On the day the midterm exams were to begin, Lin Murun woke up half an hour earlier than usual. He reached for his phone and checked the weather forecast, discovering that light rain was expected today, which might bring a drop in temperature.
Cheng Song, who had made a grand declaration yesterday about pulling an all-nighter to study, was currently slumped over his desk fast asleep. A pool of drool had spread across his entire test paper.
Lin Murun got out of bed quietly, rummaged through his wardrobe for a sweater, and pulled it on.
Fifteen minutes later, Cheng Song finally woke up groggily. He stared blankly for a long time, his face covered in marks pressed into his skin by the books and papers, before frantically grabbing tissues to wipe the drool off his test.
"I'm doomed, I'm doomed, I'm doomed!" he muttered to himself while wiping. "I have a premonition! There are definitely exam points on this paper. Please don't let it be ruined!"
Lin Murun put on his shoes and said to him, "I'm heading out. You should go wash up."
"Okay! I'll go as soon as I dry this paper!" Cheng Song replied.
The sky was not yet fully bright, and a misty fog hung in the air. There weren't many students on the road, but everyone was racing against time to read, hoping to memorize a few more key points before entering the exam hall.
Lin Murun walked into the cafeteria with a light dusting of dew on his clothes. After ordering a portion of rice cakes with pickled greens and a cup of soy milk, he found an empty seat by the window and sat down.
The cafeteria was warm and bright, making it a perfect place for students who couldn't return to their classrooms to review their lessons. After a few bites of breakfast, Lin Murun also began flipping through his notes.
Before he knew it, the cafeteria gradually filled up, and many students who arrived late couldn't find a seat.
"Hello, is anyone sitting here?" a girl asked, walking up to him with a tray.
Lin Murun looked up and saw a girl he didn't recognize. He nodded and moved his tray to the corner.
The girl thanked him, but after sitting down, she didn't rush to eat. Instead, she began to steal glances at him.
Being stared at like that made it impossible to focus on his notes. Lin Murun put them down and asked, "Is there something I can help you with?"
"Ah?" Caught in the act, the girl's face flushed red. She waved her hands slightly. "No, no! I just thought you looked familiar."
Lin Murun nodded but didn't respond.
The girl felt a bit awkward. She picked up her chopsticks and poked at the food on her tray, asking softly, "Senior, did you participate in the violin ensemble during the arts festival?"
"Yes," Lin Murun replied. "Why do you ask?"
"I saw your photo on the Confession Wall before, and I specifically went to watch your performance at the festival," the girl said, her face still red. "I'm from Class 13, Grade 10. A lot of girls in our class know who you are."
Before Lin Murun could react, she continued, "You play the violin so well."
After she finished, Lin Murun said politely, "Thank you."
"You're welcome, you're welcome!" The girl nervously stirred her food. After a long pause, she finally managed to squeeze out the words, "Good luck on your exams, Senior!"
"Thanks." Lin Murun tucked his notebook into his bag, picked up his tray, and stood up with a smile. "Good luck to you too."
When he reached the fifth floor, Lin Murun found Si Bin already standing outside the Class 1 classroom.
"Good morning," Si Bin greeted him.
"Morning." Lin Murun tucked his cold, reddened hands into his jacket pockets.
"Do you need this?" Si Bin handed him a glass cup filled with warm water. "Warm your hands. It'll help you write faster later."
"What about you?" Lin Murun looked up and asked.
Si Bin shook his head. "I'm not cold."
Lin Murun thanked him and took the glass.
Standing beside him, Si Bin looked down and could see Lin Murun's lowered eyelashes. They rested quietly behind his lenses, thick as raven feathers.
As if sensing Si Bin's gaze, Lin Murun looked up at him and asked, "How was your revision?"
"It was alright." Si Bin thought for a moment and gave a dry response. "And yours?"
"It was alright," Lin Murun replied, copy-pasting his answer.
"Student Lin," Si Bin chuckled. "Why are you copying me?"
" I'm not." A hint of a smile touched the corners of Lin Murun's eyes. "It really was just alright."
Si Bin's heart instantly softened into a complete mess. He looked at the top of Lin Murun's head, feeling an uncontrollable urge to touch that lock of soft black hair fluttering in the breeze. But halfway through raising his hand, he forced himself to stop.
"Want to grab lunch together after the exam?" he asked, naturally sliding his hands into his jacket pockets instead.
Lin Murun nodded. "At the staff cafeteria again?"
"Yeah, there are fewer people there," Si Bin replied.
Faint sunlight broke through the clouds. As the exam time approached, students gathered outside their respective halls. The warning bell rang, and students took out their stationery, placed their bags on the desks outside, and filed into the classrooms.
After the proctor finished reading the exam regulations, they unsealed the test paper envelopes in front of everyone.
Lin Murun leaned back against his chair and felt someone tap his shoulder from behind.
"Si Bin, don't disturb the student in front of you," the proctor warned.
"Understood." Si Bin quickly withdrew his hand, but not before whispering to Lin Murun as he turned around, "Good luck."
The Chinese exam was somewhat difficult. Lin Murun spent a bit more time on the Classical Chinese section, but he finished the essay steadily and handed in his paper five minutes early.
There were significantly fewer people handing in their papers early this time compared to the last exam. Only a few students stood scattered in the hallway, comparing their answers.
Si Bin had already been waiting outside for seven minutes. Seeing Lin Murun come out, he asked, "How did it go?"
"I should get around 130," Lin Murun answered.
"So confident?" Si Bin asked with a smile.
"I got 136 last time, and this paper was harder," Lin Murun replied while packing his things. "What about you? How do you feel?"
"Alright," Si Bin thought for a moment. "125 shouldn't be a problem."
The end-of-exam bell rang. Students who had just finished their answers breathed a sigh of relief, while those who hadn't finished looked miserable as they watched the proctors collect their papers.
"This is outrageous!" At that moment, the voice of a proctor criticizing a student came from the neighboring Class 2.
"To think you're a student in an experimental class! Don't you know the rule that you must hand in your paper as soon as time is up?"
The students leaving the exam halls didn't know what was happening and gathered around the door of Class 2 to watch.
"What's going on?" Li Menglai asked Zhou Xuan as she stepped out of Exam Hall One.
"No idea." Zhou Xuan peeked over and suggested, "Let's go take a look."
A crowd quickly gathered in front of Class 2. The student being publicly scolded by the proctor was still sitting in his seat, gripping his test paper tightly.
"It's Jiang Yuxi." Yu Qianyi, who had witnessed the whole thing, saw her friends arrive and whispered, "He didn't finish the questions and refuses to hand it in."
Jiang Yuxi knew he was losing face by being stared at, but he couldn't help pleading with a red face, "Teacher, I only have one last sentence left in my essay. Please, just let me finish it."
The male teacher pulling at his paper refused flatly. "No! What kind of logic is that? Other students didn't finish and they still handed theirs in. What you're doing is considered cheating."
The female proctor in the same room added sternly, "Just hand it in. If you didn't finish, you didn't finish. Just work faster next time."
Jiang Yuxi kept shaking his head, his eyes red with desperation.
Yu Qianyi curled her lip. "Isn't he the one who cares about his reputation the most? How can he stand being watched like this? If you didn't finish, just let it go."
"Maybe he's trying to stay in the running for the City Outstanding Student nomination," Li Qian speculated softly.
Yu Qianyi shook her head. "Making a scene like this will get his score cancelled. Is it really worth it?"
By then, other proctors had called over Mr. Li and the Grade Dean. The spectating students automatically cleared a path for the teachers to enter the classroom.
This was the first time Lin Murun had seen the Grade Dean, Mr. Tang, up close—the man who even made Zhou Xuan tremble. Mr. Tang had fair skin and a portly build. He wore round, metal-framed glasses that made his face look white and plump, like a freshly cooked tangyuan.
However, he didn't seem as easygoing as his appearance suggested. While the other teachers were struggling with Jiang Yuxi's refusal to hand in the paper, Mr. Tang stepped forward. He stared at Jiang Yuxi's face for a moment and said sternly, "His Chinese score for this exam is cancelled. He can keep that answer sheet for as long as he likes."
Hearing this, the students watching from the door gasped in shock.
"Oh my god..." Yu Qianyi covered her mouth, looking at Li Menglai in disbelief. "No way! I was just saying that."
Li Menglai didn't respond, her brow furrowed as she looked into the classroom.
"What are you all doing crowding around here?" Director Tang walked out of the classroom and snapped, "Go get lunch! Don't you have more exams this afternoon?"
The show was over, and the students gathered at the front door of Class 2 finally dispersed. Lin Murun, who had been blocked in the hallway by the crowd, glanced into the classroom. Jiang Yuxi was still sitting in his seat in the same position. His head was bowed, so Lin Murun couldn't see his expression, but judging by the veins bulging on the back of his hand, he must have been feeling utterly humiliated and miserable.
"What do you want for lunch?" Si Bin asked.
"Anything is fine," Lin Murun said, snapping out of it. "Let's go check the cafeteria."
After this small episode, the midterm exams continued as usual. Jiang Yuxi became a negative example used by proctors to educate other students and the "person whose score was cancelled" in his classmates' gossip.
Perhaps because he had lost face, or perhaps because he felt the remaining exams were pointless after his Chinese score was voided, Jiang Yuxi made an excuse to take two days of leave that afternoon. No matter how much Mr. Li tried to persuade him, it was no use.
"Is he really planning to take a zero?" Yu Qianyi sighed to Lin Murun after the final Comprehensive Arts exam. "Even without the Chinese score, if he did well in the other subjects, he could still get a lower-middle ranking."
"Now look at him. For the monthly exam in December, he'll be sent straight to the very last exam hall, and he'll have to deal with all the talk from
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