
— After exams, you have a short break, right? What do you want to eat? I’ll ask Aunt Wu to make it for you.
— Do you have enough living expenses?
Below the messages was a money transfer of 2,000 yuan.
Yu Jiu didn’t lack money. Compared to others, his monthly allowance was more than sufficient.
His fingers hovered over the screen for a moment before he typed, Enough, and accepted the transfer.
After replying, he didn’t immediately exit the chat but instead stared at the white message bubbles on the screen.
The words were full of concern, yet Yu Jiu found them particularly jarring.
In the past, when he received messages like these, he would still be curious about how his mother always knew the exact timing of his exams. But now, he had become numb to it.
After waiting a while without a response from her, he finally felt at ease and put his phone away.
Zhai Chi had noticed the change in Yu Jiu’s expression the moment he unlocked his phone.
Just moments ago, Yu Jiu had been eating with a relaxed expression, but suddenly, a heavy look appeared on his face.
What had he seen?
Zhai Chi didn’t ask, nor did he show his curiosity. Instead, when Yu Jiu looked up at him, he simply smiled. “Finished eating?”
Yu Jiu nodded and glanced at the other two.
Yu San and Zhang Yangfei were surprised.
So they hadn’t been forgotten after all.
The four of them walked out of the cafeteria. Yu Jiu and Zhai Chi walked ahead, while Yu San and Zhang Yangfei trailed behind, elbowing each other but hesitating to catch up.
Zhang Yangfei said, “Hey, isn’t that your idol? Don’t you think there’s something unusual about the transfer student’s relationship with your idol? Don’t you feel a sense of crisis?”
Yu San replied, “I have no chance anyway, so why would I feel threatened?”
“……”
“Besides, Jiu-ge doesn’t like Alphas.”
Even as they walked side by side, there was still a noticeable distance between them.
When they reached the first floor of the academic building, the group split up. After Zhai Chi left, Zhang Yangfei initially planned to ask Yu Jiu something, but seeing that his face didn’t look good, he decided against it.
Two Days Later
The grading was completed, and the overall rankings were finalized, but the results weren’t officially released yet.
On Thursday, during the first self-study period in the evening, Class 1’s homeroom teacher, Zhao Yun—who usually relied on his students’ self-discipline and rarely stayed in the classroom—walked in with a cheerful expression. He even had someone bring in two extra desks through the back door.
“What the heck? What’s going on? Did someone actually transfer in?”
“What’s our class’s average score this time?”
“Two students got in at once? From which classes?”
Just as the classroom started buzzing with discussion, Zhao Yun stepped onto the podium.
He was always straightforward. “Let me introduce two new classmates.”
“One of them is Luo Heng from Class 2. You should all be familiar with him.”
Luo Heng was a hardworking student who had narrowly missed making it into Class 1 several times but had finally succeeded this time.
“The other is a transfer student from Class 10—”
Before Zhao Yun could finish his sentence, every gaze in the classroom turned toward the doorway.
Standing at the entrance was Zhai Chi, who had met everyone in Class 1 before. He looked up at the “Grade 11, Class 1” sign above the door. Upon hearing his name, he casually scanned the classroom before finally settling his gaze on the seat closest to the podium in the front row.
He smiled and said, “Sorry, I’m not too familiar with the layout yet. Didn’t want to walk into the wrong class.”
Yu Jiu: “……”
