Ruan Mian lightly frowned, unconsciously murmuring, “Qi… Qi what?”

“Qi Yan.”

A man’s voice answered her.

Low and slightly husky, it was clearly audible to her ears.

Ruan Mian looked at the paper in her hand, then at him, her gaze direct, and asked, “Is it the yan for serious? (嚴)”

Her voice sounded surprisingly calm.

But her slightly parted pink lips betrayed her current state of mind, a little guilty, but mostly nervous.

After all, she was looking at his private documents without permission…

“No.” He was wearing a black shirt and long pants. Returning from somewhere, his body carried a moist coolness. His short hair was slightly messy against his forehead, yet he didn’t look unkempt, but had an indescribable quality.

Ruan Mian watched steadily as he pulled out a tissue and wiped away the water droplets that had slid from his throat to his chest. Her gaze followed his line of sight, finally stopping on… a faint pink item.

Wasn’t that hers…?

She’d forgotten to immediately tuck it into her bag.

Ruan Mian’s face instantly turned bright red.

Fortunately, he didn’t pick it up or examine it. He probably guessed what the suddenly appearing object was and maintained complete silence to avoid mutual embarrassment.

He took a piece of paper from the table, uncapped a pen, and leaned slightly forward to write.

Taking advantage of this pause, she instantly swept the little pink item into her palm, pressed it into her bag, and breathed a slight sigh of relief before looking up again.

His posture while holding the pen was beautiful. Two fingers grasped the black pen barrel, curved slightly, while the other three fingers were gently together. Perhaps because his hands were attractive, anything he did was pleasing to the eye.

“It’s this one.”

Ruan Mian leaned closer, seeing only the character yan (儼) written on the white paper in regular script, every stroke clearly visible.

Qi Yan.

She silently recited the two characters in her heart. So this was his name. It sounded really good.

Then, she slowly realized a fact: his name, like hers, consisted of two characters. The corner of her lips unconsciously curved up a little.

“My name is Ruan Mian,” she told him softly.

He heard her, nodded, and continued to write on the paper, writing the character mian (眠), placing it alongside the yan (儼).

Yan, Mian.

Ruan Mian was further delighted: both characters had a left-right structure. Moreover, when others heard her name, the first thing that came to mind was usually “soft cotton” (阮綿), yet he had accurately written mian (眠), the one meaning “sleep.”

This small joy blossoming in her heart did not fade even by night. She clutched the white paper with only two characters, opening it and closing it, opening it again… reading it over and over. Finally, she carefully pressed it against her chest, as if to contain the unknown fluttering beneath.

That night, Ruan Mian was rarely able to sleep.

She tossed and turned, seemingly thinking about many things, but in reality, thinking of nothing at all. She just lay on her side, watching the sky outside the window gradually lighten.

Sunday passed in the blink of an eye.

The only noteworthy thing was that she sent two more messages to the new owner of her mother’s original number, conveying the “reasonably high price” she was willing to pay, but received no reply.

Monday was the day the results of the mock exam were announced. Ruan Mian walked into the classroom with her school bag. Everyone had been loudly discussing their grades, but when they saw her, their expressions immediately became somewhat… strange.

When she asked Pan Tingting about her confusion, the other girl countered with a question, “You haven’t checked your score yet?”

“No.”

Pan Tingting grabbed her hand and cleared her throat solemnly. “Ruan Mian, congratulations on officially becoming the ‘Professional Contributor to Dropping the Class Average’.”

“Am I last again?”

“No, that throne has been snatched by your deskmate.”

Ruan Mian: “Then I’m…”

“You’re second to last, and I’m third to last.”

“Don’t be too surprised,” Pan Tingting calmly spat out a sunflower seed shell. “Once you rank at the bottom enough times, you slowly get used to it.”

Although the result was expected, Ruan Mian still felt a deep sense of defeat. She slumped on the desk, her entire heart feeling like it was soaking in a basin of cold water.

What should I do? If this continues, I probably won’t even get into university. Mom must be very disappointed in me.

Before long, Zeng Yushu also arrived. Pan Tingting turned to him to report their “battle results.” He tossed his hair and let out a disdainful “Hmph.”

“First, second, and third to last are all here. From today on, we’re the Golden Bottom Triangle. How about we start a WeChat group to celebrate?”

Zeng Yushu surprisingly chimed in enthusiastically. “That’s a great idea.” He nudged Ruan Mian’s arm. “Deskmate, what do you think?”

“I don’t have WeChat.”

Pan Tingting interjected, “That’s easy. I’ll help you apply for one.”

Ruan Mian nodded listlessly, letting her go ahead.

The first period was the class meeting.

The homeroom teacher briefly analyzed the mock exam results. “Although we have an advantage in the number of high-scorers compared to the other second-tier key classes, our average score is at the bottom. This is primarily because…”

As he spoke, most of the class’s eyes collectively darted to the innermost corner of the fourth group. Zeng Yushu held his head high, grinned with a mouth full of white teeth, and accepted all the attention frankly.

Pan Tingting was immersed in her novel. The sunflower seed shells in her drawer were piling up into a small mountain, completely unaffected.

Only Ruan Mian, who was the most thin-skinned, lowered her head, her face burning, her hands nervously intertwining.

Thus, she was listed as the first person the homeroom teacher would talk to privately.

The teacher asked about everything from her life to her studies with meticulous care and said many encouraging words until his throat was dry before finally preparing to dismiss her.

Ruan Mian didn’t know how to explain her abnormality to him. When the conversation ended, she secretly sighed in relief. Just as she reached the doorway, someone called out to her again. “Ruan Mian.”

She stared at the person in front of her for a while before recognizing him. “Teacher Zhao?”

This Teacher Zhao was the art club instructor who had taught her for a while. It had been seven or eight years since they last met, yet she was surprised he still remembered her.

Teacher Zhao looked at her with a face full of emotion. Of the students who went to Linshan City for the awards nine years ago, only this one returned…

His father had been the team leader back then, and he had remained there forever.

A fine arts class was opened at Z High last year, and he had just been specially recruited, also taking on the role of the new homeroom teacher, in a way continuing his father’s path.

“Are you planning to participate in this year’s city painting competition?”

Teacher Zhao knew her background. This girl had great talent in painting. Even his father had been full of praise for her and planned to focus on her training.

Ruan Mian’s smile was faint and bitter. She shook her head.

Teacher Zhao was silent for a moment, as if suddenly remembering something. “I heard you stopped painting. That’s a real shame.”

Yes, it’s a real shame.

Ruan Mian thought, But what can I do? I can’t get over that hurdle, and perhaps I never will.

“I have a few art books here. Take them and have a look,” he said with a smile. “Maybe the feeling will come back after you read them.”

Ruan Mian looked at the plain covers, and her heart thumped, thumped, thumped a few times faster. She bit her lip, hesitated for a few seconds, and accepted them with both hands. “Thank you, Teacher Zhao.”

She carried the art books back to the classroom. As she passed the elite class, Liang Yibo happened to come out, holding the English notes she had lent him earlier.

The two talked in the hallway for a while, just until the school bell rang.

The four morning classes were mainly spent reviewing the exam papers. Ruan Mian listened very seriously, but still very little of it truly sank in.

But at least, she could listen now.

As soon as class was over, Pan Tingting declared she was starving and dragged her to the cafeteria.

After eating, Ruan Mian returned to the classroom for the lunch break. Pan Tingting accompanied her. Just as they entered the back door, the scene before them made both of them stop abruptly.

“Oh my god!” Pan Tingting screamed, dramatically covering her face. “What kind of deep hatred is this!”

Ruan Mian’s desk and the area under her chair were covered in shredded paper, scattered like snowflakes all over the floor.

Ruan Mian crouched down and picked up a few pieces. After one look, her chest started to ache dully. These were the math reference books she had just bought yesterday, the ones she hadn’t even written her name in yet…

“Who did this!?” Pan Tingting asked loudly.

The few students studying in the classroom exchanged glances, then buried their heads back in their books.

A girl from Pan Tingting’s dorm quietly came over and told her, “Right after you two left, the little tyrant from the elite class brought people in…”

“Don’t pick it up.” Pan Tingting pulled her up. “Let’s go find the homeroom teacher. I just saw he was still in the office.”

The homeroom teacher was also surprised to hear about the incident and quickly promised to look into it and give them an answer as soon as possible.

When the two returned to the classroom, the shredded paper had already been swept away by someone. It was clean, as if nothing had happened before.

Ruan Mian was distracted for the entire afternoon class. Pan Tingting saw her expression and couldn’t bear it. “I need to go buy something. Want to come shopping with me?”

Ruan Mian nodded, then asked vaguely, “What?”

“Are you silly!” Pan Tingting laughed and poked her forehead. “Be careful, I might trick you and sell you off.”

As soon as she entered the supermarket, she acted like a little squirrel, expertly gathering a few bags of sunflower seeds, and then bought a pile of snacks for Ruan Mian, stuffing them into her arms. “Don’t think too much! It’s not the end of the world. Eat some tasty things, and you’ll feel better!”

“Tomorrow, I’ll go with you to find that little tyrant and figure out exactly what happened…”

Ruan Mian interrupted her softly, “Maybe we should… just forget it?”

It’s just one book, after all.

Pan Tingting turned her head, seeing the fear in her eyes, and sighed. “Ruan Mian, you’re always like this. Do you know that this makes it very easy for people to bully you?”

Of course she knew.

Ruan Mian opened her lips, but didn’t say a word.

She just wanted to study quietly, get into a good university, and completely leave that home.

Besides, compared to Wang Linlin, who was doted upon by her father, what confidence did she have?

She no longer had anyone to rely on.

“Tingting, have you forgotten about your old deskmate dropping out of school?”

Pan Tingting froze for a moment, then fell silent.

This was practically an unspoken secret among everyone.

Wang Linlin, the little tyrant’s father, was a wealthy Z City businessman and a major shareholder of the school. He had donated the school’s library and cafeteria. Relying on this backing, Wang Linlin was the school’s “Big Sister,” and no one dared to say anything even if she walked sideways.

Pan Tingting’s deskmate had been forced to drop out because of her, but no one knew the real reason, and of course, no one would dare to dig too deep.

Pan Tingting was about to say some comforting words when she suddenly exclaimed, “Ah, I must be seeing things in broad daylight!”

She pointed to a short, stout man standing outside a nearby hotel. “Isn’t that the little tyrant’s dad?”

Ruan Mian followed the direction of her finger and unexpectedly saw another person.

He was still in a white shirt and black trousers, standing tall and straight.

How strange. The man was clearly surrounded by people, but her eyes always found him first.

Ruan Mian recalled that when he looked at people, his gaze was usually aloof, but when she met his eyes, that gaze would become deep, bottomless, just as it was now, looking directly at her.

She paused slightly. He quickly withdrew his gaze and walked into the hotel with the group surrounding him.

“He’s perfection! I’ve never seen a man that good-looking!” Pan Tingting vigorously shook her arm. “If he were in a novel, he would definitely be the male lead, with his own halo!”

She continued to excitedly chatter, “How did I run into him? Could this be the legendary romantic encounter…”

Ruan Mian kept her own little secret hidden in her heart. She didn’t speak, just subtly pursed her lips.

Her mood had suddenly improved a little. 

NOTE

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