Xue Rui felt like his brain was short-circuiting.
He knew who was first in their grade—that was Gu Muxue's exclusive throne. But Lin Ruoxi was second? And she was giving up the college entrance exams to go farm?
He didn't doubt Lin Ruoxi. You couldn't lie about something like grades. The report cards from last semester were still posted on the office door; one glance was all it took to confirm it.
"You haven't told anyone else you're not taking the college entrance exams, have you?" Xue Rui whispered, leaning closer to Lin Ruoxi.
"N-No." Lin Ruoxi grew tense as she felt Xue Rui draw near.
"It's best if you don't. I'm afraid the principal would have a meltdown." Xue Rui sucked in a breath of cold air. 'What in the world is going on?'
The second-ranked student in the grade... Although Hedong Second Middle School's overall university acceptance rate wasn't high, its top students were just as good as those from any other school. The person ranked second had a real shot at getting into one of the top universities.
He remembered from his past life that Gu Muxue's grades had been good enough for Qingbei. But in the end, for some unknown reason, she had inexplicably gone abroad, and he'd lost contact with her after that.
If Lin Ruoxi had also taken the exam, she might very well have made the newspaper headlines.
"You just focus on studying. If you're having trouble, you can talk about it. I'm sure the school won't just stand by and do nothing."
A student like Lin Ruoxi was the apple of the school's eye. The school would definitely play favorites to help her with any difficulties, provided that Lin Ruoxi knew how to ask for help.
As the saying goes, the squeaky wheel gets the grease.
"But..." Lin Ruoxi's hands trembled.
Xue Rui looked helpless. He didn't know the full story, and some things were beyond even the school's ability to help.
The two of them continued watching TV. Lin Ruoxi desperately wanted to leave, but since Xue Rui wasn't going, she didn't dare to either.
Xue Rui was waiting for his "sick person's meal," and taking the opportunity to enjoy the air conditioning in the nurse's office.
Before long, Xue Rui figured it was about lunchtime. He went to check the gatehouse and, sure enough, had received the "sick person's meal" from his mom.
"Lunchtime, lunchtime!" Xue Rui returned carrying an insulated box with "Qunfang Tower" printed on the side.
His family's restaurant was named after his mom. It had been his old man, Xie Jianfeng's, idea. The two of them had been running restaurants for over a decade, though it hadn't been on this scale back then.
"Huh? When did Qunfang Tower start doing delivery?" Dr. Liang asked in surprise.
She had been to Qunfang Tower before. It was a famous high-end restaurant in Hedong City where the average meal cost over two hundred yuan per person, and they never did delivery.
"Who says they don't deliver? You just have to be handsome," Xue Rui bluffed.
Xue Rui had ordered enough for three, which of course included a portion for Dr. Liang. How else could he justify mooching off her air conditioning?
He found a small table and started setting out the food.
Exquisite porcelain bowls, wooden chopsticks, and ceramic plates printed with the "Qunfang Tower" logo—none of it was disposable.
Xue Rui picked up a piece of okra with his chopsticks and savored it. 'Dad cooked this himself. I guess I'm his biological son after all,' he thought.
The restaurant had many chefs, and their dishes were all slightly different. Having eaten there for so many years, Xue Rui could tell who cooked a dish with a single bite.
"Hehe, Classmate Lin, looks like I'm benefiting from your good fortune today." Dr. Liang didn't stand on ceremony, picking up her chopsticks and digging in.
She glanced at Xue Rui. The dishes were all clearly light in flavor, ordered especially for Lin Ruoxi.
Lin Ruoxi was restless and uneasy. She had never eaten any of the dazzling dishes before her. Though she didn't know how they tasted, judging by how exquisite they looked, they had to be very expensive.
Xue Rui saw Lin Ruoxi's discomfort at a glance and said casually, "Hurry and eat. My dad made it, so it's not worth much. Look how much Dr. Liang is enjoying it."
"Eat up, eat up! I only get to go to Qunfang Tower a few times a year, around the holidays. One meal costs me two days' salary. It'd be a waste not to eat," Dr. Liang said with a grin.
"Um... thank you." Lin Ruoxi gently picked up her chopsticks and deliberately chose dishes that looked "cheaper."
Frowning, Xue Rui simply started piling food into Lin Ruoxi's bowl himself.
Lin Ruoxi left after lunch, but Xue Rui brazenly stayed in the nurse's office for a nap until Dr. Liang finally kicked him out.
Xue Rui offered to pay for Lin Ruoxi's medical expenses, but Dr. Liang refused, saying that a few more free meals would be payment enough.
But Xue Rui figured Dr. Liang probably felt bad for Lin Ruoxi and wanted to cover the cost for her.
...
Xue Rui reluctantly returned to the academic building, but before he could even sit down, Qiu Mengze grabbed him.
Qiu Mengze's face was a mask of anxiety. "Xue Rui, hurry to Class 1! Something big is happening!"
Xue Rui paused. 'As long as no one's jumping off a building, it's no big deal.'
"A bunch of guys are confessing to Gu Muxue! One of them is even better looking than you! Don't you feel the least bit threatened?"
Seeing his childhood friend so indifferent, Qiu Mengze wished he could personally step in and swat away those annoying flies.
In his mind, if Gu Muxue was going to have a boyfriend, it had to be Xue Rui. He couldn't accept anyone else.
It was just that he had no reason—or rather, no standing—to chase off Gu Muxue's suitors. After all, he couldn't just say, 'This is the girl my bro likes, so all of you, back off.'
For one, it wasn't a valid reason. For another, Qiu Mengze didn't have the guts.
"Threatened? Why would I chase a girl who's so hard to get? I'm just going to watch the show." Xue Rui chuckled, not taking it to heart at all. He wanted to see the looks on the other guys' faces when they got rejected.
「The Year Two, Class 1 classroom.」
A crowd of students had formed a circle, as if a great drama were unfolding within.
A tall, thin male student stood there. He had fair skin, wore gold-rimmed glasses, and sported a slick, greasy hairstyle, the comb marks so distinct and neatly arranged you could tell he'd used a ton of hair wax.
He was holding a tin of heart-shaped chocolates, kneeling on one knee beside Gu Muxue's desk.
"Good heavens, what class is he from? What's with that look?" Xue Rui couldn't help but comment.
'He's worse than one of those punks,' he thought. 'At least the guys with yellow or green hair have some visual impact. They're just an eyesore. But this guy's greasy look is an assault on my very soul.'
"Oh, him? That's Hong Zihan from Class 5. Rumor is he's had a crush on Gu Muxue for years," a female student answered, grabbing a handful of sunflower seeds from her pocket and offering them to Xue Rui.
Xue Rui glanced at the sunflower seed shells littering the floor. 'I could probably make a killing setting up a stall here selling drinks and snacks,' he thought.
"Muxue, this is my thirteenth confession to you. I beg you, do not refuse me," Hong Zihan declared in a deep, resonant voice, his tone like he was reciting poetry.
"Huh? There were twelve others? How come I've never seen you before?" Mei Lili spoke up. She had been Gu Muxue's classmate since middle school and had no memory of a Hong Zihan ever confessing.
"The first time, I wrote 9694482664 on Muxue's QQ Zone message board."
"Wait, what's that string of numbers supposed to mean?" someone asked.
"Try typing it out using your phone's T9 Pinyin keypad," Hong Zihan said, a mysterious look on his face.
A curious student pulled out their phone to try. "Could you repeat that, please?"
"9-6-9-4..."
As they punched in the numbers Hong Zihan recited, the first suggested phrase on everyone's phone was the three words, "I like you."
Everyone's expression turned from shock to something... odd.
"COUGH! COUGH!" Xue Rui immediately choked on a sunflower seed and began coughing violently.
'This kid should go work for a cryptography agency. What's he doing chasing girls?' Xue Rui thought. 'Who the hell could possibly figure out a code like that?'
Seeing everyone struck speechless, Hong Zihan smiled with satisfaction. This was his unique method of confession, completely unlike those of the common rabble. He opened his mouth to speak. "Don't you want to hear about the other eleven times?"
"No!" the crowd rejected in unison.
Gu Muxue remained expressionless, as if completely unfazed by her eccentric classmate.
Gu Muxue's reaction surprised Xue Rui. He suddenly felt a pang of pity for her. 'Just how many weirdos has this girl had to deal with to become this numb?'
"Classmate, if you have this much free time, you'd be better off doing a few more practice exams. I'm focused solely on my studies right now and have no interest in dating." Gu Muxue was like an iceberg, her voice devoid of all emotion.