Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, the first pop quiz arrived the teachers’ first real check on whether the freshmen had been paying attention.
Jiang Chen’s hand had healed, meaning he could no longer escape the relentless wave of classroom tests.
When the results came out that same day, Wei Meng looked at his own score and figured his bro would be right there in the trenches with him. Instead, his “Brother Chen’s” grades weren’t bad at all; every single subject was in the upper-middle tier. Wei Meng threw him a look of deep, silent accusation.
How does someone who sleeps through every class score this high?
Even Jiang Chen was baffled. He seriously questioned if his desk mate had secretly altered his answers while he was napping.
Liu Sen was even more distraught. He took meticulous notes every day, yet his score was lower than Jiang Chen’s. Where was the justice?
Did Jiang Chen secretly burn the midnight oil until dawn, waking up at 5 AM to memorize vocabulary, and then just put on a slacker act at school?
Liu Sen grabbed Jiang Chen’s math paper. “Jiang Chen, let me borrow your test to check the answers.”
Jiang Chen lazily lifted his hand off the paper, letting him pull it away. He truly was the ultimate incarnation of a salted fish. “Oh, go ahead.”
The more Liu Sen looked, the madder he got. There was no cheating, no grading errors everything Jiang Chen wrote was genuinely correct. How could someone secretly study like this?!
Jiang Chen didn’t actually care about his scores. He was just thrilled that his hand was finally mobile again. Best news ever.
Oh, right, he also needed to start practicing the piano, since the performance was only a couple of days away.
While everyone else fretted over their quiz grades, Yang Xiu turned around to ask, “Have you and the Class Monitor prepared your formal wear for the stage yet?”
Jiang Chen blinked. “What formal wear?”
The last time Jiang Chen wore a tuxedo was for a kindergarten chorus, and that was bought by Gu Xin’s mom. His own mother still kept it packed away at home. As he grew older, he hated participating in school events, so the concept of performance attire hadn’t even crossed his mind.
Yang Xiu looked at him with exasperation. “Performance outfits, obviously! You’re not planning to play the piano in your school uniform, are you? Have you ever seen a piano maestro perform? They wear tailcoats! It gives you elegance, presence, and looks incredibly sharp!” Seeing Jiang Chen’s completely oblivious expression looking like he might drop off to sleep any second Yang Xiu gave up and seized the chance to talk to Gu Xin instead. “Forget it, I’ll talk to the Class Monitor.”
Yang Xiu’s attitude shifted instantly between Jiang Chen and Gu Xin.
In front of Jiang Chen, he was his raw, expressive self; in front of Gu Xin, he turned delicate and spoke with a soft, gentle warmth. “Class Monitor, are your performance outfits ready? Do you need me to rent a couple of suits for you guys?”
Gu Xin preferred not to trouble others, as favors usually complicated things. “Oh, no need. I’ll take care of the outfits.”
Yang Xiu wasn’t actually worried about Gu Xin; he was worried about Jiang Chen. “Your outfit is handled, but what about Jiang Chen’s?”
Gu Xin, of course, had already planned for both of them. “I’ll handle them together.”
He performed on stage every year, and his mother always custom-ordered suits according to his growth. Since there were no other kids in the family, Gu Xin always got the absolute best. He still kept his older outfits, and one of them would fit Jiang Chen perfectly.
It was late September, pushing into October, and the school had already distributed the winter uniforms. With a sudden drop in temperature, students had transitioned to their autumn uniforms, with some keeping their winter gear in class just in case.
The school anniversary gala was the day after tomorrow. Gu Xin’s plate was much fuller than Jiang Chen’s; not only was he performing, but he was also co-hosting the event.
His partner was Xia Ning, the mixed-race upperclassman Jiang Chen had helped before. Xia Ning had used the hosting duties as an excuse to look for Gu Xin several times, but Gu Xin had constantly dodged solo interactions by claiming he needed to escort the injured Jiang Chen home. Today, however, he couldn’t avoid it. They needed to run through their lines before the big day.
Right after class, Xia Ning came over to wait outside Class 8’s door, where she ran into the Class 9 beauty, Ou Ruoyi, and exchanged a few polite words. To anyone watching, the sparks flying between the two beautiful Omegas were practically blinding.
In the group chat named “4 Os and 1 B,” Yang Xiu and the others were thoroughly enjoying the drama.
Yang Xiu: I lowkey hope they start throwing hands. Best case scenario, they claw each other’s faces off.
Lin Meimei: A bit much, isn’t it? Even if they ruin their faces, plastic surgery can fix it. Boring.
Cheng Wen: Hair-pulling is where it’s at.
Lan Jingyu: Every word out of their mouths is pure passive-aggression. Who do you think will confess to the Class Monitor first?
Yang Xiu: My money’s on Xia Ning.
Lin Meimei: I bet on Ou Ruoyi. She’s been so eager since the start of the term, waiting to hand him water every day. Though the Class Monitor is a legend—the first couple of times she gave him water, he literally transferred money to her for it. After that, he just straight-up ignored her.
Cheng Wen: The Class Monitor is a veteran at this. I bet on Xia Ning.
Yang Xiu: I’m sticking with Ou Ruoyi.
Jiang Chen, who was casually scrolling out of pure boredom, chimed in: I bet Gu Xin rejects both of them. When you guys lose, buy me dinner. I want the braised ribs from the cafeteria.
Yang Xiu & the others: …
Damn it! You never check the group chat, why choose now of all times to pop up?!
Yang Xiu: Jiang Chen, you spend every single day with the Class Monitor. You are literally the biggest roadblock to his romantic life.
Lin Meimei: Wait, Jiang Chen, why was your English score higher than mine?!
Jiang Chen replied shamelessly: Sleep later than a dog, wake up earlier than a rooster. You can do it too.
Closing the chat, he saw a text from Gu Xin: Wait for me at the auditorium, or do you want to head back first?
Jiang Chen thought about Yang Xiu’s words. He did have every intention of preventing Gu Xin from dating too early, but doing so felt a little counterproductive now. What if Gu Xin actually wanted to date? He wrestled with the thought for a moment before deciding to head over to the auditorium. Even if he didn’t strictly forbid his best friend from dating, he could at least screen the candidates! If a girl’s personality or looks were going to tank Gu Xin’s grades, then she wasn’t worth it.
Jiang Chen packed his things and walked up to Gu Xin. “Let’s go.”
Gu Xin: “Waiting at the auditorium might be pretty boring. Why don’t you play some basketball with Wei Meng?”
Jiang Chen leaned in close, giving him a suspicious look. “Are you afraid I’ll disturb you?”
Gu Xin reached out and ruffled Jiang Chen’s slightly overgrown hair, laughing. “Nonsense. I just don’t want you to be bored.”
Jiang Chen was completely used to his hair being messed with. He flashed his phone screen. “Me? Bored?”
Gu Xin saw the rows of mobile games installed on his screen and smiled. “Fair enough, let’s go then.” With that many games, boredom was out of the question.
By the time they arrived, Xia Ning and Ou Ruoyi had finished their silent showdown and left the hallway, likely realizing neither wanted the other to get an advantage with Gu Xin.
The auditorium was packed with freshmen and sophomores practicing their acts. Each group had a scheduled slot, making it a proper dress rehearsal. Gu Xin and Jiang Chen didn’t need to spend time rehearsing their stage blocking since their positions at the piano were fixed.
“I’ll be done soon,” Gu Xin said, handing his backpack to Jiang Chen. “If you get hungry, there are cookies inside.”
Jiang Chen slouched comfortably into one of the lower-tier seats and pulled out his phone. “Got it, go ahead.”
Gu Xin hadn’t spent much time running lines with Xia Ning beforehand partly to avoid giving the wrong impression, and partly because he didn’t want to waste time. As long as the delivery was smooth, it was enough.
Down below, Jiang Chen booted up his game. First kill, double kill, triple kill…
Once the match ended, a wave of boredom hit him. He reached into Gu Xin’s backpack, fished out a pack of his favorite sandwich cookies, and began munching on them. Right as he finished half the pack, Gu Xin walked down from the stage, with a smiling Xia Ning trailing closely behind him.
Suddenly, the cookies in Jiang Chen’s mouth didn’t taste as sweet. He glanced at the packaging not expired. Why did they taste so bland all of a sudden? He cast a lazy glance at Xia Ning, then looked at Gu Xin. “Heading home?”
Gu Xin took his backpack from Jiang Chen. “Yeah.”
Xia Ning chimed in enthusiastically, “Let’s head out together!”
The three of them walked out of the auditorium.
“I’ve seen you two commute together a few times,” Xia Ning noted curiously. “Do you live close to each other?”
Jiang Chen didn’t answer. Unlike Wei Meng, he didn’t possess the “instantly friendly” trait. He was never particularly enthusiastic around Omega girls, finding them a bit high-maintenance and a potential drain on his peaceful, “salted-fish” lifestyle. He was highly selective about his social circle and maintained a healthy distance from most Omegas.
Gu Xin’s response was noticeably cool. “Yes, we do.” He knew exactly why Xia Ning had tagged along; her intentions were clear as day.
Xia Ning asked softly, “Gu Xin, could you give me a ride part of the way? My bicycle broke down.”
The excuse sounded incredibly familiar; Jiang Zheng had used the exact same line a while back when she simply didn’t feel like riding her bike. Face to face with a beautiful senior, Gu Xin didn’t hesitate to decline. “Sorry, my bike doesn’t have a backseat. I can’t carry anyone.”
Xia Ning froze. “But I saw you guys riding together to school last week.”
Gu Xin looked at the completely unbothered Jiang Chen. “That was Jiang Chen’s bike, not mine.”
Xia Ning forced a strained smile. “Ah, I see. I’ll just call a cab then.”
She couldn’t bring herself to keep pushing. Mostly because Jiang Chen was standing there like a massive, completely oblivious third wheel, and Gu Xin was acting like a total brick wall, completely blind to her flirting. She excused herself as gracefully and proudly as she could. Neither Jiang Chen nor Gu Xin spared her a second glance; both preferred to avoid Omegas whenever possible.
Now that Jiang Chen’s hand was healed, they rode their own bikes. On the way home, Jiang Chen was unusually quiet. Gu Xin found the silence strange. “Why so quiet today? Tired or hungry?”
Jiang Chen let out a yawn. “Neither.”
Gu Xin: “Eating dinner at my place tonight? You need to try on the clothes.”
Jiang Chen: “Can’t. My maternal grandma is visiting tonight, so I have to eat at home. Mom made a big point of it this morning. Wait, what clothes did you say?”
Gu Xin: “The performance suit for the day after tomorrow.”
Jiang Chen: “For me?”
Gu Xin: “Yeah. My mom had it custom-made a while back. It should fit you perfectly right now.”
Jiang Chen: “What about you?”
Gu Xin: “She had another one made for me recently.”
Jiang Chen wasn’t picky about formal wear. “Alright, I’ll come over to try it on after dinner.”
Suddenly, Jiang Chen pulled over in front of a flower shop.
Gu Xin stopped. “What’s up?”
Jiang Chen: “I need to buy a bouquet for Grandma.”
His grandmother had practically watched him grow up. Back when the three siblings were young, she would often come over to take care of them and treated them incredibly well.
He went inside and picked out a bouquet of roses. There happened to be a discount promotion running, so the shop owner gifted him an extra single rose. The owner asked what to do with it: “Should I wrap it into the main bouquet for you?”
Something clicked in Jiang Chen’s mind. “No need. Please wrap it separately.”
The owner smiled knowingly. “You got it.”
The shop was small, so Gu Xin waited outside. As winter approached, the evening wind carried a sharp, biting chill. When Jiang Chen stepped out cradling the bright red roses, the crimson petals made his pale skin look exceptionally fair. Looking at him, only one phrase flashed through Gu Xin’s mind: He outshines the flowers.