8. Separation

The seven-day National Day holiday had come to an end, and on the morning of their return to school, Pei Huan was still struggling to readjust. She yawned several times in a row. Pei Yan walked beside her, scoffing, “Still not used to China’s time zone? Need me to get you a leave of absence so you can go back and recover?”

“No need,” Pei Huan replied, stifling another yawn. “Instead of worrying about me, you should think about that crush of yours you still haven’t won over.”

At the mention of this, the smile faded from Pei Yan’s face. The two of them fell silent for several seconds before Pei Yan’s cool voice finally sounded, “That’s none of your business.”

Pei Huan shot him a sidelong glance but ultimately let the matter drop.

When they arrived at the classroom, only a handful of students had shown up. Perhaps it was the aftermath of the long holiday, but everyone looked listless—some even had their heads buried in their arms, sound asleep. After taking her seat, Pei Huan did the same, laying her head down for a nap.

Lu Yinghuai, upon reaching his own desk, saw Pei Huan sleeping and even pulled out his chair more quietly than usual.

Gradually, more students trickled in, and the once-quiet classroom grew noisy. Yet Pei Huan slept soundly, so much so that she didn’t even stir when the group leader came over to collect homework.

Seeing this, Lu Yinghuai reached out and gently shook her. Pei Huan sat up groggily, her voice muffled. “What’s up?”

“It’s time to hand in homework. I’ve been calling you for ages,” the group leader said.

“Oh,” Pei Huan muttered. She began pulling everything out of her bag in a heap, eventually finding the notebooks she needed to turn in and handing them over.

Once the homework was collected, the group leader left. Now that she was awake, most of Pei Huan’s drowsiness had faded. Noticing Lu Yinghuai diligently working on problems beside her, she asked offhandedly, “Lu Yinghuai.”

“Yeah?” he responded.

“What did you do over the seven-day break?” she asked.

“Slept,” he replied, offering only that single word.

Pei Huan was surprised. “You just slept? Didn’t go out at all?”

“No,” Lu Yinghuai shook his head.

Pei Huan was about to say something more, but then remembered how Lu Yinghuai had once remarked that he didn’t have many friends. She swallowed her words, thought for a moment, and finally said, “Sleeping’s not bad, at least you got some good rest.”

What a lame attempt at comfort.

After she spoke, Pei Huan almost wanted to slap herself.

Lu Yinghuai didn’t comment; after a brief “Mm,” he lapsed into silence.

That afternoon, the class monitor posted the monthly exam results at the front of the classroom, and everyone swarmed forward to see. Pei Huan waited for the crowd to thin before approaching. As expected, Lu Yinghuai’s name was at the very top, first in the class, and even ranked first in the entire grade. Pei Huan wasn’t surprised; she’d heard more than once how clever and outstanding he was.

She let her gaze drift down the list, found her own name in the middle, and checked her scores subject by subject. Her results were decent—solidly average for the grade—which put her mind at ease.

As she stepped away, Tang Yue noticed her expression and teased, “You look pretty pleased. Did you do well?”

“It was what I expected, since I didn’t study at all,” Pei Huan replied with a grin.

“Not at all?” Tang Yue was skeptical.

“I did glance at some math, but it was basically no help,” Pei Huan admitted.

Tang Yue laughed. “So how’d you do in math this time? It can’t be worse than your last score of twenty, right?”

“Better than last time,” Pei Huan said confidently. “I got thirty-four.”

If Tang Yue hadn’t just heard her say that, she might have mistaken Pei Huan’s confidence for the pride of a top student. She teased mercilessly, “That’s pretty impressive.”

“Of course,” Pei Huan replied, entirely unabashed.

Yuan Tao and Tao Ranxi checked their own results and were satisfied as well.

“You got third place this time—pretty strong,” Tao Ranxi commented.

“It’s not as great as you make it sound,” Yuan Tao replied with a gentle smile. “That’s the best I can do.”

“Really?” Tao Ranxi nudged her with a laugh.

“But, hey, when we switch seats later, you can pick the spot next to Lu Yinghuai, right?” Tao Ranxi asked.

“That’s right,” Yuan Tao replied with a smile.

Tao Ranxi grinned. “Then you’ll have the inside track.”

“Whether he wants to talk to me, though, I can’t say,” Yuan Tao admitted, uncertain.

Tao Ranxi shot her a playful look. “Who wouldn’t want to talk to you? There are probably people lining up at your door for a chance.”

While Tao Ranxi teased her, Yuan Tao was already imagining what the next month would be like sitting beside Lu Yinghuai.

When Pei Huan returned to her desk, Lu Yinghuai was still out. Once he came back, Pei Huan shared the news about the results. Upon hearing he’d come in first, Lu Yinghuai barely reacted, just murmuring a quiet “Mm.”

“How come you’re not the least bit happy?” Pei Huan asked, puzzled.

“There’s nothing to be happy about,” Lu Yinghuai replied blandly.

He’d come in first many times before. The first time, he’d shown his parents, but they’d only offered a few perfunctory words before moving on. Over time, the joy he’d once felt at being first faded, since no one seemed to care.

“Why not? If I ever got first, I’d probably wake up laughing in my sleep,” Pei Huan exaggerated.

Lu Yinghuai didn’t respond, and Pei Huan didn’t mind.

“Plus, coming in first proves you’re truly gifted,” Pei Huan continued. “You worked hard and earned your reward. You deserve it. You really are amazing, Lu Yinghuai.”

Lu Yinghuai was silent for a moment, startled. Then he asked, “Am I… really that good?”

Pei Huan nodded. “You really are.”

He said nothing, lowering his gaze to conceal the fleeting hint of a smile in his eyes.

It was the first time anyone had ever praised him so sincerely.

In the following class, no one really paid attention. Everyone was busy talking about their grades and discussing the upcoming seat change during the final class meeting.

Pei Huan didn’t mind. Whether or not she sat with Yuan Tao or Tao Ranxi, any seat would do.

On the podium, the teacher heard the buzzing chatter and rapped a book on the desk. “Are you listening or not? I’m teaching up here and you’re all talking down there. Maybe you should come up and teach instead.”

Immediately, the class fell silent. After a moment, the teacher continued the lesson.

Soon enough, it was time for the class meeting. Ma Fei covered some routine announcements, then told everyone to pack up and line up in the hallway.

The classroom erupted in noise as students gathered their things and filed into the hallway, lining up according to their exam rankings. Lu Yinghuai was first, and Ma Fei stood at the front, calling them in one at a time.

Lu Yinghuai went in first, choosing the same window seat he’d picked at the start of the term. Pei Huan, leaning by the window and chatting with others, happened to glance over and saw him take his usual spot. She glanced at the seat beside him.

Unfortunately, that seat wouldn’t be hers.

Yuan Tao, who ranked third, entered and sat right next to Lu Yinghuai. She greeted him with a smile, “Ah Huai.”

He ignored her, but Yuan Tao didn’t mind. After all, there was still a whole month ahead.

When it was Pei Huan’s turn to enter, the room was already more than half full. The seat beside her friend Tang Yue was taken, but Li Xuan beckoned to her. “Hey, Pei Huan, over here.”

Li Xuan’s desk mate’s seat was still empty, and since he was waving her over, Pei Huan chose the spot beside him without a second thought.

“Guess I wasn’t wrong—you and I really did end up as desk mates,” Li Xuan grinned.

Li Xuan was good-looking as well, and being his seatmate wasn’t bad. Plus, it meant she had someone to chat with during class.

Once everyone was seated, the seat change was complete. Ma Fei surveyed the new arrangement, and when he saw Pei Huan and Li Xuan together, he sighed in exasperation. “Pei Huan, Li Xuan, do you two have to sit together?”

“Of course, teacher. Didn’t you once call us the Gemini Twins?” Li Xuan replied.

“Do you ever hear what I’m actually saying, Li Xuan?” Ma Fei was speechless.

The class burst into laughter, and even Pei Huan couldn’t hold back a smile.

“Say one more thing and Ma Fei will split us up,” Pei Huan whispered, leaning over.

“Pretty petty, huh?” Li Xuan whispered back.

Watching them whispering together, Lu Yinghuai averted his gaze, his expression inscrutable, but his mood was clearly low. Yuan Tao didn’t dare say anything to him.

In the days following the seat change, Yuan Tao made several attempts to start conversations with Lu Yinghuai, but he either ignored her or left the room during breaks, only returning when class resumed. Even when she asked him questions, he barely responded, leaving Yuan Tao feeling frustrated.

This wasn’t what she had envisioned.

Pei Huan, on the other hand, seemed to be thriving next to Li Xuan, who was endlessly entertaining.

“Want an apple?” Pei Huan asked.

“Sure,” Li Xuan replied.

Pei Huan pulled an apple from her bag, snapped it in half, and handed him a piece.

Li Xuan took a bite. “Pretty sweet.”

“Told you! My mom bought them,” Pei Huan said.

After finishing the apple, Li Xuan remarked, “But it seems like your former desk mate isn’t getting along too well with our school beauty.”

“Seriously?” Pei Huan was skeptical.

“Would I lie to you?” Li Xuan rolled his eyes. “I haven’t seen them say a word to each other since they started sitting together.”

“They probably just aren’t familiar yet,” Pei Huan said unconcernedly. “It took ages for me to talk to him when we first sat together.”

Li Xuan nodded in understanding.

“But lately he’s been looking like he swallowed a stick of dynamite. Any idea why?” Li Xuan pressed.

“If you don’t know, how would I?” Pei Huan retorted, rolling her eyes.

Truthfully, she hadn’t paid much attention to Lu Yinghuai. He was always reserved and quiet, so it didn’t seem unusual. Maybe, given time, he and Yuan Tao would find something to talk about.

Pei Huan glanced over just in time to meet Lu Yinghuai’s gaze. Mischief sparked in her eyes, and she raised her brows at him in an exaggerated gesture. He held her gaze for a few seconds before looking away, his expression as calm as ever. Pei Huan was speechless.

Really? Not even a reaction?