The two of them turned on the lights and entered the house, changing out of their rain-soaked shoes and socks.
"Take a shower first," Si Bin said, pointing toward the first-floor bathroom. "There are new toothbrushes and towels in the top drawer under the vanity. The left side of the faucet is hot water, and the right is cold."
"What about you?" Lin Murun asked, setting down his backpack.
"I’ll wash up upstairs," Si Bin replied. "Go on, before you catch another cold."
"Mm..." Lin Murun stepped into the bathroom. It wasn't until the hot water hit his skin that he realized he didn't have a change of clothes.
A knock sounded on the bathroom door, followed by Si Bin’s voice from outside.
"I’ve left a change of clothes for you by the door. They’re all new."
The bathroom was already thick with steam. Lin Murun squinted through the mist and called out, "Thank you."
Because a stranger had entered the house, Da Bai felt quite uneasy. He abandoned his beloved cat tree and followed stealthily behind Si Bin as he went up to the second floor.
The sheets and bedding in the second-floor guest room had been freshly changed by the housekeeper, and the entire room was filled with the faint, clean scent of laundry detergent.
Si Bin stood on the small balcony, opening the window to air out the guest room. Not paying attention to what was behind him, he nearly stepped on Da Bai’s paw.
Da Bai let out a disgruntled "wu-wu" sound.
Si Bin looked down, saw the cat's innocent expression, and sighed, leading him out of the guest room.
When he went back down to the first floor to grab his backpack, Xiao Bai was still curled in his nest, sleeping dizzily. Si Bin reached out to scratch the kitten's back before quietly leading Da Bai into the kitchen.
He opened the refrigerator, originally intending to grab two bottles of Perrier, but his gaze caught the grapes the housekeeper had washed and placed in a fresh-keeping bag.
After a moment's thought, he swiped the grapes as well.
Back in the study, he twisted open a bottle and took a few gulps of water before heading into his own bathroom with a change of clothes.
The screen of his phone, resting on the vanity, lit up. Upon seeing the sender’s name, Si Bin’s expression darkened.
When the other party received no reply for a long time, they placed a direct call.
The "buzz-buzz" of the phone’s vibration was amplified infinitely in the enclosed bathroom. Si Bin silently set the phone down, turned around, and switched on the shower.
After a while, the screen went dark, but the caller seemed persistent. One call followed another, but they were all drowned out by the sound of rushing water.
By the time Si Bin emerged from the bathroom in his loungewear, Lin Murun was already downstairs in the living room working on practice problems.
"Come up to the study," Si Bin said from the stairs. "The light is better here."
"Okay." Lin Murun capped his pen, shouldered his bag, and headed up to the second floor.
Da Bai, who had been uneasy at first, seemed to have grown accustomed to Lin Murun’s presence. He trotted after them into the study, arched his back, and leaped onto the desk, shoving his face toward the fruit plate.
"No," Si Bin said, pulling the plate away. "If you're hungry, go eat your cat food."
Da Bai let out a "meow" and began whimpering and nudging Si Bin to act spoiled.
Ignoring the cat's antics, Si Bin plucked a bunch of grapes and handed them to Lin Murun.
Da Bai’s gaze followed the grapes, shifting to Lin Murun’s hand.
"No, cats can't eat grapes."
Regardless of whether Da Bai could understand him, Si Bin’s patience was remarkably good as he held the grapes and tried to reason with a cat.
Si Bin noticed that Lin Murun’s hair wasn't dry yet. The ends were a bit long, and under the cool light, droplets of water rolled from his hair down his slender neck and into his collar.
"Go dry your hair first," Si Bin said, picking up Da Bai with one hand and setting the fruit plate down with the other.
"The hairdryer is still out, right there in the second-floor bathroom. I’ll take him to have some nutritional gel first."
"Alright." Lin Murun placed the grapes back on the plate.
Ten minutes later, when Lin Murun returned to the study, Si Bin was already working on a math practice paper.
Lin Murun glanced at the complex problem Si Bin was solving. He knew he couldn't calculate the answer mentally, yet Si Bin had written down the result almost the instant he finished reading the question.
"I heard you participated in the Math Olympiad?" Lin Murun asked.
"Hmm?" Si Bin looked up, twirling his pen. "Did your classmates tell you that?"
Lin Murun nodded.
Si Bin’s problem-solving steps weren't cumbersome; in fact, he didn't follow the teachers' requirements to list every step of the reasoning. He skipped whatever he could, appearing entirely unafraid of making mistakes or losing points. Even the scratch paper beside him only had a few formulas scrawled on it.
"You're very good at the sciences. Why didn't you stay in the science stream?" Lin Murun asked.
The pen twirling in Si Bin’s fingers paused. "Did your classmates say that too?"
"Yes," Lin Murun explained. "They're all students in the experimental class, so they pay extra attention to high-achieving students."
"Isn't the liberal arts stream quite good?" Si Bin didn't seem to want to pursue the topic.
"Besides, my math is decent, which gives me an advantage in liberal arts." He smiled, then smoothly changed the subject.
"It’s just that my Comprehensive Liberal Arts score is still lacking." He stood up and pulled some practice materials from the bookshelf, placing them on the desk. "I’ve finished the papers the school handed out, but I keep finding new issues during my self-tests. So, I’ve recently looked for some supplementary problems."
Lin Murun flipped through the materials—some were self-organized and printed, others were workbooks bought from bookstores. He picked out a few papers and workbooks and suggested, "These are suitable for the foundational stage. The others can wait for the intensive stage as supplementary material."
"Okay." Si Bin took the materials and thanked him.
"Liberal arts requires both fragmented knowledge points and an emphasis on overall connection. Being able to score over two hundred in such a short time is already very impressive," Lin Murun said while flipping through the exercises.
"For me right now, the biggest problems are still memorization and making those connections." Si Bin opened a paper and pointed to a history essay question. "For example, a question phrased like this easily trips me up."
Lin Murun leaned in to look and said with certainty, "Choose D. This question tests a very specific detail; it requires both memorization and understanding."
Si Bin looked at option D and thought for a moment, then pulled out the answer key to check the analysis. "The phrasing of A and D is too similar. I need to think about it."
Lin Murun nodded, looking through a printed workbook. "If you can't figure it out, you can ask me."
"Mm." Using the motion of flipping through his history textbook as cover, Si Bin stole occasional glances at Lin Murun.
The boy, fresh from the shower, wore an oversized T-shirt. His soft hair still carried a faint dampness. His eyelashes were long, drooping slightly behind his glasses, and their occasional fluttering made one's heart itch, as if being stepped on by a kitten's paws.
After absentmindedly figuring out the subtle difference between the two options, Si Bin noticed an extra loose-leaf binder on the table.
"These are my history notes," Lin Murun said, seeing him look at the binder. "I’ve summarized and analyzed the knowledge points from tenth grade until now. If you need them, you can use them as a reference."
Si Bin thanked him and opened the binder.
Lin Murun’s handwriting was beautiful—elegant and sharp. The inner pages were filled with sticky notes and clipped-out classic example problems.
It contained classroom notes and exam point analyses; every piece of knowledge was summarized and expanded upon. Lin Murun had meticulously performed the organizational work that most students were unwilling to do.
"But if you lend me your notebook, what will you do in class?" Si Bin asked.
"I’ll take notes on loose-leaf paper," Lin Murun explained. "You can keep it for now. I’ve already memorized these points, so I don't need them for the time being."
"If I improve by reading your notes and take first place in the next exam, won't you be at a loss?" Si Bin teased as he tucked the notes away.
"That would be normal," Lin Murun thought for a moment and replied. "I heard you were always first in the grade before."
Si Bin gave a light laugh. "It wasn't that exaggerated. In seventh and eighth grade, I was an eternal tail-ender."
Just as he spoke, Xiao Bai poked his head through the gap in the study door, trotting on his short legs to jump onto Lin Murun’s lap.
"Are you awake?" Lin Murun set down the practice book and reached out to scratch the kitten's chin.
Xiao Bai let out a string of purrs.
"It should be almost one o'clock." Si Bin glanced at his phone and confirmed, "Twelve fifty-five."
Meeting Lin Murun’s questioning gaze, he explained, "He always wakes up before one o'clock every day."
Xiao Bai stretched lazily on Lin Murun’s lap.
"It's late," Si Bin suggested. "Let's get some rest."
"Okay." Lin Murun used one hand to steady Xiao Bai so he wouldn't fall, while holding a workbook in the other. "Will you be using the practice problems from the Affiliated High School of A University anytime soon?"
Si Bin took the workbook and flipped through it. "No, the problems in there are quite difficult. I don't need them for now. Do you want to borrow it?"
Lin Murun nodded and explained, "The new types of questions in there are worth studying seriously."
Si Bin handed the workbook back to him. "You can take any of these materials if you think you need them."
Lin Murun took the workbook and thanked him. "This one is enough."
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
---|---|---
巴黎水 | Perrier | A brand of sparkling mineral water.
实验班 | Experimental Class | An advanced or honors class for high-achieving students.
奥数 | Math Olympiad | Short for Mathematical Olympiad (Mathematical competition).
理科 | Science Stream | The academic track focusing on sciences (physics, chemistry, biology).
文科 | Liberal Arts Stream | The academic track focusing on humanities (history, geography, politics).
文综 | Comprehensive Liberal Arts | A combined exam subject in the Chinese Gaokao covering history, geography, and politics.
A大附中 | Affiliated High School of A University | A prestigious high school affiliated with a university.
万年吊车尾 | Eternal tail-ender | A slang term for someone who is consistently at the bottom of the class rankings.
营养膏 | Nutritional gel | A supplement paste for cats.
