7. Monthly Exam

At the end of the month, it was time for the first monthly exam of the semester. Their homeroom teacher, Ma Fei, had announced that after the exams, seats would be rearranged, with students choosing their own seats according to their scores. Those with better grades would have priority. The moment everyone heard this, excitement sparked throughout the class.

Li Xuan nudged Pei Huan’s back. At that moment, Pei Huan was secretly reading a novel under her desk. She turned around, “What is it?”

“After the exams, we can choose our own seats,” Li Xuan said succinctly.

“Only those with good grades get to choose first. With my average scores, I’ll just be picking from whatever’s left.” Pei Huan was fully aware of her abilities.

“Why don’t you sit with me? We’re about the same anyway,” Li Xuan said, his tone careless.

Pei Huan shot him a sidelong glance. “You just want both of us to end up standing in the hallway for punishment, don’t you?”

It was well known that when Pei Huan and Li Xuan sat together, trouble followed. Back in their first year, they’d been summoned to the office for a few “tea sessions.” Neither expected to be in the same class again in their second year, and Ma Fei always got a headache whenever he saw the two of them together.

Li Xuan struggled not to burst out laughing, but with Ma Fei standing at the podium, he managed to restrain himself.

As the exams approached, the atmosphere in the class grew increasingly studious. Surrounded by all this diligence, Pei Huan anxiously continued reading her novel. Tang Yue, noticing how calm Pei Huan seemed, teased, “You must be confident, huh?”

“Not at all,” Pei Huan shook her head. “Whether I study or not, my results are always the same.”

Tang Yue could relate. Pei Huan had a serious case of subject bias: her brother Pei Yan excelled in science, while she was strong in the humanities. The siblings were polar opposites. Tang Yue still remembered Pei Huan’s gloating when Pei Yan scored 29 in English—even though Pei Huan herself had only managed a 20 in math at the time.

What’s more, Pei Huan could perform steadily in humanities even without revising, and her science scores were just as consistently poor.

Content with her choices, Pei Huan played around while her deskmate, Lu Yinghuai, wasn’t particularly focused on revision either. Watching Pei Huan’s carefree expression, he couldn’t help but ask, “Aren’t you worried?”

“Not at all,” Pei Huan replied with indifference.

Lu Yinghuai didn’t pursue the topic any further.

On the day of the monthly exams, the classroom was set up as an exam hall. Pei Huan grabbed her pens and headed to the venue with Tang Yue. They weren’t in the same room; Tang Yue’s exam was upstairs. After parting on the stairs, Pei Huan went up alone.

At the door to the exam room, she ran into Shen Qinshi and was surprised, “You’re in this room too?”

Shen Qinshi, still looking at her revision notes, was just as taken aback, “Yeah, you are too?”

Pei Huan nodded. Shen Qinshi chuckled, “Fate seems to bring us together.”

“If we were any luckier, we’d probably be in the same class,” Pei Huan laughed.

“Too bad that’s not possible. I chose sciences, you chose humanities—no way we’d end up in the same class,” Shen Qinshi replied with some regret.

There was still some time before the exam began, so the two of them leaned against the corridor railing, chatting idly.

“I heard you sit with Lu Yinghuai?” Shen Qinshi asked.

“That’s right,” Pei Huan nodded.

Shen Qinshi grinned teasingly, “You know, it’s every girl’s dream at school to sit with him. So, what’s it like?”

“Honestly, nothing much,” Pei Huan replied truthfully. “He’s very handsome, but he doesn’t talk much and has this icy aura. Sometimes sitting next to him feels like sitting beside an air conditioner.”

Pei Huan spoke with complete honesty, and Shen Qinshi found it amusing. “You’re playing it down while getting all the perks.”

“Well, you’re not wrong. But after this monthly exam, who knows what will happen,” Pei Huan said.

“Oh? Why’s that?” Shen Qinshi raised an eyebrow.

“After the exams, our class will rearrange the seats,” Pei Huan explained, repeating Ma Fei’s announcement.

Shen Qinshi listened quietly, then remarked, “I remember Yuan Tao is in your class too, right?”

Pei Huan nodded. Shen Qinshi laughed, “Yuan Tao’s grades are great, plus she likes Lu Yinghuai. She probably got a kick out of hearing Ma Fei say that.”

Pei Huan replied with a smile. Soon, it was time to enter. They walked into the exam room and found their seats.

The first test was Chinese, which Pei Huan breezed through. The monthly exams lasted three days. By the time she finished the last subject and walked out of the exam hall, she felt refreshed—even though her science scores were sure to be a disaster.

Back in the classroom, many were discussing the difficulty of the papers. “This month’s exams were way too hard.”

Pei Huan hummed a tune as she packed her pens into her case. Wang Xun noticed her good mood and asked, “Did you do well?”

“I don’t know,” Pei Huan shook her head.

“Then why are you so happy?” Wang Xun pressed.

“Because the National Day holiday starts tomorrow!” Pei Huan replied cheerfully.

“Seems like National Day matters more to you than your grades,” Wang Xun teased.

Pei Huan nodded, “We’ve been in class for a month already. If we don’t get a break soon, I won’t survive.”

Ma Fei came into the classroom to go over the holiday guidelines and distribute homework for each subject. Only then were they dismissed.

“See you after the holiday,” Pei Huan said to Lu Yinghuai.

“Mm,” Lu Yinghuai replied simply.

On the way home with Pei Yan, her brother noticed her good mood and gave her a sidelong glance. “Did you do well?”

“You know what my scores are like,” Pei Huan replied, feigning annoyance.

Pei Yan snorted, “If you keep scoring that low, just wait for Mom and Dad to give you a lecture.”

Pei Huan rolled her eyes at him, making a face.

Was this really her brother?

On the first day of the National Day holiday, Pei Huan slept until two in the afternoon. Her parents were watching TV downstairs. Seeing Pei Huan come down the stairs, her father joked, “Well, our American guest is finally awake.”

“Is there anything to eat?” Pei Huan was still half asleep.

“Having afternoon tea, are we?” her mother teased.

Pei Huan was helpless, but Pei Yan, unable to watch any longer, went to the kitchen and made her something. Pei Huan showered him with exaggerated praise as she ate, making Pei Yan shiver in mock disgust.

After eating, Pei Huan went back to her room. Her phone kept buzzing with messages. Their class had its own group chat, and everyone was active. Pei Huan checked in and joined the conversation.

She’d added almost everyone in the class, except for her deskmate, Lu Yinghuai. She hadn’t asked, and he’d never mentioned it. Browsing the group members, she didn’t see his account. Apparently, no one else in the class had his contact either. She checked the class group with Ma Fei in it and finally found Lu Yinghuai’s account. After some thought, she sent a friend request.

Not expecting him to accept, she went off to watch anime.

A few hours later, she got a notification from WeChat. Assuming it was from Shen Qinshi or Tang Yue, she opened it—only to see that Lu Yinghuai had accepted her request. She stared at it several times, barely believing it.

Still stunned, she typed: Is this really you?

Lu Yinghuai: …

It seemed it really was him.

Pei Huan calmed herself and continued typing.

Pei Huan: I thought you wouldn’t accept my request.

A few seconds later, Lu Yinghuai replied: Slipped.

His profile picture was pitch black, and his display name was a single letter—H. Just like him: concise and cool.

Pei Huan: What are you planning to do for National Day?

Lu Yinghuai: Sleep.

After a few exchanges, Pei Huan found she couldn’t keep the conversation going. All his replies were two or at most three words, as if typing more would exhaust him.

Conversation ended, Lu Yinghuai turned off his phone and left it on his bedside table. The room was dark, and no one was calling him out. He pulled the covers over himself and slept until evening. When he went downstairs, the lights in the living room were on—he knew exactly who was there.

“Bro, you just got up?”

It was his cousin, Lu Feng, one of the few people in the Lu family whom Lu Yinghuai didn’t mind.

Lu Yinghuai said nothing, pouring himself a glass of water.

“Have you eaten dinner?” Lu Feng asked, trailing behind him.

“No,” Lu Yinghuai replied.

“Got any ingredients here? I’ll make you some noodles,” Lu Feng offered.

“See for yourself,” Lu Yinghuai said, then walked off.

Luckily, there were enough ingredients. Lu Feng made some noodles and sat across from Lu Yinghuai. Offhandedly, he asked, “Why didn’t you listen to Uncle and Aunt and go to an international high school? It would’ve been so much easier.”

Lu Yinghuai shot him a look. “Why didn’t you?”

Lu Feng, who attended the same school, grinned. “Because you’re here, of course.”

If Lu Feng admired anyone, it was Lu Yinghuai. In the Lu family, Lu Yinghuai was never favored, and because of his personality, he didn’t have any close siblings. Lu Feng was the exception, sticking to him from a young age no matter how many times Lu Yinghuai tried to shake him off. Eventually, he just let him be.

“What are you doing here?” Lu Yinghuai asked.

“It’s the holidays, and you always hole up at home by yourself. I thought I’d come keep you company,” Lu Feng replied with a smile.

Lu Yinghuai ate his noodles in silence, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. He was used to being alone—it hardly mattered anymore.

Pei Huan enjoyed herself over the next few days, playing games with friends or being called out to play basketball. Only on the last day of the holiday did she realize how quickly time had passed—and that she hadn’t started her homework.

Buried in assignments, Pei Yan passed by her room and couldn’t resist a dig. “Weren’t you having a great time these past few days? Just remembered your homework now?”

“Don’t say another word!” Pei Huan wailed.

“Fine, I won’t,” Pei Yan agreed easily, but then added one last jab, “But just so you know, I’ve already finished all my homework.”

Pei Huan glared at him fiercely.

Was this really her brother?