Chapter Seventeen: Complex Emotions

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Xu Qing asked Xia Wei why she suddenly mentioned Zhou Ziyang.

Xia Wei hesitated, only saying it was because Zhou Ziyang had recently been so self-destructive, always feeling that she had taken something that belonged to him.

Xu Qing told Xia Wei not to think that way.

“Weiwei, your mother has always told you that many things must be fought for by yourself.”

“He himself doesn’t have good grades. Even if your Uncle Zhou wants to help him, he can’t. Let alone anything else, if he only scored a little over three hundred points, do you think it would make sense for your Uncle Zhou to get him into Nanda University?”

“Although your mother married Uncle Zhou, I still hope you can have less contact with Ziyang. Can you do that?” Xu Qing asked.

Xia Wei originally didn’t want to answer, but her mother seemed very determined to hear her response and insisted that she reply.

Xia Wei could only weakly say she understood.

Only then was Xu Qing satisfied and said, “That’s my good daughter.”

“Don’t overthink things. What’s most urgent is to study hard. If you can get into Nanda University on your own merits, wouldn’t that be even better?”

What Xu Qing said was true, but no matter what, Xia Wei couldn’t calm her mind today.

Usually, after finishing evening self-study at 10:30, Xia Wei would spend thirty minutes reviewing the day’s lessons, but today, no matter how hard she tried, her mind wouldn’t settle.

She initially looked seriously at her mistake notebook.

But every time she looked down or up, she thought of how things had been at noon on the rooftop.

Zhou Ziyang had been holding her chin.

He was so close to her then, it felt as if their lips were about to touch if he moved just a bit more.

Xia Wei’s face inexplicably flushed red.

The beautiful legs wrapped in cotton socks under her skirt tightened slightly.

At seventeen or eighteen, it was the age of youthful infatuation.

But because Xia Wei’s family situation was unusual, she had always suppressed such feelings.

At school, she kept a distant, unapproachable demeanor.

She had never experienced a boy like Zhou Ziyang so blatantly teasing her before.

Of course, if it were any other boy, she would have reported him to the teacher long ago.

Even if not the teacher, if Xu Qing knew, that boy would be in serious trouble, if not worse.

But the problem was it was Zhou Ziyang.

If the matter escalated, everyone would know about her relationship with him.

So now, Xia Wei could only endure silently.

Yet why… did she feel a faint sense of anticipation?

Thinking of Zhou Ziyang repeatedly cornering her against the wall.

Xia Wei’s heart was in turmoil; she simply couldn’t focus on her studies.

By contrast, Zhou Ziyang, convinced his mental strength had improved, was like a man possessed.

The three thousand common English words used in high school, he mastered in a single night and could recite fluently.

He began wearing headphones to listen to the most standard English pronunciation, listening once and then repeating aloud.

Though not perfectly standard, at least it was accent-free.

Zhou Ziyang found that because his five senses had been enhanced, he learned everything especially fast.

The only regret was that he couldn’t recall the exact content of the college entrance exam.

Of course, if he saw the exam paper, he could remember everything instantly.

But the problem was in his previous life, after finishing the exam, he had left carefree, and no teacher had ever explained the college entrance exam questions to him.

So far, Zhou Ziyang could only rely on his talent to pick up high school knowledge again.

In the following days, he changed his usual attitude, determined to work hard.

He started early reading at five in the morning, memorizing classical Chinese texts required for the exam, mastering them in two days.

Along with math formulas and English vocabulary.

Every day was filled with memorization, doing test papers, and running.

He was always the first to arrive in the classroom and the last to leave.

Every evening he ran until utterly exhausted.

At first, Zhou Ziyang hadn’t yet fully mastered his reborn body.

But as he understood it more, his running speed increased, and he did sit-ups, push-ups, and pull-ups.

He drained the last bit of his strength every single day.

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In the evening, the sports students were doing a ten-kilometer aerobic endurance training on the field.

The coach, broad-shouldered and burly, blew his whistle while shouting loudly, “Faster! Even faster! Do you think the path of a sports student is easy? At this speed, I could outrun you with one leg! Hurry up! Push harder!”

One by one, the sports students were trained like dogs, by the time they reached seven or eight kilometers, they were almost completely exhausted.

If they ran at their own pace, they would have no problem.

But the problem was the coach kept pushing them to “exceed their limits!”

It wasn’t that simple.

The students, wearing the lightest shorts, were panting like dogs by the end.

At that moment, they saw a boy in ordinary T-shirt and shorts effortlessly overtake them.

Okay, they were running ten kilometers.

His occasional bursts were understandable.

But the problem was, in less than three minutes, he had completed a lap and overtaken them again.

???

“Hey, dude!?”

“Faster! Faster!” The coach kept urging.

As Zhou Ziyang overtook them a third time without slowing down, the coach’s whistle finally dropped.

Running 1,200 meters at that speed?

And he was still running?

“Which class is that kid from?” the coach asked.

“No idea,” the students training nearby were dumbfounded.

That night, Xia Wei found it hard to fall asleep.

She didn’t understand what kind of feelings she had for Zhou Ziyang.

In a hazy sleep, she dreamt that she and Zhou Ziyang were in a romantic relationship.

In the dream, they were about to do something indescribable.

Xia Wei shook her head desperately, saying, “No, we can’t. We mustn’t.”

But Zhou Ziyang’s voice was still charming as he said, “It’s okay, Weiwei, trust me.”

“No…”

Suddenly, Xia Wei’s mouth went dry.

Just as Zhou Ziyang was about to—

She jolted awake.

It was five in the morning, still dark outside.

Xia Wei breathed a sigh of relief.

It was only a dream.

But when she lifted the quilt…

This was Xia Wei’s…

First time…

After that day, Xia Wei resolved not to think about such matters anymore.

She would study hard! Everything else could wait until after the college entrance exam!

However, the next day, when she entered the classroom,

She found that Zhou Ziyang, who had recently been self-destructive, was sitting at his desk seriously doing test papers.

The morning sun at seven o’clock shone through the window.

Golden light fell on Zhou Ziyang, who wore a clean shirt by the window.

She had never paid attention to Zhou Ziyang’s appearance before.

But after noticing him recently, she realized the girls in class were right.

Zhou Ziyang was indeed handsome…

“What's up with Zhou Ziyang lately? He’s actually studying seriously?”

“Yeah, didn’t he give up before?”

“Could it be for Xia Wei?”

“Maybe! Old Chen talked to him yesterday, maybe scolding him for his poor grades motivated him!”

“But there are only two months left until the college entrance exam. Is it enough time?”

“That’s uncertain!”

The two biggest gossip girls in the class whispered quietly, their conversation not far from Xia Wei.

She heard everything clearly.

She turned her head to glance at Zhou Ziyang, who was seriously doing test papers.

Zhou Ziyang…

In the following days, Xia Wei couldn’t help but look over at Zhou Ziyang.

Each time, he was either writing furiously or deep in thought.

In class, he focused on test papers.

Between classes, except for going to the restroom, he was doing test papers at his seat.

What exactly did the homeroom teacher say to him?

But with only two months left until the exam, was it enough time?

In the evening, all the students went to the cafeteria for dinner.

Zhou Ziyang remained alone in the classroom, working on math problems.

The rosy clouds at sunset shone beautifully through the window.

In the spacious classroom,

The boy sat upright, head bowed over his work.

A girl in a shirt and pleated skirt hesitated at the front.

“Zhou Ziyang!”

Finally, Xia Wei forgot her mother’s advice and spoke first.

Zhou Ziyang looked up in surprise.

Xia Wei dared not look at him directly but still handed him a notebook.

“These are the commonly mistaken problems I’ve compiled over three years, plus the key points the cram school teachers think will be on the exam. It should help you.”

She pushed a thick stack of notebooks onto Zhou Ziyang’s desk.

Looking at Xia Wei, who had turned her face aside.

The setting sun cast a red glow on half of her face.

Zhou Ziyang knew that Xia Wei’s mother paid two thousand yuan a month to enroll her in the city’s college entrance exam intensive class.

In the city.

Not in the county.

That meant Xia Wei had to travel a hundred kilometers each way on her half-day off every week to attend classes.

Zhou Ziyang glanced at her notebook.

“Are you concerned about me?” he asked.

“No,” Xia Wei quickly denied.

She said her uncle had helped register her for the cram school.

“So I thought we should share.”

Zhou Ziyang said nothing.

He stood up and moved closer to Xia Wei.

“What are you going to do…”

Xia Wei instinctively stepped back, a little afraid.

But for some reason…

She also felt a bit hopeful...