Xie Chen had always disliked trouble. Anything—or anyone—that might bring him trouble, he would instinctively keep his distance from. Since he knew Su Yunluo had the “potential” to become trouble, he had spent the past six months quietly observing her from the sidelines, curious to see what she might do.
But in the end, he didn’t see any tricks at all. Instead, she only grew more distant, colder, and quieter.
The hallway slowly filled with students. Two students from different classes, responsible for the keys, rushed up to unlock their classrooms, and the crowd began flowing into each room.
Before Xie Chen entered his classroom, he glanced at Su Yunluo one last time.
Under the morning light, her face looked slightly pale. The dark circles under her eyes were so heavy they seemed impossible to wash away. She actually looked more exhausted than students like them who had stayed up all night gaming.
Back at his seat, Li Zhe was still talking about the same topic.
“Could it be that Top Student Su is emotionally overwhelmed or something? Look at those dark circles.”
Zhao Shuo nodded. “Maybe she saw how stable Brother Chen’s position is now and realized there’s no way to turn things around, so she got depressed?”
Xie Chen didn’t respond.
But his thoughts drifted in that direction for a moment.
Could it really have something to do with him?
Last time, a girl from Class Six had also mentioned that the gap was too large, and that Su Yunluo seemed unusually anxious after losing.
Now the gap was even bigger—she had dropped to 112th place.
That competition, his results were earned honestly, and the exam had been fair and open. The only “fault” he had was not revealing his full ability before the high school entrance exam. He had once thought winning like that might feel unfair, but he never expected it could cause someone to lose their motivation.
If the problem really came from him, then this “trouble” might be something he had to handle personally.
…
The next day, Xie Chen left the dorm early—alone.
As expected, on the road toward the teaching building, he saw that familiar figure again.
She walked slowly, her back held very straight, but the air around her felt empty and distant—just like when he first met her.
By the time he reached the stairs, Su Yunluo had already gone up. Xie Chen quickened his pace and followed her from the first floor to the third, finally calling out at the corner.
“Su Yunluo—”
She stopped, but didn’t turn around. In front of her were a pair of white sneakers with blue trim.
The shoes were unusually clean—just like their owner.
“What is it?” she asked, gaze lowered, expression indifferent.
Xie Chen quickly searched for the right words.
He couldn’t possibly ask, “Did I make you depressed?” And “Did you ever want to pursue me?” was even more inappropriate.
After a moment of hesitation, he chose the most direct approach.
“After the first monthly exam last year… did you feel anything about it?” he asked.
Seeing that she didn’t respond, he added, “I mean… were you in a bad mood?”
Su Yunluo was silent for a moment.
Then she replied lazily, “Why would I be in a bad mood?”
Her voice was light and detached, as if nothing in the world mattered to her.
Xie Chen looked at her.
From his angle, he could only see her lowered eyelashes, soft hair, and the small swirl at the top of her head that looked strangely quiet.
Just like her—fragile, soft, and silent.
“That’s good then. I don’t want that exam to affect you too much,” he said, lowering his voice as gently as possible. “Actually, fluctuations in grades are very normal. I hope you—”
Su Yunluo suddenly looked up at him.
Morning light fell across his face, half bright and half shadowed. His features were clean and refined, his nose straight, his expression polite and restrained.
A textbook perfect top student.
She let out a quiet, mocking laugh in her heart.
So good at pretending.
That so-called humility was fake. Deep down, he was extremely competitive. That “perfect student who would never go astray” image was fake too—maybe he was just a darker version of it. Did Teacher Sun even know his top student sneaked out at night to game?
And now he was suddenly here, caring about her mood?
What was this supposed to be?
A display of superiority?
Or the mercy of a winner?
She lifted her chin slightly, a half-smile forming on her lips.
“Of course it won’t affect me. But, Xie University Top Student—”
“You really have thick skin.”
Xie Chen’s smile froze.
A faint irritation surged through him, like a stone dropped into still water.
But Su Yunluo didn’t give him time to react.
“Now the whole school knows how impressive you are. You’ve been firmly sitting in second place for almost a year and still aren’t satisfied? Now you’re even worrying about the feelings of someone you beat? What—did I lose too badly last time? Not bow low enough for your satisfaction? But someone who didn’t even make it into the top hundred—how much glory could I possibly add to you anyway?”
Her words came fast, each one sharp as ice.
“If you’re that competitive, go challenge Qi Ning instead. Pull him down from first place—that would be even more satisfying, wouldn’t it?”
With that, she turned and walked past him up the stairs.
“Su Yunluo!” Xie Chen called after her again.
He had always prided himself on being quick-witted and sharp-tongued. In verbal exchanges, he rarely lost.
But with her—twice already—he always ended up silenced, watching her walk away after finishing her words.
This time, he didn’t want to lose again.
Su Yunluo stopped on the stairs and turned back.
Originally, she didn’t want to talk to him again. But their positions were different now—she stood a few steps higher. For once, she didn’t need to look up at him.
That small change gave her an odd sense of patience. She even felt like listening to what he still had to say.
But Xie Chen didn’t seem bothered at all by the difference in height.
Even though he had already dropped the gentle expression she found almost pitying, his face remained calm and steady.
He met her gaze for a moment, then suddenly let out a soft laugh.
“Su Yunluo, has anyone ever told you—you’re full of contradictions?”
“No,” she replied flatly.
“That doesn’t make sense,” Xie Chen narrowed his eyes slightly, as if the rest of the world had failed to notice something obvious.
“It makes sense,” she said. “And has anyone ever told you—you’re really good at pretending?”
Without waiting for a response, she turned and walked away.
Her figure disappeared into the corridor.
Xie Chen stood there, watching her leave. Slowly, he relaxed his jaw, realizing he had been clenching it without noticing.
So he was the one who got shut down again.
From childhood until now, people had described him in many ways. Mostly good, some not. At worst, proud or competitive.
But no one had ever called him “thick-skinned” or a “pretender.”
Yet somehow, that was exactly what he got from her.
After a moment, he exhaled lightly and lowered his gaze.
Fine.
Maybe he really had overthought it.
This person wasn’t the problem.
Her fighting ability was still completely overwhelming.
After that day, until the end of first year in high school, Su Yunluo never spoke to Xie Chen again. Not even a glance was exchanged.
Even though she had won that verbal exchange, whenever she thought about the growing gap between them, she felt the only way forward was to completely ignore him.
At the final exam of second semester in first year, after the last chemistry paper ended, the classroom gradually emptied. Su Yunluo remained in her seat, lost in thought.
She slowly opened her palm—several fresh red nail marks were etched into her skin. She had unconsciously dug her nails into her hand during the exam.
Now she was certain some people could already guess their results before leaving the exam hall.
This time, she knew she had done poorly.
She would probably drop out of the top 160.
If that happened, she might not even make it into the science “rocket class” in second year.
She remembered her middle school days, when she stayed in the middle ranks. Back then, she told herself she simply wasn’t trying hard enough—like everything would change if she just worked a little harder.
Only now did she understand that “not trying hard enough” was just an excuse to make herself feel less foolish.
Because in this world, there are always things you cannot achieve, no matter how desperately you try.
Otherwise, the word “powerless” wouldn’t exist.
Second year of high school began.
There were thirty-seven classes in the school—thirty science classes and seven arts classes. Among the science classes, there were two elite “rocket” classes, each with seventy students.
Su Yunluo chose science.
When she squeezed through the crowd to check the class list, it felt like she had been struck by lightning.
She had actually been placed into a rocket class.
On that long list, Xie Chen’s name sat firmly at the very top. Scrolling down more than thirty lines, she found Shi Ranran. And further down, at the very bottom, she finally saw her own name—
like a fish barely clinging to the edge of a boat.
Beside her name were her rankings from the two major exams before summer break:
103rd, 172nd.
For the first time, she felt that “better to be the tail of a phoenix than the head of a chicken” was completely misleading.
Because as the “phoenix tail,” she could only think—whoever’s been through this would understand.
What annoyed her even more was the seating arrangement had already been decided.
No one knew what logic was used, but in front of her sat Xie Chen.
And her deskmate turned out to be Shi Ranran.
As the last person into the classroom, she walked toward her seat with her head lowered, not wanting to look up.
Even so, she could still feel Xie Chen glance at her.
And Shi Ranran, her old rival, looked like she was about to float from excitement. She stood to let her pass, then immediately turned back and excitedly joined the girls behind them in discussing rankings.
Soon, the classroom filled with talk of scores and positions.