After one swimming class, Xie Wenxing felt like he had gotten closer to Xu Huai’an again. On top of that, he had agreed to teach him how to swim.
Ahhhhh!
At that moment, it felt like there was a prairie dog inside Xie Wenxing’s mind, screaming wildly and banging against the walls.
“Xingxing, why are you just standing there? Class is about to end. Let’s go.”
Song Yuan walked over and saw Xie Wenxing standing still, staring in the direction Xu Huai’an had left. He didn’t think much of it at first, just urged him to hurry up.
Guilty as charged, Xie Wenxing stumbled over his words. “Ah, right, right, right. Class is almost over. Let’s go change.”
The shower stalls were limited, but luckily, they were all private. They could grab their clothes from the lockers, shower, and change into clean ones.
Private schools weren’t as strict about uniforms as public schools, as long as it wasn’t too out there, anything was fine.
They had arrived late, and all the shower stalls were occupied, so they had to wait a bit.
Within two minutes, the door in front of them opened.
Xie Wenxing looked up and froze.
He didn’t expect it to be Xu Huai’an.
Xu Huai’an also seemed a little surprised to see him. He stepped aside, noticing that Xie Wenxing still hadn’t moved like a statue. “What? Aren’t you here to rinse off?”
“Oh.”
Xie Wenxing touched his nose. “Yeah, what a coincidence.”
Not knowing what else to say, he quickly stepped into the stall and slammed the door shut.
Leaning against the door, his emotions tangled into a mess of nervousness, shyness, and embarrassment. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself, only to realize that the humid air carried the remnants of water droplets that had just been on Xu Huai’an’s body. Now, with every breath, they were entering his lungs!!
Ahh! This is too much! I can’t handle it!
Xie Wenxing hastily turned on the shower and let the cold water run over him to cool down.
Xu Huai’an hadn’t deliberately tried to listen to Xie Wenxing’s inner thoughts this time. He was just too close and hadn’t had time to leave the shower area yet, so he overheard them.
Even though Xu Huai’an had long known what was on Xie Wenxing’s mind, he had to admit that many times, he was still caught off guard by his inner monologue. This time was no exception.
Xu Huai’an wasn’t angry, just found it a bit strange.
Time flew by before they knew it. Soon, the first monthly exam was over, and the results came out that same evening.
Their homeroom teacher, Chen Yan, stood at the podium with a serious expression. “The results for this monthly exam are out. Some of you did very well, and I hope you remain modest and don’t get too arrogant. As for those who didn’t perform well this time, don’t lose heart. I believe that as long as you put in the effort, you’ll see results.”
Xie Wenxing secretly lowered his head. He couldn’t help but feel that the teacher had glanced at him when mentioning those who didn’t do well.
Chen Yan didn’t read out the year-level rankings. Instead, he posted the ranking sheet on the class bulletin board, leaving it for anyone who wanted to check.
That evening, subject representatives took turns going to the office to pick up test papers and hand them out. Xie Wenxing stuffed each paper into his desk as soon as he received it, his expression like that of an old man trying to avoid looking at his phone.
Song Yuan had the lowest grades in class. He was already prepared for it and used to it, so he didn’t care much. However, he was genuinely concerned about his friend’s results.
Song Yuan made a soft sound to get his attention. “Xingxing, how did you do on the exam?”
Xie Wenxing turned his head the other way, ignoring him.
Song Yuan, oblivious as ever, failed to notice his friend’s gloom and continued on his own. “You’ve been working so hard since the start of the semester. You probably did well, right? So? Did you score above 90?”
Xie Wenxing quietly covered his ears.
“How was it? How was it?”
Not giving up, Song Yuan sneakily reached into the desk, pulled out the test papers, and spread them open. “Let me see…”
His words died in his throat, and his smile instantly froze on his face. Just as he was about to stuff the papers back in, Xie Wenxing slowly turned his head. A pair of big, dark eyes stared back at him with a quiet intensity.
A wave of panic washed over Song Yuan, at a loss for what to do. “Haha, Xingxing, uh… are you thirsty? Want some milk? I’ll go buy some right now!”
Like a child who had done something wrong, Song Yuan was overwhelmed with guilt and eager to make up for it.
Xingxing had such strong pride, he must be feeling terrible inside.
After Song Yuan left, Xie Wenxing laid the test papers out on his desk one by one. Taking a deep breath, he looked through each of them carefully.
Earlier, he had only glanced at them, but now he was truly examining them.
Chinese: exactly 90, just passing. Math: 85. English: 95. The other subjects were either just barely passing or just a few points short.
Actually, this was much better than his previous results. At least he wasn’t at the bottom of the class anymore.
But…
Xie Wenxing had seen Xu Huai’an’s results. A total score of 736, first place in the year level, over twenty points ahead of the second-place student.
Compared to that, his own score felt embarrassingly low.
I’m asking my parents to get me a tutor when I go home this weekend.
If my grades are this bad, I don’t even deserve to date!
With a determined mindset, Xie Wenxing planned to redo all the questions he had gotten wrong. However, there were so many that by the time self-study ended, he had only managed to finish Chinese and English.
For the questions he truly couldn’t figure out, he had no choice but to set them aside for now, either to wait for the teacher’s explanation in class or rely on a tutor.
The classroom gradually emptied as students left one after another. Checking the time, Xie Wenxing felt it was about time for him to go. Just as he was about to leave, a shadow loomed over him.
Xie Wenxing: ???
Looking up, he immediately stood up. “What are you doing here?”
Xu Huai’an held up his phone. “Came back to get it.”
Xu Huai’an glanced at the test papers on the desk and raised an eyebrow. “You’ve got quite a few mistakes, huh?”
Xie Wenxing had been working on correcting his math paper, which was covered in glaring red crosses.
He flopped onto the desk, covering the papers. As he leaned forward, the hem of his shirt dipped slightly, revealing a graceful curve.
Xu Huai’an let out a soft laugh, raising a fist to cover his mouth.
Xie Wenxing heard it and pouted, grumbling, “Don’t laugh at me.”
Xu Huai’an cleared his throat. Xie Wenxing’s dejected look reminded him of a floppy-eared rabbit, timid, nervous, daring to harbor feelings for him but too scared to act.
Yet, whenever someone spoke ill of him, Xie Wenxing would seriously and fiercely come to his defense.
Something softened in Xu Huai’an. He patted Xie Wenxing on the head, gently pushed him back into his seat, and propped an arm against the desk. Naturally, he began explaining the questions.
His deep, magnetic voice was so close, his defined jaw just inches away. Xie Wenxing found himself staring at it, lost in thought for a few seconds.
Xu Huai’an suddenly stopped. He placed a warm hand on Xie Wenxing’s cheek, gently turning his head forward. “Look at the problem.”
“I-I-I am looking!”
Xie Wenxing’s ears felt like they were on fire.