"Uh..."
Looking at the slender silhouette walking ahead of him, Gu Ran rubbed his hands together helplessly.
Had she taken a dislike to him?
He shook his head helplessly and sighed.
Thinking about the stains on the girl's white top and light blue jeans, his face flushed with embarrassment.
No wonder she was angry. He had ruined her freshly changed clothes. How could any girl who liked to stay clean be happy about that?
After running through the scenario in his head, he turned around and walked right out of the school gates.
He remembered there was a dry cleaner across the street from the school. He wondered if they sold detergent. If she scrubbed it while the stain was still fresh, it should come out.
After hastily buying two bottles of detergent, he stretched his long legs, jogged into the academic building, and followed his memory to the honors science class.
Because Ye Zhenzhen, the top student in their grade, was definitely in this class.
By the time he arrived, the morning reading period had already begun. Standing at the classroom door, he immediately spotted that unattainable beauty.
Just sitting there quietly, she exuded an ethereal aura.
Her clean, delicate face and high ponytail gave off an impression of elegance and competence.
Right now, however, the girl was silently fuming, discussing with her desk mate how to get rid of the stains on her clothes.
After all, she absolutely did not want to look like a mess when meeting her new stepfather and his son.
"Zhenzhen, who exactly did this to you?"
Pei Susu asked with a laugh, scrubbing the stain on the white cotton jacket with a wet wipe.
Hearing this, Ye Zhenzhen's hands paused. The image of that detestable figure flashed in her mind, and she unconsciously scrubbed a little harder.
"A jerk."
Though she was furious inside, she spoke calmly, her face impassive and completely expressionless.
But Pei Susu knew her too well. Hearing that feigned nonchalance, she knew Zhenzhen was currently wishing she could chop this jerk into eight pieces.
"It was a guy, wasn't it?"
She first looked around with a cheeky grin, then leaned in close to Ye Zhenzhen's ear and whispered, "Right?"
Ye Zhenzhen didn't answer. Instead, she raised an eyebrow and looked at her curiously, as if asking how she knew.
Seeing this, Pei Susu didn't explain. Instead, she leaned in even closer, practically pressing against her ear, and cooed in a sickly sweet voice, "If it's a guy, then you shouldn't call him a jerk. You should call him your lover boy... or your sweetheart!"
As she spoke, she reached out a finger and lightly poked Zhenzhen's chest.
Ye Zhenzhen furrowed her brows slightly, parted her cherry lips, and said, "Creep."
"Bull! It's called flirting!"
"It's just creepy."
"You're the creepy one! I'm going to get you for that!"
...
While the two girls were messing around, Gu Ran's voice rang out from the doorway.
"Ye Zhenzhen!"
His call not only caught the attention of the playing girls but also drew the eyes of the entire class.
Staring at the clean-cut, handsome Gu Ran at the door, Pei Susu's almond eyes instantly lit up.
"Damn, Zhenzhen, look at you! Where did you dig up this handsome little puppy of a guy? Fess up, now."
Ignoring her desk mate's overdramatic antics, Ye Zhenzhen looked at Gu Ran, her cold eyes twitching slightly.
Why did he follow her to her class?!
The next second, seeing Ye Zhenzhen looking his way, Gu Ran smiled and waved her over.
"Ooooh!"
At his gesture, the whole classroom erupted into teasing cheers and hoots.
You couldn't blame the others for gossiping; the two of them really looked like they were wearing couple's outfits.
Both were wearing white tops, jeans, and white shoes.
Couple that with the fact that they were both incredibly good-looking, and that Ye Zhenzhen had never interacted with boys from other classes before, it was hard not to let their imaginations run wild.
Faced with the class's teasing, Ye Zhenzhen didn't blush like an ordinary little girl. Instead, she stood up with elegant composure, furrowed her brows slightly, and walked out of the classroom with a graceful sway.
"Did you need something?"
As her cold voice sounded, Gu Ran smiled faintly. He offered a sincere apology for what had happened earlier, then shoved the bottles of detergent he was holding into her hands.
After handing over the items, Gu Ran didn't linger. He turned right around and left, heading back to his own class.
Looking down at the things in her hands, then staring at his retreating figure down the hallway, a strange light flashed in Ye Zhenzhen's crystalline eyes, and the corners of her lips couldn't help but curl up.
It seemed this guy... wasn't so bad after all.
Still, everything else aside, he had ruined the outfit she had carefully picked out to meet her stepfather and his son. She absolutely wouldn't forgive him over some petty favor.
But... he didn't seem to have done it on purpose, and he even brought her detergent. Plus, she probably wouldn't see him again anyway, so she might as well let it go for now.
She turned and went back to her seat, her face resuming its usual aloof expression as she prepared to deal with her desk mate's gossipy interrogation...
...
Back in his own classroom, Hao Cuiyun was already sitting at the podium. Seeing him walk in, she asked without even lifting her eyelids, "Well, does the great Young Master Gu still remember he has class?"
Gu Ran's behavior over the past two days had been excellent, which restored Hao Cuiyun's confidence in him and prompted her to start treating him like a normal student again.
"Uh..."
Gu Ran was momentarily at a loss for words, unable to come up with an excuse for why he was half an hour late.
"Don't tell me you got lost again."
Gu Ran: "..."
Seeing that the kid didn't bristle at her words, Hao Cuiyun looked up, feeling gratified, and waved him off. "Alright, just pay attention next time. Go back to your seat and study."
With that said, she lowered her head again and continued grading the Chinese exams.
Grading Chinese exams was the most time-consuming task. A responsible teacher would strictly grade every single essay according to the college entrance exam standards; they wouldn't just skim the beginning and end and slap on a rough score based on handwriting.
After meticulously grading a stack of papers, Hao Cuiyun noticed Gu Ran's exam.
Aside from anything else, at least it was fully filled out. His handwriting had also vastly improved compared to before. She could tell at a glance that he had taken it seriously, which was definitely worth encouraging!
Reading further, she was surprised to find that his answers were actually quite good. Aside from a few questions where his train of thought went off track, the rest would easily earn him a decent score.
Especially the fill-in-the-blanks for classical poetry, he got them all right!
His essay was also written with a lot of feeling. The style was distinctly different from the other students, carrying a sense of maturity and depth that comes with age.
Was this how the children of government officials were raised?
She guessed inwardly, then took the exam paper and walked to the back row of the classroom, straight to the throne by the window.
"You did well on this test. Keep up the good work."
Gently placing the paper on his desk, she noticed that Gu Ran was doing math problems. She pushed up her glasses and said softly, "I heard from the English teacher that you've been reviewing math lately. If you've fallen too far behind, go ask the teachers for help. Don't be shy."
"I know. Thanks, Teach."
Gu Ran took his Chinese exam and glanced at the score: 115 points. The places where he made mistakes were thoughtfully circled, with notes written all over the margins.
He grinned, feeling deeply grateful for his homeroom teacher's care.
"Just focus on your studies."
With that, Hao Cuiyun turned around and went back to the podium.
A day of studying passed as time quietly slipped away, and in the blink of an eye, it was already time for school to let out for the afternoon...