The two-day Art Festival drew to a successful close.
Before the students of each class could even recover from the lingering glow of the spotlights and the echoes of applause, they were hit with the sudden, unwelcome news of the mid-term examinations.
"This is a literal nightmare..." Yu Qianyi groaned, slumped over her desk, devoid of all energy.
Zhou Xuan looked up from a pile of practice papers. "I heard the mid-term results will affect the selection for the City-level Merit Student awards."
"Whether I'm selected or not has nothing to do with me," she said, lifting her head. "What I'm worried about is that I’ve spent all this time playing. If my ranking drops too far, my allowance will be cut."
"Have some ambition..." Zhou Xuan shook his head.
"I call this recognizing reality," Yu Qianyi retorted. "In terms of grades, I can't beat Lin Murun. In terms of personal ability, I can't beat Li Menglai. I might not even make the school-level awards, let alone the city-level ones."
Suddenly mentioned, Lin Murun turned around. "Not necessarily. We don't know the selection criteria yet."
"Next period is math. Teacher Li should be making an announcement," Zhou Xuan replied.
Sure enough, as soon as the math class began, Teacher Li reiterated the mid-term exam schedule and specifically took ten minutes to explain the significance of the City-level Merit Student award.
"Our grade has a total of six slots—three for the Humanities stream and three for the Science stream," Teacher Li said solemnly. "Therefore, I hope every student takes this exam seriously. Only those with excellent mid-term and final grades have a chance to become a City-level Merit Student."
Li Menglai raised her hand. "Teacher, what rank do we need to reach to be considered 'excellent'?"
"Top five in the grade," Teacher Li stated. "But grades aren't the only criteria. I'll post the specific notice in the class group chat in a moment. Please check it carefully. If you have any questions, you can come to see me after class."
The value of the city-level award was clear to everyone without Teacher Li having to elaborate. Upon hearing the news, many students began whispering and sizing each other up, intending to give it their all before the mid-terms.
The atmosphere in the Experimental Class was already academically rigorous, but now everyone refused to waste a single second. Students who usually napped during the lunch break were no longer idle, instead burying their heads in their books.
After the evening self-study session, students from the parallel classes came to Class 2 to look for friends, only to be frightened away by the sight of everyone studying so intensely.
"They seem so driven," a girl whispered as she passed Class 2.
"Of course they are," another girl replied. "Who wouldn't want a spot for the City-level Merit Student award?"
"Well, we don't stand a chance."
The two girls shook their heads and walked away.
A week passed, and the time everyone spent lingering in the classroom grew longer and longer. Some students studied until their backs ached and dark circles hung heavy under their eyes. Worried about their health, Teacher Li drove the students out of the classroom during the math evening self-study period.
"Everyone, go take a walk on the track." Teacher Li opened the classroom door and beckoned them to gather at the playground.
"There's no need to rush everything right now. The weather is getting colder; you must look after your health while studying."
Lin Murun looked up from a mountain of exercises, took off his glasses, and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He had been stuck on a single math problem for twenty minutes.
"Let's go, let's go," Yu Qianyi urged, tugging at him. "Sitting here worrying won't help. Maybe your mind will clear up once you're outside."
"Alright." He capped his pen.
Though it was free activity time, many students had secretly brought small booklets downstairs, planning to find a sheltered spot to continue memorizing.
It was now early November. After the "Autumn Tiger" heatwave had passed, the temperature had plummeted, and the daylight hours were growing shorter. By seven in the evening, the sky was pitch black.
The colored lights on the playground fence had been taken down, but fortunately, the floodlights were bright enough to illuminate every corner of the field.
Some students shivered as they flipped through their booklets to memorize text, while others, like Yu Qianyi and Li Qian, had borrowed badminton rackets and jump ropes from the equipment room.
Lin Murun was still mentally retracing that math problem, so he stood silently in a corner, continuing to ponder the solution.
"Aren't you going to play for a bit?" Zhou Xuan asked, walking over with a racket.
"You guys play. I'll keep score for you," Lin Murun said.
Zhou Xuan nodded.
After braving the cold wind for a full period, the students gradually returned to the classroom. Lin Murun rubbed his cold-reddened nose, took a photo of the problem, and sent it to Si Bin.
This time, Si Bin didn't reply immediately. It was twenty minutes later when he sent over the step-by-step solution.
"This problem goes beyond the syllabus; it probably won't be on the exam. But it's always good to do more practice," he added in a message. "If there's anything else you're unclear on, you can ask me directly."
"Thanks," Lin Murun replied.
"Who are you chatting with?" Yu Qianyi, having had her fill of fun, returned to the classroom just in time to see Lin Murun opening the WeChat dialogue box.
"With Si Bin," Lin Murun answered. "There was a problem I couldn't solve, so I was asking him for help."
Yu Qianyi nodded. "You two really get along well."
Lin Murun: "Mm."
Having played for an entire period, Yu Qianyi's heart was still racing like a wild horse and couldn't be reined back in. Since Teacher Li wasn't in the room, she simply pulled out a reading comprehension workbook and began reading the passages as if they were short stories and popular science articles, enjoying them immensely.
After devouring over ten passages, she noticed that Lin Murun and Zhou Xuan in the front row were still focused on their work. Feeling a bit guilty, she rubbed her nose and quietly pulled out her Comprehensive Humanities papers.
When the bell finally rang, she dropped her pen and was the first to bolt out of the classroom, nearly colliding with Si Bin in the hallway.
"Ah! Sorry!" Yu Qianyi apologized hastily.
"It's fine." Si Bin politely stepped aside to let her pass.
The moment the classroom door opened, a gust of cold air rushed straight toward the students in the front row.
Unprepared, Lin Murun let out a sneeze from the chill. He stood up to close the door, only to see Si Bin standing outside.
"Student Lin, do you have a moment?" Si Bin spoke first.
"Yes." Lin Murun pulled the door nearly shut and stood by the railing with Si Bin.
Si Bin gave him an extra look and reminded him, "The temperature has dropped sharply these past few days. Remember to wear more layers."
"Mm," Lin Murun nodded.
"You can take a look at the problems in this workbook." Si Bin handed a practice book to Lin Murun and continued, "And this binder; it contains some notes I've organized in the past."
Lin Murun took the notes. Upon flipping through, he found that several classic problem types and important exam points had been marked by Si Bin with red pen and asterisks.
"The ones in red are the key points, blue are secondary, and you can skip the rest," Si Bin explained. "The frequently tested knowledge points are mostly these. Maybe they can serve as a reference for you."
The pages of the workbook were clean. There were traces of charcoal pen markings on some problems, but otherwise, there were only the red and blue marks. Lin Murun guessed that when Si Bin did the problems, he likely wrote the steps and answers on scratch paper.
He nodded and accepted Si Bin's kindness. "Thank you."
"It's nothing," Si Bin said. "For this mid-term, you'll probably still be first."
"Probably?" Lin Murun asked, puzzled.
"Mm." Si Bin leaned against the railing and smiled. "I should be able to catch up by the next monthly exam."
His slightly long bangs were brushed up by the evening breeze, revealing his beautifully shaped eyes. Si Bin's irises were dark, filled with the brilliant, dazzling spirit of a confident youth.
In Lin Murun's impression, Si Bin rarely showed such outward emotion. He usually suppressed his feelings; no matter how handsome his features were, they always carried a hint of laziness and detachment—neither hot nor cold, making people hesitate to approach him.
"Yes, I know," Lin Murun said.
Si Bin hadn't expected him to be so cooperative and laughed. "I was joking."
Lin Murun shook his head. "Your previous weakness was in the Comprehensive Humanities, but now your scores there have caught up." He analyzed, "Your math is better than mine; your ranking might indeed surpass mine." After a pause, he continued, "But I won't give up first place easily, either."
Si Bin lowered his gaze and asked, "Student Lin, do you want to make a bet?"
"On what?" Lin Murun asked.
"Let's bet on..."
Si Bin leaned down slightly, bringing his face close to Lin Murun's, and whispered, "Let's bet on who gets first place in the final exams. How about it?"
He was standing quite close. Lin Murun could smell a clean, woody fragrance emanating from him—like a certain perfume, steady and deep, slowly invading Lin Murun's senses.
Lin Murun looked up and instantly locked eyes with Si Bin. His breath hitched, and his face flushed uncontrollably.
Si Bin let out a few low chuckles, the sound striking directly against Lin Murun's heart.
"You..." Lin Murun subconsciously took a step back and asked haltingly, "Are you wearing perfume?"
Si Bin nodded and straightened up. He understood the principle of gradual progress and feared that being too direct might scare the other boy. He tucked away his smile and repeated the question seriously, "So, do we have a bet?"
"Oh... okay." The woody scent suddenly pulled away. Lin Murun hadn't quite recovered yet and dizzily followed along with his words.
Si Bin couldn't help but laugh again, just as Yu Qianyi, coming back from the restroom, stumbled upon the scene.
"Oh my god..." Yu Qianyi tried her best to shrink her presence, sliding along the wall back into the classroom.
"I think something's up with Si Bin," she whispered, scurrying over to Li Menglai's seat.
"Hmm?" Li Menglai looked up and asked softly, "What's wrong?"
"He was smiling at Lin Murun so... so brilliantly." Yu Qianyi struggled to find the right words. "It's like you can feel it... his BGM changed. It was like snow melting and a hundred flowers blooming."
Li Menglai nodded and patted Yu Qianyi's head, saying dismissively, "There, there. You saw wrong."
The mid-term exams drew closer. After the evening self-study sessions, the number of students staying behind to review grew day by day. Every night, the security guard had to spend extra time to herd the students out of the classrooms. Even the usually boisterous boys' dormitory grew quiet; the mobile gamers and guitar players had all gone silent. It seemed as though every student at No. 1 High was studying in earnest. Even if they couldn't get the city-level award, most wanted to achieve a decent grade on the mid-terms.
His roommate Cheng Song, who usually fell fast asleep by eleven, was now so nervous he couldn't sleep at all. He had shed his usual laziness, even bringing his notes to the toilet to memorize, refusing to waste a single second of last-minute cramming.
The night before the exam, the seating charts were posted on the doors of each classroom. Because of their excellent grades, Lin Murun and Si Bin were assigned to the first and second seats of the first exam hall.
After taping slips of paper with their student IDs and names onto the desks, the students began moving their books and workbooks from their seats.
Lin Murun specifically brought a tote bag to carry everything from his drawer back to the dormitory in one go.
Cheng Song wasn't back yet. After packing his bag and preparing his exam stationery, Lin Murun went into the bathroom to wash up.
Twenty minutes later, Cheng Song pushed open the dorm door, panting and carrying a massive pile of books.
"Top student, are we pulling an all-nighter together today?" he asked.
"No, I'm going to sleep early today to save my energy for the exam," Lin Murun replied while drying his hair.
Cheng Song looked like he was about to cry. While criticizing himself, he resignedly flipped open his exercises to continue studying.
As soon as ten o'clock hit, Lin Murun got into bed.
Cheng Song thoughtfully turned off the overhead light and borrowed Lin Murun's small desk lamp to study by.
Once the blackout curtains were drawn, most of the lamp's light was blocked. Lin Murun stared at the few slivers of light peeking through the gaps for a moment, then rolled over and closed his eyes.
Just then, the phone by his pillow vibrated. He unlocked it and found a WeChat message from Si Bin.
Si Bin: "Goodnight. Remember to sleep early. Good luck on the exam tomorrow."
Lin Murun smiled and replied: "You too. Goodnight."
***
