Shen Lishu smiled without saying a word.
The next second, her deskmate’s stomach suddenly growled.
The classroom was quiet, with everyone reading or solving problems, making the sound of her stomach unusually clear.
Shen Lishu opened the insulated lunchbox and handed it to her, asking softly, “Would you like something to tide you over?”
Her deskmate had intended to refuse, but upon seeing the neatly arranged shrimp and vegetable shumai in the lunchbox, the words of refusal simply wouldn’t come out.
The wrappers were thin, the fillings generous, and the shrimp plump and tempting, enough to whet anyone’s appetite.
Her deskmate reached for one and thanked her profusely.
After taking a bite, her eyes widened in surprise.
“This is so delicious!”
Seeing her finish, Shen Lishu asked again, “Would you like more?”
Her deskmate shook her head. After all, Pei Yu had prepared this specifically for Shen Lishu in case she got hungry after studying in the morning.
“Your brother is really good to you,” she couldn’t help but remark again.
If only she had such a thoughtful and caring brother too.
Shen Lishu lowered her gaze and murmured softly, “I’ve never seen him as a brother.”
Just then, the morning self-study bell rang.
Her deskmate looked confused. “Shen Lishu, what did you just say?”
Shen Lishu shook her head. “Nothing.”
The teacher walked up to the podium with a stack of test papers and announced sternly, “Today’s morning self-study will be a surprise test.”
“After the test, you’ll choose your seats based on your rankings.”
This was a common tradition in the elite class—using surprise tests to let students compete for better educational resources.
Groans filled the classroom.
“No way!”
“I’ve only had this good seat for less than half a month!”
“…”
To avoid disrupting the morning classes, their test time was also tight.
After the test, they immediately exchanged papers for grading.
During the short break, Shen Lishu was surrounded by classmates asking questions.
“Shen Lishu, congratulations! You’re first again!”
“I wish I had a brain like yours.”
Among them was the bespectacled girl who had come to Shen Lishu for help the day before.
Overwhelmed with excitement, her face flushed red. “Shen Lishu, thank you so much. The last big question on today’s test was exactly the type you explained to me yesterday.”
Thanks to that question, her ranking in this test improved by three places.
Even though she was still near the bottom.
Shen Lishu replied, “No need to thank me. You grasped the knowledge well.”
The bespectacled girl clasped her hands together. “I really hope I can master more before the next grade-level exam so I don’t get pushed out of the elite class.”
As everyone chatted and laughed, a boy hurried past Shen Lishu’s seat, bumping into her desk and knocking it askew.
What’s more, he didn’t even bother to turn around to apologize properly, just tossing out a casual, “Sorry, it wasn’t on purpose.”
Shen Lishu was stunned.
The people around her looked uneasy, unsure of what to say.
The bespectacled girl, in particular, felt awkward.
Everyone worked together to straighten Shen Lishu’s desk, offering a few words of comfort.
As class time approached, they all returned to their seats.
After everyone had left, her deskmate tugged gently on Shen Lishu’s sleeve and whispered, “He definitely did it on purpose.”
“Before, he and Zhang Yuanyuan had been taking turns being the bottom of the class. You helped Jiang Yuanyuan with her studies, which allowed her to successfully push him down.”
After understanding the reason, Shen Lishu fell silent.
Besides, others had achieved good grades through their own efforts, without cheating.
Actually, there was one more thing Shen Lishu’s deskmate hadn’t mentioned—many people felt Shen Lishu usually meddled too much in others’ affairs.
Not only did students from the top class come to ask Shen Lishu questions, but students from outside the top class also sought her out by reputation.
Shen Lishu treated them all equally.
With fierce competition for spots in the top class, this left some students at the bottom of the top class quite dissatisfied.
If students from outside the top class improved their grades, their own positions in the top class would become unstable.
On the other side.
In the last row of Class Six, Pei Yu was still sprawled over his desk, catching up on sleep.
Jiang Jingheng, sitting in the row in front, turned around and looked at Pei Yu’s deskmate, Xie Changyan, lowering his voice in confusion. “What did Brother Pei do last night? He’s still not awake?”
It was almost time for the midday break.
Xie Changyan lazily lifted his eyelids. “As long as he’s still breathing, it’s fine.”
Jiang Jingheng: “…”
The previously quiet classroom suddenly erupted into a commotion.
“Hey, isn’t that the school belle, Wen Mengci?”
“What is she doing in our Class Six again?”
“She’s definitely here to see Pei Yu. It’s not like she’s here for you.”
“…”
Just as Jiang Jingheng turned around to join the gossip, he saw Wen Mengci approaching.
“Hi~”
She greeted Jiang Jingheng with a smile.
Jiang Jingheng casually returned the greeting.
To say they were close with Wen Mengci wasn’t entirely accurate.
Mainly, one of the guys who usually hung out with Jiang Jingheng and the others had a bit of a crush on Wen Mengci.
He often dragged Wen Mengci along when they hung out, and over time, everyone became familiar with her.
“Brother Pei still isn’t awake?” Wen Mengci asked in surprise.
She wore light makeup, her hair carefully styled into loose waves cascading down her back, and she had a hint of perfume on her.
Jiang Jingheng nodded and asked, “What do you need from him?”
“I forgot my book, so I came to borrow one from Brother Pei.”
With that, Wen Mengci crouched down and rummaged through the box at Pei Yu’s feet.
Once she found it, she didn’t linger. “I’m leaving. Remember to let Brother Pei know for me.”
Jiang Jingheng didn’t find anything unusual about it and gave an OK gesture.
Pei Yu was usually extremely generous—aside from things related to Shen Lishu, he didn’t mind giving away his belongings.
Because of this, Jiang Jingheng didn’t think Wen Mengci’s behavior was particularly presumptuous.
It almost seemed as if Wen Mengci and Pei Yu were close enough to cross certain boundaries.
Just before Wen Mengci left Class Six, Xie Changyan took a moment to glance at her, a thoughtful expression flickering in his eyes.
Others might not know.
But Xie Changyan understood all too well.
The reason Pei Yu was so generous was that most of those material things were completely dispensable to him.
But once it involved something Pei Yu valued deeply, if anyone dared to touch even a hair of it, Pei Yu would make them regret being born into this world.
Pei Yu finally sat up just before the last class of the morning ended, his rebellious brows slightly furrowed as he silently rubbed his wrist.
The teacher at the podium had already finished the lesson and allowed the students of Class Six to study on their own.
Jiang Jingheng took the opportunity to mention Wen Mengci coming to borrow a book from him.
Pei Yu responded with a faint “mm,” indicating he understood, though in truth, he didn’t even know who Wen Mengci was.