Yan Zichen’s first reaction was pure shock.
It had been almost two weeks since school started, and the girl sitting diagonally behind him had barely spoken to anyone. She carried a cold, distant air, like she had drawn a clear line between herself and the rest of the class. No matter how outgoing he was, even he hadn’t dared to just walk up and start a conversation with her.
And now, out of nowhere, the iceberg had melted on its own. Not only that—she had actually come to him first.
Still a little stunned, he instinctively glanced at Xie Chen.
Su Yunluo kept that same polite smile on her face. After observing for the past few days, she was pretty sure this “kind-hearted helper” type wouldn’t turn her down.
Sure enough, after a brief pause, Yan Zichen snapped back to his usual cheerful self.
“Su Yunluo,” he said with a grin, showing a row of bright white teeth, “I actually know who you are. I heard your name back in first year.”
As he spoke, his eyes flicked toward Xie Chen again.
Su Yunluo’s grip on her book tightened slightly, thinking he might bring up that old rivalry.
Luckily, that wasn’t where his attention went.
“It’s just… when I saw your name on the rankings back then, I thought it sounded really unique. Does it mean something like ‘a cloud falling from the sky’?”
“Not exactly,” Su Yunluo corrected him. After a brief thought, she said, “It’s more like ‘aim high like the clouds, but shine where you land.’”
“Oh! That’s a great name—poetic and powerful.”
“Thank you.”
“So, which question are you stuck on?”
“This one. I’ve been stuck on it for a while.”
Her slender finger tapped lightly on the page.
Yan Zichen looked it over and started explaining. His thinking was clear, step by step, and Su Yunluo followed easily.
When he finished, he looked up—and met her face tilted slightly toward him.
Small, delicate features. Long lashes. Her skin looked a little pale, with faint shadows under her eyes, but her gaze… her eyes were bright, almost like they were lit from within.
“Wow, that was so clear,” she said, her tone warm and sincere. “I understood it right away. You’re really amazing.”
Shi Ranran had been calling him “Second God” for nearly two weeks now, but Su Yunluo called him “top student” instead. With that genuine tone—and the kind of gratitude that comes from finally understanding something—it felt like a different kind of recognition altogether.
Yan Zichen was clearly caught off guard. He even blushed a little.
The corners of his mouth lifted before he could stop himself. “No problem. If there’s anything else you don’t understand, just ask me anytime.”
“That’s great!” Su Yunluo said immediately, going along with it. She flipped to the next page with her slender fingers. “Can you take a look at this one too?”
Yan Zichen grew even more focused. He read the problem softly:
“Two wooden blocks A and B are connected by a light spring on a smooth horizontal surface. A horizontal force F is applied to stretch the spring, causing both A and B to accelerate. At the moment F is removed, what is the acceleration of B…”
He barely needed to think. “Zero. The moment F is removed, there’s no external force on the system, so the acceleration is zero.”
Su Yunluo nodded, then followed up with another stream of completely sincere praise. “Thank you, really. You’re quick, your explanations are clear, and you’re so patient. And honestly, for someone this capable to still be so humble—that’s rare. Unlike some people who just love putting on an act.”
After saying that, her smile softened slightly as her gaze swept over the two “spectators” nearby.
Shi Ranran had already quietly pulled her book back, staring at her deskmate—this girl who had been silent for nearly two weeks—with a complicated expression.
But the one with the most complicated expression… was Xie Chen.
From the moment Su Yunluo placed her workbook in front of Yan Zichen, he had noticed her. He stayed in that half-turned position the entire time—at first completely still, then resting his chin on one hand, silently watching everything unfold.
Maybe he just wasn’t used to her suddenly speaking today, or to the sweetness in her tone that felt so out of place. In those usually calm, steady eyes of his, she caught a flash of something unmistakable—surprise.
And when she said that pointed line about “putting on an act,” she even saw his lips move ever so slightly.
She couldn’t quite read what it meant.
Was it annoyance? Or… was he amused?
If it was a smile, then it had to be a cold one.
Su Yunluo didn’t back down. She met his gaze head-on.
What was that cold smile for? Yeah, that line was meant for you. So you and Shi Ranran can play your little roles every day—one acting cute, the other playing the all-knowing genius—but I’m not allowed to ask someone for help?
She shot him a quick eye roll. Then, when she turned back to Yan Zichen, her face softened again into that admiring smile. She thanked him sweetly and neatly wrote a “0” in the blank.
Xie Chen, honestly, was speechless.
So speechless it was almost ridiculous.
Fine.
At least she finally figured out how to break the situation.
And she was clever about it too. She knew she couldn’t get anywhere with the people beside or behind her, so she switched her approach and went forward instead.
She even knew to go around him and head straight for Yan Zichen.
He had been watching her coldly this whole time, but it didn’t mean he hadn’t been curious. Someone as distant as her—if she ever decided to make a move, what kind of move would it be?
Well, now he had seen it.
She really did have her ways.
One opening line, and she had already surprised him.
Just a few words, a bit of sweetness, and Yan Zichen was completely thrown off. He even got such a basic question wrong.
Xie Chen turned back around, still at a loss for words.
A moment later, though, he reached for a plastic ruler from his desk. He slid it into the gap between his desk and Yan Zichen’s, then flicked the other end with his finger.
A low “buzz” filled the air.
The ruler vibrated, trembling like a small, restless snake.
Yan Zichen’s attention was first drawn by the movement, then completely caught by that “snake.” He stared at it for a couple of seconds—then his already flushed face turned bright red.
“Damn it!”
He smacked his forehead, annoyed with himself. “I forgot about the spring in the middle! It takes time for it to return to its original shape—the elastic force doesn’t just disappear instantly…”
He looked at Su Yunluo, guilt written all over his face, his voice dropping. “So at the moment F is removed… B’s acceleration… isn’t zero. There should be an initial value…”
The sweet smile on Su Yunluo’s face slowly stiffened.
A couple of seconds later, she forced it back, giving Yan Zichen a reassuring look like it was no big deal. But inside, it was a completely different story.
What is going on with this “top student”…
I finally worked up the energy to fight back a little, and you couldn’t even hold it together? You just handed the guy next to you another chance to show off.
The moment Yan Zichen gave the wrong answer, a knowing smile had already appeared on Shi Ranran’s face. Now she couldn’t even hold it in.
“Second God, what’s wrong with you today?” she laughed. “It’s like someone put a spell on you!”
Then, when she turned to Xie Chen, her tone switched instantly into fangirl mode. “Xie God really is amazing—what a creative way to remind someone. That was genius!”
Without saying a word, Su Yunluo crossed out the “0” she had just written. Next to the question, she added a note: “Remember: elastic force cannot change suddenly.”
Not even looking up, she tossed out, “If you admire ‘gods’ that much, you might as well go study in a temple.”
Shi Ranran choked for a moment, clearly caught off guard by this sudden, fully awakened fighting spirit. It took her a while to respond.
“If your tongue’s that sharp,” she shot back, “you might as well pull your teeth out and use them as knives!”
The sudden clash between the two girls snapped Yan Zichen right out of his embarrassment over “ruining his reputation.”
He was completely lost.
He looked at one, then the other, and finally turned helplessly toward Xie Chen.
Yan Zichen had always been confident in his intelligence—and honestly, he thought his social awareness wasn’t bad either. But right now, faced with this complicated situation, he felt a rare and genuine doubt about himself.
What was going on?
Not only could he not understand what was happening between these two girls… he couldn’t even read the expression on Xie Chen’s face anymore.