In the teaching profession, Jiang Wenpei was still a rookie. Even when reprimanding students, her voice would subconsciously soften into a gentle tone. If there was one person the class wasn’t afraid of, it was Teacher Jiang. That was why Song Yunshen and Xu Zhuoyue were completely unbothered when they were called out to the hallway. Listening to her scold them was basically like listening to ASMR.
After giving them a talking-to, Jiang Wenpei looked at the two boys. Since their heads were bowed in a seemingly repentant manner, she assumed her lecture had been effective. Satisfied, she nodded and waved them off. "Go back to class. Pay attention during morning study, you hear me?"
"Yes, Teacher Jiang."
The moment they sat back down, Xu Zhuoyue couldn’t help but whisper, "Did you see that? Teacher Jiang’s legs are so pale."
"Pervert," Song Yunshen said nonchalantly, picking up his English textbook as if refusing to stoop to his level.
"Holy shit! Are you seriously telling me you didn’t look?"
"I haven’t even settled the score with you yet," Song Yunshen scoffed. "Who was the idiot yelling so loudly earlier?"
"That’s because of you, dumbass," Xu Zhuoyue shot back, annoyed. "Asking me if you’re handsome out of nowhere. Have you lost your mind?"
"I was merely verifying a fact with you."
"Heh."
After the morning study session, more than half the class slumped over their desks to nap—a clear sign of excessive brainpower usage the night before. Song Yunshen wanted to sleep too, but he had more important matters to attend to today. He stood up, glanced in the direction of his target, and patted Xu Zhuoyue’s shoulder to signal him to move out of the way.
Assuming his friend was just heading to the restroom, Xu Zhuoyue didn’t think much of it. Standing up to let him pass, he took the opportunity to ask the girl sitting in front of them, "Sister Ping, let me borrow yesterday’s English homework, will you?"
"Oh," Kang Ping, a girl with thick bangs and equally thick glasses, replied tonelessly, handing her English workbook back to him.
Meanwhile, Song Yunshen had already arrived beside Xia Yunuo’s desk. Reaching out, he tapped her shoulder and leaned in slightly. "Xia Yunuo, could I borrow your English homework?"
Clearly not expecting Song Yunshen to approach her on his own accord, Xia Yunuo froze, a bit slow to react. However, her deskmate Bai Fenni raised an eyebrow and teased with a grin, "What are you up to, Song Yunshen? Teacher Jiang doesn’t even check our homework. You never borrow English assignments normally. Could it be..."
She glanced back and forth between Song Yunshen and Xia Yunuo, wearing an expression that said she was onto something.
Song Yunshen had no patience for gossips. Refusing to entertain her, he kept his gaze on Xia Yunuo. "Can I?"
By now, Xia Yunuo had snapped out of her daze. Finding no reason to refuse, she pulled out her English workbook and handed it over. Seeing his goal achieved, Song Yunshen smiled faintly. "Thanks."
Getting ready to copy the answers, Xu Zhuoyue witnessed the exchange and stared in surprise as he watched his best bro return to his seat. "Have you finally figured it out?" Xu Zhuoyue said with gratification. "Going on the offensive, huh?"
"What are you trying to say?" Song Yunshen shot him a sidelong glance.
"Sister Ping usually has our backs. Who has the time to go around borrowing homework from anyone else?" Xu Zhuoyue said, rolling his eyes.
Kang Ping was a top-five academic overachiever in their class. She was well-rounded in every subject and took her assignments incredibly seriously. Thus, her workbooks had always been highly contested treasures among the underachievers. While Xia Yunuo also had decent grades, she only really excelled in English. Since Teacher Jiang rarely checked their English homework, basically no one ever asked to borrow it.
Moreover, this was Xia Yunuo. She was one of the rare loners in class, rarely seen acting friendly with anyone. Although many boys had a secret crush on her, it was quite rare to see someone actively approach her like Song Yunshen just did.
"Why is he borrowing my English homework?" It was only then that Xia Yunuo belatedly wondered in her heart.
Hearing the thought echo in his mind, Song Yunshen couldn’t exactly answer her. Instead, responding to Xu Zhuoyue’s earlier question, he curled his lips and said, "Can’t it just be because I think she has nice handwriting?"
"Sister Ping." Xu Zhuoyue patted Kang Ping’s shoulder. "Song Yunshen says your handwriting is ugly."
"Piss off!" Song Yunshen punched him.
Kang Ping didn’t mind. She kept her head down, absorbed in her exercises, showing no interest in joining their banter.
"Then why did you borrow it? Teacher Jiang isn’t going to check anyway," Song Yunshen asked casually as he flipped open Xia Yunuo’s workbook.
"We just got scolded, remember?" Xu Zhuoyue said helplessly. "What if Pei Pei calls on us again during class? I’m just taking precautions."
"Are you in any position to call her Pei Pei?"
"It’s a term of endearment for Teacher Jiang," Xu Zhuoyue declared with a look of deep affection.
"Sounds like a dog’s name."
"...I’m telling the teacher!"
"Childish."
Ignoring Xu Zhuoyue, Song Yunshen lowered his head and carefully inspected Xia Yunuo’s handwriting. Truth be told, at first glance, her writing really did look somewhat similar. However, there might be differences between English and Chinese penmanship. Thus, Song Yunshen flipped through the pages, doing his best to find the Chinese translations she had jotted down in the workbook to compare them with his memories of the Future Diary’s handwriting.
It looked similar. But at the same time, it was slightly different. Xia Yunuo’s handwriting was elegant, but beneath its beauty lay a hint of sharpness. On the other hand, the Future Diary’s penmanship was much more graceful and delicate, lacking any sort of edge and making for a softer reading experience.
Did that mean Xia Yunuo and the owner of the Future Diary weren’t the same person? For some reason, after coming to this preliminary conclusion, Song Yunshen felt a tinge of disappointment. He thought, "Sigh... It seems my future ex-girlfriend and lover isn’t Xia Yunuo after all."
"Copy the answers, why did you stop?" Seeing him staring intently at Xia Yunuo’s workbook without moving his pen, Xu Zhuoyue asked suspiciously. "Don’t tell me you’re actually admiring her handwriting?"
"You wouldn’t understand." Looking profoundly mysterious, Song Yunshen refused to elaborate. He turned his head, took a few glances at Xu Zhuoyue and Kang Ping’s handwriting, and breathed a sigh of relief.
"What’s up? Are you trying to check your answers against ours?" Confused by his friend’s actions, Xu Zhuoyue was completely lost.
"It’s nothing." Song Yunshen shook his head, feeling slightly more at ease.
It wasn’t Kang Ping, and it wasn’t Xu Zhuoyue. Hmm... Kang Ping was an academic grinder with average looks and a good personality. As for Xu Zhuoyue, there was no way his best bro could be his future lover... Ahaha...
Still, one had to be rigorous in everything they did. He was simply upholding the spirit of scientific inquiry—nothing wrong with that!
But... if it wasn’t Xia Yunuo, then who on earth wrote the Future Diary? Ningjiang Middle School wasn’t massive, but it wasn’t small either. Trying to find the diary’s owner among a student body of two to three thousand was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
It would be great if Xia Yunuo was his future girlfriend.
Song Yunshen considered himself a simple guy who appreciated a pretty face, and Xia Yunuo was the only girl in class who could truly stun someone at first glance. Wishful thinking aside, he had no plans to date in high school anyway.
Right as Song Yunshen was mulling over these matters, Xia Yunuo—seated in the third row toward the middle of the classroom—suddenly whipped her head around to look at him, a faint blush creeping across her cheeks.
She had just heard him think, "It would be great if Xia Yunuo was my future girlfriend."
She wondered, "What on earth is this guy thinking about while copying homework?!"