A little over nine.

Recently, the class committee was organizing a team-building activity. At first, many people were unwilling to participate, but after Yuan Tao gave an emotional and persuasive speech, quite a few changed their minds. The few who still didn’t want to go could only follow the crowd and pay up. Pei Huan had planned to just blend in unnoticed, but seeing so many people choose to go, she could only cover her face helplessly.

Li Xuan watched her reaction, amused. “You really don’t want to go that much?”

“Not at all,” Pei Huan sighed, feeling a headache coming on. “I could play several rounds of games at home with this time.”

“Well, that’s not up to you,” Li Xuan shrugged. “Didn’t you see our vice class leader up there giving her impassioned speech?”

Pei Huan didn’t say much in response. She understood the class officers’ motives for organizing the event and obediently paid her share.

The funds were all collected by the next day. After Yuan Tao had carefully put the money away, she stood at the podium, her face gentle with a soft, captivating voice that left many of the boys utterly charmed. Pei Huan couldn’t help but marvel.

“Yuan Tao really is something,” Pei Huan whispered.

“No kidding, I almost lost myself in her words just now,” Li Xuan replied carelessly.

Pei Huan shot him a look. “If you really got lost in her words, I’d consider switching seats.”

“You’re a bit heartless, Pei Huan,” Li Xuan said, feigning heartbreak.

Yuan Tao returned to her seat and saw Lu Yinghuai, head down playing on his phone. “I didn’t expect you to join in,” she commented.

Lu Yinghuai didn’t respond.

“Aren’t you usually not interested in activities with lots of people?” Yuan Tao asked, puzzled.

“I just want to go,” Lu Yinghuai replied coolly.

“What?” Yuan Tao thought she’d misheard.

This was the first time since they’d become desk mates that Lu Yinghuai had spoken to her, and just to answer her question. That alone was enough to surprise Yuan Tao.

“You want to go?” She could hardly believe it.

Lu Yinghuai looked up and cast her a cold glance. “Did I say something wrong?”

His look made Yuan Tao shiver. She quickly shook her head. “No.”

He actually wanted to go to this kind of activity. Before this, all Yuan Tao had heard was that Lu Yinghuai was indifferent to everything, never truly interested in anything or wanting to do anything. She’d even asked his cousin, Lu Feng, who’d told her the same.

It seemed nothing could truly stir his emotions.

Yuan Tao gazed at him deeply. He wanted to attend this team-building event—could it mean he wanted to see someone?

Maybe that someone was her?

Thinking this, Yuan Tao lowered her eyes and hid the joy in her gaze.

After the third period Chinese class, Pei Huan’s water bottle was empty. She stood up to refill it at the water dispenser at the front of the classroom, only to find a line had formed. Yuan Tao was right in front of her, but Pei Huan had no intention of striking up a conversation and looked around idly instead.

As Yuan Tao finished with the water, the dispenser ran out. She couldn’t lift such a large water jug by herself. Surveying the room, she finally called out, “Pei Huan.”

Pei Huan snapped back to attention. “Huh?”

“It’s like this,” Yuan Tao explained. “The dispenser’s out of water, and I can’t lift the new jug alone. Could you help me?”

Pei Huan glanced at the empty jug. It wasn’t a big deal for her to help, so she was about to hand her cup to Yuan Tao when suddenly a black cup was thrust into her arms. She caught it reflexively, and as a familiar scent drifted to her nose, she recognized the owner.

Lu Yinghuai was already bending down to tear off the plastic seal from the new water jug, then deftly handed it to Pei Huan. She took it in a daze, and with a show of strength, Lu Yinghuai set the jug in place on the dispenser.

Both Yuan Tao and Pei Huan were left speechless. Lu Yinghuai reached out to Pei Huan, who handed him the trash she was holding. Before he left, she quickly asked, “Hey, do you want your water warm, hot, or cold?”

“Warm,” Lu Yinghuai replied, and then walked off.

Yuan Tao’s gaze lingered on the two of them for a moment, an unreadable emotion flickering in her eyes.

After Yuan Tao left, Pei Huan crouched down to fill both cups with water. She couldn’t drink from Lu Yinghuai’s cup to test the temperature, so she had to rely on guesswork.

When she handed the cup to Lu Yinghuai, she said, “Try it and see if the temperature’s right. If not, I’ll get you another.”

Lu Yinghuai took a sip as she’d suggested. “It’s just right.”

“Alright, I’ll go then,” Pei Huan said.

“Mm.” Lu Yinghuai only gave a short response.

After Pei Huan left, Yuan Tao noticed that Lu Yinghuai was clearly in a better mood. After some hesitation, she spoke.

“Are you and Pei Huan close?”

“Not really,” Lu Yinghuai replied curtly.

“Then you two…”

Yuan Tao trailed off as she saw Lu Yinghuai’s expression turn cold. She wisely dropped the subject.

What if it was just her imagination?

Yuan Tao could only comfort herself with that thought.

When Pei Huan returned to her seat, Li Xuan teased, “We all saw what happened between you two just now.”

“So what if you did?” Pei Huan replied, puzzled.

“Everyone’s saying there must be some unspeakable secret between you and Lu Yinghuai,” Li Xuan said.

Pei Huan stared. “I just helped him with a cup—how is that a secret?”

“Who knows,” Li Xuan drawled, “we’re still teenagers, you know, our minds wander.”

“And now you’re analyzing teenagers?” Pei Huan scoffed.

“No,” Li Xuan shook his head. “I was just talking nonsense.”

Pei Huan: “…”

He said it so seriously she almost believed he was some kind of expert.

The next day, Pei Huan slipped into the classroom at the very last second before the morning reading bell. She hurriedly handed in her homework, then took out her textbook to start reading. Li Xuan grinned at her flustered state. “You rushing to market or something?”

“If I don’t hurry, Ma Fei will catch me out and hold it over me,” Pei Huan said, a little breathless.

After math class, Pei Huan lay her head on the desk and fell asleep. Old Li’s lectures were always a cure for insomnia.

She hadn’t been asleep long when a commotion woke her. Pei Huan straightened up, squinting at the scene before her in confusion. “What’s going on? Why are Yuan Tao and Tao Ranxi standing in front of Ji Qinshu’s desk?”

“Heard the money collected for the event ended up two hundred short, and they suspect Ji Qinshu took it,” Li Xuan explained.

Pei Huan looked over at Ji Qinshu. Tao Ranxi and Yuan Tao stood over her, their posture imposing, while Ji Qinshu looked timid and too meek to speak up in her own defense—guilty, it seemed.

Ji Qinshu was the class’s scholarship student, coming from a poor family. She was always barely noticeable in class, and none of her former classmates had ever said she was dishonest, so Pei Huan didn’t believe Ji Qinshu was the culprit.

“You keep pressing her like this, but where’s your evidence?” Pei Huan’s tone was lazy.

The classroom, which had been silent, was instantly disrupted by Pei Huan’s words. Both Tao Ranxi and Yuan Tao were stunned.

“What evidence?” Yuan Tao hadn’t caught on.

“You two both think Ji Qinshu stole it, but talk is cheap. Where’s the proof? Otherwise, why should anyone believe you? If this is how it works, then if I lose something next time, can I say it was you two who took it?” Pei Huan’s tone was casual, but every word was sharp.

Tao Ranxi sounded annoyed. “She’s the only poor student in class. If she didn’t take it, who did?”

“It wasn’t me,” Ji Qinshu weakly defended herself.

Pei Huan looked at her as if she’d heard a joke, her eyes full of disdainful amusement. “So just because she’s poor, you’re ready to condemn her?”

Tao Ranxi forced herself to meet Pei Huan’s gaze. “What else?”

“Actually, it’s not hard to solve this,” Pei Huan leaned back comfortably in her chair. “Let’s go check the surveillance cameras.”

“What?” Tao Ranxi was still catching up.

“Check the cameras,” Pei Huan said, looking at her lazily. “I’ll go with Yuan Tao and Ji Qinshu. Any objections?”

Ji Qinshu shook her head to show she had none. Yuan Tao studied her for a few seconds and finally agreed.

“But if it turns out Ji Qinshu didn’t take it, I want you and Tao Ranxi to apologize to her,” Pei Huan said forcefully.

“Why should I?” Tao Ranxi protested.

“Because you accused her in front of everyone with no evidence,” Pei Huan replied, eyes narrowing.

Tao Ranxi glared at her for several seconds before reluctantly agreeing. Pei Huan stood, and together with Yuan Tao and Ji Qinshu, went to check the cameras.

The moment the three of them left the classroom, everyone burst into a frenzy, all impressed by Pei Huan’s boldness.

“Oh my god, Pei Huan’s presence just now was overwhelming—I didn’t even dare breathe,” a girl said in awe.

Li Xuan, Tang Yue, and Wang Xun, having seen it before, were unfazed. Pei Huan had stuck up for others like this since the first year.

“Yeah, if it were me, I probably wouldn’t have helped,” another girl agreed.

“So cool! I’m a girl, but I think I’m falling for Pei Huan.”

“Didn’t you say you weren’t into girls, Li Meng?” a boy glanced at her.

“It’s just a fantasy, so what?” Li Meng rolled her eyes mercilessly.

The three didn’t say anything more. In the end, Tang Yue went over and sat in Pei Huan’s seat, whispering to Li Xuan, “Well, Pei Huan’s going to have even more admirers now.”

“She really is impressive,” Li Xuan agreed.

Lu Yinghuai silently took in everything, only looking away when Pei Huan followed the other two out of the classroom.

This wasn’t the Pei Huan he thought he knew. In his impression, she’d always been a bit scatterbrained, but today she’d surprised him again.

Lu Yinghuai glanced at Pei Huan’s seat once more, a thoughtful smile flickering in his eyes.